Akanatur's Story

Within the deepest part of the Dark Woods stood four standing stones and a small group of robed figures chanted in harmony whilst a woman who lay helplessly upon the alter slab awaiting for a rather glorious end and a new beginning within the woods of Terra. One of the robed men took a step forward and produced from his robes a wicked looking dagger only to plunge it deep into the belly of the woman who gasped for air only to part from this world and with her death something changed within the circle itself. Suddenly a spark of fire escaped the dead woman's body and with it came a bout of flame so hot and bright that the circle itself began to transform into a portal which consumed the lives of the cultists and scorched the surrounding area around the four standing stones.

The fiery portal revealed a realm that almost mirrored this except it was consumed with fire and death. Soon enough as the portal was open several small humanoid creatures stepped out of the portal covered in magma only to look upon one another and smile just to step out of the stone pillars that housed the portal and watched as in their wake the forest floor around them was set ablaze. These small beings were just the beginning of what was truly to come.

The magmen looked up to see the newcomer to the gruesome sight only to snicker and dance for joy as their master was coming to the world of Terra and all they new was to prepare for their masters arrival. Suddenly one of the magmen jumped up into the air and landed down upon its stomach just to roll around spreading the fire around the floor and small globs of magma in its wake while the others rushed to the surrounding trees and gave them their biggest hugs in order to lit the land aflame. A horrific metallic scream could be heard from deep within the other realm that was opened to the air of Terra. The Fire Lord was coming.

It wasn't long after the fire sparked that it drew the attention of one of the denizens of the land nearby. The waters of Wing City Lake rippled, a series of waves converging together before spiralling upwards in a brief geyser of water that slowly formed into the shape of a boy. Teo blinked up at the column of smoke and the orange glow in the distance, deep in the woods nearby his waters. The lake spirit frowned, the expression almost foreign upon his otherwise near-perpetually cheerful face. He drifted across the lake's surface towards the bank, forming more solidly as he went - becoming less transparent, more solid and human.

By the time he reached the shore, he was fully manifested and clothed, his aquamarine hair dripping wetly as his bare foot touched down on the sand. He set forwards at a quick, determined pace. He sensed something very wrong about this fire, something unnatural and dark.

And even if it wasn't, Teo hated fire. It was too dry, and hot. It was not a naiad's friend.

It didn't take long for him to come upon the outer edges of the blaze, nor to swiftly douse the foliage in a powerful spray of water, pulled seemingly from nowhere. The young boy drifted through the fire, putting it out as he walked, until he came across what appeared to be some form of portal, with what appeared to be creatures of magma walking from it.

"Hey!" Teo called, "What are you doing? Can't you see you're destroying the forest?"

Zero grimaced at what she was seeing... some form of ritualistic summon or perhaps just the spread of destruction in general. Had these monsters wrought such power? No, her artificial vampirism told her different, something else was on its way, something much worse. She looked at the rolling creature before her with disgust... she contemplated how pathetic it was, obviously created for the sole purpose of spreading flames and destruction as it had barely even taken her into regard, yet somehow she pitied it, like her it was created with a single sole purpose however unlike her it seemed to have no will with which to disobey. A single blob of magma dislodged from the creatures body and hit her arm by chance, her artificial nerves feeling the pain she clenched her teeth and tossed it quickly away, the heat had burned through the artificial flesh around where the magma had landed and part of her robotic exoskeleton had been revealed.

It was obvious that Zero should have turned and left, found X-003, Bishop, someone who was better able at dealing with the occult, but at the same time she was interested in the transpiring events and bitter at having to always rely on him. So, almost in pure spite, she stood and waited for the ritual to complete itself. Soon after what appeared to be a water spirit appeared, he questioned the animalistic creatures and Zero thought to set him straight.

"They won't listen to you you know. They seem to have only one purpose, that being to burn this place to the ground."

The magmen that was rolling about on the forest floor looked at the water spirit that was dousing the flames elsewhere and shouting at him and his comrades only gave a rather quizzical look upon his molten face just to then snicker and laugh and point at the young man. "We bring the fire!" One of the magma beasts shouted as it let go of the tree it was hugging only to rush over to the young man with arms wide open while the other looked at the vampire girl and smiled and nodded. "You wish to set the world ablaze?"

