Welcome to Gaia! ::

Finn sidestepped the spray of dust from the bullet before spotting Thyra's handgun trained on his head, which was a sight he was fairly familiar with.
Before he could think up a response that would possible deter her from planting a bullet in his skull, he was embraced by his fellow mercenary. He rested his hands over her shoulders.
"I'm sorry Thy... I really tried to get back, but there's a war on now... It's tough to get around, especially with a young girl in tow..."
He looked over at Casey, then back in the direction of the Firebird, where he'd left Koko.
"Don't worry she's here, just told her to wait in the ship in case anyone starts shooting..."
He yelled back to her.
"KOKO! COME SAY HI!"

Ivan remained as ever silent as he piloted the helicopter up to the window of the bar and heard the Boss's voice crackle through the headset. "Take them down" Ivan's only reply was the click of the joystick trigger and the whirring thunder as the chaingun thudded into life and spewed thousands of rounds into the bar, kicking up the occasional red plume as an unlucky bar goer was vaporized into oblivion with the sheer weight and power of the gun.

Letting go of the trigger and the gun's thunder died as quick as it began, Ivan stared into the wreckage, almost daring anyone to defy his guns. A flicker of movement caught his eye; a white haired man stood in Ivan's death machine, with a pistol raised.

It was this moment that Ivan allowed himself a rare smile. He didn't smile often, only when it was most rewarded. His fingers slowly starting squeezing the trigger when his co-pilot cried out. "RPG! RIGHT SIDE, RIGHT SI---" As the man's pistol fired, the right engine exploded into a ball of fire. Ears ringing, Ivan cursed loudly as his copilot was killed by explosion. As the damaged gunship started to spin violently, Ivan was subjected to the g-force with a red daze descending over his vision, then darkness.

2years later;

Ivan groaned as he rolled out of bed, he didn't want to wake up. He never did. The cruelness of this world was unparalleled by anyone, not even the most horrid raider king could compare to the harness of Mother Nature herself on this rock.

He sighed and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply as he ran his hand through his hair. It was getting long again. Standing and stretching, he gave the mercenary sleeping on the floor a kick. "Get up." He growled, cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. The other merc flipped him off and rolled over, snoring again. Ivan frowned and gave the man a kick in the nuts. "Get up." He growled again. The merc groaned and got up, albeit in pain.

Soon, the rest of the mercenaries were up and ready. Ivan was in his standard battle gear, his toned, sleeveless arms folded across his chest, the burning morning sun reflecting off his sunglasses and his hair tied under his bandanna. He grunted to himself in something akin to satisfaction and walked off to find his boss.

Quentin Dalori was busying yelling orders to his captains in preparation for another attack on a rivals fort. Ivan stood at the back of the tent and waited, his arms crossed in their usual fashion. When the captains left, yelling orders to their men, Ivan coughed to announce his presence. Dalori turned around, smiling once he saw that it was Ivan behind him and not some assassin.
"Aaaah, Ivan. I have a special mission for you. 2 years ago, I was looking for someone... Special" Dalori grinned in a way that made even Ivan uncomfortable. "And now, my spies have tracked her down again." Ivan grunted before speaking. "How could I forget? I lost my co-pilot and bird." Dalori winced slightly. "I'm aware, Ivan. I shall replace it when you complete this mission for me. Find the girl, bring her back, kill her companions. Got it?" Ivan nodded, then exited the tent. The hunt was on.

1 year later

The sand crunched soundlessly under Ivan's feet, the ruins slowly coming into view. This was the last known place that the girl had been seen. His last lead. Ivan set off doggedly, his desert gear protecting him from the worst of the heat and dryness. The mercenary had been hunting this girl for a year, he damn well hoped this job paid enough.

Finn ended his embrace with Thyra when Koko arrived. He smiled as she presented him with the piece of metal, which he paid little attention to until she'd sped off once again. This was a fairly common occurrence, as Finn would often have Koko look for items of interest that my help him when tracking someone across the endless Ares desert.

Finn's second glance at the segment of breastplate yielded much more information than the first. The piece of armour was made of a very specific metallic alloy, layered in an even more specific pattern, the cutting edge of lightweight body armour. Far too advanced for any regular mercenary or security force this far from Ares city, it had to be an arms manufacturer.
This breastplate belonged to one of Dalori's advanced scouts, who must have been waiting in Norcorn to set up a trap for him and Koko, when the maw-worms attacked, and judging by the dried blood on it's underside, killed them.

"s**t..."

He handed the segment of the breastplate to Thyra, knowing she'd be able to deduce the same thing from it as he paced towards Casey, turning around to start speaking.

"This shard of armour there belonged to one of Dalori's advanced scouts, son of a b***h must of been waiting here to set a trap for me and Koko... That means, it is highly likely that Dalori has sent someone else to finish the job after his scouts went silent when the city got attacked."

