Adven let out a long groan as he pushed open doors three times his side. His fatigue slipping away. Jet came up beside him as the two filed into the small hallway that leads to two more large doors.
The two of them had traveled for two days down that long hall of the fire trail. It seemed unending to them. And even though they have walked for two days they never slept and they never became tired. It was like they didn't need rest in this realm. There was no piece of them was fatigued.
Adven wiped his brow with his sleeve. "Does the world we even know still exist outside this book?"
"It must still be fine, or, the book would have probably been destroyed by now." Jet observed.
Adven nods. "Let's finish this then and get out of here."
Jet nods in return. The two of them pushing the heavy doors apart as they crashed into the walls. A loud thunderous bang throughout the throne room. The two would have heard it had their attention not been taken away by the wall of flames that blocked their passage into the next room.
A booming voice of anger came at them. "You should tell me why I shouldn't destroy you two here and now where you stand?"
Adven twitched slightly out of shock while Jet remained cold as steel on the outside. Could he be like Adven inside? Only he knows.
"You can go ahead and kill us." Jet announces. "But a Salamander will never learn why we came here if he does smite us."
The wall of fire sputters to embers and disappears in front of them. The two men looked forward to the throne with the item they search for placed just beside it. A flame in crystallized form.
A man sat in the throne cast in shadow. Very odd. Odd because his body was erupting with fire. His hair like that of long hair in spikes, but it was made of fire. His hair dancing like a flame. His bare red chest etched with muscles. His forearms with flames as well. His eyes opened, but no sign of eyes existed.
Both of the men felt intimidated by the man-god. The being made by the Guardians.
"The item beside me," The being began, "Is the Ever-Light. A little something I created long ago." He explained. "It holds the strongest heat that ever existed that can melt and burn nearly anything ever made. Things that normal fire cannot."
The man finally recognized the two. Shifting his attention to them. "I was born, Salamander, but over time my name faded to Sala." His glare pierces both of the men who let out a scared grunt. Their bodies tensing up. "You are the two who shortened that to 'Sa'?" He boomed as fire erupted from his head and wrists. "Infidels!"
With a large burst of explosive flames, Sa stood upward. Adven steps back out of intimidation, and again, Jet remains cool under pressure, though inside he wished he could move back as well. The room was still between them and the being.
"If you had made your hall shorter I would never have shortened your name." Jet grinned.
The temper of Sa flared up again as a small jet of flame burst out.
"I have been set aside and imprisoned here by the Guardians! I was able to accept that!" The being declared. "But to be disturbed by such…such…idiots?" His temper expanded.
With two flings of his arms the trail of fire came for the two trespassers. The duo quickly evaded the fires and rolled to the two ends of the room. Jet to the left side of the room and Adven to the right. Both still near the entrance.
"Hey!" Adven shouted. "There was no need for that!"
"Listen," The brunette continued. "We only came for that item so we can stop these two guys after the Cane of Calamity or whatever!"
Adven's words of reason went unanswered as multiple waves of fire attacks took the room. The duo in a race to outrun fire itself.
The two crossed paths on many occasions as well as trails of fire came and went about the floor. Watching ahead of them and timing was important.
Jet threw his body aside when a ball of fire came for his body. His trailing scarves nearly hit in the air as it passed. A backflip saved Adven for another ball of flames. The walls shattering when the attack hit. Jet drew his ARM and fired out, but a wave of fire hit the bullet first and made it explode mid-air. Jet carefully moved out of the way as Adven did the same to avoid the small explosion.
Through the heat however came ten trails of fire aimed at the two Drifters. Jet was flying through the air still form his dodge of the explosion and kicked off the wall nearest him to avoid two lines of fire. Adven was trying his best to avoid two as well that headed right for him and a third one he did not see was headed straight for him.
Just as Adven went to register it out of the corner of his eye he felt a tug on his arm as he flung towards Jet. Jet caught the man before both of them dodged the last trail of fire that would cause them any harm.
Jet stood upward. "Pay more attention next time." Jet warned as he took the scarf he had snapped around Adven's arm off the other man. "I can't be in two places at once."
Adven scoffs. "They say there's no 'I' in team."
"But there is a 'ME'." Jet replies as the two stand at the ready.
"We've wasted too much time on this guy. We should go in for the kill."
Sa scoffs loudly in arrogance. "Pheh. It may have been two days since you two men have gotten here, but on Filgaia only two seconds have passed." The being explained. "For every day here, only one second passes outside the prison. You can imagine how much time I've had to think about my imprisonment."
Sa let out a brilliant laugh. "You two will be dead for weeks here before anyone even knows it outside this realm."
Adven stood like Jet had before without emotions. "It's been known that two-heads are better than one, but there is a flaw to that logic." He explained. "When two-heads can work as one things go a lot smoother."
Jet gives an abrupt nod. "Understood." Jet kicked off the floor as his body charged towards the being made by the guardians.
