Uneasy Alliance II.

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #1

Their luck seemed to be swinging back and forth during that job. It looked surprisingly easy at first, just posing as a bodyguard for some young noble during an exchange for his kidnapped fiancee for a ransom. However, things got more complicated when it turned out that their employer, Andrew Lockhart hired another person. An intolerable bounty hunter named Shinsei, who was getting on Eric's nerves since they met. By a turn of events, both the Wolves and Shinsei lost their contract and got stuck together on their ship.
Well, to be more precise, the last part was Agnes's fault. If not for her playful nature, Eric would have left the red guy behind or ordered Martin to shoot him. Speaking of her, Agnes took Shinsei into her cabin for several hours, to treat the wounds which he received during the short but intense fights with Eric and Martin respectively.
When they finally finished, the Wolf King called all of his people Shinsei included on the main deck.
"Alright, as most of you probably noticed, our ship is still heading towards the Cinna Island, despite losing the contract. The reason is, that during my conversation with our previous employer I got a pretty good idea of where the kidnapped lady will be held. So, we are going to find her kidnappers, take them down and exchange her for the ransom ourselves."
Eric grinned.
"Before you start arguing, the ransom is 100 000 000 Beli, so if we succeed, each one of you will walk from it when 10 million in the pocket."
He looked at Shinsei.
"Yes, you included."
The Wolf King growled, which started some grumbling among his men.
"Of course, if some of you think that it's too risky to step over the line this much and the money isn't worth the risk of becoming wanted, you can always wait for the rest of us in the city. But in that case, you will get only your part of the advanced payment, which is 500 000 Beli. So, who is going into it with me?"
The upper deck erupted in a cheerful roar from the Wolves. Eric grinned, obviously ignoring Shinsei's opinion on this matter.
"Alright, any questions?"

[Bobbie]

After a very rough start to a mission that Shinsei thought would be simple and was ready for, the cyborg was left feeling entirely broken from head to toe. He was battered, bruised, and beaten, the ligaments in his arm pushed well beyond their limits, a few minor fractures and sprains, and needing several stitches. Had it not been for the promise of Lady Agnes’s medical care, he’d have been finished and out for the count long ago.

It was unfortunate that throughout the long and painful hours of her tending to his wounds, Shinsei barely had the energy left to flirt with the pretty woman. However, as clearly demonstrated in the two fights he threw himself into against Eric and Martin, pain was hardly enough to keep him down.

As everybody was called onto the main deck, Shinsei joined the crew to hear Eric’s announcement, his trusty cigarettes accompanying him to get him through the ordeal. Lighting up as soon as he reached the deck, he kept his distance from most people – mainly Martin – just in case there were any funny ideas of a ‘best out of three’ situation. The man in a distinguishable, now tattered, waistcoat chuckled as he heard Eric’s explanation. “Sneaky little snake until the end, huh?” he muttered beneath his breath, his eyes fixed on the man who may have been as ferocious as a wolf, but certainly as sly as a fox.

Taking a puff, Shinsei made no sign of protest whatsoever. He didn’t care very much for Mr Lockhart, nor his fiancée, he simply wanted the money. Money which he had no choice but to go through with whatever plan the 'Wolf King' came up with to get his hands on.

The air around the bounty-hunter filled with smoke as he exhaled and raised his brow, in surprise. “10 million...” the thought already occurred to him that they wouldn’t actually share the spoils with him, but Eric offered the pleasant surprise of having some honour inside him, and, as if sensing Shinsei’s scepticism, quickly addressed his silent concern. Sadly, the good gesture seemed very short-lived as only moments later, it became very clear to Shinsei that his opinion on the matter was entirely irrelevant – perhaps Eric saw it his way too… if he wanted the money, he didn’t get a say; and if he didn’t want the money, then there was no reason for him to be there with them on the ship.

As the crowd went wild at Eric’s proposition, the terribly out-of-place cyborg frowned and inched away from the nearest crewmember, his discomfort growing rapidly as he was worried about being struck ‘accidentally’.

