Prologue

I'm awake… but where am I? Who am I? Zaine—that's my name; I know that much. I'm on Earth, no, Remnant… but what's my purpose? Why am I here? That question is what I have yet to answer. This is how my life always starts; it's how each chapter begins—I just never realize it at the time. As I go on, things start to come back to me… memories that don't feel like my own, but they are. I've lived many lives—how many? I don't know for certain. A fire burns inside me and around me. I have strength and fortitude in both body and soul. However, despite having this power, I am empty. I am alone. I am the last phoenix.

One can have all the power in the world but still be empty. As a phoenix, I have a multitude of abilities. I can create and manipulate fire, I can see heat with thermal vision, I have increased strength, and even flaming wings which I can call upon—but no, I am not a bird; a flaming falcon (a traditional phoenix) is just my symbol.

However, every time I use my power, I lose part of myself, like the burning of a candle. Part of being a phoenix is the acceptance of ideals. Over time, every phoenix must find ideals through living many lives and awaken their power through those ideals. Here I am, the last of my kind… How? Rage… lust for power, a seed of darkness to end a war…It wouldn't be long until I succumbed to this rage myself.

In an attempt to keep this from happening, I sealed my powers within a sword: the Shishanikko. This sword has been with me so long, I can't even remember how I got it—it's as if it has always been there. Every time I awaken, I have it. If I ever try to abandon it or hide it, it just reappears in its sheath on my back. The Shishanikko is a divine sword of bravery and light… is it a message that I could be the one to choose such ideals over rage? Either way, a sword can't change who I am, and once I awaken, there is no going back. I had put it off for so long that I was the last phoenix… Or so I thought… everything was about to change.

CH 1: The Phoenix and the Rose

Another night spent waiting… waiting for a robbery that might never come. I was getting sick of waiting at this point, but I had a mission. I managed to discover evidence that the world may be in danger of an ancient evil—and even though I didn't know the details, I felt compelled to do something about it. This world might not feel like home, but it's where I'm living now, and I think it's worth saving. I'm not a bad person—I might be reckless and angry at times, but for some reason I feel compelled to help others.

Although I didn't always know it, there was always something driving me. One thing for sure was that when it really mattered, I would keep my promises and I would do everything in my power to protect my friends. The problem was that my recklessness and my powers would often put others in danger. That's why I preferred to work alone and didn't socialize very much. Besides, how would someone react if they found out I was secretly an eternal being of flame? Yea, I hated lying sometimes but it often seemed a lot more reasonable than the alternative.

As far as my mission goes, someone was after dust—a lot of it—to the point where they were stealing it from all over the place. I had a bad feeling about this, so I decided to do something about it. Every time a shipment of dust arrived, it was attacked. It got to the point where the dust company shipping the goods (the Schnee Dust Company) got smart and started separating cargo over multiple shipments or even sending decoy ships. I've been doing my best to be a thorn in the side of the thugs responsible, trying at best to slow down their plans and gather information about how to stop it. Regardless of what I'm capable of, there's only so much I can do alone.

Well, I'm not completely alone. There's always Al. Al's pretty much the only support I've ever had—at least the only one who hasn't tried to stab me in the back. He doesn't look like it, but he's a tech genius. He looks a lot more like a championship kickboxer than a tech nerd, depending on the country you come from; I mean, he has dark skin, a huge athletic build, wears a polo and khakis—scratch that last one. Regardless of what he looks like, he's a genius and he prefers building tech and finding information over actual combat. That's perfectly fine with me because I've always preferred to tackle combat alone, and for the longest time, do everything alone.

Tonight, however, I was about to go on a mission unlike any other. I was finally about to meet the person who would change my life for the first time. Despite how hard I tried to get away, fate would make sure that it definitely wasn't the last. One thing's for certain. Everything that was about to happen… it would change not just this life—it would change me… forever.

