AN: Why does nothing ever go according to plan for me? This should've been done much eariler but for some reason I was struggling with this one, on top of the fact that my free time has been getting shorter and shorter as of late.

Let me also make something clear: I don't like writing OCs. I know I write a lot of them in Chivalry of a Dark Knight but believe me, it's only for plot reasons and only if I feel it's necessary. So I hope you can bare with me here, these OCs are very minor to the story which I assure you, will pick up much faster in the coming chapters.

Yeah, I'm a little frustrated but on the positive side, I'm hyped for Fire Force season 3!


CHAPTER 02: The Black Messenger

The Nether. According to the Holy Sol Temple, it is an unclean tainted land far removed from the great Sol's light. Those who commit such blasphemy to venture within would find themselves lost and trapped with its unspeakable horrors forever. Indeed a passage to hell itself.

In actually, it is all that remains of the Tokyo underground train system. And it is deep within its bowels where a congregation was underway.

Decked in white, they all stood before the chancel that was designed with religious geometric bar tracery motifs. All except one who stood before the altar.

She was a young woman with light blonde hair tied in a messy top bun and wore a white baggy onesie similar to Inca's but the most notably thing about her was what appeared to be a golden crown worn around her eyes and head like a visor.

The designated Second Pillar, Haumea, swept her sights over the followers to look for one young boy in particular. She found him in the corner all the way at the back, with one hand on his sword's handle and scornful red eyes that didn't seem to be focused on the present. Arrow was dutifully at his side as usual.

Haumea internally smirked, she was well aware that Sho had been shirking his duties since his clash with Shinra but she wasn't worried; she could always reign him in again if he ever stepped out of line.

But what did disturb her was Yona; To say that he was…agitated was an understatement. He had been writhing, pulling on his face and hair violently to the point where his visage had become a Picasso nightmare.

Releasing a breath, Haumea decided that whatever his deal was would have to to wait. She too felt quite antsy and just wanted to get the whole thing over with.

"By the Evangelist's decree,…" Haumea spoke. "I declare this gathering begun!"

And those in attendance chanted out their creed.

"Bring Fiery Ruin."

"Bring Fiery Ruin."

"Bring Fiery Ruin."

"We have hastily come together today because it has become known to us…that the Black Messenger has arrived into our world."

The announcement from Haumea had sent the chapel abuzz with murmurings among the present cultists. Among those who were shocked was a stout middle-aged man with a thick pronounced nose who sports dark hair tied in a bun and a Hulihee style beard.

"You mean…from the prophecy?" asked Flail.

Inca was only one who appeared to be puzzled about what the fuss was all about.

"Er, anyone mind telling a girl who is still new to this gig who or what this Black Messenger guy is?" Inca asked while raising her hand.

Ritsu stepped forward from behind Inca and addressed her charge.

"Allow me to illuminate you, My Lady." she offered with a smile. "As you know, our goal is to bring about the Great Cataclysm that will unite this world with Adola. However, the Evangelist has foretold of a possible event, one that may change our path going forward."

The cyan haired woman allowed her words to hang in the air, holding the attention of not only Haumea but the other cultists as if they waited to hear confirmation of what already knew.

"By her words, this prophecy entails of a cursed creature, formed from the fires of Adola itself. He will come baring his blighted flames, that will steadily grow ever fiercer and engulf everything in its path until there is nothing left."

Charron scratched his neck before speaking up.

"Um, Hey. If that's the case, then is there any point in finding the other Pillars anymore? I mean, if the Black Messenger is a big deal, then why should we find people with Adola Bursts when we can have him start the Calamity for us?" he asked.

Yona screeched, while clutching at his hair and shaking his head. It was like such a notion was unacceptable to him.

"NO! I REFUSE! I WON'T LET SOME PARLIAMENT ABOMINATION SULLY OUR SACRED MISSION!"

If one were able to see through the crown-like visor around Haumea's face, they find a small bulging vein on the side of her head: proof that woman was getting beyond irritated with Yona's behavior.

"What the hell are you talking about, Yona!? What Parliament?"

At Haumea's words, Yona finally released his head, which looked so cartoonishly misshapen that some of the cultists actually flinched at the sight.

"The Parliament of Flames!" he continued to rave. "The guardians of Adola who once dwelt in great Sol eons ago! Until those treacherous snakes abandoned this universe!"

An echoing wooden 'THUNK!' emitted from the bottom of a cane hitting the stone floor. The cane belonged to a tall individual who's face was hidden by a stitched beaked mask that resembled those worn by Plague doctors from the 17th century. On the top of his head was a black top hat while the rest of his outfit, consisting of a high collar invertness coat and long thick boots, was white like the other cultists. He spoke in voice that had a reverbing mechanical quality to it.

"So, are you implying that there is a connection between the Black Messenger and this Parliament?" asked Giovanni.

The shape-shifting White-Clad member nodded vigorously.

"He is nothing but one of their dogs turned rabid." Yona said. "His aims do not align with ours, not to rebirth this world anew but total annihilation!"

"Ooooh! That sounds exciting!" Inca squealed in delight, her pink eyes shining.

In a contemplative manner, Giovanni stroked his fingers across the underside of his 'beak'.

"Hmmm. But as Yona says, total annihilation is not our prerogative. Perhaps it'd be best we contain this creature and study it for our benefit. I'm sure the dear Sister would find interesting results."

"Is that why the Evangelist has foretold his coming? Was it a warning?" Flail asks in trepidation.

"Or maybe Charron is on to something." Ritsu suggested. "Maybe we can use him to make our job easier."

Haumea sighed wearily, seeing that this back and forth was getting them nowhere.

"Whatever the case, the First Pillar has already made contact with him." she revealed.

That information sent shock waves among some of the White-Clad members, particularly Charron who was eager to ask more questions about that.

"Nngh!"

But before he could, the Second Pillar suddenly stiffened and shook as her teeth clenched in pain like she was having a seizure. Worry and concern took precedence in Charron's mind and so he quickly rushed to her side.

"Hey Haumea! You okay!? Speak to me!"

In aggravation, Haumea kicked at his face hard, sending him to the ground despite him being larger than her.

