Leena
Agnidaanav let out a roar with smoldering ferocity. The very air shook at the destruction wrought forth.
Leena tied the mass of thick curls into a bun with a black scrunchie. She pulled the sleeves of her jacket up and took a deep breath of early morning air. It was like taking a drag of a cigarette with fireballs and clouds bellowing smoke-filled humidity. Then she regarded Hayden with a look rife with preparedness.
"Ready?" he asked, taking a step forward and staring intently at the damaged parts of the cave, eyes narrowed as though in suspicion.
"You bet," she replied. "Do you still...sense them?"
He nodded, muscles in his jaw working furiously which meant some profound thinking was going on. "They all have not been destroyed yet," he said and lifted his hand, palms outward. A blast of fire swept out enlightening the depths of the caves, followed by an appearance of underdeveloping creatures and a loud vociferous screech.
Leena nearly winced colliding hands against her ears blocking them from the impact.
"Hmm, it's not enough that Agnidaanav dies, all these caves need extra cleansing," he added before stepping inside, and then his eyes bulged out. "Watch out!"
The hill rocked for a moment and Leena couldn't figure out why at first. A gasp escaped her throat when Hayden pushed her out of the way to safety and he shoved himself to the opposite side against the rocks. An angry avalanche-like fire exploded from inside in retaliation, and another screech broke soon afterward.
Leena, having landed completely on the ground, closed her ears once again, teeth gritted to bear the sudden heat, and eyes closed. The fire and heat then dissipated. Slowly silence began to descend except for the creature flying above the hill making noises like eagles in rising currents. Leena specifically heard the swift whoosh that was now getting lost in the silence. Agnidaanav had flown back inside.
Hayden sprinted over and gave her a hand. The sleeves on his jacket were torn here and there like deep iron burnt. "You alright?" he asked, helping her up.
She scoffed, recovering her balance. "I was specifically mentioned that going on a job with you meant discovering some nasty surprises along the way. Guess this is only a start, Mackay."
He gaped. "Which genius told you that?"
"You don't want to know."
Together, keeping a watchful eye out, they struggled through the hellish cave clearly on the verge of being destroyed by Agnidaanav's rampant fury. The destruction was unimaginable and even though only a couple of days had passed, Leena seemed to have forgotten the way leading to the creature. The rising sun cast ochre rays through the horrid weather front. Their eyes didn't work any better, even though Hayden had his arms lit with fire throughout the journey.
Fumbling and crawling, never sure which next step might break their necks or worse, they navigated through an alien environment marked by tight confines, sudden drops, yawning pits, and sharp rocks. Walking faster-then-slower-then-faster-then-slower continued for most of their one-hour caving. As expected, Hayden did get mesmerized by the kaleidoscopic rooftops of the cave, but he did not make a comment, nor let it hinder his swift-slow walking. Eventually, they went deep into the cave, then painstakingly made their way to the huge tunnel leading to the chamber.
"Molten Vault is right up ahead," said Leena, jogging through the serpentine tunnel. "Are you sure you don't want to go in now?"
"I can't without Nazira's magic. Nobody can," he said. "I must go back and bring her here. Just need to figure out a better route the next time."
Leena's concentration had almost faltered when another great fire spread past her. They were beneath the archway, a step into the chamber would mean instant body roasting to crisp. They grunted with shock and took a step back. Hayden murmured under his breath and increased the fire intensity over his arms. Thick blazing streaks leaked past him, and encircled Leena and him, covering most of their bodies as though protective gear. She commanded her stone and concentrated hard on stirring the water up. A strange mingling of pride and a sense of achievement welled up in her heart when the thousand feet water monster rose dangerously from the waterbody.
Agnidaanav made a double flip right below the ceiling and descended swiftly down. It hovered against the water monster, flapping its huge wings threateningly, eyes engulfed in a fiery red glow of its flames and releasing smoke from its mouths.
Leena's monster, which was twice the size of the one she had formed last time, leaped upwards. Its massive frame let the water cascade up and down as though the taps in the firmament leaked backward at the arrival of this catastrophic beast. The two creatures once again locked horns in a furious battle for supremacy.
"You've just about mastered that!" said Hayden, sounding astonished by the magnificence of the scene, the razor-sharp twinkle of perception in his eyes gaining an extra edge. "But remember, we're not fighting to death. Agnidaanav needs to be thrown out of the hill."
