Maza Chante's Story

A six foot tall man with his right arm bloody wanders the dimension deliriously. Not having an assignment in quite some time the man was down on his luck and poor. The once proud Maza Chante, mercenary was starving, homeless, and dehydrated. Refusing to sell any of his gear which included two strange looking whips made out of metal. Maza sees people in the distance, but refuses to call out for help because of his pride. Instead before even reaching them Maza falls to his knees, whips in both his hands, his eyes roll to the back of his head as the rest of his body falls to the ground. He lies on the ground in his torn military jacket that he always wore to show that he has fought many battles, still breathing but starting to drift out of consciousness.

Maza regains slight consciousness after hearing a voice, unable to make sense of who is talking. He opens his eyes to see a blurry sight of the ground and someones feet beside his head. Feeling the stranger beside tugging on him, Maza figures it's someone is trying to rob him of his equipment. As he is dragged he loses grip on one of his mechanical whips letting it fall to the ground. Absolutely delirious Maza tries to move himself, but can't seem to control his arms or legs. He also tries speaking in hopes that the sound of his raspy voice might scare off the stranger, but only can let out a cough. Seeing like this would be the end for him, he let the mysterious stranger drag him to the stream as he fades out of consciousness yet again.

Maza opens his eyes again to see a blurry figure. He figured it's the same stranger that had dragged him off. "You still haven't killed me yet, stop wasting your time" he mutters with very little strength in his voice. As his vision starts to clear he sees that the stranger looks harmless and he finds this humorous as he smiles with the side of his face pressed to the ground. Maza spots the berries she's picked and his stomach growls, feeling the pain of starvation but not being able to clench his stomach because he is to weak to move his arms completely. Maza instead points to the direction of the berries with his index finger.

Maza Chante feeling foolish even in his current state for thinking Juniper was a murdering thief. Maza uses the remainder of his strength to pull his hand to his mouth, to feed himself the berries. He felt the berries as they moved to his stomach relieving the pain, the starvation made the berries the best thing he tasted in his entire life, he lets out a tear because of it. Maza having being told that he dropped something, notices that his right hand doesn't have the weight of one of his mechanical whip.

Maza with a little bit of strength back answers Juniper with his standard introduction "My name's Maza, Maza Chante, mercenary extraordinaire at your service..." Maza considers the situation he is in and adds something to his intro "...and in your debt Miss Juniper" He tries turning to his side so he can get more of his head off the ground.

Maza feeling stronger after resting for some time, gets up, and heads to the stream. He looked at Juniper "I appreciate your assistance, I really do. If it weren't for you I don't think I'd be able to go back to work. You wouldn't believe how much people hate each other, always begging Maza to kill their enemies." Maza says as he splashes his face with water " You have to do whatever it takes to survive using your skills. My skill happens to be killing people." Maza continues. He walks back towards Juniper picking up both whips and wrapping them around himself. Now seeing Juniper at his height, she was quite smaller than she looked. "Look it's not my style at all, but I owe you one for saving my life, so if there's anyone you need beaten or even killed you call Maza" He said looking at her realizing that she was quite small and innocent looking. The fact that she helped a complete stranger made Maza realize this do-gooder would more than likely not have enemies. "I'll be wandering from town to town for a bit looking for mercenary work, but I won't wander to far, so you'll always be able to find me. Just ask for me and some civilians will more than likely know where I am..." Maza said as he began to feel guilty for leaving the girl "...or you could tag along if you wanted" He looked over at Juniper to see her reaction knowing that she'd probably regret helping scum like him.

Maza had lied to Juniper, he wasn't going to some town looking for work, but he did tell one truth. The truth was that he meant it when he said he was in her debt. No amount of killing and beating could repay what Juniper did for him. She had saved his life when the Nexinians would look down on him for betraying them and the Serakinians would look down on him for fighting against them. The truth was not many people wanted to associate themselves with Maza. He had nowhere to go and nobody at all. Maza realizing this wished Juniper had just left him to waste away his meaningless life, but he had to make the most of his second chance.

Maza decided that he would now be Juniper's servant until the day he died. Maza ran after Juniper silently like a guardian angel he did not want to be seen by her. When he had finally caught up to her, she was spying on two people in a nearby cave. Maza unwrapped the whips from around his chest knowing that this wasn't a good place to be. He couldn't hear them from his distance but he could see their facial expressions and movements. Maza crept behind a tree, waiting to see if he would be needed. Maza had done interrogations in the past and if Juniper wanted to get information from these two guys he could tried to capture one until they squealed the information he wanted, but still he didn't want to do anything irrational just yet.

