One Last Breath (Angel, Zorolo)

OoC: Alright, let's get this party started.

BiC:

Flames licked every part the world, creating an unbearable heat that would kill off any mere mortal. They rose in unbridled fury for this plane was their home, nothing could stop them. Today, they rose higher than they ever had in several millennia because, in the depth of this plane, a new master had taken over.

“You’ll pay for this one, Ignia!” a being roared. He looked relatively human albeit very wild. A simple loincloth, blazing red in color, hung down to a little above the floor while two golden arm-guards defended his lower arms. Other than those, his body was completely bare. His tanned skin ripple with muscles and his long, red hair rested in all directions. The fiercest thing about him was his bright, crimson eyes that glowed with power. This god was not to be messed with.

“Come now, Pyro, you don’t have to get so angry,” Ignia commented with a smirk. Unlike his god-brother, the demigod wore a full suit of fire-armor. The joints had sharp spikes protruding from them while his gloves ended in claws. His skin was the same tanned color along with his long mane of red hair. However, unlike Pyro, his little brother’s eyes didn’t gleam with the same uncontrolled fury. Oh, there was fire burning there, all right, but it was calm. A fire that had a specific target, not one that burned everything. Ignia played with a little flame in his hand, “Besides, doesn’t it appear that the flames like me just as much... if not more.” He let the flame jump out of his hand and grow three times larger.

Pyro struggled against the icy chains holding his wrists and ankles, “The flames don’t like you more. You can’t control them at all!” The god couldn’t help wonder how his demigod brother managed to get the opposite element to obey him but it effectively drained the god’s power.

Ignia laughed, “I’m not trying to control the flames, brother. I want them to run wild. After all, that’s how fire’s suppose to be. Not the caged-up animal you’ve made it into.”

“You have no idea how to maintain balance,” the god of fire growled, “You can’t just let the flames run free. They’ll destroy everything. Including you.”

“Oh Pyro,” the demigod sighed, “Honestly, I’m not stupid enough to kill myself. I just want to be more powerful than you.” He caressed a larger flame, “See, it adores me because I give it freedom.”

“Fool,” Pyro cursed.

(=====<^*^>=====)

“Cyno, I swear to God, I will kill you if you don’t shut up,” Sora growled. Her hand curled dangerously around a small glass wine. While seeing her drink was a rarity, it messed with her fighting too much, being around the icy elf was enough to drive her to the alcohol.

Cyno smiled irresistibly, “Ah, come on Sora, I’m not that bad.”

“Yes, you are,” the hunter replied curtly, “Anyway, just what are you doing here?”

“Meh, Sudran wanted to check something out. I really don’t know or care,” he reclined in his chair while the lady let out another sigh.

“Sudran’s here too? Great...” she looked at the glass of red wine and took another sip. Cyno and Sudran, a pair of a lechers that, for some reason, Sora had dealt with on several occasions. Right now, the pair were sitting in a rather meager tavern. Only one other of the wooden tables had people seated at it. It was much too early in the day for people to start getting drunk. Instead, several employees, mostly woman, where cleaning the place to prepare for the nightly crowd. A group of five men, the only other in there, where playing a game of cards and passing around the beer. They probably only left the tavern to rid themselves of excess liquor outside.

The elf chuckled, “Heh, I heard Sudran was a happy man after meeting you.”

The half-demon glared at him, “I swear, if you start talking about that, I will kill both of you. Morons.”

Cyno laughed, “Ah, no need to get so touchy,” he scooted closer, “So, what are you doing here?”

Sora immediately scooted away, “What I’m always doing: looking for anything that’s causing trouble.”

“I’m causing trouble,” the man wiggled his eyebrows.

She gave him a creepy smile, “So does that mean I get to kill you?”

“Only if I get to have some fun, first,” was his reply. Expecting it, he dodged a punch aimed right for his nose. “You know,” he said in an advice-giving way, “You’ll never met the proper man if you keep attacking the opposite sex.” Not that violence deterred him.

“Trust me, I only hit the ones that piss me off,” she replied, “You and Sudran are about as far as you can get from the proper man.”

