Firestorm (Vol. III):
The Stone of Life
(Theme: "Blow Me Away" by Breaking Benjamin)
The story thus far:
After Ranamon heals, we make a startling discovery: Her sister has escaped! In Hell, a new enemy reveals herself, and the menace Kid Buu returns, as Ranamon and I train to release my latent powers. When my powers are returned to me, an unlikely enemy attacks: the dreaded pit scorpion! As I enter a life-or-death struggle, Duke makes a painful decision.
NOW READ ON…

Chapter 10: The Stone of Life

"Ranamon, we have to give it to him! If he dies, I'm screwed!" exclaimed Duke.
Matt was in the infirmary. His condition was stabilized, but for how long?
"Duke, I know first hand what it feels like to get stung by a pit scorpion. I only survived because of my immortality. But if you give him that…thing…more bad will come of it than good."
"You don't get it, do you? If Matt dies, the darkness in my soul will corrupt me. I've seen it happen before…with my dad…" He looked like he was about to cry.
"Duke…"
"I'm not just going to stand by and let him die. The anti-venom is only slowing the poison down, not stopping it. The Philosopher's Stone is the only way. I know the risks all too well."
He raised his left hand and removed his glove. A noticeable scar was there.
"My dad tried the same shtick with me, when I was 15. It was either that or stay on life-support until I died. You have no clue how painful it was. Either way, it would stay painful. I took the easier route. This scar is all that remains."
Finally, Ranamon gave in. "Just don't give him too much," she warned.
Duke poured a small vial of red liquid onto the site of the sting. It was absorbed almost immediately.
"Now we wait," said Duke.

Chapter 11: Captured

The pain was immense. It felt like my body was being turned inside out and back again.
As the pain finally started to dissipate, I woke up. Still groggy from the pain and the anti-venom, I could only hear a few snippets of what Duke and Ranamon were saying. When they noticed I was awake, Ranamon came and sat next to me. "How do you feel?" she asked.
"Who got the number of that truck?" I joked. Duke groaned.
That's when I noticed my hand. Still slightly swollen from the sting, an asterisk-shaped scar shined on my palm, a sickly pale color compared to the surrounding skin.
I tried to sit up, but I couldn't. As soon as I put any weight on my hand, a jolt of pain shot up my arm. Finally, I gave up and stayed laying down.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain. I looked over to my side, and saw a dart sticking out of my arm. I then noticed that Duke and Ranamon had the same look on their face: as though they were about to feint. That's when I saw the other figure. It was a man surrounded by smoke. He had a blowgun in his hands. The three of us passed out at the same time.
As I regained consciousness, I observed that I was in an old prison cell. In two adjacent cells were Ranamon and Duke, who were just waking up. And in the cell next to mine was…someone I didn't know.
"Huh? Where am I?" said the girl. She was wearing what looked like a school uniform, with matching gloves.
That's when Duke noticed her. "Ah, crap. Please tell me she didn't…I'm going to kill her."
"Kill who?" I asked, confused. Then I started to understand. The girl in the cell had the same origin story as me. I edged over to the wall of the cell, still groggy with the dart's sleeping agent.
"Hey, what's your name?" I asked her.
She looked at me, clearly wondering who I was. She answered, "My name is Alexis. Alexis Rhodes."
When Alexis saw Duke and Ranamon, she cried out, "Oh no, you got caught, too?"
Ranamon said, "How do you know who we are?"
"My mother told me about you. I never thought I'd meet you; well, not like this."
That's when the door to the room opened.

TO BE CONTINUED…

PREVIEW:
Meet Yubel, the worst demon in existence (second only to Versago). Meet Dante, the best demon hunter in existence. When these two forces collide, the Multi-Verse will never be the same. Especially when Matt discovers his inner beast.
NEXT TIME: The Full Moon