Chapter 12 - A Lost Cub
Pokota ran as fast as he can. He kept running through the thick forest, not looking back. It was only when he thought he saw someone did he stop. His back pressed against a mossy tree and his head lowered between his knees. What did he just witness? Pokota closed his eyes and blushed. He didn't need to see what was happening behind him. That guy with the purple hair was molesting one of the most dangerous people on Red Orb and in front of her dumb lover too. Pokota felt his throat loosen when he swallowed a wad of spit. The redness of his face grew as he remembered the Bandit Killer moaning for Xellos to stop. And then, she started to cry. He could hear her throat cracking as she pleaded him to stop. But, it was strange. When Pokota turned his curious head around, the redhead was straddling the guy and it looked as if she was enjoying the feel of his hands grazing across her thin body.
Almost immediately, Pokota pulled himself close to the tree. He could hear shouts, directly where he was running away from. The bounty hunters must've found the ropes that he was bound in and were coming after him. Pokota was fast but after seeing that guy stop his tomahawk, he doubt that he can out run him. Looking up in to the tree, he decided to stop running and lay in hiding for the rest of the night. They won't be able to see him in the dark if he's in a tree. Once morning comes in a few hours, he will climb down and run as fast as he could to town, tell his father what he had heard and hopefully, the old man will listen.
The double doors burst open. The young man with long magenta hair ran inside, practically sliding across the bamboo wood floors. As he ran through the long hallway, armed natives with long spears and daggers on their belts looked up from whatever they were doing and watched the lad ran to the lonely door at the end of the hallway.
"Pops!" Not even a knock on the door, Pokota barged in and rushed past the gather of sitting elders on the floor. The eldest man with a full beard and mustache sat content at the farthest end of the circle, his eyes unmoved on the pit of fire in the middle. "Pops! Pops!" Pokota went to the man's side, his knees and hands next to each other.
"What is it, my son?" The founder of the settlement finally turned his head. Unlike his son and the other elders who wore leather clothes with the symbol of their settlement on their skin, Taforashia had his entire body covered in a thick battle dress with fancy beading and dyed feathers. On his head was the Chief headdress, it was brightly colored with feathers, beads, and jewels.
"There are bounty hunters looking for you, Pops! Two of them are the infamous hunting duo, Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev!" At the mention of their names, the elders stopped their soft chanting and peered at the excited teen. Pokota noticed their stares and lowered his head to the ground.
"Let me talk to my son." The Chief announced. Slowly but surely, the dozen elders left the room. Using his walking staff, Chief Taforashia tapped the end of the stick next to him, silently ordering Pokota to sit. The boy crossed his legs carefully and placed his hands over his knees, he watched his elderly father closely as he grabbed a large ceramic bowl with colorful beads and a handful of sand from a container.
"Speak now, Pokota." He spoke roughly.
"The Bandit Killer is just minutes away from finding this settlement. She is accompanied with another man named Xellos. All of them are highly skilled and they carry weapons that are made to kill." Pokota sat up when the Chief threw the handful of sand into the fire, making the flames to change color. Taking a few beads from the bowl, Taforashia jiggled the beads in his palm while staring at the blue flames.
"They spoke about a criminal, Pops. They say that this criminal is coming after you and he's REALLY dangerous." Unsure if he should continue or not, Pokota watched his father toss bead after bead into the growing fire, his eyes slightly grew when the dark smoke from the flames began to create figures of animals.
The first figure was of an Eagle, flapping its long wings above their heads like it was flying through air. But, Pokota watched with fearful eyes when the Eagle stopped flapping it wings and reared to the side. A large Coyote, jaws open, leaped at the flying bird from out of nowhere and pushed it into the large vat of smoke. Walking out from that same smoke, a Bear on its hind legs raised its large paws into the sky and a Hawk flew out from its pads. With a wingspan that touched from one wall to the other, the bird looked down at the Bear below it and twisted its head to the Coyote that was racing toward it from behind. The Hawk flapped its wings and flew toward the charging animal, beak first. The Hawk and Coyote splashed against one another, hitting each other so hard that they formed into one dark cloud. It was within that dark cloud did Pokota saw the Bear again. It was holding a large diamond-shaped object in its paws. Holding it high above his head like it was a gift toward the gods. Then in a sudden instant, the Bear threw the object to the ground and it shattered into pieces. The face of the Coyote reappeared and it released a loud wailing cry before fading away. The last thing Pokota saw was the Bear falling to its knees, alone and curled into a ball, it died and faded away just like the Coyote. Confused, the teen turned his head to his father who was fanning the smoke away.