Then Leena realized that she was mad with a fit of ungovernable rage, a hot bubbling sensation coiling in her stomach. "I want to kill this thing myself. I want to do it."
"No! This country cannot afford any more disasters, let alone a volcano. Just aim for its eyes."
She let out a dramatic sigh and tried to soften her anger. "Fine! Cover me."
With rings of fire encircled her, Leena barged inside the tunnel and hid behind a pillar, while Hayden ran towards the adjacent one and waited for her call. Agnidaanav belched out wells of fire, and the water monster spouted an adequate amount of water canceling the intensity of the deathly flames. But it wouldn't back down just yet. The creature raced up ahead almost towards the ceiling and rained down a humongous degree of fire like a rocket releasing exhaust when launched. The water monster was hit and severely deformed, reduced in size, and then gone...loud and splashy. The air erupted with an extremely hot stream.
Within a moment a wave rose, and the water monster bounced back with a style and instantly gave the darndest punch to one of the creature's faces.
Leena's formation did give a tough fight, but evidently, Agnidaanav wasn't lolling around. The ground vibrated, trembled, and lightly swung, with steam and sparks flying everywhere. The entire chamber had a snapping tension in it. The monsters engaged in a strict match, neither of them afraid to lose but fighting only to win. Agnidaanav had a mind of its own. With the way, it showed off its offensive game plan...what an intelligent creature! It glid and bound and dove and hovered and took off with excellent maneuverability that Leena found disquieting but meaningful. The damn creature was miffed and in out-of-control avenging mode. Luring it out of the cave was going to be a hell of a challenge.
Leena grunted with frustration when her formed monster took a retreating step back. Her stomach lurched and she knew it was time to call for help. She called Kumbh, and he created another water monster. Two against one, which meant more power, more waves, more steam, and more hurdles. Leena thought she would now easily push Agnidaanav off the cave. But the pressure to break the walls off and slide the creature off was falling short.
Agnidaanav changed its strategy and began attacking Leena instead. She and Hayden had a restless activity of body and mind. Running and escaping from one pole to another, not to mention getting wet and slammed by the crashing waves. They were like two cats on hot bricks. Sometimes Agnidaanv's mad rush of downpour terrified Leena. The intelligent creature targeted her with its flames whenever she was surrounded by lesser water. If Hayden hadn't been attentively retaliating with his magical fire, she might have floated away with roasted skin hanging down her body.
The teamwork was only slightly up to the mark though. Something was still missing, Leena felt, and she was unknown of the factors. In contrast to the heedfulness associated with nostalgia, the feeling she had was one of nervousness and even desperation. Why are you not helping me, Hayden? She wished Hayden did something worthwhile. The Samagraha who killed Shaytan Rup and Almourah was mildly using his Formation as a protective shield only. Maybe she had been expecting a lot from him, and a sudden thought struck her-perhaps her collaboration with Pruthvi did better for her. Or was Hayden saving his energy for later use?
Her stomach lurched. She gasped and fell on her knees, soaked from head to toe but everything from the waist down got lost in the flowing cold water. The three monsters fell back, with Agnidaanav landing on a pillar and squatting on its enormous haunches. A slight puff of smoke released from its mouths followed by low growling and hissing sounds.
The chamber fell eerily silent. Still. Unresponsive. Haze darkened the chamber.
"Tired?" Hayden asked, standing against the tower and keeping an eye on Agnidaanav.
"A little," Leena replied, breathing heavily.
"So is the damn creature," he said, the corners of his mouth twisting, his face alight with the same zeal he used to have while eating Ira Zutshi's delicious food. "Good job."
Leena frowned, her head rocking like a boat bound to the shore. Why the celebration? The fight wasn't over yet. "What are you thinking?" she asked, out loud, unable to bear her nerves taut with anxiety.
"Drive me up to these pillars," he said still staring at the creature, and occasionally looking down to catch her eye. "You can do that right?"
"Yes. But why? It could be dangerous."
"My Formation is not as strong as a natural fire," he said. "I must take an extra risk of exposing myself."
"You were waiting for it to get tired, weren't you?"
"Yes. Needed something to have an advantage." Still staring at the creature, his face then fixed in a nobly serious expression. "It's moving. Do it! Now!"
"Balance well," she said, now feeling a bit lighter, and lifted her hand pointing at the cascading water from the elevated portion of the chamber.
