WALLINGfic

Elemental By: Ian C. Walling  The government is always looking for new weapons, whether it is to protect its country or start wars with another. This time they've turned their attention to the elements. No one in history has ever been able to defeat nature and the elements, so why not use the elements for their own use? Over the years, after experiment after experiment, failure after failure; the government has finally had some success.  Tahiro was one of the original failures. He was only able to use the fire in his hands and that only lasted a few days or so it seemed. Tahiro was intelligent enough to realize how to trigger the fire. The trigger was to snap his fingers a certain way. He wanted out of this laboratory. He was tired of his room. They were extremely nice to him. Whatever he wanted to eat, whatever he wanted to drink, whatever he wanted in general was given to him. He hadn’t seen the sun in more than a year though, or stood out in the rain. He wanted his freedom back. So he took away his powers from the scientists’ eyes. He knew they would try to clear his memory but he wanted to have access to his powers once he left and the Memory Jammer wasn’t perfect. Tahiro may have only been seventeen but he knew tricks to make it fail. The biggest glitch was to trigger a memory to slip through the jammer. Just before the jammer was used he asked to do one last task. He went into his room and wrote snap on a piece of paper that he then put in his pocket. The Memory Jammer was turned on. Tahiro was tested. Tahiro was released to the world.  He was given an apartment and a new hover car. And he went on with live as he could remember it. A few months later a package arrive with a note reading,  //Thank you for let me borrow these. They were a great help. John Smith. //  Tahiro didn’t remember a John Smith but he did remember what was in the package. It was a bunch of his clothes. He pulled out the clothes and slipped one of the jackets on. It was his favorite jacket, and although he didn’t remember it, it was the same jacket he’d been wearing the day he left the lab. He looked through the pockets and found his piece of paper, he was lucky it made it out. Tahiro thought that John, whoever he was, must have put it in there but he did what it said. He snapped.  Tahiro’s hand burst into flame and time seemed to freeze. Tahiro just stood there watching his hand and while the Memory Jammer’s effect on his brain were rendered helpless. Tahiro was now the first Elemental free from the grasp of the government.  <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Tahiro was lost in what he should do about these powers now. He knew he had to be under government surveillance but he wondered how much. He decided that he had one place he had to go first though, to his teacher. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">After so many years gone he wondered whether the old man was still around or not. Tahiro had been gone for almost a year and a half now, his old master would be happy to see him again. Tahiro walked into the old apartment and went up to his master’s room. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Long time, no see Tahiro. Where were you?” said the master as Tahiro entered the room. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Off learning a new technique that I need your guidance on,” said Tahiro as he took a seat next to his master. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“A new technique you say. Well show me.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“I will need you to stand back and vow that this room is still a safe place.” The master nodded his head. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Tahiro sat there and he wanted to be careful to not let it get out of control. He snapped his fingers. His hands up to his wrists became engulfed with fire. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“A rare gift you have received indeed my student, but how?” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Tahiro explained to his master what he could remember of what had happen because many of his memory didn’t come back. His master sat in a state of thinking. Tahiro wondered what he was thinking about. He knew this would be something new to everyone that he encountered. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“I am impressed with your abilities my student. You were smart to get out of there when you felt that you had to. You need a way to harness this power more effectively though. It is too loose and out of control in this form as you seemed to have learned. What ideas do you have?” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Gauntlets. Gauntlets were my original idea. Metal gauntlets would harness the heat but control the fire.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“A wise thought but where would you get these gauntlets?” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“That is where I ran into a problem, Master. I don’t know of a place to get them. Do you know of any?” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“I believe I have just the place.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The Master and Tahiro left the apartment and walked many blocks away until they found a gymnasium circa 2007. The idea that this gymnasium had survived this many years was unbelievable but the Master entered the front doors and Tahiro followed. The inside was unbelievable for an entirely different reason. Someone had reengineered the inside of this gymnasium to become a laboratory. Soon the one who had done this appeared as Tahiro and the Master waited at the entrance. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Master, who have you brought with you today?” questioned the cyborg. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Tahiro. And he has come with a challenge. And not just one of my ordinary challenges, this one’s extra special.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The cyborg stood there. Tahiro had not seen a cyborg that had noticeable robot parts. Robot parts over the years had been update and upgrades so that more and more the cyborgs looked like humans. This one apparently had chosen to not take these upgrades and updates. He seemed to know his way around the workshop though. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“How may I be of service?” replied the cyborg as he bowed. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The Master turned to Tahiro, “Tahiro show him your gift. You can trust him.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Tahiro snapped and his palms lit on fire. Unfortunately Tahiro did not yet have his gift down to a science but it was enough to show this cyborg. Tahiro just stared at the fire in his hands and realized how much power he had received. He then closed his hand and stopped the fire. Part of this power was going to be lessons on how. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“What do you think my old friend?” asked the Master. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Impressive. As usual I will not ask questions. What may I make for him?” replied the cyborg. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Gauntlets,” replied Tahiro. “I am looking to wear metal gauntlets but I need some very specific qualities to this metal.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Tahiro explained the slight oddities and problems with his power. He wanted to be able to always wear the gauntlets but he needed to be able to snap with them on so he could trigger the fire. He also wanted flexibility. The gauntlets almost need a glove like quality so that he could move his hand and have the gauntlets move with the hands. The metal would need to not melt or bend when heated to high temperatures. