"I'm…so tired…"
Khione, Old-Man F, and myself continue onwards with our trek through the barren wasteland towards Brokolyn Village, and along the way, we're attacked by group after group of bandits, that just DON'T LET UP!
"How long…until we're at Brokolyn Village…?" Khione weakly asks.
"We still…have another two days…" Old-Man F pants.
"But you said that…two days ago…?" Khione pants as well.
"This was supposed to be only a four day trek," Old-Man F explains, "But the constant attacks from bandit groups are hindering our progress massively.
"You know…Khione and I really did mean it when we said we didn't care about taking constant breaks," I chime in, "But now…we have to just to stay ALIVE!"
"You know what we really need…?" Old-Man F asks, "Is another member of our team."
Sparkles light up in mine and Khione's eyes.
"Another member of the team?!" WE cry.
"I hope it's a buff dude!" Khione swoons.
"Man…I hope it's a cute girl!" I add.
Khione and I both turn and raise an eyebrow at one another.
"What do you mean by that?" We ask in unison.
"Regardless of what they look like, we need a healer," Old-Man F continues.
"A healer?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow at the old man, "You mean a doctor?"
"No, we need someone with more expertise than that," Old-Man F answers, "We need an E-CHARGER healer, someone who can do things that no real doctor can."
"Are there any E-Chargers that CAN heal wounds?" I ask.
"Yes," Old-Man F answers, "it just depends on how you can use your E-Charge. For example, Plant Charge can be used in order to create plants that can be broken down into medicines, and Sound Charge, which can be used to restore equilibrium and balance within the body's internal processes."
"I see…" I reply.
"You seem to know a lot about Plant and Sound Charge," Khione adds, "Have you ever met E-Charges of Plant or Sound before?"
"I have," Old-Man F answers, "Long ago."
"When di-" Khione begins to say, but she's interrupted when we hear a loud, mechanical hum reverberate across the entire desert wasteland.
"What, is this Sound Charge?" I snort.
"No, it couldn't be…" Old-Man F answers.
The mechanical hum grows louder and louder and the ground begins to tremble, until a HUGE, cylindrical, black vehicle bursts over the sand mound in front of us. The vehicle has four GIANT spiked wheels in the back, two on each side, huge treads in front, a large cow catcher in front, a smokestack on top billowing black steam into the air, and a giant crane hangout off the side with a cage dangling from it.
Worst of all, it's aimed straight towards us.
"What the Hell…?" Khione asks.
"IT'S COMING STRAIGHT FOR US, LOOK OUT!" Old-Man F cries, and the three of us jump to the side to dodge, as the huge vehicle whizzes past us, kicking up sand in its wake.
The three of us sit up and cough as we wave away the sand, and the vehicle slows down soon after.
"That's a funky looking tractor!" I cry as I stand up.
"That's not a tractor," Old-Man F replies as he stands up as well, "That is a remnant of a vehicle used hundreds of years ago, before the flood. It's called…a train. Though, a modified version that looks like it's been manipulated to run over sand instead of tracks."
The wheel on the hatch at the top of the train begins to spin, and a moment later, the hatch opens for good, and dozens of blade-wielding bandits leap out.
"THAT'S TEAM NOAH!"
"THEY LOOK WEAK!"
"CAPTURE THE WATER E-CHARGER!"
The bandits charge towards us with a battle cry.
Khione sighs.
"OH COME ON!" I cry, "Is this going to happen EVERYWHERE we go?!"
"You stay back, Noah, they're after you," Old-Man F orders as he and Khione take a step in front of me, "Khione and I will deal with them."
Old-Man F and Khione both resume their Charge Stances, as golden-tan and icy-blue sparks of energy burst from and swirl around their bodies respectively.
"Sand Charge, Level Two: Sand Spear!" Old-Man F shouts as he fires a flurry of punches towards the bandits, tearing into them with his spears of sand.
