Perhaps a night time approach would have been a good idea. There was no telling if the bandits would still be here come sunset, but nothing could go as poorly as this was. Having stirred the hornet's nest they now stood on Aube Doré's decks surrounded by bandits. Far from an ideal situation and the only way out of this now was to fight. Given the odds, two against however many criminals were here, Ethan had no choice but to call Cecil up to help. Even just having one more person here gave them a better chance and he knew the Machina could handle himself in a fight. Parrying a sword strike Ethan stepped in and stomped his foot down on top of a bandit's toes, driving his head up then into the man's chin and knocking him over. Wincing as his scalp ached from the blow he rubbed at it briefly, cringing when Cecil shouted at him.

"Sorry, sorry! We just need the help okay?" Ethan called back, smacking away another sword as it narrowly caught his side. Persistent lot, the only advantage they had was there were so many, and the quarters so tight, teaming up on them was next to impossible. Still meant that they would keep coming, but at least they weren't fighting three or four men at once. Striking a man on his thigh with the flat of his sword he then reached down and caught the man on the foot, pulling it and tipping him off balance, giving his stomach a good kick to knock him over and bowling onto one of his friends. Just as he'd done so another bandit came after him with a very unusual set of weapons, a pair of knuckles with spikes on the end. Unable to really block much Ethan caught a punch across his cheek, a few cuts forming as the tips dug through his skin. Gritting his teeth and biting back the pain he threw a hand out as the bandit readied another attack, releasing a blast of wind to knock him back and into a pile of crates on the deck.

"You're in it now Cecil, complaining does little to help!" Nymira shouted back as she ducked beneath a sword, swinging her body to the side to avoid the crushing of a hammer. Placing one foot on the hammer's head she jumped up and grabbed the man's head, using her momentum to flip him over and onto his back with a heavy thud. Grabbing hold then of the hammer she used her entire body to swing it and smash it into another bandit's stomach, winding him before using the handle of her dagger to bash his jaw, probably breaking it but knocking him out in the process. She really wasn't good at this whole non-lethal fighting, it flew in the face of everything she knew. "Damn pacifists... This is nonsense," Nymira grumbled as she stepped over the fallen men, heading towards the cabin of the ship to try and find whoever was in charge. Every group had a leader, if they could beat him then they'd be victorious.

Just as she had gotten a hand on the door a thunderous crash made her dart back, just in time to avoid a massive blade sticking itself through the door. Watching then as it was kicked off its hinges a massive man walked out from the cabin, wielding a hefty cutlass in one hand and a wild grin on his face. Hastily grabbing her daggers from their sheaths Nymira rushed in to try and debilitate him somehow, figuring he was nothing more than a lumbering fool. Darting side to side she sprang forward and tried to cut his calf to bring him down, eyes widening in surprise when he deftly avoided her swing. Turning her body she used both of her daggers to stop the sword from cleaving her in two, only to find a hand grabbing at her throat and lifting her off of her feet. Gasping for breath under the man's oppressive strength she tried to kick at his chest to break free, finding herself unable to muster the strength for it. 

"A Dimuran girl huh? Now that's interesting, what's your kind doing all the way out here," the bandit leader laughed, increasing his grip on Nymira's neck. By now she was clawing at his hand to try and get free, her face paling slightly as she even dropped her daggers. "Adorable, she's trying to fight back! Haha, what a sorry sight you are!" All he had to do was close his hand and her neck would snap, over and done with. Smiling maliciously he began to tighten his grasp even further, but stopped short of the killing blow when her hand extended itself into his face. It was much too close to properly react, and when the flames spit forth his face was caught right in the path. Howling in pain the bandit promptly dropped Nymira and stumbled back, losing his sword in the process. "Y-You bitch! I'll gut you for that!"

Slowly but surely they looked to be dwindling down the bandits number in large part thanks to Cecil and Zander. With the two of them now involved in the fray there was much more room to maneuver, and splitting up their opponent's focus meant they were making mistakes. Nearly 8 bandits lay on the deck either unconscious or beaten, and while more still remained they were making leeway. All was going well, and Ethan was optimistic they could finish this without any serious injury. That outlook however was quickly tarnished when he heard the bandit leader shouting a ways off, looking over to see him gripping his face, blood on his hands and dripping down his chin. Nymira sat on the ground with her palms facing him, looking prepared to fire another spell. Cursing her persistence he darted over to try and halt her casting, intending to knock her out of the way and spare the bandit. Before he ever reached her however the sound of rattling chains stole his attention, and his head swiveled in time to see a large ball coming at his head connected to a rusted chain and weight. Raising his sword just in time Ethan groaned in pain as he was knocked off his feet, tumbling through the air and into the open cabin, going as far to fall down the stairs to the hull below. The entire room felt like it was spinning for a moment, and as he tried to get to his feet he stumbled slightly, trying to get his bearings back.

With all the chaos happening on and around Aube Doré no one had noticed a new party arriving on the scene. Four men dressed in finely tailored suits, each carrying with them some kind of weapon fashioned of the highest quality materials, each boasting a Demacite core for added effect. They were here for one particular reason, a specific crate on board of that vessel. Stolen parts, parts which had no business being out on the market and belonged to a particularly important individual. If they wanted their paychecks, and to keep their heads, they had to retrieve them. From their place on the road they could see the frenzy happening on the deck and landing, bodies going every which way and bandits fighting with a ragtag group. Who knows what exactly was going on here, not that it mattered. If these two parties killed one another then all the better, it made it easier for them to do their job.

"Come on, it has to be on the ship somewhere. Get on board and fan out, we'll find it," one of the men said, pulling a rod from his coat and pressing a button on the grip. The tool itself extended and two prongs emerged from the end, electricity crackling between the points as it powered up. Approaching the landing first he ignored Zander dueling with the men, trying to go immediately for the gangplank but finding himself stopped by a man carrying an axe. Scowling the man in the suit continued forward, and when swung at he reached out and caught the bandit's wrist, wrenching it around to make him drop his weapon before shoving the prod at his chest, electrocuting him and dropping him into a heap on the ground. 

The man to the rear of the group had been approaching the landing when he heard the rustling of bushes nearby, pausing in his step and looking around the area. Was someone else there? Furrowing his brow he took his arm from his jacket, having had it tucked away inside with the sleeve hanging loosely at his side. Strapped to his hand was a gauntlet with several pads both on the fingertips and the palm, and on the back of a hand a thin case filled with Demacite powder. There was only one set of bushes nearby, fairly simple to guess where the sound had come from. Extending his hand outward he used his other to press a switch on his wrist, and with it the pads on the gauntlet lit up, magic forming at his palm before ice fired off from it in the form of shards, threatening to tear through the leaves and whatever might be inside.