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“You expect that to be challenging? That will be fun,” replied the cyborg. “When do we start?” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Now, if possible. I have nothing else I have to do.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Well then. Let us get to work.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Tahiro and the cyborg started work immediately. The fitted Tahiro’s hands first. They cast the molding around his hands, cut his hand out, and reconstructed the form. Tahiro was curious to the reasoning behind these very old techniques but never asked. The Master had taught him that the new ways were not always the best ways. The next step was for Tahiro to try different types of metals. They laid out an assortment of metals and Tahiro would check the resistance of those metals to his heat. In the end they decided that Titanium would be the best choice due to its light weight and high melting point of 3034°F. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The night had fallen and they decided to rest until morning. Tahiro stayed there for the night. He wasn’t able to sleep though. All night he wondered how much power he really possessed and worked to find out. By the end of the night he had mastered his full hand being inflamed to his wrist. As day broke he returned to where he had left the cyborg the night before. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“An early riser like myself I see,” said the cyborg with his back turned as Tahiro entered their working area. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Couldn’t really fall asleep actually. I could really use a quick bite to eat though before we begin working.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The cyborg threw him a box donut and told Tahiro to hurry up and eat quickly they had no time to waste. Tahiro devoured the treat quickly and they began to fit the gloves to Tahiro’s hands. Tahiro realized that the gloves already worked extremely well. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“How do we work to make them bend now?” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The cyborg pointed across the room, at a machine that looked similar to a microwave, without saying a word. Tahiro walked over toward the machine and look thoroughly at it. He still had no idea what it was but he went and grabbed the gloves and waited for the cyborg. The cyborg never really explained what this machine did or what it was even called but it worked. After putting the gloves in, hitting about six buttons, and waiting 3 hours while Tahiro did other projects to help make some little weight armor, the gloves were put back on Tahiro’s hands to show him that they had the same range of motion that his hand normally did. Then the ultimate test off these gauntlets came. Would his hands light inside of them? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tahiro snapped his fingers and the gauntlets quickly began glowing a fiery red. He then went over to a sheet of metal he had set up and punched straight into it. His hand went straight in and as he let it set there the metal melted. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A great success I see. Those are a fine work. I am glad to say that I have worked with you Tahiro.” The cyborg then bowed continued, “I also have a gift for you. This is the armor that you were helping me make earlier. It turned out better than I expected, I just hope you like it.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tahiro quickly put it on and noticed that accented his gauntlets. It was a nice addition to the experience at the factory. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Of course I made it all fireproof for you but I do want one more thing from you.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tahiro nodded. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Will you spar with me before you leave? I know I may not look it but I once was a fighter. Your fire and my robotic parts even out the fight and I would really like to have a chance to fight you and give you a chance to use your new tools.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tahiro accepted the battle and then wondered. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Where are we going to do this?” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Right this way.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The cyborg led them to a second smaller gym that had been modified into a fight arena for this type of occasion. “The only rule is don’t kill the other person or even come close,” said the cyborg from across the room as they took fight poses. The cyborg then typed something into the remote on his forearm. All of a sudden the lights turned on and the terrain appeared. It looked almost like the Coliseum but was more elaborate. There was water around the outside edge of the arena and hills of dirt around the entire arena. Large rocks were scattered around mainly by the hills of dirt. As Tahiro observed the field he heard a countdown and noticed the red, yellow, and green lights changing before his eyes. The match had started. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He didn’t want to use his fire at first so he leapt on to the field gauntlets unlit. He initially went to the left and scampered among the rocks and small hills. He hoped his agility would be to his advantage in this case. Within no time he found his opponent and prepared himself for combat. To get his oppositions attend he decided on a direct approach. He smashed off part of the rock beside himself and threw a chunk at the cyborg. As it hit the cyborg’s leg he turned and faced Tahiro. As Tahiro realized that the cyborg knew where he was he picked up another chunk of rock and started to run toward the cyborg. The cyborg didn’t move and waited for Tahiro to approach. About half way to the cyborg Tahiro throw the other chunk of rock mid-stride and the cyborg avoided the throw. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tahiro started to feel that this was almost too easy. But as he got closer the cyborg bent over and started to pick up what looked to be a small boulder in size. Tahiro then changed his course a little and aimed for the hill slightly left of the cyborg. As Tahiro got almost next to the cyborg he slid, avoiding the boulder, and grabbed the ground to spin himself around the hill. As Tahiro began to jump back up he felt himself falling back to the ground. The cyborg had come and was catching him off balance. As Tahiro fell face first to the ground he spun himself around and kicked the cyborg’s legs with his own. This caught the cyborg off guard as he too started to fall over. As the cyborg fell Tahiro gained a grip and pulled himself up from the ground. He quickly lit his hands and jumped onto the cyborg’s back. With the cyborg now pinned he placed his heated hands next to the cyborg’s head and asked him say mercy. The cyborg caved and shook Tahiro’s hand. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“A worthy fight. I can tell that I am out of shape. I think you are now ready to go on your own adventure to help this city.” <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tahiro looked puzzled. He knew he need a purpose and now the cyborg had given him one. Help this city. It need all the help it could get. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Thank you. I think I will help this city realize what it needs.”