Lost in Sand. (Anyone)

Ooc: I'll by using Jarek Rune in my Sig. This will be two people trapped in a desert land where they are trying to escape alive.

Bic:

A hot sun scorched land. Once it was a beautiful rain forest, but now it was transformed into a field of dead trees and wildlife by something no one knew. The sun was hot enough to burn water, it would not be wise to travel through such a messed up land. But Jarek didn't know that.

He had only began crossing this desert for a little more than an hour and he was already dehydrating. He stumbled through the heat until he vommited on the ground. The reason he was heading off this way was because he was hunting a certain someone that a certain prophasy said he was supposed to kill, but so far there was no sign of this fiend.

The heat had finally taken its tole, and he collapsed from dehydration.

When he awoke, he was surprised that he was still alive. He seemed to be inside a cave of some sort where someone was sitting with their back faced to him. They seemed to be resting from traveling in the barren land as well. He sat up and decided to see who rescued him.

Ooc: Please chose an interesting character with a good personality that will make this fun for both of us.

"So. You're finally awake." Jarek struggled to his feet and drew his sword. He stood there for a moment, his sword tip pointing at the stranger. Suddenly, the image of the man in front of him wavered and multiplied. His body began to shake and the broadsword fell to the cave floor with a clatter. The five or six men in front of Jarek stood up and chuckled as the ninja fell backwards.

He turned around and grabbed Jarek by the front of his shirt, gently lowering him to the ground. "Don't be so hasty. You're still suffering from dehydration. Theres only so much water someone can give an unconcious person." The man grabbed Jarek under his arms and dragged him over to a rock as his vision started to return to normal.

"Here." The stranger held out a clear glass bottle full of water with a gloved hand. Jarek clutched at it desperately, causing the stranger to chuckle again. As the cool liquid slid down the ninja's throat, Jarek studied the man. He was wearing a black leather trench coat, black pants, and had a face covering over his lower face. Jarek drained the bottle and looked up at the man expectantly.

"Got any more?"

The corner of the the man's mouth quirked upward. "I'm afraid not. So," he replied
sitting down in front of Jarek. "Why don't you tell me who you are and why you're here?"

"I'm out in this desolate wasteland searching for someone." He coughed hard a couple times, "His name is Sin, his full name is something I can't mutter for fear that he will hear it."

"Why don't you just call his name?" The stranger asked him.

"I need the element of surprise, I'm planning to ambush him in his fortress that's supposed to be beyond this desert. Have you ever heard of him?"

The stranger paused to think, "I might have heard him mentioned before, but I know nothing about him however."

"What's your name?" Jarek asked the stranger, realizing he didn't know who he was. For all he knew he could have been sent by Sin himself to trick and deceive him into a trap.

Ooc: It's short becuase I don't know what character you are using.

"Altra." The man replied, standing up again. "I don't know about you, but once you've regained your strength, I should like to travel with you, at least untill we get out of this confounded desert."

"I suppose thats fine. I guess you did help me out." Jarek said acting as if he no longer needed Altra's asstance. The alchemist smiled grimmly at the confidence in the ninja's voice.

"Well," he said, looking up, "I hope you regain your strength soon. I prefer to travel at night, especially in this heat. Its late day now, and in case you haven't noticed, we have a slight problem."

He pointed upwards, to a hole in the ceiling where a golden-red beam of light shined down on the two. Startled, Jarek looked around. His heart sank, for there were no other ways in or out of the cave. "Just how the hell did we get down here?!" he asked Altra with bewilderment.

The alchemist shrugged. "In the heat of the desert, you'll take any shade you can get." Suddenly, he stiffened and looked around. "Somethings not right..........I think we have a guest."

Jarek scrambled over to his sword and picked it up, noticing a many-legged shadow pass over the opening above as he reached for it.

"Mother of Din!" Jarek shouted, pointing toward the hole.

"What happened?" Altra asked, his eyes searching the room.

"Don't tell me you didn't see that," Jarek asked as he saw the shadow again, "There it is again!"

Altra turned around but the shadow had already gone, "Jarek, are you alright?" He turned back to face him, "I think the sun has done something to your brain."

Jarek just stood still, not saying a word.

"Hello?" Altra nearly exploded in confusion as Jarek threw his sword at his head, but he just berely missed as it flew over his shoulder, "What the bloody hell was that for?"

Jarek pointed a finger behind Altra, showing what he did. There laying behind the alchemist was a four foor tall dead spider with a sword sticking out of his head. Two more shadows rolled by, much like the first one, but this time Altra saw them.

Backing up next to Jarek, Altra exclaimed,"You threw away your sword? Are you stupid, or crazy?" The alchemist quickly clapped his hands and passed them over each other, sprouting two long blades over his hands. One spider leapt onto the side of the cave, climbing up its wall above the ninjas. Altra rushed the spider on the ground as Jarek pulled out a bow and nocked an arrow.