A short disturbance in the water and then a giant silvery hand rose washing over the sweeping waves. "Keep the Formation intact. Do not let me fall," Hayden said, lifting his sleeves and running fingers through his wet hair. "And stay out of its sight," he said strictly when the hand gripped Hayden by his entire body, pulled him up in a whoosh, and released as per Leena's directions. He safely landed on a pillar in a crouch.
His instructions were vague, but Leena understood her role in this fight henceforth.
She smiled.
The two faces of the creature lifted like the hood of the snake; eyes directed at the tiny wet thing that had landed on the pillar in front of it. It splayed its legs and spread out its wings slightly as though readying for another round of fight, this time only it was going to be tougher.
Distance and haze did not allow Leena to watch Hayden and his antics particularly, but she sensed the aura of power and confidence that flowed from him. Even amid the chaos, amid the melting horizon, he stood strong. He was tiny against the size of the opponent but like a tiny ray of hope that gave comfort amid the gloom.
So, he did save his energy for later use and let me wash away all mine first. Idiot!
The creature let out a grow - Hayden lit his arms - creature opened its mouths and balls of fire appeared inside them - Hayden's increased the intensity of his fire, and together they blasted off scorching torrents of flames downward, outwards, and upwards, filling the air with choking black smoke. The gush from each of Hayden's arms retaliated against the blast from the creatures' mouths respectively. His rigid position changed to a split stance as though overcoming the wall push.
Nothing was visible except the mesmerizing two sources building this terrifying inferno until the creature began flapping its wings. The haze and smoke around them began clearing away. A good move from the creature turned bad for Hayden. The air only amped up the intensity of its fire racing to defeat the opposition. Leena thought she heard a painful grunt and she instinctively commanded her stone. The hand appeared in front of Hayden, grabbed him away from the pillar, and dropped on another.
"Kumbh, shower down water at Agnidaanav as much as you can," Leena said. Kumbh obliged and swirled down water from his pot. A bucket's worth of water turned into humongous waves, rising and lashing from all sides and thrashing the creatures repeatedly. The creature stirred and winced, screeched a thunderous roar. Its hind legs rose, and it flew away from the waves, flapping its wings that sent shudders against the strong gusts.
"Leena," she heard Hayden in her mind. "Try and aim the space between its heads. Take me there."
Leena knew why. "Done!" she replied and clenched her teeth concentrating fully on her stone.
Having Hayden in its grip the water hand swirled and twisted from side to side and dropped him from pillar to pillar to save him from creatures' attacks. The swift movements of water chased after the fire, dominating it and the mist slightly cleared as an impact allowing Leena to focus better.
She finally got to see a clear picture of Hayden in action. And her mind was somewhat appalled that she was left stranded to deal with all the tension herself. What a huge expectation mismatch there was between what she thought he would run up against and what the course entailed. Her Formation would give anyone a daunting experience with every cry, every yell to be left unheard in such savagery of water and surrounded by the creatures' menace. But seeing Hayden's expression...he was living in the movement and having it large, dealing with her Formation was like shooting fish in a barrel. Idiot!
The creature zoomed in shooting more fire from both the mouths and rising steam. It landed on the ground with a thud, giant water ripples escaped scarily from its vicinity. Leena methodically rolled Hayden past and whooshed the water hand in between both its heads from behind. Hayden did not let go of the opportunity. He raised both his hands to his sides as if giving high-fives to the creature and released his formation. The creature screeched tremendously, the roof began to crumble now, and the ground shook as though an earthquake. Surprisingly, it glided down into the water, fizzed for a moment, and rocketed back up.
Leena pulled Hayden out of reach in an instant. Then she heard his voice in her mind, "I missed its eyes. Need to try again."
"You got it," she replied and rode him in a zigzag manner.
She and Kumbh had another quick exchange of words. With a flick of Constellia's hand, a tide appeared as though drawn from the horizon and forcibly led the creature to fly downwards. At that very moment, Leena rolled Hayden upwards-creature flapped its wings in a clever way to rear back up-Kumbh created another tide racing towards the creature- it glid down again-Hayden lifted his hand but waited until Leena brought him to the desired position.
And then the moment came. Hayden fixed his posture, generating the power beneath his feet along with maneuverability as if he were the one having full control of the water hand. He stretched his hands out and the fire exploded out with tremendous speed.
