Chapter 4
Kill the Inferno
The sun was high in sky over the hideout of Night Raid and many of its members were off on a new mission, there were only four members at the hideout at the moment that being Max, Steel, Leone and Akame. Akame was busy in the kitchen cooking up some stew for lunch, while Max and Steel were sparring with Leone in the training area of the hideout and so far Max has the upper hand in their fight. Max was still in his base mode while Leone was in her beast mode, the two of them were exchanging blow after blow and countering one move after the other. In the fight Max then tripped up Leone sending her to the ground only to quickly get back up and got back in her stance.
"I must admit Max, your pretty good at fighting" Leone said with a smile
"Yeah, well when you fight monsters and aliens on a daily bases most of the time, you tend to pick up a thing or two" Max replied smirking under his helmet.
Then Leone then rushed at Max again with a quick haymaker only to be deflected by Max by flipping her over his shoulder. Seeing his opening Max then rushed her and delivered two quick punches only for Leone to block them. She then went for a roadhouse kick only for Max to lean back and dodged it and back flipped away and got back to his stance. The match so far has been very even so far, Leone was quite surprised to find the Max was this skilled in combat, but with the way things were going this fight needed a little something to make it more … interesting.
"Hey Max" Leone said getting his attention, "Remember when I said not to use your Turbo Modes, until other whys" she said
"Yeah, why?" Max answered confused
"Well, I give you permission" she said with a cheeky smile
"Um, isn't that a little unfair?" Steel asked from Max's chest plate
"Maybe, but it will definitely be fun!" Leone said clenching her fists while Max just smirked under his helmet.
"Well if that's the case" Max said and posed
"GO TURBO, STRENGTH"
Then in a flash of light, he then turned into his Strength Mode and got back in his stance while Leone just smirked and cracked her knuckles.
"Alright then, lets party" Leone said and charged at Max while Max charged as well.
Then Leone and Max then threw a punch at each other which connected causing a shockwave, although Leone was sent flying toward the wall. Once she hit it, the wall then cratered as Leone let out a grunt of pain. But Leone quickly shook it off and ran at Max again. She then jumped into the hair ready to deliver a hammer fist, only for Max to catch her fist and throw her across the clearing. While she was airborne Max then ran at her as he crossed his arms and shouted.
"GO TURBO, SPEED"
Max then changed into his Speed Mode and speeded ahead to where Leone would land. Once she was close enough he delivered an Ax kick sending her crashing into the ground. Leone then groaned in pain as she looked up at Max.
"Oh sorry about that Leone, guess I got carried away" Max said rubbing the back his neck in an embarrassment.
Leone then pushed herself up just as her beast mode deactivated, turning her back to normal as she smiled.
"Ah don't worry about, my Imperial Arms can heal from anything, besides despite getting thrashed around, that was kind of fun" Leone said with a cheeky smile
Max then changed back to base mode and deactivated his helmet, while steel detached himself from him.
"Glad to hear that, up high" Max said holding his hand up for a high five which Leone accepted
"You know, ever since I joined this crazy team, I have to say you and I have definitely gotten along a lot better than anyone else here" Max said making Leone smile
"Yeah me too, you and I are so alike" Leone replied
"Oh my gosh, get a room!" Steel exasperated making Leone laugh while Max just groaned
"Oh come on Steel, were just talking!" Max said
"Yeah, while making lovey eyes at each other" Steel taunted making Max blush and made Leone laugh harder.
"Steel, not cool!" Max shouted at him
Then they heard someone clearing there throat catching the three's attention. Looking over at the entrance of the training ground they found Najenda and Akame standing there.
"Glad to see you both are enjoying yourselves" Najenda commented making them look away in embarrassment
"So what's going on Boss?" Leone asked wondering why the two of them were here
"We got a new request, I'll explain when we get to the meeting room" she said walking back along with Akame, with Max, Steel and Leone following behind.
Once the four of them made it to the meeting room they then waited to hear what the boss had to say, wondering what their mission is.