"SHUT UP, YOU DUMBASS!" she yelled.

The White-Clad members looked on awkwardly at the whole exchange between the Second Pillar and her guardian before witnessing her panting in exhaustion as she placed her fingers on the side of her head. And then, just like that, Haumea's lips pressed together in seriousness as she addressed those in attendance.

"The Evangelist has spoken, we will take the Black Messenger into our ranks but our mission to secure the other Pillars remains our top priority."

A tense acceding silence swallowed up the chapel, even Charron who meekly picked himself up remained quiet as he did so. Yona looked on in shock and he began to whimper while chewing aggressively at his lower lip.

For them, there was no question or doubt about her statement; They knew that Haumea was one of the few the Evangelist communed with.

"If he resists or steps out of line, Can I expect Dragon and the other Butchers to step in and take care of him?" she asked, her sights directed particularly to one among them.

That person was a tan-skinned man with gray spiky hair and ring piercings over his hairless brows and ears. His name is Assault, a former member of the Butchers: the assassin faction of the White-Clad. He maintains a stoic militaristic visage despite his mind currently still reeling from his encounter from a certain Fire Soldier and her inadvertent lewd charms.

"Yes, Miss Haumea. I'll let him know at once." he gave a soldierly nod.

Haumea's lips curled into a smirk as her sights traveled towards another particular person.

"And what about you, Sho? I notice you've been very quiet back there." she sneered.

The young white-haired boy only briefly regarded her with his crimson eyes, his scornful expression never once wavering.

"Do as you will." he said. "But I remind you not to let your focus wander from Company 8."

"Oh? Looks like someone is eager for a rematch." Haumea grinned.

Sho didn't respond and only exited the chapel with an adamant swish of his cape and in equal silence, Arrow followed him dutifully.

"Hm, How rude." Ritsu snickered. "Perhaps we can't count on the Knights of the Ashen Flame but I assure you, the Purple Flame will be ready when needed.

"Then it's settled. We'll find him as well as the next pillar." Haumea spoke with resolve. "For the Evangelist wills it."

"By the will of the Evangelist." Giovanni declared while clenching his fist.

Ritsu and the others followed suit as well.

"By the will of the Evangelist!"

And so everyone in attendance raised their fists and yelled out in unison.

"BY THE WILL OF THE EVANGELIST!"

"This is gonna be so cool!" Inca thought with excited glee.


"The flame is the soul's breath…"

It was on the northern streets of Uguisudani where Iris stood with her eyes closed and her hands 'tented' by joining the tips of her fingers with her thumb joints together. She solemnly recited her prayers as the rest of Company 8 (sans Maki) were in the midst of engaging the last of the three Infernals.

Infernals were usually humanoid burning creatures driven berserk from their anguish but their forms may sometimes vary. This one in particular had wide, flat shield-like forearms which it had been using to protect its core, its weak point.

It was currently slashing at Tamaki who was blitzing around it using her Third Generation Ignition Ability "Nekomata". As the name implies, it grants her enhanced agility with pink fiery constructs around her body that made her look like a two-tailed cat.

After dodging another attack, Tamaki got on all fours and skittered under the Infernal's legs while her two 'tails' wrapped around its underarms and tugged at the creature to topple it back.

"The black smoke is the soul's release…"

The Infernal fought back and leaned forward against being pulled while Tamaki grit her teeth and buried her flaming claws against the asphalt as she tugged back.

Just then a hail of bullets, which struck with the force of mini meteorites, tore through the Infernal's legs. Fired from Hinawa's submachine gun, the bullets were being enhanced by his Second Generation ability that controlled ignition properties.

"Ashes thou wert and art…"

The legs were weakened but the Infernal still struggled to not fall and belched out a volley of flames towards Hinawa in an act of spiteful defiance. But they were blocked by large segmented shield held by Obi.

With his face covered by a grilled metal face-plate, Obi charged forward while blocking the flames until he struck the Infernal like a battering ram. It was enough to finally knock the fiery entity off-balance. Tamaki gave a cat-like yelp as the tug-of-war ended and her rump was sent rolling forward along with the rest of her.

"May thy soul return to the great flame of fire."

After it had fallen on its back, the Infernal looked up to see what looked like a twinkle in the sky before it became something coming down fast towards it. It was Arthur with his Excalibur, a simple white hilt which he uses to form a sword made of pure plasma. He dropped down holding the blade downward, his body positioned quite similarly to a certain elf character he had seen in a video game.

And like that character, Arthur impales the Infernal through its exposed core and at last putting it to rest.

"Latom." Iris finished and breathe out a sigh.

As the creature's flames died out and it's black charcoal body began to wither away into ash, the rest of Company 8 gathered around its body and offered their own prayers with tented hands.

"Latom." they all said.

It may have been a victory but it was still a hollow one; the Infernals were once innocent humans after all, victims of Spontaneous Human Combustion. And they were still no closer to finding out the answer behind this terrible phenomenon.

"Hey guys!" a voice called from above.

They looked up to see that was Shinra descending towards them until he touched down.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. "Were the Infernals taken care o…"

Shira immediately clamped his mouth shut when Hinawa suddenly walked towards him and got into his face. Line-like shadows darkened the Lieutenant's visage and from behind those glasses, his brown eyes seemed to bore into Shinra like sharp drills.

"When we get back, you and I are going to have a long talk about desertion." he said with eerily calm firmness.

"I'm sorry, Sir! It won't happen again!" Shinra looked like he was seconds away from bawling like a baby.

Obi chuckled and laid a hand on the second-in-command's shoulder from behind.

"Go easy on him, Hinawa."

Vulcan meanwhile, rushed through Obi and Hinawa and grabbed Shinra by the shoulders.

"Well, Shinra!? Did you find out anything about that car!?" Vulcan asked.

The excitement and anticipation in the man's voice wasn't lost on the Captain and Lieutenant.

"No, unfortunately I lost him." Shinra shook his head.

As Vulcan completely deflated in disappointment, Obi picked up on the fact that Shinra said 'him' and not 'it'.

"So you saw the driver then. Was he White-Clad?" Obi inquired.

"I…I don't think so. He was in all black and wearing a mask."

