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(General POV)
A group of nine had come over to the shipping container place in Casenowa. They crept along the fence that blocked off the shipping containers from the surrounding town, trying not to make a sound. Just as they reached the entrance and were about to enter, however, Dante gestured for the rest of them to stop, before pulling the group to stand closer together. They lowered their voice, trying to make sure that they would go unnoticed for as long as possible.
"Guys, we should probably split up. If we are going to find Ban Habari, we should try to corner him from two sides."
Tesox looked skeptical. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Dante? I think it would be safer for us to stay in one group. We are weaker if we split up."
Kalum sighed. "Both of you have a point, but I must agree with Dante. Sure, we are weaker once we split up, but if we stay together, we are an easier target. I suggest we make two groups. Phoenix, you go with August, Fenrir and NPC." Looking at Phoenix's unhappy face, they changed their mind. "On second thought, Phoenix can come with me. August, you guys can go and try to sneak up on Ban from behind. The rest of us can advance from the front."
Phoenix, who was happier with this arrangement, looked towards the containers. "All right. Do we go now?"
Kalum nodded, and the group split up in two, both groups entering the yard and getting lost in a maze of containers and all kinds of material laying around it.
(August, Fenrir and NPC group POV)
August, Fenrir and NPC moved along the outskirts of the containers, trying to avoid making unnecessary sound that would alert their enemy to their presence.
Fenrir turned once to look at those left behind, waving, before they were obscured from view by one of the shipping containers.
Finally, August spoke "Guys, I suggest we go all the way to the end and then move back to the center of this yard to try and locate Ban. This place is huge, and we got to find him before he leaves."
Fenrir agreed, catching up to walk beside August, who moved over to the side, allowing them to walk side by side. They moved carefully, their caution making them slower than they usually would have been, making the trip take longer than would have if there wasn’t so much stuff lying around everywhere. After what felt like a few minutes, NPC finally spoke up, getting their attention. "How long have we been here?"
“I’m not sure. But,” Fenrir pointed straight ahead, gesturing vaguely to one of the shipping containers ahead of them. "We're almost there. Just have to move over behind these, and then we'll be at the very back."
Finally getting to the far side of the yard, the fence surrounding it became visible once more. It was broken in some places, obviously needing maintenance. Apart from the ever present scent of construction material and disintegrating old junk, this area had the distinct scent of alcohol.
August waved a hand in front of their face. "This place stinks. How long should we wait here?"
NPC shrugged. "I don't know. we could probably just go." They gestured towards the containers again. "We need to find Ban and corner him, so we can probably just go towards the center of the yard. He should be somewhere there."
Eager to get out of the unpleasant place, the three of them quickly turned back, winding their way through the shipping container. Finding their way towards the center of the yard was more difficult than they expend. Many of the containers were overthrowing with trash, and they had to climb over piles of all kinds of objects on their way. At some point, NPC tripped over some loose rubble, almost falling to the ground.
They all froze, listening to the sounds around them, trying to see if they had been spotted, but the surroundings remained peaceful. Fenrir bent down to help NPC to their feet, helping them shake off the dust from their clothes. "Careful! We can't afford to get Ban's attention before we corner him." Fenrir muttered, and NPC looked slightly guilty as they were ready to go once more.
Suddenly they all stopped, listening, as loud yelling came from ahead of them. "There they are. The fight has started. We need to hurry!" August had called out, as they all sped up their pace, running as fast as they could, no longer trying to be quiet.
A short while later, they finally made their way to their destination.
Coming up from the side, they saw the rest of the group attacking Ban, who was significantly outnumbered, but the rest of them were still unable to overpower him, even when there so many of them.
(August's POV)
August watched in horror as the terrorist flung the members of the second group around, one by one, some ending up more injured than others. Chernila, who had attempted to sneak up on Ban from behind, got flung against one of the shipping containers, and they slumped against the wall, unconscious. Tesox was then forced to separate from the fight to drag them away to prevent them from getting trampled over.
The rest of the people left in the fight were struggling to keep going. August turned to Fenrir and NPC, who were all watching in horror as the events played out before them. August shook themselves off from their frozen state. “We need to help them. Come on!” They all rushed into action, to help the rest of the group.