The buildings on the pier were perfect cover. It still confused me why a port for shipping goods was located so close to a carnival pier, but I couldn't complain because it made concealing myself much easier than normal. The shipment I was staking out wasn't too big, probably only enough to stock a single shop, but it was enough that it was likely to be attacked. The ship that was supposed to be carrying the dust had arrived, but so far, no attack.

Any second now… I thought, they're gonna start unloading dust. There were still a few people left in the pier—that's what really worried me. I was not looking forward to some dumb kids who were up too late getting involved. The funny part about it is that would be my cover if I was spotted, and if my midnight black cloak and hood weren't enough. The cloak was stitched with shadow dust, making it pretty much impossible to make out my face as long as it was down. The rest of my outfit was also dark: dark black jeans and a black shirt. The shirt had highlighted creases that made out the shape of flames, but they only lit up when I activated my powers. If you're wondering why, it wasn't my idea, it was Al's.

Throughout everything I've done so far, I've made sure to stay low key. Al told me that if I kept wearing so much black, I'd look too much like an emo kid. During the day I wear more red and orange, but no matter what color I wear, I still hate being called a kid. I have the skills and knowledge of an adult, but when I woke up, my body was 15. It was about 16 at this point, as far as I could tell, but it doesn't matter. Strength doesn't come from age. As adult as I feel at times, I can still act pretty immature. However, when I put on my cloak and especially when I activated my powers, there would be no time for fun and games. Fire is dangerous, and I didn't want to get the wrong people burned.

*CRASH!* There it was! I prepared for action, but then something made me hesitate. The shipment was fine? Then, I turned around and got a surprise. The explosion didn't come from the port—it came from the pier! The pier was being attacked! The real shipment must have been sent ahead of schedule and stored in the pier—the perfect cover. But how did the enemy find out about it when I didn't? Going from rooftop to rooftop, I approached. I checked my texts—Al had just notified me. Yea, thanks a ton, Al. Just in the nick of time, I thought sarcastically.

Now I was but a leap away from the scene, and I prepared to attack—but… A bystander was there! It was a girl wearing a red cape with a hood. She seemed about my age. She had no idea what kind of trouble she was getting herself into. One of the thugs was approaching her. She hadn't even been paying attention to what was going on—she was too busy listening to music.

I didn't like being the hero, but sometimes I had to. It's not that I don't like helping people—that was the whole purpose of stopping these criminals, but it was because I didn't want the attention. Saving people is a great way to get noticed, especially by the people you saved. Am I really going to have save her now? I thought. But, the immediate answer was no. As soon as the thug got rough with her, he knocked something out of her hands. It was hard to tell what it was from here, but it looked like… a sundae—with strawberries. This made her really mad, and my jaw nearly dropped when I saw what happened next.

In the blink of an eye, the thug was sent flying! She had also pulled a huge scythe out of nowhere and a fight was ensuing. That was no ordinary girl! For a minute I was just watching the show. Those thugs didn't stand a chance. Is she going to stop this entire robbery on her own? That's my job! I thought, surprised. She might have caused a lot of trouble, but it wasn't clean, and this time, the boss was there: Roman Torchwick… one of the worst of the worst.

After the last thug fell in front of him, Roman muttered, "Well, you were worth every cent, truly you were."

He threw down his cigar and snuffed it out. Some other thugs were still gathering dust crystals in the back, so Roman decided to buy some time. He snapped his fingers and whistled. Out of nowhere, this massive guy came over. He dropped the rest of something he was eating—he had picked up the sundae that was lying on the ground. What a pig I thought. I could hear the girl sneering angrily.

"Reginald, buddy, mind disposing of this rotten little flower for me?" Roman asked him.

"No problem. It'll be fun," he responded.

"Thanks a lot pal."

"I'm nobody's buddy or pal, not anymore."

He rushed forward, wielding a wicked looking mace that he was keeping on his back. Given his size, he was surprisingly fast. The girl may have been fast too, but she couldn't get a hit in and was barely dodging his swings. As soon as he started fighting her, she was in trouble. He finally landed a hit on her, sending her reeling. She managed to catch herself on one of the posts sticking out of the pier with her scythe, but as she got up, the big guy rushed in for another blow.