This certainly left the other Fire Soldiers' intrigued, the idea that there was some masked man driving a strange car around Tokyo. Iris tilted her head curiously with a finger against her chin.

"So, he is a…'Black-Clad', then?"

"The thing is that, I think I've seen him before. In my vision, I think he was-"

"Captain, Everyone!"

The attention of the Fire Soldiers were drawn towards Maki who was running towards them, she had actually been elsewhere helping the citizens get to safety.

"I have witnesses who told me that they've sighted another Infernal." she told them.

"What!? Another one!?" Obi balked in shock.

She nodded seriously and pointed towards a direction.

"Just behind this block. Some locals said they saw a man combust and turn into one but he disappeared shortly after that."

This news had turned Obi's expression tense. It would seem that finding out about the mysterious masked man and the unknown vehicle would have to wait. There were more pressing matters at hand.

"I want a full perimeter sweep!" Obi ordered his team. "We have to find that Infernal at all costs. Lieutenant, take Tamaki and Victor and find out what you can from where he was first sighted."

"On it." Hinawa nodded.

"The rest of us will fan out. Maki and Vulcan will search the north, Arthur and Iris will take east. Shinra, you're with me. Move, people!"

"Roger!" they all acknowledged.

With the orders given, Company 8 split into groups of four and dispersed. Shinra walked alongside with Obi dutifully but he couldn't help but feel himself gripped with envy and looked back with a pointed glare towards one particular person.

"Why does that jerk-off get to go with Iris!?" he thought angrily.

As if he could sense Shinra's ire, Arthur looked back as well with a smug toothy grin that seemed to gleam.

While the three duos were left with their respective roles, Hinawa's team gathered at the chain-link fenced area where Firefly was spotted. By then, the fires around the grass had gone out and left behind charred black patches with flecks of glowing ember.

With Licht behind them searching around for clues, Tamaki and Hinawa questioned the middle-aged citizens for more information.

"He was just standing there stark naked!" the old woman said. "And then suddenly a burst of flames shot out from his hands and his whole body turned black! Why, I was scared for my life."

"What was he doing being naked anyway?" Tamaki wondered.

"Maybe he has an affliction similar to yours, Tamaki-san." Licht commented with a playful grin.

Tamaki reacted by puffing her cheeks and shooting an annoyed look towards him. She was content that she was with an authority figure like Hinawa but she really didn't like that she was paired up with the quirky scientist.

However, Hinawa didn't seem to pay him any mind and Victor was unaware of her irritation; even more so since something just then grabbed his attention.

It sparkled by the charred grass near the chain-link fence. Licht assumed it was the embers at first but upon closer inspection, he found that it was actually some tiny dark crystal fragments.

"Well, hellooo there." he sang with intrigue as he knelt down.

He fished out a pair of tweezers and a small glass bottle from his person and then carefully picked up and deposited the fragments.

Hinawa took notice of Victor's activity and approached him.

"What've you got?" he asked.

With his Cheshire smile widened in excitement, Victor held the glass bottle before his eye and peered at the tiny fragments he found.

"I'm not quite sure but I'm itching to find out!"

Elsewhere, Obi and Shira had come upon a potential lead in the form of a ransacked convenience store. The scorch marks on the outside indicated the trail of destruction left behind by their quarry.

"An Infernal? Yeah, I saw it alright." the store owner who stood outside told them. "Chased me out of my own damn store before he started raiding the place!"

"You mean he was stealing things?" a surprised Obi asked.

"Sure was. And he spoke in English too! Told me to 'Beat it before he burns me a new one'!"

Both Fire Soldiers were stunned by this information; it was definitely far from normal Infernal behavior but it wasn't something they hadn't encountered before. In fact, they were immediately reminded of that one incident.

"Captain, you don't think…?" Shinra trailed off with trepidation.

"He's sentient." Obi confirmed that he was of the same mind. "Just like Miyamoto was."

A while back, when Shinra and Arthur were still rookies, there was the case of one Setsuo Miyamoto, a former firefighter turned psychotic killer. It was after his trial when he had combusted and transformed into an Infernal but unlike most of them, he was able to keep his consciousness and self-awareness. It it thought that those with a strong attachment to life or great willpower can retain their mind.

Obi found this particular situation worrisome; if the Infernal was sentient like they thought it was, then it would be difficult to predict its movements.

"I might have to call Hibana in on this one." he thought.

The Captain of Company 5, well known as Princess Hibana, would probably have better expertise with dealing with a sentient. After all, she had pretty much experimented and 'enslaved' Miyamoto to be one of her lapdogs untill Arthur finished him off for good.

"Sir, could you tell us what happened next?" Shinra asked the owner.

"Well, like I said, I was chased out. I hid nearby and waited to see if he'd leave. But when he didn't, I peeked inside to find that he was gone! Like he just disappeared!"

Obi just couldn't believe that since Infernals usually stick out like a sore thumb.

"Shinra, fly up and scout the area to see if you can find any trace of him."

"Right!"

Accepting his orders, Shinra blasted up into the sky and left Obi to probe the store owner for more information.

"Just out of curiosity, do you know what items did he actually take?" he inquired.

The store owner scratched his head in thought before answering.

"Um, a bunch of things actually. Floor cleaners, detergents, stain removers, insect repellent. Oh! And a radio and a small clock. Y'know, like a regular shopping list."

"What in the world would he want with those things?" Obi wondered.

As Obi mulled over that, the store owner released a heavy breath with both his eyes depressed into mere sloping weary lines.

"I guess I can't complain too much." he sighed. "At least, this isn't much of a loss compared to last time."

This immediately piqued Obi's attention.

"What do you mean? Has this happened before?"

Realizing what he just said, the owner quickly changed his tune and nervously waved his palms to and fro in dismissal.

"Oh, don't mind what I said! It's completely unrelated! It's just that…well, sometimes we get a little trouble here from time to time…and the damages can be a little excessive, that's all."

The Captain of the 8th slowly narrows his eyes as he turned fully towards the man.

"Are you talking about that gang of punks? They're still causing trouble in this neighborhood!?"