At the same time, August noted that Phoenix was actively battling the terrorist, until with a with a yell he broke away, throwing her backwards, her back hitting the wall of a container, before pinning her in place with his throwing knives. Phoenix desperately tried to break free, as Bad raised his hand in which he held another knife, ready to throw it directly at her. Pinned by her clothes, Phoenix had no choice but to still her struggle to avoid getting stabbed.
Before being able to strike a fatal injury, Ban was pulled back by Kalum and Fenrir who managed to team up against him.
August rushed to help them, NPC by his side. After a minute, they finally managed to get the upper hand on Ban, who had retreated, climbing on to one of the shipping containers. The one Phoenix was pinned to.
“He’s going to run! We must not let him get away!” NPC yelled, looking desperately at August.
In that moment, August was faced with a split second decision. They eyed Phoenix, who had resumed her struggle against the container, and then their gaze snapped back to the terrorist who stood above the container. The four-year-old knew that they had only two options. They could let Ban get away, then Phoenix would be freed, or they could send a fireball directly at the container. But in that case, they knew that both the heat from the fire, and the scorching metal of the container would reach Phoenix.
She wouldn’t survive.
In the matter of a few seconds as the thoughts flashed through their mind, August decided. If it was anyone else stuck against the container, the decision might have been harder to make, but August and Phoenix had never really got along.
And so, August took their aim.
Besides, they had all come here knowing they could die anyway. And they were on the mission to kill Ban Habari. It would be a waste if they failed at their one goal. “I’m sorry Phoenix.” they thought fleetingly.
“Fireball!” They yelled, aiming at the shipping container, as a stream of fire was created, scorching everything in its direction. August shut their eyes in concentration.
They heard Phoenix scream in agony, before all went silent. August turned away, not wanting to look at her.
“Phoenix! Don’t die!” August turned around hearing Dante’s cry, just as the rest of them gathered around her. Phoenix was hanging from the container; her limp body was held up by the knives pinning her to the wall. Mwako carefully dislodged the knives, and Phoenix collapsed to the ground. Her clothes were partly destroyed, and her skin on her right side was raw and blistered. As they all watched, her chest rose and fell a few times, as she desperately struggled to take in breaths. “She’s dying.” Chernila, who had meanwhile come back to her senses and was seated next to Phoenix, remarked sadly.
Finally, Phoenix went still.
“She’s gone.” Fenrir finally said. NPC looked at them questioningly. “She’ll come back though, right?”
“She should.”
They all held their breath for a minute, looking uncertainly at the still body before them.
Finally, Phoenix moved. Her chest contracted sharply, as she drew air into her lounges, before coughing. Her burn seemed to partially heal up in a matter of seconds.
(Phoenix POV)
The first thing Phoenix noticed, when she awoke, was the pain. The right side of the body felt like it was on fire. Fire… Hold up, that was actually the case. The memories of the previous battle returned to Phoenix, as she slowly became aware of what was going on around her. Opening her eyes, she realized that her friends were all sitting right next to her. They all looked battered. Chernila’s face was stained with blood, and the rest of them looked no better.
Looking down at herself, she saw a huge burn scar covering most of her right side. It was still fresh but had partially healed up. When she got resurrected.
Phoenix sat up.
“August.” She looked at the only one in the group who wasn’t next to her. They were standing slightly ahead of the group, looking in the opposite direction. As she called out to the four-year-old, they turned, looking at Phoenix with a blank expression.
“You killed me.” Phoenix stated.
August simply nodded. “Yes. I did. But I might have also killed Ban Habari. If I have, that means that I have completed the mission.”
Phoenix huffed, deciding that she now definitely had enough reason to hate the four-year old, but didn’t reply. Instead, she turned to the others. “So, what about Ban?”
Kalum looked up at the top of the container. “He’s gone. I hope he’s head, but I don’t know.”
Phoenix shakily got to her feet, leaning against the container for support. “Well, in any case, it would be better for us to get out of here. I think we all need to go and rest.”
A few minutes later, they had all left the scene.