Did he have questions? He had plenty, but it didn’t seem like he’d be given much of a chance to voice them while the cult leader’s followers cheered him on in this crazy endeavour. Better buckle up, this is going to be one heck of a ride, he thought to himself as he shook his head and drifted away to the taffrail of the ship to finish off his cigarette away from the others. His back turned to the crowd, he leaned onto the wooden rail as his gaze fell onto the sea foam that sprayed into the air with each wave produced by the ship’s passing and he wondered how long it would be until they arrived at their destination – the sooner they could get this over with and part ways, the better. 

"Insufferable muscleheads..." he quietly grumbled.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #2

Shinji´s silent grumbling didn´t go unnoticed, as Adam, the half-monkey mink from the crew grinned and walked towards them.
“Yeah, because girls are much better right?”
He asked with an ironic smile on his face.
“Tell me red, did Agnes already tell you that she has a girlfriend? At least one in every port!”
He laughed, earning a murderous gaze from the she-wolf.
“Enough!”
Single-word resonated through the deck like a crack of the whip, silencing all Wolves.
“We don´t know how many enemies we are going to face. I need all of you in top condition, that means no fighting among yourselves!”
Eric paused for a moment, before looking at Shinsei, who he remembered had an interesting talent to get on everyone´s nerves.
“Agnes, you wanted him on this ship, so make sure he will behave. Martin…”
His lieutenant responded with a wide grin.
“If he crosses the line, shoot him and throw the body into the ocean.”
Both Agnes and Martin smiled, everyone from a completely different reason.
“Roger that boss!”
“Sure, thing bro!”
While Martin pulled out one of his pistols and started to load it demonstratively, Agnes went to Shinsei, putting her arm around his shoulders.
“Well, you heard Eric, right? You are my responsibility now. So, I am not taking one step away from you, since you are such a troublemaker.”
She grinned.
Meanwhile, Eric silently disappeared under the deck, together with Shio. Although his status among the Wolves wasn´t as high as that of Martin or Agnes, he was the oldest and most experienced one of them, so he had the Wolf King´s trust.
“So?”
The white-haired veteran asked, when he noticed, that one of his people was following him.
“Hmmm, I am not very happy with that guy being around Agnes.”
Eric shrugged.
“She always had terrible taste, but with whom she is spending her time with is none of our business.”
The large bodyguard nodded, before continuing.
“After this thing will be done, you´ll be wanted, you know that right?”
Eric nodded. Of course, he knew. They were crossing the line since the sketchy job with the scroll. Actually, he was surprised there still wasn´t a bounty on his head.
“It´s about your family?”
Shio nodded.
“Well, if it makes you sleep better, you can relocate them to a safe place right afterward. Gabriel told me that if we get in trouble because of his jobs, we can always find a safe place at his estate. It´s on a non-affiliated island and well-guarded by his students.”
The bodyguard nodded.
“West Blue huh…yeah, that´s sounds nice. Thanks, boss.”
And with that, he left.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei looked at the huge monkey that approached him and he scoffed with a playful grin, “Oh yeah, girls over guys, but nobody competes with monkeys.” He joked, yet whether it was fortunate or not that he managed to flash his sense of humour at Adam before Eric silenced the crowd was still to be revealed.

As Adam then shared that little fun fact about Agnes, Shinsei’s brow raised and he blinked, staring at the mink in disbelief for a few seconds. “Wh-…” his lips moved, but no coherent words came out for the time being before he turned to look at Agnes and catch a glance of the murderous gaze that was thrown at the betrayal of her secret – if that’s what it was. “Really?” While the shock was very evident on the cyborg’s face, the smirk indicated anything but disappointment. If anything, it made the woman more intriguing. Of course, what else could he expect? Nothing about this woman indicated that she would fit into any societal conventions, so why would this be any different? However, he was not quick enough to reply and express his throughts this time, as Eric’s voice boomed across the deck to get everyone’s attention, including Shinsei’s.

The look he got from Eric did not feel a lot better than the one Adam got from Agnes though, as it was very clear that he played a large part in the Wolf King’s most recent statement. With an innocent grin, he removed his cigarette from his mouth and offered an exaggerated shrug as if to say he had no idea what the problem was.

Next, came the command to Agnes, and he yet again looked in her direction. “I can live with that…” he said, quite content with that arrangement and already taking his first step toward the lass – until the following message to Martin was delivered.

