"Get out of our site you unholy spawn!"
-Heard by crowd member #17 on number 759.
Green scanned the train car, eyes flicking to every twitch or shuffle. It had been over two hours now, and not a single Paipite had shown themselves. Even scanning the entire car, the one behind and ahead of them, there weren't any.
Was he simply paranoid? If he was, he thought it better. One needed to be paranoid if one was to be a bounty hunter.
As for Careless, they had to position her in the corner for maximum safety. That left Mark and Grace sitting on the other seat, facing him and Careless. Luckily Careless was mostly covered by the cloak, unfortunately for Green though, her face was still visible to him.
He avoided her gaze, but the resemblance still gnawed at him. Same face, same presence—too much alike, save for those eyes. Which were a bright emerald green. A common color amongst Elves.
Her hair however, a pale grayish-white with a metallic sheen, wasn't very common. Though Elves were well known to have metallic-like hair, most were either gold or silver like. Hers was more… platinum.
His own hair was an onyx black, he felt at it. It was long, and very thick. He should have had it cut a while ago, but after a good year of letting it grow, he found that he liked it long.
Green went back to inspecting each nearby person on the train until his eyes landed on Grace and Mark, who were using each other to rest their heads. With no apparent danger, Green had let them sleep.
"Green, what's that?" Green jumped slightly, turning back over to see Careless's eyes locked on him.
"W-what?" He responded.
She was pointing at something out the window. Calm down, it's just another question. He thought to himself. She had asked more than a dozen on their trip so far. Every time she saw something she'd never seen before, she would get his attention, and point out the window before the train would get too far to see.
Green looked out the window to see a sea of trees, with an abandoned road sticking out like a scar. The road had been under construction several years ago, but was canceled after over sixty workers were killed.
It was blamed on the Septaroth. But those weren't as common as most thought. A road however would give freedom to the people of Nurks. Some wouldn't like that.
He turned his attention to what she was pointing to, a moving thing on wheels.
"That's a motor vehicle," Green answered. "They are a recent invention, made just two years ago. From what I understand they run off of gasoline, an extremely flammable substance."
"It's fast," Careless commented, "it's even keeping up with the train."
"Yes it is, I heard they could move faster than a horse." Green looked closer at the car, fascinated.
He had rarely seen automobiles, and the ones he had, always had held a lifeless corpse inside. A recollection jolted him. Flame it, Green thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut, then looking back at the vehicle.
Were those children controlling the thing? No, Green thought, children wouldn't be able to get their hands on a motor vehicle. Much less drive it well enough to stay on the road.
Green had never tried to drive one of the things himself, but he imagined it wasn't easy. Then who… Green's thoughts trailed off.
His eyes widened when thought of the possibility. And as if to confirm his suspicions, the passenger, a short figure in a black hood, leveled a gun to Careless's window.
"Get down!" Green shouted, grabbing Careless and pulling her down right before the window shattered.
Everyone in the train snapped up from the shattered glass. Mark and Grace shot up in alarm, then quickly ducked down as well.
"Conexe?" Mark asked, covering Grace almost completely.
Green nodded, "Sharp-shooter," he replied.
"From where? We're on a flamin train," Mark added.
"Motter car," Green answered.
"Seriously? They really want us dead," Mark said.
"Well we took a fortune from them, then turned in their opportunity for several more, so I'm not surprised." Green replied, slightly agitated.
Another bullet narrowly missed Green's head, he ducked down farther and growled. They're a good shot. He thought.
"Should we wait till our stop for the authorities?" Mark asked.
"No, that's several hours out, the road doesn't lead that far." Green replied. "My guess is they'll try to get us here."
"Then what do we do, if they got a sharp shooter we can't really fight standing up." Mark said.
"We'll have to hope for the best." Green added. "But for now, you need to get your own space." Mark nodded, "take Grace with you."
He nodded again. Mark was large, and with size came strength. The downside to his size however, was confined spaces; which severely limited his movements.
"If they're after Careless, shouldn't she be with me?" Mark asked.
"No, that sharp shooter is Paipite, they're small and fast. Their agility is nearly unmatched, if their main target is Careless, I should be with her."