Jinny

"I foun' her in duh jungle ah alone..." , Crow said. He then started to hug Jinny. From all the burns on her arms, she felt more pain.
"She say she hah frien's an sen' one uh her dogs to find dem. Her name i' Mor-Morana." , he said, looking at the terrified girl.

Suddenly, the girl took out some sort of red spear. From her cute appearance, Jinny thought she was friendly, but from the spear, she changed her opinion.

Astrad took charge and said, "Place your weapon down, we mean no harm."

"Seriously, we mean no harm," Jinny said, "We've been through enough today that i think i'm just about ready to call it quits."
Jinny took an elastic band off her wrist and started to make a high ponytail on the back of her head.

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Pipa

A loud howl, and then more stampeding. Pipa could hear the ferocious dog coming closer. She turned around to see if Piper was following her, but she only saw trees and greenery of the forest. This made Pipa worry. Piper's dragon must have disobeyed orders again. This happened occasionally, as Rawzah was more rebellious than Hyoushi.

Pipa commanded Hyoushi to fly a bit higher. As Hyoushi obeyed, Pipa could see that the dog had weird tentacle like things on its back. Pipa realized it could possibly be a weakness.


Piper

"PIPAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!", Piper shouted. It was no use; the twins were so far away that shouting and screaming wouldn't do anything. Suddenly, Piper heard a loud howling sound. It was most likely coming from the dog they had just encountered. Piper could feel her eyes getting watery. She had to hold back tears that she could feel. She wished she could be better with animals like Pipa. That way, her dragon wouldn't be so stubborn. Piper sighed as she looked at beach getting farther and farther away. She had no idea how much danger she was in.

Maza stood watching Juniper from behind his tree a bit confused, but then he realized she was setting up an attack. Maza loved a good fight, so he had to make his presence known. He snuck over to Juniper quietly. "So which one of these guys do you want me to kill first?" Maza quietly asked as he appeared next to Juniper. He turned on his whips that soon were flowing with electricity. He smiled at her knowing that she probably hadn't noticed he'd been following her since the stream. Maza had not been hired to kill in a long time, so it brightened his day when he saw Juniper laying down plants, he didn't know what she was setting up for, so he assumed that she was about to kill them.

Maza's whips began to light up slightly, he hadn't put them on full power because they would begin to surge and cause quite a noise with it's electrical current. He had never seen the men that were close by, who were going to camp, but Maza was used to going into situations without thinking. Maza's eyes were full of bloodlust, he had an itch for violence and he was hoping Juniper would grant him the honor.

"Awww man you're no fun" Maza whispered as he ducked his head lower as instructed by Juniper. When Juniper asked him if he was a Nexinian he had a hard time answering the question. Maza was from Nexis and even fought against the Serakinians, but in the end he betrayed Nexis, by deserting them. He took up mercenary jobs for both Serakinians and Nexinians, which made him an enemy and friend to both. "Uhh well I'm from Nexis, but I've never seen those guys before."

He quickly changed the subject. "Okay so you want to know what they're doing, how are you going to do that with flowers, no offense. I could fight the and bring it away from their camp long enough for you to search their stuff." Maza said as he looked for an escape route.

Maza knew he wouldn't be to see much fighting sticking around with Juniper, but he owed her. If Juniper hadn't come along Maza would be would be dead by now, so he swore allegiance to her. Maza let out a sigh, wishing he could see some action and he turned off his whips. The light from the whips receded and he wrapped them around himself.

Maza listened to Juniper and kept his hand over his nose. He was much larger than Juniper so it would be hard for him to sneak. This was not his specialty at all so he awkwardly followed her. He made a bit of noise brushing through a bush and he decided that he would stay where he was. For the first time he felt useless as he motioned Juniper to go along without him.

Jinny
Jinny smelled something peculiar. Whatever it was, it was strong, and it was making Jinny more tired than what she already was.
Before she could drift off to sleep, she managed to see the bright yellow flowers. The words came out slowly from her mouth,
"That.......smell...........flowers......trap.........."
She collapsed onto the cave floor.