Seeing such a heated reaction from the seasoned Fire Soldier certain caught the owner off-guard but at the same time it also gave him a sense of deja vu. He leaned closer towards him, squinting his eyes.

"I thought you looked familiar. You're Obi-san, aren't you?" he asked.

Obi didn't respond; He wouldn't have time to anyway since at that moment, Shinra descended next to him to report.

"Nothing. No sign of him anywhere." Shinra said, sounding frustrated.

"Damn it! How does an Infernal up and disappear without even being noticed!?" Obi exclaimed in his mind as he ground his teeth.

He reminded himself that as the 8th's leader, he had to keep a cool head and so after calming himself, he raised a walkie-talkie to his lips to radio the rest of the Company.

"This is Captain Obi speaking, Shinra and I have uncovered information that our Infernal could be sentient."

Elsewhere, Maki was scouring one of the district's streets along with Vulcan who was behind her. The Aforementioned engineer was lugging a backpack-like metal container.

"…He's possibly smarter than we think so keep an eye out and stay on your guard."

"Roger and will do." Maki held up her own walkie-talkie and responded.

"Got it." Arthur's voice sounded from his end.

A loud thunk sounded behind Maki and she turned behind to see that Vulcan had unloaded the metal container. The lid popped open with a gush of smoke and from it, two long metal devices hovered outside.

"Now would be a good time to use the Tekkyo unit's Owl Eyes." Vulcan said.

"Okay, I just need a source."

"Allow me."

With a smile, Vulcan took out a simple barbecue lighter from inside his jacket and lit it.

"Why, thank you." Maki beamed at him like a ray of sunshine.

As a Second Generation Pyrokinetic, Maki is unable to produce her own flames and has to rely on outside sources to use her powers.

"Sputter, Flare, come on out you guys." she called out in a motherly fashion as her violet eyes glowed.

"Sputter, Sputter, Sputter, Sputter…"

"Fla~re! Fla~re! Fla~re!"

From the small lit flame of the barbecue lighter, emerged two blobs of fire with cartoonish faces, one with round white eyes and the other with angular fierce ones.

Maki then commanded Splutter and Flare to each take their positions in the miniature 'cockpits' of the two Tekkyo units and dispatched both of them to fly over the district.

The 'Owl Eyes' that Vulcan mentioned were in fact special cameras he installed on the underside of the units and the feed from those cameras were transmitted to a pair of headset visors which Maki and Vulcan equipped themselves with.

Vulcan was confident that this was their best method of finding that Infernal; not only were he and Maki covering more ground but the Owl Eyes also came installed with night vision and infrared functionality. If the Infernal was hiding from them, then it was only a matter of time before they spotted it.

However, that confidence began to dwindle as their search thus far ended up being fruitless.

"Anything on your end?" he asked

"Negative. You?"

"Zilch." he sighed as he removed his headset.

The mounting frustration along with the burning curiosity at the back of his mind caused him to sit on his haunches and groan loudly.

"Is something the matter?" Maki removed her own headset and looked at him with concern.

"It's that car!" Vulcan bewailed. "I can't get it out of my head. Who created it? Where did it even come from?"

Even though Vulcan didn't see the Batmobile for very long, he found himself being fascinated by the vehicle. Its craftsmanship appealed to him as an engineer and its bat-like design appealed to him as an animal lover and a punk rock enthusiast.

"You think maybe it's some secret project from Haijima Industries?" Maki asked him.

Vulcan scoffed at the very notion.

"No way. That thing is a work of art! I doubt they'd be able to design something THAT beautiful."

Maki couldn't help but giggle.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you sound like a guy who's in love." she said.

The red-haired engineer frowned and silently mused to himself.

"Maybe I am."

Meanwhile, Iris and Arthur weren't making much progress on their side of the search either as they found themselves trekking through the more seedier part of the neighborhood.

Within the narrow street, shredded pieces of paper litter danced in the wind and an array of cheap run-down love hotels walled them from both sides with only colorful garish neon lights illuminating their way.

Iris found herself both being in awe and unnerved at the same time, never seeing this side of the city before. She noticed that along with the litter, some of the buildings still bore scorch marks from previous fires. Being a devout follower, Iris wondered why did the Holy Temple allow this neighborhood to be left in such a state.

She was unaware that officially, the Holy Sol Temple adopted an unspoken 'hands-off' approach when it came to Uguisudani, particularly concerning the red light district. Unofficially, there was a much darker secret to why it was allowed to fester this way.

With tented hands, Iris silently prayed to Great Sol for protection for her and her companions. And on the subject of her companions, Iris opened her eyes to notice that Arthur was suddenly not by her side when she last saw him.

"A-Arthur-san?" she called, her voice slightly trembled in dread.

It only took a brief swivel of her sights to spot him standing transfixed by a store window, a store that happen to be selling sexy lingerie and adult magazines.

"Truly I have perished and ascended to Valhalla." Arthur mumbled with rosy cheeks.

Iris sharply pinched him from the side of his cheek and tugged him away.

"Arthur-san! Please stay focused! We still have a job to do!" she scolded.

After releasing him, Iris again took a look around with trepidation.

"Though, I don't know where could we start to look for that Infernal. Everything here to so…creepy."

When Arthur was done rubbing his cheek, he haughtily flipped the imaginary bangs on front of his head.

"Hmph. Fear not, Dear cleric, as Knight-King, I shall protect you."

"Alright, I'm counting on you." Iris gave him wry smile, knowing full well of his delusions yet appreciating the sentiment all the same.

However, both their attentions were suddenly drawn towards the end of the street when they heard the sound of a woman's cry from being hit.

The scene right there, by the gap between two buildings, confirmed their inkling: the woman in question was knocked down with a bruise on her cheek and huddled around her were a pack of young men dressed in a range of urban street wear and black jackets as would be expected from a gang of delinquents.

"You think you can work in our territory and not cut us a slice!?" one of them yelled at her.

"Please, I haven't got enough!" she sobbed in desperation.

Another of the gang crouched down towards to her, sporting a condescending sneer.

"Now that's not fair. We told you we'd protect you, didn't we? And this is how you repay us?"

The one who hit her reared back his hand again, prompting her to shirk back with arms held up.