"Pops… What just… What just happened?"
"The future, my son." Chief Taforashia said softly. "Yes. The future." He repeated and looked at his boy. "Your future actually."
"M-My future?" Pokota winced. Not sure of what any of it meant; he waited for his father to explain the premonition like he usually does.
"Do you remember what animals appeared in chronicle order?" Thinking for a second, Pokota nodded.
"The Eagle, Coyote, Bear, and Hawk."
"Do you remember what I taught you about the meaning behind these animals?" When he didn't say anything, Chief Taforashia chuckled softly with a shake of his head. "You need to study, my son." Slightly ashamed, the boy blushed and pouted with his lips.
"Now," The elder sighed. "The Eagle, it is the divine spirit. It's the connection to the creator, the illumination of spirits; it is the sacrifice and renewal. The Coyote is better known as the trickster. It is the intelligent and stealthy swindler, who will deceive the innocent to get its glory. The Bear is the guardian of the world. Filled with courage and will power, self-preservation and great strength, it is sovereignty." He stopped for a second and looked at his engaged son.
"Do you remember what the Hawk is?"
"I'm still… a little… fuzzy in the matter." Pokota chuckled nervously.
"The Hawk is the nobility. It is the recollection of guardianship. The Hawk is the healing." The old man said to him. Nodding to him, Pokota kept silent as his father grabbed more beads from his bowl. This time, he didn't throw it into the fire; he just playfully jiggled it in his hand.
"Was your eyes open, my son? Did you watch the Eagle being defeated by the Coyote?" Chief Taforashia paused. "The Coyote is a mischievous character. It only knows its duty and it will use any means necessary to accomplish its goals. But once the Coyote killed the divine spirit, did you see the Bear walking on its hind legs? With his hands in the air, the large Hawk flew out of his hands and fought against the Coyote.
"It wasn't until the Bear lifted and destroyed the life force of the Coyote, did it die. But once it was destroyed, the Bear died with the Coyote too." Taforashia tossed the pebbles back into its bowl and grabbed his walking staff. With much help from his son, he limp his tired body to the only window in the room and looked outside. Watching the townsfolk from his window with his son, the Chief turned his head to the young man and rest his old calloused hand on top of his shoulder.
"My son, a terrible event will take place in your near future. The death of a divine spirit is also the mark for freedom and once the Eagle in your life has passed, you will achieve a greater understanding of yourself and the courage that you possess. The Coyote will deceive you, misinform your judgment and will make you question your will power but remember," Pokota's eyes widen when a smile appeared on his father's face. "You have the Hawk with you. The Hawk will lead you and it will heal you. It will show you that you are who you are and there is nothing greater than being yourself."
"Pops…" He gulped. Such kind and positive words but his eyes slightly hurt. His father must have noticed the change since he pulled him to his chest and wrapped his arm around Pokota's thin shoulders.
"Don't forget. You are who you are because you are you." He moved his head to meet with his son's eyes. "You are my son. You are Pokota."
"You are… who you are?" Pokota repeated his words but it only gave him greater sadness. Shoving his father's hand off his shoulder, Pokota twisted away from him and gathered the large battle bow and barrel of piercing arrows from the wall.
"I am," Strapping the barrel of arrows to his back and hanging a small pouch made of leather around his waist; he turned to his frowning father and sighed. "I am who I am because you made me like this two years ago, Pops." His fingers tighten around the wooden bow. "I'm not your son-"
"You ARE my son." The Chief said loudly but Pokota just shook his head.
"I'm not." He turned his body away and walked to the door, only to stop halfway there. "But," Pokota looked back at him. "I will be a son to my creator and I will protect him from any dangers that face him."
