From Little Flame to Raging Fire

I don't own anything but my OC's.

I especially don't own Voltaire's 'Ex Lover's Lover'. I just tweaked it a bit…

Please read the author's note at the end!

Chapter 15

Montarg scowled up at his old enemy. Rixon grinned down at him. The leader of the shape-shifters felt boastful. He'd taken the most important thing to Montarg away from him. Surely, Montarg's mind would be too full of anger and thoughts of revenge to actually think straight right now. That would be perfect. Montarg would die easily then.

"What have you done with my chef?" Montarg shouted.

Rixon scratched the back of his ear. "Hm. Not sure. I left Adrian in charge of Rodney's fate."

"Then tell that pest to release him."

"I could, I could. The only problem, Montarg, is that I don't take your orders. Only the sorcerers do."

Montarg growled, "I wouldn't of thought you were obedient enough to follow orders."

Rixon's grin fell. He frowned. "Perhaps I should tell Adrian to take Rodney's head off. Would you like that, Montarg? Of course, I'd give the head to you afterwards. Little reminder of what we could do to all of your men."

Montarg growled angrily. "Don't you dare."

Rixon smirked. "Until next time, Montarg. We'll see if you can reach Rodney in time."

Montarg's eyes flashed for a second as Rixon began to lower himself into a pool of shadows, disappearing as he did so. Marcus reached forward and put a hand to Montarg's shoulder. "Hey, don't let 'im get to ya."

Montarg didn't turn to him, but growled, "Shut up."

Marcus paused, then slowly removed his hand from Montarg's shoulder. Montarg growled impatiently, then slammed his hand against the door. The wooden door suddenly caught alight and burst into flames. Marcus and Richard watched with wide eyes as the door burned. Montarg marched straight through the flames, over the pile of burned wood. Richard and Marcus glanced at one another, then shrugged and followed. Montarg speed-walked down a corridor and Marcus and Richard jogged to try and catch up. "Where we going, Monty?"

"Where else?" Montarg snapped. "We're finding Rodney and getting out of this hellhole."

Marcus and Richard looked nervously at each other, then hurried after their leader. As they marched down the corridor, a man appeared from a side door that led to a staircase. He looked at them and his jaw dropped. "S…S-Sorcerers!" He looked over his shoulder. "Sir! Sir, there're-" He didn't get to finish because, as he turned his head to look at the sorcerers, Montarg had placed his right hand over the shape-shifter's face. The shape-shifter's eyes widened as Montarg kept a good grip on his face. Suddenly, Montarg's hand and the shape-shifter's head began trembling. Slowly, the shape-shifter's eyes glazed over and greyish liquid began dripping out of his ear.

Richard put a hand over his mouth. "Oh, God, he's melted his brain!"

Montarg threw the shape-shifter's body aside. He stared at the stairs for a second, then made his way up. Marcus's eye twitched as he truly considered his leader's sanity. Both men jogged after the fire sorcerer. "Monty," Marcus said, "Maybe we should have an actual plan for this…"

"We have a plan: travel around this goddamn castle, find Rodney and kill any shape-shifters that block our way. I will kill every damn shape-shifter in here if I have to. I'm getting my chef back." Suddenly, as they marched down a new corridor, Montarg began to sing.

Three heavy stones will keep it from floating,

Weigh it down to the bottom, food for the fishes,

And I know that it won't be discovered

Cause I will be careful, so very careful…

What if it doesn't rain for days and the river is

Reduced to its muddy bed?

Several shape-shifters poured from a side door. Montarg scowled and gritted his teeth. He moved into the crowd, making fast work of each and every one of them; doing the same thing to them that he did to the first one.

With a corpse exposed, I would work in haste,

And I might bury the bones in a shallow grave

And the rain comes and moves rocks and the stones,

Washes away all the dirt and the mudflows,

Bones are exposed and, well,

You know how that goes!

I wait for the day when I'll finally defile,

The bodies of these damn shape-shifters

Montarg threw bodies to the floor as shape-shifters ran at him, fists and weapons at the ready. Marcus and Richard watched in both awe and fear.

I'll pile high to the sky,

The bodies of these damn shape-shifters,

Die, die, die, die, die, die,

Die, die, die, die, die, die, die,

Watch them die!

Die, die, die, die, die, die,

Die, die, die, die, die, die, die,

Watch them die!

Marcus and Richard looked at each other, wide-eyed, as Montarg threw another body aside. Marcus gulped and followed Montarg up another flight of stairs.