"So, what's the big mission this time?" Steel asked
"It's an odd mission, you see when been asked to eliminate some sort unknown danger beast that has been going around burning villages surrounding the country side" Najenda said confusion all four of them
"That doesn't sound like danger beast behavior they usually they don't attack unless provoked or when entering their territory." Akame said
"You sure it's not some guy causing trouble?" Leone asked
"That's what I thought too, but the descriptions that a few survivors have given say otherwise" Najenda replied
"Hmm, guess it time to play exterminator!" Max said catching Leone and Akame's attention
"I thought you were against killing?" Akame asked with suspicion
"People yes, but animals we people do that all the time, you know for self-defense or food, you know what I mean right?" Max said gaining a nod from the two of them
"Yeah, you're right, in the end most Danger Beasts are mindless creatures" Leone said
"So I guess you have no objects?" Najenda asked gaining a nod from everyone, "Then Night Raid will accept this mission, but I will warn you all, this Danger Beast is dangerous so don't let your guard down." She added while they nodded in confirmation
"So what are we waiting for, let's go hunting" Max said
It was now night time now, with Max flying in Flight Mode with Leone and Akame holding on to his back. The area where the Danger Beast was sighted was extermly far away, so to get there Leone suggested they use Max's Flight Mode to get there, of course Akame refused the idea because even though she doesn't show it, the thought of flying terrified her but she was overruled and so here they were flying to last attacked village. Leone was having the time of her life, while Akame were holding on for dear life.
"Woohoo, this is Awesome!" Leone shouted pumping her fist in the air
"Glad you're enjoying the ride, how about you Akame?" Max asked only to receive a glare from Akame.
"Just focus on not dropping us" she said, tighten her hold on Max
"Guess she still doesn't like us" Steel said in there link
After a while, the trio finally made to the village although when they got there wasn't anything left. What once was a calm and quiet village was now a blacken and crumbling pile of ash now. Once they landed Max couldn't help but look at the scene before him, he couldn't help but feel horrified at the scene, thinking about all the people that died in this tragedy, think about what would have happened if he was here. As these thoughts went through his mind, Steel had detached himself from Max and started scan the area trying to figure out what could have done this, as well as Leone and Akame as they searched the wreckage.
"Find anything yet?" Leone asked coming up with nothing in her search
"No, I have found nothing" Akame replied
"I'm coming up nothing, whatever did this covered its tracks well" Steel said looking around
As they searched Leone couldn't help but take a glance to see Max walking around aimlessly, and knowing him he was probably devastated by the amount of lives lost today. Of course when Akame saw this she couldn't help but frown slightly at this, after all one her best friends was being way too trusting of Max, there was still so much that they did not know about them, and seeing Leone just shrugging it off like it was nothing defiantly worried her. All three were then broken from their thoughts by the sound of Steel shouting.
"Hey guys, I found something!" Steel shouted
Making their way over to him, they saw he found a scorched footprint. It looked like a birds feet with two long toes in the front and long back heel.
"I also found a few more, there all going due northeast of here" Steel said pointing in that location
"There also another village in that direction, my guess, it's its next target" Akame said
"Then we've got no time lose, let's go" Max said as Steel reattached
Leone and Akame then grabbed hold of Max as he took off into the sky, heading straight for the village. In no time at all they made it only to find that it was still standing and untouched.
"Guess our mystery beast, hasn't shown up yet" Steel said
"It must be waiting, when the people are less aware" Akame said
"So what now?" Max asked
"First let's land, as much as like flying, I'd like to be on solid ground now" Leone replied getting a nod from Max
They then landed on a cliff side looking over the village with a forest not too far behind them.
"So what's the plan now?" Max asked turning to other two
"We wait and survey the area, once the danger beast comes out, we eliminate it" Akame said
"Alright then, stakeout" Steel said
"We best split up that way we can cover more ground, I'll traverse the forest to keep a look out for it, Max you stay airborne and keep a look out from above and Leone you will watch over the village in case the beast gets past us" Akame explained, of course Leone looked a little offended
"So I'm on watch duty, why?" Leone asked
"Your beast senses will make it easier to find our target" Akame answered making Leone pout knowing that she was right.