Shinsei’s eye twitched as he froze on the spot. Spinning on his heel, he turned to look directly at Martin now with pure disdain on his face. This guy again… His facial expression quickly became a less aggressive one and more of an ‘I’m screwed’ kind of look, as he watched the man loading his pistol. “Are you kidding me? The guy doesn’t even need a reason to put a bullet in me and you’ve assigned him with this task?” he blurted out, seeing that he was in such an unfair spot.

Distracted, he hadn’t even noticed Agnes come up to him and her arm being thrown around him caught him off guard as he nearly lost his balance and his beloved cigarette fell onto the deck. His cheeks quickly warmed up and his heart raced as he glanced at her with a content purr of a chuckle. He promptly put one arm around her waist to hold her close, “So this is what causing trouble gets me? Somebody should have said that sooner, I’d have stirred up some real chaos for you, sweet cake.” He glanced in the direction Eric was, the movement catching his eye as their leader descended and soon disappeared, then shifted his attention to be entirely on Agnes again, avoiding looking at Martin altogether now.

“So what’s this I hear about you having a girlfriend or two, huh? Quite bold.”

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #3

"That and possible bullet to the head."
Agnes smiled in response before she retreated her hand and leaned against the taffrail.
"What, are you jealous or something?"
She asked teasingly, poking Shinsei in the chest with her index finger.
"Or are you afraid that you are not...up to my standards? Because if so, you don't have to. What that monkey failed to mention is that I have few boyfriends too. Taking girls into account just doubles my chances on a great date."
She suddenly m.oved forward, kissing him the cheek, before walking away to help the boys with the sails. After all, if they plan should have any chance to succeed, they had to hurry and arrive before Andrew and his crew.
Because of that, Eric himself took the helm and stayed there for almost the whole time, skillfully using the wind and local currents to get the maximum of their ship. It was as if the man had endless energy, steering the ship for hours and giving the wheel to Martin only for short naps early in the morning. It was thanks to this effort, that they arrived in the early afternoon of the second day, almost half a day before lord Lockhart and his minions.
Leaving the ship in the port, Eric left the two youngest members, Rahu and Takeda to guard the ship, while the rest of them left the city, traveling through the land towards one of the few remaining forests on the island. It was one of the few places near the beach where the exchange was supposed to happen, where you could hold a hostage, so Eric picked it as the place where they'll stay.
"Alright, this forest isn't so big, but there are several possible places to hide hostage there and we are running out of time, so let's split into groups of two. Shinsei is going with me, Martin with Agnes, Gin with Shio and Semjon with Adam. If you find the enemy and they'll be over your strength, don't engage them and wait for remaining groups. If you don't find.l them at your location, move to another group, understood?"
Six heads nodded in agreement, and so Eric assigned every pair a place for searching, before heading to the forest himself.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei frowned and nodded, “I’d rather do without the bullet…” he muttered, quietly. He then raised his brow as the gorgeous woman poked at his chest, a genuine smile gracing his lips as he enjoyed the close contact with Agnes very much, regardless of where it actually went – it was nice to have a connection with someone that didn’t entail being smashed head first into the deck.

“Jealous? What? Me?” he asked, deliberately throwing an extra pitch into his voice to go higher, just for the sake of humour. “I think it’s great to swing both ways, and whoever says three’s a crowd has clearly never-“ perhaps it was a good thing that Shinsei was cut off by such a gentle and sweet kiss from the woman Shinsei had dubbed a goddess long ago, before he could finish that statement. The man’s cheeks reddened, having never expected that level of… cooperation… to all of his flirting. Lost for words and his heart pounding in its cage, he stared at Agnes as she walked away from him. “Ohh… mama.” He whispered to himself, his words coming out as more of a sigh than anything intelligible.

His knees nearly gave out beneath him, causing him to snap out of his trance and close his mouth. He cleared his throat and gave a quick glance around to check if anybody saw that, then nervously walked away with a slight frown. He knew it was all a game, but this woman had an irresistible allure that she sure knew how to use.

Looking for something to busy himself with, preferring not to be left alone with his thoughts – or fantasies – he went around the deck in search for any tasks that anybody would put him to. While he wouldn’t accept the worst of the grunt work, he was perfectly fine with cleaning the deck. It was very similar to work that he used to do in the past, and was very efficient, knowing all the tips and tricks to speedy polishing, scraping frayed splinters and touching up notches that needed to be evened out. By the end of the job, although there were no striking changes, it would at least be clear where Shinsei worked and where he didn’t, until he finally called it a night and caught a nap in any space that was left available for him.

