-Demon.
-Siren.
-WITCH! WITCH! WITCH!

These were the words running through Ignitor's mind as he watched the new recruit floating peacefully under the Tree of Life.
By the Flames of the Eternal Fire Source! She didn't even walk anywhere, she floated like some kind of entity!
She had been named a Skylander only hours before and the decision was STILL haunting him, mocking him.

The Fire Spirit crackled away inside his enchanted armor, scowling at the woman. He hated her. He hated her without knowing her and he knew how stupid that was but he couldn't help it. She was a witch! ...Not the one that had tricked him and cursed him to burn inside the accursed armor he wore for an eternity, no, but she was a witch all the same. They were the one thing he hated more than anything, feared above all else and vowed to rid Skylands of and here she was! Floating there peacefully right beside the Tree of Life!
By right, of what she was, she was scum!

There were three kinds of scum he could not stand above all else. Demons, Sirens and Witches. He had vowed to take them all out and help rid Skylands of her plague of evil, as well as taking down all the villains he could find along the way.

He had met demons and slaying them had been no trouble for him. They were easy. Always power hungry and thought themselves great manipulators. Yes they were tricky and cunning, but there were ways to trick them back and he had found them all.
Sirens were tougher. Far more cunning than any demon therefore far more deadlier. He had never managed to kill one. Mostly they were lonely creatures seeking companionship from passing men, but the handful that had realized their power were the ones he aimed to kill.
They took all shapes and forms. From water loving Mermaids (the most common kind, and the ones he could never go after) to forest dwelling Elves and civilization loving Golding. He had never met a Dragon siren, nor did he want to. In fact, he dreaded the day.

But witches were different again, and he hated them most. Unlike the sirens, witches made no efforts to hide themselves. They were cunning and dangerous and loved to flaunt their abilities in battle. They were dangerous show offs who delighted in nothing more than taunting and torturing their enemies, sending them insane.

This one, he noticed, never smiled. Every witch he had met smiled and grinned wickedly, proud of her misdeeds and the pain of others, but not this one.

Still. She was a witch, a sorceress as stated by Eon himself and therefore, to Ignitor at least, unworthy to be a Skylander.
With his decision made, Ignitor raised his sword and charged forward.

The noise was gone, that was good. It had been too much for her anyway. She appreciated the efforts of her new team mates to make her feel welcome, but truth be told she still didn't. She knew all too well the kinds of things they would have all been thinking when Eon had revealed her to them.
The Dragon Leader, Spyro, had been nothing but kind and fair when he had found her wandering around alone. He had brought her back to Eon and he had made her a Skylander before calling his existing team together to introduce her.

At first they had been stuck in a stunned silence, but then the two Elves had stepped forward and welcomed her. The female, a life Elf, had seemed a little hesitant but Hex couldn't really blame her. Their opposing elements made it kind of difficult, but, to her credit she said nothing of the sort and welcomed the new comer anyway. The male hadn't even flinched and welcomed her enthusiastically in his thick accent. He was wearing a blindfold, and while Hex wanted to comment and ask about it, she decided to keep her mouth shut. Slowly the rest of them walked up and welcomed her and she felt a smile want to twist the corners of her mouth upwards , but she had held back for she never smiled and if she did it would ruin her reputation.

The 'party' or whatever it had been to welcome her hadn't lasted all that long and she was glad for it. It had been years since she had interacted with living beings, the last time being when she had returned from her battle with Malefor. She had been returned to her village, but her victory over the Undead Dragon king had come at a heavy cost and she had found herself among the ranks of the Undead.
Since then she had done many great things for her brothers and sisters in magic, and now as a Skylander she could make good of her vow to always protect them in honor of the sacrifice several made to keep her hidden.

The attack came from no where and the Undead sorceress had been caught completely off guard. If it wasn't for her elongated ears that were still able to pick up the smallest of sounds, she would have been run through with a sword.

Acting out of instinct, she had dodged to the side and the blade had embedded itself firmly into the bark of the Tree of Life.
Hex bit her pale lip and scowled at the flaming suit of armor. Undead or not, the Tree of life was still an important part of her being. She was still an Elf after all and still had an affinity for all things natural.

The suit and Fire Spirit had come out of no where and attacked while she was mulling over the days events.
She watched as he struggled to withdraw his flaming sword, fumbling and clumsy.
Who had given this idiot a sword anyway?