The Portal began to pulsate as the Lord of Fire continued to make his way to the exit in order to see the world of Terra with his own eyes while his minions continued to prepare the land around the portal for him. Suddenly another metallic scream could be heard escaping the portal and with it even more magmen spewed out from the portal just to look rather ecstatic about how the events of the day were going.

Zero grimaced at the sight unfurling before her. She was just observing, did the creatures think she wanted this? She had come here for peace... not destruction. Still... to watch the World burn... was it really something she did want? Maybe. But not right then... not yet. In anger, she spat in the direction of the creature who had spoken to her. "It's of no consequence to me you little scum... but if you're asking if I'm on your side? No. I'm not."

Watching the portal slowly grow and wincing at the heat as more and more creatures poured from the fiery entryway to another World, Zero turned her head just in time to see the small fiery creature who had spoken to the water spirit rush towards same spirit with arms wide-open. She couldn't get to him in time so she instead cried out to hi in warning.

"Look out!"

"I don't like fire," Teo stated, folding his arms with a scowl, "And this is my land. Sort of. I live nearby, anyway, and that's my land. So this is like my garden! Stop setting it on fire!"

Of course, the magma creatures wouldn't pay any attention to him. He turned his attention towards X-000, waving a hand outwards at the destruction, "Aren't you going to help? Fine, then, I can stop them myself."

The boy leaned back, taking a deep breath in, and the sound of a rushing river began to come from his body. He stepped forwards daintily, as trails of sparkling water danced around his form. Then in a swift pulse, a torrent of water jetted out at the magma creature that was running for him. Ice cold and pure liquid rushed for it as though from a geyser, aimed to smother the thing entirely, knock it to the ground and douse its flames.

Teo turned the powerful jet on each of the creatures in turn, and upon their handiwork, and it wasn't long before the entire clearing was soaked, puddles of water forming on the saturated soil. "Isn't that better?" he giggled, "So refreshing!"

The magmen watched in utter horror as their brothers were soaked from the cold water that the young man had created and as they ran for cover they found themselves caught up in the water only to turn to solid stone. One of the Magmen who was close enough to the fiery portal looked from the boy to the girl just to then scream in pain and rush back through the portal in hopes of escaping such a hellish demise. The clearing was indeed soaked now thanks to the young man who had the ability to control water and near the portal stood the statues of the fallen magmen who tried to escape for their lives while in the service of the Fire Lord yet it was not over yet. The portal continued to stand strong and with it came yet another metallic scream from deep within the realm of fire.

Zero grimaced slightly as a splash of water splattered upwards and soaked her exposed exoskeleton, quickly she covered it in a waterproof bandage that she kept for exactly these kinds of circumstances, nbot so much water spirits and hellfire summoning, more exposed robotics and wet areas, but the same principle applied here. As the sad little creatures turned to stone and the spirit commented on how refreshing things had become, Zero smiled sarcastically and turned to him.

"Don't know why you were asking for my help when you can just- Gyah!" Zero quickly covered the sound wave sensors hidden in her artificial ears at the loud and irritating scream that echoed from the fiery portal. "Hmmph... I guess it's not over yet..." She grimaced at the fiery World on the other side.

"Well then, if you have any plans to put THAT fire out then be my guest."

"I suppose I was curious as to whether you intended just to stand there and watch." Teo gave the girl an impish smile, "People and their motivations are very interesting! I don't understand why anyone would be content to watch a forest burn and do nothing, it just doesn't make sense!"

The metallic scream drew his attention back towards the portal, and it was with reluctance that he approached it and the blazing heat that emanated from within. It was uncomfortably hot, and dry. Not the pleasant warmth of a hot summer's day, but the scorching heat of a desert, devoid of moisture. A nightmarish thought.

"Perhaps I shall simply show that they are not welcome." The naiad stated, scowling at the portal. With a few fluid motions of his arms, again water began to rush from Teo and flooded straight towards the portal into the heat beyond, creating an icy waterfall as though the portal had been opened into a river.

"Enough!" A voice shouted as the water hit the portal and producing steam that would shoot off in every direction. The portal stood strong as the water that the boy created began to meet another force as Akanatur began to step out of the fiery realm only to hold his free hand out to catch the water and watch as it would evaporate on contact with his being. The Lord of Fire was wreathed in white flame and held a rather wicked looking scythe in hand only to then grimace at the boy who he recognized as a water spirit. "Insolent worm! Do you dare Mock the Lord of Fire!" Its voice seemed almost metallic in nature as he continued to walk towards the two, every step he left behind left the ground beneath him scorched. "Stand down or be turned to dust!" The Lord of Fire glanced over to the girl quickly only to wonder what role she would play in all of this.

