Chapter 8: Decision

So his Element was Tera, huh? Well, that made it much more easy for Noah. He had a goal now, something to work on, so his amnesia wouldn't haunt his thoughts as much. Throughout the next few days, he worked hard at school to be able to use his Element. He started attending those classes that were impossible for him to attend and tried his best to discover how to use Tera. But everybody else had such a big advantage over it, it was kind of overwhelming. Everybody was so talented, gracious and used to their Elements and Noah didn't know the basis for his. He tried watching other Tera users work but it felt...weird to him, outside his nature.

Usually, during Elements class, every one of the four groups acted a certain way in relation to their Element: Pyre users focused on brute, all-consuming strength, their fires consuming everything in sight; Mistral were just so fast and precise, like a scalpel, some using wind currents so sharp they'd cut wood in half (especially in Axel's case. Well he was a total genius); Aqua users relied more on control, forming walls of water in front of them and molding them like clay, floating in the sky, in order to catch various objects, flying at them, in a spectacle of grace.

It all seemed fine and dandy for the others but Tera users, on the other hand...They all were very,well, passive, using tall,thick stone walls they sprouted from the ground to protect themselves from various projectiles. Rising giant hand-shaped pillars to catch everything the teachers threw at them, made them pretty versed in defense. Well, defense is pretty neat but Noah thought that was just so boring...! There was no momentum, no speed, no guts in that kind of fighting. Maybe it was because he had spent so much time fighting against Lucy in such a fast-paced manner, that everything that wasn't fluid and fast seemed weird to Noah. Was that the way Tera was supposed to be used?

One day, he talked to Lucy about them. She smiled and ruffled his hair, with a little too much force.

-Well, I'm glad you think that way, kiddo. I personally think the Academy's take on Elements is too stiff. "Pyre is supposed to be brute, Mistral is supposed to be fast, Aqua is graceful and Tera is bulky.". That's so dull! What's the fun in mastering an Element if you can't insert your own style in the process? That's what I try to teach my precious bounty hunters: to fight using their own style, no matter what Element they have. And that gives birth to alot of combinations of styles the enemy doesn't associate to a said Element.

-Do you think I can fight using Tera the same way I fight with you?-asked Noah.

-Of course, dear. It all rests on training and a creative mind. I'm sure you can do it.

Well, that set Noah's mind at ease again. He started spending the next Elements classes trying to figure out a way to bring out Tera while fighting in his own style. That attracted the guys' attention.

-Ok, so your Element is Tera, but you are trying to use it a fast, offensive manner. Well, that's certainty an ordeal, Noah.-said Axel, his arms crossed while looking at Noah poking the ground with his finger,on a school corner filled with tall grass hedges, one afternoon- How are you planning to do that?

-That's the issue: I don't know how to bring out Tera. If I can't move on from that, I can't come up with that style.

-I think Crow's the problem, here. Maybe her fighting style is too much for you, Noah.- answered Axel.

-And what's her fighting style like to you, Axel?-asked Guy, munching on a sandwich with seemed to have every condiment imaginable on it.

-You're kidding, right? It's just too much to describe! I've seen her fight, if can call it "seeing". She turns into a blur and reduces her opponent to a bloody pulp!

-And isn't that good?-asked Guy, in-between munching his food.

-The problem is that she's strong to the point of having the luxury of being wide open to attacks at all times but never getting hit nonetheless. It's like she's playing with you. Her style is about crushing her opponent, while taunting them at the same time. I don't think Noah's strong enough to pursue that kind of style yet. And if he doesn't summon Tera, his grades will fall and he'll be kicked out of the Academy!-explained Axel.

Noah thought on those words. Yeah, Lucy's fighting style was too advanced for him. He could never hope to use Tera. He racked his brain, trying to find a way of using the Element but still being fast-paced. But, to no avail.

-Hey, just let Noah be...-Zeke's voice was heard. He was laying on the ground, without a care in the world -He'll find out his Element eventually. It all comes from the heart, so if you keep training with Miss Crow, won't it all work out? I think you should relax more, Noah...

He let out a big yawn. Axel sighed.

-Zeke, don't fill his head with your lazy ideals.

-C'mon, Axel, chill out. I discovered my Element and I don't like fighting at all.