"Alright we have our assignments, let's do this" Max said while everyone nodded
Max then took flight into the sky while Akame then ran into the forest, hopping on tree branches as she went, Leone on the other hand just simply stayed where she was, sat down and looked over the village with a bored look on her face.
It was a few hours now, and their mystery danger beast hasn't shown up yet. Max was still doing sweeps in the sky looking for their target, and Akame was still in the forest searching. Leone on the other hand was simply just sitting on a rock looking over the village. She was practically bored out of her mind, not getting a chance to do anything but twiddle her thumbs and listen to the wind. Of course while she sat, her mind couldn't help but think about Max and Steel, well more Max then the other.
'Poor Max, he's in a world he doesn't know and forced to witness the deaths of others. Although that's to be expected, he's a hero he would never kill anyone, bad or good, he would find a way to save them instead. Compared to us, he's the real hero not us, were murderers and will soon pay for the blood on our hands. It makes me wonder did I make the right decision, convincing Max to join.' Leone thought
Of course her train of thought was then cut, when she smelled something burning, following the smell she then found out that it was coming from her, well more specifically her boots!
"Ahh! I'm on fire!' Leone shouted quickly shouted patting the flames away
Seeing that they were put out she then scanned the area for whom or what could have done that, but found nothing. She then let out a long breath, relaxing herself after that incident.
"Man, I must be losing my mind" She said to herself
She then felt a hot sensation again, looking down she saw that her boots were again on fire. With a yell she then put them out again and gained a frustrated look.
"Alright, who keeps doing that?!" She shouted into the air, at first she didn't get answer until all of sudden she then felt it.
The aura of someone's killing intention, and it was strong, scary strong. She then turned around slowly to see what could have caused this and to her shock she found what looked like a living fire on top of one of the hills.
"It..was…me!" it shouted before letting out roar wan came down the hill toward Leone.
"I think I found our Danger Beast" She said to herself watching as the thing got closer.
The living flame then jumped into the air with roar, and threw a fireball at her causing her to roll out of the way just as the strange creature landed in front of her. Looking it over, she saw the creature was at least twice as tall as Leone; its body was completely engulfed in flames with two three clawed hands and feet made of what looked like volcanic rocks as well as it face with two holes in the side of its face to represent eyes and a red orb right in the center of its forehead.
"So…the little humans send a protector to save them, how cute" the creature said surprising Leone
'A talking danger beast, that's … new' Leone thought but quickly shock it off and focused on the foe before her
"So I'm guessing you're the one who destroyed the village?" Leone asked talking a defensive stance
"Oh, so you've seen my handy work, impressive isn't it?" the creature said making Leone frown
"Yeah sure, if you like murdering innocent people!" Leone shouted at him while the beast just scuffed
"Please, humans are nothing more than trash, and like all trash they will be burned" the beast said flicking some flames between his hands
"Then in that case, I hope our ready for a one way trip to Hell" Leone said cracking her knuckles and had a smirk on her face
"Ha, why go there, when I can bring it here!" it shouted
It then raised its fists and slammed the ground, creating am ring of fire around Leone, surprising her by this things power.
'Okay, maybe I'm a little over my head here, better even the playing field' she thought
"LIONEL…"
She then stopped short when the beast then charged her; she quickly jumped over the fire beast, only for it to punch her, sending her to the edge of the cliff. She then quickly got up only to roll out of the way of another fireball coming at her. She then quickly got back up, seeing the beast coming at her as she gritted her teeth.
"Okay, that it you're in for a world of pain!" she shouted as she resumed her transformation
"LIONEL, TRANSFORM"
She then transformed herself into her beast mode and quickly took up a battle stance, seeing this surprised the beast to see such a transformation.
"You're different from the other humans, no matter" he said charging at her
He then tried to throw a punch at her, only for to sidestep him and grab his arm. Using her enhanced strength she then tossed the beast across the clearing as she gave a smirk.
