The firing needles made of soul energy soared through the air like random directions of rain, filling the early morning with a horrid screech. A pale light continued to grow through the trees, framing the frantic leaves in a holy outline. "How disruptive!" Daniel's foe screeched, blocking all the waves of needles expertly as they came to her. Thin, glowing spikes fell to the floor limply as they were flung in every direction when they made contact with the spinning, red disk. They struck through the ground like lightning and stayed there, glimmering in the growing sunlight. The empty field soon became filled with prickle. "Is that all you've got?" their opponent asked, the red disk slowing its rotation as the red glow of it died out. "How disappointing."
Fumes? Daniel noticed. She releases fumes when her disks spin…This is taking longer than it should, Daniel thought as he rushed through the trees to his teammates again, asking for their help once more. Soon he found himself by Teresa's side, whispering lightly into her ear. "Teresa," he spoke in undertone. She remained still, as if not acknowledging his presence. Yet, Daniel knew she was paying close attention. "I need you to make another force field with a fourteen meter diameter. Can you do that?" Daniel murmured lightly. He had a feeling Teresa didn't even want to speak to him now. She seemed different than everyone else who was a Minor. Well, the one who stood out the most, anyway. She gave such an eerie, different vibe.
She nodded her head slightly, and closed her eyes, focusing her energy. Daniel smiled thankfully, a grin that soon wore off. He paid his attention close to the field again, the needles fading away slowly, appearing and reappearing in the very, very faint sunlight. Purple wisps in the air began to grow and thicken, the sound of hardening filling the brisk air. "Oh?" their opponent murmured. "What's this?" she spoke lightly to herself, a challenged grin extending across her lips.
The wisps crackled as they grew in the air, wrapping around the female from far away, slicing the dirt as they surfaced. The opponent seemed to look around confusedly, yet at the same time excitedly. You could tell panic was showing in her eyes as the tension grew in Daniel's. As he watched the churning violet swim through the air, a bead of nervous sweat desperately clung to his chin. He swallowed hard, sending the knot in his throat to the pit in his stomach. He feared of the damage that would take place during the expansion of the force field. The beady perspiration that clung to his chin fell weakly downward, no longer able to hold on to the tip of Daniel's chin. The drop fell with a plop against the weedy grass, and seemingly at the same time, a loud explosion was heard.
Daniel's eyes went wide with rising tension as the violet field expanded and pushed back the many trees. "What's going on?" their antagonist shouted with a grin. "Lost your sense of direction?" That gave Daniel an idea that suddenly came to mind. As the field finished expanding, Daniel whispered in Teresa's ear again.
"Close in on her," he commanded lightly. His voice seemed to become monotone; not his. Teresa gulped. And kill another person? She thought to herself, her eyes open with fear. What should she do? No, snap out of it! My life began with death since who knows when. Even more entered it when I found out I was a Minor. Why should this be any different? She found her hands trembling at her side, still pretty much unsure of what to do. "What's wrong?" Daniel seemed to chant into her ear, background music to her thoughts that were shaken by his voice. She squinted hard, her eyelids trembling as well in a kind of fear and panic. She needed to convince herself even further. It's true that I want to pay the debt that I caused for myself when I killed those people by accident back at the mental institute… But they were innocent! They didn't deserve death! Teresa's thoughts reined more throughout her head as tears wet the dirt ground in tiny specks of puddles. This person… she'll kill us! And if I don't kill her first, we'll die right here right now, and I won't ever get to pay my debt. Yeah, that's it, she thought regaining her confidence as she reopened her eyes, purple energy filling her all ready violet pupils.
With a hard, newly fixed glare, the force field began to close in like a threatening wall, trying to crush the rival. It seemed to have trouble moving, as if something were blocking it from the inside. "What?" Kenneth whispered to himself, keeping his voice low. His frosty eyes glimmered in awe. As Teresa felt the Half Spirit's energy become overtaking inside her, her eyes glowed with a higher level of purple, the neon violet unnatural. Her teeth were tightly grit like a hungry beast, a hateful purple wrapped around her wildly. Just as I thought, Daniel narrowed his eyes.
