Between Gods
The smoke had gradually begun overpowering the clouds on the horizon, more blackened fog billowing up as the seconds ticked by. Weis glared at the sight through the telescope, spotting the bulging mass amongst the flames that was the primordial. Clicking his tongue, the commander backed away and rushed for the ladder back down to the main portion of the fort, calling for the watchman he'd left behind to call out any change in movement from the enemy.
Bonnie had taken the liberty of fireproofing the tree fort interior before everyone settled in, practically painting every inch of the place with a synthetic gel she'd cooked up in her lab. She assured Finn it was biodegradable, breaking down after a day or so. This addition allowed the fire forces and their allies to freely walk within their new base, gathering around a boosted coffee table in the main living room for their meeting.
All eyes turned to Weis as he entered, taking his place between Flame Princess and her brother. He pointed to their laid out map of central Ooo, the edge of the grasslands. "Whether it's a coincidence or a statement, the horde is spreading in a pattern identical to raging fire, loosely blooming away from the primordial at a steady pace." He moved his finger along a path. "However, it seems the creature itself has deviated from its original vector since we last observed. It's shifted course, no longer heading towards this location."
Aecus hummed in thought, narrowing his eyes. "Zeus is wary of us, even if his ego is inflating by the minute. This could be difficult." Weis nodded in agreement.
"What's more is that Poseidon seems to have positioned himself on the primordial's flank, leaving a generous space between himself and the core of their forces. We won't be getting anywhere near that thing without punching through his defense." Flint scoffed, tightening a fist on the table.
"So high and mighty, but they know they'll be hung out to dry without their pet." Bonnie folded her arms.
"As obvious as a target it is, we'll have to abide by the Olympians' strategy for the time being, which means we start by taking out Poseidon." Salvo huffed from his spot beside Aecus.
"Normal tactics aren't gonna do a whole lot against that kind of mass. Even my blasts would struggle to punch through a wall of lava." Aecus concurred, nodding. He then looked to his niece.
"Unfortunately, Phoebe, I can't think of anyone better to send than you." The ruler's eyes widened in surprise, as did most of the leadership around the table.
"Yeah, makes sense," said a voice from above. All eyes turned to the floating Marceline, who had hung above the table to give everyone else room. "Best thing to hit a massive barrier with is the biggest weapon you've got." Finn who had been hanging back with Aleen, finally stepped up to the table.
"Classic RPG strategy; strike hard and fast against armor." He and Marcy shared a fist bump. Phoebe seemed to warm up to the proposal at the two's confidence, glancing at PB for her take. The candy princess shrugged, but gave no sign of denying the logic. Taking a steady breath, the fiery monarch nodded.
"Very well. I'll take the head and deal with Poseidon." She looked to her side. "Flint, I'm counting on you and Salvo to be right behind me for when I punch through. You're our main attack force." The fire prince punched his fist into the opposite palm, grinning. Phoebe turned to the others. "The rest of you are on crowd control until we can move in for the finisher. Keep the Legion contained as best you can, prioritize herding them within the grasslands, away from any forestation or more vulnerable kingdom borders."
Every one of the fire elementals at the room saluted, then broke away to go about preparations. Bonnie fell in line with her fellow monarch as the fiery woman moved towards the exit. "How are the others' defenses?" she asked. PB pursed her lips.
"They're prepared for the worst. Or, at least what worst they can handle. I've had Hot Dog Princess and her citizens evacuated, while the goblins are confident they can weather the flames." Phoebe nervously rubbed her arm at that, but understood.
As the two walked, they noticed Finn kneeling down to say goodbye to Aleen, who looked less than happy to see him go fight. Sibley was beside them, the girl having insisted Finn take his 'personal weapon smith' with him. She was also someone who could watch over the child among them, although Flame Princess thought a certain dog would be handling that.
Said canine was at Finn's side after the flame-human gave Aleen a parting hug, the brother's clasping hands with determined grins on their faces. Frowning, Phoebe approached the pair. "Jake, you're heading out, too?" The magical dog gave a thumbs up as he and his best friend turned to the two royals.
"Heck yeah! I'm set up for whatever they throw at me. Sibley here threw a couple enchantments on me, and Finn can be my eyes when we stomp them soot zombies." He emphasized by grinding a fist into his other hand. Sibley proudly put her hands on her hips.