"Ha, you're not so tough" Leone said with a confident grin on her face
It quickly disappeared when she realized her hands were on fire, she then quickly waved her hands around to put them out, once out she saw her hands were covered in burns but were then healed quickly, thanks to Lionel's healing factor.
'Okay, note to self, don't try to hold on to the guy who is made of fire' she thought
She then jumped into the air, ready to deliver a solid blow to the downed beast, only to her surprise before her fist could make contact, the beast then turned into fire and escaped her grasp, shocking her.
"It's intelligent, can manipulate fire and turn into as well?! Something tells me this isn't a danger beast" she said to herself
Then the fire monster then raised its hands in the air formed a fist, and swung down at Leone. She then saw this and quickly spun around and caught his hands with hers and got into a battle of strength, which to her surprise, she was struggling hard to keep her footing.
"Yes! Make this interesting for me!" the creature shouted pushing against Leone
'Geez, it's like wrestling a furnace' Leone thought trying to push against the creature
"Hmm, shall I then, turn up the heat!" the creature said
Then out nowhere flames then erupted all over her body, making her scream in pain, as the fire licked at her body causing her to let go of the creature, only for it to throw a fireball at Leone sender flying into a nearby tree. Luckily the flames on her body were short lived, and the burns were already starting to heal back up as Leone got back on her feet, albeit a little exhausted.
"You can keep blasting me all you want you pyromaniac, thanks to my Imperial Arms I can heal from any injury" Leone proudly said with a smirk
"Then I'll simply turn you to ash!" he said but Leone just charged at him again
"Just try it!" She shouted back
Then she tried throwing another haymaker at the creature only for it to grab her fist and delivered a blow to her stomach causing all the air in her lungs to escape her. He then threw her across the clearing, causing her to smash into a large rock. Before she could get up, the creature then grabbed her legs and started to smash her against the ground repeatedly, until throwing her into the air and hitting her back to the ground causing a crater where she landed.
'He's so strong, even in my beast mode, he's kicking my butt so easily' she thought as she groaned with pain
She then tried to get back up only to be forced back down on the ground by the creature's foot. She tried desperately to get his foot off of her only for it not to budge one inch, while the creature looked over her.
"Now then, say goodbye" it said raising its hand as fireball formed in his palm ready to end her life
She then closed her eyes, ready for her end, until a voice caught her attention.
"Back off, flame head!" it said
Then something flew right at the creature sending it flying into the forest, thus freeing Leone from its grasp. Looking up she saw it was Max who saved her; he then quickly changed back to Base Mode and went to check on her.
"You okay?" he asked helping her to her feet
"Yeah, that thing has a lot of power" Leone said, dusting herself
"I can see that, so what are we facing?" Max asked
But before she could answer the creature came running out of forest with a roar, but when Max saw it he then gasped in surprise.
"Fire Elementor!?" Max shouted in shock, while Leone looked at him in surprise.
"What? You know this thing?" Leone asked
"Unfortunately so" Steel said while the creature growled
"Max Steel! What does it take to get away from you!" the now named Fire Elementor roared
"Sorry, Flame Brain buts its going take a lot more to get rid of me" Max said getting into his fighting stance
"Indeed!" He roared and threw a fireball at Max
Max then quickly jumped of the way, which caused Fire to charge him. Fire then throw a punch at him only to sidestep him and delivered an uppercut to Fire's jaw, causing him stagger back in pain. Seeing his window Max quickly shouted.
"GO TURBO, STRENGTH"
Then a quick flash of light, Max changed into his Strength Mode. He then went to town and started to assault Fire with a flurry of punches. Leone on the other hand couldn't help but stare at fight before her, watching Max and this "Fire Elementor" goes at it. It was like watching a clash of the titans and she couldn't help but be impressed by Max's fighting skill. Once Fire Elementor was dazed Max then wound up his fist for an uppercut.
"Here's the fire exit!" Max shouted and uppercut him only for him turn into flames
"I hate it when he does that" Steel said as they looked around
Fire then reappeared behind Max growling with hate just when Max turned around to face him.
