There is an old legend in the elemental countries. It dates back before the dawn of the hidden villages, before bloodlines and ninja. In fact, it is the oldest story known.
Once, mankind ruled the world, living in mighty buildings that reached up to the sky. Then strange creatures came from the stars, and scorched the world with white fire. That same fire was in each of these creatures. More creatures followed them, their enemies of old, and our ruined world became a battlefield. Only the smallest number of people lived even that long, and it seemed like there was no hope.
The creatures fought endlessly, poison rained from the sky and burned flesh, and again the white fire gathered in the sky. Huddling in fear, the people waited for the end, while praying for salvation they all thought would not come.
But just as the darkest hour came, and all hope faded to nothing...
A single person stepped forward. A girl gifted with the same fire that the warring creatures used. She cut a bloody path through the ranks of abominations, drawing the white fire of her slain foes into herself to grow stronger, and single-handedly drove the demons back to the stars.
Who this savior was has been lost to time, no proof of this fight has been found, time has erased all. But the story survives through the people, who lived because of what one person did...
XXXXXXXXXX
It was the end of the world, how could it be anything else? A ruined city lay blasted and empty, no life to be seen. In and around the city, craters from the first Alpha Strike filled the landscape. Acid rain poured down upon the blasted dead earth in the distance, the sun settled for what might be the last time, dark Komato ships circled high above the broken land. And the clouds were filled with shimmering light as another, larger Alpha Strike was charged.
Despite all this, the two continued to fight what was perhaps the greatest battle of this age. The rooftop of the high tower was marred with the damage from the clash of these two titans.
One was General Tor, leader of the alien race known as the Komato. He had come to this world to kill off the last to the race known as the Tasen, who had invaded this planet and used the lesser Alpha Strike to nearly wipe out mankind. They had killed all the Tasen, but the public would want to be sure, so a full powered strike was needed. Just as he was about to fall back and issue the strike however...she appeared.
The other opponent, a girl of a mere 16 years of age, was now perhaps the most powerful being in existence. Her name was Iji, and she had been enhanced with both Tasen and Komato nanobots. Waking up enhanced six months after the Tasen invasion, she set out to stop the Tasen, and later the Komato when they jumped into the fray. She had killed more than she could count to get here, and even slaying Tor's love, Isoa the Invincible. Although it pained her, she had no choice. Absorbing their nanofields had granted her unbelievable power, now if she could just stop Tor...
Tor, encased in a massive robotic mech, unleashed endless waves of destructive attacks at her. From missile strikes to cutting beams, bursts of energy to even a portable Phantom Hammer. But the girl was too fast, too quick, and only a few shots hit her. Her personal nanofield repelled the shots.
Meanwhile, Iji hit the general with everything she had. Plasma beams impacted his hull, missiles exploded everywhere, energy disruptions made the exchange of firepower make the air shimmer with the massive forces unleashed. Using her most powerful weapon, she blasted the abomination with a beam of glowing golden light. The mech finally erupted in a blinding explosion.
Iji and Tor both fell down into a lower room as the roof had a hole blown into it. Iji was tired, and low on energy, but ok. Tor on the other hand, was on the edge of death. The bird-like helmed was cracked, the black and purple armor wrecked, his body broken. He had managed to survive his armors destruction, but was in no condition to fight.
Iji, breathing heavily, walked over to him, not entirely sure herself if she was going to talk to him or just shoot him. Tor looked at her and groaned. "Ugh... ack! M... mercy! Please..."
Iji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The bastard had the nerve to ask what nether mankind nor the Tasen had received at his people's hands. However, she looked up and saw the Alpha Strike still getting ready to fire...she spoke at last. "Mercy? Hnn... you... you surrender?"
The general coughed, his body wracked with pain. "I won't die... by the hands of a human!" He said, hate clear in his voice.
"Huh... you should've thought of that before you tried to fight me! I could beat Iosa, and I can beat you too! NOW will you listen to me, Komato scum!?" Iji roared, her anger having been in place for a long time.