-That's just...dumb luck! If you actually tried using your talents, you'd be better than me, and that's a scary thought! Why did the school's scouts pick you anyways...-he grunted.

-Because I'm awesome, bro. Cases like this happen all the time. Didn't Noah pick a fight with Junior Crow Merceny? I've seen him around and he looks more hissy than usual. Eventually they'll fight and Noah will miraculously unlock Tera, because it all comes from the heart. And Miss Crow is mainly teaching him on how to fight with spirit. Believe me, I've seen their training.

-You've seen my training...?-asked Noah, a little creeped out, honestly.

-We'll call it mild stalking. Well, if you call even call it "training". But haven't you noticed that Miss Lucy always seems happier the mores times you get up? She's teaching you the cheesy, yet invincible values of "Never Giving Up, Fighting With Your Heart". By fighting a stupidly more powerful foe on a regular basis, it'll teach ya perseverance while sharpening your skills at a even more fast way. If you can keep up with Lucy goddamn Crow by the end of the day, you don't really need Tera that much. Hell, there are people who don't use their Elements at all, didja know? Eldus is one of them and look at him now. He's the freaking Sage!

W-wow...when he wanted to, Zeke could really talk. Noah never thought he'd see such deep words coming from him, of all people. But what he said was right. If he kept training, everything would work out fine. Sometimes, a more laid-back perspective really worked.

-You...seem to know a lot about Lucy, Zeke.- Noah said. Zeke let out a uncomfortable grunt.

-Maybe it's because he has a crush on her.-Guy said, smirking at Axel, which muffled his laughs with his hand pressed against his mouth.

-Well, Guy, I regret to inform you that I don't have this so called "crush" on Miss Crow, even if she is the best thing that ever arrived at this town after full body pillows. We need people like her that break the mold in order to evolve, dont'cha think?- he said, not a trace of blush in his cheeks, like he heard those taunts everyday.

-I dunno, Zeke ol' boy. Something tells me you don't go and spy on Noah's training because you're the bestest friend but because you like seeing Lucy fight. Well, with such a...um...fluid outfit, I guess I can't really censor ya.- said Axel. - Well, whattya think, Guy? Since we're all on this boat together, why don't you give out your opinion? Just between us guys, so don't hold back.

Guy thought for awhile. Well, this conversation was getting awkward pretty fast...

-Have you ever noticed on how the Mercenaries use our mess hall before us, so they have to share the same space as us? Well, someday, I was...um...borrowing some of the food from the pantry, when I heard them arrive. I peeked out of the door and saw all of them, Lucy, Merceny, Mercedes and so on, sitting on the table. It all seemed pretty normal, it's not like they were jumping all over the room,blowing up things. Then the lunch lady handed Lucy this giant plate of food, like, three times bigger than regular size and she just cleaned it all in seconds! And asked for seconds! I've...never met someone who could eat that much and I gained some newfound admiration for Crow. She and I are eating rivals!

He said it in such a passionate way, still half eating his sandwich, that they Noah couldn't stop himself from laughing, along with Axel. Guess Lucy was famous even in a more private setting. Maybe that was just the kind of influence that the strongest BladeMaster had.

-C'mon, Guy, "eating rivals"? That's probably the dumbest thing I've heard. - said Axel, recovering from the laughter, holding his stomach.-Can't you think of something else? Something more...away from the stomach?

-Well, I for one, like seeing that all my talents are recognized.- sounded an all too familiar voice behind Noah. He turned around and saw Lucy peeking over the fence, looking at them with a huge smile on her face -I think it's pretty adorable that all you boys talk such nice things behind my back. Unlike some fossil,naggy,bearded people I know off..! You've all earned your way into my top fifty favorite people, number one being yours truly.

Of course, thought Noah.

-Well, why are you here,Lucy? Didn't you tell me it was rude to hear others' conversations?- Noah pointed accusingly towards her, the blonde always chewing him out whenever she'd catch him staring when she went on her diatribes about her "amazingly rich finances" over the mercenary HQ- You're being very hy-po-cri-ti-cal !

-You best refrain from such comments before you lose your fifth place on the list, sweetie.-she said with a very forced, scary grin. -I've got something to talk to you about, little one. So you're coming with me.