As the ship lurched to a halt and they arrived at the port, Shinsei fell out of his hammock, before springing to his feet, well-rested, and hurrying up to the deck to see what was going on.

“Have we arrived?” he asked, following the crowd so as not to be left behind.

Soon, they would reach their destination and Eric would start announcing the plan, dividing his crew into pairs, and for a moment, Shinsei stupidly felt just a little spark of hope that he could be paired with Agnes – only to be shut down as Eric was quick to state that they would be travelling together. With a frown and a slump of his shoulders, he let out a sigh, before hearing the next announcement. Martin with Agnes.

Of course, he gets to be with Agnes… he narrowed his eyes and looked directly at Martin with what could only be described as an envious glare.

Straightening up again while the other six heads were nodding away, sucking up to their captain, Shinsei thought, the cyborg then walked after Eric into the forest. “Missed me so much that you just had to pair yourself with me, huh?” he prodded as he lit a cigarette with a playful smirk. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #4

As they entered the forest, Shinsei felt the need to share yet another joke with the Wolf King, making Eric think how did he even survive as a bounty hunter and mercenary, while being this naive. What the red guy probably didn't realize was that with him dead, there would be an extra ten million to split between the Wolves and most of his guys already killed someone for less. Although it could seem strange, Shinsei was safer with him than with any other Wolf except maybe for Agnes. But she was still injured from their last raid, so she needed someone competent on her side, not a trainwreck of a person who got battered by both Eric and Martin just a few days ago.
Of course, the white-haired fighter could tell him all this, but he felt that he was one more impractical joke away from beating him up again and so remained silent, only silently growling in response.
The Wolf King led him deep in the forest, not taking into account that his companion was already injured. He moved among the trees with surprising grace for someone of his proportion, his bare feet quickly picking the fastest and safest route among the roots and stones.
The part of the forest he picked for them was the largest and the one where he thought was the biggest chance of finding these kidnappers. The white-haired warrior wasn't guessing. He knew that island well and he has experience with taking hostages in the past, which allowed him to think like their current prey. And he wasn't mistaken. After half an hour of walking, they arrived at a small hut, that wasn't as abandoned as it should be. Hidden behind a small bank, Eric watched the movement behind its windows. He counted five people, all armed and seemingly nervous. No signs of the victim yet, but it would be. too much of a coincidence if there were operating two groups at the same time.
"Alright…"
He said silently to Shinsei.
"Semjon and Adam should be here in few minutes. We'll wait for them and then attack."

[Bobbie]

Shinsei’s body grew tired fairly quickly, but the cyborg pushed through – he assumed asking Eric to slow down wouldn’t be an option, but everywhere still ached from their fight. His arm wasn’t useless, but raising it to chest level made his muscles burn, leaving it hanging down, on the other hand, also made the limb throb. His ankle was sore and his back stung against his clothing. Surprisingly, he didn’t have a concussion and was only dealing with a minor headache.

As they went further into the forest, it became impossible for Shinsei’s panting to remain silent, out of breath from the exertion, if not the cigarettes.

“Okay… Awesome…” he whispered in between breaths without even looking at the hut and just letting Eric lead the charge. He leaned against a tree, before ironically taking out another cigarette after his last one finished and was discarded moments ago. “Semjon and Monkey-man.” He muttered, only requiring a few seconds of rest to recompose himself. With a strained wince and a sigh, the man stretched and rotated his shoulders, Eric's complete disregard for his injuries being painfully obvious.

“I hope they don’t take too long, or…” he was about to fire another poke at the bear that stood before him, but decided otherwise for the time being. The truth was Shinsei was cranky – not only was he pulled away from Agnes, but he was running out of smokes and he was reminded of this fact every time he lit up a new one. The reason for this, however, was not his poor calculations, but the fight that he had been forced into by this feral beast, as his body needed more fuel than usual to keep itself functioning before their mission even started. If this person wasn’t so sensitive about some silly comments, Shinsei wouldn’t be in this predicament. In fact, he would have simply gone on with the original mission just fine.