Maza watched as another girl had somehow caught the scent of the plant. This girl was probably a friend of the camp and she would probably guard them until they woke. Maza also noticed that shortly after, she was able to breathe normally. He looked at the girl, he figured that she was a Serakinian since she'd somehow managed to breathe in that air. He was uncertain of her strength, but he was confident enough in his ability that he'd be able to take her.

He turned to Juniper. "Okay, would you like that distraction now. I promise I won't hurt the girl, just get her far enough from the camp for you to scavenge through their things." Maza suggested to Juniper as he continued to crouch down. He unraveled both of his whips from his body and now held one in each hand. He waited for Juniper's approval before turning on the whips.

He had been waiting for a moment like this and although he wouldn't admit it, he was happy that there was at least one person who withstood the scent of Juniper's plants. "So what'll be Miss Juniper?" he asked her with a determined look on his face. Maza was ready to jump back into battle like the mercenary he was. It was in his blood to fight, he awaited Juniper's answer anxiously.

"Showtime" Maza said as he smirked turning on his whips on full power. The whips moved on their own as electricity surged through them, omitting a bright light. Maza sent his left whip in the air and when it cracked a lightning bolt shot out from it. Maza made his way from his hiding place and started walking towards everyone with a sinister smile on his face. "Now tell me who should I kill first!" Maza said as he stood ready to send a snap. Maza wasn't going to kill anyone, but he just wanted to intimidate any cowards that maybe present.

Maza began to spin both whips around him because he felt himself get drowzy. He figured the pollen still lingered in the area. Spinning his two whips acted sort of like a fan. He made sure that he wasn't blowing towards Juniper.

When he saw Astrad trying to take out the flowers he whipped the are around him. "You should stay away from those, they're dangerous" Maza said with no sincerity at all. The ground Maza whipped was burned from the intense heat of the electricity.

"Maybe i should take out these sleeping guys, lazy bums" Maza said as he looked at them with a devilish look. He wasn't going to attack them, he just wanted to get everyone away from the unconscious bodies so Juniper could make her move. He figured that they would try to take the fight elsewhere.

Astrad was taken a bit off guard when Maza appeared waving his whips about in a flashy manner.

"You should stay away from those, they're dangerous" Maza said with no sincerity at all. The ground Maza whipped was burned from the intense heat of the electricity.

"So your the one who is behind this!?" Astrad bellowed at the man menacingly. He didn't like the way he spoke. Sounded crazy and bloodthirsty, definitely not the kind of person Astrad would take a liking too. Also he was pretty brash for arriving in such a theatrical manner. Whoever this man was he was bad news and he would need to be stopped before he hurts anyone. However Astrad wasn't about to snap until he talked about hurting the ones unconscious. Attacking those that can't defend themselves? This guy is a lowlife! Astrad resented, but before he could speak another voice appeared.

"If you want to get to them, you have to go through me first!!!" She shouts out just before she bolts at top speed sword ready to strike the mans flesh.


He couldn't see who it belonged to but obviously they weren't a friend of this man's. Although Astrad is confused of another outsiders' sudden aggression towards Maza he could understand why. Attacking others when they cannot fend for themselves is deplorable. Heh, and this coming from a monster. Astrad thought to himself still glaring at the man. He wasn't sure how far the other person was but he couldn't take any chances. Astrad drew his gun, Nex Mucro, from the holster slung across his back as he rested it on his arm, barrel pointed at Maza. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM YOU BASTARD!" Astrad shouted at the man with the whips.

Maza had scouted this woman earlier, so he wasn't surprised by her arrival. Maza began to move the battlefield subtly taking steps, so that everyone's back would be turned to Juniper, so she could make her move without being detected.

Maza knew this woman was a Serkanian based on her actions earlier. If he wanted to he could use his other whip to drain some her energy to power up his other whip, however both were currently at full charge since it hadn't been used in a while. Maza had hit a dry spell in the mercenary business, so there wasn't much use for his weapons.

"Back you filthy animal" Maza said as he aimed his first whip at the hand she held the sword with, he discretely turned down the juice, so it wouldn't harm her, it would be just enough sting to loosen her grip on the sword at least if he made it right. He still held the other whip that drains power in his other hand. In order for it to work it'd have to be wrapped around the target. Maza had a good aim from years of experience, but with the girl charging him suddenly he wouldn't have much time to take that shot just yet.

Maza looked to see that a gun was pointed at him. He smiled at the man who yelled at him, almost urging him to take the shot.

