Hola Motherhopers. Here's another installment to "La Lune". Enjoy.
As I topple another building and fight off a ground-based defense, all CJzilla has to roar is this: R&R MOTHERHOPERS! Flame, fluff, don't care... You know how I do...
With a wave of her hand, Irma shot another pillar of water toward Frost. Hitting the elfin mercenary square in the chest, he was shot off of his feet. With another twist of her body, Irma redirected her water and Frost was slammed to the ground like a flat basketball. Calling out, the water came back to her side. The Water Guardian spun around. Nerissa had silently watched with that wicked grin still on her face. Irma growled.
"You messed with the wrong guardian you nasty hag!" Irma blasted, weaving the water in the air.
Still the witch's grin grew into a twisted smile.
"Anger is not a guardian quality, Water Guardian," evil lighting Nerissa's dead eyes.
Irma growled.
"If you want to take your last breaths talking, then by all means, keep talking," the teen snarled.
With a clap of her hands, the water at her side moved to her whim. A ribbon of razor-sharp water shot straight for the female warlock, aimed to take her head off. Nerissa merely blinked and with a hiss, the stream of water dissolved into the air. Irma drew her head back in surprise. Summoning more water from her body, the Water Guardian held out her hand. Water bled from her body and formed a ball in her palm.
"Dodge this witch!" Irma gnarled.
The Water Guardian pointed her finger at Nerissa and with a thought, shot the orb of liquid at her. Nerissa raised her staff. The bottom of her staff magically caught the ball of thick water. With a flick of the witch's wrist, the dark woman spun her rod and boomeranged the ball of condensed water back at Irma. Seeing her attack coming back at her, Irma held out her hands. The sphere of water hit her palms with such force made Irma loose her footing. Wearing heels didn't help as the Water Guardian stumbled back. Regaining her balance, water dripped off of Irma's arms as she shook the pain from her hands.
"Pathetic Water Guardian," Nerissa hissed on a laugh.
Irma gritted her teeth and placed herself firmly on the ground. Calling out for more water, the Water Guardian bled more from her body. Moisture drained from Irma's body as it formed a surge of water.
"Eat this!" the Water Guardian spat.
Pitching the upsurge with all over her might, the wave of water hit the witch dead on. Water exploded in all directions, blinding all sight for a second. Irma felt spray on her face and she smiled. That would have killed anything.
"Paltry at best Water Guardian," Irma heard Nerissa's voice.
Opening her eyes, the Water Guardian couldn't believe what she saw. The witch still stood, courtesy of a black magic force-field. As harmless droplets of water fell from the air, Nerissa's shield dissipated. In what resembled rain, water fell from the ceiling and wet Irma's body. The cold water seemed to lose its bite as the Water Guardian's temper shot through the roof.
"You just killed yourself," Irma hissed in a seething rage.
Snarling with anger, Irma called out to the water around her. The moisture was sucked out of the air and formed liquid gloves over her hands. The water over Irma's arms formed liquid hammers. The Water Guardian dove at Nerissa, swinging the water hammers like she had lost her mind. Nerissa simply sidestepped. At the last second Irma formed her water mallets into long knives. And the tip of an edge of a blade caught Nerissa across the cheek. Throwing her blades to the ground, Irma did a handstand-flip so that she was now facing the witch.
But Nerissa still had an amused smile even when she wiped her red vital juice off of her face. She chuckled as she smeared the blood over her pale hand.
"You drew blood," Nerissa at her. "Is that entirely the Guardians way?"
"It's my way Nerissa!" Irma barked back. "You leave now, or there will be a whole lot more of your inner juices on this floor!"
Nerissa smiled at her. Before her eyes Irma saw the score on the witch's face heal. Even though he was a dark being, Irma had never seen Nerissa regenerate before.
"That's going to be a problem," Nerissa told her. "I don't bleed very easy."
Irma gritted her teeth as she formed water wrecking balls on her hands.
"Then let's see how well you heal broken bones," she threatened.
Irma charged her and her opponent sidestepped once again. But the Water Guardian was ready. Irma counteracted the witch's move with a head-butt. Nerissa went stumbling back, giving Irma a chance to swing. She threw her wrecking ball fists into her chest and stomach, driving her further and further in reverse. Finally Nerissa fell to her back. Pity and good sportsmanship was furthest from Irma's mind. She kept pummeling the witch.