Mark nodded again, then picked up Grace. Another shot fired at Mark, he ducked further down, getting as low as possible, then went to the other side of the train.
Green looked up through a second window, and was taken aback when he noticed the sharp-shooter and another paipite standing on the rim of the vehicle. They seemed to be getting ready to jump.
"Flame it," Green said in frustration.
He stood up with his twenty-two out and fired at the car, but the passing wind was stronger than he only managed to hit the glass. Green snapped his head to the other side of the train when he heard glass shatter.
An instant later, the two paipite men jumped a good eight feet from the car, landing inside the train, first one, then the other. They moved down the aisle, eyes scanning, steps smooth and deliberate.
"What is this!?" A wealthy looking passenger stood up, "What do you think you are doing on my train? Who are you?"
Not good, shut up ya geezer, Green thought, but noticed the Paipite men were barely giving heed to the man's words.
"I'll see you put in prison you savages," the geezer said.
Again, the Paipite's ignored the man. Another man stood up, and leveled a gun at the rich man, shutting him up. Who's that?
The man with the gun spoke up. "Sit down!"
The man spoke with a heavy accent, from Helladore? Green thought. That was from a whole nother continent, a Helladore immigrant? Never thought I'd see that.
Green's eyes turned to the paipites, he narrowed them, trying to gauge their abilities. One's neck was thick with muscle. Not good, Green thought. The other paipite gave Green pause.
This one was shorter, around four feet in height, with a smaller frame. Green shook his head, they wouldn't send one of them would they? How desperate are they getting? Green thought.
Nevertheless, Green gently pushed Careless back, keeping an eye on the larger paipite. They were very strange creatures, Paipites. Their muscle mass and strength just didn't seem to match well. Making them much stronger, and much more dangerous then they looked.
His hands clenched the seat but let out a faint exhale when they moved the wrong way. That would give him time. Running is off limits, he thought to himself, fighting's a stretch too.
"That's them," the man with the gun pointed at Mark and Grace. Flame it, Green thought, "beat them, but don't kill them, he wants to see them alive."
Mark stood up, putting himself between Grace and the approaching paipite's. Their fight began.
Mark's right hook whipped through the air, a blur aimed at the first Paipite. The creature snapped its head aside, then surged forward. A flat palm slammed into Mark's gut, the impact forcing a grunt from him as he stumbled back. He shoved Grace behind him, her lips already moving in a low, rapid chant.
Mark launched another attack, a powerful kick tearing through the space where the Paipites had been a moment before. They hadn't dodged; they had leapt back, a simultaneous blur of motion that spoke of honed instinct.
Mark's clothing, a dark, heavy mass, stiffened with each movement, the embedded pulx a silent threat. Green watched, feeling a familiar unease coil in his gut. He remembered the jarring force of Mark's craft.
That tripled impact was brutal, but the weight was an anchor, dragging at Mark, robbing him of crucial speed. Without it, he was dead. With it, he was a heavy, slow target.
Blows reigned down on Mark, a drumbeat of impacts he couldn't return. He knocked them back several times, but Paipite's were relentless.
Right as Green stood to enter the fight, Grace's chant snapped to a halt. Her eyes flickered open, a blinding white luminescence pouring from them. The activation of the chaos pulx, a subsection of the core pure pulx.
The air shrieked, then exploded outward in an invisible wave. Paipites, Mark, everything not rooted to the earth slammed against the walls with bone-jarring force. The train walls indented from the force, and the dozen or so closes were knocked unconscious.
The echo of the blast died down, and Grace slumped forward, Mark catching her after he managed the blast..
As soon as the blast hit however, the paipites jumped, allowing them to glide to the back of the train. They landed feet first on the wall, then safely landed on the floor. Though the smaller one seemed momentarily paralyzed, the larger one was nearly fine.
The smaller looked at Green, and was met with a palm to the gut as Green struck them.
"Mark, use your boots!" Green shouted, turning to the larger swapping positions with the smaller and attacking.
The Paipite tried palming Green, but was met with Green's own palm. He immediately used his other hand to try palming Green's shoulder, but was met again with Green's other hand.
