Ferdie and the Elementals

I close the distance in an instant, throwing all my power and speed into the gargantuan iron construct. Its metal shell cracks and bursts with the impact, and its huge form makes an even bigger hole in the ramparts as it gets shot through them.

Shards of stone and iron rain down everywhere as I leap into the the night air.

I don't know where it landed, but I'm gonna pounce and finish this fucker fast.

I soar into the red night, and I can see the glow of two burning weapons concealed weakly inside a rolling cloud of black dust.

Gotcha, you sonuvabitch!

I hit the ground, adjust my aim, and rage leap again.

I land feet first on its shoulders like a cannonball, pushing the big thing into the rocky ground. Its armor groans and cracks under the pressure and the black cloud of dust and soot is pushed away by a rush of hot air.

I look down upon it with a smile of vengeance. "YOU'RE MINE, FUCKER!"

My power wells up in me, and I start to stomp the ever-loving shit out of its face, each shaking and kicking up the earth and sending metallic reverberations through the air with more and more intensity as my fury builds.

"BREAK, YOU SONUVABITCH, BREAK!"

With each stomp, the metal cracks, dents, and breaks a little, and so does my sense of self-control and sanity.

"MOTHERFUCKERS'VE GOTTA PAY! THEY GOTTA PAY, THEY GOTTA MOTHERFUCKING PAAAY!"

The cannon arm makes a quick jerk in my direction, but that' shit is too slow.

"NOT THIS TIME, FUCKER!"

I stop caving in its face and give its arm the hardest fucking stomp the universe has ever known.

The mountainside roars and black dirt flies in all directions as my foot punches through the bicep of the iron colossus. As the earthy soil lands and the sound fades, a catch the tail end a of a terrible scream.

Someone is inside this bitch!

A switch is flipped in my mind, and everything begins to slow down to a crawl. The armor begins to glow, crack, and peel as sluggish flames begin to gush out from the hairline ruptures.

Fucker's gonna blow!

I leap off the General and start running.

The black iron armor cracks open like an egg, and the big fucker explodes, the force of it ripping a huge hole in the mountainside and blowing my bare-ass body back and upward, like someone hit me with a giant baseball bat made of TNT.

I catch some serious air and hang for a second, but I manage to land on my feet, even as the foothills begin to tumble and slide down around me. I burst and scramble away as I barely avoid getting dragged down into the deepest crater I've ever seen by the wide river of earth and rock rushing to fill it.

I get to a bit of solid footing and leap up onto a section of mostly intact wall, and spin around to take in the scene.

I rage heal my eardrums back, and I scan the the smoking crater like an animal on the hunt. I can't see shit but red light, smoldering crimson embers, and black smoke.

The fuck!?

I flick my head and jerk my body every which way, searching for a sign of action or movement anywhere.

No! It's a trick! There's no way it just bumped itself off! Fucker's gotta be up to something!

I search and search, but there is nothing but a plume of smoke, flowing stone and dirt, and the bloody aura of punished castle grounds.

"I ain't playin' your games, asshole! Quit fuckin' around and fight me!"

The wind blows, and the mountain rumbles, but all else is quiet.

"I ain't goin' nowhere! I'll be waiting, ya hear!? I'll stand right here all night long, if that's what I gotta do!"

My heartbeat is like a jackhammer in my chest, and my breathing is ragged. My senses are at a high alert, but there's nothing as the rocks stop tumbling and the smoke clears.

"Fight me, you fuckin' bastard! C'mon, I'm right here, and I ain't afraid to go another round! I'm ready when you are!"

Nothing. No answer.

Fuck 'em. That was probably just the General or whatever anyway.

I spit out some blood, but something sour and bitter still remains.

Unfuckingbelievable. It wasn't even the Elemental who clipped me; it was her fucking henchman!

I pick up a chunk of wall and hurl it into oblivion. Should of guessed, given what Althea and Zazel look like.

Scanning around some more, I try to catch my breath and focus my mind. Slowly, my sanity begins to return, like sand sprinkling to the bottom of an hourglass.

