(CLYDE'S POV)

As Xena and I climbed up the huge tower, the heat rose to near unbearable temperatures. Once we reached the top, we were greeted by a large door. I went to go open but Xena placed a hand on my shoulder and stopped me.

"Young Clyde, do remember what I told you of my brother." She said. I nodded and we proceeded inside. There waiting for us was Xeno, the world's strongest pyromancer. Once we stepped inside, we both bowed with respect. "Greetings brother."

"Hmph... Greetings my younger sister. I see that you have accepted my request." Xeno said with a stoic look. His fiery red hair was flowing like a calm flame. His orange eyes held a burning gaze that shook my to my core. Needless to say, this man was intimidatingly strong. I could feel the pressure of his mana essence. His seemed larger than anything I've ever seen from even Xena. His eyes shifted over to me. I tried my best to keep my cool. "Who is the boy you've brought with you?"

"This is my young apprentice, Clyde Yukio. He is in training to be a Grand Spellcaster." Xena said with pride.

"A Grand Spellcaster, huh...tell me boy. What is your level?" Xeno asked me.

I cleared my throat before I spoke. I looked at him with a tad bit more confidence. "I am a level 17 mage, sir."

"I see...How skilled are you in the art of fire?" Xeno asked with an intrigued voice.

"I have learned all seven hundred basic flame spells. I am practicing the intermediate spells now."

"All the basics spells? Interesting for someone only level 17. You do have potential but in order to be a Grand Spellcaster like my father, you must be advanced all forms of magic. If you truly are interested in honing your flaming magic, then I would recommend you take some time training with someone truly masterful in the art of fire." He held his hand up and a bright flame flickered within it. The small flame hell such an intense amount of mana. It's power was radiating throughout the room.

"...Wow…* I said in awe. His power was tremendous.

"You see now, child? This is the power of fire. A flame that can burn brighter than the sun can fit within the grasp of my palm. You too can wield such power." Xeno said with a smirk.

"I do wish to advance my skills." I said.

"Indeed. After we handle the issue with the Number, I shall teach you the ways of fire." He said. He then glanced at Xena. "Where are the rest of your group, dear sister."

"They are in the town plaza."

"Ah yes. They must be enjoying the summer solstice. Very well then. We shall carry out our task alone." My eyes widened at his words.

"Just the three of us?! But I thought you needed backup." I said.

"That is very true... however... I am a master of fire and my sister knows her way around a good spell. You shall tag along to serve as training." He said.

"Stick around, Clyde. You might learn something important from us." Xena said.

"Ok. I will join you for your mission. Should we tell the others?" I asked.

"No use worrying you friends. Let them enjoy their stay here. As for us three, we shall face the Number head on and annihilate them for ever daring to threaten MY city!" He said, clenching his fist.

"Is a frontal assault a good idea? There's only three of us." I said with concern.

"We'll be fine. My flames are destructive form of magic. Xena can run crowd control with her chaining spells and you can practice your fire as support." Xeno said.

I was still unsure but decided to hold my thoughts and nod with agreement. They were the professionals so I should trust in their capabilities. "Ok. I will do my best!" I said as we headed out of the tower and towards the Number's base.

(SHIRO'S POV)

"AWW HELL YEAH! GET LOOSE PEOPLE!" I shouted at the crowd of people. The entire population of Pyrus was gathered at the town square, dancing the night away. I was in the center of the large crowd dancing my ass off. Fireworks lit up the night sky, increasing the hype factor. I was wading through the ocean of people in order to get more flamin hot cheese sticks. As I got to the snack bar, I saw Tazorac, Amora, Eliza, Izzy, Gabby and Viz just sitting there doing NOTHING! "Yo! What's up with you guys?!" I asked.

"Don't dance!" Gabby and Tazorac both said.

"This music is much too noisy." Amora commented.

"I had one too many drinks." Eliza spoke, sickly.

"I-I'm a bit sleepy." Isabel said softly with a yawn. I got a little nervous at that statement. I'm already certain that it's almost midnight.

"I'm hungry Shiro." Viz said.

I glared at him. "Dude! Go find something to eat!" I yelled.

"I can't reach the counter!" Viz said tearing up.

I rolled my eyes at his whining. "Vizeron...stop being a lazy little jackass."

He stuck his tongue out at me. "Goddamn beta male!"

"Where are Clyde and Xena at. They've been gone for hours. They should've been back by now." Tazorac said with a huff.

"Indeed. They have been absent for quite sometime now." Amora chimed in.

"I'm sure they're fine! C'mon guys! You're missing out on the party!" I said. I looked at Gabby and grabbed her arm pulling her off of the bench. I dragged her through the crowd. She was glaring daggers at me. I could tell she was trying real hard not to whoop my ass in front of all these people.