"Something like that isn't going to work!" the antagonist snapped, smiling as she watched the force field tremble violently, as if it were about to explode. Suddenly, a red energy began to trace behind the walls of the force field, as if another wall fighting back. Their foe smirked evilly.
"Why can't I…?" Teresa spoke through gritted teeth angrily. Her features tightened, she poured energy into the force field. Violet built an aura around her as the force field seemed to struggle more than before. So that's how her voice sounds like, Daniel smiled. Turning back to the battle, the force field shook horridly and dangerously, until finally, cracks soon spread all over it and was heard, piercing through the brisk morning. Kenneth caught his breath in his throat. Daniel took a sharp gasp. The opponent smiled.
The cracks consumed the purple force field and kept it in place, taking away all its energy. The red energy that had fought with it spilled through the cracks, like deadly fumes of power. The fumes spread the cracks out even more, and soon, shards of blistering purple fell to the ground, dispersing into thin air before they even touched the dirt surfaces. Kenneth gulped. So she was able to defeat even our strongest defense, Daniel noted. It's just as I thought.
As the light dust cleared and the purple completed dispersing, Daniel rose from his place, standing on his feet again. He walked out of the forest, and as soon as he entered the barren field they had built around Teresa, their opponent seemed to notice him. She took a sharp gasp as she turned her head, giving the Minor a hard stare. "Daniel, what're you doing?" Kenneth muttered, trying to call out to him. It was too late. He had all ready gone too far into the field. Their foe kept a cautious look, careful to block anything that might happen.
What is he thinking? Teresa thought. Is he really that stupid to confront her head on like that? "What do you want?" their rival asked, holding up the metallic disk before her, the humming tool beginning to spin wildly again. Red fumes released into the air yet again. Daniel continued walking, his steps seemingly weak, his arms dragging at his shoulders with his eyes hard on the floor, as if he were in shame.
He looked up slowly as he found himself only a few feet away from her. His green eyes cat-like, he locked stares with the opponent. She tightened her features as she readied her stance. Kenneth seemed uneasy behind that same old tree. "This battle's become way too hard," Daniel piqued. His words seemed to surprise everyone. The foe seemed to let down her guard, somewhat, her eyes going wide with surprise. "No matter how hard I think, I can't make up a good solution. I'd rather just die right now," Daniel explained.
"What? Are you crazy?" Kenneth screamed. His voice echoed through the barren area. "You can't give up now!" he yelled to his brother.
"Shut up!" Daniel snapped loudly, turning back to glare at his brother with hardcore, emerald eyes. Damn it… Kenneth thought, tightening his fist. What is he thinking?
No, that's not it… Teresa realized, watching closely. Her violet eyes twinkled as the sun faintly spilled on them. Her breathing picked up just by a tiny scale. "Oh?" the foe piqued. "Is that so?" she scoffed. "I knew you'd come crawling out like a rat asking for death sooner or later. It's about time!" she said, pulling back the spinning disk in the air before Daniel, her eyes widening in a panic of excitement. "Die, rat!" she cried out as she let her arm come down on the Minor. Daniel, head bowed heavy on the floor, waited for death. Seconds later, a horrid screech was heard, and blood went flying sprouting through the air, followed by a loud, moaning cry.
PoVS
"It's about time we left," Mark said, staring up at the fading stars. "The sky's getting brighter. At this rate, we'll have an advantage. We should get going now," he said, pacing back to the dying fire. Wisps of white smoke danced in the air with each other, having the time of their lives. Eric sat solemnly on a wooden stump, watching the twirling wisps rise slowly into the air.
"Yeah," Eric muttered, getting up, taking his mind off of the entertaining smoke. His brown eyes twinkled as he smiled. "Walter, let's go," he called out to the last teammate to get ready.
"Got it," Walter murmured as he slid out of the trees, taking silent steps toward his two teammates. "Just taking a look around the forest for one last time to check for any chances of pursuers," he excused himself as he approached the two. His brown eyes were always as narrow and concealing as ever.
"I see," Eric said reasonably, his friendly eyes peering to the rest of the forest that awaited them. "Well, we should get going," Eric suggested. They were the farthest away from sunrise, yet it still somehow reached them. "We'll have to leave everything here."