"Looks like this one is going to be a challenge" Maza thought to himself as the girl changed from into a blue gryphon. Maza switched his stance to put his left side forward, he then threw back his arm to send the absorption whip sideways, hoping to wrap it around the gryphon's leg. If it attached he could possibly drain the energy from the girl. His whips would be overcharged afterwards, so he'd have to release the energy quickly or his whips would overheat. Maza quickly thought of a plan b if he missed, he would more than likely have to dodge somehow, which wasn't his strong suit, being a big guy. Maza was still aware of the man who held the gun towards him. He kept an eye on him with his peripheral vision.

Although Astrad would have liked to blow the man's head off it would be too risky. He has seen what this gun can do as he was forced on how to use it. The effectively told him what it is capable of but he hasn't see it for himself. He remembers however that one shot from down the barrel was enough to obliterate an entire structure. So shooting at a single man would not only obliterate him but probably the others around him. He really didn't want to accidentaly hit the other person who decided to attack Maza. Before he could make another action a gryphon appeared as it shrieked. It is a fearsome creature but he wondered where it came from? Judging by the armor it has upon it, it is obviously somebodies maybe the other warrior's? When stepped towards the right to see past Maza there was no one there. Perhaps the warrior is on the creature? Astrad looked up to see it coming diving towards them but he saw no one guiding it. If he had doubts before about shooting the lengthy gun he certainly couldn't fire it now with the gryphon flying in too close. Astrad tehn turned his attention back to the woods and saw the remaining flowers. Seeing how the man is distracted Astrad holstered Nex Mucro and went to tear away the rest of the flowers. There were a quite a few left but nothing that won't take a lot of time. Astrad began to rip the rest of the flowers out of the ground as one by one there were fewer and fewer.

Maza felt a quick tug on his whip that pulled him away from the gryphon that flew directly at him. He saw that the figure who was attacking Juniper had saved his life. Maza was now confused on what to do. Twice today he'd been saved, once by Juniper, and the other by this newcomer. He felt an imbalance in his allegiance, similar to when he deserted the war against the Serakinians. Maza was now torn between the two people who'd saved him. He watched as the stranger raised her hand in preparation to attack Juniper. During this time he took his mind off the gryphon, under the assumption that he was now safe for the time being.

Maza quickly acted and decided that both should remain alive. Maza didn't have much time to ponder because Juniper was in danger. After catching his balance Maza took his absorption whip and swung it in a motion that would wrap around Shadow's hand if he hit his target. If he succeeded the whip would proceed to absorb the dark aura around her hand and convert it to electrical energy. Maza now needed the energy since he spent all of it. His attack whip was basically all metal with no charge. It could still hurt a bit, but it was not lethal enough to kill someone.

Maza watched as Shadow retreated, he felt slight bad for attacking the perosn who'd just saved him.With energy drained from shadow Maza's attack whip was now back at full charge. Maza let out a sigh of relief and he ran towards Juniper. He ignored her command for him to escape because it was now his duty to protect her.

"Miss Juniper please close your eyes, I"m going to create an flash bright enough to distort vision. When I do this I want you to run as far as you can and I will catch up." Maza said as he lied about the last part. With everyone seemingly his enemy his chances of escape were slim. Maza lifted his whip as the metal skeleton of it straightened up from the surge of electricity that was moving it. Maza whipped the ground in front of him and a bright blinding flash consumed the surrounding area. "Go!" Maza shouted to Juniper, his eyes also distorted from his own flash.

Astrad finished removing the plants when he turned around he noticed that the man was not killed by the Gryphon instead he was by the cave. Then a shadowy woman seemed to leap from the cave and disappeared overhead. Whoever that was she seemed to be bad news. He could hear Jinny has awoken as she yelled for her gun and another woman saying she didn't know where it was. There seemed to be quite a bit of confusion inside the cave as people were dazed and confused from the flowers as well as the people that attacked them. Still Astrad wasn't sure what to make of all of this. He decided to head back towards the cave when the man with he whips created a bright flash of light. Astrad closed his eyes as he could not see. Astrad growled in frustration. He hated blinding lights, not because they pain his eyes but because his vision is more low-light than others. So when big flashes of light appear it makes it more easier to blind him.

"Jinny!" "Crow!" "Kara!" Astrad shouted towards them hoping to hear they alright.

"Just stay where you are!" Astrad yelled as he tried to move in the direction of the cave.

"Are any of you alright!?" "Yell if you can hear me!" Astrad shouted as he stumbled about.