Chapter 16-The Blood User

Zippy and I stare at one another, panting heavily as blood leaks from our wounds.

And then, the two of us enter our Charge Stances, as seafoam-green and electric-yellow sparks of energy swirl and burst around our bodies respectively.

"WATER CHARGE, LEVEL TWO: RAPIDS CLAW!"

"THUNDER CHARGE LEVEL TWO, SONIC SLASH!"

With a roar, Zippy and I launch our respective attacks towards one another, but before either attack can connect, the ground begins to tremble, knocking both of us off balance.

"Woah!" I cry as I stumble around, "What's happening?!"

"Dammit," Zippy grumbles as he stumbles backwards, "Not now."

And then, the walls of iron maze surrounding Zippy and I begin to creak and groan, and they begin to lower themselves back into the ground.

"I guess the boss doesn't want to take any chances," Zippy grunts.

I look to the side, where I see a bloody Flint facing a slightly-less bloody Doku, and then I look to the other side, where I see an even bloodier Khione facing a not-as-bloody Cherika.

"Khione! Old-Man F!"

"Noah!" My allies exclaim, and the three of us all rush to each other's side.

"So, what's happening?" I ask as I look around at the lowering iron maze.

"I'm not sure why, but the boss is undoing his spell," Flint explains.

"Hey, dumbasses!" Zippy barks as he turns and peers over his shoulder to the other bandits behind him, causing the bandits to perk up, "Release the slave!"

"Release the prisoner!" One of the bandits orders.

"Release the slave!" Calls another bandit.

The bandits' cries carry on down the chain of command, until the sleeping bandit positioned on the roof of the train-thing next to the crane snaps awake.

"R-right!" The bandit stammers as he begins turning the wheel next to him, and the crane begins lowering the cage dangling from it.

Another bandit hustles over the cage, trembling.

"Oh man, oh man," the bandit whimpers as they fumble around with their keys.

The bandit unlocks the cage, before throwing the keys into the air and dashing away with a girlish scream.

"Oh man…this must be one tough prisoner!" Khione groans.

"Be ready for a fight, you three," Old-Man F adds as he brings his hands up.

"Right, I reply as I do the same.

And then…the cage opens…

And a little girl steps out.

The three of us blink.

"Huh?"

"Th-that's it…?" Khione asks.

"Hmm…I was expecting someone a lot more…INTIMIDATING," Old-Man F adds.

The slave stands JUST under five feet tall, she's skinny and has maroon-red eyes, and long, unkempt shaggy black hair and bangs that have bright-red streaks going through it. She's got an innocent, yet fearful face, and is dressed in rags.

"Yeah, she's WAAAY too cute," I commented.

SLAVE!" Zippy barks, "Come heal us!"

"R-right…" the slave stammers as she hustles over to Doku, Cherika, and Zippy, who gather together.

But along the way, the slave's foot catches on…NOTHING, and as she lets out a cry, the slave falls face-first into the sand.

"Owww…" the slave groans as she stands up and dusts herself off.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, GET UP!" Cherika barks.

In response, the slave flinches and buries her head, tears welling up in her bright red eyes as she trembles in fear.

"S-sorry…ma'am!" The slave yelps, before scurrying to her feet and hustling over to the three E-Chargers.

"How…horrible…" Khione gasps as she covers her mouth with her hands.

"That's…just not right…" I growl as I clench my hands into fists.

"Me first," Doku orders as he works his way to the front of the group.

"Y-yes sir…" the slave gloomily replies as she crouches down into a fetal position and begins rocking back and forth, then buries her head in her hands.

And then…sparks of maroon-red energy begin to burst and swirl around the slave's body.

Our eyes widen.

"No way…" Khione gasps.

"That little girl's an E-Charger?!" I cry.

"What an odd E-Charge stance…" Old-Man F comments.

After E-Charging for a bit, the slave stands back up and places her hands on Doku's wounds.

"Blood Charge, Level One: Bloodclot."

Old-Man F's eyes widen. "That girl's a Blood E-Charger?!"

I cross my arms. "Can blood even be considered an element?"