"I gave him an enhanced flame shield, as well as Ironclad, a nice little spell my dad whipped up years ago. Anything short of lava should bounce off his skin no problem." The magical dog flexed his muscles, giving a rather amusing pose.
"Aw yeah! Ya boy's a tank!" Phoebe giggled a bit at his enthusiasm, then turned to her knight. The two said nothing, simply exchanging stares into one another's eyes. Neither betrayed any emotion or nerves at the coming conflict. Instead, Phoebe broke the silence by quietly stepping forward and giving Finn a hug, which, while was surprising to him, he returned with equal care.
"Be careful," the fiery woman whispered.
"You too." They separated, now mirroring determined smiles to one another. With one final nod, Finn turned towards the nearest window, Jake following quickly after. The magical dog jumped and landed on his brother's head, shrinking down as the flame-human hurled himself out of the opening, disappearing from view for only a moment before the canine's towering form grew from below, now carrying a battle-ready Finn on his back. The two charged off into the distance, right into the heart of the smoking horizon.
Seeing them on their way, Phoebe took the plunge herself, flame shifting out the window and reforming at ground level, the Sleeping Fire Giant standing before her. The king took a deep breath, then, without sparing another thought, fired herself into the ancient engine, quickly filling every crevice and surface with her energetic flames. Her inferno expanded, molding the vortex of flame into four limbs and a head, before growing high into the sky, heaving the machine off the ground once more.
Any passing fire soldiers slowed as they watched their leader rise to full height, only to have Flint or Salvo bark at them to keep moving. Phoebe's slit eyes formed on her face, glancing down at the platoons of elementals rushing forth to combat the legionnaires far away. She bid them one final nod of affirmation, then turned her towering figure to her own personal target: the massive mobile wall of lava that protected the primordial's flank.
Ooo's inhabitants engaged the Phoenixian Legion across the continent.
Thanks to Bonnibel's warnings sent through each kingdom, they were at least prepared for the assault. Even so, not every species in the land was equipped to deal with reanimating fire elementals. Water, logically effective against the combusting entities, was only a temporary solution, as the undead flame beings would simply reignite after a few moments, continuing their advance.
Even as kingdom's lost ground, some relief came in the form of bands of mysterious blue elementals, their strange coloration drawing as much wonder from the denizens as their skills at combating the attackers. Unfortunately, the assisting will-o-wisps were there more to evacuate and stall than to push back, their numbers simply too few to put up a real counterattack.
Across the now burning woodlands of Ooo, PB's Gumball Guardians stomped through the foliage, scooping up dozens of animals and stray residents at a time to escape the hungry blaze. The massive constructs would occasionally turn back to annihilate a few lines of reanimations, but new ones took their place in seconds.
The Ice Kingdom was one of the few holding its own, although the attrition was proving to gradually turn the tide in the flame hordes' favor. Ice King was losing breath as he continued to refreeze portions of his lands, while also conjuring up more and more snow golems and the like to either punch or smother their elemental opposites. At the very least, he was keeping the lands on the other side of his kingdom safe from torching.
Phoebe trudged through the burning wastes of the grasslands, occasionally sweeping aside stray packs of legionnaires that tried to attack her. Their fiery weapons and projectiles did little beyond sink into her form, making the reanimations no threat to her imposing stature. Her eyes swung to the edges of her path, witnessing the fighting in the distance. She saw Jake's massive figure stomping and punching at the enemies below, the earth shaking slightly with each impact.
On her other side, she saw her brother and Salvo obliterating the advance wave of foes attempting to continue torching the fields, doing their best to not add to the flames. She nodded to herself, noticing they were in excellent position to move forward once she dealt with their main target.
Speaking of, the wall of moving lava had come up on her path, finally forcing Phoebe to focus and halt her movement, as the one controlling the barrier stood upon his creation, having witnessed her approach long ago. It wasn't exactly subtle to walk around the size of a building. Flame Princess stared down the Olympian, who stared back with a rather confident grin.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Hera." Phoebe didn't bother correcting him, keeping her mind calm. She held her massive hands to her chest, a swirling orb of flames quickly being generated between them. The fire giant within her hummed amidst her burning body, pulling additional thermal energy from deep within the earth at her feet. The orb grew brighter, causing Poseidon to raise an eyebrow.