"Looks to me that you need another reminder of our generosity!"

"Stop!"

The whole gang paused and looked to see Iris rushing towards until she stopped just a distance away with her wrist to her chest.

"Leave her alone, please!" Iris beseeched them.

They appeared taken aback by her appearance only briefly before their lips slowly curled into wolfish smiles as they began to circle around her like predatory hyenas, completely forgetting about their earlier prey.

"Hey, Hey, hey, looky he~re." whistled one of them.

"She's a real cutie." another of them crooned.

"And that nun getup is kinda sexy too."

Iris found herself caught at the center of their gazes, nervously flitting her eyes around as she brought her wrist and clenched hand closer to her chin.

"Um,…" was all she was able to mutter.

They stepped closer and leered over her.

"Hey Sister, why doncha come join us for a bit?"

"Yes. Bless us, dear sister!"

But just as they were about to reach for her, a flash of blue plasma narrowly slashed at them, causing them all to jump and scramble back with a start as they suddenly found Arthur standing in front of Iris with his Excalibur ready in hand.

"Step away, curs." he said dangerously to them.

"Yo, what the hell is this!? Who is this nut!?" a gang member balked.

From behind the gang of delinquents, one individual stepped out from leaning up against one of the buildings and came into view. He looked much older and more muscular compared to the rest of the young males, wearing a sleeveless black shirt with a funnel-like collar and a pair of cargo pants. The two most distinguishing things about him were his spiky cyan hair and a unique scar on his shoulder that had a radial spike shape like a star.

"Isn't it obvious from all that gear they're wearing?" he spoke with stern eyes. "He's with the Special Fire Force and one those Third Generation freaks."

"Aniki?" a gang member looked back at him with surprise.

It was pretty evident to Iris and Arthur that this man was the leader of the group. They remained on their guard as he walked up the Arthur, revealing that he was indeed a bit taller than the blonde Fire Soldier, while glaring him scornfully.

"You know, he could've easily just turned out to be an Infernal like everyone else but instead, he gets to be one of the blessed ones that 'Great' Sol shows mercy upon."

The cyan-haired man was referring to the fact that Infernals and both Second and Third Generations were victims of Spontaneous Human Combustion. The only difference was that Pyrokinetics somehow survive and adapt to the flames when being taken hold of them, manifesting their powers in the process.

Arthur remained silent at the man's contempt. Shinra had often said that Arthur liked to play himself off as the strong and silent type but in actuality, he was too stupid to say anything smart. In truth, Shinra wasn't too far from the mark. For at that moment, Arthur honestly had no idea what to say.

"Tell me, Sister." the gang leader addressed Iris. "If Sol is so great then why does HE get to be blessed with abilities while others suffer as an Infernal? What makes him so special, huh!?"

Reacting to his aggression, Arthur tightly gripped Excalibur's hilt and would've swung it at him had Iris not grabbed his arm.

"Arthur-san, don't!" she cried in alarm.

Iris knew that despite the situation, they would probably get into a lot of trouble for attacking them. And besides, she would rather things be settled without anyone getting hurt.

"Hehe, wanna kill me, huh? That what you want?" the leader chuckled before spreading his arms out in a beckoning manner.

"Go right ahead then. 'Least I don't get the chance to be taken by the flames and become an Infernal myself! That's how things works around here, everything to Sol is one big joke!"

"That's not true." Iris told him. "You can't lose faith now. I can't imagine what you must've gone through but I do know that everyone at Company 8 and all the other Companies are doing their best to find out the cause behind all th-"

"Spare me that crap!"

Iris clammed up, hearing him suddenly react in anger. Yet she maintained her grip on Arthur's arm as she felt him tense up in anger, coiled like spring with narrowed eyes and the plasma blade of Excalibur burning with intensity.

The cyan-haired leader of course not only looked furious but he also looked downright disgusted with them. His fellow delinquents stood behind him in tense postures as well, wondering what their 'Aniki' was going to do next, if he was actually going to pick a fight with a Pyrokinetic.

"Oi, you lot! We're leaving." he suddenly said with a huff and turned his back on them.

"I'm getting bored already. And as for you,…" he pointed at the downed woman who looked up with fearful eyes. "We'll be back tomorrow so don't think you're off the hook."

The rest of the gang sported surprised eyes as he pushed past them and was about to walk away.

"Um,…what about them, Aniki?" a gang member asked him while indicating towards the two Fire Soldiers.

Their leader only laughed.

"I wouldn't worry about them. They probably got bigger fishes to fry."

That was all he said as he walked off, leaving the rest of the gang to follow him. Iris knelt to tend to the woman while Arthur remained rooted on the spot, both their eyes looking on to the group's retreating forms.

At that same time, in a different part of the neighborhood, Shinra and Obi found themselves standing in front of a different store. But unlike the previous one, this one didn't bare the scorching signs of their missing Infernal but it looked far more damaged; all its windows were smashed, everything inside was ransacked and the exterior was defaced with graffiti. Obi knew right from the get go that a completely different party was responsible.

"Those Animals!" Obi growled.

His expression dropped when he noticed Shinra being taken aback by his sudden outburst.

"Oh, sorry. Guess I lost myself a little there." the Captain apologized while sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

He turned his sights back to the site of destruction as he explained himself to the young Fire Soldier.

"The guys who did this, they call themselves the 'Black Stars', a bunch of no-good punks. It's just hard for me to believe that after ten years, nothing has changed."

"You've been here before, sir?" Shinra asked.

Obi briefly smiled in a moment of reminiscing.

"Oh yeah, plenty of times during my time at the Fire Defense Agency. Back in those days, Uguisudani had the most cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion. It was like there wasn't a moment when this neighborhood wasn't ablaze."

Shinra could see Obi's brows drop and his tone turn somber.

"But it wasn't the fires or the Infernals that were the problem, it was what they left behind. Broken families, people living in fear, losing hope. It can make some of them do stupid careless things and before anyone realized it, crime on the streets was on the rise."

The young Fire Soldier felt his eyes widen and wondered why didn't the Tokyo Army do anything about the situation. But then Obi answered for him, as if he read his mind.