"You will not get the chance to destroy the Guardians if you're dead Nerissa!" Irma blasted, lifting one dense water ball and slamming it into the witch's body only to drop another and another on her again.
When it seemed that she had the upper hand, Irma was blown into the air by something that numbed her mind. The Water Guardian's rag-doll body fell to the ground. She knew she landed because she felt the impact. Images swirled and incoherent voices bombarded her head. In a moment, life cleared enough for Irma to see Nerissa stand from the crater she left her in.
The witch hovered in the air once more and glided on a black magic wind without hindrance. When the smiley Nerissa neared her, Irma was now quickly coming back to reality.
"I am not some trivial opponent that can be done away with so easily, Water Guardian," Nerissa told her.
In one last attempt to save herself from the witch, Irma formed a small but dense ball of water. With her remaining strength, she used her mind to shoot it at Nerissa. It struck the witch in the forehead. Nerissa's head jerked back. Stumbling, the witch soon regained her footing. Whipping the water from her forehead, the witch caught Irma beginning to stand. Wobbly though she was in those high-heels, Irma lifted her head and a malicious smile was seen.
"This is far from over you moldy old woman," the Water Guardian's words were dripping with so much evil, it would make a certain dark prince envious. "Your death wish… is granted."
Nerissa's eyes widened in shock as Irma stood straight. Calling out to the water in the cave with a wave of both of her hands, the Water Guardian formed two liquid blades and threw them at the witch. Nerissa barely had time to throw up a black magic shield before the water met her. Nerissa growled out of pain as water sprinkled down-wards from the air.
"Frost!" the witch barked out standing. "Restrain her!"
Irma had forgotten about the elfin mercenary and again, she felt the merc's muscular arms around her frame. All she could do was squirm, her last attack sucking out all of her energy. Nerissa neared, her angry frown cleaned off of her face; the witch smiled menacingly.
"You are powerful," Nerissa voiced as Irma writhed in Frost's grip. "Your aura will make an excellent addition to my power. You are weak and very easy to absorb."
Nerissa lashed out and grabbed the Water Guardian's throat. Nerissa held out a hand to her eye-level and Irma saw the witch's hands glowing with hungry dark magic. Nerissa brought her cold lips to Irma's ear.
"So with the power I absorb from you," the witch whispered. "I will kill each of the rest of the Guardians and take my place as ruler of Meridian."
In an instant, Irma's energy was then being sucked from her body and into Nerissa's hand that was clasped around her neck. But the Water Guardian resisted, kicking and struggling. Irma could feel her powers fading.
"Keep struggling you little wench!" Nerissa hissed. "You'll burn yourself out faster."
With her body growing heavier and weaker by the second, Irma managed to give a scream. There was no way anyone could hear her.
Blackness was beginning to settle over Irma's mind. Darkness was all around her. It choked her, trying to absorb Irma's life into its void of nothingness. It rioted and fought to devour her. She could not get free, no matter how hard she resisted. Irma was being pulled further and further into darkness. Just when she thought she was going to be consumed, Irma heard it.
"IRMA!" it was Will's voice through the blackness.
Will was here! She had to help Will! Irma kicked, clawed and fought to get away from the darkness.
Following her senses to where they told her that Irma was, the Guardian of the Heart flew into a cave. Feeling like Irma's "signal" was fading into oblivion, Will shot into the dark cave, not knowing what lie beyond her effervescent light. Then the darkness gave way to a candle-lit cavern. As water dripped from the soaked ceiling, the Heart Guardian knew Irma wasn't too far. Zipping into the center of the cavern, Will felt Irma's presence strongly. Whipping her head in all directions, it wasn't until the Heart Guardian craned her head around to the left.
Will saw Irma's limp body clasped in the arms of Frost while Nerissa held her throat. Will saw Irma's aura rapidly weaken, and she knew her friend to be closer to death than she wanted anyone to know.
The Guardian of the Heart acted instantaneously.
"IRMA!" Will cried out, shooting a blast of lighting.