What am I, fucking stupid? And since when am I the kind of guy to go running around trying to smoke fuckers? I'm getting all worked up trying get back at people for something that didn't even happen.

More blood pools in my mouth and I spit again.

These powers are making me into a lunatic. 'Sides, shit's gotta be bad for my blood pressure. Fuck it, I'm just gonna-

"Sega fo gninnigeb dna dne eht ma I! Tnaryt eht fo wollefdeb eht dna enab eht ma I! Liaf sdrow nehw semoc tahw ma I! Latem fo Mortsleam!"

Time slows to a crawl as I turn around. Rising streaks of glowing crimson and shimmering black form a towering wall of in front of me. Little shrieks, groans, and metallic reverberations haunt the air as the impossibly high wall of death rises and rises higher and higher.

You've gotta fucking shitting me!

The walls and all the other metal crap begin to form into nasty weapons of all kinds. The part I'm standing on begins to loosen and separate as well, and it's happening pretty goddamned fast, even in slow-mo.

Shit!

I try to find a place to jump to, but there're long and sharp floating weapons everywhere, and they're filling the air fast, like a swarm of giant, fiery black hornets.

No way out but through!

I dig deep and draw out a metric fuckton of power. I feel the fire -and the emotion- build up and sear my insides, but I bite my teeth together and focus.

The wall of death is nearly complete. One of the blades shoots at me, and it feels as if time is about to speed back up again.

Motherfuckin' go time!

I let the fire consume me, and everything is bathed in red. I feel myself become a being of pure rage, and I unleash the fire and scream my lungs out. I brace myself and draw back my fists as the torrent of weapons begins to curve down on me like a rolling tsunami.

"AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!"

The blades begin to pour down at me, and I start punching. My punches are like a wall of flesh, metal bone, fire, and explosions as I machine gun the massive waterfall of red iron.

The whole scene becomes a rapid fire thunderstorm of sparks and a blizzard of iron. I keep swinging, and I can hear the metal rain and the crackle of the flames as they hit the ground. I can't see what's going on anymore because of the volume of fire and sparks, but I keep punching anyway.

But I can't defend my back. No matter good a dude is at punching tidal waves, his ass is going to get wet no matter what. I'm sliced, cut, slashed, stabbed and skewered all over, but the pain and the pressure only fuel my anger and drive my fists faster.

My knuckles, hands, and wrists are stripped down the bone, both by the torrent of blades and the force of my own power. In a brutal cycle, my flesh and skin are healed back and stripped away, over and over again as punch and punch and punch.

Eventually, somehow, I pull ahead. The metal swarm thins, and finally dies.

As I rage heal for the millionth time, and my tunnel vision relents, I see I am surrounded by huge mounds of black metal, their red glow now snuffed. Aside from few rolling or tumbling bits, all is still.

I remember the sound of the incantation. That was a spell, no doubt, and the cast must be close.

Gotta find that fucking Elemental!

I search all over, whipping around my head and turning around every which way, looking for any sign of the asshole.

Gotta find 'em before they use it again! Shit fucking hurts!

I turn and turn and turn, but nothing. Even my rage instincts don't pick up anything.

Chickenshit turned tail!

My heart pounds, my breathing is heavy, and the fire inside me is still blazing strong. I'm still pissed as fuck.

"Come back and fight, ya crazy bitch!" I scream at the mountains.

My words echo back to me. No reply.

I look around one last time, but there's still no sign of the Elemental.

What the fuck am I doing? This is shit is pointless. Maybe I should just-

One of the mounds of iron erupts and I'm hit by something fast and big. I react in time to block whatever the hell it is, but the sheer impact sends me flying back. It wraps around me as I fly backward and land on an incline; It rolls with down the mountain, spinning like a barrel.

My vision is a dark blur of black and red until I slam up against something hard. As my vision steadies, I feel something brace itself against my chest and see something raised above my head: a long, wicked spike.

I twist and fire out the fastest punch of my life.

A crack of thunder, and a quick squeal of pain, and the thing goes flying off of me.

Then I hear it laughing.

I get to my feet on lightning tap, dukes raised. "Finally decided to show your face, huh?"