"As for the local law enforcement, let's just say that with everything else going on, a bunch of bad eggs wasn't high on their priority."

Obi then abruptly turned his head towards Shinra and addressed him fully.

"Hey Shinra, you told me you wanted to be Fire Soldier to keep people safe and to be a hero. Am I right?"

Shinra was of course caught off guard by the sudden question but nodded nonetheless.

"Ah, um, yes sir."

"I meant in when I said that our job in the 8th was to save lives. But keep in mind that as a Fire Soldier, your jurisdiction only allows so much."

With his arms crossed, the Captain of the 8th sighed wearily as he looked back towards the ruined store.

"Sometimes I wonder if being a hero and a Fire Soldier really are the same things."

Following the Captain's gaze, Shinra's own brows knitted and he felt anger and frustration welling up inside him.


He stood in a daze halfway on the staircase leading down to the basement, which itself was a small space and eerily vacant except for the lone worktable and chair.

"Wait,…when did I get a change of clothes?" he blinked, looked down on himself and asked.

Lynns found himself wearing a simple orange shirt and brown pants, and in both hands were two bags full of various things.

There was a vague recollection that he had stolen the bags' contents but for what purpose he couldn't remember.

"And where is this place? Have I been here before?"

Try as he might, he just couldn't remember. In an almost zombie-like manner, Lynns plodded down the stairs, dragging himself towards the table where he dumped the two bags on its surface before leaning over and propping himself with his arms.

"Urgh, everything is so fuzzy…" Lynns groaned as he rested on his elbows while threading his fingers through his scalp.

His headed pounded mercilessly and he felt sick to his stomach. He wanted to throw up but also felt like he wouldn't dare to; the rising bile in his throat burned like acid, in fact everything inside him felt like it burned.

Placing his palms back on the table, he pushed himself up and forced himself to take slow deep breaths to ease his discomfort and calm his mind enough to figure things out.

"Alright Garfield, think. I'm in a city that obviously ain't Gotham and I now have superpowers."

Lynns stepped back, held up his forearms to test it out, to make sure he didn't dream any of it. As if on command, his forearms turned black and was obediently engulfed in flames. The presence of the fire brought a comforting pleasure to him and he at last began to feel relief from his headache and nausea. Even the fog in mind cleared up a little.

"No Black Mask and no Batman." he realized. "That means I can have a fresh start! Like an artist with a whole new canvas."

His wild eyes were transfixed on his arm and he sported a wide grin as he clenched a fist.

"Not to mention a whole new brush."

But then he dismissed the flames and mused to himself.

"But what good is art if you don't share it with the world…or profit from it for that matter!"

Lynns looked towards the table and nodded to himself, as if hitting an epiphany and finally understanding his actions uptil now.

"Yeah, that's right. If I'm gonna make it big here, then I'll need a 'portfolio'. Something with that 'ol Firefly touch."

Wasting no time, Lynns sat himself down at the table and set himself to work, first emptying the contents of the bag. But seeing what items he had, brought a disappointed frown to his face.

"Is this junk really all I have to work with?" he grunted with exasperation before sighing. "Well, I guess it'll have to do, considering I managed with far less before."

Indeed he had. He remembered the time when he broke out of Blackgate using only the prison's cleaning supplies. That was one of the things that people often underestimated about Garfield Lynns: he wasn't just an expert in pyrotechnic engineering, he was a certifiable genius. One might even say that chemicals and explosives were like his first language.

He decided to first set himself to work by disassembling the radio and harvesting whatever circuitry and wires he could. Then he would use his own fire powers to "cook" an explosive mix from the household chemicals.

It would be crude but still effective.

But as he continued on with his project, he began to sweat from his temples and his migraine steadily throbbed again. He grunted and tried ignoring the pain while powering through his work but not only was it getting more incessant but there was a faint awful ringing noise in his ears.

Sweat dripping down his face, Lynns then resorted to seeking comfort in his own flames, hoping that sight of it would dull the ache but whatever pleasure he felt was quickly overtaken the growing feeling of sharp pikes digging into his brain.

Digging deeper and deeper. Ringing growing louder and louder. Pressure building until his vision started to blur and Lynns fell over backwards from his chair, clutching his head in agony.

He whined through clenched teeth, feeling something in his head slowly and painfully cracking like an egg shell, like his whole skull was about to burst open.

"GghnnnnnNNGHAAAAAAAARRGH! GOD! MAKE IT STOP!" he screamed.

And then, like it heard him, it stopped. Garfield was left on the floor panting in exhaustion, his head still moist with sweat and tingling from the sudden loss of pain.

Slowly, he picked himself up and shakily approached the table again while avoiding the fallen chair.

Then his eyes flew wide open.

"What the…!?"

The items on the table were all gone. In its place were a set of explosive devices which didn't look crude in the least. In fact, it looked like it was sophisticatedly created in a lab. From the smell, Garfield could tell it was napalm or some kind of variant. Whatever it was, it sure wasn't created from the materials he had just moments ago been working on.

"I don't remember making this, these are way more advanced than what I was going for! How did I even…?"

Lynns trailed off, being at loss for words for a whole minute, until his lips slowly stretched and curled up to display a toothy smile.

"Heh, Whatever. I'm sure as hell not gonna complain about getting more bang for my buck."

He grabbed on to one of the devices and gleefully cackled as he raised it in the air.

"HA!HA!HA!HA! And this city better get ready cause it's gonna be one hell of BANG!"


"Hn, this is a problem."

A lone individual grunted to himself as he stood atop of one of the many buildings in the city, this one in particular having a dome-like surface. The wind had kicked up, billowing his cape against the night sky, as well as threatening to blow off the newspaper that he had clutched in his hands.

He tried to glean whatever information he could from its pages but at that point, he felt it was redundant; this Tokyo was so radical different that it was pretty much a no-brainer to him that he was on another Earth somewhere in the remote reaches of the Multiverse. An Earth that apparently also has Metahumans in it, if that boy who pursued him earlier was any indication.

The only question now was how was he suppose to get back to his own Earth? A few ideas came to his mind.