"Pokota, you are-"
"Pops, please," Pokota spread a smirk across his face, stopping him from talking. "Let me at least pretend to be your son." He went to the room door and just when he opened the door, Pokota stopped to see the heavily armored warriors lying across the hallway floor. They were bound by their own lassos and looked as if they were caught by surprise. Then, he saw them.
"Whoa, grandma!" Lina laughed loudly when the only woman elder in the group flashed her hand of cards at everybody. "You picked a full house on your first draw!"
"The ancestors must have been watching over me." The elder chuckled cheerfully. Pokota growled as the elders laughed alongside the three trespassers over the game of cards.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THREE DOING HERE?" Lina, Gourry, and Xellos turned their heads from their cards. Pokota raised a shaking fist at them. "THIS IS A HIDDEN SETTLEMENT! YOU THREE CAN'T JUST BARGE IN, BEAT THE GUARDS, AND PLAY CARDS WITH THE SACRED ELDERS!"
"We wouldn't have if SOMEONE didn't lead us to his town." Xellos snickered and passed two cards to the old man to his right.
"Lead you-WHAT? I DIDN'T LEAD YOU IDIOTS HERE-"
"Did you really think I threw that dagger in front of you because I wanted you to see it?" The redhead picked up the cards that was passed to her and instantly brought a smile to her face.
"We knew the only way we can get to Taforashia is if you lead us here but since you weren't cooperating, we did a risky move of letting you go and following your every move." She snickered softly with a cat-like face. "So much for being sneaky."
"YOU… YOU…" Grinding his teeth together, Pokota opened his mouth to let out a bunch of nasty words until his father came from behind and placed a hand over his shoulder.
"Are these the three trespassers who wish to talk to me?" The old man asked politely.
"Why, yes we are!" Lina quickly stood up and showed her cards to her opponents, who groaned and tossed their hand in. "We've come to talk to you, Tafor-"
"That's CHIEF Taforashia, flat chest." Pokota snorted loudly.
"Why, you little-" Lina and Pokota exchanged bolts of lightning to each other's eyes.
"May we come in?" Gourry smiled kindly at the Chief.
"Of course you may."
"But, Pops, these three trespassed into our land and tied me up!" Pokota turned to him and waved his arms around. "They are BAD people!"
"Look, we TRESPASSED into the land because we're trying to save your Pops!" Lina snapped at him, making Pokota's eyes wide. "We're not here to kill your Pops! We're here to warn him about the dangers that await him!"
Sitting in a circle around the fire, Pokota glanced repeatedly between his father and the three trespassers. He listened as they told him about the failed assassination of his long-time comrade, Philionel, and about the Alliance of the East and their sorrowful death that was handed to them by the criminal, Seigram. Xellos flashed his officer badge and informed the Chief about Seigram's true intention.
"He knows that you are the only person who would know where the Lithium excavation sites in Saillune are located." The purple-haired investigator said. "And once he gets that information, he's going to kill you and the rest of the people in this settlement."
"Why would he do that?" Pokota asked loudly, his eyebrows curled angrily. "Why would he kill our kind? He has the information-"
"And he's going to make sure that he's the only one who has that information." Xellos quickly told him. "Seigram is clever. He won't risk leaving anything behind to track it back to him, especially if it is something living." Looking at his father now, Pokota waited anxiously as the old man stared at the building fire in front of him. They waited patiently until his Pops released a loud snore, making them all release a loud noise.
"EXCUSE ME." Lina reached over and grabbed the old man by the end of his short beard. She pulled him roughly around, waking him up instantly. "WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LIFE OR DEATH HERE."
"I-I apologize." The Chief chuckled embarrassing-like. Stroking his beard gently, he let out a soft sigh and smiled happily at the three faces. "As you see, I'm an old man. I'm afraid my memory is not as sharp as it was three years ago."
"So," Lina questioned. "You don't know where the Lithium caves are located, then?"
"I'm afraid not." The old man chuckled. Glancing at Lina and Xellos's sighing expressions, Gourry looked back at the Chief and smiled.
