Chapter Two
Surviving the Sorgat Desert
"Uhhhh... Matte Matte, wait please Saba-chan..." Tobias groaned as she walked slowly behind her pet Sabaku, the young Desert wolf pup. The two had been traveling for two days almost non stop to get to Einbroch, they only stopping to sleep and eat, and an occasional small break or two. Having lived in Morroc for her whole life, you would think that she would be used to desert weather, but even those of the desert could get tired of it.
"Oi, Nee-chan, if we wanna lose this weight we can't slow down!" Sabaku chanted, marching in front of her as he stepped in a beat. Her face got a sudden annoyed look as she glared at him.
"Oh would you shut up? Unlike you I didn't live in the desert! And why do WE have to loose weight!? You're the one complaining that you're fat!"
"Working out if fun if you do it with someone else!" He laughed before turning, trotting in place as Tobias hit the sand face first. "Ah! Nee-chan!"
"I need ... to rest Sabaku. Your metabolism sucks..." She groaned, glaring at him from the ground.
After a moment the two sat under the shade of a large rock, Tobias sipping on some apple juice while Sabaku chewed on a bone. The rest would do them good, and with still a long ways to go it wouldn't hurt to take a small break. She gave a small sigh of relief once she finished her juice, looking up to the sky as she smiled.
"You know, the desert isn't so bad once you get out of the heat..." Tobias said with her smile.
"Oh for fck's sake..."
"Sabaku?! Where did you learn such language!?" She blinked a bit as she suddenly heard a cuss, glaring as she looked down at her puppy. He however blinked up at her, that bone still in his mouth as he looked on with a dumbfound stare.
"JUST FCKING DIE ALREADY!" The voice yelled again, Tobias staring down at Sabaku before she shook her head, holding it a bit.
"I'm hearing things ... my wolf puppy is swearing at me and he's not even talking..."
"Nee-chan look!" Sabaku had looked around the rock, watching as someone off in the horizon was seen facing a large Golem. Tobias blinked, looking over the rock as she watched.
The person jumped back a few times as the Golem stomped forward, swiping one of it's stone arms at them. More cussing was thrown in the air before their image became more clear from the heat waved. It was a Ninja, and a female ninja at that. Her uniform was almost entirely blue, which seemed to go perfectly with her golden colored hair.
"Sabaku ... it's a ninja. I've heard about them. They're supposed to be really skilled in throwing weapons and ninjitsu." Tobias said as she watched the ninja cuss and fight off the Golem as best she could.
"Do you think we should go help?" Sabaku asked, looking back at her. She shrugged lightly, looking to her side.
"I dunno if we'll be much help, but I guess we could try."
"I think we can! Let's defeat that thing!" He barked before jumping up and down. Tobias nodded and took hold of the dagger at her side, then stood, pointing with it as she yelled.
"CHARGE!!"
"You're getting on my last nerve... HYOUSENSOU!!" The girl shouted, slamming her hands on the ground. At that moment a trail of ice spikes flew up from the ground, traveling at a rapid pace towards the Golem. The ice made contact with the foot of the beast and almost instantly covered it's entire body, encasing it in a large rock of ice.
Tobias and Sabaku slowed to a stop just short of the girl, both their eyes wide as she stared up at the Golem stuck in the ice. The dagger dropped from her hand to the ground before she slowly began to back away, the puppy following suit as he simply backed himself behind her. Not sure what to think, maybe it was best to leave the girl alone. If she was that powerful, it would be wise not to get on her bad side.
The ice began to crack before it split apart, the monster falling to the sandy ground as the ice crumbled around it. A smirk was adorn on her face as she let out a small "Heh" and brushed her thumb over her noise as a sign of some kind of victory. But her expression changed as she heard the fading steps of the girl and her wolf, and quickly turned to lock eye contact with them.
"DUH!!" Tobias froze, eyes wide before she tripped backwards over Sabaku and hit the ground on her butt. The ninja looked at them a moment before glancing off to the side, her eyes half closed as she spoke.
"Yamai, you can come out now." She looked to another large rock, staring at it a moment before a head slowly appeared from behind it. Wearing the blue hat with the talisman in front of it, a Bongun slowly stood before hopping quickly behind her, his eyes hidden by his hair as he looked down.
"You two, who are you?" The ninja spoke, causing the two to jump a little, while Tobias looked to the sides nervously.
"Buh, uh, me? Oh uh ... um ... I'm Tobias, and this is Sabaku." She replied.
"Tobias? Isn't that a boy's name?" She blinked, a blank look on her face.
"YEAH SO WHAT!? I LIKE MY NAME! DON'T MAKE FUN OF IT!" Tobias yelled before realizing her fatal error, then suddenly scrambled for her dagger in case she had to defend herself. The girl looked at her with an eyebrow raised before she smirked, waving her hand a little in front of her face.
"You sound like a spaz."
"A ... spaz?" She sat on the ground, holding the dagger in her lap as she stared into space with a blank look.
"My name is Keoki, a ninja from Amatsu." The ninja finally spoke her name, but did not jest her hand out to make a proper greeting. Instead her arms remained crossed over her chest, and Yamai continued to hop behind her.
