The sandstorm swept across the desert, hurling, spitting, pushing, and floating sand everywhere, turning the sky to the night and causing the wind to become very cold.
Karisa, Codey, Elliott, Natan, and Devia, who aided the rest of the Sand Shark Surfers, were being hunted down by the sandstorm, which began to produce whirlwinds over the area, even forming another natural disaster, which Codey instantly recognized.
"It's building up a tornado! We gotta hurry! There's no way we can stop something this crazy, not even me!"
"You're kidding! A full-on tornado?! Awesome, who'd thought that I'd be caught in a sandstorm! That's just brilliant!"
"Shouting won't help you outrun it! Keep going!"
"What if we can't outrun it?!"
"If we can't outrun it, then I guess we'll have to accept our fate by getting swallowed into it!"
"He said go into it! How intelligent! Oh, that's just perfect! We may as well go for a cup of tea while we're in there! Absolutely not!"
"Do you have a better idea?! Running is our only option, but it'll soon catch up to us!"
Because running away was their top priority, Codey and Elliott's dispute was hurting everyone's mood. Stopping would be fatal, since getting sucked into the cyclone would spell disaster for the bunch.
"Yeah! Running is exactly what we're gonna do! To be fair, I could easily get to the town with safety! All I need to do is use Godspeed!"
"Oh, wow! That's so cool! I thought I'd never hear you say that! It's not like everyone here can use something as a technique called 'Godspeed'! You know, I knew you were stupid, but this is beyond stupid!"
"You should've developed electricity through your body, not some stupid wind that can't even catch a surfer!"
While the rest of the gang hurried behind them, struggling to listen to their discussions, Codey and Elliott began to sprint next to each other, rubbing their foreheads against each other with generally furious faces.
"Yeah! To prepare for a sandstorm like this one, I'll merely develop some talents that use electricity! I might as well cook while I wait because it's so simple! I had a feeling something like this was going to happen! I have a foresight into the future!"
"TO HELL WITH THAT!"
They continued to rehash the most common arguments as the sandstorm and tornado closed in on them, without pausing to see how a violent hurricane swept over their bodies, while Karisa complained in the background.
"This is not the right time for some asthenic arguments!"
Codey and Elliott both shouted into Karisa from behind their backs, their mouths wide open and veins on their foreheads popping.
"Who are you to order us around?!"
Both Codey and Elliott were hit by Karisa's fist seconds later as they continued to run silently with a bump on their heads and very unimpressed expressions, with Karisa following behind them with a very disappointed expression.
The sandstorm accelerated behind them, and they all spun around, their eyeballs bulging out of their sockets, screamed in unison, and began to accelerate as well.
"Why does this always have to happen to us! I'm not ready to die, especially not by a natural disaster!"
"Then don't!"
Elliott swiftly clutched the underside of his chin, his eyes twinkling and his mouth smiling, and then shifted his gaze to the side.
"Sure. I'll do it gladly..."
"Stop being so stupid! You know I was being sarcastic!"
"Simple as that!"
"Idiot!"
"Shut up, 'messy hair'!"
"Who are you calling 'messy hair'?!"
"I don't know! Who else here has curly hair?"
"Oh! You've done it! The moment I am done with this running, I'll chop you to pieces and use you as meat for the sandwich!"
"Oh yeah?! Well, I'm gonna use you as bait for fish!"
As the sandstorm approached their backs, they lifted their voices and began yelling into the air, praying for something or someone to come to their aid.
"Whoaaahaaaawhaaaaa!"
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The heavy wind began to reach the battleground, where Ellie and Walmo stood, threatening faces on their faces and each wielding a different weapon. The tremendous wind caused their hair and clothes to wave, and they both realized that the sandstorm would completely derail their battle.
"The sandstorm's coming. I guess we should finish this battle, huh?"
Ellie took a step forward with his left foot, grabbing the blade in both hands, and responding to Walmo's decision with a confident nod and a warrior's pride in a matter of seconds, readying to unleash themselves into another close conflict.
"Yeah, we should. I still have to catch up to the rest and help them rescue Ayuka."
