Luck.
That was all that Hoku could rely on.
Buried from within his sand tomb, he heard everything. from the moronic shouting to the bashing and kicking. In the end, his biggest concern would be the young scavenger's machine.
his mind raced around in circles, driving him to the edge of insanity:
'System, did you really shut off the beacon?'
'See! I told you they were tracking me.'
But he couldn't say a thing. They were far too close, a hair away from finding him.
He desperately hoped for System to start talking to him, to usher some kind of condolence or assurance, even if it wouldn't change his fate.
Unfortunately, no words would appear or echo in his head.
Nearby, Guppy was wobbling around, spinning in all directions.
"Reaallllyyyyyyy, So he's still here?" He asks his device, scratching the back of his head.
"Hey!"
[C-C-Congatulation, You Are &@y#####]
"No, c'mon," he groaned.
"Think Guppy Think."
"Is there another way to get in?"
Hoku's eye twitched.
He could now hear Guppy's shoes squeaking in the sand, leading into the next sound.
Knock knock knock.
"Hmmmm."
Guppy stepped to the side of the mound and started knocking at the structure's rocky surface. Slowly making his way down the left side. Until he finally reached the back corner.
"No luck, it's a hard stone," he said, holding his chin.
Hoku's body was positioned so that his shoes were buried in front of the mound's rear, with his face partially buried further back, meaning now Hoku and the scavenger were at odds, practically face to face if he were upright.
Hoku thought to himself that Guppy couldn't be older than 16. His skin was suntanned with freckles on his cheeks, and his eyes were a heavy black with a hint of turquoise. He wore big puffy gloves lined with small white metal spikes around the cuffs.
Sharp white hair that was both tied at the back with a band, as well as shooting out from under a pair of mechanical goggles that sat on top of his head. The goggles were connected to a shark-teeth mask that looked like some kind of bronze antique covering his mouth. His clothes were baggy and beige in colour, ripped shorts with a fish-patterned belt containing special tools, loose pointed cloth shoes, and a rugged shirt whose big sleeves reached down to his elbows.
The shadow of the mound washed over them as they both froze for a moment.
[The Lixos Is 0 Signalllls Away :o ]
Guppy glanced at his device and resumed his investigation of the mound.
Hoku's heart continued beating.
The young scavenger marched to the centre of the mound's rear side. Then he starts knocking around again, taking inspiration from his elder by kicking fruitlessly at the stone wall, oblivious to the fact that he was now standing on Hoku's shoes.
Then he feels something.
He looks down and sees a mysterious object hidden at the side of his foot in the sand.
It's the soda can.
After curiously staring at it for a little bit, Guppy goes to pick it up after securing his machine in his belt.
He inspects all sides of the can, smelling it, then almost spilling it, but he quickly manages to reposition it once he understands its function.
"Close one," he exhales.
"Now, where did you come from?"
"And more importantly, who made you? Gotta say the design's pretty cool, don't cha think?" He asks the machine in his belt, fiddling with the can's pull tab, then holding it up to his face.
"But jeez, how'd they fit so many little words on this thing?"
"Fanza?"
[Arrrrghghhr!]
His machine let out an abrupt, unprovoked scream. Surprisingly, Guppy has no reaction whatsoever; however, Hoku, who has been doing everything he can to keep his legs completely still, jumps up a little. pushing some of the sand off his shoes.
Thankfully, Guppy is so absorbed by the can of Fanza that he doesn't notice the movement because he finally decided to stick his eye into the can's hole.
"WOAH!" he exclaims, observing the silent bud.
"Is that a monster?"
"Hey, Gullometer, can you identify?"
[Doin't tell me what to #####!]
[Oh]
[Unbon Trivial and erm. errrr]
"Unbon?... UNBOUND!" He yells, practically throwing the can in response, which falls into the soft sand.
An intense fear possesses Guppy's body, causing him to withdraw and subsequently trip over Hoku's foot, which was now slightly poking out from the shifting sand.
Thud!!!
He lands on his ass, trying to search the ground for what had just tripped him over. But he could only spot the can and the machine that had fallen out of his belt.
[THE CLOSET SIGNAL IS 0 LIXOS AWARE]
"Huh."
Obscured by the shadow of the mound, Guppy's eyes failed to catch the rising figure emerging from the sand like a ravenous zombie.
Hoku wasn't thinking about the aftermath of how he could get out of this situation, only about the now.
He lunged towards Guppy and grabbed him from behind like he was going to throw him into a van full of candy.
"Hm, Mmmmmmmmm!!!" he cried.
In response, Guppy lifted his hands and tried to grab at his attacker's hair, but his oversized gloves made this action difficult, though the spikes on the cuffs came dangerously close to Hoku's eyes.
"Calm down", he whispered, desperately fighting with Guppy.
He briefly looked back past the back corner at the cave entrance where the other scavengers were. He saw the unnamed one sitting dangerously close, so he pushed forward, moving the struggle to the rear wall, pinning him against it.
'Just listen to me, damn it!' Hoku wanted to say, but truth be told, he didn't know what he would follow up with, so instead he settled for:
"What do you want with me?! I don't have anything."
His hand was covering Guppy's mouth, so the question was likely rhetorical, born out of pure frustration. Guppy responded by slapping his hand away and dealing out a mean headbutt.
Hoku staggered back, a little stunned with a red bump on his head.
Before he could do anything else, the young scavenger quickly grabbed a spanner from his belt and desperately launched it with all his strength towards Hoku's left cheek, knocking him away.
A tooth disembarks, as he flies back and sinks into the sand. The blow causes the rest of his strength to leave his body as his consciousness begins to melt away. Before his ears fully lose the ability to hear, he picks up a familiar voice.
[A Mission Has Been Completed]
[Survive A Duel With A Scavenger]
[You Gained 25 EXP]
[Congratulations You Levelled Up]
[You Are Now Level 4]
[The Common Artefact Dustblade Has Been Added To Storage]