The mercenary smirked, his tracking skilled had improved somewhat since the last time they'd all met. He carried on speaking before anyone could add anything.

"That means, with this information, we are a step ahead of Dalori's men. We should set a trap... Wait, where'd Koko go?"
Finn stopped and scratched his head, a puzzled look on his face.

Ivan hated the sand. It got everywhere, in his hair, his glasses, his clothes, his weapons. He hated it. He pulled a face as he brushed a load of sand out of his hair. Ivan sat himself down on a wall on the border of the town and opened his water canteen. Taking a swig, he observed his surroundings. The buildings were wrecked and ransacked. Either gunfire or Maw Worms. Out here? I'd take the latter Ivan thought to himself.

Closing his canteen, he carried on walking into the city. Ivan decided to climb a building to get a better vantage point. Stepping over debris and bodies, he climbed to the 5th floor of what appeared to be an office building. Hearing voices and watching a dust cloud settle, Ivan took straight to the shadows, his experience kicking into overdrive.

He took out his binoculars and peered through them. Ivan gritted his teeth when he saw the white haired man who he almost killed 3 years ago. He didn't recognize the women, but loosened his jaw when he saw that the girl was with them. Hmm... Might be able to pull off this job. Now how do I get the girl without killing her? Still looking through the binoculars, Ivan spotted the sniper rifle on one of the women's back. Damn... That's gonna be a nightmare. Gonna need to take her out first.

As Ivan was watching the trio, he failed to notice the movement behind him. It wasn't until there was a hissing behind him that Ivan turned, slowly. In front of him, was a large creature. A juvenile Franargle. Ivan paled. "Oh.... s**t..... Son...." Ivan murmured before the thing charged at him, snarling loudly. Ivan yelled wordlessly as he pulled his tomahawk out of his belt and swung down. Just as the tomahawk connected, the young dragon-like thing collided with him and both man and beast burst through the ruined window, plummeting towards the sand below.

As they tumbled, the Franargle scratched and gouged at Ivan's face and sides as Ivan continued to hack at it with his 'hawk, leaving deep wounds on the thing. The combatants hit the ground hard, Ivan ontop of the beast. Both were dazed from the fall, but Ivan managed to plunge the hawk into the things neck and face. He keep swinging at the things face, even after it had breathed its last.

Covered in blood, some of it his the rest the Franargles, he looked like a demon. He slumped against the corpse and panted hard. All elements of stealth blown by the creature. He gave it a punch and took a deep swig from his canteen. Now, he waited to see if this attack had drawn attention.

Finn spun around on the spot as the distinctive hiss of a young Franargle echoed through one of the taller ruined buildings, the hiss was one that the large flying beasts used exclusively before a lunge. Moments later, one of the 5th floor windows exploded over at the other side of the plaza in which the others were stood, with a blur of wings, blood and a flak jacket tumbling to the ground, landing with an almighty thud.

The mercenary rolled to one side, drawing his revolver mid roll and planting a bullet in the Franargle's head, just to make sure it was dead as he sprinted a good 20 or so meters across the plaza towards the man, who was swigging from his canteen.

He kicked the canteen from the bloodied man's lips, pressing the revolver, which was still hot, into his chest as he pulled the aviator sunglasses from his face.
"Goddammit Ivan, I know you're still working with Dalori... I'm in a pretty good mood today, so, give me a good enough reason not to kill you right now and I might just hear you out."

Finn may of been soft towards his friends, but to his enemies, he was definitely someone to be feared. Of his various enemies, he was particularly merciless towards raiders and those who wanted to harm Koko in any way.

(bored lol XD)


Koko heard the sounds of a scuffle from around the side of the building, followed by Finn's voice and she tensed, listening carefully to what was said. With her knife gripped tightly within her fingers, she peered round the corner once more, slightly braver now that she knew her guardian was in the vicinity. At just that moment the man stated that his boss wanted 'the girl' for something, the gruffness of his voice causing Koko to freeze once again, instantly fearing it was herself he was after. His statement, coupled with Finn's mention of Dalori just moments ago, solidified her belief - since Dalori had been the one who had tried to capture her at the bar years ago.

With her adopted father pushing the revolver into the man's chest, Koko felt she was safe enough to continue watching the scene from her location at the corner of the building. After all, Finn wouldn't let anything happen to her right? She had her knife didn't she? And surely she'd be fast enough to avoid him right? She still didn't quite understand her powers - given that it never seemed she was moving all that fast to herself, rather everyone else seemed to slow down, as though she could read their movements much more quickly and adapt her body to react accordingly - but she now knew she possessed them, Finn had often commented on it and urged her to improve herself. Thus, she continued to observe, keeping her blade in front of herself defensively as she tried not to look as scared as she felt. Her heart was pounding, her limbs shook ever so slightly and a bead of sweat trickled down her face, all tell-tale signs of her fear.