…

Amanda walked down the street, Maverick's hand in hers. She made her way toward Arachnid's house. He'd informed her of the fact that he had children - a little girl and a little boy. Twins, he had told her. Amanda smiled. It was good to know that Arachnid now had family to live with him. He had seemed rather lonely the last time she was here.

As she made it to the front door, Amanda knocked on the wood. Maverick tilted his head curiously. Moments later, Arachnid Skellington opened the door. "Amanda! Lovely to see you!"

Amanda grinned and hugged her friend. When they pulled apart, Arachnid moved aside for the human and the child to enter. Maverick looked around the house. It hardly seemed fitting for a king. Nevertheless, it had a certain quality to it that made it Arachnid's house - something Maverick couldn't quite put his finger on. Arachnid smiled at them both. "Now, wait right here. I'll go and get them." With that, he rushed upstairs.

Amanda smiled at Maverick. "Isn't this great, Maverick? You can make new friends."

Maverick scowled. "I don't want new friends…!"

Amanda's smile dropped. "Why not?"

"I just don't."

Amanda sighed through her nose. Just then, Arachnid walked down the stairs. He carried a little girl in one arm and held the hand of a little skeleton boy with his free hand. As he approached, he set the little girl on her feet. "Amanda, Maverick, this is Eleanor and Jackson. My children."

The little girl had dirty blond hair and black eyes. Her skin was pale. Eleanor's dress was striped with black and white and reached just above her knees. Her brother, Jackson, was a smaller version of Arachnid. His head, however, was rounder then his father's and he wore a waistcoat instead of a coat and tie. Maverick hid behind his mother's legs.

"Aw," Amanda cooed. "Aren't you two cute?" She held out a hand. "I'm Amanda."

Eleanor smiled and giggled slightly, reaching up and shaking her hand. Jackson frowned, his arms crossed. His sister nudged him. Jackson sighed through his nose and he shook Amanda's hand. Amanda looked to Arachnid and began talking to him.

As the adults talked, Eleanor peeked at the little boy behind the human's legs. She tilted her head out of curiosity then slowly made her way toward him. He didn't notice her move. Eleanor stared at him or, more specifically, the tail that was wagging slowly behind him. She tilted her head and slowly grasped it, then pulled.

Maverick's eyes widened suddenly and he burst into sobs. Both adults looked at him in surprise. Because of the guilt and commotion, Eleanor's eyes filled with tears and she too began to cry. Arachnid and Amanda collected their crying children, shushing them.

"Aw," Amanda cooed to her son. "Did she pull your tail?"

"Eleanor, honey," Arachnid whispered. "You mustn't touch Maverick's tail. Half werewolf tails are very sensitive."

Jackson stared up at his crying sister, then looked at Maverick and scowled. He didn't like this boy very much…

…

Montarg kicked open another door angrily. He'd been that for a long time, kicking open doors to check for Rodney. So far, he had no such luck in finding the rock sorcerer. Marcus and Richard watched worriedly. "Damn it all," Montarg muttered.

Marcus looked back down the corridor and almost vomited at the sight of the dead bodies, some with their melted brains dripping from their ears and some burned. He forced himself to look away. Marcus had always known that Montarg had killed before but he never expected that his friend could do such damage. Marcus looked at the other end of the corridor. "Only one door left, Monty."

Montarg looked. True enough, one door still remained untouched. Montarg speed-walked toward it then lifted his leg and kicked it open.

"Montargo!" Rodney exclaimed.

Montarg felt a happiness spread in his chest. "Rodney." He breathed, panting slightly from running all the way up the castle. He stepped forward, but Marcus grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait, Monty," Marcus said. "He could be a shape-shifter."

Montarg turned and stared at Rodney. Rodney suddenly looked fearful. He was in such a state. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, his clothes and hair were ruffled and he had several bruises on him. Montarg stared at him intently then spoke, "No. No, that's Rodney. I can tell." He walked over and ripped the rope from around Rodney's torso.

Rodney stood up then all but fell in to Montarg's arms. He held onto Montarg's shirt as Montarg held him. "M-Montargo…Is that really you?"

"It is." Montarg spoke softly. He pulled back and cupped Rodney's face in his hands. "Did they harm you in any way?"

Rodney hesitated, then smiled and shook his head. "No. I'm fine."

"Really, cuz?" Richard said, his arms crossed. "Cause those bruises weren't on ya before." His eyes narrowed. "And you always tuck in your shirt."

Montarg looked down at the part of Rodney's shirt that was hanging out of his trousers. "No, no, Montargo, don't -" Rodney tried, but Montarg had already pulled up his shirt. Rodney shut his eyes as Montarg's widened.