With little warning, Phoebe unleashed the energy, a horrendous beam of near-white energy piercing through the air on a direct course for the Olympian. The man finally showed a hint of panic, but instead of dodging, he swiped his arm to the side. A coil of molten rock burst from the rest of his defensive wall, snaking through the space between target and projectile before ultimately lurching in for an intercept.
Phoebe's eyes widened as her attack was scattered and absorbed, Poseidon giving a chuckle as the lave he'd sent out split into a multitude of snake-like constructs, moving in to swarm the fiery ruler. "Do you have any idea how dense lava is? Ranged attacks won't even reach me!" FP reflexively brought up her forearms and two of the molten vipers lunged at her. She groaned as the sheer weight of the lava slammed into her limbs, actually pushing her back several dozen feet.
No sooner had she shook them off that the next wave dived at her. Though her movements were slower in her current form, she still managed to sidestep them, then quickly generated a massive sword in her hand. With one clean swing, she bisected the next round of attackers long-ways, their disrupted material splashing onto the ground behind her with a harsh hiss. Phoebe took hold of the fiery blade with both hands, facing Poseidon again.
The Olympian was annoyed at her counter, seeming to finally move to action. A large portion of the lava wall was drawn towards him, concealing his small figure within a veritable typhoon of molten rock. The bubbling storm broke off from the main battlement, moving towards the cautious Phoebe. She held her stance firm, keeping the blade positioned for surprises.
She smiled internally, recalling the few times Finn gave her swordsmanship advice.
Poseidon's mass began to stabilize, now forming a gigantic figure exceeding even FP's height, the hulking golem of lava setting its glowing eyes on the ruler. As she turned her stance more defensive, the behemoth opened its fist and plunged it into the wall behind it. When it jerked the limb back out, it now held an immense war club, which the creature slung forward to hold with both hands.
It was clear by the foe's lack of an advance that he was sticking with his role as the defense, meaning Phoebe had to make the first move. Every moment of stalling was costly to both land and populous. With that in mind, she surged forward, keeping her body as light as possible as she readied her sword for attack. Poseidon's golem moved to intercept, raising its own weapon with surprising speed.
Not concerning herself with it, FP adjusted herself and went for the golem's soon-to-be exposed blind spot. It swung down, just grazing the swirls of fire composing Phoebe's hair before the woman slashed upwards on the creature's chest. Her teeth clenched as she immediately realized how correct her opponent had been, the strike merely grating against the dense body. The failed attack left her wide open as a result, with the flaming woman crying out as Poseidon's golem suddenly bear-hugged her, rapidly crushing her with the heavy lava.
Phoebe panicked. If she shifted out of her massive form now, the fire giant she was carrying would be crushed. Her slit eyes darted around her foe's immediate area, hoping to find something to use against it. Her sight stopped at its head, little more than a bulge with eyes sitting atop the golem's molten shoulders.
…
"So even though your people can theoretically remain safe in lava, submerging too much of yourselves will cut the flow of oxygen your flames need to survive."
Phoebe turned to glance at her companion, having only been paying half-attention as she watched the pink woman mix various chemicals at her lab module. "But I thought all we need is a source of energy. The golems survive just fine entirely submerged." Bonnie nodded with a hum, eyes trained on her work.
"Correct, but they're different from fire elementals. You guys are primarily composed of actual fire, and so something as dense as molten rock will easily smother your flames."
…
Poseidon was in there somewhere. If Phoebe had to guess, there were small venting ports in the back of the golem's head, something to let oxygen in to feed the Olympian's bodily flames. They could likely be very small, as the villain's lower body temperature would require less to burn. With that in mind, Phoebe acted before her form gave in to the pressure, firing an immeasurable flurry of scatterfire projectiles from the jewel at her forehead.
The salvo flew like fireworks, arcing around the monstrosity's figure and homing in on what Phoebe hoped was the weak point her casual chats with Bonnibel implied would exist.
That hope was quickly dashed as the flurry was blocked by a wall of lava, harmlessly fizzling out the attack. Phoebe gasped, then heard the hard-edged chuckle of her enemy from within the golem. "Did you think I wouldn't cover my weakness?" The molten monstrosity squeezed harder, FP crying out from the now overwhelming pain.