“Are people talking about me behind my back?” the fire-wielder asked as he walked up to the table.

The elf greeted his friend, “Hey. So, what’s going on?”

Interestingly enough, another of the ice innate breed had just entered this town. A young man, probably in his mid-teen years, but not more then that. A dark blue cloak covered his face, disguising him amongst the endless movements of the people through the city streets. This boy had more purpose, or so he felt, to be here then anywhere else; for his duty beckoned, and he had to obey.

Within the endless shifts of the world's energies, new anomalies are born every day, but something such as this child were unlike anything known to the average human, much less to the odd denizens of this strange land he had stepped into. His powers, strange as they were, compared little to the powers he knew another man, a human, much like the boy himself, to wield. This man had realized his power, and now the boy would do the same. It didn't matter whom it was that stepped in his way; he would defeat them all, if and only if, it would allow him to bring down that man.

As the navy blue cloak moved through the air with a most feather like movement, the wind seemed to never touch the hood of the cloak, and the air around the cloaked person seemed to be much colder, almost sinisterly, some would consider. The strange person walked through the streets, not being stopped by any merchants, venders, or people who attempted to bring him to a halt. This boy had a drive, and he would not ignore it, no matter how impossible his dream may have seemed.

His dream, you ask? Quite simple or even more then simple depending on how one thinks of it. "The man with green hair is out there... somewhere," the ice innate muttered. And that is his dream, the dream of a warrior bent on revenge for a defeat handed to him because of his weakness. The man with green hair, who gave the cloaked figure little more then his name and a pounding was a traveler, making it hard for the wanderer to find. Actually, that was the reason he was here, in search of someone to help him locate this man.

The boy, Zachary, heard that in this city existed a person that had entered, someone whom could track the man with green hair's location. The youth knew little more then this and that is why he forced himself to trudge through the streets of this town to find anyone that looked like they had the least skill in tracking.

The morning hours of the town were docile in the downtown area, and why wouldn't they be. Who drinks early in the morning anyway? Today, though, was different. One bar had a slight amount, even if it was only a small amount, of noise, and this turned the boy's attention to the structure. Pushing his hood up slightly, the boy looked at the door, and the bouncer outside that held out the trash. The boy stepped towards the entrance, but the man's massive arm quickly pushed itself against the boy's chest, pushing him back.

"Where are you going?" the giant bouncer asked, looking at the blue cloaked boy. "Can't you read? No cloaks! We've had several instances of people with cloaks being bounties, so they have instituted a no cloak order."

The boy raised an eyebrow under his cloak and looked at the sign on the side of the door opposite to the bouncer. Sure enough, it read, "No cloaks allowed." The youth raised his other eyebrow and shrugged, pulling off his cloak. It was safe here; he had gotten far enough away from the deranged demi-angel and the town they had used as a battle. Sure enough, none would know that this boy had tried to stop the massacre.

"Can I enter now?" the red haired boy asked, the bouncer looking him up and down.

"Ain't you a bit young to be enterin' a bar?" the bouncer asked, looking down at the ice innate.

The boy's brown eyes looked the massive man in his eyes and were filled with shear annoyance and the massive man's questions. "Let me in!" Zachary ordered, moving his hand onto the hilt of his sword.

"I'd like to see you try that, pipsqueak. You couldn't draw that sword before I smash you into the pavement."

"I needn't draw it, only slightly," the boy stated, pulling the blade out to reveal the first rune. The ice warrior drew a small bit or magic, slowly starting to form an ice dagger.

"Strange weapon, now then, get out of here!" the bouncer said, thrusting one palm at the boy, but soon finding a dagger embedded in his neck as his hand was about to hit the boy.

"Like I said, only a small amount of blade was needed to defeat you," the swordsman mocked, sheathing his sword and walking past the stunned guard as he fell over; he quickly pulled the dagger from his neck and covered his wound. Slowly, the ice innate opened the door and entered into the building, looking around.

"Eight people," he whispered, looking at the table of five playing cards, but oddly, they weren't the ones making noise. It was the other table that seemed to be making all of the loud sounds. "I highly doubt whom I'm looking for his here, but I might as well check," the ice warrior told himself, stepping in slightly more.