In defense Sa let loose five rounds of fireballs at the gray-haired man. Jet was quick to move to the right, and then move forward. Immediately meeting another Jet moved to the left of the third ball of fire. The second one being too far away from him to worry about. Jet came to a stop shortly. With a quick crouch Jet vaulted over the last ball before landing on the ground on one knee.
He had no time to rest as three circles of fire on the ground spun around Jet as they shrunk. Each one moving closer to the man. Jet waved his arm as water arcana took care of the rest breaking a hole into the small circular walls of flame.
Jet dashed forward for the element of fire in a body. Sa sent out two more waves of fire and three balls of fire in defense. Jet maneuvered around the being as all the attacks missed, and instead damaged the floor. Splinters of floor flying to the air.
"You look in the wrong place." Jet remarks.
"Negative!" Sa's eyes went straight to Adven. "Cannon Blast!" A powerful burst of purple negative emotions flew for the being of fire.
Jet moved to Sa's front and sent a raising upper-cut to the red fleshed being. As Jet was in the air and moving over Sa, Adven's attack was hitting home. Hitting Sa, who was distracted by Jet's attack, so there was no chance of dodging or blocking. The attack simply knocked the tall man with fire for hair over and onto the floor. Skipping across it and leaving dents, and never stopping until he hit the throne which shattered upon impact.
Jet landed on his feet a few feet in front of the downed being of fire. Adven lowered his arms from his pose. Adven's attack of concentrated negative energy had done the trick, as well as Jet's well-timed punch.
Jet opened his hand to look at the Ever-Light he snatched while moving around the man before the unison attack made by the Drifters. "We have what we've come for."
"What good will that do you?" Sa questioned as he sat upward. Cracking his neck as he worked out the stiffness. "You need all four items."
"Then we will get those as well." Adven returns. "It shouldn't be so hard."
Sa let out a cackle. "I haven't seen the others for many years either." He remarks. "The item that you need to counter the Cane of Calamity that was forged by the negative copies of me and my team, can only be made as a team."
Jet looked at the fire in his hand that burned without giving heat off on him. "So…the Ever-Light is worthless unless we can get the other three items to combine it with? All together it makes a single weapon that can take on the Cane."
"How do we do that?" Adven wondered.
Sa lets loose a burst of flame as the two Drifters jump back and prepare for a second round. "You earned the Ever-Light." Sa remarks with a hearty laugh as the two calm. "I'll let you go as soon as you fix my name on the wall."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Jet and Adven remarked in unison. They looked at one another and gave a shudder at how creepy it was. It was just odd for them to say the same thing at once.
"I don't care how you do it, just get it done." The being of fire told them.
Adven and Jet looked to one another clueless. Thoughts racing through their heads.
Jet shrugged. "I'm no mason."
"What makes you think I am?" Adven squeaked.
The two sat there in thought before Sa let out an annoyed sigh of exasperation. "Look…if you talk to Gnome he will probably be able to fix it for you."
"Gnome?" Jet wondered.
"Right." Sa replied with a nod of his head.
Adven snapped his fingers. "Ah! Aye got this one." He smirked as Jet turned to him. "While Salamander…I mean, Sa, is the being of fire in those legends the being of earth was Gnome. Known best for their great ability to work with natural elements. Like, stones and metals. His followers were early blacksmiths. Much like the people who work on the ARM today."
Jet looked to Sa who gave a shrug. "He sounds right enough." Sa let out.
Adven nodded. "So, we find this other being in one of the halls and you'll let us go with the Ever-Light?"
Sa nodded. "It seems fair to me. I will hold onto the Ever-Light, if you will."
Adven eyed Jet, as did Sa. Jet let out a groan and walked forward handing their prize over.
"Thanks." The fire being let out. "As soon as my name is either Sala or Salamander I will give this back. Though…it won't be an easy task."
"Why's that?" Adven questioned as Jet gave a suspicious glare.
"Well, the door to the water being will open next, and after you meet," Sa gave a shudder. "Her, you may not make it to the next hall in which Gnome is."
"Though, as I've said, I haven't seen any of my colleagues in many years. They may not even try to kill you as I have, but they may still ask for something in place of their items." Sa warned.
Jet and Adven stood in a Narutoish confused pose. With their hands on their chins and their eyes squinted as their minds were hard at work. The two gave a brief glance to one another and shuddered. Saying the same thing was one thing, but now they're even acting the same. That's scary.
Adven looked away with unease. "When I said…two heads are better as one…I didn't mean this."
Jet rolled his eyes. "So…just go find this Gnome and have him fix up your name on the wall and we're fine?"
Sa nodded. "Good luck, you'll need it."
Jet sighed. "Why is nothing easy on Filgaia?" He boomed.
"Nothing easy is worth having." Adven points out.
"Oh…like you'll ever have a chance with Sakura if you use that philosophy." Jet quipped.
Adven sunk his high spirits. "You know how to make a good bottle of milk go sour."