"Yeah, yeah," Walter brushed off his words, implying that he knew it all ready. "Let's just go," he said, rushing headfirst into the towering trees. He set foot on one of the branches high in the sky. "You guys coming or are you going to slow me down?" Walter asked seriously.
Eric scoffed with a smile. "Yeah, yeah, we're coming," he said finally, zooming off to the branches as well, soon followed by Mark. The team soon found themselves rushing through the trees, gliding easily through the light breezes that brushed against their faces.
Back at the camp, a pair of dark, pained eyes watched them run away into the foresting, dead trees. Darkness surrounded the mean, beckoning gaze as a hand picked up the axe from the floor at the campsite. White smoke continued to swim upward into the air, but this time, they didn't seem to have as much fun anymore. They dance had sorrowfully ended, and now they awaited their death for when the wind picked up, they would be brushed away, forgotten. The hand was discolored as it silently picked the axe up from the floor, the axe that Eric had used to chop the wood that he "found." The grayish- brown skin was eerie as it crept back into the darkness, the last bits of sunlight the axe got shimmering off it. "I'll take this back," a whispering, demonic voice sounded as a horrid swing and crack pierced the dewy air, followed by a washing pile of blood into the air like cannons had sent it, falling limply in a puddle to the floor. The eyes winced as they washed away the pain. "Why must prey always run away?" the voice muttered eerily and deeply.
Behind the eyes was a figure silhouetted in darkness, its back against a tree with dead, gray-green leaves. Two dark heads were connected to one body with their arms crossed in front of their chest. Its voice scoffed. "So… are you going to let me have fun first this time?" the voice asked, not creepy enough to match that of the first one's. A dreadful smile showed inside the darkness.
"Do as you wish," the stronger voice murmured, its eyes piercing through the forest, somehow still seeing the three Minors after they had long gone.
The other voice scoffed again. "Good," it began. "I was wondering when you would give me a chance to play."
PoVS
Derek thought carefully as hard as he could with the hot, blazing sunlight all over his body. It was overwhelming, and he knew that soon he would become dehydrated and shimmer away, as well as his teammates. I can't just let this girl win… Derek told himself over and over again. It was hard to concentrate with the heat on his body. At this rate, I can't enter the Darkness due to the loss of Half Spirit energy. I only have enough for a few more minor attacks left. Damn it. That sand… Derek remembered the sand on the glass shards that had just risen from the ground before when she had attacked them, and the same sand that caked the glass panes that magnified the sun's energy… and that scratch I made on the glass. If it's supposedly harder than diamond, then it wouldn't make a tiny scratch. But if I bet if I try now, the rock would break. In that case…
"I'm getting cooked," Zack said stubbornly. His voice was hard to hear over the shaking air. He sat uncomfortably with his arms crossed in front of him, his eyebrows twitching as he sat cross legged on the floor. Sweat rolled down his cheeks and his skin was burning like wild fire.
Dylan sat uneasily as well, fumbling with his feet. Damn it… he thought. There's not enough water sources underground for my roots to reach it… I can't escape getting dehydrated. Sweat piled on the tip of his nose until finally plopping to the floor. It's like even my sweat evaporates once it leaves my skin.
Outside the glass prison, Kyou kneeled on the floor, crying out in pain while the glass shards continued to build the rest of her forearm. The pain is getting more and more intense as it reaches completion, she realized. Damn that black haired kid! How could he do so much damage to me? I can't wait until he gets his head burned off. Damn this pain…! Damn it to hell! She cried out angrily in her mind as she winced at the overwhelming pain, her teeth tightly grit in restraint. Dreadful cries kept coming from her mouth as she paid not the least bit attention to the glass cage, hoping that it would do the rest of the job for her.
Sand… sand… sand… Derek repeated the word over and over again in his mind as his eyes were tightly closed, seeing nothing but redness as the intense sunlight pierced even the darkness of his eyelids. It seemed to burn his eyes and the redness got hot. Suddenly, an idea to end the whole thing flashed in his mind like something had just been dropped and given to him. He opened his eyes wide in realization, having to close them back because of the intense sunlight a second later. That's it! he realized. I can't believe I couldn't' see that before! "Guys," he called out to his teammates. They acknowledged his voice and peered to him as hard as they could without burning their eyes out.