Not waiting for an answer she jumped over the fence, grabbed Noah's collar from behind his shirt and leapt again over the fence, running towards the hunters' office, with a struggling Noah behind her.

Soon, they arrived at the office. Inside, there were only 3 other people: Eldus, Mercedes and, much to Noah's misfortune, Merceny. Eldus nodded at Noah when he entered the room, but the twins said nothing, not even directing their gaze at the boy. Man, what a happy greeting that was...

Lucy closed the door and all of the people on the room sat around the main table. This all sounded important. What was Lucy about to tell him?

Well...nothing, After all the rush, the placed her feet on the top of the table,crossing her legs, arms behind her head, balancing on the table, not a care in the world.

-Um...why did you bring me here, Lucy? I thought you had something to say to me.-Noah asked, after a while where nobody made a sound.

-Oh, sorry. I'm still waiting for two people. And until they arrive, I'm going to enjoy this silence.

-Agreed, Lucy.-said Eldus, sighing.

Well, that was rare. What kind of people were they waiting for? Noah shivered with the thought.

-Hey, Lucy, don't move. I'm about the kill the crap out of this spider.-a voice sounded from out of nowhere. Noah jumped on his seat.

-Sure thing, don't worry.-she answered, nonchalantly. Then suddenly, she slammed the chair's front legs back down on the floor and kicked something under the table. A scream of pain filled the room as someone bumped on the underside of the table, trying to escape. Lucy got off the chair, and reached from something under the table, returning with an adult man, around her age, with a dark blue hair tied in a ponytail, save for a lock of hair that fell in front of his face, giving him a disheveled touch. The man was wearing some kind of white robe, with a black belt tied around the waist. In his rush of trying to escape the table, the top part of his robe got loose, revealing his scrawny figure. He had purple pants, its sleeves having folds coming down from the waist and spread all around the leg, made of a similar material that ended up on his sandals on which his sock-wearing feet were balancing from. His poor face exhibited a pair of slanted eyes and the slight mark of Lucy's shoe sole, his nose bleeding from one nostril. Lucy was grabbing from his collar,raising him from the floor and he gave a guilty smile to everyone on the room, letting out awkward chuckles. Noah noticed Mercede's cheeks getting slightly blushed as the grunted and averted her gaze from the man.

-Um...mission accomplished?-he said, still on a playful manner.

-Now, why would you think that the strongest BladeMaster would be afraid of a measly spider, Gee?-asked Lucy, her voice taking a very dark tone all of the sudden, her forced grin getting even more scary.

-I dunno if you understand the complexity of that animal. It was super big. And super hairy. Could probably eat an entire house, but I still went in to defeat it for you.- Gee said, puffing his chest in pride- And in case you're still not afraid of spiders, let's just say it was a cockroach. A...cockroach/spider hybrid. It can fly. Probably spit acid. Bring down havoc upon countless children and housewives. Now, could you put me down? Pretty please? Next time, I'll save the finishing blow for you!-he batted his eyelashes at her.

-Oh, sure.-she said and instead slammed his head on the table. From there, all sounds he could make where high pitch moans. From near his feet, something scuttled away from the confusion, swiftly escaping up the wall...

-You're...so cruel...but I can...get used to it.-he managed to say.

Lucy let go of that poor sack.

-Next time you get this close to me unnoticed, you're getting a restraining order up where the sun doesn't shine, Gee.

He slowly got up and sat on top of the table, scrubbing the blood on his nose with his sleeve.

-But you and me cannot be apart, dear Lucy! It's destiny!

-Awww, that's so romantic! Is it also your destiny to end up with Genesis stuck on your perverted skull? Because I can speed that up...-as she said that, she summoned the all too familiar Blade.

The man scrambled back on the table and fell down it when he ran outta space. He got up immediately and pressed himself against the wall.

-N-no need to be so violent, Lucy...I was just kidding! Ya know me, silly ol' Master Gee! Let's put this behind our backs, shall we?-he was sweating buckets while he fixed his robe, covering up his chest.

Suddenly the door opened. Another man with a beige robe and shoulder pads, this one revealing a very muscular body, entered the room. He was much taller than Noah and was also much older, signified by his silver hair and short beard. He was also wearing sandals. He looked at the scrawny man and sighed.