Clearly irritated enough to bite his tongue, which may have been a first, he stepped up beside Eric with a heavy frown on his face to get a good look at the hut, now that he had rested.

“There are at least five of them and they’re all armed.” he muttered in the most serious tone he’s spoken to Eric in since first meeting him. “You sure you and your guys can manage that without botching the mission, this time?” he quipped in a less light-hearted tone as he looked at Eric, angrily, then gazed down at his feet. Bare.

Taking a deep breath, he looked away from Eric and toward the hut again, trying his very best to remain calm. Animal… he thought to himself as he blew out a puff of thick smoke without a care for Eric’s lungs.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #5

The two men were hiding behind a small bank, watching the movement behind the hut´s windows. If the Wolf King´s assumption was right, Semjon and Adam should be there in five minutes or so. Normally, that wouldn´t be a long wait, but with this guy next to him, it could easily turn into an eternity.

Fortunately, it seemed, that Shinsei finally understood the situation he was in and decided to keep his mouth shut. Or at least, that was what Eric thought, when his always smoking companion bit his tongue to silence another of his snappy remarks.

“Or maybe not”

The white-haired veteran sighed for himself when Shinsei start provoking again, just a few moments afterward.

“Say it again?!”

Eric growled silently, barely able to contain his anger. There were only two things he really hated. First when someone was trying to challenge his authority and second when someone was attacking the professional honor of his and his men. And Shinsei was doing both too often for him to tolerate.

His arm moved forward in a sudden burst of aggression but stopped suddenly as if Eric realized something. Putting his head on Shinsei´s shoulder with a wide smile, instead of punching him in the face.

“Actually, you are right. We could botch this job, so…”

He said with such a sweet voice that anyone who knew him would shiver in fear.

“Why don´t you show us how to do it better?”

With that, the White-haired veteran suddenly grabbed Shinsei´s shirt, getting up on his feet, before throwing that red wearing nuisance straight at the hut with all his might, aiming at one of the windows leading in the building. Yes, the rational part of his brain knew this was stupid decision, but he really didn´t care as inside, it make him feel pretty good.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei only glanced at Eric in anger as he was prompted to repeat himself, but he didn’t. In reality, he didn’t have much chance to anyway, and perhaps he saw this. As the large man’s fist came flying at him, he tensed and braced himself for the blow, but was surprised as the blow never came.

He didn’t know Eric very well, but to see him smile like that was terribly unnerving, as Shinsei was very well aware that the man disliked him enough to prevent any such gesture to be displayed in a genuine manner. No, if Eric was smiling, this could only mean trouble, as something must be hidden behind that smile. Next, he felt the Wolfking’s large hand placed on his shoulder.

What he said was not untrue – the last mission was botched, and it was, for the most part, Eric and his men who insisted on starting fights. Shinsei did not expect a man of his pride to admit it though.

Before he could give it any more thought, his shirt was grabbed aggressively enough to throw Shinsei off balance, and within seconds he found himself flying through the air in the direction of the enemies. Moments later, he crashed through the glass window with a loud shattering sound, taking some of the concrete from the walls along with him before he slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the room – he had forgotten how strong Eric was.

With a heavy grunt and a groan, followed by a string of cuss words, Shinsei dusted off the debris and rose to his feet, as his bones ached and his muscles felt like they were on fire. “What the heck is the matter with you!?” he yelled through the wide opening in the wall of the hut that he now found himself in as he quickly assessed the damage in a mere second – his arm was almost impossible to move without searing pain shooting up to his shoulder and his head was swimming. Though it was thankfully not entirely torn open, the wound in his back began to bleed again as the flammable liquid seeped out to slowly form a little puddle beneath him and rubble. “You insufferable, filthy, tick-ridden animal!” he growled as he made his way to the opening to make a direct bee-line to Eric’s hiding spot.

Meanwhile, the five people within the hut had all turned toward the source of all this noise, jittery and on edge. “What was that?” one of the men further away asked as they all closed in on Shinsei’s location, yet only one of them made it to him in time to catch him before the seething cyborg made his exit. “S-Stop!” he stuttered, taking out a revolver and pointing it at the intruder as his mind struggled to catch up with what was going on and where this stranger came from.

Livid at his companion, however, Shinsei didn’t have the patience or desire to deal with some nervous thugs who couldn’t even keep a gun from shaking in his fingers.