"I guess there was no need for the warning then."
"I guess not." Chief Taforashia nodded to them. Ordering his son to walk the visitors out, he gave each of them a handshake and sent them on their way.
"I'm sorry about Pops." Pokota lead the three trespassers through the hallway. "He's getting older and his mind is not all there."
"It's better that he forgot, rather than remember." Lina said with her arms crossed. Pokota opened the front door of the one-level mansion and looked back at the three taller visitors.
"Because Pops doesn't remember the location of the Lithium excavation sites, are we still in danger?" The three exchanged looks and back at the worried teenager.
"I'm not guaranteeing your Pops' safety but if he doesn't know anything, the lives of this settlement shouldn't be harmed." The leader of the three whispered. Pokota noticed the uncertainty on Lina's face; he lowered his face and pushed the door wider.
"Thank you for coming."
"It was our pleasure." Xellos chimed in cheerfully. He was the last one to leave the home and when he did, he looked back at Pokota while Lina and Gourry continued to walk away.
"By the way," The boy stopped the door from closing. Chuckling, Xellos folded both hands over his cane and leaned his body to his left. His eyes slightly drew open. It was the same look that he gave Pokota when he met him.
"For a person who supposedly died three years ago, you are in great condition." He smirked when Pokota fidgeted. "Or could it be the Lithium that is keeping you alive?"
"H-How…" Pokota's throat tightened. Closing the gap that existed between them, Xellos grabbed his free hand and gripped it firmly in his gloved hand.
"Tell me, Pokota-San," The officer's hand felt tight around his. "Do you dream or just simply close your eyes, waiting to sleep only to never know what sleep is?"
"I… I…" He felt exposed in front of this man. As he shook his hand firmly, Xellos only looked away when he heard Gourry calling for him.
"Don't worry," Xellos turned his attention back to Pokota. "It will be our little secret." It was the same line he said to that redheaded huntress. Pokota watched from the doorway as the man let go of his shaking hand and caught up to his two teammates. It was true what he said. He didn't know how to sleep even after two years of existing amongst humans. He'd just close his eyes and pretend to be asleep to feel more human. This is natural though. His father told him that his body wasn't going to go through what a normal body was supposed to go through. He told him that Lithium can only do so much. It will give him the ability to live but at the same time, he won't be able to live. Pressing his hand over his chest, he tried to feel, although he knew it was impossible. Instead of soft beats of a heart, low vibrations echoed throughout his body. It was the Lithium. The Lithium prevented him from dying but it also prevented him to do anything else. It only gave others a perspective that he is a normal teenager but underneath it all, he is just a hunk of metal with fake rubbery skin and a fake heart.
"I'm a fake." He despised it. Able to think and experience feelings like a human being, he was unable to really feel or touch anything. All he could really 'feel' is the metal beneath his skin rubbing against a flat surface. Whenever his friends would explain how soft or smooth the surface of an object would be, he would stare at them with lost emotions. What is soft? What is smooth? What is hard? What is anything? He got nothing and it was unfair. Did he deserve to experience all these feelings like love and happiness, when he can't even feel the warmth of someone's lips when it comes in contact with his skin? How is he able to love when he can't feel his lover's strong grasp around his waist?
"My son." Pokota turned around quickly. Standing behind him with his walking staff in his hand was his father. Not wanting to show the sadness on his face, Pokota turned away from him.
"I was just saying goodbye to the three trespassers." The young teen proceeded to close the door until the old man grabbed his shoulder and twisted his body to face him.
"My son." The Chief held his shoulder tightly. "Your future must become a reality if the tales of what Lina Inverse and her friends have told here are true."
"Pops, what are you-"
"Run away, Pokota." His father suddenly shoved him out of the mansion.
"H-Hey!" Pokota yelped when he fell to the front door step. He gathered himself to his feet and grabbed the doorknob. Irritation flashed on his face when he realized that his father just locked him out of their home. "Dammit, Pops." Snarling, Pokota walked around the house toward the back door. To his shock, his father had locked that door too.