She jumped back when he was finally able to pull his weapon free, making sure he pulled back and swung in her general direction.
The air around her hands began to crackle as her magic charged up and she began to mutter under her breath at him, her eyes never leaving the place his should have been.

To see her up close was far more terrifying than he could have ever thought. Pale blue skin with no life left within, vacant, hollow glowing eyes. Flowing, elegant black gown that billowed out under and behind her as she floated and a headdress shaped like the horns of a demon or bat wings (either worked for him).
Her fingernails were black as night, the same as her entire attire. It was not enough to put him off.
But then there was her voice. It send chills down his non existent spine for it was as bitter cold and harsh as the Northern Winds.
She was a witch and therefore she had to go.

"You will taste the burning fury of my blade, hag!" He bellowed at the top of his, once again no existent, lungs as he lunged towards her once again, flames erupting out of his armor making him seem so much larger than he really was.

"You will taste the burning fury of my blade, hag!"

Hag? Now that was entirely rude and she would not stand for it!

HAG!?

Of all things he could have spat at her, he had to compare her to an old woman. She was far from old and thanks to her curse she would never age!

She once again dodged as he lunged, narrowly avoiding the flames leaking from the armor. If her dress caught fire, she would be done for. She may be Undead, but she still needed her body.

"You will taste the bitterness of defeat," she narrowed her eyes at her adversary, mocking him and his words.

As she glared, she analyzed his movement and fighting style. He would lunge straight towards her mostly, following the path of his sword. It was a very bold and 'in your face' approach and she hated that. She was used to outwitting her opponents, not over powering them. In a contest of brute strength she could come out second best so her only real option was to stay one step ahead of the blade and two steps ahead of the wielder.
He would be all but useless without that sword, and that was when she had an idea.

"Stand still and let me cut you!"

Yes, he was getting frustrated with her. She was always one step ahead, if you could even call it that. She floated everywhere she went. That could be considered cheating in a fair fight.

He was plodding around in circles and she was probably laughing at him just like all witches did! Every time he saw her face she was scowling, but that did not mean she wasn't laughing in her mind.

"Witch!" He cried and struck forward again, not in the least bit surprised when his blade caught nothing but air.
Her movements slowed and he grinned to himself, wasting no time in lining up his sword and charging forward. He had her now! She was tired! He knew she couldn't keep it up forever!

HAH!
-UH?

His sword had collided with something solid!

But where was the agonized scream? The whaling in misery at being defeated?

He pulled back on the sword but it was stuck fast and it took him a moment to process the situation.
There was the witch, standing stubbornly still, the tip of his blade an inch from her nose. She was still scowling (nothing unusual he was starting to realize) but with the way her lips were twitched upwards in the corners the slightest little bit suggested she was now amused. The flames of his blade were so very close from catching her flesh and he knew that if she had been alive, it would have been unbearable for her to stand so close. It was so damn frustrating!

He growled and pulled back harder, achieving nothing but embarrassment as she chuckled at him.

"Now it's my turn," she purred.

He was less than useless without his sword and as soon as she realized that, she was able to pull together a rather risky plan to slow him down.
She would deny it to High Hell and back, but she was nervous. If she mistimed she would end up losing her body and it would hurt...a lot.
She was Undead but pain was still known to her. Her blood still moved around her body, although instead of flowing it now oozed. It was disgusting and she really didn't wish to see it right now.

She slowed right down, pretending to be tired. She was surprised when he took the bait so quickly and lined her up. She turned to face him as he charged forward and when she judged him close enough, her hands which had been down by her sides clenched into a claw like gesture and she pulled them up, dragging a wall of jagged bones from beneath the surface of the ground.

The bones shot up right as he closed in, sword aimed perfectly for her head, and caught the blade before it could harm her, the enchanted flames licking desperately off the blade in an attempt to get at her. They pressed against it as they grew and twisted, making it impossible to free.

She watched as he struggled to pull the weapon free, and even chuckled at his frustration.

"Now it's my turn," she purred, making circular motions with her hands as she summoned her 'Skull Rain'.

THUMP
THUMP
THUMP
THUMP

Four distinct hits to his armored head. At first Ignitor was confused, the hits stunning him as he stumbled backwards, hands releasing the sword hilt, leaving him completely defenseless and vulnerable.