Tor let a weak laugh, "You... you thing violence will solve everything? You think finding the one 'responsible' and killing him would-"
"SHUT UP!" the girl shouted, she was tired of all this, so tired. "You haven't listened to a word I've said at all, I just came here to stop the Alpha strike!" She paused, took a deep breath, and went on. "Look... the Tasen are dead! All you gotta do is to show the report on their extinction to the imperial Army, and they'll believe you, right?"
The general paused, unsure for a moment. "it's... not that simple. The report is already official, but the public..." The answer was left hanging in the air. They would demand he was sure.
"SCREW THEM! Anyone can understand that the Tasen never had a chance against the kind of force you brought down here!" Iji said. Tor paused at this, it was something he had struggled with in secret himself. "Don't YOU thing it's meaningless to Alpha Strike this place?" she asked, desperation entering her voice.
Another pause, and then he answered, "If we don't... what will the people think? They're the reason for the war in the first place."
Iji was crying slightly, for her less than a few hours ago her world was normal, now she was trying to talk a disgraced alien general out of killing what was left of her world. "I... I'll tell you what the humans would think...we'd be grateful."
Tor sighed, and explained himself. "Human... you are special. Your Nanotechnology must've been given to you by the Tasen, and we've no reason to believe the rest of your kind don't have the same potential."
Said human shook her head. "Th-that's, that's ridiculous! ...Some people did this to me by reverse-engineering the Tasens' stuff, they had nothing to do with it, and why the hell would they help us after Alpha Striking us?"
Tor chucked slightly, even though it caused him pain. "Hm, it was just a theory I've heard. I don't personally believe it, but High Command likely does, any reason to Strike this planet is good enough. They're that afraid of the Imperial Army. If I defy them now, I can't tell what will happen to Origin The fleet that was sent to this planet is but a fraction of the Army. I may be in charge of this particular attack force, but I'm only one of many Generals in the big picture."
Knowing she was running out of time, Iji tried one last time. "But then, at least you're the leader of THIS fleet! If they won't listen to you... I mean, how can you be their leader if they DON'T listen to you?"
Silence for a time, then Tor simply said "Hmph... if that's what you believe."
Just then, a green light along the left of his helmet lit up, and a slightly distorted voice could be heard. "General Tor, Respond General Tor."
Tor spoke back, while Iji simply watched on. "Hm, Kiron? What is it?"
"The Strike is almost ready. Why haven't you returned yet?"
"I've...been caught up in some personal business on ground level. What's the Strike time?
"Half a cycle. You'd better get up here quick... Hold on. It's now a quarter cycle, so abort whatever you're doing and head up to port 682, area 3, right now."
Iji felt her heart stop, it was over, the strike would end everything...the Tor spoke again. "Kiron... wait. I have a message for the fleet."
"What is it?"
"We're heading home. The Komatos' business with Origin is done."
The girl simply stared in shock. He was... going to spare them?
"Come again, General?" Kiron said, sounding confused.
More forcefully this time, Tor snapped "You heard me, loud and clear. Abort the Alpha Strike!"
"General! Are you out of your mind? What about the Tasen? What about the Anomaly? We spent so many troops..."
"Don't make me repeat myself Kiron! The Tasen are gone, and the Komato will never again touch this planet, we don't need another civilization on our conscience. We're returning home, and the mission will be reported as a success, because that's what it is. Is that perfectly clear?"
"Yes, General! Understood. There's always been reason behind your decisions, and I'm sure you're right this time, too. We'll never bother with Origin again."
"Good. As for the Anomaly, consider her dead. And Kiron... I may not return."
"What do you mean, General?"
"I have... made a personal decision. I entrust the fleet to you, and that you will report a full success."
"...I see. I'll make sure to follow your orders down to the last word, General. It's been and honor to know you."
"Thank you. Take care... end of transmission."
Iji was still in shock that he had called of the strike, the part about not returning barely registered in her mind. Was it really over? Could she really stop now?
Tor refocused on the girl, and gave her a warning. "Human... don't thank me yet. You must've seen the acid rain outside, the landscape blasted asunder. This is an Alpha Striked planet, and rebuilding it may be impossible. I spared you for two reasons... if Origin survives; consider it a gift... for being the first to ever stand up to the Army. But if this planet dies, let it be a testament to your foolishness... that some things are not meant to be overcome."
