Chapter 34-Anemoi, Part Two

And so, Anemoi leads us through the jungle, and after a long walk, we emerge.

"Here we are!" Anemoi exclaims as we step out of the jungle, and the five of us find ourselves standing in an abandoned desert wasteland.

"It looks just like the Land of Water…" I say as my eyes scan the area, "How sad. So the Land of Wind is suffering from a drought, as well…"

In the nearby distance, is a small village.

"Is that your village?" I ask.

"Yeah," Anemoi answers, "Quenes Village!"

"Perfect, that's where we're headed!"

"How convenient. Follow me!"

And so, the four of us follow Anemoi as she leads us towards the village.

"Ah, Lady Anemoi, welcome back!" The village guard exclaims as he lowers his spear once the four of us have reached the front gates of Quenes Village.

"Thanks."

"And…who are our guests…?" The guard asks as he peers behind Anemoi towards the four of us lingering behind her.

"These are my new friends!" Anemoi answers as she motions to us, "And this is Noah, the Water Charger!"

The guard's eyes widen.

"Lord Water Charger, welcome!" The guard booms as he kneels to me.

"Wh-woah, two people kneeling to me in one day?" I stammer, "St-stand up, it's not that serious."

"Sorry…" the guard apologies as he scrambles up to his feet.

"This way."

As Anemoi leads us through Quenes Village, we look around.

The layout of the village itself looks just like any other, rickety wooden cabins, a barren farm, hungry and thirsty civilians, and a dusty pathway. The only difference between this village and your average village in the Land of Water, is the amount of green.

"You guys…sure do like green…" I say as I look a green cabin up and down.

"It's sort of like our color!" Anemoi explains, "You Land of Water guys are fond of blue, no?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"So what's this about 'Lady Anemoi'?" Khione snickers as she elbows Anemoi in the ribs.

"I'm the E-Charger of Wind," Anemoi smirks as she peers over at Khione, "I have prestige."

Khione snorts as she rolls her eyes.

"Here we are!" Anemoi announces as she steps before a basic-looking green cabin with two floors.

"Is this your home?"

"Yup, let's go in!" Anemoi answers as she enters the cabin, and the rest of us follow.

"Lily, I'm home!" Anemoi shouts up the stairs as she enters her cabin, but there is no response.

"Here, take a seat," Anemoi orders, and the four of us gather around the small, rickety wooden table, and Anemoi takes the fifth seat.

Taking a look around the cabin, it's rather barren…STRANGELY barren, aside from the table and chairs we're sitting on, and the suspicious tied-up bags lying on the corner. I raise an eyebrow at the bags.

"What's the matter?" A voice asks, causing me to jump. I spin around, only to find myself face-to-face with the smirking Anemoi.

"Wh-what's up with all the bags?"

"Secret!" Anemoi answers as she leans back in her seat and crosses her arms, "So…what brings you guys to the Land of Wind in the first place?"

"Ah, right! You see…Khione, Master Flint, Mary, and myself are on a quest to stop the Elemental Apocalypse. We're trying to reunite the Chargers of the four original elements in order to prevent it."

"Oh, so you believe that legend?"

"Yes. Do you?"

"I do."

"So…you'll join us on our quest?" I ask as an excited grin spreads across our face, "With you on our side, we'll only need to find the Earth and Fire Chargers!"

"Nah."

"That's great!" I exclaim as I clap my hands together, "So-"

Anemoi cuts me off.

"I said no."

I pause.

"Huh…?" I ask as I lower my hands, and my smile quickly fades, "You…won't join us?"

"I won't."

"Why…not…?"

"I've got something to do first."

"So…you don't care if everyone dies…?"

"It's not THAT," Anemoi answers as she plops her feet on the table and leans back in her seat, "It's not like I WANT everyone to die, BUT…there's something I must do first."

I can feel Old-Man F's body tense up.

"That's not…" he begins to say, but before Old-Man F can finish, he's cut off when Khione jumps out of her seat and slams both fists on the table.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" She roars, "PEOPLE HAVE DIED BECAUSE THE FOUR ORIGINAL ELEMENTS HAVE BEEN SEPARATED! NO ONE CAN TRULY SURVIVE IN THIS DESERT WASTELAND WORLD CONTROLLED BY BANDITS! ONLY YOU GUYS CAN SAVE THE WORLD, BUT NOW YOU'RE SAYING YOU HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO?! THAT'S CRAZY! WHAT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD?!"

"Khione…" Old-Man F softly says as he peers up at his daughter.

"Do you really want to know?" Anemoi smirks as she leans in close to us, "I'll tell ya'. But you have to keep it a secret."

"Tell us," Khione growls.

"Well the truth is…I need money, and FAST. You see…I'm in a BIT of hot water with the mafia…"

"The mafia…?" Mary asks.

"They're an underground criminal organization that basically controls the Land of Wind from the shadows," Anemoi explains, "Rumor has it that they have E-Chargers on their side. They're dangerous."

"What…what did you do?"

"Can't tell ya'. However…I DO have a plan to overthrow the mafia, and if you guys help me…I'll join your little quest to prevent the Elemental Apocalypse."

"Seriously?" I ask.

"Seriously," Anemoi smirks.

"So what do you need us to do?" Old-Man F asks.

"We're going to infiltrate the Gambino Crime Syndicate," Anemoi explains, "I've determined the location of one of their strongholds, so we're going to sneak in, steal some money, bust some heads if we have to, defeat their boss, then dip. But I can't do it alone."

Anemoi holds a hand out to me.

"I need the strength of my fellow E-Charger of one of the original four elements."

I look at Anemoi, then down to her hand, then back up to Anemoi.

I let out a sigh.

"You have a deal," I say as I take Anemoi's hand, and the two of us shake.

"Great!" Anemoi exclaims as she retracts her hand, "We'll get started tomorrow!"