"What the hell are you-"

I let go of her arm and started to shift back and forth. I gave her a goofy ass grin. "C'mon, you got it girl." I said to her. She flipped me off.

"I don't dance Shiro."

"No one does, that's just the power of music. It makes your body do some weird stuff. Stuff that leads to other stuff. Stuff that I don't fully understand. Bottom line is, dancing just comes naturally." I sent have a wink as he switched my rhythm with the new beat of the song.

"I'm not doing this Tatsugami!" She said folding her arms. I slid right next to her as the song changed yet again. This time it was a smooth and steady melody. I unwrapped her arms and slid my hand with her and started to swing our arms around. "What...are you... doing you idiot?!" Her red cheeks didn't go unnoticed by me. I flashed her a wide smile and began to swat us back and forth, going slower and slower with the song. "Th-this is so... stupid…" She said looking away from me.

"You can't tell me you're not having fun though!" I said to her.

"Shiro, get the hell off of me before I end your sorry ass." She said.

"What if I did this instead?" I asked as I pulled close to me. I took note of our similar height. Not sure if that me her tall, or me short…

"Shiro! What are you-"

"Shh…Just relax and move with me." I said to her. I could hear her breathing calm down a little bit. "Good. Now that you're all cozy, I thought that I should say...sorry...for well...you know... kissing you the way I did on the boat. I'm not sure what the hell was going on in my mind. I just wanted...uh, you know what? Nevermind…"

"You wanted what?" She asked. I gulped. I couldn't tell her that I wanted to dive deep! I wasn't even sure if that's even really what I wanted.

"Nothing. It's nothing." I said dodging the question.

She pushed herself off of me and outta my grip. She sent me a nasty glare. "What did you want from me Shiro?!"

"I wanted you to...DAMNIT! Look, I don't know how to explain shit like this. Just know that everything I do, is for a reason."

"You are being weirder than usual…"

"I know but hey, look on the bright side. You're dancing all by yourself now." I said to her. She finally noticed that her body was moving to the song.

"What?! But how?!" She asked.

"I'm a miracle worker. Now that I have completed that task, I'm going to go get some of those fire fries." I walked all over the place looking for a food stand. As I neared my destination, Izzy came dropping down in front of me. I nearly had a damn heart attack.

"Hello again my scrumptious lover." She said running her soft yet chilling hands through my chocolate brown hair. "I missed you." She said pecking my lips. My face was heating up already.

"I...uh...h-hey Isabel." I said nervously.

She sniffed my neck hungrily and licked her red lips. "You smell tasty tonight Shiro. You wouldn't mind letting me get just a slight taste, would you?" She asked licking my neck.

"Uh... I don't know if I should really do that."

She pouted and snaked her arms around my neck. "Aww, but I was really hoping that you would let me get some more."

"I just... look, things are really complicated right now and I'm... confused."

"Please, Shiro! I won't be long. I'll take what I need, and be on my way." She said with a sly smile.

"Are you sure? Last time you kinda went off on me. I barely made it to the house!" I said with narrowed eyes.

"I promise! Only what I need, my lovely snack."

I sighed angrily. "Ok fine, but should we really do this in front of all these people?"

She grabbed my hand and sprinted us to the back of an alley way. "There! Now we can be…" I brought her lips to the side of my head and licked my outer ear. "Alone…" She finished as she sank her fangs into my neck again.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!" I yelled as painfully quiet as I could. She was sucking away at my blood and with every passing second, I felt weaker and weaker. "DAMNIT! Come on!" I muttered.

She removed her teeth from my neck as smiled happily at me. Her pale face made her blush much more noticeable. "Oh Shiro! Thank you so much. I am once again, grateful to you." She playfully pushed me against the wall of the alley way. "Please, let me show you how grateful I am." She left me a sloppy, wet kiss. They way she kissed me was, in word to describe it, hungrily. She moment she thrusted her tongue through my lips, she began tasting me. She placed her hands on my shoulder and pressed herself against me, making escape that much harder. I was legitimately trapped against this wall about to practically get raped by a sexy ass vampire. She ended the kiss and looked at my flustered face. She caressed my right cheek and smiled at me. "Shiro, why don't proceed.elsewhere? I want to really enjoy this." My eyes snapped open. Was she really asking me for sex?! Ok, let me set one thing straight. I talk a big game, and flirt alot, but I do NOT think that I am ready for the sexy times! I just joking when I say that I am!

"Look, Isabel I'm gonna be real with you, I don't think I'm exactly ready to do that." I said shifting outta her hold on me.

"Don't worry about it. I'll do all of the work." She giggled. I swear I was going to have a damn hole in my pants. She pecked my lips and smiled.