"They branded you." Montarg muttered, staring down at the Q that had been burned onto Rodney's skin.

"Q…?" Richard asked.

Marcus gulped. "…Queer…"

Rodney suddenly sniffled. "I…I didn't want you to see…"

Montarg growled angrily. His eyes glowed darkly. "Shape-shifters…"

"Montargo…?" Rodney asked hesitantly.

Montarg turned and looked out of the window. Standing down on the ground, hands behind his back, was Adrian. He smirked up at Montarg. "So, I see you've found him, sorcerer! But have you saved his life?"

Montarg growled and gritted his teeth. "Who can get me down there the quickest?"

Marcus stepped forward. "I got ya, Montarg." He breathed slowly, making slow movements with his hands. A bubble of water was created, hovering in the air. Marcus frowned and thrust both arms forward. The water shot out of the water, spreading into a floating river. It froze almost as soon as it was created, making a slide from the window to the ground. Marcus turned to Richard. "Yeah, that's right. I finally learned how to control water vapour."

Richard stared. "Nice one."

Montarg nodded in silent praise, then climbed onto the windowsill. He stood on the slide, then allowed himself to move down it. Montarg calmly slid down the slide, standing, completely balanced, on his feet; his arms crossed. His eyes never left the shape-shifter.

"C'mon, Rodders," Richard said, wrapping an arm around his cousin's waist. "Marc, help me out 'ere."

Marcus wrapped Rodney's right arm around his neck and took hold of his waist. They gently lifted themselves onto the slide, then slid down as calmly as they could. Once they reached the bottom, they stared at their leader.

Adrian tilted his head and smirked at Rodney. "Hello, Rodney. Do you like the mark I gave you?"

Rodney whimpered and shrank back in fright.

"Shut up," Montarg snapped. "Don't talk to him."

Adrian looked at him. "Now, now, Montarg. Let's not get aggressive."

Montarg gritted his teeth. Adrian smiled. "I have the perfect battleground for us, Montarg." He gestured to the fissure behind him. Montarg could see the light of lava. "You and I, Montarg, will fight to the death down there. And you'd better not bring them."

Montarg paused, then nodded.

"Montargo?" Rodney asked worriedly.

Adrian grinned and turned and leapt off the side of the fissure. Montarg stared at the open space, then turned and walked toward Rodney. He slipped off his coat and wrapped it around Rodney's shoulders, then placed his hat on top of Rodney's head. "Montargo? What're you doing? These protect you!"

"I know," Montarg said. "That's why I'm giving them to you."

Rodney paused and stared, blushing slightly. Montarg turned and walked away. He turned around again then spread his arms out like a scarecrow's. Slowly, he leaned back and fell into the fissure.

"Montargo!" Rodney shouted, running toward the open space. He looked down the fissure, his eyes searching frantically around for his friend. All he could see was smoke and flames.

…

Montarg landed on the rocky floor, knelt down. As he landed, flames roared around him. He stood and glared at the shape-shifter. Adrian smiled at him. "It's nice to know that you're not afraid to fight alone."

"Of course not." Montarg snapped.

Adrian's smile turned to a grin. "Excellent." He lunged forward, fists at the ready.

Montarg flinched then put his arms up to defend himself. Adrian's knuckles hit Montarg's forearms and Montarg gritted his teeth. He'd been so used to his red coat, he'd almost forgotten what real pain felt like. Adrian lifted his knee, hitting Montarg in the gut. Montarg grunted and lifted his head, only for Adrian's fist to crunch into his nose. Montarg stumbled, hand to his now bleeding nose. He wiped the blood from his nostrils and charged forward. Montarg drew back his right fist, then punched Adrian around the face. With his left hand, Montarg clicked his fingers toward Adrian's legs.

Adrian yelled out in pain as the flames burned his knees. Adrian growled as his arm began to glow. His fingers shifted into giant claws and his hand grew ten times its original size. He grinned and threw his new hand forward, the arm stretching like elastic, claws out toward Montarg. Montarg tuck-and-rolled away, narrowly missing the claws, which broke the rocks that had been behind him. Montarg stood then ran forward, toward the angered shape-shifter. Adrian turned to look at him, then picked up his hand and threw it again. Montarg turned to it, then caught the ring finger and thumb in both hands, stopping the limb in its tracks. He released the thumb and clicked his fingers against the palm. Adrian cried out as the flames burned his palm, retracting his arm and shifting it back to normal. Adrian ran forward at the unusually calm Montarg, shouting, "Montarg!"