Altra weaved under the massive archnid's legs, slicing up at it's belly as it tried to snap him in half with it's pinchers. Altra ducked under a bite and slashed both arms at two of the eigth legs viciously. The auto mail blades sliced through the brittle organs like butter.

The moster let out a clacking shriek and collasped as the ninja sliced off two more legs. Meanwhile, Jarek was firing arrow after arrow at the spider, but they had the effect of splinters. "Damn! The peircing doesn't seem to do all that much damage!"

Altra leapt over a final bite, and plunged both blades deep into the dying beast. He turned in time to see the spider let go of the ceiling and fall down at Jarek.

"lightning!" Jarek shouted pointing his bow at the falling spider. Bright white lightning blasted from the top of the bow and into the giant arachnid, exploding it into countless pieces that scattered themselves across the cave.

Jarek dashed for his sword and pulled it from the spider's head as he cut the last two in half with two quick swipes.

Sheathing his sword, he turned to Altra, "Why did I throw my sword?" Jarek shook his head as if Altra was clueless, "If I didn't throw my sword you would be dead right now."

Altra didn't know what to say to that as Jarek walked below the opening to the cave.

"I might be able to get out of here, but unless you have rope or can jump really high you will be stuck in here." Jarek shook his head as he searched for another plan, "You have any ideas?" Jarek said at last.

"I might." Altra smirked, staring at the hole.

Altra clapped his hands and placed them on the ground. A stairway raised out of the ground towards the hole in the ceiling. Altra placed a foot on the bottom step and turned to Jarek. "I would have been fine. But you never, never throw away your weapon." Altra scolded him. Turning back to the stairway, he muttered to himself. "My master would have skinned me alive if he had ever seen me do something so stupid."

Climbing up the steep stairs, Altra peered over the ledge at the surrounding sand. "Good." he said, looking down at Jarek. "Its night. We will be able to travel faster and easier at night."

Altra climbed over the ledge and onto the soft sand.

"Don't tell me what I can't do," Jarek scolded back as they climbed the stairs, "don't make the mistake that I don't know what I'm doing. Those spiders were moving so stealthily they would have killed you without you ever knowing what hit you. Be thankful I saved your life for it may not happen again."

"You threw away your weapon and left yourself defensless, you are the one who would have died." Altra said without losing his cool as they left the cave.

Jarek laughed, "I've had six years of intense ninja training, and two years of training in the arts of..." Jarek paused for he wasn't sure exactly what it was, "'magic,' I can do fine without weapons, I can live without weapons."

"Then why do you even have weapons?" Altra asked as they ajusted to the heat outside.

"For two reasons: One, it sure as hell saved your life. And two, this sword is a family heirloom, something I wouldn't give up for anything." Jarek took a deep breath as he looked across the ocean of sand that lay ahead of them.

"Then be more careful with it." Altra suggested.

"I was! God, when can you get it through your thick skull that I was doing what I knew I could do and nothing more or less? We're both alive and that's all that matters, I'm droping the subject as of now and we are off!" Jarek began to walk out into the desert as Altra follwed close behind. They walked for a few minutes without saying a word until Jarek spoke again, "Look, I'm sorry the way I outbursted back there. It was very rude and immature of me to do so." Jarek apologized, it wasn't like him to get into pointless arguments with people, "I blame the heat."

As they walked on the air got colder and colder as the night got darker. Soon it was as cold as the north pole.

Altra buttoned up his coat against the coat with nimble fingers. "We have to find shelter." He told Jarek. "I have an idea. Hold on." Drawing the darkness of the the night around them into himself, Altra's body became covered with shadow. The shadow then seperated from his body, but retained his shape.

The shadow assassin opened black eyes. "Go find some shelter, quick." Altra told it. The shade nodded and sprinted off into the night as Jarek stood with his mouth open.

* * * * *

The shade returned to the travelers an hour later as they continued to soldier on through the cold. The shade opened black lips and growled "There is a burrow several meters ahead. It may or may not be infested by beasts."

Dismissing the the shadow being, Altra turned to Jarek. "We'll have to take the chance that its unoccupied. If we stay out here much longer, we'll freeze!"

Jarek nodded and the two ran as fast as they could to the spot Altra's shadow had told them about. Looking down at it, Jarek comminted on the tight fit.

"We don't have a choice. Hurry up and get in there."

OoC: Sorry, but I'm a little low on CJs.

Jarek squeezed in as Altra came in after him. Jarek Smirked, he thought that if there was something in this cave it would be good to find it quckly. Jarek felt the ground and grabbed a stick; with his free hand he touched the top of the stick, setting it on fire. Soon he had a nice torch, lighting the cave a few feet ahead.

Altra leaned forward, it didn't seem like there was anything in the cave. But it was very deep, they would find out soon enough.