The lightning shot through the air in what seemed like an eternity as the Water Guardian's life faded. Then light exploded, illuminating the dark cave as it stuck Frost. The mercenary gave a hiss of pain as he fell to the floor, Irma still in his arms. Nerissa whirled around, her hand smoking from the Water Guardian's drained energy.
"Guardian!" the witch's eyes were wide in shock. "HOW?!"
With a wave of her arms, gathering all the electricity from the air, Will threw another lightning bolt at Nerissa. The powerful blast hit the witch square on the chest and Nerissa she flew into a dark corner of the cavern.
The Guardian of the Heart flew as fast as she could to Irma's side. Heaving unconscious Frost's arms off of Irma's frame, Will pulled her friend away from the mercenary.
"Irma?! Irma?!" Will felt for her pulse.
There was a pulse in the Water Guardian's body, just weakly her heart moved. But Will watched Irma's aura weaken further.
"Irma! Don't Irma!" Will commanded, trying to revive her. "I know you're still in there! Irma!"
Will tapped Irma's cheeks, slapped her wrist and flicked her ears, something that she hated, in an effort to bring her back. By that time Taranee, Hay Lin and Lord Cedric caught up and flew to the cavern. Hay Lin and Taranee's eyes combed over the room before they spotted Will over Irma.
"Will!" Taranee called out, zipping through the air and over to her friends.
Hay Lin followed quietly but just as quickly. Both Guardians landed as Cedric morphed from an eagle form back into his human form. They stood next to Will and Irma. Then Taranee's eyes widened as Hay Lin gave a horrified shriek.
"NO!" the Wind Guardian fell to her knees as she saw her best friend's aura barely glowing. "Irma! NO Irma!"
But Hay Lin couldn't touch Irma, for fear that she was all ready dead. The Wind Guardian began sobbing. Fear gripped Cedric when he saw the lifelessness in Irma's breathing. Taranee crouched next to Irma's limp body.
"Will! Activate Irma's transformation!" the Fire Guardian hurried, fear lighting her normally calm features.
With a thought Will commanded Irma's full transformation. The Water Guardian's body lit like a firefly, effervescent energy lighting the darkness. There was a tense second before Irma's chest heaved with a legitimate breath.
"NO!" came a shout from the shadows.
Dark magic flew from the shadows, blasting the Guardians and Lord Cedric away from Irma's body. Will shook the fuzz from her brain and as her vision cleared, she saw Cedric all ready standing.
"Witch!" Lord Cedric snarled, his fists balled as he morphed into his true form. "You don't know what you're doing!"
Nerissa saw Cedric and gave a toothy smile as she hovered next to Irma's body.
"I know exactly what I am doing Lord Cedric," the witch returned. "I am bringing an end to the Guardians. If you have any sense, you would join me now."
Will stood but cast a concerned and distrustful eye in Cedric's direction. Though she could see the shape-shifter's back, his emotions were hard to read. Cedric opened his fist, exposing his long talons. To the Heart Guardian's amazement, the snake-man shape-shifter took a fighting stance.
"I can't let you plunge Meridian into a chaotic shadow realm, Nerissa," Cedric barked. "Even you cannot reign over chaos!"
Nerissa laughed and tapped her staff on the ground.
"Has your newly grown heart prompted a brain to grow Cedric?" the witch taunted. "Join me and you will not lose your hansom head."
There was an audible growl from the shape-shifter.
"Never!" Cedric snarled.
Morphing into a dragon, Cedric charged at the witch. But he was cut short when Frost shook off Will's lightning and dove between the shape-shifter and the witch. The elfin mercenary and snake-man shape-shifter tumbled to the ground in a cloud of fists. Will, Taranee and Hay Lin stood for a fight.
"You'll pay for hurting Irma, you old ogre!" Hay Lin snarled through her tears, weaving a blast of wind between her fingers.
"You won't plunge the world into chaos as long as the Guardians draw breath, Nerissa!" Will took a menacing step forward.
"So you better hit us with all you got because, we're not holding back anything!" Taranee scowled, the giant fireball she held in her hands reflecting on her glasses.
"You inconvenience me Guardians, you really do," Nerissa gritted her teeth.
With a clap of her hands, the witch sent a shock-wave of black magic.
R&R. Long overdue, but hey, it's up. LONG LIVE ROCK!