Both of them tensed their gazes on one other, locked their sights to one another, and dashed forward, the sand lifting behind their feet and sweeping across the terrain, into the air, and settling back onto the sand.
Ellie sliced behind his back, ejecting silver electricity, while Walmo surfed forward on the shark, his spear pointed outward, away from his shoulders and hip, and the two of them bowed forward, swinging at each other.
Ellie was pushed back a few meters as Walmo rushed across the sand and stabbed his spear forward as both blades collided and resonated a metallic screech that echoed throughout the sky.
Walmo circled behind Ellie, who was keeping a tight eye on his motions, and then rotated his body. Even after Walmo ran in for the attack, Ellie crossed his sword in front of his chest to protect the swing and generated high voltage electricity in his blade, which pulsated on hit and pushed Walmo backward, nearly knocking him off the shark's back.
Quickly both of them noticed a group of people running in the distance, closing in on their battle and swiftly learned that it involved all of Tim's friends as well as the Sand Shark Surfers that were earlier defeated in the battle.
"It's Codey, Elliott and everyone else. Are they running from something?"
Karisa swiftly raised her head in the middle of Elliott and Codey's quarrel and issued a warning. Her tone was solemn and assured, and it was loud enough to draw both Walmo and Ellie's attention.
"You two! Hurry up and head for the town! The sandstorm will soon breach us!"
Ellie and Walmo exchanged rivalry looks before swiftly returning their weapons to their scabbards or back and turning around in the opposite direction.
"We'll finish this later."
Both of them joined along with the rest of the Sand Shark Surfers as they closed in on the town, leaving Ellie perplexed as to why Codey and the others aided the Sand Shark Surfers.
"Karisa, why are you helping them? They tried to kill us."
"What does it matter? We have all the rights to bring them to safety because we are in the same job as them. Whether or whether they tried to kill us is irrelevant. We have more pressing concerns right now! Continue on! We're nearly there!"
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Tim, Kou, Nina, Ireene, and Tomomi were standing outdoors when they saw the sandstorm was approaching Hatly. They were worried about the rest, with Kou being the most silent of them all, while they were preoccupied with assisting Ayuka's damaged body and trying to get a doctor.
"We're fortunate to have come to this town. We would have been suffocated by the sandstorm if we hadn't. I simply hope everyone else is doing well."
"As I previously stated. Sandstorms have becoming increasingly common, and no one understands why. This has been going on since my brother, imprisoned the king."
"I still can't believe how horrible your brother is..."
As they talked to each other while keeping an eye on the sandstorm, they observed everyone else racing for the town in the distance and promptly smiled that they were all fine.
"Look! It's Codey and the rest of the gang!"
Nina remarked, relieved, and sighed in response, but she was taken aback when she noticed that there were more individuals with them.
"As well as the Sand Shark Surfers. What exactly is going on?" Karisa smiled and raised her arm, waving her arm left and right as she cried out to the others.
"It's Tim and everyone else! Tim! Hurry up and go inside the house! We'll be there soon!"
Tim instantly turned around, slung Ayuka's body over his shoulder, and chased after Ireene, who they followed inside a house that was miraculously unlocked. They walked in without incident, waiting for others to catch up between the door frames, and swiftly began to examine how each of them entered Hatly.
Walmo's shark, on the other hand, accidentally slammed into a rock dug into the sand, which did not go according to plan. As he lost his equilibrium and was thrown through the air, falling into the sand and rolling to the floor, his eyes trembled.
"No, Walmo!"
Devia, terrified, astonished, and concerned, yelled out his name as she continued on. She realized the sandstorm was about to swallow him whole, but just in time, a bolt of silver thunder flashed between everyone else and just behind Walmo, who was stunned. He was swiftly snatched up by Ellie, and in the blink of an eye, he zapped forward and outran the sandstorm, while everyone else managed to enter the building.
"Why are you helping me, you pirate?"
"Don't know, I guess I just couldn't leave you hanging behind."
Finally, Ellie was able to get to the door and climb inside with Walmo in his arms, as Ireene closed the door behind them, locked it, and walked away. The sandstorm engulfed the village and began to toss the sand around, while everyone else gathered around the room and its corners.
"Woo-Hoo! We made it!"
The journey continues...