"N-no I mean that I'm not mentally ready." I said to her. "I want my first time to be important, not some heat of the moment type of thing."

"Oh, ok. I'll wait until the time is right. I promise to make it a night you won't forget." She said. She looked up at the night sky and chuckled a bit. "Well, I'm of to go on my night of terrorizing!" She said.

"What do you mean, terrorizing?!" I asked her.

"Me and my other vampire friends go out and create tons of mischief every night. It's quite enjoyable. Oh, if only you were a vampire as well. Then I could bring you with me." She said.

"What's stopping you?"

"My friends would catch a whiff of your intoxicating smell and all practically kill themselves trying to get their hands on you." She said smiling.

My eyes went wide. "Oh...is that all?" I asked sarcastically.

"No. I would then have to put all of them in their place and show them that you're mine!" She giggled. I chuckled nervously at that statement. She looked at me with her red eyes. "Well, goodnight delicious bastard." She pecked my cheek and took off to the sky. Leaving me baffled yet again. Why couldn't this be Clyde's problem?! On one hand, I'm trying to patch things up with Gabby but on the other hand, vampire Isabel is try make me hers! What the hell! Screw Clyde!

(CLYDE'S POV)

"Ward of Flames: Fireball!" I hurled the fiery sphere towards a group of guards, blasting them back. Another guard tried to slash me with his axe. I ducked under the swing and sent him a fast leg sweep. I got up and place hand on his face. "Ward of Flame: Melting Point!" My hand heated up to about ten thousand degrees Celsius. The man screamed briefly before shutting up. I turned to my left to see Xena drop twelve guys with just one lightning spell.

Xeno ran forward and blasted off of the ground, using his fire. "You dare come to my town and threaten my people!" He shouted in mid air. A bright flame surrounded his right fist. "You shall all burn to ash!" He thrusted his fist forward and a large yellow beam of solar energy destroyed about one third of the remaining troops.

" ...Such raw power…" I said with wide eyes.

Xena nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder. "My brother can be most aggressive when he is angry. It's best to steer clear of his attacks."

"Ok. I will." We fought our way into the center of the camp. Xeno stopped his blasts and glared at the man looking at us from the front of his troops. He clapped at us and smirked. He was a ripped, brown skinned man with spiked up golden hair. His eyes were hidden behind his glasses.

"We then, this is quite the surprise. I'll say it takes hella balls to do what you three managed to do." One of his men handed him a flask. He downed the alcohol and tossed it away. He then glared at us behind his shades. "You three are gonna fucking die. I already want your head mounted to my damn wall!" He said to Xeno.

"When this is over, it is you that will be used for decoration you low life scum!" Xeno shouted. He was surrounded by a fiery aura. His aura flared out and he instantly scorched all of basic troops. Xena had put up a protective bubble around us, shielding our bodies from Xeno's intense aura. He glared and blasted forward at the strange man and attempted to tackle him. The man stopped by thrusting his fist forward creating a forceful shockwave that sent Xeno flying back.

"Come now Xeno. Don't tell me the legendary pyromancer can't even hurt some filthy low life." He said chuckling.

"Xena...What just happened?!" I asked confused. "That guy didn't even land a hit on Xeno but he still got sent flying."

"That man isn't just some average person. His name is Rey Dé Písswottz." She answered. "It's said that he trained his body to pique physical condition. Once he reached his limit, he then broke through his own potential and can do many amazing things with his unlocked level of power. One of these things are increased speed, strength, reflexes and durability. He can hit so hard and so fast, that he is able to break the sound barrier and create a shockwave with just a simple punch." She explained to me.

I stared at the man in awe. "Can Xeno defeat him?!" I ask.

"Not like this. Xeno is extremely powerful with his magic. The only issue is with his mentality when it comes to most fights. His fire magic grows much stronger and burns much hotter when he's mad. He is able wipe out cities within seconds. The only problem is that while he does get a power boost, he is also killing himself." She said grimly.

"Killing himself?! How?"

"Fire magic may seem simple to grasp at first, but once you learn advance fire magic, it becomes high risk, high reward. You are a force of devastating magic but you also are burning out you mana flame. Too much mana energy at one moment WILL kill you. It is important to pick when you want to use up so much mana. Xeno's main problem is that he goes full force during the entirety of the fight. His flame has some what adjusted to this and his mana flame is less likely to burn out, however...every living thing can only last so long."

I looked back at Xeno again. He was attempting to strike the man with his flaming fists. Rey was just simply dodging his punches. Rey the delivered a punch directly to Xeno's stomach and kicked him away. Xeno's body dropped right in front of us. I slowly crawled back to his feet and powered up his fire. "Bastard!" He hissed.