"Keoki?" She looked up at her before glancing down at the dagger in her lap, then reluctantly placed it at her side as she put it away. If she had to the time to at least introduced herself, there wasn't much chance she was going to murder them both, least that's what she hoped.
---
The sun was getting to the point of dusk as Tobias and Sabaku sat behind the rock from before, but this time they were joined by the ninja and her Bongun. A fire had been built with what little wood they could find as Keoki cooked meat using sticks stuck in the ground around it. At the moment she was going through her travel bag, tossing out the stone heart that she had gotten from the Golem earlier. Tobias watched her, then looked to the fire as she observed the flames.
At this point she didn't even know how far she had gone, or if she was even close to Einbroch. It seemed like they traveled far enough, but all they kept seeing was desert and sand. The map they had been was confusing enough, but still useful. Pulling away from her trace with the fire she glanced up at the sky, the stars were starting to come out now. Another day was coming to a close.
This is becoming harder then I thought. I didn't know a desert could be so confusing. I never traveled the desert on my own, I was always with my brother. I guess I should have payed more attention back then...
"Tobias, don't fall behind." The voice of her brother came into her head as she began to remember traveling with him. A younger girl of six ran behind Ashi, laughing a little as she ran up and took his hand.
"Nii-san! Nii-san! Can we go see the Baby Desert Wolves today?" Little Tobias said with a smile as she jumped up and down. Her brother looked down at her with a smile, his coat getting caught in a light breeze.
Her brother always looked different from her. While she had been blessed with her mother's silver hair, Ashi had gotten brown hair from their father. The thing they both shared was the green eyes of their mother. Ashi had always been built and fit, and it showed through the slight opening of his gunslinger coat.
"You really like those things, don't you?" Ashi said with a smile, holding her smaller hand in his. Tobias nodded franticly before running forward as her hand tore away from his.
"When I get older, I'm going to get one as a pet! And we'll go on adventures together and travel to Einbroch where I'll become a gunslinger just like you!"
"You really want to be a gunslinger huh?" Ashi smirked as he watched her. Tobias nodded, her eyes seeming to sparkle before they closed in a happy look. Her brother gave a small chuckle at her enthusiasm, then took his hand, roughing up her hair. She blinked a little as he did, looking up at him as one eye was covered by a stray lock of hair.
"Nii-san! Let's go!" Tobias said eagerly and her hand was suddenly taken by her brother, he beginning to run with her. As they ran however, something caught her eye, a large whole in the ground surrounded by things that looked like rows of sharp teeth. She then looked up at Ashi, pulling his hand a little as she pointed.
"Nii-san, what is that?"
"That?" He blinked, slowing down as he looked to where she pointed. "That's called Ant Hell."
"... Whys it called that?"
"Well, people used to be scared of the ants that live in there. They'd say that if you went in there, it was like being in hell it's self."
"That place sounds scary..." Tobias looked down.
"There's nothing to be scared about Tobias. The ants inside are practically harmless, as long as you don't bother them, they won't hurt you." Ashi said, reassuring his sister as he placed his hand on her head. He looked up at him a moment, smiling lightly before beginning to run off again with her brother.
... Ashi-nii-san. Where are you?
"Dood ... Hellooooo, earth to Tobias! DOOD!" Keoki began poking Tobias in the side with a stick, watching as she simply stared up into space. After a moment she was jarred back to reality, wincing as she was stabbed with the stick.
"Ow! What is it?" She blinked, rubbing her side.
"You were staring into the sky for almost an hour. I think you were starting to drool."
Tobias gave a small blink of confusion she she felt the side over mouth, then took her glove, wiping away the small amount of drool that had been forming. Keoki laughed, pointing a little as she held her gut and her eyes closed in her force of laughter.
"Stop laughing, it's not funny." She whined a little as she looked away.
"What's wrong with you? You're the first person I've seen that can stare into the sky for an hour." Keoki chuckled, taking her finger and wiping tears from her eyes from her laughter.
"Nothing ... I was just thinking about something..."
"Something huh? You were drooling so ... IT MUST BE A MAN YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT!"
"What?!" Tobias' eye widened as a blush quickly took over her face, then she shook her head franticly as she tried to hide it. "NO NO! I WAS REMEMBERING MY BROTHER!"
"You drool when you think about your brother?"
"No! Well ... I dunno! I didn't know I was even drooling!" She huffed as she crossed her arms, looking away. Keoki smirked, seeming to slide up behind her with a sly grin.
"Well, even so, you have a guy don't you?"
"A-A guy?!" She blushed again before narrowing her eyes. "No I don't! I don't have time for men."
"Sounds like you like someone.. WHO IS IT?"
"Nobody! I don't like any--" Tobias stopped in mid sentence as she suddenly remembered the man from long before. The one who saved her back at the bar in Morroc. She then whined, shaking her head as she held it. "OH WOULD YOU STOP!?"
"Alright alright." She sighed as she pulled away, taking one of the meat left on the fire.