He then went to his legs, but was deflected again. The face, deflected, the chest, stomach, head, all deflected with Green's palms.
To an outsider, it might've looked like an awkward flurry of slaps—but each motion was life or death.
The Paipite jumped back, dodging Green's low kick. "You use our art!?" The Paipite man spoke with a strange mix of reserved surprise. Its deep voice didn't mix well with their child-like bodies. He was a foot shorter than Green, yet he loomed confidently in his fighting prowess.
"Where did you learn Kaisher?'' The Paipite asked.
Green ignored him. Turning his attention to the second one, who was making a diamond shape with his hands. A signal!? Green thought in alarm, attempting to turn his head out the window.
But was forced back to attention by his foe trying to grab Careless, while his partner went on the attack.
Green smacked the smaller's hand away from Careless, and went on the defensive. He pushed Careless back against the wall, and could hear what sounded like prayers coming from her.
Green defended himself from the first Paipite while occasionally deflecting the second from grabbing Careless. He could strike at times, but others forced him to block. If they weren't in a tight space this maneuver would have easier.
Sure enough he began to be overwhelmed. All things considered however, he was doing fairly well. He got hit several times, and was beginning to bruise by the time Mark ran up to strike at the Paipites, who just swerved out of the way.
Green caught his breath, am I rusty? He groaned at the thought. Mark stood next to Green, now facing the Paipites.
"Wow, I forgot you could fight," Mark said with a smile, Green raised an eyebrow. "Okey, so I didn't forget, but I thought you vowed."
Green cut him off, "I'm not using that, but enough chit chat," Green replied, "we have bigger problems."
Mark smiled again, "yeah."
Green growled in annoyance, if I focussed less on my guns and more on my technique. His master would be disappointed. That flaming geezer doesn't deserve my consideration.
A third Paipite smashed through a window on the other side of the car, Green glanced out the window. The car was gone, and so was the road.
The Paipite must've seen the end of the road and chose to jump through the second door, not having enough time to jump through the first.
Stones, Green thought, the road had been further than it was before. This one would've had to jump twelve feet at least, then smash through a window on impact, on a moving train.
Green couldn't help but respect the strength. Respect would have to wait; a person capable of such a feat was stronger than Green. What was worse, he had to keep an eye on the other two as well as Careless. This is going to be a nightmare.
"I'll take two," Green said, "Mark, do you think you can take the other?"
"Depends," he responded, "which one am I taking?"
The third paipite was large, standing at five foot five, he was the largest Paipite Green had ever seen. And he was making his way over, his stride practically exuding danger.
Green clicked his tongue in frustration. "We'll have to fight together," He decided.
He didn't like it, their fighting styles didn't work well together, not without practice. Practice they didn't have, but it was better than the other options. They should be able to take them.
"I suggest one of you gets over here," Green looked up, the man with the gun aimed at Grace's unconscious body.
He was supposed to be unconscious.
"Flames" Green said angrily, "Mark, get my sister, leave these guys to me."
"But–" Mark was cut off.
"They only want Careless, I don't know how believable his claim of bringing us alive is." Green turned away from Mark's frown to the man's grin. Wellthis couldn't get any worse. "I'm the one who took her, and I'm the one who defends her. I'm the one you want!" Green shouted.
The man nodded, "Sorry, but I'll need more than one bloodied body to bring back with me. I'm sure you can understand," the man said mockingly.
Green gritted his teeth, "go ahead Mark," Green said.
Green plucked a few strands of his hair from his head and handed them to Mark. Mark took them with glee but Green gave him a look that said; "don't use it unless you have to," then gestured to his sister.
Mark nodded, tucked Green's hair in a belt compartment, then jogged to Grace. To the gunman's surprise however, Mark didn't stop, but rammed his fist to the man's face, knocking him unconscious.
The Paipite immediately turned to rush Mark but Green shot his twenty-two, forcing them to stop before they could move. They turned back to him.
"Your job is to go back with a bloodied body," Green said, his gun pointed upwards. "Well they're off limits, so it's either me or you."
