Chapter 66-Team Noah's Sixth Member, Part Three

"Alright, and dinner is served," Gaia announces as he places the dishes he whipped up on top of the table all six of us have gathered around.

"YEAHHHH!"  Khione and Ana cheer.

"It smells good," Mary smiles.

"And it LOOKS even better!"  I comment.

"Man, I've never eaten food like this in my life," Old-Man F adds.

"Alright, so…tell me about yourself," Gaia orders as he takes his seat at the table, "You told me that you'd change my mind about you guys, right?  Well…DO IT."

  "Oh…that'll come in due time," I reply as I begin munching, "And you already know enough about me, anyway."

"Alright, then who should I start with…?"  Gaia asks as he cans the table.

"What about…YOU!"  Gaia orders as his eyes stop on Ana, who's busy shoveling a mouthful of food down her throat.

Ana swallows.

"M-me?"  She asks.

"Yes, you," Gaia answers as he props his elbows on the table and rests his chin in his hands, "As the Wind Charger, I'm curious about you."

"Well…let's see…" Ana begins to say as she looks to the sky and out a finger to her chin, lost in thought.

"So where do you come from?"  Gaia asks.

"I just kinda woke up in a jungle in the Land of Wind one day, with no memories," Ana explains, "Like you waking up in the desert."

"How did you learn how to E-Charge?"  Gaia asks.

"Much like you and Noah, I became aware of my abilities soon after waking up," Ana answers, "I used my Wind Charge to bounty hunt bandits, and eventually learned how to E-Charge 'cause of it."

"I see…" Gaia replies as he rubs his chin, "I wonder why you and I could SENSE our relationship between one another, but Noah could not…?"

"Yeah, I know…" I sigh.

"Well MY parents were killed by bandits!"  Khione exclaims, drawing our attention towards her, "I had heard about a powerful E-Charger in the next town over, so I set out to find them in order to teach me, and ended up meating Master F, and we became father and daughter!  Eventually, Noah came along, and we set off together to prevent the Elemental Apocalypse!"

Gaia pauses.

"Who…asked…?"

"YOU DID!"  Khione snaps.

"Oh…I was mostly referring to Anemoi," Gaia replies.

"Damn you…" Khione growls.

"And before Khione found me, I was actually a bandit myself," Old-Man F chuckles, "I don't mean to make excuses, but…I wasn't in the best place after my wife and child died…"

"And I was a slave of that bandit group," Mary sighs, "But not while Master Grandpa was a member."

Gaia looks at each one of us in turn.

"Man…" he says, "You guys all have some tragic pasts…"

"That's why we're all so close," I smirk, "We're family."

"Yeah…" Gaia replies with a faint smile.

"HAH!"  I exclaim as I point towards Gaia's lips, "YOU SMILED!"

"N-no I didn't," Gaia stammers as he turns away with a blush.

"Yes, you did!"  I exclaim.

Everyone laughs over dinner.

After dinner, we pack up and head to bed.  Once the sun rises, we set off again.

Days come and go, until eventually…the six of us find ourselves standing outside of the border separating the Land of Earth from the Land of Fire.

"Is this…it…?"

"No…this CAN'T be it, this can't be right…"

"Oh…this is it, alright," Old-Man F says as he looks back and forth from his map to the At one point, I open my eyes, and with my position laying on my back, I'm able to see the GIANT gray wall in front of us, which spans as far as the eye can see both widths, but is also tall enough to breach the clouds.  Much like the border separating the Land of Earth from the Land of Wind, this wall is dusty and cracked.  But what's different between the two borders, is that this wall has a GIANT rectangular entrance in the center that has been perfectly constructed.

"Why…is the border so open?"  I ask.

"Could…someone have busted on through?"  Khione suggests with a shrug.

"No…this passageway looks far too perfect and symmetrical to have been 'busted on through'," Gaia replies.

"It's like…the Land of Fire is welcoming us…" Mary says.

"Which is odd, because we were always told that each of the four lands are completely segregated," Ana replies as she crosses her arms.

"Well…it looks like finding the final E-Charger is gonna be alot easier than I thought!"  I laugh.

"Right!"  Khione smirks.

"That's good for us," Old-Man F adds as he cracks his knuckles.

"Let's find the Fire Charger!"  Mary exclaims.

"I hope I get a sister this time…" Ana sighs.

"Let's just get this over with…" Gaia grunts as he pushes his glasses up on his nose.

I turn and look at each one of my friends in turn.

Khione…Old-Man F…Mary…Ana…and now, Gaia…

"Our time together is almost at an end, guys," I say, "The final E-Charger…is nearly upon on."

My friends frown.

"Noah…" Mary sniffles.

"Yeah…?"  I ask as I peer down at the small girl.

"We…we're all that each other's got," Mary replies, "Even once our journey ends…will we still be family…?"

A warm smile spreads across my lips.

"Of course!"  I answer, "We'll be family, forever!"

Mary smiles sadly.

"Right…"

I turn around to face the entrance to the Land of Fire.

I take a deep breath in…then out.

"Khione, Old-Man F, Mary, Ana, Gaia…LET'S GO!"

"RIGHT!"

And so…Team Noah enters the Land of Fire.

And we set off to find the FINAl E-Charger.