A crimson cloud floated above the molten floor of the fiery plane, seeking its kin. As soon as the flames had begun to grow, the being had instantly moved into action. Even if he was banished from this plane for his crimes, it wouldn’t detain him from keeping the balance. Coming to a halt in front of the disheveled God, the mist began to take form. Soon enough, it was a solid figure, adorned in a similar armor to Ignia, except this one wore a set consisting more of black molten rock than red metal.

“Brother…what has he done?”

Pyro didn’t bother to raise his head, he simply raised a shackled hand, as if trying to grab the other fire creature.

“He thinks that by altering the balance, the flames will boost his own to match mine, which is a fools dream. The fire will consume this plane, and then move onto the others. We won’t be able to stop it in time.” Raising his head, Pyro looked into the eyes of his would-be savior.

“I have set things in motion already, brother. Your crown will be restored to you, and this plane shall once be balanced. I-”

“I NEED NO HELP FROM A TRAITOR, FIRA! Leave me, and return to the world that you now call home, with mortals to keep you company,” the God hissed, struggling against his chains. Taking a step back and letting out a sigh, Fira turned on his heels and walked away.

“It will be the mortals that prevail in this battle, brother. You will see, soon enough.”

“No, he won’t,” snapped a voice. Rising from the ground within a red mist, Ignia solidified within moments, his calmness broken momentarily.

“The oldest sibling returns. Welcome home, Fira. Had fun on the mortal plane?” the demi-god laughed.

“I find solace in the fact that without me here to rule, you two are and always will be at each others throats. So yes, I did have fun. It was easier than listening to you two prattle on all the time,” Fira replied coolly. Spitting out a small ball of molten rock, Ignia reached into his gauntlet, bringing out a small dagger. However, it retained its original size for little than a few moments, becoming a full blown broadsword in the fire wielders hands.

“Enough talk, with you out of the way my rule of this plane shall be absolute.”

“I didn’t come here to fight you, Ignia. I came to warn you. If you do not stop, my hand shall be forced into play, and you do know that if it happens, your defeat shall be swift,” Fira muttered. Ignia took a step forward, and with a jump, sailed through the air and at Fira. But instead of landing on his sibling, the demi-god was greeted with a cloud of mist that disappeared as he touched it.

You were warned, brother. Now you will face the consequences….

~

“What was with dragging me away from my dutiful life, Suddy?” Cyno chimed, using the name that he knew would annoy the flame wielder.

“It’s kinda’ hard to explain. The…entity who…I work for part-time, seems to have run into a bit of trouble back home. It seems that someone did something that now threatens life as we know it. You know, the usual story,” Sudran replied, his hands already working to open a bottle of red wine. Dropping down heavily on a chair, he didn’t take heed of any reaction the other two had.

“Seems rather straight forward. The only I seem to have a problem with is the high percent of possible death and cremation at the hands of a pissed off fire god,” the elf muttered, gulping down a shot of vodka. Sora just didn’t reply, her lips occupied with swallowing the large amount of wine in her glass.

OOC: Sorry about the wait. ^^;

The hunter finished the rest of her wine with one large swallow. “Why are people always interested in destroying the world? Don’t they realize they’ll be really bored afterwards? If they’re still alive, anyway,” Sora commented. She glanced back at the empty crystal glass having the strange notion of wanting more and none at all at the same time. In that case, I probably ought not to, she decided and leaned back in the chair. The wood protested slightly.

“Yes,” Sudran replied, “Well, there are those out there who just don’t get it unless you bash it into their head several times.” Despite his usually cheery attitude, the fire-wielder seemed to be rather depressed which worried the female. Not that she wasn’t enjoying the fact that he wasn’t hitting on her but it almost too weird for him not to be.

I’ve been around them for too long, the black-haired lady shook her head.

“Trying to dismiss the alcohol?” Cyno asked with a grin.

Sora rolled her eyes and stated curtly, “I’m not drunk, if that’s what you mean.”

“Yeah, sure,” the icy elf said playfully.