Zero would watch idly for a few minutes as the new being rose from the portal, he wasn't like the others he was more toned, well formed, he spoke properly and held a scythe that looked like it could cleave through ebony like it was glass. However the most important thing she could have realised was that this being was much more dangerous than the others. She wasn't built to be shocked or surprised but she WAS able to feel fear... though as a robot she was very good at hiding it. She was suddenly very regretful that she had rushed off like she had. "Bishop..." She murmured quietly before standing still and preparing to make a move if she needed to.

Meanwhile, a rather worn looking man wielding an electrified Katana and cross shaped pendant quickly ran towards the burning forest, he has enlisted an old friend to track the girl he now chased and the ever-rising smoke from near the forests center only drove him to run faster. "Damn it Vamps... you're a supernatural android... you're not meant to function as a damned trouble magnet..."

Though at first startled and alarmed by the dominating presence that stepped clear of the portal, Teo's eyes set determinedly after a moment and he flitted backwards, away from the Lord of Fire. "Name-calling won't get you anywhere, hothead!" he retorted childishly, dancing upwards into the air with apparent disregard for gravity.

"Lord of Fire? More like Lord of Hot Air!" the water spirit teased, sticking his tongue out and dumping another truckload of water down onto the being's head. "Reduced to dust? I'd like to see you try!" Teo spun in the air in an acrobatic loop, dangling upside down and casting a spray out at Akanatur that was more insult than actual attack.

"You need to cool off! Don't you know smoking's bad for your health?"

Tracking the smell of smoke and ash, and following the sounds of multiple rustling footsteps and well and voices, there seems to be quite a commotion going on here. For the moment Pepper keep low to the ground and in the shadows, not wanting to get involved in any trouble unless need be.

She finds a nice spot behind a low hanging branch, behind a cluster of bushes, and watches the scene before her unfold with as much stealth as possible. And mentally catalogs the plethora of radically different individuals present.

The most noticeable, and the most threatening, is the fire-elemental, with his deadly looking scythe and shimmering portal to Gods-know-where behind him. He looks dangerous.

Then she watches the water elemental, his tone and body language suggests he's nowhere near as afraid of the fire-elemental as a normal person would be, which would make since, he seems to be a water-elemental or has strong control of water.

This should be interesting she thought to herself.

She noticed the other two, who like her seem to just be watching from the sidelines, there's not much she can make from them at the moment.

There was more and more being within the forest that the lord of fire could feel besides the two present before him. One was a witch but as to where she was that was another story and the other felt just as odd to him as the girl before him did. However it did not matter now as the water spirit that had caused his minion such pain was now the ire of his eye. Another volley of water hit the Fire Lord and with it a large amount of steam came rolling off the fiery beings body and creating a thick fog in the process. The only thing that was for certain was that the glow from the fiery portal and the anger that the Lord of Fire held for this pest. "Burn to Cinders!" The Fire Lord Shouted as he brought his free hand up towards were he had seen the water spirit last just to send a torrent of flames up into the sky allowing gravity to pull his arcane fire back down covering the area in flame once more so that the Fire Elemental could move freely once again.

With purpose and great care the Lord of Fire brought his scythe whistling across the air before him sending the steam away in every direction so that his vision would be clear once again. It was not the intentions of the fire elemental to send the magmen to their deaths but it was clear to him that the water spirit would shrivel away and die due to his insolence. "I am the Eternal Flame boy! I was the first and I will be the last!"

Crashing violently through the forest and slicing various branches and trees from his path, Bishop desperately rushes towards the location his ally had told him about which, much to his dismay, seemed to align perfectly with the source of the smoke. It took a few more moments of running but afterwards he found himself bursting into the simultaneously flooded and singed clearing.

Seeing her friend burst into the elemental arena the clearing was sure to become Zero quickly ran to Bishops side and stood slightly behind him. Neither of them uttered a word for that moment, neither of them needed to. Zero nodded to the trees so that Bishop could be aware of the woman hiding there, her vampiric abilities had notified her she was there a few moments before she settled behind the branches that now hid her from sight. Bishop shrugged deciding that as long as she didn't get involved it was fine and turned his attention towards the Lord of Flame and his unstable portal to his flaming anti-world.

