Chapter 107-The Anti-Noah Association, Part Two

As the maze of iron walls around me comes crumbling down, I look around, noticing my friends have all defeated their respective opponents, as well.

"I'm glad to see that you guys are all okay," I say with a tender smile.

"Me too, Noah," Mary replies with a soft smile.

"Second times a charm!" Khione laughs.

"It was fun, fighting Cloud again," Ana adds.

"Agreed. We got to see how much stronger we've become," Old-Man F smirks.

"Was…Zippy strong…?" Gaia asks.

"Dad…" we hear Carbon growl, causing us to turn our attention over to him, who looms above Tungsten, staring down at his bloody father.

"Carbon…" Tungsten weakly coughs.

"All this time…I HATED you…hated you for being so weak. So why…why did you become a bandit…?"

Tungsten peers up at his son with a small smile.

"I guess I just wanted…to look STRONG to you…"

Carbon's eyes widen.

"Why didn't…WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE REVENGE ON PROMETHEUS?! He…he sexually assaulted your mom then killed her and your wife! You should be angry…why aren't you angry?!"

My eyes widen.

Tungsten looks away from Carbon in shame.

"I…couldn't…I am too weak to take revenge on Prometheus, I'm too weak to even DREAM about doing so. But that's why…YOU exist, my son. YOU will be the one to stop Prometheus."

Carbon awkwardly looks away and clutches his mechanical arm with his flesh hand.

"I…can't either…I was too weak to kill Prometheus…"

Angry again, Carbon peers back down at his dad.

"But at least I TRIED unlike you!" Carbon snaps, "I ran away from home because I was ASHAMED of being your son 'cause you're so weak and spineless! But maybe…maybe if you showed some DAMN backbone I could have stuck by your side and we could have killed Prometheus together!"

"Prometheus is too strong…" Tungsten replies, "For EITHER of us to handle."

I take a few steps over so that I am standing next to Carbon and place a hand on his shoulder, causing Carbon to flinch.

"Don't worry," I say as I stare down at my former foe, Tungsten, "I WILL be the one to kill Prometheus, with Carbon's help. I swear this to you, as the E-Charger of Water."

Tungsten's eyes widen.

"Stay out of this family drama…you fuckin' bitch," Carbon grumbles as he shrugs my hand off of his shoulder.

"I became a bandit because I had nowhere else to go," Tungsten continued, drawing Carbon's attention back towards him, "After you ran away, I didn't know what to do with myself. No wife, no child, no mother…only my evil father. And so…I turned to a life of crime. I formed Midnight Wolves in order to gain powerful allies and take over the Land of Water, building up a strong enough army to take on the Children of Fire."

Carbon's eyes widen.

Tungsten then turns to face Mary

"Mary…I'm sorry…"

Mary quivers as she covers her mouth with her hands, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. Gaia slings a comforting arm over Mary, who peers up at him.

"And Flint…" Tungsten continues as he turns to face the old man, "I must apologize for you too. You had nowhere else to go in the world, just like me. You only became a bandit due to the convenience of me being there."

Old-Man F crosses his arms.

"It's…fine. Thanks to you, I met my daughter."

Old-Man F peers down at Khione with a warm smile and slings an arm around her shoulders, and Khione smiles up at her father.

"Khione, I'm sorry to you, too," Tungsten adds, "I ordered Cherika to kill your parents because they didn't agree to join my bandit group. I feared that they would rebel against me, if left untouched."

Khione turns away from Tungsten and scowls.

"I don't forgive you. And I never will."

Tungsten laughs. "That's fine, I don't blame you."

"However-" Khione continues as he turns to face Tungsten, "Did you…LOVE Cherika?"

Old-Man F flinches.

Tungsten's eyes widen. "What…do you mean?"

"Cherika killed my parents, people I love. And I killed him. So if you LOVED Cherika…it means we're even."

Tungsten smiles as he stares at the setting sun above him, laying on his back on the dusty ground.

"I did. I…I truly did LOVE all of my comrades…"

A small smile spreads across my lips.

"Boss…" Zippy sniffles as he limps over to Tungsten, leaning on Echo for support, "DON'T GIVE IN, BOSS! OUR REVENGE RELIES ON YOU! I ONLY BECAME A BANDIT BECAUSE IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE IN THIS KILL OR BE KILLED WORLD…IF YOU GIVE IN NOW, EVERYTHING I DID WAS FOR NOTHING!"

"I only became an assassin due to Zippy's success as a bandit…" Echo says, his voice soft and quiet, for once, "If I didn't make money by fighting as an E-Charger, I would have just been killed by a different bandit group…"

"Same here…" Rocket replies as he begins to stir."

"Same," Marsh adds as she begins pushing herself up.

"Becoming a Treasure Thief…was the only way I could afford my dad's medicine…" Cloud sadly adds, "I didn't get along well with the others, but they all had similar reasons, too…"

"DON'T GIVE IN, BOSS!" Zippy wails as he continues limping towards Tungsten.

"BOSS!" Everyone else cries, as they gather around the fallen Tungsten.

"You…guys…" Tungsten gasps as he looks around, surveying his allies, as tears begin springing from the edges of his eyes.

And with a grunt, Tungsten summons the last bit of his strength and pushes himself off of the ground.

Once standing…Tungsten looks around at his allies one last time.

"FROM THIS DAY FORWARDS…I HEREBY DISBAND THE ANTI-NOAH ASSOCIATION!" Tungsten booms as he slams the butt of his staff into the ground, causing everyone to gasp, "FROM THIS DOWN ONWARDS…WE WILL BE KNOWN AS THE TEAM NOAH SUPPORT ASSOCIATION!"

Tungsten then turns to face me with a small smile.

"In order to help the one who will defeat the root of all evil and all of our problems…Prometheus."

Tungsten's comrades cheer.

"You know, Carbon?" I smile as I elbow the anti-hero in the ribs, "I like your dad."

Carbon turns away and sneers.

"He's alright."