Ferdie and the Elementals

"Come on, you ugly son of a bitch!"

With a huge, fiery yell, I leap at the Big Ugly Bastard, right fist high in the air and burning like the meteor that killed the dinosaurs. But as I fly, the power and heat are washed away. I connect with a very nice punch, and there is a big crack and a burst of black slime. Still, Bub doesn't even flinch, even as I fly through it. I roll, snap to my feet, and spin around only to get hit by something fast and huge.

The next thing I know, I'm embedded in a wall.

I don't realize how bad things are until I try to wiggle out of my impression. As soon as I brace myself, an almost impossible amount of pain shoots through my entire body, like I've been crushed by a steel beam and stabbed by hundreds of ice picks all at once. My throat, guts, and junk seem to want to leap out my body to stop from feeling the agony. I scream through my teeth as I push myself out of my shallow, vertical grave. It hurts, but the feeling doesn't linger too long and I manage to stay on my feet.

Breathing hard, I raise my dukes and brace myself, but Bub doesn't come back for more. Its eyes make a sludgy sound as they blink in unison, then, slowly, it twists around and points itself toward Althea, who is still out cold.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!" I ignore the tearing pain that rips though me as I pick up a fat shard of wall and launch it at the bastard. "COME BACK AND FIGHT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I cough up a little blood as I watch the big stone sink harmlessly into Bub's huge, moist body. It doesn't even seem to realize I've hit him.

"ZAZEL, YOU DUMB BITCH!" I cough up a little blood.

It pauses, and its eyes blink a couple of times, ignoring the sword strikes of the straggling Knights as they catch up to him.

"IF YOU KILL HER," I wince and swallow some blood. "ASTRAEA IS FUCKED!"

It blinks again and goes still, like a machine that got unplugged.

Now's my chance! I dip deep into my core for a big dose of power. I just need one more! One more shot! Come on!

I focus and strain, but I can't find the trigger. Nothing.

Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! I keep trying to tap my power, but no dice. All I can do is watch as this overgrown pile of tar makes its way to an unconscious Althea, who has no idea her life is about to end.

No! I can't let this happen! How the fuck is it so strong!? Zazel had something like this up her sleeve the whole time!? Doesn't she know she's about to fuck everything up!? Why are my powers not working!? Why now, of all fucking times!? Come on, come on, come on!

My whole body tenses and I grit my teeth like I'm trying to bite through an iron bar as feel myself getting hotter and hotter as my heart pounds faster than ever. My saddest and most terrible memories replay themselves in my mind's eye: The farm, my parents, the endless, broken cities, the robots, the riots, Kris, the Liberation Society, God, Althea, Zazel, dice, and fire, fire, fire.

I throw my head back and blast out a thunderous scream, arms held out wide. "GRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!" The air quakes with the power of my voice as an intense heat begins to surge inside me. I feel my insides being roasted as hellish crimson-orange flames erupt from deep inside me. The sight of the dark blue light of the chamber is wiped away by the power of my radiant fury. My skin, hair, and clothes burn and melt, but I accept the pain along with the rush of renewed power.

Then, just like that, the inferno stops and the deep blue light and darkness of the room takes over again. The fire is gone, but I can still feel the renewed energy ebbing stronger than ever inside my burnt body.

My focus returns to Bub as it crushes the last Knight underfoot and closes in on Althea like a giant, bloodthirsty gorilla.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING IGNORE ME!" I tap my power, and it floods every last inch of me instantly. The world turns into a blur, and then Bub appears just ahead of me, its truck-sized arm raised high above. I watch Bub start bring it down on me in slow motion, and my fists of fury start pummeling the nasty fucker before it can even blink.

"DIE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I unleash absolute hell with a barrage of punches that are so goddamned fast that even I can't see them. I punch, punch, punch, punch, punch, and punch as I blast him apart like a rapid fire missile launcher, each strike blasting off of limbs or blowing huge holes in its body.

I punch with all my might and all my heart as I chew him down to size. I can't think or feel anything other than hatred for this disgusting creation as I blow him apart. Even after it's all that's left is scattered, burning chunks, I keep punching and punching and punching.

Even the chamber is not safe as I dig into it with my explosive fury. The cold iron floor cracks and pieces of the wall and ceiling fall down as I make absolutely fucking sure that there is no way in hell Bub can make a comeback. When my power is finally all tapped out, the whole place looks like a carpet bombed war zone, fire and black shit everywhere.

"And don't come back, asshole!"

The moment I stop to catch my breath, the sound of lightly shifting debris makes me spin around.

