Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Da Doofus]

Stryx stopped to look at the damage to the Rithian mansion.
“The window.” He pointed to the large circular colored porthole on the third floor. “That’s where we’ll put the transmitter.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

With his task now clear. Kairo pushed his emotions to the back of his mind. He didn’t need his feelings to distract him from his work. Especially when he was originally looking forward to doing this anyway. He nodded, looking at where Stryx had pointed.

“good call with the window.” Kairo said. “The higher the better.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Alright.” Stryx adjusted the pressure in his pneumatic arm. “I’ll get the door, stand back.”

The Commander ascended the short stairway onto the front porch of the manor, and was ready to push open the locked door built for full-grown Irokai. Every part of the architecture was only slightly larger than a human counterpart.
Instead, the door gave way normally and was unexpectedly unlocked. Stryx pushed open the entrance and fell silent. Clearly he didn’t know how to feel about this unkept building still having a normal functioning door.
The hinges didn’t even squeak from years of elemental exposure.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Seeing the door open so cleanly was more then a bit concerning for Kairo. It didn’t make any sense that there wasn’t even the faintest hint of damage to the door. In this town filled with rubble, something that worked stuck out like a sore thumb.

Could it be that this was Dracon’s home? If that was the case, then this could get more then just a little complicated. But it couldn’t be, could it? What were the odds that they would have just magically stumbled upon his abode.

Kairo unholstered his crossbow, simultaneously placing the tool pouch inside the pack he was carrying.
“Be careful.” Kairo warned as he approached the door. “That doesn’t seem right,”

 

[Da Doofus]

Stryx drew his own weapon and nodded.
“I’ll take point.” He said and stepped inside.
**********************

Beams of daylight provided a bright interior of the dust caked interior of the manor. The central room of the entrance lead to a wide staircase that split into two leading to the upper levels of the house. Fire damage destroyed many of the paintings and what looked to be tapestries that decorated the walls.
To the right was a destroyed dining room, and to the left was a large common room. As the two approached the staircase, Stryx directed Kairo’s attention to a mark on the walls.
A spot where the stone had been cracked under a small impact and a pair of claw marks on the ground near it. The Commander saw something else, and knelt down to pick it up.
Holding it up to the light, Stryx revealed it to be a rusted casing for a ballistic weapon. Smaller than anything fired from the weapon Bazin used, it bore resemblance to a human weapon.

“Looks like more than a fire happened here.” He commented, pocketing the very old casing and looking at the stone damage. “A fight happened here. Look.” He pointed upward to a scorch mark on the second floor by the railing. “That one is a plasma burn. There’s slight melting on the burnt wood.
Happened a long time ago.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

A bullet...and plasma burns on the wooden planks? That could only mean one thing. That one thing though, was likely one of the most shocking discoveries he could have possible made in Dakovis.

This fight was caused by a human. Specifically someone from the old world.

His mind racked at the certainty of it. Why had there been someone from a Noah in Dakovis? What were they doing here. But most importantly, did they have any role in the destruction of the whole town? He had been made to believe that it was a forest fire which burned Dakovis to ash. With this new discovery, he was starting to wonder if it was something more sinister.

"There must have been someone from a different Noah here." Kairo stated, relaying what he had thought in his mind. "Wonder what happened."

 

[Da Doofus]

“I’ll have the Science Division analyze this place another time. Plasma weaponry in close quarters doesn’t make sense.” He gestured to the stairs. “Let’s keep to the objective, and set up the transmitter.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo examined the scene one last time before nodding. He wasn't sure how'd he explain sending more people here would be a bad idea, but that would be an issue for future Kairo to deal with.

"You're right. No distractions" Kairo admitted, hoisting his crossbow again before climbing the stairs.

 

[Da Doofus]

On the second floor was a row of rooms on either side. They walked along the left side railing, as it was the one without the plasma damage. They passed a master bedroom where the house owner once slept. The next one was a haunting ruin of a nursery, where instead of a cradle there was a gated area with an assortment of burnt straw and blankets to give the appearance of a nest for an egg. Fortunately, there was no sign of any eggshell to signify a grim fate for the unborn at the time.
At the end of the walkway was another room that looked to be shared between two children. Two beds and various signs of them being a brother and a sister. Given the layers of dust and cobwebs, nothing had disturbed the stagnation of time here for a long time.

