Chapter 57-Gaia

"I hope Khione and Ana are alright…" Mary whimpers as we hustle over to the edge of Mount Gia.

"Don't worry, of course they are!"  I answer as I flash Mary a thumbs up, "Those two girls are tough!"

"Yeah…" Mary replies with a small smile.

"You don't think…they're fighting EACH OTHER, are you?"  Old-Man F asks.

"No…" I shudder, "Surely they're not THAT stupid…"

The three of us continue jogging until we reach the edge of Mount Gia.

"Crap, that's right!"  I cry, "We need to climb down!"

"And this time, we don't have Khione to create a staircase of ice for us," MAry sadly replies.

"Or Ana's wind," I add as I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh, "Who's bright idea was it to leave THOSE TWO of everyone behind?!"

Mary and Old-Man F are silent.

"Yeah, yeah, I know!"  I snap.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of things," Old-Man F says as he enters his Charge Stance.

"Sand Charge, Level One: Sand Whip," Old-Man F says sand begins to swirl around himself, Mary, and I.

"Woah, where did this sand come from?"  I ask as I look around.

"I used my Sand Charge to create my own sand," Old-Man F explains, "Usually, I only fight using the sand around me, but of course, I can create sand when I need to."

"So THAT'S why you're so strong!"  I reply as I knock a fist into my palm, "A limitless supply of your own element!"

"Mh-hm!"  Mary nods.

"THAT'S NOT THE ONLY REASON I'M STRONG!"  Old-Man F snaps, then sighs, "Whatever.  Let's just focus on finding Gaia."

And so, using his sand, Old-Man F begins lowering us to the ground, until we reach the bottom of Mount Gia, at last.

"There we go," Old-Man F pants as he drops to his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

"Are you alright, Master Grandpa?"  Mary frowns as she kneels down next to Old-Man F.

"I'll live," he pants.

"Here you go," Mary says as she places her hands to Old-Man F's back, as maroon-red sparks of energy begin to burst and swirl around Mary's body.  Old-Man F's eyes widen, and a moment later, Mary retracts her hands and stands back up.

"What…did you do…?"  Old-Man F asks as he stands up as well.

"I used my Blood Charge to manipulate your blood in order to create more red blood cells and increase their circulation," Mary explains, "Basically, I helped you regain your stamina."

"I don't understand that at all, but thank you," Old-Man F replies.

"Great, now let's go find Gaia!"  I cheer, and the three of us begin our trek through the desert.

The three of us continue making our way through the desert, and the sun begins to set.  Until eventually, we spot a human-looking mound in the distance.

"What is that…?"  Old-Man F asks as he squints at the mound.

"What's wrong, your old eyes can't see that far?"  I snicker.

"SHUT UP!"  Old-Man F snaps, "It's dark!"

"That could be Gaia, let's go!"  Mary exclaims as she begins hustling towards the mound, and the two of us follow suit.

After a brief jog, the three of us reach the human-looking mound, where we find that it is indeed Gaia, who's unconscious, mangled body is lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Our eyes widen.

"Who…would do such a thing…?"  Mary gasps.

"What happened here?!"  I cry.

Swiftly, Mary drops to her knees and begins rummaging around in her backpack, before pulling out a large white tarp, and some rolls of bandages.

"This is the only medical supplies I've got," Mary narrates as she spreads out the tarp, "Noah!  Master Grandpa!  Lift Gaia onto this blanket!"

"Y-yes, boss!"  The two of us stammer, before doing what we're told.

"Damn, Gaia's surprisingly heavy," I grunt as Old-Man F and I place Gaia on the tarp.

"Now shut up and let me focus," Mary barks as she kneels down next to Gaia, causing Old-Man F and I to flinch.  Mary undoes Gaia's orange chef jacket, revealing dozens of blood gash wounds and scars, but also Gaia's muscular chest.

"Damn," I whistle,

  Mary places her hands to Gaia's wound, and Gaia's blood begins to seep through Mary's fingers.

"Should we…set up for the night…?"  I whisper to Old-Man F, "It's sundown."

"Yeah…let's do that," Old-Man F whispers back, and so, the two of us (VERY QUIETLY) set up for the night."

Later…

"There!  That'll do it," Mary whispers as she collapses backwards on her butt.

"Here you go," I say as I hand Mary a moist rag, which she uses to clean Gaia's blood off of her hands.

"Gaia's been healed?"  Old-Man F asks.

"As much as I could," Mary answers, "I can only manipulate his blood, so the broken and fractured bones that I felt when rummaging around in his body I can't do anything about.  All I can do is close up wounds and speed up his body's natural healing process."

"Which is more than enough," I say with a smile as I help Mary to her feet.

"Thanks," Mary smiles back.

As Old-Man F helps Mary to her tent, Gaia coughs, and then a moment later, his eyes shoot open.

"Holy crap, Gaia's awake!"  I yelped.

"Impossible!"  Mary cries as she weakly drops to his knees, "Gaia needs to rest!"

"C-come on!"  Old-Man F stammers as he helps Mary into her tent, "YOU need your rest, as well."

"Wood…" Gaia growls as he shoots a hand up and latches onto the collar of my gi, "I am going to kill him…"

"O-okay, buddy, well I'M not him!"  I nervously laugh as I unravel Gaia's fingers clenched around my gi collar, then gently place Guy's arm on the ground next to him, "Wood, huh?  Like you're going to chop down a forest?"

