Chapter 49-Team Noah’s Fifth Member, Part Four

"Umm…what are you guys doing up here?"  One of the farmers timidly asks.

"We're here to help you guys out," I answer with a smirk, "Alright, Old-Man F, do your thing!"

"Uh…I can't."

"Why not?"

"These fields are made up of dirt, not sand.  I'm not a Dirt Charger."

"Right…"

"Looks like we'll have to do things the old fashioned way," I then continue as I turn to face the farmer and point to his rake, "Can I see that?"

"Uhh…sure," the farmer answers as he hands me his rake, which I quickly hand to Old-Man F.

"Why me?!"

"Well cultivating the fields is usually YOUR job.  I gotta make it rain, and Khione makes the ice."

"Or are you too old for manual labor, or something?"  Khione smirks.

Old-Man F growls at her.

"FINE, I'll do it," Old-Man F grumbles as he begins dragging his rake across the fields.

"Khione," I continue as I turn to face the girl.

"Right," Khione replies as she enters her Charge Stance.

"Ice Charge, Level One: Permafrost!"  Khione shouts as he swipes both hands soutwards, freezing a HUGE block of ice at the end of the farm.

"Woah…" the farmers marvel.

"Here you go!"  Khione exclaims, "You guys can use this as drinking water, or water for your crops!"

"Thank you!"

"Our goddess!"

"Now it's my turn," I smirk as I thrust my hands towards the sky, and take control of the limited amount of water vapor in the air.

And so, gray storm clouds roll in as a light drizzle begins to fall, but only upon the fields.

"Huh…?"  The farmers ask.

I keep my concentration focused on the sky, and the rain begins to fall harder, saturating the fields.

"He's the Rain Bearer!  Thank you!"

"Um…so what do I do?"  Ana asks as she raises a hand.

"Do you guys have any seeds that need planting?"  I ask as I turn to face the farmer.

"Uh…yeah, in there," the farmer answers as they turn and point to a bag of seeds in the corner

"Great!"  I reply as I make my way over to the bag, then hoist it up with a small grunt.

"Ana, here!"  I then shout as I toss the bag over to her.

"Ah, I see what you mean," Ana smirks as she places one hand on her katana, watching as the bag of seeds soars over to her.

Once close enough, Ana draws her katana and swings it outwards, using it to slash the bag open, sending seeds flying everywhere.

With her free hand, Ana holds it up to the seeds, summoning a small breeze, and using that to spread the seeds everywhere.

Ana smiles.

"Thank you!"  The villagers exclaim.

  "See!  You're a natural!"

Meanwhile…

"Does it feel better now?"

The timid villager bends their arm, and when they feel no pain, an excited smile breads across their face.

"Yes, it does!"  They exclaim, "Thank you."

"No problem," Mary replies, and the villager hustles away.

"Next?"

A sniffled child clutching their scream knee makes their way up to Mary.

"Ah, I see," Mary says with a tender smile as she kneels down next to the child, and places both hands on their knees.  Maroon-red sparks of energy swirl around Mary's body, as the child's knee scabs over.

"Better?"

The child wipes their nose, nods, then turns around and runs away.

"Whew!  It feels good to help people with my Blood Charge!"

And so, after farming for a bit, Mary rejoins with the rest of the group.

"So how do we get to the entrance to the Land of Earth?"  I ask as I turn around to face one of the farmers.

"Um…you head that way," the farmer answers as they point upwards, and the five of us follow the farmer's gaze, where we see an even larger rope bridge that leads into the air, and travels for dozens of feet until it reaches the very top of the stone wall.

"We…have to go up?"  Khione gulps.

"It seems like we have no choice."

"Thank you," I say as I turn to face the farmer, before turning back around and heading towards the bridge.

"Let's go, guys."

"Right."

And so, the five of us begin crossing up the rickety rope bridge as we climb up towards the border leading to the Land of Earth.

As we cross the rope bridge, it sways back and forth in the wind due to our high altitude.  In general, the bridge is in rather decent quality, and appears that it hasn't been used often, but still shows signs of age, such as cracks, or missing floorboards.  At one such instance, I take a step onto the wooden blank before me, which completely snaps off, and begins falling into the abyss below.

"WAH!"  I cry as I leap forwards.

"Are you okay, Noah?!"  Ana cries.

"I'll live..."

"Is this…bridge safe?"  Mary asks as the bridge sways back and forth.

"Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down," Khione frantically repeats to herself.

"We're so high up, that the wind is blowing us around," Old-Man F explains.

"Anemoi, why don't you make yourself useful and do something about this wind?!"  Khione snaps.