With the great picturesque view and the way he controlled his Formation to hit the target, Leena might have hardly ever been so proud and humbled watching him in operation. Even Doctor must have been impressed watching him from the afterlife.
Then came another round of screech, the most glutaral screech that Leena heard for the very first time, rocking the cave and pillars. Hayden took a dolphin dove into the thrashing stream of water when the shape of the water hand disintegrated and then disappeared. The creature levitated upwards, flapping its wings and turning its heads back and forth, snakelike tongue lolling out.
The intensity with which its wings flapped was remarkable. The wind whooshed past, and her legs shot off the ground, her mind blackened for an instant before she was floored by the realization of getting tossed back. Her arms and legs sored; her stomach hurt tenfold. Kumbh let go of his Formation and held a pillar tight with a single hand stopping himself from falling into the water.
The water beside Leena got disturbed when Hayden pulled himself, shivering slightly from the freezing water and wetness. "I know you and I are both spent," he said, breathing heavily, water dripping down crazily from his head. "But the creature is still inside. Damn, it's tough to beat the thing."
"And we know what to do, right?" Leena asked, her lips trembling like leaves.
Hayden smiled, taking her hand and helping her stand up. He glared up at the creature slithering up and down the premises of the chamber, his eyes burning with concentrated hate. "To the rightmost side of the chamber. Let's go!" he suggested, his stentorian voice boomed in the chamber, but careful not to exaggerate the effect.
Leena applied pressure on her stone. She raised her hand and the stream expended out jets of water, that belched forth with triple the speed and hit Agnidaanav right in its belly. The creature screeched, both its faces rocking side to side, its entire body twisting and turning with quick writhing movements. Hayden took two strides upfront and released his formation from his palms. The flames of death traveled far above like strong javelins with sharper points right up toward the flailing monster.
With a powerful speed, the creature hit the wall of the chamber. Cracks emerged behind it like twisted branches of a tree.
Hayden and Leena repeated the use of their Formation, both going through the fire and water to make Celina and Nazira's job easy. Kumbh joined. And with his strong gush of water hitting the walls, cracks turned into fractures. It took a handful of time to break the walls, but Hayden and Leena methodically used their Formation and had the creature's heavy body bang several times against the fractured wall. Its high-pitched whine stimulated irritating ringing sound assaulting their ears.
In about a minute or two, the walls smashed open with the outside wind rushing inside the cave. A loud rumbling sound took over everything else. The rocks and boulders started tumbling down and disappearing into the open space. The majestic peak would now have an ugly blemish on it, with rocks and boulders scattered all over the valley beyond. It was a devastating sight, and Leena was going to make it worse. She waved her hand one last time and a strong water current catapulted Agnidaanav out of the cave.
Chamber vibrated and pillars rocked like cockleshells on a choppy sea.
In the process of falling off the chamber, the creature's wings hit the boulders and a few of them bolted inside, especially towards Hayden and Leena. "Watch out!" Hayden's yell made the hair at the back rise. She gasped and took a step back when he pushed her aside. She fell on her fours making a loud splash in the water. A splash of blood whipped her face. For a moment she thought it was her own. Dread sneaking up, she looked back. The sight almost had her heart skip several beats. She saw Hayden falling on the ground on his knee with water turning red, pooling around him.
Blood incessantly leaked from his shoulder where he held the sharp stone, the pointy side of which seemed to have deeply cut deep into his flesh.
He trumpeted in great pain when he pulled it off by himself.
"Why would you do that? You have another job to go to," Leena cried out, rushing towards him. She removed her jacket and tied it around his shoulder to stop the blood leak.
"It could have killed you," he said, stammering between words, his hands shaking with pain.
Leena felt an overwhelming amount of anger in her gut. "I'm a Samagraha too. I could have handled it, you know."
"You can. But...you shouldn't."
"Why?"
"It wouldn't make sense if I let anything happen to you."
Leena had no energy to battle her confusion and mounting anger. "Why is that?"
He looked up, and then looked down again, flexing his shoulder. In the short span when he had glanced at her, Leena could swear she saw adoration in his misty eyes. "If Nazira's Pruthvi's sister, then you're like mine, right?" he said, casually and amidst the grunts of pain.
A mixture of happiness and guilt washed over her, undoing her annoyance, but in the situation they were in she could only shake her head and sigh. "God, people can use you as a blueprint to build an idiot."
-x-