She had no choice. With deep-set regret, the fiery ruler released the fire giant from her hold and dissipated her towering figure, slipping out from a crack in the golem's grasp and escaping the hold. Her eyes allowed a few stray tears to fall as the lava construct's massive arms crushed the ancient geothermal engine she'd been concealing, the device creaking and sputtering as its components were reduced to slag from the pressure and temperature.
Phoebe retreated to a safe distance, reevaluating her options even in the midst of mourning, watching as the molten behemoth turned its attention back to her. As one would guess, Poseidon made no move to pursue her, holding his creation's position between the king and his brother. The Olympian did however decide to emerge from within the sentinel's head, bubbling to the surface to look down at the devastated FP.
"You may be the flame of life, but even that can't compare to the incarnation of the earth's own boiling blood. What more can you do without that machine sucking up heat for you?" His words cut deep. Phoebe looked down at her hands, seeing them shake, from fear or frustration, she couldn't really say. She glanced over at the ground between her and her enemy, seeing the useless metal bits of the fire giant still steaming on the barren field.
Wait…
Phoebe looked at her hands again, clenching her fists. With a touch of concentration, she willed the energy within her to her palms, seeing them glow brighter, as the rest of her dimmed. The inspiration settling in, the fiery ruler shook herself off and set her sights back on the enemy, who was watching her with little interest, but caution nonetheless.
Flame Princess gathered her power together once more, growing to size in order to match the golem. Her sword reformed and she grasped its energized hilt tightly. Another moment and she replicated her action from before, transferring the massive power her combined matrix and elder flame contained into just the fiery blade in her hands. It glowed, then shifted, now an intimidating cobalt reminiscent of the will-o-wisps themselves.
Phoebe adjusted her stance as Finn had instructed, a different form from before. Poseidon's eyes narrowed from within his creation, concerned. The golem adjusted its hold on the war club it wielded, prepared for another assault. FP didn't waste any more time, the ground at her feet displaced as her large form rushed forward, sword twisting in preparation of her sequencing.
Poseidon had learned from last time, taking a careful look at FP's approach and having his golem respond accordingly. Instead of an overhead swing of its weapon, the colossal molten foe made for a sweeping motion at the charging ruler's lower body, thinking that her large form would have no chance at clearing the strike.
It was to the Olympian's surprise then, that the club his minion swung went straight through the king, whose body simply warped and recoalesced around the area of the hit. "You said it yourself," she growled as her sword arm was raised. "Lava is far denser that fire!" Poseidon was left stunned as Phoebe's superheated blade sliced clean through the golem's two arms at the elbow, disarming it of its weapon as she spun around and gave the off-balance giant a kick to the chest. It staggered, and with one more battle cry, Phoebe flipped her sword around, lunged, and skewered the golem's bulbous head.
Poseidon immediately ejected himself from the area, although the visible injury to his arm proved Flame Princess had just missed the killing blow. Her towering figure fell down to the ground along with her impaled foe, the two shaking the earth upon impact. Poseidon found himself in midair, freefalling with little lava nearby to catch himself. His misfortune didn't end there, as Phoebe's free hand suddenly closed around him in a vice, causing him to gag from the sudden pressure.
FP's sense of victory was short-lived unfortunately, as the breath was pulled from her lungs with a gasp, the fallen body of the Olympian's golem morphing into a mass of limbs that grabbed and began suffocating her.
"Wh-what!?" She struggled, as another whip of molten rock grabbed her outstretched wrist, forcing her to release Poseidon from her grip, the man landing safely below amidst a pool of his lava. He laughed, as he watched the molten rock crush the king's massive form down like a garbage compactor.
"Cut it, slice it, stab it all you want, I can always reshape it, Hera!" He grinned with satisfaction as Phoebe was ultimately forced down into her normal form and size, still groaning from the painful squeeze being put on every inch of her. As she was lowered to ground level, Poseidon had his lava deliver him to her, his arms crossed as he witnessed the woman finally bound to the lava as if it were a casting, every inch held in place and preventing her from shifting out of the prison.
"I think I'll just take the opportunity to end you here. It'll certainly break the morale of your people, as well as that irritating knight of yours." Phoebe struggled to glare down the Olympian, as the lava continued pushing on her. She'd never felt such pain, it was different than the, ironically, burning sensation of water. On all sides her figure was being crushed, her bones and muscles screaming for respite before they reach the point of shattering and bursting. The fiery girl could just barely keep an eye open through her scrunched up expression, teeth grinding in agony. She blurrily scanned her foe, as well as the environment around him.