"So hot head, how did you get here anyway?" Max asked standing at the ready
"Sorry but that's need to know, and you never to find out!" Fire shouted
But before he could charge a black blur then dashed in between Max and Fire Elementor, stopping them in their tracks. Once they could see it, they saw it was actually Akame herself, her sword drawn and pointed at Fire Elementor.
"What do we have here? More fuel for the fire!" He roared out with fire erupting in his hands
"Prepare yourself, it's time to die" Akame said flashing her sword at him
"Woah, wait Akame your sword…" Max started to say until Akame flashed him a death glare
"Do not interfere" she said turning back to Fire
Akame then charged at Fire, with him throwing fireballs at her, while she merely dodged them. She then jumped forward and with a quick strike she sliced across his chest, landing behind as she sheathed her sword.
"It's done" Akame said thinking that she won, until.
"I don't think so!" Fire said surprising Akame
She then quickly turned around to find that Fire was fine and ready to smash her. That wasn't until she saw Max coming at her and crossed his arms.
"GO TURBO, SPEED"
In a quick flash, Max changed to his Speed Mode and quickly grabbed Akame, bridal style and got her out of the way of Elementor's attack. He then quickly made her way back to Leone and set her back on her feet.
"You okay?" He asked while Akame nodded
"How did Murasuma not work? It poisons anything it strikes" Akame said looking at the confused Fire Elementor, wondering where his prey went.
"Because he has nothing to poison, he's made of nothing but magma and fire" Steel replied
"Then how do we beat him, we can't even touch him expect for you" Leone said
"There is one way we can take him down, but we need to work together" Max said while looking at Akame
"Alright, what do we have to do?" Akame asked
Then a fireball came at them, causing them to dodge out of the way to see Fire stalking toward them.
"Prepare to burn!" He shouted, while letting out a roar
"Alright, then listen up, if we're going to beat him we need to get that orb in his head, hit it and he's out like light" Max said while Akame and Leone nodded, "Alright, then Akame keep him distracted, Leone hit that orb with everything you got once I give you my signal" Max explained
"What signal?" Leone said dodging another fireball
"You'll see" Max said and crossed his arms
"GO TURBO, STRENGTH"
Max then changed back to strength mode, as Akame and Max charged at the Elementor. Akame jumped around him, delivering a series of strikes at him causing him raise his arms in defense. While he's attention was on Akame, Max then got up behind him and grabbed a hold of his arms and held them behind his back.
"Leone, Now!" Max shouted while Fire struggled in his grip
Leone then ran forward at them and jumped into the air, and smashed her fist right into orb making Fire cry out in pain as he fell limp. Max then let go of him making Fire fall face down on the ground. Seeing he was down Leone then changed back to normal as she fell to her knees and started to pant heavily.
"That…was…intense" Leone gasped out
Max then changed back to base mode, while Akame sheathed her sword. Akame then walked over to Max and gave him a stern look.
"How do you know this thing?" Akame asked sternly
"He's one of our enemies from your world called Fire Elementor" Max replied
"He's an Ultralink like me, but unlike me he's evil and does not care about humans in anyway" Steel added
"If that's the case, how did he get here?" Leone asked
"I wish we knew, but unfortunately we don't know" Max answered
While they were talking, Fire Elementor woke up and before they could react he then turned into a fireball and flew away. Max and the other's saw this and before long he was already gone.
"Ah great, he got away" Leone said
"Well, at least we saved the village" Max said looking down
"Let's report back to the Boss, she'll want her about this" Akame said while looking at Max, knowing what she meant.
"GO TURBO, FLIGHT"
Max then changed, and Akame and Leone grabbed hold of him as they flew back to base.
Once they made it back, the group then reported to Najenda telling her about their mission and their encounter with Fire Elementor. Hearing all this Najenda then gained a serious expression on her face while taking a whiff of her cigar.