Bishop, being long trained in the art of exorcisms and the occult, quickly decided that the portal was a danger and could let other beings inside the forest and, more importantly, Wing city, should things get out of hand. It had to go.

Without a second thought Bishop rushed forward, charging his sword with electricity and striking at one of the four standing stones he believed were keeping the portal active. His strike damaged the first stone but did not finish it off, without a moment lost Bishop launched himself at the rock again, this time hoping to shatter it.

Mischievous laughter echoed through the smoke as Teo darted and dived through the air away from the flames that Akanatur cast in his direction. Where he passed by, water swept the ground and the trees, dousing more flames and combatting the Fire Lord's influence over the area. "Loosen up! You're being so dramatic!"

The steam cleared, only for the childish spirit to dive straight towards Akanatur's face, twin torrents of water spiralling around him to blast into the being even as Teo himself dissipated into a splash of water, vanishing. A few moments later he popped straight out of a puddle on the other side of the clearing, still laughing.

"You might be all that, the alpha, the omega, or I don't know," Teo teased in a sing-song voice, "But you're on my turf now, fire-face!"

The soil beneath the Fire Lord's feet shifted, as water flooded through it in vast quantities. Becoming in mere moments a marshlike bog, the large being's weight would no doubt lead to him beginning to rapidly sink into the soft, drenched earth that was now more puddle than solid ground. And then his heat would work against him, likely to swiftly evaporate the water and leave him encased in dry, baked earth.

Pepper watches the pyromancer send out a plume of flame, drenching all the plants and foliage in the area in a shower of fire. Watching it happen sends a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, it's one thing when plants burn in natural forest fires, it's another watching them be carelessly scorched. She hates it, but there's little she can do other than watch and try to remain discrete despite the smoke irritating her lungs. She suppresses a few coughs, hoping they're not heard over the other commotion.

She smirks as she watches the water spirit drench the fire-brute over and over, it feels almost as satisfying watching it happen as doing it herself. She then turns her attention to the sword-wielding man attacking the stones circling the portal. He's got the right idea. She sneaks around the battle in the direction of the portal.

"No!" The Lord of Fire screamed as he quickly moved in a blinding fiery trail to intercept the swordsman just to find himself being hit from the other side by the water spirit once more. The white fire the enveloped the Lord of Fire made the water that hit him evaporate on the spot once again though it did make the Elemental stagger a bit as the portal to his realm began to shift and phase in and out due to the attacks on the pillars that the Exorcist was doing.

"I will not bend!" Akanatur shouted once more as the heat that he produced began burn away the moisture around him while he used his scythe to slice the air before him facing towards the swordsman just to sent a torrent of flames in the mans direction. The Lord of Fire would however find himself sinking a bit into the ground only to to then shove the butt of his scythe down into the earth bellow in search of something he could use from this miserable wet world.

As the torrent of flames blazed towards him Bishop quickly turned his cross shaped amulet towards them and released a concentrated burst HEP (Hallowed electric energy) in their direction. Thankfully, even though the HEP was designed to deal with darker energies, it managed to minimize the fiery attacks power and the now average flames flew past Bishop who dodged just in time to escape with some basic singing and a slight flinch before returning to his work. With one final strike Bishop preformed a circular strike and cleaved the massive ritual stone clean in two and the portal began to waver and flicker in and out of existence at a faster rate, barely able to sustain itself with only three stones intact.

Coming to the realisation that the stones would be nigh impossible to destroy if he gained the incredibly powerful flame elementals attention full attention, Bishop called to Zero who nodded in reply, knowing that her friend needed a distraction. So she charged forward, knowing that she couldn't touch the demon, she used her abilities in a different way.

"Don't want to bend? Then why don't you stay still yeah?!" Easily heaving a large burnt piece of tree bark, she used her immense strength to whirl around and launch a mound of marshy mud created by the water spirit at the flaming elemental. Hoping to cover him in it and allow his heat to make it harden like rock around him, keeping him place for, if anything, the few moments Bishop would need to destroy the second stone he now rushed towards.

"Hey! Hey! Hey, listen!" Teo yelled cheerfully at Akanatur, from his position hovering several metres above the being's head "Look at meee, pay no attention to the man smashing the stones! Aren't we having fun? I certainly am!"