The half-demon was contemplating having the glass act on its own and give the elf a bloody nose when red-haired man motioned to her glass. “Pass that here.” Shrugging, the liquor-holder slid across the wood table and into Sudran’s hand. He then waved it wildly in the air, “Hey, bartender! More red wine!” Giving the waver an apprehensive look, the barkeep walked over with the same bottle of wine that Sora had taken and filled the glass halfway. “Come on, I need more than that,” the fire-wielder commented. The glass was then filled three-fours of the way. “More.” Arching an eyebrow, the bartender filled the glass until it almost spilled. Grinning like his old self, Sudran thanked the man and then downed the glass of liquor in one glup.

Cyno chuckled slightly, “I take it you needed that.”

Sudran slammed the cup on the table, “Oh yeah.” He then looked at the pair with an expression mixed with seriousness and alcohol-happiness, “So, are you two going to help?”

“Do I have a choice?” the pointy-eared elf asked with a face still adorned by a smile.

The hunter wasn’t quite as keen, “Help with what? Saving the world from whatever is threatening it.”

“Come on, Sora, we would love to have your help,” Cyno waggled his eyebrows.

The female opened her mouth for a rude retort when someone came up behind her and asked, “Excuse me?” Turning, she saw a man with a blue sweater and red pants. Examining him, the half-demon didn’t notice anything strange or menacing about him. At least, nothing stranger than what she was used to dealing with. Though, the sword he carried had an icy aura encircling it.

“Can we help you?” Sudran queried with a rather disgruntled look.

The red haired youth stood in the bar, listening to the chatter before sitting down at a table silently and listening in on the conversation of the rather loud table near him. He could hardly make out their words, but he knew something big was going on, and whatever it was, there was no chance it wasn't going to be interesting.

The three all seemed to either be drinking something, or talking about something that held a grim, yet nigh humorous aura about it. The woman didn't seem to enjoy the company of the men, or so it seemed from what the youth could tell, but he knew little of how the world worked, and to assume he knew what was going on would have been a very bad idea.

The frozen warrior then took note of each of the three people, one of which he took an immediate disliking towards. Elf... he thought silently, never having been a big fan of the Elves. This one was slightly different, though, seeming to radiate ice energies from him, and the only reason the ice innate knew was that his sword released the same kind of energies. But... something about him is similar to me... He's the same element I am, I can sense it, the swordsman thought to himself, feeling an unusually cold chill run up his spine. The chill was unlike anything Zachary had felt before, and seemed to almost freeze him in place as he looked at Cyno, a bad feeling beginning to fester in his stomach. This feeling... something is about to happen... but what?

Suddenly, the other man slammed his hand upon the table, looking at the woman and saying something Zachary couldn't hear at all. This man gave off a completely different aura, his of intense heat and flames. The brown eyed boy felt the same chill run up his spine as he looked at this man, but again it passed, still seeming to bother him though. That guy... he seems human, but something isn't quite human about him. What is he? the youth asked himself, standing up and resting his left hand upon the pommel of his sword.

The last person the ice innate looked over was the woman, who didn't seem human, nor demon, nor like anything the boy had ever seen. What is she? he wondered to himself, walking slightly towards their table, albeit he tried to do it discreetly to avoid causing a problem. The youth was ready for a fight, even if one wasn't coming, it was better to be safe then sorry. Slowly, he moved towards the group and uttered the words, "Excuse me," to them, becoming quiet shortly after.

OOC: *4 months later* Gah…I suck at quick posting now. >>

IC:

Unprovoked as it was for the moment, Cyno had no discomfort in raising a scythe to the newcomers’ throat, the icy edge pressing against his jugular rather forcefully.

“If I knew for a fact that your hand was resting on your sword for mere comfort boy, I’d sheath my weapon. However, I’m not so sure of this, so I’ll ask you politely to rest your hand at your side, before I push this scythe of mine all the way through your throat,” the elf muttered casually. Sora seemed a little shocked to the reaction, while Sudran had only glanced up and then back down to his beverage.

“Cyno,” Sora muttered through gritted teeth, “What the hell are you doing?”