Stryx noticed these things as well and looked at Kairo.
“Nothing can be done now.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo seemed distant as he looked into the children's room. His mind absent as he stared at the beds. The small beds and the trinkets around him showed signs of nothing but innocence. Innocence that would have been quickly destroyed. He swore he could still see their tiny frames, sleeping peacefully as the fire closed in. He wasn't even sure if they knew what happened before it was too late. Probably not. In his vision, the children wouldn't know what happened until the pain of burning flesh woke them up.

It was only Stryx's voice that managed to break him out of his trance.
"I know! I already know that!...Okay?" Kairo blurted out in anger, his voice quivering slightly in distress. He spoke before his mind could even process his words and his tone. He pretty instantly regretted that. "Let's....just get this over with."

With that, he started heading upstairs to the third floor. He had an objective to complete. There was no use in getting emotional, especially not now. Unfortunately, he found that no matter how much he tried to repeat that to himself, he couldn't get the images out of his head.

 

[Da Doofus]

They reached the third floor, and eventually the inner balcony where the sunlit window illuminated the upper levels with multicolored shades. Stryx and Kairo now stood before it, with the Commander appreciating the beauty of the damaged glass work.

“Here.” He handed the football sized device to Kairo. “Set it up aiming through that hole in the bottom. I’m going to have a look around.” He said before stepping toward the railing for further inspection of the house’s interior.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo took the device in hand, and gave Stryx a thumbs up in acknowledgement.
"Got it sir." he clarified. "Give me a heads up if you find anything interesting."

With that, he walked over to the window and began getting ready to set up the transmitter. His hands still remained shaky from that previous experience on the second floor. Why couldn't he just forget it for a moment so that he could get this done? Guess that was too much to ask for. He sighed too himself and began getting to work on setting up the transmitter.

 

[Da Doofus]

Once he was almost finished, a few things would become noticeable as he worked. The view for instance, from here he could see almost the entire town. The front gates could be seen from here, as was the road he and Stryx approached from. From there, Kairo could see the faint movement of the white-armored soldiers patrolling the walls.

Then at the corner of his eye, he would see broken pieces of wire and metal on the windowsill near where he placed the transmitter. Upon inspection, they looked like a tracking chip recently crushed. Likely in the palm of a hand.
Finally, visible due to the layer of dust, were three-toed saurian footprints facing the window. The owner had to have been watching from there recently, and seen he and Rufus enter, as well as approach with Stryx. They were clawed like an Irokai, but smaller than a normal one.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The chip. It was so small, so hard to notice, but yet it signified so much.

The moment Kairo noticed the crushed tracking chip, he halted all work on setting up the transmitter. Wariness quickly became panic as he then found the footprints on the dusted floor. Dracon, he'd seen everything. And without context, this would have looked absolutely terrible to him. The irokai had never trusted them in the first place. But this? This must have looked like outright betrayal to him.

Whatever dracon's deduction was, he wasn't going to stay here and figure it out. Him and Stryx needed to leave right now.

He turned quickly, heart still pounding in his chest. His crossbow loaded protect himself.
"Stryx....I've got the transmitter set up, you NEED to come and take a look." he said, trying to get Stryx to come over without revealing that he knew of dracon's presence. Just in case he was in the building with him.

 

[Da Doofus]

The Commander was back on the bottom floor at that time, and his answer was just loud enough for Kairo to hear.
The boards creaked beneath his weight as he ascended back up to the third floor.

No other sounds came from the old house aside from the creaking boards, but a new sight could be caught at the corner of Kairo’s eye. In the left-side corner, near a pile of cobweb ridden boxes, there was a sheet of cloth covering an unhung portrait. A small gap in the veil exposed a glimpse of the painting. What was visible was a bit of grey-scaled knuckle and a familiar ring. The same symbol Kairo wore on his own ring graced the portrait’s finger.

 

[Chai_T3a]

The ring on the portrait caught his eye. Kairo looked down at his own hand for a second, and then back at the ring on the concealed portrait. They looked exactly the same.

Stryx would still take a few moments to get to the top floor, so he decided to use that time to investigate what the rest of the portrait had to offer. Moving slowly with his crossbow still hoisted, he moved to the portrait and uncovered it.

 

[Da Doofus]

The second Kairo reached the shadowy corner and gripped the cloth, a coal colored hand of scales and claws snatched his wrist away and pulled it away.
Dracon’s bared teeth emerged from the shade and snarled at Kairo. His eyes gleamed ferociously as his vertical slit pupils aimed at Kairo.
A new voice entered the tense soundscape.