Oddly, it was very warm in the cave. But they didn't care for the source of the heat, they were just glad to be safe.

Ooc: It's short but I don't really want this to die.

As the night began to brighten, and the cold to lessen, Altra shook the grumbling Jarek awake. The two ventured out into the pale pink light of pre-dawn, the crisp air blowing the sleep from their eyes. The two trudged up a large dune disgruntled.

The ninjas marched on into the afternoon, the day growing hotter as it progressed. After a while, Altra shedded his coat, carrying it in one arm. AS the two walked on, Altra turned to the other ninja.

"So, do you happen to know just where we're going?"

Jarek shook his head. " Afraid not. Just somewhere out in the direction." He said, waving his hand vaguely in front of them. The alchemist sighed, but didn't say anything. When the sun reached it's zenith, Altra pulled a bottle of clear liquid out of his belt and popped the cork out. Jarek looked at him as he took a long swig from it with an open mouth.

"I-I thought you said you didn't have any more!" He yelled angerly. His companion shrugged.

"I lied." He held out the bottle and the teen snatched at it pulled at the mouth for a long time. He finally stopped when Altra commented casually on how many people he had seen become ill from consuming too much water at once.

Jarek handed the half-empty container back to Altra, who slipped it back into his belt. Suddenly, the was a rumbling from behind the two ninjas. Looking back, the two eighteen year-olds saw the largest scorpian they had ever seen rushing towards them.

Leaping to either side, the ninjas dodged the oncoming insect. The multi-legged creature whipped around, pincers easily able to slice both fighters in half snapping in the air, while the large, bulbous tail oozed posion above it.

Jarek stood streight and pointed his sword at the Scorpion, "Lightning!" He shouted, a bright flash of white energy struck the beast, stunning it.

Alrea saw his chance and ran toward the monster. He jumped forward and quickly flung three kunai at the beast, pinning its tail, "This is what happens when you mess with the shadow ninja alchemist!"

Altra thrusted his right palm forward, "Shadow Bomb!" he yelled as a stickly blob connected with the overgrown bug's head.

The beast struggled to get it off but to no avail. It exploded, sending green juices across the sand.

Jarek lowered his sword, "Sure, hog all the monsters why don't ya." he said jokingly.

Ooc: That's all folks. CJ's are losing power in this battle.

There was a small scuttling noise as seven smaller, but just as deadly no doubt, scorpions came over the rise behind the beast Altra had just killed.

"Don't worry," He told Jarek, transmuting his arm into a crossbow. "Theres plenty more."

The alchemist clapped his hands and touched the sand, refining and compressing it. Long, thin glass needles rose of of the sand in a blue light. Altra snapped the needles off and quickly loaded them into his arm.

Taking aim, he fired rapidly into the oncoming monsters. Meanwhile, Jarek hold out is sword and fired more lightning bolts at the creatures.

"Ok, you can do this." Jarek said to himself, contacting his power, "If I'm going to beat Sin I'll need to be able to master all the elements." Jarek began to move his arm in a slow circle as Altra fought off the beasts.

"Keep them occupied, Altra." Jarek encouraged, "I've got something, just keep making those glass needles and other sorts of spikes and make sure they stay in the ground."

Jarek continued to move his hand in a small circular motion, trying to gather enough energy for his next attack. He closed his eyes for better concentration, trusting Altra to hold them back.

Altra threw attack after attack at the scorpions, the air getting hotter by the second.

"Almost there." Jarek tried to push himself, he needed more energy for such a large attack.

Altra fought his way to the top of the hill they were crawling over, but to his dismay there was a whole army of these bugs on the other side of it.

"Altra, make as many spikes as possible! I'm almost done!"

Altra concentrated his power on creating as many of these spikes as fast as possible, draining most of his energy, "This better be good, Jarek."

The ninja smirked in response, "It will." He almost had it.

The scorpions were moving in on Altra, crawling over the spikes with ease.

"Get out of there!" Jarek shouted at last, his move ready.

Altra ran back to Jarek's side, prepairing for anything. Jarek at last shoved his hand forward with every ounch of strength in his body. He shouted into the air as the attack was unleashed. Sand began to fly forward toward the approaching scorpions. First the wind was weak but it grew stronger, so strong it was hard to stand.

"Get down." Jarek warned the alchemist. Altra did so as he watched.

The wind began to blow some of the weaker Scorpions away as well as lift some of Altra's spikes from the ground. The spikes flew in the swirling sandstorm and began skewering the overgrown bugs. Jarek opened his eyes to see nothing before them. Jarek and Altra looked at eachother releaved. The both walked to the top of the his to see a deadly sandstorm carry away the rest of the scorpions.

"Man that was cool." Jarek said, proud of his work. He very rarely used the element of air, but now he decided he would use it more often.