[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/VAS7HTH.png[/img]
[color=6ecff6][h1]Level 1-[/h1][/color]
[color=fff79a]|||||||||| (22/10)[/color] 
[color=f7976a](holding at 10)[/color]
Word Count: [color=fff79a]1041[/color]
[color=fff79a]+6 EXP[/color]
Sandswept Sky - Gunner Train [/center]

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There was a bustle of commotion as all of the passengers on the train pushed and moved around to fill spots on the weaponized vehicle. It was never in a prominent swordsman's nature to get easily overwhelmed by crowdedness and areas full of what seemed to be mercenaries, skilled fighters, creatures, and machines alike. There were many faces he recognized amongst the crew and some Raiden had not seen initially. There was to be many greetings with his new "associates" arranged after they had taken care of the large sand serpent. Originally, he had not noticed the mounted turrets and canisters of explosives that were abundant on the fleet when the crew first arrived in Tostarena town, but the crazed commune of the adventurers made the weaponry much more observable.

After the cars began moving, a few of the crews members had acknowledged the late existence of the cyborg. No formalities had been established, as Raiden inserted himself into the fight without a shred of thought. His joining of the fight was pure instinct. He carefully observed the notable individuals who spoke to him, most notably a white haired man clad in purple and the previously mentioned cyborg who shared an uncanny (at first glance) appearance to the once alive Desperado member: Sundowner. Raiden made his rounds about the train looking for work after this encounter.

Before he could partake in any work, an interesting scene caught his eye. When the large, bee-like queen roped in the smaller crew member from his floating expedition, all Raiden could do was stare in shock. He sure had seen his share of interesting characters and heard many odd tales of others, but surely this was a sight to the man. When they arrived on the platform, what had caught Raiden's eye was the fact that this was no short man, but was rather in fact a child. Many concerns were had, yet all he could say to the young psychic was [color=6ecff6]"This is a dangerous situation you've caught yourself in. Be careful."[/color] Before returning to his self-delegated duties.

A small group of five fighters would man the smaller guns located on the locomotive, which left Raiden somewhat relieved. Snake had been the one to introduce him to the way of the blade and he became so skilled in the art that most of his early training with firearms had now become rarely utilized by the mercenary, whether that translated to giant mounted train-guns or not. One of the small, fluffy creatures had mentioned that he and others could bring up shells and explosives to charge and fire at the creature, and the golden and black imp had proclaimed she could take this task, however she shouted for assistance amongst the group as swarms of flying creatures began targetting her. Raiden took up the task, seeing as though he was marooned in terms of tasks. [color=6ecff6]"I'll handle this."[/color]

His sword was quickly pulled off his back and balanced between his hands. As the arthropods continued dive bombing the princess and her temporary cyborg escort, he retaliated by slashing back at the flying monsters, trying his best to hit them out of the sky. As he focused his blade, he performed multiple lethal strikes to the insectoids, splattering the alien blood on his face and cybernetic armor. Raiden moved to follow the lady he promised to escort down to the ammo room, consistently slashing away at the airborne pests, batting them away, maiming them, or killing them entirely until they had arrived at the depot.

She made short work of collecting the shells and bombs into... well, wherever she put them. Raiden didn't really understand how she did it, and proceeded to rub the grime off of his blade onto his metallic plating, making the sharp edge shine once again. He nodded back to the working imp who no longer seemed concerned about protection, nor was the cyborg himself. If there were to continue being flying nuisances, they now would be centered on other fighters rather than the two in the ammo storage. Seeing as though it be best if Raiden helped load stuff too, he'd grab two of the heavier shells for each arm. What weighed near a ton for others was mere weigh-lifting practice for the cyborg as he hauled the shells, ready to follow the imp once more, but as he prepared himself, she had already brought dog-like creatures to her aid and raced off. He shook his head in confusion [color=6ecff6]"I'm never gonna understand this magic shit..."[/color]

Now following at a slightly slower pace, Raiden made head to the location Midna had dropped the artillery off at. She had managed to transport an impressive sum of six shells for the aid of the company, while Raiden only managed two. If he were to be a part of their crew, he'd have to make use of his specialized skills. He still could be useful, even if many of his abilities and original skillset had been stripped away from him. As he wiped the blood off his cheek, he was able to acquire a new purpose, should his previous companion not need his assistance anymore. Keeping his blade at the ready, he stood at the side of the train, fending off any close-range attacking Akrids, their bloodlust keeping them at charge with the train.

Many of the members aboard the train may need his assistance within the fight, so he kept himself relatively open until new discoveries and attacks were made. There wasn't a whole lot Raiden could do besides fend off the creatures who constantly attacked the vehicle and assist those who were unable to participate in combat, either because they were helping with cannons or standing idle for the time being. He was particularly worried about some of the members not being suited for battle, but then again, they all had collectively brought the large serpent down the mountain. Maybe Raiden could be surprised by his own expectations.

He was especially worried about the kid who had recently arrived and small fluffball and robotic girl who piloted the cannons on the ship. Raiden didn't ever think he'd see something closely resembling an animal controlling a gun big enough to punch a whole through a dam.

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