We Are Survivors

Walk By Faith

    Ultra Dragon's four heads jerked awake, and he sniffed the air cautiously. He growled, glaring angrily behind him. 

    A lone silhouette stood atop a dune in the distance, standing out against the long shadows of early dawn. It was walking towards his and the Masters' tiny campsite.

    He tried nudging the Earth Master awake, but Cole just gently pushed him away and turned over on his side, mumbling, "Sshhh, not yet. Five more minutes."

    The figure didn't stop approaching, and Ultra Dragon grew more agitated. He gave a low warning snarl, partially to ward off the stranger and partially to rouse the others. None of them so much as flinched in their sleep. 

    The Dragon rolled all eight of his eyes. He stomped the sand with a back claw, using the Element of Earth to cause a small wave of sand to roll underneath each of the Ninja. That startled them all awake.

    "Hey, what's goin' on," slurred Kai, reluctantly rising to his feet and stretching.

    Ultra huffed, nudging Kai and pointing with his snouts at the approaching figure on the horizon. 

    Now the Red Ninja was fully awake. "Uh, guys? We got company."

    The Ninja formed a tight defensive circle around Wu.

    "What should we do?" asked Cole, feeling slightly panicked.

    "Fight 'em. Duh," answered Kai.

    "They're not gonna make me go back. That cage smelled awful!" remarked Jay fiercely.

    Zane's sharp optics recognized the shape of the silhouette first. He slackened his stance. "Wait. It is Heavy Metal."

    The others squinted. 

    "Phew, that's a relief," grinned Jay.

    When the Hunter finally reached the group of Elementals, he rasped, "You actually made it farther than I thought."

    "Yeah, we're just full of surprises," smirked Kai.

    "So you broke free from Iron Baron?" asked Wu hopefully, delighted to see the Hunter.

    "I'm supposed to be hunting you down, taking you prisoner, and dragging you back to him," answered Heavy Metal in a dead serious tone of voice.

    The Ninja took a cautious step back while Ultra Dragon gave a deep, defensive growl.

    "But, you won't... right?" gulped Jay.

    The Hunter shook his head then motioned to the remains of the small fire they had managed to scrap together and commented, "That was a foolish move though. It led me straight to y—"

    He broke off in a fit of coughs. 

    Wu quickly offered a small bit of water from the skin that Zahara had delivered the him earlier. He grinned somewhat proudly, "I remembered to save some. I have survival skills."

    Cole ruffled his shaggy white locks fondly. "You sure do."

    "You gonna drink it?" prodded Kai as he noticed the Hunter's hesitation.

    It had been ages since Heavy Metal had removed his mask in front of people. These foreigners didn't know or understand the half of it, but... maybe they wouldn't be bothered. He took a deep breath and without much further ado, unclipped his mask.

    For a moment, the Ninja were confused when Heavy Metal reached to take off his muzzle-like mask then quickly realized that, of course, he needed to drink. They gasped when the noticed the face underneath it and his wide hat was distinctly... female?