Mine and Khione's eyes widen.
"MASTER?!" We cry.
Old-Man F looks away in shame.
"And who may these two be?" The bald dude in purple asks, "Your new disciples?"
"And here I was, thinking I was your only one…" growls the buzzcut.
"And to THINK we ever used to be a thing…" sighs the older woman as she places a hand to her cheek.
"M-Master, what are they saying?!" Khione cries.
"Were you…a member of Twilight Wolf…?" I ask.
"That was…a long time ago…" Flint sighs, "I was in a rough place after my wife and child died, you see…I had no other choice…"
Khione and I begin trembling.
"N-no way…" she gasps.
"Khione…?" I softly ask as I peer over at my ally.
"And who's that blue haired girl down there?" Buzzcut asks, "She's cute."
"Doesn't she…kind of look like the Ice E-Charger couple that we killed around the time Flint left?" The woman asks.
"Yes, she does…" the bald man answers, "E-Chargers have colorful hair and eyes to match their element, and that girl's appearance is INCREDIBLY distinct."
Khione's eyes widened.
"Master F…?" She softly asks as she peers over at her master, "Did you…kill my Parents…?"
Old-Man F looks away in shame.
"MAster…?" khione trembles.
"I didn't…" Old-Man F answers, "But if you want to think that I had a hand in doing so…then you wouldn't be wrong. I WAS a member of Twilight Wolf during that time, but I distanced myself from the group soon after. Killing your parents…was just too cruel."
Khione quivers.
Her entire body tenses up.
"SO IS THAT THE ONLY REASON YOU TOOK ME IN?!" Khione roars, "YOU FELT BAD FOR KILLING MY PARENTS?! ALL THIS TIME…I SPENT LOOKING FOR REVENGE AND YOU SAT IN FRONT OF ME NOT SAYING ANYTHING?!"
"It's one of the reasons…" Old-Man F sadly answers, "But the other reason…is that I was distraught over the death of my wife and son, and I couldn't bear to leave a child like you alien…"
Khione's eyes widened.
For a moment there, Khione's enraged expression falters as tears begin forming in the corners of her eyes, but Khione tightens her fist again as her peeved emotions return.
"How…could you…?"
Old-Man F is silent.
"Why…did you become a bandit…?" I ask.
"When I was young, my parents died from the famine of this world," Old-Man OF sighs, "From there on, I began traveling, just like how you did, Noah, using my Sand Charge to help whoever I came across. My parents died, and because of that…I wanted to become a hero. During my travels, I met my wife when I was in my twenties, and we got married, then had a kid, a sweet baby girl. But ten years later…they died from famine as well. Afterwards, I sunk into a depression. It was during that time when I ran into Twilight Wolf and became a pupil of one of the members there in the art of E-Charge. I became a hero to save the world, and that didn't work, and so…I tried my hand at becoming a villain. I figured that if I became strong enough to steal from others…NO ONE could steal from me. I left Twilight Wolf after they murdered an innocent married couple who specialized in Ice E-Charge, who were simply trying to protect their village. I made my home in a village nearby, and never saw Twilight Wolf again…"
"How…terrible… I gasp.
Khione remains silent.
"Khione, I-" Old-Man Flint begins to say, but Khione cuts him off.
"Don't talk to me…" she says, "I don't care if you killed my parents or not, I don't know if I can ever forgive you…"
Old-Man F looks away in shame one last time.
"Uh-oh, did we disrupt the team Chemistry?" Buzzcut smirks.
"SHUT UP, WE'RE HAVING A DEEP MOMENT HERE!" I snap.
"We get to capture the Water E-Charger AND take revenge on Flint?" The woman asks.
"An amazing two-for-one deal," the bald man answers.
"Noah, Knione, it looks like we're going to have to fight," Flint orders as he brings his fists up, snapping Khione out of her trance
"Right!" I reply.
"Right…" Khione replies, still sounding so far away…
"So who are our opponents?" I ask.
"These are the E-Chargers of Twilight Wolf," Old-Man F answers, "The bald man is my master, the Poison E-Charger, Doku."
"My master's master…" I softly reply.
"And the woman is Cherika," Old-Man F continues, "The Plant E-Charger."
"And I was his girlfriend, at the time," Cherika smirks.
My eyes widen. "Girlfriend?!" I cry.
"That was a long time ago…" Old-Man F sighs.
"And I was opposed to it all the way," Doku adds.
"And finally, that guy in the buzzcut is-" Old-Man F begins to say, but his voice trails off.
"This is Sonny's son," Doku explains, "Zippy."
"And where is Sonny?" Old-Man F asks.
"He died," Doku answers.
"So he did…" Old-Man F softly replies.
"And what's his E-Charge element?" I ask.
"THUNDER, if I remember," Old-Man F answers, "In rare cases, E-Chargers are born with the element of their parents, but a genetic mutation occurs. The genetic mutation fluctuates the amount of each Compound Element of the parent's element, thus creating an entirely new element, without any outside stimulus."
"Sounds…complicated…" I reply.
"Old-Man F sighs. "Basically…Zippy's dad was a Sound E-Charger, but Zippy was born as a Thunder E-Charger."
"Uh-huh," I reply, "So how's our chances?"
"They're strong, but if we can combine our strength, we'll wi-"
But before Old-Man F can finish, the ground begins to tremble, cutting Old-Man F, and forcing the three of us to stumble backwards.
"Woah, what's happening?!" I cry.
"So it looks like the boss is up," Zippy smirks.
The sand by our feet is pushed away as silver-gray walls of iron rise out of the ground, separating me from my two allies.
"Khione! Master Flint!" I cry.
"Crap!" Old-Man F cries as he's forced to jump backwards in order to dodge a wall of iron.
"Let's try and regro-" Khione cries, but her voice is cut off as a wall of iron separates the two of us as well.
I look around, finding myself surrounded by a maze of iron walls over thirty feet tall.
"Crap," I grumble as I look around, I don't suppose that I can climb over these?"
I then let out a sigh as I began walking forwards.
"Well I guess I may as well try to find Khione and Master Flint…" I say to myself.
But as I round the corner ahead of me, I find myself standing face to face with Zippy, the Thunder E-Charger.
"Thunder on Water, huh?" Zippy smirks, "I wonder how our two elements will interact."
"D-do I have to fight you…?" I stammer.
"Yes," Zippy answers.
"I don't suppose you'd just let me go?"
"No."
I sigh.
"Come on, Noah, you can do this!" I whisper to myself as I slap either side of my cheek, "I know you've never FOUGHT another E-Charger before, but there's a first time for everything!"
I then peer back up at Zippy, as I enter my charge stance.
"So you're ready now, eh?" Zippy smirks, "Not that it matters…"
"I'M GONNA BLITZ YOU AWAY!"