It was about time I did something. Just don't lose control… I told myself as I chose the perfect moment to join the action. I dashed forward to get momentum, knowing I'd need it to match the power of that mace. Activating my semblance, I teleported and drew my sword. I placed myself in the most advantageous position—right in-between them...

*CLANG!* There was a huge blast of wind as I appeared in a sheath of flame and drew my sword, colliding it with his mace. I was barely able to knock it back even with all the momentum I had. Looks like I just blocked a pretty dangerous blow. Guess I ended up saving her after all. I felt my feet sink a bit as the wood I stood on cracked. I wasn't going to let up. As he reeled back, I attacked. Blow after blow, he managed to block. But he couldn't block my fire. As soon as I found an opening, I launched a blast of fire at him. It only streaked him, but at this point he knew he was outmatched.

"Like to play with fire huh?" he asked me.

"I don't play," I said.

"One of my best friends died in a fire. This one's for him!"

With that, his mace transformed. Curved blades sprouted out from it and it lit up. It started to spin and he came at me again. Despite seeming like all brawn and no brains, his battle technique was impressive. The more he spun his weapon, the more energy it created. It also covered a wide area around him—it was an attack and a defensive measure at the same time. I could barely keep up with how fast the mace was spinning. Electricity surrounded it and energy came out with every swing, resulting in chip damage. I was chipping at him myself with more fire blasts, but neither me nor my fire could get very close. The girl, noticing this, made a move to flank him.

I can't get too trigger happy with fire now I thought. I already had to worry about accidentally setting the pier on fire, and now I had an 'ally' to worry about not hitting as well. This is exactly why I prefer to fight alone. I was also worried about falling into the water. A lot of his missed swings were damaging the pier, leaving openings into the water below, and one thing I really hated was getting wet.

The girl's flank didn't do much good, as the back-swing of one of the blades coming out of the mace hooked her scythe and flung her back. She landed on her feet and proceeded to plant her scythe in the ground and start firing from it like a sniper rifle. The shots just bounced off—there was some sort of electrical field around him keeping out projectiles.

That must be why I couldn't get close either I thought, That's it! His mace uses electricity; maybe he is all brawn and no brains after all. I mean, who brings an electrical weapon to fight on a pier? I was about to make him pay for his mistake. I just had to make sure this girl didn't get in the way.

"Stay back!" I yelled out. I made sure to disguise my voice, using heat distortion.

"What about you? Who are you exactly?" She responded.

"Doesn't matter. Take care of the thugs. I can handle this one."

While she was still at a distance, I made my move. I stood right in the area with the most holes where the pier looked weak and then, I turned to the enemy. I had to lure him in, and the number one way to cause people to make reckless mistakes is by making them mad.

"So meathead, you gonna let a couple of kids mess with you that easy, huh? You're not hitting anything with that oversized yoyo, but I'm sure that friend of yours is having fun watching you fail from hell," I called out condescendingly.

"Shut up you bastard!" He yelled back, "You don't know anything!"

Ignoring his comment, I responded, "What, you think the fire down there is any worse than mine? Why don't you come find out, porky. Or are you too afraid I'll barbeque your fat bacon ass?"

"GRRRAAH!"

I clearly succeeded in pissing him off, and he came rushing after me. He lifted his mess of a weapon in a massive overhead swing, which was admittedly incredibly fast. The blades from the mace reached out and extended, in a way that would trap most people-but not me. I dipped back and teleported just a few feet-enough so that I'd avoid his trap without him knowing that I teleported. His mace shattered the pier, leaving a gaping hole. The whole thing was creaking and it wouldn't be long until it collapsed. I kept it up, making sure I was standing on another weak point in the pier.

"Missed me you loaf! What did you train for? Fighting, or ballet?"

"RAAAAHHH!"

