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[color=979CB2]LOCATION:[/color]Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon
[color=979CB2]WORD COUNT:[/color] 655(+1 EXP)
[color=979CB2]MENTIONS:[/color] 
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Mao was in position, overlooking the situation with Klee close to his side. He felt like sending Baz as bait was probably the best use he could of had, but at the same time, he felt like this was a lot for just a mercenary or two. But as he was always told, 'they stick together' and all that. More than that, Mao was ticked off that Klee was here; Noting that he could be on the front lines if she was back at the base, but instead he was on the defensive if anything were to go south. Plus, she kept worrying about Baz, which he had to repeatedly assure her the dunce would be fine. He was pretty sure if anything happened to that mass of muscles Klee wouldn't know how to handle it, so keeping her thinking positive was the best he could do right now.

As Baz came bumbling in, Mao gestured to him for Klee. [color=979CB2]"See? He's fine!"[/color] He spoke in a factual tone, as he took note of the man who entered behind their muscle-amassed companion, who seemed just as big, if not bigger, honestly. He seemed oddly familiar too, but at the same time, Mao couldn't figure out where he'd seen him from. Though, it didn't matter, as it seemed he came alone. And he would soon be severely injured and open for experimentation. Or flat-out dead, whatever came out of the attack squad making their move. 

It took him by surprise that this guy wasn't startled in the slightest: In fact, he was alarmingly confident despite being surrounded. [color=979CB2]"I don't like this."[/color] Mao quietly muttered to himself, glance going between the interrogators and Klee, before suddenly things went sour. A fight broke out, and despite the numbers advantage, they were clearly getting smacked around, at least for the time being. Mao stood, sword still sheathed but that didn't mean he wasn't combat-ready. As Band unleashed his attacks, the wind from his impressive sound nearly blew Mao's coat from his person but at least he wasn't the big guy's primary target.

[color=979CB2]"Stay behind me,"[/color] Mao ordered, wanting to keep space between Klee and their attackers. His left fist began to glow, the demon building up energy in a large, bright light overcoming his hand easily as he prepared his Star magic. The brightness would hopefully help obstruct Klee from view, and if a forward push was made, Mao was ready to offer a burst of his magic to deny forward progression. Those damn peons needed to pull themselves together and handle the one opponent they were facing: His reaction to being surrounded and the amount of noise he was creating made Mao feel certain reinforcements were on the way. How could they possibly prevent that if it happened?

His mind clicked on Klee's treasure possibly being the answer here. [color=979CB2]"Klee, think you can cook up some of your 'treasures'? The smaller ones."[/color] He questioned, figuring he could skip over the battle and instead aim the bombs towards the entrance to prevent any would-be helpers from tagging into the fight. Or retreat for this big guy, who Mao figured couldn't hold out against the numbers for long. Mao noted he'd have to throw them with his spare hand, but given their size and his strength that didn't feel like an issue. it'd keep himself and Klee at range while also providing what Mao thought to be a tactical advantage in the long run, wanting to try and punish the overconfidence of this (admittedly) strong musician.

[color=979CB2]"You see someone coming through the entrance that isn't one of us, start the fireworks."[/color] He added as instructions, hoping Klee was prepping her bombs as he hadn't the time to look back at her given his focus on the situation ahead. Magic prepped and ready, though he was unsure if he'd be able to stay on the defensive for long, if his group kept getting tossed about.