Chapter 16: The heat.
The sniper and the ice user walked through the hallways. Yuki was trying to calm his nerves, but it wasn't working.
Were his wishes about to come true? Could it be possible that Tara liked him?
"So, why are we here?" He finally asked, subconsciously freezing a bit of the ground near his feet.
"I wanted to... I wanted to give them s-some time alone so that they can... they can make up." Tara said cheerfully, while all of Yuki's hopes got destroyed.
"Oh." Of course she didn't do that to talk to him. What was he thinking?
"You... You sounded disappointed." She remarked and he cleared his throat quickly and tried to hide the disappointment.
"Why did you join Aether anyway?" He asked, hoping to change the subject. He was rubbing his neck, realizing that he never had an actual conversation with her.
"I wanted to see more of the world." The sniper answered as a warm smile appeared on her face. "I might not be a Penergy... a Penergy user, but I can take c-care of myself."
"You don't have to be a Penergy user to be amazing! Being a sniper requires a level of patience that most us can't achieve!" The Ice user complimented and hoped that his blush wasn't too obvious. He truly thought that she was amazing.
"T-thanks! That's sweet." She bit her lip and looked thoughtful about something. She then smiled as she decided what to say. "What about you? Why did you join?"
"My family was really poor. So when I discovered my powers and heard about how well Aether pays for their missions, I decided to join to support my parents." He admitted with a shrug. "Thankfully, we're doing fine now."
"Aw, you really a-are sweet." Tara said while Yuki laughed nervously.
They stopped when they saw someone knocking a wizard out in the distance. His hair was a soft shade of orange, and his clothes were a mix of the black and yellow. He glanced at them then looked around as the walls started forming together isolating them in one room.
"That idiot! I can't believe he trapped me here! Stupid shape shifter." He complained then glared at the pair. "What do you want? Look, I had a terrible day! Fox was such a bully this morning, then Chameleon 'accidently' knocked books and files on me and NOW shifter trapped me here! So EXCUSE ME if I'm not in the mood for anything! I did not even agree to come here!" He huffed as he finally finished his complaint, and even his skin turned into different shades of red.
Yuki raised a finger and his mouth hang open as he tried to think of something to say, then he exchanged a look with the sniper who raised her hands in a questioning manner. They remained silent, afraid of causing another rant.
The intruder's glare hardened as his body became redder. "There's so much heat..." He muttered. "I'm SO angry!" He yelled as smoke started coming out from his burning body.
He suddenly ran towards the pair in an attempt to attack and release his anger. Yuki took a step back, surprised then he created an ice shield. The heater's fist collided with it, causing a wave of steam that filled the room. The Ice user took the opportunity and slammed his hands against the floor, freezing the room and created pillar so that the sniper could gain higher ground. Tara wore her goggles and pulled her cloak around her body, making her invisible. She then took her position on one of the ice pillars.
The ice and heat users waited for the steam to disappear. Yuki created multiple ice fists that attacked the heater, but they all melted before touching him.
"I'm burning up!" The orange haired man yelled and sent a wave of heat towards the ice user.
Yuki used his arms to block the air wave from his face. He felt the heat starting to affect his skin so he slammed his feet against the ground, creating Ice spikes that served both as a shield and as an attack, but much to his dismay, the ice melted before it could reach his enemy. He knew his powers were useless in this fight, but he was doing his best to distract him for the sniper.
Suddenly, an energy bullet hit the heater's arm. He yelled in rage and sent heat waves towards the direction of the bullet. Luckily, Tara switched places the moment she fired it, so the attack only hit one of the pillars melting it in seconds. She took a new position and looked for the right bullet. The bullets she had would have melted before reaching his body, so she had to find a specific type that could bear the heat. The one she used was an energy bullet that manipulates the body heat, so she had to wait until it starts to take effect so she could knock him out.
Yuki moved his hands in circles and created an ice tornado that surrounded the heater. The latter melted it as his skin became redder, he then ran towards Yuki. He was so fast that the ice user couldn't create anything.
In that moment, an idea came to mind and he raised his hands and prayed that his actions would work. He closed his eyes waiting for the burning impact, but nothing came, so he opened them and was met with the sight of his enemy's hands surrounded by blue energy that held them back.
"You... you're using basic Penergy?" The attacker asked in surprise and tried to free himself, but his heat didn't work on normal energy.
"I guess Aiko was right after all... no matter how evolved the power becomes, nothing beats the roots!" Yuki exclaimed with a smile and used the energy to throw him away then used ice fists to hit him. Some of them melted but others managed to reach him.
