Giving up was not an option; it never was. They didn't come this far to call it quits, and they weren't about to now.

     Gaius wasn't one to let his temper get the better of him, but he wasn't about to let his comrades that he'd come to know in this world be struck down by this pirate without any retaliation. Cursing under his breath as he saw Gan Ning sent flying, the thief slipped between the grasping fingers of the gigantic pirate before swinging himself up onto Jones' forearm. He raced up his arm before leaping at the fiend's face, steel gleaming as Gaius twisted to bodily swing that blade at him.

     It was with a jarring clash that he ended up meeting Jones' own weapon instead, and turning the flat of his sword against it so that he could brace against it was the only thing he could do to keep from being completely cleaved in half. He could feel the metal give, chipping and finally shattering just as he felt himself falling back, earth and sky a blur with no clue as to heads or tails. As he caught a glimpse of a wall, Gaius shifted in a last ditch effort to soften his landing, although he still ended up tumbling along the stonework to land amidst a pile of rubble.