Montarg blocked Adrian's punches and kicks with expert skill. Adrian ducked and sat back on his hands, sending his feet up into Montarg's stomach. Montarg stumbled and Adrian quickly returned to his feet, punching Montarg around the face once more. Montarg flew back, landing on his back. Adrian grinned. Montarg sat up, his hair covering his eyes. "Now, now, Montarg. Lets not get upset."

Montarg gritted his teeth as he stood. The air suddenly felt hot - hotter then before. Adrian's grin dropped when he saw Montarg's eyes flashing constantly. His eyes widened. "No…No, don't you dare…"

Up at the top of the fissure, Rodney's head snapped up. Richard began looking around. "Does anyone else feel that…?"

Rodney's eyes widened. "…Montargo's changing."

Montarg gritted his teeth and growled softly. His eyes continued flashing. Finally, he threw his head back and screamed a scream that shook the Heavens. The elastic band in his hair snapped and, before his hair had a chance to fall, it shot up into a flame-like style. His eyes were consumed by a dark reddish-brownish glow. His muscles bulked. Smoke surrounded the area and Adrian began coughing. Once the smoke cleared, Adrian's eyes widened as he saw Montarg's transformation. "No…No, no, no! You're not supposed to do that!"

Montarg scowled. "I am so sick and tired of you shape-shifters."

…

Rodney gasped when he saw the smoke down below. "Montargo…"

"Um, guys?" Marcus asked. Richard turned, his eyes widening.

Coming toward them was an army of shape-shifters, some holding weapons. Marcus and Richard's jaws dropped. "Oh, God…" Richard muttered as the shape-shifters approached. Richard looked at Rodney quickly. "Uh, Rodney! We got company!…Rodney!…Rodney?"

Rodney was standing, his back to his cousin. He suddenly turned and looked over his shoulder and Richard gasped as he saw his cousin's eyes consumed by a dark brown glow. "No, Rodney! No!"

But it was too late. Rodney stomped his foot into the ground and the earthquake began.

Shape-shifters toppled like dominoes and Richard and Marcus stumbled. Richard looked over at his cousin. "Rodney! Stop!"

Rodney gritted his teeth angrily and lifted his arms heavenwards. Rocks began flying everywhere, cutting into the bodies of the shape-shifters. Richard and Marcus pulled their coats over their bodies, protecting themselves. Richard shouted for his cousin to stop, but he was unheard by the rock sorcerer. Marcus looked over at the army of shape-shifters and saw them getting cut by the flying rocks. Blood was being sprayed from their bodies and poured from their wounds. Rodney would probably begin crying when he found out that he had done this, regardless of the shape-shifters being their enemies. Shape-shifters fell to the ground, some dead and some severely wounded.

Marcus and Richard paused when the earthquake began to settle and the rocks fell to the ground. Rodney's eyes closed and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Surprisingly, Montarg's coat and hat had not fallen off during Rodney's attack on the shape-shifters. Richard ran toward his cousin, gently lifting him. "Hey, cuz, s'alright. I got ya."

Rodney's eyes fluttered open. "Hm…? Cousin…?" He snapped back to reality and looked over the edge of the fissure. "Montargo! Where's Montargo? Is he ok?"

Richard frowned. "You're welcome, by the way…" He muttered angrily, but went unnoticed by Rodney.

…

Adrian gagged as Montarg's knee connected with his stomach. He stumbled back, bent over and clutching his tummy. He looked up, a thin trail of blood dripping down his chin. Montarg stood over him, still fully transformed. Montarg's nose scrunched up and he punched Adrian in the face, knocking him back. As Adrian returned to his feet, Montarg approached. Suddenly, a white glow enveloped Adrian's body and he shifted his shape. Montarg's eyes widened a fraction as Rodney looked at him with a grin. "You wouldn't hurt me, would you, Montargo?"

Montarg scowled and punched the fake Rodney around the face. "Those tricks don't work on me." He punched 'Rodney' in the stomach. "And only Rodney - the real Rodney - is allowed to call me Montargo!"

'Rodney' began to glow as he changed back into Adrian. Adrian scowled. "That's it! I've had enough." He extended an index finger, a ball of shadows developing and growing. He grinned at Montarg, laughing manically. "It's about time you died, Montarg."

Montarg's eyes narrowed. He cupped his hands and a ball of solid lava began developing. Adrian pointed his finger at Montarg, then opened his hand. A blast of shadows was shot toward Montarg. Montarg thrust his hands forward and the blast shot toward the shadows. They collided and met in the middle, battling. Montarg gritted his teeth. Adrian was still grinning manically.