“Give me that!” reaching over, he snatched the pistol from the man who now panicked and tried his very best to wrestle it away from Shinsei’s grasp but to no avail. A loud gunshot soon rang through the air, alerting anyone in the area that something had gone wrong, as the trembling owner of the gun accidentally set it off and shot a steel pellet right through Shinsei’s palm. Unmoved, the cyborg wrenched the gun out of the man’s grip, twisting and breaking his wrist in the process, as the now unarmed gunman’s scream filled the air.

Guns weren't really his style, but it will do. Gun in hand, Shinsei climbed through the gap in the wall, punching at some loose stones to make it wider and easier to pass through and in the process. He didn’t realise – or perhaps didn’t care – when he accidentally caught a spark on his ring and started a fire that trailed down the wall and all along the nicotine that leaked from his hand within the hut to the spot where he had landed.

Marching across the clearing to where he came from and where he presumed Eric still was, he raised the pistol in Eric’s direction and angrily pulled the trigger several times until the entire chamber was emptied.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

Thug: #72ecf7

Gunman: #c7c7c7

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #6

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the whole place was a mess. Shinsei flying through their window alarmed the kidnappers, but before they could proceed with the shock and confusion, the red-wearing cyborg was already on the move, stealing a gun from one before marching outside to settle his dispute with Eric, who however wasn´t even there.

Throwing that cheeky b*stard once was hardly enough for him, so just as Shinsei´s body hit the ground, the Wolf King sprinted forward to continue with the beatdown he put on him on Andrew´s ship.

“Ts…”

He cursed for himself when he noticed that his prey was holding a revolver.

“Wolf Pack”

Dropping down on all four, the musclebound fighter switched to an animal-like, irregular movement pattern, swiftly moving from cover to cover among the trees, while leaving afterimages of himself behind.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Several gunshots echoed through the forest before the gun clicked on empty. Without a need for further cover, Eric released a blood-freezing war cry, dashing directly against his opponent, in an attempt to hit him below the waist with his shoulder and knock him on the ground. His face bleeding, where a stray bullet cut the skin. 

Meanwhile, the five kidnapers recovered from the initial shock and started moving as well. Cursing, two of them grabbed a large blanket, trying to put off the fire, that Shinsei left behind, while the remaining three charged towards the fighting duo.

“Hey! Who the h*ll are you guys!”

Yelled the one the cyborg stole a gun from angrily, pulling out a large knife, while his associates were preparing their own guns, although still hesitant to use them. While definitely criminals, these guys were no cold-blooded killers, and emptying their magazines into someone, as Shinsei tried was a bit too much for them. At least that much was evident from their behavior.

[Bobbie]

As Eric was so quick to react and sprint in his direction, Shinsei smiled as the Wolf King’s actions confirmed that the cyborg’s decision to snatch the gun was the right one. Clearly, throwing him through the window and potentially getting him killed by the kidnappers – who obviously outnumbered both of them together – was not enough for him.

Blinded by rage and lost in the moment, he continued squeezing the trigger until the dreaded clicks could be heard as he was out of ammunition, his target having clearly evaded any lethal hits, as all he saw was some blood on his face, but he was still coming at him full force.

“What’s this? The angry old dog does bleed!” he shouted in the short amount of time that he had while Eric closed the gap between them, taking these seconds to poke the bear and announce his victory, no matter how small. Tossing the now useless and empty gun aside, he braced himself for a blow from Eric, seeing the beast rampaging toward him.

He had to admit to himself, however, that the war cry coming from his mouth was one that made his skin crawl. It was truly terrifying.

Steeling his nerves, he dug his heels into the ground in attempt to steady himself, the delusion somehow entering his mind that he could actually take on the force of this muscle-man who was about to ram into him. As Eric’s shoulder slammed into him, his feet quickly lost their grip and the wind was knocked out of him as the cyborg was hurled off the ground only to crash right back down onto it with a heavy thud.

Shinsei let out a pained grunt as his body hit the ground and slid across its rough surface for a brief second with Eric’s weight now on top of him. The friction of this movement, however, was enough to cause a spark on both of his rings, one of which ignited a fiery trail from the nicotine that was flowing from his wounded palm, which rapidly spread to any remnants of the flammable liquid in the open field that was close enough to its flames. With Eric on top of him, the redheaded cyborg reached up to grab at Eric’s arm, catching his wrist before the wolf's aggressive onslaught could begin, or so he hoped.