"What is it?" Dylan muttered weakly, swallowing hard. His mouth was becoming dry and it was beginning to get harder and harder to breathe. He rubbed his eyes as one side of his face began to get the sunburn of his life.
"I think I know a way out of here," Derek informed them. He could see the excitement grow on the two chatter-heads. "But," he shut them up quickly, raising a finger, closing his eyes mockingly. "I need your help."
"Yeah, yeah, anything," Zack agreed, the hyper energy beginning to build in his eyes. He clenched his fists in front of him to show his willing. Derek smiled, something he would never do, especially at Zack. It wasn't that he was depressed or anything. It was just, it wasn't his style to smile so much. He always let himself be calm and cool headed.
"Good to hear that," Derek opened his eyes at the Wind Minor. Zack stared at him with empty-thought eyes. "I need you to make as much intense wind as possible inside this pyramid and try to blow these walls away," Derek informed. Zack smiled in agreement.
"Wait a minute!" Dylan choked out, protesting against the plan. He held up a hand in front of Derek, indicating to wait for him to say something. "Shouldn't we think of a better plan instead of using this one? It seems too simple and I doubt that wind will push away the glass walls. Don't you think our opponent would build her glass better than something that would be easily blown away?" Derek pointed out, letting all his thoughts out in one run.
"Yes, actually I do," Derek told the Botany Minor, his element's exact opposite considering how he could control light. Derek squinted hard at Dylan, getting closer. Dylan widened his stare, even more confused than before. "But, it takes a while for the glass to become harder than diamond and denser than steel. All kinds of glass have to start somewhere when they're created," Derek pointed out, regaining the confidence and excitement in Zack, who was just waiting for if he should make the wind or not. "Sand is one of those somewheres," Derek pointed out, staring hard without a smile at Zack. That indicated that he should start the winds. And he obediently did.
"All right!" Zack shouted with a burst of energy, putting his arms out at his side. Dylan kept his unsure look painted across his face. Closing his eyes and locking his teeth, Zack sent out waves of air blowing in every direction possible, the cooling, intense breezes breathing across his teammate's faces. He stood in the middle of the pyramid, and the glass walls began to shudder at the wind.
The cool wind brushed against Dylan and Derek, giving comfort to their hot, sweating faces. Their clothes fluttered violently as the winds intensified, and they were forced to hold a hand up to protect their faces, closing their eyes just in case. The diverging winds increased in magnitude, and Zack's clothes fluttered violently as well, the magnifying glass surrounding them shuddering even more. His hair began to dance above him as a white aura leaked out of Zack's body and surrounded him in an outline at first, then thickening later. "I'm not done yet!" Zack cried out in building energy as he made the winds blow faster and higher.
This guy… Derek thought as he watched Zack go at it. He still has this much energy after being burned by the sun and getting close to dehydration? His stamina must be off the charts… The glass panes shook and shook as the wind pushed and pushed at them, and suddenly, specks of sand began to show on the surface of the glass. It's working! Derek noticed. The sand continued to appear and seemed to replace the glass, and slowly the team began to feel the coolness return to their bodies. The glass was enveloped in the sand eventually, and the driving winds blew them away into every direction, specks of sand defeated by the forcing winds.
The winds slowly began to calm as the last bits of glass became a particle of sand. The three teammates began to calm down as well as the normal briskness of the way early morning surrounded them, comforting them in a well deserved blanket. Zack began to breathe hard after all his hard work, his head weakly bowed at the ground. Is he all right…? Derek thought in his mind. Did I push him too far? His arm remained in front of him, as if expecting more intense winds.
As if answering Derek's question, Zack peered up barely, still taking those heavy, immense breaths. Zack smiled at Derek, a smirking grin with his eyes narrowed coolly; sweat still covering his face like a mask that wouldn't come off. Derek smiled slightly as he narrowed his eyes coolly. This guy can be really amazing, Derek thought, his small smile barely seen.
"Damn it!" Kyou cried out. The team immediately turned their attention to her. "Whatever," she scoffed. "It doesn't matter if you broke out of my cage or not," she began. Derek took a sharp gasp as he realized what was different about her. "You guys die, right here, right now!" she growled evilly, her appearance more demonic than before, her eyes wide with her pupil dilated to half its original size, giving it a deviancy that could never be identified.