37: Star Child: Dunes of Tolapo III

Sholi Airport, Niger

"Noooooooooooope!" Iris and I shouted as we stepped off the terraback.

After five hours in the air dealing with everyone's anxiety we finally landed in Niger at the sholi 'airport'. Though airport was a bit of a stretch. It was a long and lonely strip of dirt with a single shack which I guessed was the control tower slash front desk. A solitary goat sat tied up in the shade by the front door.

"They've upgraded since the last time I was here." Baset said as she walked toward the shack.

"What is there to upgrade?" I asked.

"The goat is new." Baset said then petted the goat. "Wait here everyone!"

With that Baset walked into the shack leaving Astrid's and my team out in the blistering sun. Apart from the landing strip and the shack there was nothing but sand dunes and sparse cactuses as far as the eye could see. Everyone huddled under one of the wings of the terraback for shade. The terraback oddly enough seemed to enjoy all the sunlight and heat.

Baset walked out of the shack a few minutes later with several rucksacks in hand. She dropped them at the door then turned around and brought a few more out. There were seven sacks in all.

"Come here you six." Baset said waving us over. We all did as we were told and stood in a semi-circle around Baset. Seeing all of us surrounding her she held a thumbs up toward the cockpit of the terraback. A moment later the terraback's wings started to glow and it levitated off the ground starting to take off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where is it going?!" Damon exclaimed. He turned to run back to the terraback but Baset grabbed Damon by the collar, stopping and choking him at the same time. The rear of us watched as the terraback took off, leaving us stranded in the middle of the Sahara desert.

"Lady Baset! Why did the terraback leave us?!" Damon demanded.

"What are we doing here?!" Astrid demanded.

"Is it coming back?" Alberto panicked.

"Hush you three!" Baset shouted then shook her head. Then eyed Jane Iris and I. "I'm surprised you three aren't freaking out like the these ones."

"I figured you had a plan for everything especially with these rucksacks." Iris said.

"And even if you didn't I'm sure one of us could come up with something, especially Chase." Jane added. Baset looked surprised at Jane and Iris' answers and admittedly I was surprised by Jane's.

"Really? Chase?" Baset asked.

"I hate to admit it but he does have a surprising knack for getting put of trouble." Iris said.

"Aw! That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me around a group of people." I gushed. Iris frowned and punched my shoulder.

"Don't get mushy Star Child." She grumbled.

"Iris…" Jane groaned with a chuckle. Baset smirked then looked to me.

"Well Chase your team seems to be putting a lot of stock in your abilities." Baset said. I shrugged.

"We're a team. We have to trust each other or we'll fail." I replied. Baset nodded and picked up a rucksack..

"Well in the name of trust I'll tell you all what we are doing here…once we get moving. Everyone grab a bag and follow me." Baset said then slung one of the rucksacks over her shoulder.

"Out there? Into the desert?!" Damon gasped.

"Yes. I thought that was obvious." Baset said dryly. "Now come on!"

Baset started off down off into the desert, not wanting to get left behind Jane, Iris and I quickly grabbed a rucksack and followed after her. Astrid followed suit and was right behind us. Seeing that they were getting left behind Damon and Alberto quickly grabbed the remaining rucksacks and ran to catch up to the group.

We trekked in relative silence for a hour; Baset forbade us from summoning our evos or riding on the back if them. Alberto and Damon complained the entire time to each other about having to walk.

"Crap I'm hot!" Iris exclaimed wiping her sweat drenched brow. I cycled mana into my hand and imagined it tuning onto ice. Frost started to form over my skin as I reached out and touched Iris on the back of her neck.

"COLD!!!" She shrieked and jumped.

"Better?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Asshole!" Iris snapped and slapped me on my shoulder.

"Cut it out you two." Jane said, not bothering to hide her smile.

"He started it!" Iris groaned. I just chuckled and stuck my tongue out at Iris.

Baset stopped and held her hand up, telling us to stop. Every stopped in their tracks as she scanned the distance. I did the same but all I could see in any direction was sand, sand, cactuses, and more sand. She then nodded and turned to the rest of us.

"Okay, we're lost." She said happily.

"LOST!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Now before everyo…" Baset started.

"How could we be lost? We were following you! Why would you take us into the middle of the desert if you don't know where you were going?" Damon snapped, interrupting Baset.

"Yeah! You knew that Niger is a hostile country for me! Why would you bring us here and get us lost!" Astrid shouted.

"I'm going to have to agree with the pampered brats here! I can't die in a desert!" I yelled.

"If you would shut up! I'd answer you!" Baset growled. Everyone shut up and focused on Baset. "Where we're going has a lot of protections. A outsider can't find their way there unless they are guided there. We needed to get lost so our guide can come and find us."

"This all seems a bit much for a duel Baset. What are we doing here?" I asked.

"I will admit this is all over the top. But we are here for another reason besides the duel." Baset said.

"It's another test isn't it?" I asked dryly. Baset shook her head.

"No, my reason for taking us all here is of a very serious matter. Shortly after I declared that I would take care of the details of Chase and Astrid's duel I received a letter from a old friend of mine saying that he needed help."

"So naturally you decided to pack up your entire class and whisk us off to find a undisclosed village in the middle of a vast and dangerous desert in a foreign country...." I said sarcastically. Baset sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Well when you say it like that it doesn't sound like I thought this through at all but trust me the entire class can only benefit from this." She said.

"Well it's not like we're in a position where we can really object anymore." Jane said turning to the rest of us.

"This better count as extra credit towards my grade." Alberto said.

"Naturally. The only ones who could receive points deducted from their grades are Astrid and Chase." Baset replied.

"Great…" I grumbled.

"Lady Baset, what are we going to do now?" Jane asked. Baset looked up at the sun and sighed.

"Our guide won't come get us until it sundown. We gave some more ground to cover until then." Baset replied. She shrugged off her rucksack and reached inside. Pulling out a bottle of water. "There should be some water in all of your bags. Take a drink and rest a bit. We'll continue in a bit."

"Can't believe this…" Damon grumbled as he shrugged off his bag. Everyone else followed suit and pulled a bottle of water out.

As I shrugged off my bag I noticed my right hand felt a little weird. I looked down at it and saw that my farm crystal was glowing, albeit very dimly. I wasn't cycling any mana and from what I could tell Bone-lasher was resting comfortably inside my crystal.

'What is going on here?' I thought.

"Everything okay Chase?" Jane asked when she saw me looking at my hand.

"Yeah." I replied and shook my hand. Then held it out to Jane. "Here let me see your water."

Jane handed it over without any questions. I cycled some mana into my hand and chilled the water as the mana turned into ice attribute mana. I handed it back to Jane and she smiled when she noticed what I did.

"Thanks Chase!" Jane replied.

"Don't mention it." I looked over at Iris and held my hand out. "Let me see your Tri-clops."

Iris tossed me hers and I quickly chilled it then tossed it back. Iris took a quick drink then put her water back in her rucksack.

"Thanks star child." Iris said.

"Don't mention it." I replied.

After a few minutes Baset declared that the break was over and got us all moving again. We headed north this time stopping every half hour for breaks. I kept a close eye on my farm crystal as we trekked. The entire time my crystal kept a faint glow, when I looked at it I felt a slight tug in my heart.

'What the hell is going on?'