Traversing between Earths was a matter of 'tuning' or 'matching' a particular Earth's vibrational frequency and luckily, he had already memorized the signature vibrational frequency of his own Earth. Theoretically it sounded simple enough on paper but to pull it off practically was a whole other ball game. The fact was that building a machine to do such a thing, in this unknown Earth with the limited resources he has, just didn't seem feasible.

This left another option to him: Send a signal or leave a trail for the Justice League to find him, he was sure that Clark or Barry would find a way to get to him. But like the earlier option, this was easier said than done. It was possible that the League was actively searching for him, Dick and Tim would've certainly contacted Clark but on the other hand, he could very well be presumed dead.

No matter how much he sliced it, he was pretty much going to be stuck here for a while.

"Definitely a problem." Batman grunted again as he discarded the newspaper, allowing its pages to scatter in the wind.

Glowing against the dark of night, the Tokyo Empire laid sprawled before his vantage and reminded him that regardless of his current situation, there was still the possibility of Firefly being out there somewhere.

There was no telling how dangerous the crazed arsonist could be but if he was the one who brought him here, then perhaps he was the key to return back. But where should he start looking?

"You already took everything! So let us go already!"

The Dark Knight's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a distressed cry from one of the streets below. His attention piqued, Batman quickly fired a grappling line and reeled himself to the side of another building where he see what was taking place.

His perch overlooked a dirty ally where trapped by its brick wall dead-end were a trio of older men forced to kneel down with their hands tied. Before them, were a pack of sadistic predators in the form of the street gang known as the 'Black Stars'. They leered at their prey with lax postures, each armed with various melee weapons like steel baseball bats, knives, bo staves and the like while one of them riffled through a stack of bills that were obviously pilfered.

"Is this really everything?" he asked coyly. "For a couple of guys having a night out on the town, you're all carrying pretty light."

Another of the boys, who was squatting casually next to the three victims, sneered while menacingly flicking out his switchblade towards them.

"Yeah! You holding out on us, old man?"

And at the center of the gang stood their same cyan-haired leader, the thumb of one hand in his cargo pockets and the other holding a cigarette to his mouth.

"Well, if they're not going give us proper tribute then maybe we should have some fun with them." he grinned after taking a drag. "To compensate."

The rest of his posse laughed and giggled in agreement, some smacking their weapons against their palms and intimidating their three captives even further, one of which was pushed to his limit and exclaimed out of desperation.

"For Sol's sake! What did we ever do to you!?"

This caused the whole gang to freeze up and steadily glance back towards their leader in a nervous fashion. The expression of the man in question was in a surprised state for a short moment before morphing into anger.

"For Sol's sake?" he echoed those words.

He suddenly crushed the cigarette into a made fist, shocking everyone around him in the process. His underlings scrambled away from him and the tied captives fell back on their rumps and scooted back as the enraged cyan haired man took a few marching steps towards them.

"FOR SOL'S SAKE!?" he yelled in outrage.

When he unclenched his hand at his side, the cigarette that was now crushed and snuffed out fell to the ground. If someone were happen to peek at his palms, they'd be perplexed to find that for some reason, the man's skin didn't burn.

"Alright, let's play a little game then." his lips unexpectedly curled.

The rest of the Black Stars remained still and watched their leader curiously as he about faced and walked toward their stash of things which they had kept at the other end of the alley. Among them happen to be a can of gasoline. In an abrupt act that caught everyone off-guard, he suddenly rushed back towards the three captives and kicked at them; knocking back one of them on their back before he maniacally began sloshing gasoline all over them, laughing as he did so.

"Eh-heh-heh-heh! Let's see if Great Sol saves you now!"

The three older men cried out in fear and pleaded at him in vain as he continued to douse them all. Even the rest of the Black Stars were taken aback by his intentions: Sure, they had no problem with threatening or doing bodily harm but actually killing someone? They weren't sure they were ready to face such heavy consequences.

Their cyan-haired leader tossed the gas can with panting breaths and then fished out his cigarette lighter and flicked a lit flame as he stood over his cowering victims. Too scared they were that they didn't notice that the irises of the man's eyes seemed to be getting lighter.

"You should be thanking me! We'll all returning to the Great Flame of Fire one way or another, I'm just shortening the way there!" he raved maliciously.

"H-hey, t-take it easy, Aniki. Isn't this going a little too far?" one of the gang members called out behind him.

But like a wild animal, he fiercely looked back and rounded on them.

"Shut up!"

Just as he spoke, a fast spinning sound cut through the air accompanied by a Batarang striking him hard against the lighter and his hand, effectively knocking it away and causing him to yelp.

This put the entire gang on alert and they looked up, following the source of the projectile, to see a black shape jetting over them with its flapping long cape casting a shadow over them as it passes by. In a split second, the horn-headed white-eyed shape landed behind them and the sight of it caused the younger gang members to reel and stumble back in shock.

"All of you get a hold of yourselves! He's just a guy!" the leader ordered them.

Hearing their Aniki seemed to have snapped some rationale into them and when they noticed that the shape was in fact a man, they recovered and surrounded him with their weapons ready.

"I don't know who you think you are, Asshole. But this is Black Star territory and if you think we're gonna allow some weirdo cosplayer to float in here as he pleases, you've got another thing coming."

Batman's stony expression didn't shift in the slightest and behind his white lenses, his eyes shifted around to count their numbers.

It seemed that there were about twelve of them, each armed to the teeth.

Unfair odds indeed.

For them.


To say that Shinra Kusakabe was furious would be an understatement. The sharp-toothed lad laid atop of his bunk with his arms crossed behind his head and his crimson eyes glaring into nothingness. While beneath, on the bottom bunk, Arthur had already drifted off to sleep.

It had been two hours since Company 8 returned to the Fire Cathedral and needless to say, their search in Uguisudani turned out to be fruitless. But as worrying as it was about the possibility of a sentient Infernal being at large, Obi and Hinawa considered that it was also possible that it was just a false alarm or some sick prank.

Nonetheless, Obi went straight to his office to make the call to Hibana as well as prepare for the inevitable paperwork while Licht made a beeline to his personal lab and shut himself off for the rest of the night. Hinawa told everyone that Licht was probably analyzing whatever it was he discovered at the scene and it'd be best that they all just leave him be.