"Dammit." He had no choice but to go through a window and the only window in the house was in his father's office. Only, when he got to the window, he saw that it was drawn open. Pokota stopped next to the open window still. There was a terrible rusty lock on the window. His father had absolute no strength in his fingers, it was physically impossible for him to open or close anything.
"Pops?" He called for his father from outside of the window. "Hey, Pops?" Taking a wide step to start climbing over the window, he stopped when he heard a low vibration. It was the same vibration like the one that came out of his chest. Pokota could feel the vibration rumbling against the wooden window frame, it made the metal beneath his skin shake against each other. It was silent just like his but this one made heavier and wilder shakes. His fingers gripped against the wooden frame. There was another robot is in his home with his maturing father. Leaping over the window still and swiping the tomahawk from the wall of his father's office, Pokota rushed out of the office and called for his father.
"Pops!" He looked over the long hallway that ran between his office and to the front door. There was nobody there. With only two rooms in this home and the first room completely empty, Pokota ran to the second room, his bedroom. Kicking down the door, he froze when he saw the other robot. He looked unlike him. Covered in thick white bandages over his head and arms, he wore a black hooded cloak that concealed his entire thick and large body. At the end of his arm, which was supposed to be a hand was instead a rapid-fire weapon with multiple barrels and it was aimed at the face of his father.
"POPS!" Pokota shouted. The robot turned its bandaged face toward him; he could see his red glowing eyes peering at him. Raising his weapon, Pokota charged at him. "GET AWAY FROM MY FATHER!"
"P-Pokota!" Chief Taforashia called out with a gasp when the strange weapon moved away from his face and at his scrawny mechanical son. Seigram released the trigger and rapid bullets began to fly at Pokota. Miraculously, most of the bullets missed the target but it did hit the teen on both shoulders and ribcage. Unable to feel the damage done to his body, Pokota continued to charge and when he got close, he swung the tomahawk at his head but Seigram blocked it with his free arm. His weapon stopped firing and hit the boy off, making Pokota slam against the wall of his room. He let out a sharp choking sound from his mouth when he opened his eyes, Seigram stood over his sprawled body with the Gatling gun-arm pointed directly at the end of his nose.
"So, this is your son?" His voice was low and raspy, like he never had a drink of water in his life. Seigram tilted his head side-to-side, inspecting the bullet wounds on the boy. A psychotic snicker slipped beneath his bandages. "Or should I say, this is your robot?" Another one who knows his real identity! Pokota glared at the fiend, his face twisted as the criminal continued to laugh at him.
"Please!" Taforashia called out with his arms reaching out. "I'll tell you everything! Just please, don't kill him!" Pokota moved his eyes to his father. He had dropped to his knees, begging to the killer to spare Pokota's life. He didn't get it. Why is he begging him? Pokota's eyes slightly watered. Why is his creator begging this criminal to spare his life when he can just build him again? He's just a robot, made after his actual son.
"P-Pops…" Watching this old man begging and pleading on his hands and knees for a robot made no sense. He's not human, he can always be rebuilt, so why then? Why is he trying so hard to protect his life? Why is this old man protecting a life that doesn't belong to him? It was probably the smile of relief that Taforashia spread across his face when Pokota realized that Seigram ditched him and turned his gun at his creator.
"NO!" Pokota struggled to move. "HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING!" He shouted but his shouts were unheard, Seigram still kept his gun at the Chief's face. "HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Pokota continued to scream. Having trouble seeing, he waved his head side-to-side to make the irritation leave his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, tears were flowing heavily down. It was probably the tears that prevented him from seeing another person stepping into the room.
"The location, Old Man." Seigram moved his weapon closer to his father's face. "WHERE IS IT?"
"If you're wondering where the location to the Lithium excavation sites are then you're out of luck." The robot turned around abruptly, the Gatling gun still positioned at the tip of Taforashia's nose. Leaning against the doorway of the room, Lina smiled with her arms crossed over her chest. "The senile old man doesn't know where it is."
"Lina Inverse." Seigram whispered her name coldly. He moved his eyes around the room, looking around to see where her companion was. "And where is your stooge?"