The Paipites paused. Green spared a glance for Mark, who was thankfully bringing himself and Grace to the next car. Green looked back the moment the Paipite' jumped.
Green yanked at the trigger, but the Paipites closed in too fast. The smaller one clamped a hand on his pistol's slide, shoving it back, the other hand scrabbling to tear it free.
It froze, baffled when Green's one-handed grip didn't budge. Green almost smiled at the look on its face—until the second Paipite lunged in to strike.
He was forced back, only to be set off when the smaller Paipite simply threw his gun through the shattered door window.
"Do you realize how much those things cost!?" he barked, ducking a palm strike from the second.
The fight spilled into open space, hands flashing in quick bursts of motion. Green caught the smaller Paipite's palm, twisted aside from the second's strike, and yanked the first toward him, dragging himself right into range of the stronger foe.
The second's blow came fast—Green deflected, then jammed an elbow into its next strike, and drove his other hand into its gut.
He spun, caught the smaller Paipite's palm again. It froze in shock, wide-eyed. As I thought, Green mused, this one's not completely trained. Green almost felt bad at how easily he forced it back into a wall.
The floor shuddered under the heavier Paipite's charge. Green ducked low, palming its gut again and grinding it backward step by step. This one resisted harder, being better trained.
The smaller Paipite tried to circle in, but stopped cold when Green snapped a warning strike its way without even looking.
The second pushed back, refusing to break, but bruises piled up fast under Green's relentless strikes. Finally, he caught its wrist, wrenched it behind him, and spun—backhand crashing against its ear.
The Paipite dropped.
Green straightened, breathing steady, eyes locking on the third one. It hadn't moved, only watched. Now it shifted, gaze flicking toward its fallen ally, then slowly settled into a stance.
The moment Green responded with his own stance, it leaped into action. The Paipite came at him with no hesitation. Its first strike blurred through the air, faster than the others'.
Green raised his arm, catching the blow with a jolt that rattled his bones. The impact shoved him back a step.
This one's different, Green thought, squaring himself. "Finally," he muttered, shaking the sting out of his arm.
The Paipite pressed, relentless. A hammer-like hand shoved toward his ribs—he barely blocked, skidding to the side. A palm thrust followed immediately, Green dropped under it, swept his hand across its arm, and jabbed the Paipite under the shoulder.
The Paipite stepped back, its entire arm likely buzzing from the nerves being struck. It looked up at Green, and moved forward, going for his throat.
Green's grin sharpened. This one's much stronger. This is more like it. Yet disappointment settled as Green deflected the jab and smacked away its other palm.
They clashed again, blows hammering in tight, vicious exchanges. The Paipite's strikes were strong, and threatened to break bone. Green deflected one, then another, the shock of impact stinging his palms.
When the Paipite tried to gut-palm him, Green twisted around it, nearly clipping its jaw with a backhand.
The Paipite was forced to stumble back, and Green found a moment to breathe. The Paipite was strong, stronger than Green. But it seemed to rely on that strength. That wasn't how Paipite's were trained. They were supposed to fill any possible weakness, no matter how small.
This one was too confident in its size and strength, and left its skill lacking. It likely wasn't even as good as the one he'd knocked down.
The Paipite stalked forward, measured, watching for any opening. Green flexed his fingers, smirking despite the ache in his arms.
"Alright," he said under his breath, "let's see who breaks first."
Right then, a palm struck his back. Green was forced forward into the larger Paipite, who attacked. Green narrowly reflected, but was hit by the one he'd knocked down.
Green looked up and the three Paipites, who no longer seemed the need to fight on equal grounds. This is going to hurt, Green thought
Careless watched in horror as Green fought.
"Fought" felt generous.
He was holding on—but barely. A block here, a dodge there—he was getting overwhelmed by three opponents, and could hardly do a thing.
"Please, Chreign," she whispered. "Please give him strength."
She didn't know where Mark was anymore. He'd been forced to leave. Now only Green stood between her.
She thought about helping, about moving—doing something. But her limbs wouldn't respond. Fear pinned her to the floor.
Maybe it was for the best. She would only get in the way.
Still, her eyes welled with tears. Green was fighting alone.