Chapter 26-Team Noah’s Fourth Member

Mary huffs and puffs as she stares down at Tungsten's bloody body, and then, Mary stumbles backwards in a daze a bit, then falls to the ground on her rear.

"I…defeated Tungsten…" she softly says.

"We…won…?" Khione softly asks.

"We…won…" Old-Man F softly answers.

"We won!" I say, a bit louder.

"WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!" The three of us cheer as we throw our fists into the air, before falling to the ground around Mary as well.

"OHHH…" I groan, "I can't feel ANYTHING!"

"Well between our solo fights and our battle against Tungsten, the three of us sure have lost a lot of blood today!" Old-Man F laughs.

"I can't even believe we're still alive…" I sigh.

"So that was some attack, huh, Noah?!" Khione excitedly claims.

"Oh yeah, was it?" I chuckle, "I can't believe I slashed through iron!"

"You're on path to mastering your Water Charge, my student," Old-Man F says, "And you too, Khione. You were the first one who managed to wound Tungsten."

Khione and I peer at one another and smile, before peering back towards Old-Man F.

"THANK YOU, MASTER!"

Mary lets out a small groan, causing the two of us to perk up as we turn to face her.

"Mary!" I cry, "Are you alright?!"

"Ohh…I'm alright," Mary answers with a weak smile.

"You go, girl!" Khione exclaims, "Dealing with that final attack on Tungsten!"

Mary's eyes widen. "Th-thank you!"

"And what was up with you stealing my Charge Stance and spell?" I laugh.

Mary blushes. "Oh, um…" she stammers, "I don't know, it just felt…NATURAL. When I saw your Rapids Claw that was about to defeat Tungsten miss, Noah, I knew I had to do SOMETHING. I figured that since blood and water are both liquids, if you can slash through iron, I can too! And then, when I moved to E-Charge, my body instinctively copped YOUR Charge Stance in order to feel comfortable, instead of my own fetal position."

"You know what that means, Mary?" I ask.

"Um…no!" Mary answers as she shakes her head.

"You've gotten over your past, Mary," I say with a smile.

"Oh, I see…" Mary replies as she smiles at the ground.

"So how about it?" Khione asks, "Are you ready to become Team Noah's official healer?"

"Oh, um…" Mary says as she sadly looks away, "I…I don't know…"

"Hmm?" Khione asks, "Why not?"

"I was your enemy, remember?" Mary explains, "Do you REALLY want someone like me in your team? I'm incredibly weak, too…"

"WEAK?!" Khione cries, "Are you crazy?! We only WON because of you! You were the one to deal with the two most crucial attacks on Tungsten!"

"You're our enemy, huh?" Old-Man F asks, "Well that's weird. You're the one who used your Blood Charge to poison Tungsten."

Mary's eyes widen.

"Mary…" I grunt as I struggle to push myself up, then kneel on the ground before Mary, "We NEED you, Mary. You have a strong heart and the will to throw EVERYTHING away in order to create a new, BETTER you. That is EXACTLY the kind of person I want to fight by my side, and the kind of person that I want to be…"

Tears begin forming at the edges of Mary's eyes.

I hold a hand out to Mary. "So what do you say?" I ask, "Do you want to-"

Before I can finish, Mary springs upwards and wraps her arms around me, and begins sobbing into my chest.

"YES, YES I WILL!" Mary cries, "I'LL BE YOUR HEALER!"

My eyes widen, then soften soon after, and I gently wrap my arms around Mary in response.

Khione sniffles and wipes her eyes, as Old-Man F smiles at Mary and I.

"N-no way…" a voice says, and the four of us turn to where we heard the voices, watching as Zippy and Cherika climb over to the four of us, hanging onto one another for support.

"The boss…has been defeated?!" Zippy cries.

"How is this possible?!" Cherika cries as well.

"Oh yeah," I comment, "What should we do with them?"

Slowly, Khione says nothing as she pushes herself off to the ground and begins strolling over to Cherika.

Cherika trembles in fear as she watches Khione approach her.

"Khione…?" Old-Man F asks.

"This has nothing to do with me!" Zippy yelps as he lets go of Cherika, causing the woman to drop to her knees to the ground, as Zippy begins running away like a big ol' baby.

Cherika whimpers as she stares up at Khione, who is looming over her.

"Wh-what are you going to do…?" Cherika stammers.

"You killed…my parents…" Khione growls.

"Pl-please spare me!" Cherika cries, "I'm sorry!"

"Khione, don't tell me…?" Old-Man F asks, "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL CHERIKA?!"

"Is that a problem…?" Khione growls as she turns and peers over her shoulder at Old-Man F, "Is it because she's your old girlfriend?"

Old-Man F looks away in shame.

Khione sighs as she turns back to face Cherika, then raises a hand, and then, Cherika freezes a blade of ice extending from her wrist.

"You don't have to do this!" I cry, "Khione, don't feel forced to take revenge for your parents, not like this!"

"Noah…" Cherika softly sys.

"Yeah…?" I ask.

"Cover Mary's eyes."

My eyes widen.

I don't say anything as I reach down and place my hands over Mary's eyes, who doesn't try to stop me.

And then…Khione raises her blade.

"Pl-please…" Cherka stammers as she stares up at Khione, "I'll do anything…JUST DON'T KILL ME!"

"You killed…my parents…" Khione says, "SO DIE!"

The next thing that I saw was…indescribable.

Khione's blade of ice closed down upon Cherika's neck, so softly, so elegantly, so…BEAUTIFULLY.

Cherika's head flew into the air as her crimson-red blood sprayed upwards like a fountain, dousing the area in crimson, which glistened under the now-rising sun.

The rest of us are silent.

Khione pants heavily as she stares down at Cerika, her blade of ice melting and trickling to the ground next to her in a pool of water.

"Khione…?" Old-Man F asks, breaking the silence, "Are you…alright…?"

Slowly, Khione turns around to face Old-Man F, and when she does, we see that Khione has a huge, innocent smile on his face.

And then, with a sickly sweet voice, she says:

"Why wouldn't I be? I finally avanged my parents!"

Our eyes widen as Khione turns around and begins skipping away from the gruesome sight before her.

"Come on, guys!" Khione excitedly says, "Let's go set up our camp for the night, or…morning! I'm beat!"

Old-Man F and I turn to one another, frown, then turn forwards and follow after Khione. Mary follows us, as well.

And so…the bandit group known as Twilight Wolf have been COMPLETELY eradicated by Team Noah.