"What's so special about that?" Khione asks as she raises an eyebrow and peers up at Old-Man F.

"Blood is one of the few rare E-Charges that are able to heal," Old-Man F explains, "Making it quite valuable. On top of that, Blood Charge is an interesting one because it takes a fusion of THREE elements in order to create it, Earth represents the body, Fire represents the HEAT of the body, and Water, well…Water represents the liquid blood itself."

The three of us then peer back over to watch the slave's work, observing as Doku's blood begins to retreat back into his body, and all of his wounds clot over.

"There!" The slave exclaims as she lowers her hands, "I clotted your wounds, replenished your blood, and created more red blood cells to speed up your body's natural healing process."

A wide, conniving smirk spreads across mine and Khione's face as we turn to face one another.

"WE'VE FOUND OUR HEALER!"

Khione and I then turn around to face Old-Man F.

"CAN WE KEEP HER?! PLEEEASE!"

Old-Man F sighs. "Alright, but we're gonna have to find a way to rescue her and then get out, QUICK!"

"Good work, Slave," Doku says.

The slave's eyes widen as she peers up at Doku with a beaming smile.

THANK YOU, SIR!" She happily exclaims.

"She seems…HAPPY…?" I ask.

"Something about this doesn't feel right…" Khione replies.

The slave then repeats the process two more times, until both Zippy and Cherika are healed as well.

"There you go, si-" the slave begins to say, but she's interrupted when Zippy cracks her in the face with a lightning-fast punch.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" He snaps, "I told you to always heal ME first, slave!"

Zippy cackles as he kicks the girl in the rubs over and over again, who curls up into a fetal position.

Cherika yawns, and Doku drops in his own kick or two.

The three E-Chargers then cease their attacks, and the slave clutches her broken nose as she stares up at Zippy, trembling.

"How…horrible…" I sneer.

"We NEED to rescue her!" Khione cries.

"Now…" Zippy begins to say as he turns back to the three of us and cracks his knuckles, "Shall we resume?"

The three of us pant heavily as we stare back at Twilight Wolf. We're soaked in sweat and blood.

"We're still injured from our last fight while they're all healed up now," Old-Man F whispers to us, "We have no hope."

"But we NEED to save that girl!" Khione cries.

"I know," Old-Man F smirks, "Even if that girl wasn't here, we'd still be retreating. So what's one more?"

Khione and I turn to one another and smile.

"Follow my lead," Old-Man F orders, and Khione and I resume our Charge stances.

In the blink of an eye, Old-Man F turns into sand then drops to the ground, merging with the sand below.

Zippy, Doku, and Cherika's eyes widen.

"They're trying to escape!" Cherika cries.

Amount of sand then rises up behind the slave, then takes the form of Old-Man F, who snatches the girl off of the ground and holds her in the crook of his arm.

"H-huh…?" The girl blinks.

"Dammit, Flint!" Doku roars as he spins around to face Old-Man F, but before he can even enter his Charge Stance, the three members of Twilight Wolf are encased in ice encased in a block of ice.

"Ice Charge, Level One Permafrost!" Khione exclaims.

"The weakness of an E-Charger is when they're taken by suprise!" Flint cackles as he dives into the sand, with the slave still in hand.

"WAHHHH!!!" The slave cries.

"WATER CHARGE, LEVEL ONE: BULLET RAIN!" I shout as I twist my hands through the air, causing it to rain needle-sharp rain droplets over Twilight Wolf.

"That'll get 'em once the ice melts!" I smirk.

Amount of sand rises out of the ground behind Khione and I, then takes the form of Old-Man F, who's still holding onto the slave.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" The slave cries.

"Come on, let's go!" Old-Man F orders as the three of us begin running away.

"Wh-where are you taking me?!" The slave cries.

And by the time that Khione's ice shatters, the three of us have some good distance between Twilight Wolf and ourselves. And on top of that, my Bullet Rain pierces Twilight Wolf, causing them to grunt in pain, and holding up their assault on us.

"Should we go after them?" Zippy grunts.

"Let them go," Cherika smirks as she watches the three of us mad-dash away.

"We'll find them again soon enough."