It was later at dinnertime when Iris and Arthur recounted their encounter with the 'Black Stars' and that only aggravated Shinra's already boiling anger and his restlessness had been plaguing him throughout the night.

Growling through his bared teeth, Shinra resorted to slamming his fist against the nearby wall. He didn't expect to throw all his strength into it and almost flinched from the sound he made and the dent he left on the wall. He was afraid that he might've woke everyone up in the Cathedral but much to his surprise, only Arthur reacted with a snore and a groggy mumble.

"Zzz…Come back and fight, pantsy. Tis only a scratch…"

Shinra rolled his eyes and waited to see if there were signs of anyone else waking up and coming to check on him. When it seemed that the coast was clear, Shinra pushed himself off the bed with a grunt, figuring that he needed some air.

After changing back into his standard issue orange jumpsuit, Shinra quietly made his way up to the Cathedral's roof where he rested his arms over the railing while taking in the night air.

As he exhaled, the fires of his past reared up in his mind again. It was back from when he was a child, when he woke up to find his home ablaze with a large Demon Infernal inside whom he had only recently learned was his own mother.

In way, his rage stemmed back from then; from the misplaced hatred he felt towards the creature to all the jeers and accusations from everyone around him, labeling him as a 'devil' who killed his own family. Indeed, he was aware that the raging inferno in his heart never quite left him.

And now, he felt that inferno being stoked more and more. It wasn't just because of the Black Stars and how they treated Iris but more about what Obi told him. How could he keep his promise to his mother about becoming a hero when his job as a Fire Soldier limited him?

Plus it wasn't just that either; he had also realized that it was most likely that the White-Clad was responsible for the situation in Uguisudani. If their objective was to sow the seeds of despair, then it looked like they were winning.

"They're winning…" Shinra thought angrily.

One again his pointed teeth grit ferociously and he growled with clenched fists until in an impulsive fit, he lept up while igniting the soles of his feet, blasting off at an intense speed towards a certain direction.

"DAMN THEM ALL!"

The winds whipped through his hair as he approached Uguisudani, both Company 8th's Fire Cathedral and any thought of the consequences drifting far behind him. He slowed his velocity when he was over the district and scanned the streets below, the only thing that was on the forefront of his mind was giving those hoodlums a piece of his mind.

Shinra suddenly stopped and pointed his feet downwards to hover. He certainly found what he was looking for, but not in the way he expected.

"Whoa, what's happening down there?" he asked aloud with astonished eyes.

Obviously the first thing he noticed down there was none other than the mysterious black caped man he had seen twice already, who was currently engaged in combat with a group of street thugs.

They all came at him without mercy, two and even three attacking him simultaneously from every possible angle, but none of them were able to land a hit on him as he effortlessly dodged or blocked their attacks before disarming and counter-attacking with his own brutal ferocity. Despite all that armor, he literally glided across the battlefield with his scalloped cape flowing fluidly along his movement; bounding from one enemy to another with powerful strikes and kicks.

Shinra was amazed at how easy the masked man made it look.

As a matter a fact, Batman knew he could've taken them all out a lot quicker, these boys were strong but undisciplined. But he also felt thay he needed to drag this out as long as possible, allowing the downed gang members to recover and rejoin the fray. They didn't know how to fear him on this Earth, so he was going to have to teach them the hard way.

Inevitably, their unconscious bodies began to litter the street and their numbers gradually whittled away. But just as he finished off the last of the gang members, Batman noticed from the corner of his eye something fast and burning plummeting towards him from a height behind him.

He reacted quickly, jumping back from a set of long and thick links of fiery chains being whipped at the ground where he stood, exploding upon impact and spewing a fountain of embers.

As Batman landed in a crouch, with the ends of his cape splaying across the ground, he oriented his sights towards the source and to his surprise, the chains reared themselves in the air like sentient serpents while the other ends floated and coiled around a certain cyan-haired individual. It was only then when he realized that the chains themselves weren't made of metal but were fiery constructs conjured by this person.

"Another Metahuman?" Batman wondered.

One of the downed gang members stirred with a groan from the beat down he had received. But it was all forgotten once he noticed his leader and balked in shock. It was an Ignition Ability!

"A-Aniki!? You're…you're a Third Generation!?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" the leader snapped at him before again whipping a chain towards Batman.

The Dark Knight was able to swerve and duck out the way from the lashing glowing hot constructs. However, the chains only seemed to extend longer and longer like there was no end to their lenght. He certainly didn't anticipate facing off so soon with a Metahuman…or rather a "Third Generation", whatever that was.

He was quickly running out of options as the chains rapidly hounded after him while also surrounding him and before long, both chains managed to bind around his upper body. Batman grit his teeth and struggled; wisps of smoke trailed as the coiled chains tried to burn through him but luckily, the Salamander suit was able to hold out against the heat.

The only problem was that, while the suit can take a couple of hits from the likes of someone like Bane, it wasn't designed with durability in mind and he wasn't sure how long it would last.

Nonetheless, he still adamantly rooted his feet on the spot and resisted being tugged by the Pyrokinetic, who pulled on the chains to rip him from his spot.

"You're a tough son of bitch, I'll give you that." he said, grunting as he pulled. "But it's gonna take more than that to-GHURGH!"

The man cried out when something shot at him straight from the sky and kicked him hard in the face, sending him flying back and rolling over the ground like a rag-doll. His rolling eventually stopped before he steadily picked himself up, a visible bruise marred his face and his teeth bared in a snarl as he reactivated his Ignition Ability, summoning more chains that reared itself to strike.

Batman found himself freed since the constructs dissipated after their conjurer got kicked and immediately took notice of the newcomer who had landed in front of him.

Although he wasn't exactly anyone new. Despite that the person's back was turned and was crouched with his feet wide apart, Batman recognized him as the young black-haired Metahuman who had pursued him earlier.

Shinra's sharp-tooth grin stretched across his face as he crouched in the most super-heroic pose he could, smoke spewing from under his feet and he readied himself for action.

"Just call me…COMING-OUTTA-NOWHERE MAN!" he declared.

TBC