-There you are, you little rascal. For a moment I got worried that you were up to no good. Now that I see that Lucy already took care of you without killing you, my mind is at ease. You've got the devil's own luck and also his perverted facet.- he looked at all the presents and bowed slightly.- I'm sorry for all the trouble my partner caused on all you.

-Oh, relax. You'd be surprised at what a girl can get used to.-said Lucy, smiling at the man, this time genuine.

Noah was beyond confused,still recovering from that scene. Who were these two men? They seemed the total opposite of one another, despite their similar outfits.

Lucy, once again, read his thoughts and presented them to Noah. The older man was called Master Rye and the scrawny per-vert was called Master Gee. Together, they owned a small BladeMaster dojo in Soula called "The Lion and the Eagle". Apparently they were very powerful BladeMasters that used a certain kind of style unknown to Noah.

-Well, now that we finished introductions, it's time to tell you why I brought you all here.-said Lucy, leaning over the table.

-You're gonna get married? To me?!-asked Gee, who had sat down next to Noah.

Rye punched him on top of his skull, shutting him up.

-No, no. It's about our good friends, the Order. On his last mission, Merceny gathered a valuable piece of info. Care to tell us, dear?-she asked Merceny.

He grunted, but started talking, in his broody tone.

-A few weeks back, Lucy assigned me on a mission to take care of a rogue group of Order soldiers spotted south of Soula. After I defeated them, I questioned the leader and he told me a piece of confidential info. They weren't rogue, they were on a mission,assigned to them by the Order's leader himself, Balthazar. They were told to reach Soula in secret for a surprise invasion, but that was just a cover up for a bigger plan: to kill the biggest number of Bounty Hunters possible so someone down at their base could invade us, probably when we were all dead or wore out, and kill Lucy, taking over Soula in the process. When I asked about said "someone",that being their leader, they said they didn't know much about her, just her name: Terri T.

Terri T. ? Who was that? Noah had learned in the Academy that the Order was this powerful organization constituted of mighty BladeMasters and that their territory was considered a country in itself, but he never knew that they were going to invade Soula.

Lucy looked at all the others, with a smile on her face.

-So, due to this info, we now know that the Order is finally making their move. Terri T. ,for those who don't know, is one of the eight Elite BladeMasters of the Order, not including Balthazar himself,who is the Leader. They all are considered a country threat, so they call definitely pull their weight. Now that we know where her base is located, we need to make our move.

-Let me guess: kill Terri before they can have time to recover from Merceny's attack, is that right?-asked Rye.

Eldus nodded.

-Me and Lucy discussed this and we think that it's time for we to finally fight back. The Order's power grows everyday and we can't risk waiting any longer. Defeating one of their Elite members will be a massive blow to their forces, especially Terri, who is the top commander of the Order's base soldiers, who number in the thousands. If we take her out of the pictures, her army, without its leader will have to back away, reducing their power and organization for some amount of time, time enough for us to keep building our forces and taking down the remaining two bases.

-Remaining two? There are more?- asked Mercedes.

Eldus turned to her.

-Yes, we can assume that, if there's a base being led by Terri on the South, there's a chance of existing two other bases located at the North and East of Soula, since the Order's HQ is located at the West. We can also assume that two other Elites guard those bases. We need to take them down before we can move any further.

-Ok, I get it. We go to the South base and defeat Miss T. But who will be foolish enough to do that?-asked Gee.

-Isn't that obvious? Us, naturally.-said Merceny.- We're plenty strong to defeat her.

-B-but the base is probably crawling with Order soldiers! We can't take them all on and Terri and the same time!-he stuttered.

Eldus, raised a hand to calm Gee out.

-Do not worry. One team will be assigned to take out the small fries, while one of us, accompanied by Lucy, will take on Terri T. in single battle.

-Ok...who the hell is suicidal enough to go fight Terri freaking T. , then?!- he asked exasperated.

Noah looked at Merceny. He was rising up from his chair, like he knew that such task would befall him and was ready to answer Gee.

Suddenly Lucy smirked.

-Isn't it obvious? The person who I'll protect until the duel against Terri is...

She slapped Noah's back, making him jump on his chair again.

-Our ginger soul amnesiac, Noah Eon.