And I'm back…
Mega man: So fast?
Well it's not like I have anything else worthwhile to do… (melodramatic sob)
Gilder: He lost his Gamecube memory cards.
MM: Ouch…
(Very melodramatic sob)
Gilder: And his CD case with almost all his computer games in it…
MM: Double ouch…
(EXTREMELY MELODRAMATIC sob)
Gilder: … And now for something completely different… After an announcement… which should stop the sobbing… I hope… Whatever. Anyway, there will not be any updates over the holidays… do you know why?
MM: (sounding bored) why?
Gilder: … VACATION!!! That's right, starting Saturday, your favorite author will be spending the holidays in style, by going diving on a tropical island for two weeks. And there's no internet there, so we can't do any updating… Oh, and thanks to Desert Lynx for being the ONLY PERSON TO REVIEW THE LAST CHAPTER!!!... Kirby mad… (_) SO REVIEW THIS ONE, EVERYBODY!!!
***
Mark was dreaming… there was a girl standing over him. She was young, and had blond hair. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn't dreaming. He sat up and looked around. He was lying in a bed, in a room that was decorated with pictures of rivers and flowers. Sunlight was streaming in through the closed blinds of a window. He could tell by the sound of wind that he was in an airship. Other than the girl, there was no one in the room but him. He turned to her
"Where am I?" he asked her. The girl only looked at him. Suddenly, the door opened. The man who entered was tall, with close-cut hair, and wore a lab coat. He looked at the girl.
"There you are, Maria. I've been looking for you. Huh?" he seemed to notice Mark for the first time. "You're awake, I see."
Mark looked at him. He repeated his question. "Where am I?"
" You're on a free medical ship. I'm Doc. That's Maria." He said, indicating the girl. "She doesn't talk. Her parents were killed in an airship crash, and I've adopted her. I picked you up a last night. You were drifting in a lifeboat."
"How…" Mark wondered for a moment. Then he remembered with a start. He had left the base using the extra lifeboat, but the battleship had spotted him. The last thing he remembered was a shell exploding near the lifeboat. He must have been knocked unconscious by the blast…
Suddenly he remembered. He had to get going! Every moment he spent here was a moment the rest of his crew was closer to execution. He swung his legs over the side of the bed…
… And immediately regretted it. His side burned like fire, and he fell out of the bed and onto the floor.
"Wait!" Doc exclaimed, leaping over to help him up. "You suffered a wound that's not entirely healed yet. You'd best wait some to let it heal. I put a salve on it, so it should heal in an hour or so."
"But I have to go! I have to save them!" Mark shouted.
Doc leaned over. "What are you talking about?"
Mark explained his situation. "You're not going to turn me in or anything, are you?"
"Of course not. But you'd be wise not to rush off so rashly. You alone aren't nearly powerful enough to save them." Doc cautioned.
"Then what am I going to do? If I can't save them, what can I do?" Mark said.
"Well… there is something you can do. But I'm not even sure he's even alive still…" Doc said wonderingly.
"He? Who's He?" Mark queried.
"Legend speaks of a great sword-master, the greatest swordsman who ever lived. If you could find him, he might train you in the ways of the masters. But noone knows where he is. Rumor has it that he's somewhere in North Ocean, though." Doc explained.
There was no doubt in Mark's mind of his next destination. North Ocean it was! "I've got to find him! He may be the only chance I have of saving my crew." Mark tested his legs. His wound had healed some, and he was able to stand. "Do you know where I can find out more?"
Doc watched him walk across the room toward the door. "Good. In an hour or so you'll be fit to travel. As to your journey… A fellow named Gordo runs a bistro in that area. You might want to check it out to see if he has any information."
"Excellent. I'll check that out." Mark said while opening the door. "By the way, did my lifeboat survive?"
"Yep. It's tied to my boat on the side. You should get some more rest, though. If you take off now, you might run the risk of reopening that wound." Doc advised.
"Alright. I will. But only for an hour, mind you…" Mark found that he was extremely tired. He was asleep before he hit the bed.
***
When Mark guided the lifeboat into the dock of Gordo's Bistro two hours later, he was expecting to find information on the legendary sword-master. Little did he know that each step he took off the lifeboat was one more step along a path fraught with danger… leading to an ultimate destiny that even the masters of the universe cannot see…
*Whew* I had to go into power writing mode to finish that on time. So, that's done. As stated above, I'm going on vacation, so no updates for two weeks. And the… problems with not enough to do will be solved by then, since I found my CD case sometime between the beginning and ending of writing this story, and I'm getting a memory card 256 for Christmas… So the next chapter might be postponed due to… 'writer's block'
Gilder: *hem* *hem*
… right. See you! And… REVIEW!!! Oh, and the name contest is still on… see chap. 5 for details if you missed that part…