"I was on my way to find the Secret Ingredient-" Gaia begins to say, which is then interrupted by a cough, "But I was attacked by a bandit group, the Treasure Thieves."

"The Treasure Thieves?!"  I cry as my eyes widen, "That's who Khione and Ana are fighting now!"

"I was about to defeat two other members, but then their boss jumped me," Gaia grunts as he holds a hand up and clenches it into a fist, "Called 'himself 'WOOD.'  EVEN I couldn't win a three on one…"

"The Treasure Thieves attacked Rocky Eats, they destroyed the restaurant!"  I cry, "They told us that they're after the Secret Ingredient!"

Gaia's eyes widen.  "I need to…go back…" Gaia grunts as he struggles to push himself up, before flalign back to the ground.

"Careful, you need your rest!"  I cry.

"No…" Gaia grunts back, "I NEED TO FIGHT!"

"It's alright, Khione and Ana took care of things back at the restaurant," Old-Man F says she trolls over to Gaia and I, "The remains of Rocky Eats and the Chef owner are alright."

"That's not the point," Gaia coughs, "I need to…get my hands on the Secret Ingredient."

"How come?"  I ask.

Gaia sighs.  "The chef that you guys met, the owner of Rocky Eats, Rocko, he's not just my boss, but…my father," Gaia begins to explain, "When I woke up in the Land of Earth, I was scared, and confused, and alone.  Eventually, I ran into Rocko.  He was the first person I met.  I begged him for food, which pissed Rocko off, and he told me that if I wanted food…I had to get it MYSELF.  So…I found my own.  Noticing my skills, Rocko taught me how to cook.  Rocko told me about how when he was younger, his dream was to find the Secret Ingredient, and so, he set off on a quest to do so, nearly losing his life in the process.  So, Rocko and I opened up Rocky Eats instead.  But I never did see Rocko's eyes light up quite like they did when he told me about his quest to find the Secret Ingredient.  Rocko always looked like…something was missing.  And so, I promised myself that I would use my strength to find the Secret Ingredient, and fulfill Rocko's dream, in order to pay back the man who saved my life."

Old-Man F and I are silent.

"What…a beautiful story," I say as I begin clapping and fake wiping a tear in front of the corner of my eyes.

"Shut up," Gaia grumbles as he turns away from me, "I told you my story, so now you gotta tell me yours."

"Do you…have any memories, Gaia?"  I ask.

"Nah," Gaia answers, "I just sort of woke up here.  You?"

"None," I answered, "How did you get your name?"

"Dunno," Gaia shrugs, "I always knew it somehow."

"And you…were able to FEEL a connection between you, Ana, and I?"

"Yeah," Gaia answers, "The Wind Charger said she could, as well.  It's weird that YOU don't."

"I see…" I answer as I rub my chin, "So you and Ana have similar situations.  I don't know why I'M the odd one out here…"

"You don't know your name?"  Gaia asks.

"No," I answer as I shake my head, "I got the name Noah because when I woke up, I found myself in what appeared to be a shipwreck.  On the wooden plank before me, was engraved the word 'Noah'."

"So what did YOU do upon waking up?"  Gaia asks me.

"Well…I sort of just wandered around for a bit, but I very quickly discovered that I had the power to control Water," I explain, "Using my Water Charge, I traveled from village to village, watering their crops, and helping them farm.  That is, until I met Master Flint, and he taught me about E-Chargers and the Elemental Apocalypse, so we set off on a quest to find you and Ana and the Fire Charger to prevent it."

"Yeah, I realized that I had the power to control Earth pretty soon, too," Gaia replies.

"You E-Charge really well," Old-Man F interrupts, "You have a teacher?"

"Nah," Gaia answers, "I sort of just picked it up by stopping all the thieves that came to Rocky Eats."

"Amazing…" I sigh as I shake my head, "Both you and Ana could E-Charge without any formal training, while I needed a teacher to be able to do so."

"Sounds like you suck, Water Charger," Gaia says, "Not knowing your name, not being able to feel our connection, not being able to E-Charge without a teacher."

"I KNOW THAT!"  I snap.

"Hey, hey, that's no way to talk to the people who are going to help you find the Secret Ingredient," Old-Man F interrupts as he holds his hands up to Gaia.

"YOU GUYS are gonna help ME?"  Gaia snorts, "Why?"

"In exchange for you joining our team," I smirk.

"Even if you guys help me get the Secret Ingredient, I ain't joining your team," Gaia replies, "I want to stay by Rocko's side."

"No…you WILL join our team," I smirk, "I'm not ASKING you, nor am I making a deal, I'm BLACKMAILING you.  You can't defeat the Treasure Thieves.  Not unless WE help you."

"FINE," Gaia snorts as he rolls his eyes, "I'd rather complete Rocko's dream and be indebted to you, than leaving him unfulfilled.  It's a deal."

"Great!"  I reply as I hold a hand out to Gaia, who takes my hand, and I then hosit Gaia up to his feet, "We'll set out at sunrise."

SUN RISE?!"  Gaia cries, "What about no-"

Before Gaia can finish, he falls backwards intot he ground in a cloud of dust.

Old-Man F and I blink as we stare down at Gaia.

"Yeah…" I say, "Tomorrow…"