Taking inspiration from Zero's idea, Teo drew on the thick, sludgy mud that was so saturated with water that he was able to easily control it. The sludge spiralled upwards from the ground around the Lord of Fire like a whirlpool of brown, coursing towards Akanatur in waves in an effort to smother him with the thick liquid dirt, or otherwise leave him stuck in place. The shifting mud would only make the Fire Lord sink even faster as it rushed from beneath his feet and then upwards to enclose him.

"I hear that mud baths are great for your skin~" the water spirit sang happily, giggling.

Alright enough watching, time to intervene. Pepper thinks to herself reaching into her bag, she pulls out a tiny pouch, and from the pouch pulls out two sea green stones. She takes the stones and rubs them together while in a fairly deep concentration, calling on the life-force of the forest to aid her. As she grinds the stones against each other a green aurora ripples between them, steadily glowing brighter.

She darts up to the portal and throws up her hands, enveloping herself, as well as the Vampire and the Exorcist in a green magical half-bubble that, hopefully, will deflect most of the flames heading their way as they figure out how to destroy the remaining stones keeping the portal open.

This was how it was to end? The Eternal Flame snuffed out like some earth candle about to be smudged by the likes of these beings! No it would not end so easily for the Lord of Fire as he brought his free hand up while being drenched in mud only to smile as he had found his source he so desperately needed deep within the bowels of the earth. "Chaotic Flame!" Akanatur shouted as the last of the mud drenched him and hardened only to be enveloped by a torrent of liquid hot magma that shot out from beneath the fire elemental's feet and up into the sky. It was Magma that would flow out over the ground and with little to no pressure the Lord of Fire stepped out from it only to glance around at his adversaries just to flare up in a white fiery light that was almost blinding for those who would look directly at him.

"Enough!" Akanatur shouted just to then cut the flow from the magma just to then send himself rocketing towards the swordsman with his scythe making a wide arc around his own body towards X-003. "You will not send me back! Not now and not ever!" THe elemental's metallic voice would bellow as he continued to grow hotter and more aggressive with every second.

Before Akanatur could impact the swordsman, a forceful geyser of water burst from the ground before him, hitting the fire lord square in the chest like a truck. Though doubtless much of the water would be evaporated, the pressure and force was such that it would likely still halt his charge. Rising from the spray and standing still for what seemed like the first time since the fight had started, Teo glared a challenge at Akanatur.

"Nuh uh uh~! Don't you know it's rude to interrupt people while they're busy with something?" he called, grinning and dancing forwards. Each fluid step brought a new torrent of water blasting towards the being, one after another, a barrage of jets to force him backwards. "Aren't I enough to keep you entertained? I'm offended!"

Teo stamped his foot, and with it another geyser of water shot from the ground underneath Akanatur to offset his balance even further. "Water might not have the raw power of your ghastly fire, but time is always on my side!"

Bishop braced himself from impact from Akanatur, almost certain that the fiery strike of his scythe would shatter his new protective shield, however before such could occur, a geyser of water from the impish spirit defended Bishop from the attack, this combined with the shield protecting Bishop from any blobs of lava that may have come his way was more than enough protection and distraction for what he needed to do and in the short window of chance he had he quickly destroyed the second standing stone.

The portal began to shimmer and blaze as if physically hurt by Bishops efforts, it coiled and flickered faster than before now remaining closed more often than open, with it barely shimmering back to life every few seconds. Seeing he still had time and knowing that the longer the battle prolonged the angrier Akanatur would get, in a final desperate lunch Bishop launched himself over the portal using his advanced robotic hydraulics, the magic shield shattering and barely protecting him as he passed through the fire lords flowing magma geyser, he ran towards the third stone, sure that it's destruction would be enough. He noticed his jacket was on fire and unwaveringly tossed it aside to see it lost within the portal. He landed by the third stone and raised his electrically charged blade.

"I'm not trying to send you back!" Bishop cried as he struck out and badly damaged the stone. "I'm trying to keep everything else inside!" With a final slash Bishop destroyed the third stone. The portal began to vibrate and waver uncontrollably, the fourth stone exploding within minutes as it was unable to contain the magical energy it now supported alone and with its destruction so did the portal close, leaving all those remaining on Terra, stuck on Terra.

Bishop sighed and readied his sword, prepared for the rage he anticipated Akanatur would unleash now that his ticket between Worlds was in ruin.