“What, an elf can’t be careful of people who might try and take a swipe at him? Besides, if this guy has the spunk to come and actually talk to us, maybe we should bring him with us.” At this, Sudran raised his head, taking in the newcomer.

“Ice orientation, which should come in handy. He’s in, that is if he wants to risk his neck for complete strangers.” The elf, a sullen look in his eyes as if he’d just been denied a treat of some sort, removed his weapon from the mans throat.

“So, what is your answer?”

The ice innate laughed at the question. "Sure," he said first, half cocking a smile. "Well, that is what I'd normally say," the avenger stated, looking from the fire elemental to the ice Elf. "But, you see, you've just offended me by taking my walking up here and having my non-sword arm resting on the hilt of my sword as being a threat. That is, in my opinion, something I cannot allow," the red haired youth said with a smile. He knew they'd be confused, by it'd make sense in a moment or two.

"Kid, what are you-" Cyno half said before he blocked a sudden punch from Leos. The ice Elf's superior strength made holding back the red haired boy's arm relatively easy, mostly seeing that Zachary was little stronger then a normal human. "Bad move kid," the ice elemental stated as he jerked the ice innate's arm quickly and launched the youth through a table. The soon followed sound of the wood shattering entered the bar and the few other patrons looked over.

The swordsman growled in pain as he slowly rolled over and began pushing himself to his feet. That hit wasn't so bad, after all, that idiot Kellson had done more damage with just his fists. Even so, the young swordsman knew his foe would not so easily fall victim to one of the youth's traps. After all, this foe actually used ice as well, neutralizing the avenger's normal advantage.

This could get tricky, the young fighter told himself, watching as Cyno recreated his ice scythe. When the blade had rested at the youth's neck, the red haired boy had tried to move it, but learned that the ice the Elf used was special. Magical, even, to the point that others who could control ice couldn't effect it. Come to think of it, this could be tricky, yet fun. With a genuine smile, the swordsman drew his runic sword. The battle to come would be interesting.

Cyno swung his blade so the blade itself was parallel to the ground and the shaft was along his back, and Zachary dragged his sword along the ground, both charging blindly at each other. Suddenly, though, a female figure stepped in, darkness engulfing one hand, light the other, and blasted them both as they reached her, launching both the ice innates through the air and onto the ground. "Boys, can we be a little more adult about this?" Sora asked, looking between the two.

Slowly, the firebrand sat up. She was strong. He'd join simply because he might be able to learn something from this girl. Perhaps she could help him to become a stronger avenger. This was exactly what he needed. A pair of idiots and a strong person to help him, and perhaps Zachary could become stronger thanks to her. He'd be one step closer to defeating Zorlo if that happened. Hell, at this point, anything would help. "Yes, I'll join you," he responded, giving a smile to his new found allies.

OoC: I could not think of a damn thing. ^^;;

BiC:

Well, that was... interesting. Sora looked between the newcomer and the two elementalists. Having help jump out of nowhere was a good thing, if not just a little suspicious. Not very many people would join a group of others for no reason. Either he was one of those rare and noble, or stupid depending on how one looked at it, or he was up to something. Meh. The half-breed shrugged her shoulders unnoticeably. Then she held her hand out to the swordsman, “I’m Sora Atichae.”

He took her hand with a smile, “Zachary Leos.”

They parted hands and the hunter waited for a second before turning to the other two males, “Now, boys, be nice and introduce yourselves.”

The fire-wielder scoffed lightly, “Sudran Fironia.”

However, the elf walked up beside Sora with a dead-serious expression on his face. “I’m Cyno Frador. And there is one thing, Zach, that you have to know before joining us. You can’t do anything with my woman.” With that statement, he curled an arm around the woman’s shoulders.

She didn’t even look at him, “Are you looking for an early grave, Cyno?” Her question came out in a low growl.

The elvish ice innate let out a laugh, “It’s far too easy to get a rise out of you. Anyway,” he glanced back at Zach, “do you even know what we’re doing?”

“Well...” The ice innate started but stopped with one word. He looked rather sheepish.

Cyno sighed, “That’s what I thought. Hey, Sudran, could you fill in our little boy here?”