"Xeno, let us help-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP BOY!" Xeno shouted at me as he turned around and sent me a nasty punch to the face. I dropped to the floor and held my cheek. "I don't need anyone's help with that son of a bitch. You may leave now if you wish. I will handle things from here!" He blasted off towards Rey once again, struggling to land a single hit.

Xena crouched down and checked my face. "He's gonna get himself killed Xena! We have to help." I said. She stared at Xeno with an unreadable expression. I got up and flared my mana, ready to jump in the fight.

"CLYDE!" Xena shouted. I looked at her confused. She shook her head at me. "Let him do this."

"But Xena! You said it yourself! He's gonna die. We have to help him."

"NO! Clyde, you will stand down! You don't understand Xeno. His whole life he's been trying to get stronger. Strong enough to best our older brother Xeto and prove to our father that he's more than just the second son. Xeno is a very prideful man. If there is an opponent that challenges him, he treats them as just another milestone. Ever battle Xeno goes into, he always find a way come out on top. This battle will be no exception. He just needs to calm down and use his head. He can do it Clyde. Just watch and let him prove it to you." Xena said with a smile.

I was still sceptical about the whole thing but I decided to believe in her words. I nodded my head and dropped my mana essence. "Ok. For his sake, I hope you're right."

Rey chuckled as he and Xeno were trading blow for blow. Rey clearly had the advantage given his physical abilities. I kneed Xeno in the chin and swatted him away. Xeno crashed down to the ground. He was panting with exhaustion. He got up and glared. Rey grinned slyly. "You know what Xeno? I think that I'll do you a quick solid. How's about, you hit me with your best shot!"

"Why the hell would you want me to do that, you bulked up bastard?!"

"I only get to kill you once. I want to see the look of defeat on your face when you realize that your best still wasn't enough to put around. Now just in case you didn't hear me the first time...I want you...to hit me...with your FULL power. Not half power. Not a quarter of your power. FULL power! You good with that?" Rey asked chuckling.

"And if I don't play along with your bullshit, little game..?"

"Then I guess you really are just the middle child!" Rey smirked.

Xeno glared hell at Rey. His flaming aura flared up yet again. He cupped his hands together. "Fine! You wanna play so bad?! I send you straight to a playground called Hell, you son of a bitch!" A bright yellow and orange orb began to form. It was so bright that Xena and I had to shield our eyes.

"Oh come on now. What are you gonna blind me to death? I got my shades on dumbass!" Rey grinned.

The orb shined even brighter and the temperature rose so high in the area that I had to surround myself in ice so that I wouldn't bake to death. Xeno's Eyes glowed and he grit his teeth. I looked at Xena with worry. "He's gonna burn the whole planet!"

"Remember what I said. Trust in him. He knows what he's doing."

Rey clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Now you're showing me something special!" He said.

"I'm going to show you how to die! WARD OF FLAMES: BLAZING INFERNO!!!" He sent out a ridiculously large blast of solar energy. The blast traveled towards Rey with extreme speed.

"Blazing inferno? What kinda name is...OH SHIT!" The blast consumed Rey, burning him to the core. His body was instantly reduced to nothing. Xeno flung his hands away from each other, causing the large blast to fade away. Xeno dropped to his knees. "Was...that *huff*... enough power...bitch…" He slumped to the floor, passed out.

Xena and I ran up to him. We could still feel the effects of the blast. It still felt extremely hot. We lifted up and began to carry him out of the burned down camp. I was still left in awe at that display of power. I thought that he was out of mana. That fact that he was able to do that while weak... it's overwhelming! I saw that Xena smiled slightly at her unconscious brother.

"Didn't I tell you Clyde? He really is amazing, isn't he?" She said.

"Yeah, no joke. His mana reserves are damn near endless for his to have enough to still fire off an attack like that."

As we were walking and nearing Pyrus, a thought zipped into my mind. "Why did the Number even concern themselves Xeno? They were better off steering clear of him and Pyrus all together."

"My brothers are known all over. They are either looked at and praised like gods, or they're hated and wanted dead in order to gain power."

"What about you?" I asked. I felt like something was missing.

"What about me?"

"I thought that... nevermind." I decided to hold my piece. If she wanted me to know then she'd tell me.

"Come on. We must bring him to Amora and Isabel. They can restore his status." She said as we entered the gates of Pyrus. This whole night was just so insane. The moment that Xeno wakes up and is better, I will ask him to train me in the art of the flames. I wish to wield that kind of power and I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I have to learn the advanced spell for fire if I want to reach my goal and even have a chance against Dex. I swore that I would since the day Isabel and I left Tetherex City and became apprentices.