Her pupil shrank.
The lava!
Poseidon was still partially sunk into his lava. Phoebe closed her eyes and, to the Olympian's confusion, sucked in an almost comically large breath of air. He body, having noticeably dimmed from the smothering lava, brightened. Then she roared. Not from the pain, not from anger; a primal bellow that even caused her enemy to flinch in surprise.
She was the flame of life. The fire elemental incarnate. The elder flame burned violently through her veins, tapping into her latent power, a power over all flames, all heat. The very same thermal energy the Sleeping Fire Giants extracted from the earth was now greedily being commanded into the tips of her fingers, the pores of her skin, magnetized to her mended, stable, bottomless wellspring of a matrix. It drank, wave after wave, pulling everything it could around its owner.
Poseidon growled at the fiery ruler's bizarre outward behavior, raising a hand towards the woman to silence her, permanently. As he did so, he froze, seeing just how slowly his arm was moving.
"What th-… Eeeh?!" The Olympian's eyes widened in terror, his vision scrutinizing the rapidly dimming flesh of his limb, traveling down to see the rest of his body succumbing to the effect, all the way down to the molten rock at his feet, which was already turning an obsidian black, only showing the occasional crimson vein of heat underneath. He, as well as the mass encasing Phoebe, was hissing, steaming, and darkening. Cooling. "N-no…"
It was cold. So cold.
He needed heat. But there was none.
His elemental matrix was too cool. It always had been.
He could not reignite.
Deep, cringing cracks echoed across the field, as Phoebe, now glowing far brighter than any elemental should be, channeled her stolen energy to the surface. With a few good jerks, the casing holding her crumbled, finally freeing the young woman from her prison. FP immediately fell to her hands and knees, her lungs and flames collectively jumping at the chance at any puff of oxygen available. She sputtered, hacked, and furiously tried to settle her breathing. She couldn't tell how much time had passed when she finally managed to control her rate of inhales and exhales.
Once her body was at peace, Phoebe somewhat shakily got to her feet, reorienting the rest of her functions. Her eyes quickly traveled upwards to meet those of Poseidon, who, eerily, appeared as nothing more than a statue, reaching out to grab her. FP briefly utilized her heat sense on the man, learning that he was still alive, albeit rapidly fading. She stared back at her enemy and his frozen expression of mixed shock and indignation.
Phoebe wasn't sure what drove her to a decision, but she chose to generate a flame sword in her hand, before addressing the helpless Olympian. "Your brother was right about one thing." She raised her weapon.
"I am the sword of the Fire Kingdom."
One direct slash down was all it took. Poseidon's immobile form was bisected vertically, at once ending him and his malfunctioning matrix. He and the cooled lava collapsed into amorphous bits of volcanic rock. A distant rumbling alerted Phoebe to a similar happening to the defensive wall that was shielding the primordial from approach. Her eyes drifted over in the direction, finally laying eyes on the ancient entity. It seemed to have stopped moving a few moments after the wall collapsed, no doubt its masters having noticed the loss of their protection.
Phoebe didn't get the chance to enjoy her victory, as all the stress and energy juggling from the past battle caught up with her. As a result, she abruptly, but peacefully, collapsed backwards onto the soft bed of ashes and soot that now layered the grasslands.
Well now, this was embarrassing. A full two-thirds of a year without updating! Seriously, I have to praise anyone who still reads this for their patience (or dedication?). In any case, I'll be seeing what I can do about another one for you guys before the new year (and new decade!). Be seein' ya!
Gamelover41592: Indeed it does. I generally write faster for finales, so he's hoping!
Cronos Cabrera: Of course it will be epic!
Major144: Hm, some of that, yeah. Thanks!
The Book of Eli: Yeah, everyone's definitely in trouble. Worry not, PB's machinations shall appear soon!
Guest: Your praise is humbling to the highest degree.
Guest: I can't give enough thanks to such words.
MUTO TOHO: Haha, it has, hasn't it? Kinda nuts. But here we are, five chapters left. Glad I've given you something cool to tie in the past years.
10burgers: Indeed it is! I will slay this thing soon!
Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!
next: Chapter 46: Return of the Hero