“Kairo!” Stryx shouted from behind, and the subtle clicks of a weapon being aimed against his shoulder followed after.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo’s eyes widened as he felt his hand very abruptly be pulled away from the portrait. The grip on his arm was as strong as iron, threatening to crush his wrist. But that didn’t matter to him when he saw eye to eye with the irokai that had grabbed him.

It was Dracon. His worst fears had been realized. Those same crimson eyes that took him away weeks ago. Those same crimson eyes that stared daggers into his soul, and made him want to flinch back in discomfort.

The sound of Stryx’s shout and the faint click of a gun signified that the man had made its way to the 3rd floor. Perfectly terrible timing. He pondered what choices he had at the moment, one that would hopefully not end up in all our warfare. In the end, he went for what felt the most natural. It might have involved giving up his little ruse, but that was the only option he had right now.

“Wait! Don’t shoot.” Kairo shouted, holding his freed hand towards Stryx, before looking over at Dracon. He mustered up all the courage he had left to try and appear composed. “I swear this isn’t what it looks like! Please just give me a moment to explain.”

 

[Da Doofus]

The Irokai growled darkly.
“Get. Out.” He snarled ferociously, and glared at Stryx.

“Let him go.” The soldier ordered, unable to get a shot with Kairo in the way. “And we’ll go.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo looked between Stryx and Dracon, both locked in place, seemingly ready to fight. But there seemed to be something else that Dracon was trying to convey. Why else would he only want Kairo in the room? Either that? Or he was just looking for a way to shred him into scraps. But right now? He was willing to take that chance.

“Stryx it’s okay.” He begged the man. “I can handle this. Trust me.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Kairo . . . I’m not leaving you with this thing.” Stryx gritted and took a step to the side.

Dracon responded by moving clockwise with Stryx, until both were standing before the colorful window.

“You aren’t the first ones to try to kill me.” Dracon growled at Kairo.

“No one’s killing anyone.” Stryx said.

 

[Chai_T3a]

"We aren't here to kill you." Kairo tried explaining to Dracon. "That tracking chip? Rufus put it on you so that we could try and find camp again." He said, his carefully constructed lie falling down from around him. "We just got lucky bumping into the others."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Quiet!” Dracon snarled, and gripped Kairo’s throat. “Just be quiet.” He said quieter and with a shakiness to his voice.

Stryx glanced at the roof above them, and then glanced at Kairo.
“Shut your eyes.” He said and then took a shot above the two. Dust and broken wood collapsed atop Dracon’s head and Kairo was freed from his grasp.
The cornered Irokai grunted as more and more debris fell on him, making the area veil in a layer of dust.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo used the opportunity of the free'd grip to move away from Dracon and towards Stryx. That escalated out of hand really quickly. He could still feel the Irokai's hands around his neck, threatening to cut off his airway. He had hoped that maybe they could come to an understanding, but it looked like that would take a bit more time then he originally thought.

His breathing was heavy, and his fear was insurmountable. But he didn't raise his crossbow when he was given the chance. The last thing he needed was for Dracon to feel any more threatened than he already did. Aiming his weapon at the Irokai would definitely not help that cause.

Instead, he stood next to Stryx, waiting for the rubble to clear. A hand gently pressing on Stryx's shoulder and an expression that asked the commander not to shoot.

 

[Da Doofus]

A snarl came from the cloud of dust, and a piece of broken wood was hurled at the two.

“Get down!” Stryx shouted as he pushed Kairo downward, he himself ducking and briefly losing aim with his rifle.
Dracon leapt from the grey veil with teeth bared and claws outstretched. He tackled Stryx before a shot could be fired, and the two tumbled down the coiling staircase blocking blows from the other. In the initial impact, Kairo was knocked over to almost falling from the balcony below. From there, he could see Stryx pull his knife only for Dracon to grip his hand and try to bite at the man’s face. The serrated teeth were thwarted by Stryx’s prosthetic as a shield. The two continued to tumble back down to the bottom floor until Stryx kicked Dracon off and readied for the scarred Feral’s counterattack with his knife in his left hand. Two of Dracon’s teeth were stuck in the pneumatics of his right arm.
The Irokai stood and spat out a glob of blood before drawing his own blade, ensuing a standoff between the two with Kairo watching from sixty feet above.