Montarg's body pulsed. He had a strange feeling in his chest, a feeling he'd never had before. Montarg threw his head back and screamed as a dragon made of flames and fire burst from his body. There was no blood or hole in Montarg's chest. The only damage was the large hole that was now in the middle of his shirt. The dragon flew around then found it target. Adrian's grin fell and his eyes widened. "No…No!"

The dragon opened its mouth and shot right through Adrian's body. The shape-shifter was consumed by fire. Montarg watched as Adrian's body began burning and turning to ash. His limbs were falling off and his eyes were melting. Finally, the last fragment Adrian was gone and he was dead. The dragon turned and flew back over to Montarg, disappearing as it hit his chest. Montarg screamed as it disappeared back inside of him and he was thrown backwards. He hit the wall of the fissure and fell to the ground, unconscious. His hair, muscles and eyes changed back to normal.

…

The three sorcerers at the top of the fissure saw the explosion of fire below. Their jaws dropped and they gasped. As the explosion disappeared, they looked around frantically.

"Montargo!" Rodney called. "Montargo!" His eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Monty…" Marcus muttered, turning his head away. "No…He can't be…He can't…"

Richard took off his hat and held it to his chest, lowering his head in respect.

Rodney fell to his knees and covered his eyes with his hands. "No…" He sobbed. "Montargo…I shouldn't have gone out…It's all my fault! Montargo's dead and it's all my fault!" He sobbed loudly into his hands.

Marcus hissed, his teeth gritted, as tears stung his eyes. He opened them a fraction, then smiled widely. "Monty!"

Richard turned. Standing several feet away their sides was Montarg, his clothes torn and his eyes half-closed. Rodney slowly lifted his face from his hands as Richard and Marcus jogged over to their leader, smiling. Rodney got to his feet and ran to Montarg, then all but leapt at him. Montarg grunted as Rodney hit his chest, clinging onto his shirt with both fists and burying his face into the material. The fire sorcerer wrapped his arms around the rock sorcerer. "Montargo…I-I thought you were…I mean I…" He cried into the fabric.

Richard and Marcus looked at each other, the grinned. Montarg pulled away. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"Me? You're the one who just survived an explosion." Rodney said. He smiled tearfully at him.

"You know," Montarg said. "When I say 'Don't forget your coat, Rodney' it is a hint that I want you to put it on."

Rodney giggled. "Montargo, I just have one more thing to say to you."

"Hm?"

Rodney suddenly thumped Montarg on the chest with both fists. He did this constantly. "How dare you make me think you were dead! Do you know how worried I was! Do you, Montargo? How could you! You stupid man! You're so stupid!" He yelled as fresh tears poured down his cheeks. His fists constantly connected with Montarg's torso. Montarg flinched several times as Rodney hit him. Slowly, Rodney's fists began losing both speed and strength and he clung onto Montarg's shirt again. Rodney sniffled and looked up at Montarg.

"I'm sorry." Montarg said.

Rodney smiled. "Thank you for saving me."

"Anytime."

Rodney paused when he saw something that Marcus and Richard did not. Rodney grinned at Montarg and thought, He's so handsome when he's smiling…

…

Author's note:

Me: Only Montarg is epic enough to walk around a shape-shifter's castle, melting people's brains while singing a song by his student's 'voice actor'. But, yes, Ex Lover's Lover is a pretty epic song. One of Voltaire's most famous, I think. I guess Montarg's version can go to both the demo version and the Devil's Bris version. Doesn't matter. I love the part where he chants 'die'. So awesome. Oh, Voltaire, why you so awesome?…Oh, man, Montarg should've sung BRAINS! Imagine that…

Brains, Brains, I won't lie!

I'll melt their brains till their heads are dry!

Sure, they might think it's deranged

But they won't give it a thought while I'm melting their brains!

:D Just came up with that.

IMPORTANT BIT: I'm going on holiday to Spain (yes, again) tomorrow. This time, however, I'm going for three weeks instead of two. So that means no internet for three weeks (God help me…). There's that internet café, but I still won't be able to post stories and such. But fear not, for I have a fresh, new writing pad that will be full of stories and From Little Flame to Raging Fire chapters by the time I get back that I will be able to treat you to!

Mav: *puts on Hawaiian shirt, shorts and sunglasses* Spain, here I come!

Me: So, Montarg's defeated Adrian through using his epic dragon,

Mav: Rodney's safe (despite the branding)

Me: And Maverick's met Jackson and Eleanor! What'll happen to the sorcerers?

Mav: Will me, Ellie and Jackson get along?

Me: And what'll happen next with Amanda and Arachnid?

Mav + Me: Find out next time!