Previously in NWC-
Reno came back to find that the celebration was being raided by bandits. Kent was able to communicate via hand signs for Reno to retrieve the guns. While Reno was getting the guns, the bandits announce they will be killing people this time. At first they didn't believe it, but it becomes increasingly obvious that they aren't bluffing. Reno finally returns and quickly begins loading the guns as the mayor denies the bandits the satisfaction of hearing him beg...
Reno, finally finished loading the guns, holds one up and aims at the bandit leader. He flips around the corner to the city entrance, roughly 50 yards, or 46 meters. "Shit! I've never shot a gun, let alone a damn musket! How the hell do I aim this thing?!" Reno's breathing is sporadic and his stance is shaky, causing his aim to sway every direction. Finally, his finger contacts the trigger, his eyes opening wide. "I'm about to shoot someone! I could… I could take his life! I might become a murderer!" Thoughts race through his head as his finger begins involuntarily tightening. Before he realizes it, the trigger is pulled, and the hammer released, sending out a black puff of smoke as the bullet escapes the chamber. A loud ear shattering crack echoes throughout the entire surround area, Reno jumping from his lack of hearing suppression causing him to take the entire blunt of the noise. His ears don't even have time to begin ringing before the bullet has reached it's predestined location. The bullet grazes past the bandits hand, causing him to drop his dagger and reel back in pain. The entire group, bandits and villagers all look to find the source of the sound, staring directly at Reno. Time seemingly slows down as one of the bandits begins pointing at Reno and two of them start making their way towards him, their weapons drawn. Reno shakily switches guns, aiming one at the two bandits as he begins running towards the mayor. The bandit leader had retreated slightly, hiding behind one of his lackies as he holds pressure on his now bleeding hand. The villagers begin to disperse as a result of the confusion, people running in every direction. Some run towards the village to take shelter in their homes and others run to grab pitchforks and other miscellaneous tools that they can use to defend themselves. The mayor stares, wide eyed as Reno runs towards them carrying four guns.
"Kid!" Kent holds his hand out, signaling for Reno to throw him a weapon. Reno, freaking out, throws all four guns at Kent along with the bag of gunpowder and ammunition. Kent gives Reno an 'are you serious right now?' kind of look as he watches four guns, three of them loaded, begin flying towards him. At this point, three of the remaining bandits had begun rapidly approaching the group that had yet to disperse. Reno, Lyn, Deb, Kent, and the mayor had yet to go anywhere, all of them now standing in a small circle. Kent and Deb each grab a gun, and point them at the approaching bandits, firing before they had time to react. With two falling, the third still approached. Reno's mind went blank as his breathing increased in speed and his hands shook violently. Trying his best, he fumbled with his sword, unable to pull it out.
"(I'm fucked!)" Reno continues to struggle with drawing his blade.
Before he can react, the barrel of a gun is placed on his left shoulder, using it as stability. The gun fires, making his left ear ring violently and causing him to be jolted back to reality. He holds his ear in pain and looks over to see Lyn looking at him. The third bandit falls, leaving all of the remaining invaders advancing into the town. "Get up, Reno." Lyn grabs his arm and pulls him up to his feet, looking him up and down for any injuries.
"Kill anyone you see! Take whatever the hell you can! Burn this shithole to the ground!" The bandits cheer as they begin to raid the village, chasing after the villagers who'd retreated. "Take the women and kill the men! We'll sell off the brats for a pretty penny too!"
"Come on, Ken! Let's go give those little bastards what's coming!" Deb and Ken take their respective bags of ammunition from the ground and rush back towards the town as they painstakingly reload. All that's left outside of the village is the mayor, Reno, Lyn, and one bandit, who was standing there like a deer in headlights.
"Young Reno!" The mayor begins brushing off Reno, feeling him for any blood spots. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine! Just… fuck! This is WAY too stressful!" Reno shakily pulls his sword out, trying to calm his breathing. "Old man! You have to go hide!"
The mayor finally bends over and grabs the fourth and final rifle. "I don't know where you got these, young Reno, but I'm not letting them go to waste. There is no more hiding! I might be old, but I ain't gonna' let some trash run around in MY village!" The mayor rushes off after grabbing his bags and slowly reloads his weapon.