"Right above you!" Leaping from out of nowhere, Gourry held his sword high and pushed it down against the air, toward Seigram's face. Quick and agile, Seigram was able to dodge the move only to get hit by Lina's daggers in the chest.
"Get the old man and the puny kid out of here!" Lina shouted at Gourry who was already picking up Chief Taforashia from the ground.
"W-What about you?" Lina turned her head back when Pokota asked loudly. Her eyes quickly moved over his body, she saw the shiny bright lights of Lithium from the opening of the wounds. She looked back at Pokota's face and gave off a confident smile that made him fidget.
"Worry about yourself, kid." Turning around to face Seigram, she grabbed her trusty revolver from her right hip and pulled back the hammer. "I'll be just fine." As Gourry carried him on his shoulder, Pokota watched the self-assured redhead stand in front of him. With posture filled with poise and a smile that made death squirm in its track, this is the Bandit Killer. Once Gourry got out of the room, Lina sighed when Seigram easily got her daggers out of his body, leaks of red fluid squirt out of the holes her knives made. Splashed on the floor, bits of coal-like mineral were shown in his blood.
"Looks like you're about to expire too." Lina muttered and looked up at his unreadable mask. "Tell me, how long does the Lithium last until it runs out of juice?"
"Depends on how much the body needs," He obediently answered with slight arrogance in his voice. "Take that kid. His creator made him thin and scrawny for a reason. His battery is going to last him for a long time." Extending his gun arm at Lina, a soft chuckle came from his bandages. "Ever since I acquired my Gatling gun to replace my arm, it's been costing me my power. I'd say in a couple more months, I will be dead like you will be after I'm done with you."
"Couple more months?" Lina scoffed and raised her gun to meet with his. "Why wait?"
Outside of the settlement and away from danger, Gourry dropped Pokota's body against the grass, he apologized softly when his head hit against a large boulder.
"Don't worry about it, I don't feel a thing." The robot muttered sorely and turned to his elderly father, who was beginning to pant louder than any of them. "Pops? Pops, what's wrong?" He grabbed his hands, only to have his father shove them away.
"Pokota…" Chief Taforashia grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down to his level. "Come closer." Pokota nodded and leaned his ear to his mouth. As the Chief whispered feathery into his ear, Gourry stood up suddenly when he heard loud gun fire from the village. Lina can't handle a heavy machinist on her own; she's going to need his help.
"There you are, Gourry-San." Stepping out of the thick bushes, Xellos suddenly walked over. Behind him were the rest of the townsfolk, safe and sound away from the violence.
"I'm going to go back to Lina." Gourry took his blade out of his sheath. "You watch over the people."
"It's part of my job description." The purple-haired man chuckled cheerfully. As soon as Gourry left the safety of the forest, Xellos turned his body to the dying old man and his robot son. He watched Taforashia whisper into Pokota's ear. His eyebrow rose when Pokota nodded and got up to his feet.
"Watch my father." He told Xellos and sprinted away, leaving Xellos alone with Taforashia.
The village was in a blaze. Leaping away from the burning homes, Pokota was leaving from the farthest house when he spotted them. Having ditched her black vest, Lina ran through the heavy flames, in her hands was her shotgun. She jumped behind a wooden table that was slightly on fire and loaded her gun, her back pressed against the wood. Lina yelped aloud when bullets flew through the wooden table, next to her face and instantly rolled away on the ground. The criminal stood with his gun extended at her, open fire and blasting rapid rounds. As she rolled on the ground, Lina pulled back at her forend and pumped out empty shells from the magazine loading port. Her accuracy was great, every shot hit him in his chest but it wasn't enough to bring him down. Just when Seigram had Lina in his cross hairs, Gourry came charging from the flames and brought his sword down, slashing him against his side.
"Thanks, Gourry!" Disregarding her shot gun, Lina pulled her sniper rifle from behind her back and pushed in a 140MM bullet into the cartridge. She looked when Pokota bumped his thin body next to her on the ground and glared at him. "When I said I'll be fine, I meant it."