"I see, so it appears we have a new enemy now" Najenda said
"So what now?" Akame asked
"Well, since you drove away the target and saved the village, I suppose the mission is complete now" Najenda said making everyone smile, expect for Akame.
"Once again, the day is saved" Steel said boastfully making Max roll his eyes with a smile
"If that's everything, dismissed" Najenda said
Once said that though Akame then walked out of the room quickly, not even sparing a glance at anyone, while everyone looked at this with concern.
"Guess, she still doesn't trust us" Max said, while Leone just looked at them with a frown
"You know the reason she's like this is because she's just watching out for us" Leone said catching Max and Steel's attention
"We understand that, but we would never hurt anyone" Max said
"And that's a fact" Steel added
"We know Max, buts it's not a problem of if you will or not, it's because she doesn't know anything about you" Najenda said
"Yeah she said that" Max said thinking it over
Thinking back Max couldn't help but realize this was kind of like N-Tech all over again. So many secrets were kept from them, leading to a lot of lies and mistrust on both sides. It wasn't until they let the truth out that both sides finally started to trust each other, and it was that thought that made Max realize what he had to do.
"Excuse me guys, I have to go do something" max said leaving the three of them behind
They then looked confused about Max's leave.
"What's he doing?" Leone asked
"I think he's bringing our friend out of the dark" Steel said looking where Max went.
Max then looked around the hideout, trying to find Akame until he found himself outside, in the training grounds, where she found her doing practice swings with Murasama under the light of the moon. Max then walked over to the steps, intending to get her attention. But to his surprise that was not needed.
"What do you what?" Akame asked in a cold voice not breaking her focus
"Straight to point, got it" Max said taking a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come, "Akame, I know you don't trust us, and you have good reason too after all you barley know anything about us" Max explained
"That is true" Akame simply replied
"Yeah, and that's why I'm here to tell you everything" Max said making Akame stop and looked at Max with surprise.
"That's it? You're just going to tell me?" Akame asked having a hard time believing what she heard, but that was confirmed when Max nodded his head, "Why?" Akame asked sheathing her sword
"If there is anything I learned from my uncle, secrets only tear teams apart, and I don't what that. So I'm here to give it to you straight" Max said
Hearing this Akame simply walked to the steps and sat down, patting the spot next to her asking him to sit down which Max did.
"Go ahead" Akame said making Max smile
"Okay, but strap in cause it's going to be a long story" Max said and began to tell Akame everything
This went on for hours as Max told Akame everything about him and Steel, from the moment he first started generating Turbo energy and meeting Steel for the first time. His battles with the Elementors and many different enemies, Max and Steels many attempts to find answers from N-Tech about Steel's pasts, the moment the Ultralinks came to Earth, finding out about his dad and his alien lineage, finding out that Max's dad was alive, even there greatest battles between Makino and Morphos.
Once he was done explaining Akame was quite surprised, with everything that he told her she was amazed by everything that Max and Steel had done, although one part of the story did make her feel sympathy for Max.
"Wow, just wow I never imaged you did all that" Akame said looking at Max with wide eyes
"Yeah, Steel and I have been through a lot together" Max said smiling
"But the part about Makino controlling you, that's must have been terrifying" Akame said making Max frown
"Trust me it was, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I almost blow up the planet" Max said with fear in his voice
"No, it wasn't you that was Makino you were just being controlled by him" Akame said placing assuring hand on his shoulder, which made Max smile.
But when Max went to look at her, he's checks then turned red as she saw Akame smiling at him just like with Tatsumi.
"Thank you, for telling me this, and I'm sorry for not trusting you" Akame said making Max smile
"Hey, your my friend you deserve to know" Max said
Akame then did the one thing he never would have expected and hugged him, shocking Max causing him to blush more. Akame then got up and walked away leaving a stunned Max on the steps.
"Thank you again Max, and good night" Akame said snapping Max out of his trance
"Yeah…good night" he said just Akame walked around the corner
Max then just sat there for a good minute, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. But his thoughts were cut short when Steel floated up to him.
"So how did it go?" Steel asked
"I think, we're finally are in the trust zone".
