[i]Can't say I didn't warn ya,[/i] Val thought to himself as the Wild charged. He ducked as the dust cloud enveloped them all, moving a piece of the scarf around his neck up to cover his mouth and nose as he held his breath. The first few moments of the dust were always the worst... and the best for those who know how to exploit it.

He drew his combat knife, moving carefully through the dust and keeping his breath light and even. 

[b]“Don't shoot! Ya wanna hit each other?! Get out of the dust cloud, we're killing that Wild and finding those Umbra brats!”[/b]

Val began to stalk along the ground in the direction of the shouting, watching the dust stir as the bears tried to make sense of their surroundings. Hearing the click of a boot heel on the ground just a few feet away, Val swept in low and hard, lashing out with his knife and slicing through the back of the man's knees where there was little to no armor. As the leg folded from lack of support, Val snapped the butt of his pistol into the man's wrist, keeping the pistol pointed away from him as he rolled on top of the man and the knife flashed once more, piercing through his neck and severing the arteries. He held the handle of the knife against the man's mouth, stifling his dying gasps as Val listened, prying the pistol from man's grasp and checking it's magazine out of habit before readying the weapon.

[b]“We ain't gonna kill ya, Val, we just playin’! Help us recapture them and you'll get your share!”[/b]

[i]Always did talk too much Vinny,[/i] Val though, putting three rounds with practiced precision in the direction of the voice. He began moving again an instant after the rounds were discharged, fully expecting a return barrage of firepower. But he was alone as far as he was concerned. That meant they had to watch where their bullets flew. Him, not so much.

He stalked through the dust, doing what he could to disable any bears he found while trying his best to stay away from the Wild. He figured he had maybe another minute or two before the dust settled enough that he would have to find some cover. If he stumbled across any of the Umbra that didn't try to kill him immediately, he'd hold a finger to his lips for silence, then throw a wink their way to indicate that at least for now, he had as much to lose if the bears won out as they did. They could always talk payment afterwards.