The Elemental is already on her feet, standing tall, illuminated by the same murderous red aura as the mountain. She's big -almost as big as me- and her tan, muscular body is covered with pieces form-fitting, jagged black armor. Her brilliant, wavy full red hair burns like bloodstained fire, and it frames her head and shoulders. One eye is covered with a black patch, and the other flickers at me with a deadly blue glow.

"So, the Hero finally appears on my mountain." She says with hungry grin.cHer deep, sensual voice flows like blood running down a knife.

"Save it, you crazy-ass bitch! I'm not here for small talk."

"There's nothing small about it. I've waited for this moment since the day I came into existence."

"Yeah? Well, that's too fuckin' bad, 'cause I'm not about to waste anymore time on your ass!"

"Is that right?" The metal spike in her hand grows and morphs in to a huge, double-bladed battleaxe. "Then, come, Hero! Come and show me the power of your hatred! Show me that beautiful red blood of yours! Your trial begins now!" She gives me the biggest grin I've ever seen and she throws her arms out wide, as if inviting me.

"This ain' t gonna be no 'trial'."

All through the night, the mountain roars with the sounds of our duel. The mountain is carved and broken as the sky thunders with our blows. We fight with all the force, speed, and fury we can muster. It becomes an all-out brawl, with no quarter asked or given.

Her battleaxe is a whirlwind of death and destruction, but my fists and fury are a force of nature. I block, parry, and dodge her attacks as much as I can, but she always seems to be two steps ahead.

Unreleased Elementals are tough as hell.

Her moves are expertly timed, and she manages to put pressure on me while staying out of range of my counters. And just when I think I've figured out her style, she switches to another weapon and it's back to square fucking one; it really pisses my ass off. But if I let up, she'll cast her magic, and I don't wanna find what kind of crazy shit she might have up that particular sleeve.

My rage and frustration builds, along with the power of my blows, but keeping up with her makes me use up my power before it can build up too much. Plus, her defenses are good. If I try to hit her with something really hard, she just changes her weapon into a shield, like Althea's.

Still, I hit her whole bunch of times really, really goddamned hard, but she can heal almost as well as I can.

Almost.

I have no idea how much time passes as we continue this bloody, vicious fight; could be minutes as easily as years. But eventually, things slow down. She slows down. She starts to get sluggish and make little mistakes, and it takes longer for her to heal.

When I notice this, I press the attack. She has a harder time getting in hits, and even when she lands one, I give it back twice as hard. Her parrying and dodging become sloppy, and her attacks become wild and undisciplined. Her face and posture begin to change, too; she looks like a cornered animal.

But she's still smiling.

"Yes... That's it, Hero. A Hero must be strong. He must be capable in battle. Words can only accomplish so much, after all."

"Shut up! I'm not here to prove anything!"

She throws an overhead strike, but I dodge to the side.

"Then why are you here, if not to do battle?"

She spins around and swings her claymore around horizontally. I hop back and counter, but she changes to a shield. She's tired, and her shield is weak. My fists start to punch through and crack it, making her wince.

"I already told you," I launch another punch, bursting the shield and sending her flying back into a pile of debris. "I'm here for payback."

She scrambles to her feet, her face a mixture of pain and rage. "Did that fire of your yours melt your brain, as well? I've never even seen you before!" She throws her hand out to the side and the black metal rushes to her hand and forms into a halberd. She charges at me with it, swinging it around and over her head.

I hold my ground. I can take her. She's mine.

She swings it down. The blade is huge and wicked; I bet it'd tear a normal guy in half. I sidestep, but she changes the halberd's momentum, spinning it around and behind her, aiming the butt of it at me.

Damn thing is a spear now.

I jump back and roll out of range. As I get up, the weapon changes shape again, and I launch a burst of supersonic punches, shattering the weapon and sending her flying and tumbling back again.

That was almost easy. I have the edge; I need to finish this.

But I don't move in. I watch as she slowly gets to her feet, clutching her shoulder. Black blood streams and drips from where her arm used to connect to it.

She laughs, but she can't completely disguise the pain she's in, even as her arm slowly grows back. Her breathing is heavy, and her lips twist. "You fight and bleed beautifully, Hero. But delusion and insanity have little place on the battlefield."