“Keep pushing me, fleabag, let’s see how well you play with fire!” he spat, his words spoken through a tightly clenched jaw and gritted teeth, followed by a cry of pain as his other arm came up to try and grab Eric’s other wrist, but this was more difficult than he anticipated. This was his injured arm, of course, and moving it caused a great deal of burning in his muscles. As he did, his ring reached burning hot temperatures as it moved through the air and made contact with Eric’s bare skin. Focusing all of his strength into his grip, he held onto the man's wrists as tightly as he could.

His aim this time, however, was not to get his aggressor off him as it had been in a previous fight against Martin – in fact it was quite the opposite. His back flat on the ground, he wanted to keep Eric in place, stuck on top of him, mid-assault. The reason for this was that not far behind Eric, the fire was approaching as it moved along the trail of nicotine fast enough to already be at Shinsei’s ankles, the flames beginning to lick at the pair. If I can just hold him there for a bit longer, he thought... 

It shouldn’t be long before the kidnapper’s hideout became a fiery arena.

As all of this unfolded, one of the thugs desperately trying to put out the fire that was spreading, as the intruders’ scuffle was only causing more areas of their land to go up in flames, looked at the pair, but was at a complete loss for what to do. “Didn’t you hear him? We asked who the h*ll are you guys!?” he echoed his companion’s words, leaving others to tend to the flames as he also drew his weapon, a machete, and inched closer to the Eric and Shinsei. Neither of the two men seemed to even acknowledge their presence or the fact that they were at each other’s throats in somebody else’s hideout. “Hey!” he shouted again when he got no reply, then looked at his companion and urged him to help. Quite clearly hesitant to get in between these two monsters, he felt he had no choice and prompted his companion once more, “Help me.” He mouthed to him in silence, before proceeding to point the blade toward their faces.

“You two stop this and explain who you are, right now!” his feeble attempt at a demand came out like more of an annoying plea … like a pesky mosquito that insists on buzzing nearby.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

Thug: #72ecf7

Gunman: #c7c7c7

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #7

The Wolf King was driven by rage, but he wasn´t blind. As the heat that was enveloping Shinsei´s hand reached to his own, his reflexes kicked in, prompting him to swiftly move his limb out of the other man´s reach.

“Will you finally shut up?”

He growled, raising his arm for a decisive strike, one which however never landed as a blade appeared in his field of vision, together with a demand for an explanation.

“Why…”

Eric growled in anger and frustration

“why can´t you just let me kill him already!”

He snapped, leaving Shinsei behind, only to charge against the surprised kidnapper. The man tried to stab him with his sword in a desperate attempt to defend himself however, in his fury, the white-haired veteran slammed it to the side with one hand, while grabbing that man´s neck with the other one.

“Wolf Bite”

His fingers clenched in a fist, breaking the neck in the process, just before, Eric´s hand moved lover, grabbing the man for his shirt. Turning a sideway, he pulled the body on his shoulder why sweeping it legs, to throw it with his full might on Shinsei in one seamless motion.

“F*CK! THAT B*STARD KILLED KENNY!”

The remaining kidnappers finally gave up their attempt to extinguish the flames and instead charged against these two mercenaries, swords, and guns in their hands.

“S*it….Wolf Pack”

Eric cursed, dropping back down on all four, before swiftly moving behind a nearby tree, leaving behind an afterimage as a bait for the spray of bullets that were suddenly flying in their direction. It was a close call, but he got away with just a few minor scratches. And hopefully, Shinsei managed to do the same. It would be really infuriating if after all this the red guy died to some stray bullet and not by his claws.

[Bobbie]

Shinsei put a lot of force into aiming to grab Eric’s wrist, anticipating a lot of resistance, so when the Wolf King dodged his grip and moved out of the way, his hand went through thin air to leave a fiery arch in its path that crackled before disintegrating into nothing. Perhaps it was a good thing too, as his arm would have surely buckled had he succeeded at going up against Eric’s might.