"Wretch!" He hissed in pain, his helm still ringing from the impacts. He couldn't see straight and found himself facing massive walls of bones with not one but three witches behind it.

Without warning the spirit was suddenly knocked off his feet. He flew backwards, leaving a shallow trench in his wake.

Phantom Orb after Phantom Orb pummeled into his enchanted armor. They left no marks or dints, but they were powerful enough to continue pushing the knight along.

Cursing under his breath, there was nothing Ignitor could do but wait for his adversary to tire of her game and stop.
She eventually did, her bone wall still standing, holding his sword in place. Then it occurred to him. His sword wasn't his only means of defense! He was a Fire Spirit! He could launch himself from his armor at his foes in an arch. Sure he couldn't control it properly yet, but maybe it would be enough to startle her into releasing his sword. Then he would have a fighting chance.

Stumbling to his feet, Ignitor glared the witch before him down. She glared right back and he felt his strength and resolve solidify.

Hex yelped and jolted backwards as the stumpy Flame Knight in the enchanted blue and silver armor suddenly flung himself right at her, leaving his armor to do so. The armor fell to the ground in a heap as the little balls of flame in the basic shape of a body rushed her. She hadn't been expecting that and was mildly impressed by the effort, but regardless, she was still going to kick his ass.

"Now the Advantage is mine!" Ignitor yelled victoriously as he reentered his armor.

Again and again he launched out at the other, each time causing her to stumble back. It was an odd jolt like movement for one who floated everywhere, but it brought a strange satisfaction to him each time he saw it. Hex could tell he was amused. Each time she jolted he let forth an irritating chuckle.

She analyzed his new attack, looking at him as a completely different foe. Obviously he had the ability to cause quite a lot of elemental damage so she should avoid contact at all costs. She could try firing her Phantom Orbs at his spirit form, but she had the feeling that it would have very little effect. The only things working to her advantage were his speed, which was quite low, and the fact that he couldn't stay long outside his armor. After a second or two he would be pulled back inside.

This would be his downfall.

She allowed him to chase her around. It was embarrassing to flee as she was, but it was critical for her new forming plan. She watched and observed while pretending to be scared. When he once again shot from his armor she prepared herself and launched an orb at him as he was pulled back.

The ball of energy connected with the blue and silver metal of his helm, followed by several more. Once again he was flung backwards and once again Hex refused to let up her attack. When he finally managed to free himself from her assault, he launched at her again, this time receiving four skulls directly to his helmet as he was pulled back inside.

The cycle continued just like this with Ignitor flinging himself at her and Hex timing her attacks to hit right as the spirit was being pulled back inside.

Eventually the clanging on his armor became too much and the Fire Knight fell, this time staying down. He had been out smarted and out done by the elf.

"Had enough?" Hex smirked and floated daringly closer than she had before.

"I yield," Ignitor grumbled, refusing to get up and refusing to look at her as she leaned over him. She found this whole ordeal to be quite amusing, not that she'd ever admit that out loud.

She flattened out her hand, palm side down, making a downwards motion. Her bone wall shuttered and shrunk, retreating back into the earth and releasing his sword. She watched with eager eyes as he stumbled to his feet, armor clanking and groaning at the effort, retrieving his sword before sticking it into the ground and doubling over.

"Well played, witch," Ignitor huffed, supporting himself with his hands on his knees as he struggled to keep himself upright.

"My name is Hex. You would do well to remember it."

"Well, Hex. I'm sure glad that we're on the same team."

"That remains to be seen, Fire Knight. If you're going to continuously attack me I may have to reconsider my position here."

"Blimey! Eon would have my head if you left! No, I dare say I won't be challenging you to a duel anytime soon. You're going to make a fine Skylander."

He offered her his hand, but quickly retracted it when she stared at him with her brow raised. He realized his mistake. If she had taken his hand her flesh would surely have been burned so instead he gave her a bow, receiving one in return.

Maybe some witches weren't all bad, and maybe some spell casters did not deserve such an ugly label. Time would tell if the Fire Spirit trapped within enchanted armor could work soundly beside an undead sorceress. Whether they would clash again was unknown to them, but both had gained a new respect for the other.

Merry Christmas Numbuh 94.

I won't lie. This was a real challenge to write. I've never written, let alone played as Ignitor so I had no idea how I would go with this but here it is and I hope you enjoy it.