The girl nicknamed "Anomaly" by the Tasen could only stair in shock. Never did she think about what would happen if she ever won, the task itself was so massive she could not see beyond it. Was it all for nothing? Would she just assure a slower end for mankind? "I... you... you thing we'll all die? You... spared us just to make an example?"
The Komato general shook his head. "No, to give you a chance. But that one chance is all you get. Remember that. Now tell me, how many of your kind survived here? How much of the natural life remains?"
Iji paused at this, again the painful fact that what she did might be for nothing... "Ah...not a whole lot, I think..."
Tor nodded, there was a short moment of understanding between them. There was a chance, but a slim one. "Then, I assume that you don't have a home to return to?"
She wanted to say that she did, that she knew it was still there...but the truth was too solid to deny. "N... no" she said, barely above a whisper.
The broken alien seemed sympathetic, although with his different culture and metal mask, it was hard to tell. "I see. Human... I'm sorry about what happened to your partner."
"What?" The cybernetic girl said, she felt her whole body freeze up, memories of that event, which she had desperately pushed to the back of her mind…
"One of my Assassins, Asha, reported that he killed him during an attempt to capture you."
Iji recalled that moment, she had been so scared, her brother Dan had gone limp in that monsters hands after he shocked him, but...but he was ok, wasn't he? He just needed to rest...he was OK... "Wh, what are you talking about, Dan is... is..."
Tor could feel the pain and grief; she could not yet accept this new loss. All that strength, and she seemed so small now. Just a child, scared and alone.
"He's...dead?" she seemed unable to say anything more, perplexed by her own words.
The alien commander decided not to push it, his own troops often went through the same. "Hm. I was the same way once...never mind what I said. It was a lie. Your friend is just fine."
The girl simply nodded numbly. She didn't understand, and chose not to think about it.
The general started fiddling with the controls on his chest armor, reaching inside a hatch of some kind, while continuing to speak. "You are a rare individual. Like Iosa, I can feel your inner workings just listening to your words, and I can't stand it. As you have probably guesses... I'm tired of this. I'm tired of living with the knowledge of having killed more people than I can count, and I take full responsibility for what's happened to Origin. Iosa is dead... and the Tasen are gone. I don't believe in your future, so I don't want to live to see Origin die. And if you can't return home..."
With that he pulled something aside in his sute, a resounding snap and fizzle sound came out, and he spoke one last time. "...then neither shall I."
A surge of energy sparked across his body, a momentary spasm, and Tor, mightiest of the Komato generals left this world. For a time all was still...
"G... General? Hello?"
XXXXXXXXXX
Iji walked, almost in a daze outside, through a hole in the side of the building. Dropping her nanogun, she walked to the edge of a ledge that looked out over the blasted, empty city. Falling to her knees, she pounded her fists into the ground in frustration, leaving small craters. Her face to the ground, Iji cried and cried and cried.
It was too much; she had lost her father, her sister, her...brother...and everyone she ever knew was dead. She had lost her world, for all Iji knew she was the last living thing in this world. And she had even lost her innocence, how many had she killed? Those were number too frightening to count.
So filled with grief was she, Iji did not even see the Komato warships leave orbit.
XXXXXXXXXX
574 years later
Orochimaru could barely contain his excitement, which contrasted strongly with the panicked Sound Ninja he took with him. Cowards, great things often come with great risk. They would not run, however. They feared him more than ghost stories.
They approached the ruins known as the "Dark City" It was one of the great unsolved mysteries of the world. Situated in a massive valley near the center of the elemental countries, it was almost impossible for anyone but a shinobi to get to. It's location also made it in neutral territory, so no one truly had ownership over it.
The city itself was mostly rubble, but a few massive towers still stood. The grandest of which was at the center, nearly 80 stories high, beyond anything built today. This was not what interested the Snake master, though. What he was after was the thing keeping things away from the city, the reason so few that did go returned...
He was looking for a monster...
...a demon of white fire.