This time he came down like a meteor with a massive blow that sent splinters of pier flying everywhere. It was finally too much for it to take and the entire section of pier we were standing on collapsed. I jumped up, propelling myself with fire and landed on the roof of one of the nearby buildings on the pier. I watched as he tumbled into the water and got zapped by his own weapon. The bigger they are, the harder they fall (I apologize for the cliché).

I immediately glanced over to see that Roman was at the edge of the pier. I confronted him—the girl wasn't too far behind. I didn't even notice that there was another civilian on the pier—who was just watching.

"Well, Red… and Black, we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd like to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways." As he spoke, he pointed his cane at us and a flare fired right at us.

We had to dive to either side to avoid it and after the blast Roman was gone. We looked around. Using my thermal vision, I managed to spot him up the side of a building on the mainland not too far from the pier.

"Up there!" She pointed him out. How did she spot him so fast? I thought, considering that I had to use a power to spot him just as quickly. "Think we should go after him?" She asked me.

I nodded. "But first we've got company to deal with."

The remaining thugs had surrounded us and were blocking our path from all sides. Meanwhile, Roman was escaping with the dust.

"I've got a plan. But you're going to have to trust me," I said. What was I doing? I knew that if I was in her position, I'd never trust a stranger in battle.

"Alright, just do something!" I was surprised how quickly she agreed.

"Ok, jump!" I told her as I began charging energy.

"Jump? Here?" she asked.

"Anywhere, just jump! Now!"

At the last second, she leapt into the air, firing her weapon below her. At the same time, I unleashed all the energy that I could in a ring of fire that burst out of me in all directions. The thugs were blown back and scattered. Some of them even caught fire and dove off the pier and into the water in a panic. I would have found it pretty funny if I wasn't so worried about where the girl was going to land. As I looked around, she landed right next to me. Exactly how high did she jump?

"We've got to catch up to him somehow," I said as I began running toward the building.

She grinned and immediately darted past me, towards the building, firing her weapon behind her. That speed…! I kept up as best as I could, propelling myself with fire. Something about this seemed incredibly familiar…

By the time I caught up with her, Roman had already gotten into an airship.

"End of the line, Red!" he yelled out as threw a red dust crystal on the ground in front of her.

At the same time, he fired a flare. I already knew what was going to happen. I dashed in front of her, ready to take the hit. I was naturally resistant to fire, so it wouldn't hurt that bad, right? …Right? But before it hit me, someone else got in front of us. When the smoke cleared, there was a woman with a wand standing in front of us who had shielded the blast. It was the huntress Glynda Goodwitch, a professor of Beacon Academy! Another figure appeared in the airship standing in front of the open side door. She was immediately locked in combat with Glynda, firing blasts of flame. There were a series of clashes between Glynda's telekinetic blasts and the mysterious women's fire. She made explosions beneath our feet that we could barely avoid.

Amateur, I thought as I prepared a blast of my own. More explosions erupted beneath us, but this time, I didn't move. Instead, I responded with my own blast. But whoever she was, I underestimated her. The blast wasn't intended to harm me. Instead, it created a shockwave and kicked up dust, enough so that I lost my focus and got knocked back. The blast I fired only grazed the ship and when the smoke cleared, the ship was too far away and they had escaped. I wasn't interested in getting recognized, especially by anyone of importance, so I decided to disappear. As I started to slip away, the girl called out to me.

"Wait!" Something compelled me to look back, and then, I got a good look at her face. She definitely looked incredibly familiar (and I'll admit, pretty cute too).

My voice activated before I could stop it "…Rose?" Of all the things for me to say…

"Huh, how do you know my name? Who are you?"

I know her name? How?! Where did this come from?! My mind was racing at this point and Glynda was starting to catch on to our conversation.

"I don't know…" I had to ward her off. "Don't get involved with someone like me! You'll only get burned." I created a smokescreen and teleported away, despite hearing her voice behind me.

"Wait! I just wanted to say thank you…"

It was for the best… or was it? Regardless, I ran.

End of CH 1