Tobias stared at the ground, her eyes narrowed. She wasn't ever going to see that guy again, so why bother even starting an interest in him? She looked off to the side, looking at Sabaku who was now asleep at her side. Her eyes closed half way, looking at the meat sizzling as it cooked. How long would it take to find Ashi? Once she became a gunslinger, what would she be expected of? Could she really pull this off?
"Oi, Tobias. You're still a novice, right?" Keoki pointed at her clothing, causing her to look up in her direction.
"Yeah. I'm going to become a gunslinger like my brother..." She replied.
"Well, how about this? Let's form a party, me and you. I'm sure you could use the help, and I'm up for some real adventure. This training by myself is getting boring." Keoki said with a sigh before biting off some meat.
"A party?" Tobias said as she glanced down. It would be better to travel in a group. Things would be more safe that way, and who knew, they might even get to Einbroch faster.
"Nuunn..." Yamai's head bobbed up and down a little as he sat behind his owner, the Bongun beginning to drift to sleep a little. Tobias watched him a moment, a small smile forming. Keoki didn't seem so bad, and if she had a pet, that meant she wasn't all bad. With agreement she nodded, her eyes closing in a happy look.
"Alright. That sounds great."
"FCK YEAH IT DOES! FINALLY SOME ACTION!" Keoki shouted, startling Yamai to where his head snapped up and a blush formed on his pale skin. Tobias blinked, her expression blank as she stared at her from her sudden outburst. This was going to be some interesting trip with this ninja.
Tobias smiled a little before taking some of the meat from the fire after it was fully cooked and ate her fill, finishing her dinner. It was kinda nice to camp out under the stars, just like how she used to with Ashi. They would always make camp when going to visit the Desert Wolf pups, and her brother would always make the fire, just like this. Tobias lowered her vision to the ground as she thought. She needed to stop thinking so much about her brother. All it ever did was depress her over the fact that she could not find him.
Her eyes narrowed as she took a large bite of meat. She made up her mind. No longer was she going to constantly think about how she missed him, but rather about how she was going find him, and look forward to all the adventures she was going to have. No more sadness, at least if she could help it. She nodded a little to herself, finishing off her dinner with the last bite.
The sun rose once more, shining upon Tobias as she slept. She winced lightly a she felt a small jab to her side, her eyes opening a little as she felt it again. She whined, turning a little to see Keoki kneeling beside her, poking her side with a stick.
"AUGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She screamed out as she sat up, seeming to slide across the sand and back into the rock.
"Time to get up sleeping beauty. We've got to get moving if you want to make it to Einbroch." Keoki said, a small smirk on her face as she poked her with the stick once more. Her eyes now looking beady, Tobias blinked, her hair sticking up all over the place, worse then normal.
"Oh ... right." She tilted her head a little in her confusion.
"Nee-chan! You're up!" Sabaku barked playfully as he jumped up, licking her face to wake her up more. She shook her head a little, whimpering before pushing him aside and coming to a stand.
"Alright, let's get going! This is going to be the damn best adventure ever!" The ninja said with high expectations. Tobias slowly came to a stand, giving a small fist into the air as she yawned.
"Ohayoo..."
The four began to head out, Keoki and Yamai leading the front with Sabaku, and coming in behind them Tobias, who still didn't look awake at all. The heat from the desert wasn't making it much easier to remain conscious either. For hours they walked before Tobias hit the ground, groaning as she lifted her face from the sand.
"Sheesh, you'd think you never trekked a desert before." Keoki said with a tsk.
"I haven't! Least not that I can remember..." Tobias whined.
"Hey! What's that!" Sabaku called out as he stood with Yamai, pointing with his nose to something in the distance. Over the small sand dunes a few large spikes could be seen coming up from the ground, surrounding a large hole within the sand. Tobias slowly pushed herself up off the ground, slinking across the sand before her eyes widened as she looked at the spikes.
"Ant Hell." Keoki said, stepping up beside her. She turned her gaze, looking to her as a sweatdrop formed.
"How'd you know that?"
"The map says so." Keoki stuck her tongue out as she held the map out in front of her. Faltering forward, Tobias his the ground, her leg twitching a little.
"Say, let's go check it out!" Sabaku said, looking up to Yamai. The Bongun looked down at him, blinking a little before nodding a little. The two began to head down, Keoki following before Tobias reached her arm out, trying to stop them.
"H-Hey wait! Don't just go barging in!"
"Meet ya there ya spaz!" Keoki called back at her, waving a bit.
"I'M NOT A SPAZ!!" Tobias screamed back, getting up as she ran after them. She was keeping up pretty well before suddenly her foot fell into the sand. Blinking, she looked down before her other foot disappeared. The sand from under almost vanished as she fell through it, falling down before she hit the ground under her.
"Nee-chan!" Sabaku turned just in time to see Tobias fall through the sand. The three ran to where she used to be a small hole in the ground where she had fallen through.
Looking around, Tobias was frozen, watching as the small herds of giant ants walked by her, each carrying an egg or some source of food. Chills ran up her spine as her eyes went wide, backing up against the wall of the cavern. She was smack dab in the middle of Ant Hell.
"Guys ... HELP ME!!"