The heater fell, and his body was starting to regain its normal color due to the bullet he received earlier. He groaned and gathered all of his heat and sent it towards Yuki. The ice user fell to his knees and couldn't move. He started to feel as if his body was burning, and his skin was about to, but luckily, a bullet that went through the heater's head, saved him.
The heater fell, motionless.
Yuki sighed in relief then turned to see Tara pulling her hood up and becoming visible.
"What took you so long?" He asked with a smile and raised his hand for her to take.
She took it with a smile and he helped her jump off the pillar. "A sniper waits for the perfect shot."
"He's not dead, is he?" He asked as he turned to the man he was fighting.
"Of course not! My bullets are made of energy, they don't touch the meat or bones, they just manipulated his energy. He is now in a deep sleep." Tara explained. "G-good team work?" She asked.
"Good team work." He confirmed with a smile.
Meanwhile on the other side, the shape shifter created hand made of rock to replace his messing one and stop the bleeding. He couldn't use it to shift but it was better than nothing.
The intense pain all hit him at once, and his breathing and vision worsened. But he knew that if he didn't fight back, he might lose more than a hand.
He turned the ceiling into spikes that fell towards the blue haired girl, but the knight's phantom blocked them with his shield then raised his sword to strike. The shape shifter managed to jump away at the last moment, but he wasn't safe yet. The moment his feet landed, he moved to the right, hardly avoiding Nosaru's sword, resulting in a cut on his cheek. He then moved his hand to shape something but Nosaru was faster. She turned and grabbed it then equipped a dagger to hit him. He used his shifted hand to block the blade out of desperation. She unequipped it to free her hand then kicked him away.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" She said as she walked towards him. "Do I have to cut your other hand?" Her words were spoken so calmly and coldly that they sent chills through his body.
"Don't you underestimate me!" He yelled then created spears from all sides of the room, so that they would be impossible to block or avoid.
Nosaru moved her sword in multiple directions, cutting through the air, and the phantom copied her movements. All the spears he created were cut in the blink of an eye.
"No way! There is no way you could do that!" He said and attempted to make one more attack, but he received a hit in his stomach, making him lose conscience.
Nosaru glared at him then unequipped her gauntlet.
She turned and looked at the phantom watching over her. The knight nodded then turned into a small energy ball that flew towards her. She felt a strange warmth overwhelming her as the energy fused with her body. It felt as if a part that was always missing, returned to her.
She rested a hand against her chest, where the energy touched her. She finally felt the knight's presence, a part of herself that she never accepted until now.
She gasped and turned and ran towards her partner who was lying unconscious on the ground. She noticed that the shifted object was removed from her shoulder. She must have removed it while she was fighting the shape shifter, but that caused her to lose a lot of blood.
"Liz! Wake up!" She said as she shook her partner, hoping she'd open her eyes. She was feeling more desperate as she tried to wake the blonde. She felt a tightness in her chest as the worst outcome started to fill her thoughts. She was so scared. So scared that she'd lose someone else. "Please..." She said so softly that it was impossible to hear. "...Don't leave me alone..."
A short and soft laugh startled her. "Did you seriously think that something like that would kill me?" Liz asked as she sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in her shoulder. "I just got a bit dizzy." She said with her usual smirk.
Nosaru stared at her for a moment before punching her lightly on the shoulder causing the blonde to wince in pain.
"What was that for?!" Liz asked but she was startled when Nosaru hugged her. Her grip was strong enough to hold the blonde, but not to the point of hurting her injured shoulder. Liz felt something wet on her shoulder as she used one arm to return the hug. "Are you crying?" She asked.
"Shut up." That was her partner's answer, and her voice cracking voice was proof that she was crying. However, those weren't just the tears of the fear that she felt in that moment, they were tears that she held back ever since her mother's death. They were tears that has been begging to come out for a while.
That was what Liz felt when she silently hugged her.
-P.O.L:Origins-
Bob stood in the transportation room, facing a mysterious figure. The person wore a black cloak and white mask that looked like a fox's face. They wore tight black pants and a black tank top. They had a white belt, making the clothes a mix of white and black. Their hair was raven colored and it looked long, but wasn't too visible because of the hood.
However, the only thing that was obvious about the person's identity, was their gender. The infiltrator was a woman.
"I don't know how you infiltrated the place, but I prefer you'd leave now." Bob said and his eyes wandered to what was attached to her belt. Two katanas waiting to be pulled from their scabbards.
The woman didn't say a word, perhaps to keep her identity hidden. She pulled her swords and stared at him silently.
"I guess you made your choice." He said and pulled a small notebook and a pen from his pocket. "Let me start by introducing myself. They call me the author."
Next chapter: The fox.