I keep my dukes up as I take a few cautious steps forward. "Yeah? And what makes you think I'm crazy?"

She spits out some blood. "Because you're seeking revenge against someone who has done you no wrong."

"If I'm so insane, why even bother say anything? Running your mouth to crazy guy is risky; might get your ass beat harder."

"You are not too far gone. You hesitate to kill me even though you gained the advantage over me some time ago," she stares at me with that radiant blue of eye of hers. "You hesitate."

A flashback. Althea's wounds, Zazel's suffering, my humiliation. The fire. The blood. But I also remember Kris. The knife. The castration. Bleeding out. Her eyes looking down at me as my vision blurred and faded.

I know what it is like to die. The feeling of pain and helplessness. The terror of watching one's own body give out as the mind fades slowly to black.

"There can be no hesitation in battle!"

I turn to the right and see a flurry of projectiles arching my way. My rage instincts kick in, and punch them out of the air with one, wild furious blow.

Then, a massive, primal feeling of dread comes over me, and time slows down almost to as standstill. I feel something sharp start to press up against the underside of my healing ribs.

The Elemental is thrusting a long, thin spike up at my core.

Fuck. That.

My fists fly and times speeds up again. I punch her arm, punch the spike, punch her face, her gut, and her shoulder. She goes flying back, and I see her body get smashed and crushed by the impact, her armor breaking apart and her bones snapping, but she rolls gets back on her feet.

I don't let up. I instantly close the distance, and barrage her with a fucking rainstorm of super sonic punches. Her limbs, bones, and armor snap and pop as I continue I land punch after punch after fucking punch.

She braces herself, and her bloody red aura spikes in intensity, perhaps a final show of power and defiance. Even as I pulpify her face and body, she budges very little against my superpowered assault.

In the middle of the storm of flesh and metal bone, bust away her chestpiece, exposing her breasts -and her stone.

The stone glows bright blue. The core of an elemental. Smash it, and the Elemental dies.

"SEE YOU IN HELL!"

She stumbles as I reel back with all my power and rage. But as strike, My arm freezes, as if some powerful, invisible hand is holding it back.

"The fuck!?"

I realize that I am bathed in some kind of golden-white light. I step back and try to shake it off, and both the light and the force fade instantly.

What the hell was that!?

The Elemental laughs. "Beautiful! So very beautiful!"

I growl. "What's so goddamned funny!?"

"Don't you see? You can't kill me. And I can't kill you." She smiles as her body begins regenerate. "We're the perfect match."

"Quit fuckin' around!"

I don't know what stopped me, but whatever it was, it seemed to take a lot of the fight out of me, too. And maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

And for once, I feel something other than fear and rage.

I'm shaking, and I feel sick to my stomach.

I almost killed her. I was gonna do it. Just a few more inches and-

She's on me in an instant, tackling me to the ground before I can even think about doing anything.

Shit, I gotta keep my head in the fuckin' game!

I flail a bit and try to get her off, but she grabs my arms and positions herself on top of me. I struggle against her, and while she grasps me tight, she doesn't resist too hard.

"You crazy bitch!" I'm about to start swinging, but something is off. She's trying to pin me, for sure, but it doesn't feel like she's trying to kill me. She doesn't strike me. She resists my struggling, but also gives slightly when I push her.

"Ah, that's right, Hero. Struggle and strain against me. I want you to fight me and strike me. I want you to crack my bones and make me bleed all over. I want you to cover us in our beautiful black and red blood!"

She leans in deep, smelling like blood, gasoline, and red cinnamon. Her hungry, manic face is just inches away from mine. "I want you to slash and burn me until the end of time."

Oh, what the actual fuck!?

I push her off of me and roll away, springing to my feet and raising my dukes.

"Look, lady! I ain't lookin' for a fuckin' girlfriend," I growl. "What are you, the Elemental of Masochism, or something?"

She laughs some more and spreads her arms out, a broad grin plastered across her face. "Nothing so quaint. I am Raelith! The Elemental of War!"