"Ice Charge, Level Two: Solid Hammer!" Khione shouts as she swipes both of her hands outwards, freezing a giant block of ice above the bandits' heads which crashes down upon them.
"THE OTHER TWO ARE E-CHARGERS AS WELL?!"
"THEY'RE STRONGER THAN WE THOUGHT!"
"WE CAN'T LOSE TO TEAM NOAH!"
And after a brief battle, the bandits have been defeated.
"Easy as always…" Khione sighs with a stretch.
"The only reason that we're so drained is because we're fighting so many bandits," Old-Man F replies, "Not because they're strong."
"You would think that they would have learned their lesson by now…" I add.
Slowly, one of the bandits stands up and knocks on the side of their giant train-thing.
"SUMMON THE E-CHARGER UNIT!" The bandit booms.
Our eyes widen.
"They have…E-Chargers on their side?!" I cry.
"I've never seen this before…" Old-Man F mutters, "E-Chargers are so rare that they usually never join random, weak bandit groups such as this one, they're far too strong for that."
"Crap, do we have to fight THE-Charges now…?" Khione asks as she uncomfortably shifts her weight from foot to foot.
Once again, the hatch on top of the train opens up, and three people emerge, and in their hands is a large red flag with a wolf logo on it.
"Awe, a puppy!" Khione swoons.
"That's not a dog, that's a wolf," I correct, "They're incredibly rare, so you've probably never seen one before."
"What's a wolf?" Khione asks as she tilts her head at me.
"It's like…a bigger, scared dog," I explain.
"So…a dog?" Khione asks with an innocent smile.
"Yes…" I sigh.
"This is bad…" Old-Man F says, and I peer up at Master Flint, where I see his eyes are wide in fear.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"I've…never seen Master F like this…" Khione softly adds.
"This isn't your ordinary bandit group," Old-Man F explains, his voice trembling, "This is Twilight Wolf, the strongest and cruelest bandit group around. They blunder villages…sell slaves…steal crops…they basically partake in EVERY evil deed that you can manage. Roughly ninety percent of the villages over in this side of the world are controlled or influenced by Twilight Wolf"
"Didn't Khione say that about the puppy guys?" I ask.
"Well she's half right," Old-Man F answers, "Midnight Pups is a sub-branch of Twilight Wolf."
"Ah…so that's what's up with all the night and dog theme names," I reply.
"Yes," Old-Man F answers, "Midnight Wolf…BASICALLY owns this part of the world…"
"So are these the scrubs we have to kill?" Smirks the first E-Charger to hop out of the train, a tall, buff dude around six feet tall with a navy-blue buzz cut and neon-yellow eyes. He's wearing a black tank top, navy blue and electric yellow running shoes, and matching sweatshorts. Attached to his shoes are two long blades, one running up his ankle, and the other running down his shin. He's a younger dude, probably in his mid-twenties, a bit older than (I think) I am, maybe twenty-four, or so.
"We are not to kill them," replies the second E-Charger, a MUCH shorter and skinnier dude, maybe five foot five, TOPS, but still fit, bald with violet eyes. He's wearing a ninja gi similar to Master Flint's with the mask pulled up, but in bright purple, with black arm, shoulder, wrist, and ankle guards, and neon-green mesh undershirt. From behind his mask I can tell that he has a few years on Master Flint, maybe in his mid-sixties.
"Yeah, we need to at least let the Water E-Charger live!" Snaps the final E-Charger, a woman slightly above average height, five foot six, or so, with a long, neon-purple braid, and dark-green eyes. She's wearing a long, sleeveless dark green dress, and has green vines wrapped around her arms and ankles. She's also wearing WAAAAY too much make-up in a failed attempt at concealing her old age, which appears to be the same age as Old-Man F.
Old-Man F's eyes widen.
"What's wrong, old man?" I ask as I elbow Master Flint's ribs.
"Hello, my putrid pupil," says the bald man in the purple gi.
"Master…" Flint softly replies.