Unfortunately, this was the cyborg’s only plan of defence, as the larger man had him pinned down. Writhe and squirm as he may, he simply couldn’t get out from under Eric. Seeing that he had no way out, all he could do was accept this fatal blow as it came, trying to at least protect his throat as he moved his arms to be in between Eric and himself. “Finally shut up? You look like you’re enjoying this – you seem way too comfortable up there.” he wriggled one more time underneath Eric and winked at him, hiding behind humour as he always does when in such perilous situations.

Then something miraculous happened – Eric’s attention was shifted elsewhere. Shinsei counted his lucky stars as his opponent’s attack was not targeted at him, but at the machete-wielding kidnapper.

Taking a breath, Shinsei scrambled to his feet, glad to have that monstrous weight finally off him. He did not last long on his feet, however, as a body was hurled in his direction shortly after, knocking him right back down again under the new weight of this supposed Kenny. This time, Shinsei fell with his face flat in the muddy grass rather than on his back, which made it impossible to breathe.

It wasn’t until the remaining kidnappers joined the fray and gunfire could be heard spraying through the air that Shinsei managed to push the body off him just enough to raise his head with a loud gasp for oxygen.

“Where the f*ck did that mongrel go!?” he growled as he looked around without moving too much, his position luckily quite well concealed at such a low point and with Kenny’s body lying on top of him, he could easily be missed. Spotting the after image, Shinsei narrowed his eyes, assuming that couldn’t actually be Eric – he had fallen for this trick before.

A sudden jolt in the weight on top of him caused Shinsei to flinch.

“The other one’s underneath Kenny!” one of the others shouted as the spray of bullets expanded into a wider range to include Shinsei’s location too.

Swearing beneath his breath, Shinsei had no more time to keep looking for Eric, so he promptly rose to a crouched position and pulled Kenny up onto his back, draping him over him like a cape to serve as a shield to soak up as many bullets as possible. “Sorry Kenny.” He muttered as he made a run for it toward the forest to seek cover. He tossed the body aside once he could make a dive into a bush.

Dragging himself along the floor, he managed to reach a large oak tree and stood up, perfectly concealed behind it. Once there, he began to assess any wounds - one bullet scraped past his side, but he seemed to have successfully got out of that unscathed. His arm, however, still ached, and his left palm was still wounded from the first bullet wound. Shaking his head, he leaned against the tree trunk.

“Come on out, you mutt!” he shouted, knowing that the kidnappers wouldn’t hear him over the gunfire, but hoped Eric would if he were close enough. As a bullet hit the tree, a piece of bark splintered off the side and flew to the ground. “How many bullets do these guys have?” he leaned over to peer out to see that while some of the kidnappers were shooting, others were circling round to approach them with bladed weapons. Meanwhile, the hut continued to burn.

---

Shinsei: #ba0303

Kidnapper: #c58c1c

[Mr. Moon]

Eric #8

The red guy was still yelling his taunts, somewhere near Eric´s right. That was a good sign as it meant he didn´t kick the bucket yet. The bullets kept flying for several seconds before finally series of empty clicking sounds replaced the loud bangs of shooting.

“Amateurs”

The Wolf King grinned for himself, moving away from his cover. There he found the remaining four kidnappers. Three of them were desperately trying to re-load their revolvers, while the remaining one was standing more in front, with his cutlass ready for a fight. Or at least in a stance that he thought would make him ready for one.

“Oh, you don´t.”

The white-haired warrior growled angrily, charging against them, already fed up with them constantly meddling in his fight with Shinsei.

Suddenly, bullets were falling to the ground from shaking fingers. One of the gunslingers got the bright idea to throw away his pistol and take a machete instead, but it was already too late for him to save his friend.

Seeing that scarred monstrosity charging against him, the sword-wielding kidnapper panicked, raising his weapon overhead for a powerful vertical slash, accompanied by a terrifying scream, but he overextended and because of that, he was a second too late. As the blade was descending on him, Eric dropped even lower to the ground, rolling sideways to avoid the incoming weapon. Landing back on all four, he suddenly used his legs as springs, exploding his whole body upwards, to deliver a jaw-crushing uppercut with all of his strength.

“Ascending Dragon”

His fist hit the mark, sending the machete-wielding kidnapper flying in a high arc, already unconscious. The weapon left his hand, falling towards the ground, but not for long, as Eric hooked it with his leg, kicking it against the other swordsman in their group.