Reno finally sees the scared bandit, the one who saw him but didn't say anything. He slowly turns to face him, giving him a look of uncertainty. The boy quickly drops his weapon and holds his hands up. "P-please! I yield!" The boy holds his hands even higher, shaking more than Reno. "I didn't want to hurt anyone! I just… I just needed money! Please have mercy!"
Lyn grabs Reno, causing him to look at her with confusion. "What are you doing, Lyn?!"
"Listen!" Lyn grabs his arm and shoves him towards the village. "If they lay a single finger on my house, you're done!" Lyn gives him a demanding and irritated look. "I'll watch over our little 'guest'. You'd better get in there and be a good little 'business partner'!" Lyn's voice is riddled with irritation. Not at Reno particularly, but with the whole situation. It was clear that she was using Reno to vent her frustrations, however. Lyn begins reloading her rifle and pointing it at the boy. "On your knees, kid!" After the kid gets on his knees, Lyn turns to Reno. "What are you waiting for?! Do you want me to shoot you too?!"
Reno begins scurrying towards the village, awkwardly carrying his sword in a ready position. The sounds of Kent and Deb's rifles crack throughout the night, bandits yelling and pillaging the town. Some of the farmers had grabbed their pitchforks and were engaging in battle with the bandits. So far, it had appeared that only minor injuries had been sustained, but it looked like the untrained villagers were more than struggling with the bandits. "Goddammit, get it together!" Reno ran through the streets, the sound of clashing metal causing him to flinch as he tried to figure out who to help first. It was then that Reno spotted the mayor, just in time to see him shoot at a bandit and miss. The mayor struggled to hold the gun up long enough to aim properly, so he misses, causing the bandit to turn around and begin rushing at him. "Old man!" Reno, without thinking, rushes forwards, barely managing to put himself in front of the mayor in time. The bandits sword swung down, clashing with Reno's. The sheer force and vibrations shook Reno's arms, down the bones. His joints screamed as they took the blunt of the force, but Reno was able to maintain a solid grip on his weapon. He retightens his grip on his sword and manages to push the bandit away, giving Reno enough time to kick him over. He quickly grabbed the mayor by the arm and rushed him back to the town hall, shutting and locking the door behind them. "Old man, are you okay?!"
The mayor brushes himself off, reloading his gun with slightly shaky hands. "Young Reno, thank you. You saved me, but I have to get back out there, and don't even try and stop me!"
Reno looks at the mayor, who's breathing was already ragged, occasionally coughing causing his reload time to increase exponentially. Reno's expression is painful as he speaks. "I know, I wasn't going to. People's lives are in danger, and you'd do anything to keep them safe. I want you to stay here and keep away from the fighting, but I know you won't."
The mayor finally finishes reloading and looks up to see Reno's scared and concerned expression. "Young Reno. You've already done more than enough for Bambadale. I'm not certain how you see our little town, but to us, it's everything." The mayor unlocks the door, opening it and stepping out. He looks back at Reno, a look of determination on his face. "Watch and learn, young Reno. Bambadale ain't a place to be messed with!" The mayor shuts the door, rushing back out in to the street, his gun immediately going off as he shoots at a bandit who was fighting with a farmer.
"I can't just stay here…" Reno looks out the window to see a house begin to erupt in flames as the bandits begin to set fires. Reno's heart races, his vision becomes blurry, and his thoughts race. "Should I go get Luna?! Can she even do anything?! I could get Medusa, but it might be too late by the time I get back! I can't fight them! I've only been messing around in the forest for a couple days now! There's no way I could do anything against a group of people who kill for a living! I need to get out of here!" Reno slowly backs away from the window, tripping on a box that was on the floor. Reno stumbles backwards, his hand landing on the counter as he tries to stay standing. His hand slips, however, on a piece of paper, causing it to slide off the counter and send him falling face first into the ground. "Dammit…" Reno rubs his face as he sits up. He grabs the piece of paper that had fallen to the floor and begins inspecting it. His eyes open slightly as he reads, his heart beating faster. The paper was a speech written by the mayor. The speech was a thank you to Reno that he had planned on giving during the celebration of life. His heart begins to ache as he reads the note.
TO BE CONTINUED...