Chapter 35-Anemoi, Part Three

"So what do you think of Anemoi?"

After Anemoi, asked the four of us of Team Noah to join her in her mission to make some fast cash by overthrowing the Gambino Crime Syndicate in exchange for her joining us on our quest to reunite the four original elements and prevent the Elemental Apocalypse, the four of us went on a walk to gather our thoughts before tomorrow's event.

"She's fishy," Khione grumbles as she crosses her arms.

"Indeed," Mary nods.

"Whaaa…are you guys sure?" I ask, "Anemoi is just a little strapped for cash, is all. Aren't we all?"

"Open your eyes, Noah!" Khione snaps, "What kind of person gets into hot water with the mafia?!"

I open my mouth to respond, but Khione cuts me off.

"A BAD PERSON, what's who!" Khione snaps, answering her own question and interrupting me.

"And on top of that, Anemoi didn't IMMEDIATELY say yes to your recruitment," Mary adds, "Isn't it…a LITTLE strange that she isn't jumping at the chance to save the world?"

"You didn't either," Old-Man F interjects.

"That's different," Mary sighs, "I'm not a necessity for saving the world, Anemoi is. We can't do this without her."

"You know, I don't appreciate all of this smack-talk about my sister!" I snap as I cross my arms.

"How do you even know that Anemoi is your sister?!" Khione cries as she throws her arms into the air in frustration,

"Well DUH. Anemoi said that she FELT IT."

"What does that even mean?! Who can FEEL a relationship with another person?!"

"You wouldn't get it. You're not an E-Charger of one of the original four elements."

"You couldn't feel the connection either."

"I don't understand it myself..."

"Also, Anemoi claims that she has no memories like Noah," Mary continues, "It's a bit odd that she isn't as ecstatic to meet someone who may know who she is like Noah is."

"Well neither of us remember one another," I reply, "Although…it IS a bit fishy that two of the E-Chargers of the original four elements have no memories…"

"A BIT fishy?" Old-Man F asks as he raises an eyebrow at me.

"Just a bit…"

"So what should we do now, Noah?" Mary frowns.

"In all seriousness, I should have asked more questions before accepting Anemoi's terms," I answer as I lower my hand and narrow my eyes, "But also, we NEED Anemoi on our side, and my map WAS pointing to her home village. We've SEEN her Wind Charge, there's no doubt that Anemoi is the Wind E-Charger. Whether she's on our side or not…we'll have to see. But quite frankly, we don't have a choice here. We need her. And we need to be on good terms."

"I understand," Khione sighs, "I'm sorry for shouting, Noah. I should have thought things through a little more myself, like you have."

"It's alright. I can admit, I'm being a bit selfish here, but for my own sake, I NEED to learn more about Anemoi, so that I can learn more about myself…"

"So…shall we head back?" Old-Man F asks.

"Yeah…" I answer with a smile, "Let's head back.

"So, what do we have to do?" I ask as the four of us barge through the door of Anemoi's home.

"Take a seat, and I'll explain everything," Anemoi smirks, and the four of us gather at the table, just as before.

"So…as I had explained, the Land of Wind is secretly being controlled by a mafia group known as the Gambino Crime Syndicate," Anemoi explains, "They make all of their money through extortion and blackmail."

"So…they stored and blackmailed YOU?" Khione asks.

"No comment."

"The boss of the Gambino Crime Syndicate is, well, Gambino himself, the head gangster," Anemoi continues, "Gambino has hundreds of bandits working under him, and practically controls every bandit group in the Land of Wind. There is no doubt that he has E-Chargers on his side, but their identities and Chargers are unknown. But we WILL have to fight"

Mary gulps.

"Gambino, is he…REALLY a bad guy?" I ask.

Anemoi cocks her head at me. "Does that matter?"

"Of course it does! "I can't fight at my fullest if I'm fighting against a good person!"

Anemoi sighs. "Gambino…truly is an evil, EVIL man. Gambino has used his power to blackmail and extort nearly every person worth a damn in the Land of Wind, and further. He'll capture and kill people if it makes him so much as a penny, and even profits off of slave labor. So yes, Noah. Gambino is NOT a nice man."

"Oh…" I reply, "That's good…"

"So how WILL we infiltrate the mafia?" Old-Man F asks.

"Evil Rabbits, one of the bandit groups under Gambino, resides on the outskirts of town," Anemoi explains, "So we're going to show up, bust their heads, disguise ourselves as members of the group, and then infiltrate Gambino's nearby stronghold."

"How do you know all this crap?" Khione asks, "From the stronghold, to the bandit group, to the…"

"I'm a bounty hunter," Anemoi answers, "It's my primary profession. Through my work as a bounty hunter, I've come to know mostly everything there is about the bandit groups in the Land of Wind. Sometimes, I trade information in exchange for letting bandits go, if I see fit. Most of the time I just brung 'em in and take their bounties."

"I-I see…" Khione stammers.

"How do you even cash in the bounties for bandits in the first place?" I ask.

"There's some rich dude in the next town over who's afraid of bandits coming in and pillaging their wealth," Anemoi explains, "So in exchange for protection, he pays you a little TOO handsomely for taking out bandits for him. They make good money, despite how weak they are."

"I-I see…" Khione stammers again.

I let out a sigh.

"What's the matter, little bro?" Anemoi asks as she turns to face me.

"Nothing, it's just…you're so much more USEFUL than I am…"

"So it IS something."

"Yeah, I suppose so. It's just…you have so much knowledge about the Land of Wind, and on top of that you have a lot of money, and you're SUPER strong! I saw your attack back there!"

"Woah woah woah!" Anemoi chuckles as she holds her hands up, "I am NOT rich! I'm in hot water with the mafia, remember? And I need cash, FAST!"

"Oh, right…"

"I may have a lot of knowledge about the Land of Wind, but that's only because people TOLD me about it. I'm sure that there's a lot that you know that I don't, because you've had friends to help you, too."

"Right," I smile.

"And as for my strength, that's NOTHING. You, little bro, are the E-Charger of Water. My strength…is your strength. As two E-Chargers of the four original elements, anything I can do, YOU can do."

"So you mean…?" I begin to ask.

"Yes," Anemoi answers, cutting me off before I can finish, "You and I…have the potential to surpass ANY other E-Charger. Spare the E-Chargers of Earth and Fire."

My eyes widen.

"So come on, tell me about the Land of Water!" Anemoi exclaims as she slings an arm around my shoulder, "And I'll tell you about the Land of Wind!"

I let out a laugh.

"Alright, so-"

And so, Anemoi and I talk and talk and talk, telling everything about each other's lives as two siblings with no memories, who don't even remember one another.

The sun sets, and the four of us spend the night with Anemoi.

And when the sun rises…it's time for us to begin our mission…