"You're not going to get him. He's too close to Gourry." Pokota ignored her comment. Lina sighed; she positioned her head and watched Gourry and Seigram through the telescopic view.
"You really need to stop bringing me down to your level, kid." Controlling her heartbeat to slow down with her breathing, Lina counted back from ten with every slow beat.
"Stop moving, you insolent fool!" Seigram missed Gourry's bouncing body; his bullets hit the dirt near his feet. Once the bullets stopped shooting, Gourry charged at the man again with his sword at his side. He made a sudden sharp turn to the left when Seigram moved his heavy black cloak and revealed a hand-held heavy machine gun strapped around his fully-covered bandaged body. He laughed as he shot at Gourry, chasing him with rapid bullets like he did with the Alliance of the East. Gourry jumped when a large pillar of fire came crashing down in front of him, stopping him from running toward that direction. He turned around to face Seigram, his sword still drawn open.
"Time to die." He snickered wickedly and lifted the gun barrel to his head.
"Got you." Lina smirked and pulled the trigger of her rifle. When the cartridge fired inside the chamber, the force from the charge directed its complete power at the base of the bullet and propelled it down the long barrel. Twisting to leave the barrel, the bullet charged across the burning houses and entered from Seigram's left cheek and left at his right temple, next to his red glowing eye. Pokota's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. They were at one end of the village and this guy was at the other end, and still, she was accurately able to make a head shot.
"One thing about me, kid," She unbolted her cartridge and entered another bullet. "Lina Inverse never misses." Struggling to keep at his feet, the blood from Seigram's head poured profusely out. It was Lina's second bullet that got him to fall to his knees. Aimed in the center of his chest, it entered and never left the other side. The three of them gathered around the fallen robot, waiting for him to move.
"That was easy." Gourry muttered suddenly. Lina nodded, she kicked at the robot at his side.
"That was too easy." It didn't move. Not wanting to be fooled by a robot twice, she ordered Gourry to slice off the Gatling gun from his arm and throw it into the fire. As he did so, Pokota stood over his fellow robot. He stared at the heavily bandaged body, wondering if he covered his body for a reason. Not wanting to see what is under the wraps, it didn't stop him from looking at the pool of blood near his feet. Clumps of used Lithium were in his blood, the size of pebbles. Pokota looked at the blood leaking from his arm. It just looked like blood. There was nothing in it.
"That's because the Lithium in your body is still new." Lina suddenly spoke; he turned his head to her. "When the Lithium begins to lose its power, it disregards its rotting pieces through the blood." She stopped to see his black tomahawk in his hand and smirked. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
"No, I…" Pokota gave a little gulp. "I don't know anything about myself. I just know that Pops built me after his real son died." He lifted the weapon in the air. "This is the discarded Lithium that we used to power the village for the first year. We use natural elements like the sun for power now so Lithium is no longer needed."
"How did your Pops get the Lithium to make you?" Lina asked. Slight hesitation flashed on Pokota's face, he stared at Lina and Gourry's strong expression and slowly, he looked away.
"I don't know." He whispered. Gourry glanced at Lina, who was intensely staring at Pokota's weak behavior. Instead of interrogating like she'd always do when she knew somebody knew more than they projected, Lina just gave him a smile and nodded.
"Come on, then. Let's go back to your Pops." But when they did arrive to the forest where Gourry left Chief Taforashia, they stopped to see Xellos kneeling next to his lain body. He had his gloved hand over the old man's eyes, closing them carefully. He was dead.
Lina pulled herself on top of her horse, a smiled slipped on her face when she saw that the native women in the village had decorated her horse saddle with red beads and white hawk feathers. Appropriate for the occasion, she looked back at the gather of people standing near the entrance of the oasis. They raised their hands to the air and waved, calling out for a safe trip. At the front of the group, Pokota stood with the headdress that his father wore before him. He watched the once-called trespassers start their way back home, his eyes never leaving the back of the redhead. He watched until he was the only one standing. Lina had long disappeared from his sight at the first mound but that wasn't why he was still looking out into the ocean of sand before him. Tightly grasping the rolled-up parchment in his hand, Pokota finally turned his body and walked away.