"What am I supposed to do, stay behind and try and control the wind of such a large area while you guys go on ahead?"  Ana sighs.

"Well...yes," Khione blankly replies.

Ana growls.

"Aren't you one of those AMAZING E-Chargers of one of the four original elements?"  Khione smugly asks.

"shaddup..." Ana grumbles as she marches onwards.

A large guts of wind then passes by, and Khione yelps as the bridge begins to sway.

"ANEMOI!"

"Wasn't me," the other girl smirks.

And so, the five of us continue climbing, until we've reached the top of the border separating the Land of Wind from the Land of Earth.

"Who goes there?!"  The guards boom as they march over to us.

"We're here to enter the Land of Earth!"

"Yeah, no shit."

"We're Team Noah!"

"I-I see…very well.  Well…we shall permit you to pass."

"We'll...that was easy."

"Well…we're so high up, and I don't see a door," Khione asks as she looks around, "How…do we enter the Land of Earth."

"You jump."

"We what?"

"You jump."

Silence.

"HUUUHHHH?!?!"

"WE JUMP?!"  Khione cries, "TO OUR DEATHS?!"

"No, of course not!"  The guard answers, "Well…maybe.  Legend has it that only those who are strong enough can survive the leap into the Land of Earth.  That's why no one ever enters.  The Land of Earth is very mountainous, if you can't survive such a short fall as this one, who won't survive in the Land of Earth."

"SHORT FALL?!"

"But you guys are strong, you defeated Gambino!  So I'm SURE you'll be fine!"

The five of us shift around nervously.

"Can we…at least take a look at the fall?"  Old-Man F asks.

"No!"  The guard answers, "No one is allowed to take a look at the Land of Earth unless they know for SURE they plan to enter.  If you peer over this wall…I am legally obliged to push you."

Mary yelps then covers her eyes.

The five of us nervously turn to face one another.

"What do we do, Noah?"  Mary then asks as she lowers her hands, "Are we…jumping?"

"Are you kidding me?  We're jumping.  Didn't we go over this last time?  We're here to stop the Elemental Apocalypse, no matter WHAT.  Team Noah kicks fear in the ass."

My four allies smirk.

"RIGHT!"

"We'll do it," I smirk as I turn to face the guard, "We'll jump."

"As I thought," the guard nods as they all take a step to the side, "Save the world, Team Noah."

Nervously, the five of us gulp as we take a step over to the edge and peer over, into the Land of Earth.

For the most part, the Land of Earth Is a desert wasteland, like the Land of Water, other than the fact that it's roughly five times more mountainous than the Land of Water, and is more mountain than desert.  The mountains in the Land of Earth are FAR taller and wider than the ones back at home, as well.

"Woah…" Mary marvels as she looks into the distance.

"It's…beautiful…" Ana adds.

"And high up," Khione shudders as she peers over the edge.

"If only the rest of the world looked like the Land of Wind," I sigh, "That's…my dream.  The reason I want to prevent the Elemental Apocalypse."

"I'm fighting for a world where little girls' parents AREN'T murdered when they're like, six!"  Khione all-too-excited ads.

"I'm fighting to make up for the people who've died because of me," Mary chimes in.

"And I'm fighting…to become a SUPERHERO!"  Old-Man F booms.

"And why are YOU fighting, Ana?"  I ask as I turn to face the Wind Charger, and pretty soon, four pairs of expecting, needy eyes are aimed right on her.

"Umm…" Ana blushes as she nervously looks back and forth between the four of us, before back towards the Land of Earth and staring off in the distance again.

Ana takes a deep breath in…then out…

"I'm fighting…to figure out who I am…" she answers.

"That's a good reason," I reply with a warm smile.

"Thank you..." Ana smiles back.

"Well…now that we've -embarrassingly enough- discussed our dreams, shall we head on in?"  I ask with a blush as I sheepishly rub the back of my neck.

I look back and forth between my friends.  Master Flint…and Khione…and Mary, and now…Ana.

"Our time in the Land of Wind may have been brief, but at least we've gained a new family member along the way," I say, causing Anemoi to smile.

"I couldn't have done it without you guys," I then continued, "So…LET'S HEAD TO THE LAND OF EARTH!"

"Let's go, Team Noah!"

"A superhero never backs down!"

"We'll save the world!"

"I'm glad to be a part of this team!"

And so…the five of us begin sprinting towards the edge of the border without a care in the world, and once we've reached the edge, we jump!

The guard's eyes widen.

"B-be careful!"

"They didn't even look down before jumping?!"

"Why…did they run…?"

And so…the five of us leap into the Land of Earth for good.

Hopefully…not to our demise…