"Hero," Althea's head peers at me from underneath a huge slab of rubble. "I require your assistance."

"Shit! Hold on!"

I blitz over to her and she groans as I flip the slab off. Directly underneath is a crushed and broken Sir Biscuit covering Althea. I dig and sweep him off of her and Althea makes a little noise. It's pretty obvious why: her right leg is totally crushed at the knee. Silvery white liquid flows slowly from it, pooling underneath her.

I feel my own blood starts to run from hot to cold. "Holy shit, Althea... Your leg-"

"I am badly wounded, but my stone is unharmed." She tries to move, but winces and makes another awful noise. "I cannot move without causing myself undue pain. I will use my magic now, so please stay close so you might benefit from it as well."

I become aware of my own pain again. I feel like someone emptied a flamethrower on me. My hanging guts are almost touching the floor now, and my junk alternates between a dull agony and total numbness. I've had worse in that last department, though.

Slowly, Althea, still prone, brings her hands together in prayer, whispering soft, strange words. Then, she thrusts her right hand forward. "Restore Order!"

I feel the healing even before I see the golden light. It fills me with warmth as it gently repairs my burned body. I feel the inside of my body coming back together, and my charred, ragged shirt and road leathers return to mint shape. When the light fades, no one would be able to tell that I was a living furnace just a minute ago.

Like me, Althea also gets patched up nicely. Her leg sprouts a bright, golden-yellow phantom of itself. Then, the light fades, revealing her smooth, toned white leg for a moment, before more light covers it and brings back her leggings and steel boots.

I let out a tired breath. "So you're okay?"

"I am well enough," she stands slowly. "I am more concerned about you."

"Why?" I give myself a quick pat down and shrug. "I'm good as new; you even fixed my duds."

"That is not what I mean."

"Huh?" I look back down to her and her face looks even more serious than usual.

"I am afraid that you are a great deal more wounded than I originally feared."

"What? I'm fine."

"Please do not feign ignorance, Hero. You cannot go on with this anger festering in your heart."

"Festering? What the hell are you talking about?!"

"It was clear when I first met you, and during the course of these last two days, the fact of the matter has become even more obvious. Indeed, you are raising your voice at me this very moment."

"Tsk. Get off my ass," I shake my head and roll my eyes. "I won, didn't I? Winning requires a little passion sometimes! I can't be as cold and unfeeling as you, especially when shit is on the line like that. Y'know, you could be a little more grateful to the guy who saved your life, lady."

Her stoic face warps slightly. "You did not save my life. It was your reckless attacks that caused the walls and roof to collapse upon me. Were it not for Sir Biscuit's power-"

"Yeah, well, I told you to stay back!"

"Do not pretend as though you did not also believe the Thrall was defeated."

"Am I really hearing this right now?"

"Yes, you are. And hear this: your irate behavior is beginning to threaten our mission."

"Wait, what!?" I feel my face scrunch and become hot. "You're callin' me out? What about the Big Ugly Bastard who sent your ass flying!?"

"Naturally, Chaos is to blame for her actions, and you for yours," her face becomes firm again, like her voice. "You must control your anger, Hero."

"Control my anger?"

"Yes. And you might accomplish that by first acknowledging the very obvious truth that a potent rage is roiling deep inside you."

"Fine," I scoff. "I was pissed, okay!? Bub knocked you out, he almost fucking killed you!"

"I know that better than you. I also know that there is a difference between righteous anger and the incandescent wrath that nearly consumed you."

"Yeah, yeah," I fold my arms. "So I went a little wild. So what? Maybe I deserve to raise a little hell now and again. Maybe you would too if you got killed and God threw you into some weird, flat world with nothing more than a necklace and some shitty weapons, then slapped you on the ass and told you to go play savior."

She takes a deep breath. "I am not particularly concerned about whether or not your rage is justified," she folds her arms. "But I am concerned about the end results of your outbursts."

I click my tongue and look away. "I won, didn't I?"

"Hero, you must get a handle your emotions and discipline your mind. Pyrrhic victories benefit no one."

"What?"

"A victory achieved at a cost so high that it is tantamount to defeat. Anger and rage are like a mighty bonfire, bright and powerful, but dangerous, consuming everything in their paths. This is precisely the condition to which you are subject. Without discipline, relying on this volatile and unstable power could prove to be your undoing. Our undoing."

I hold up my hands. "Man, I don't have time for this shit. We have Elementals to Release, an army to raise, and metric tons of ass to kick."

Her face is cold as steel, but her eyes flicker as she stares silently at me.

"What?"

"Very well, Hero. I thought you would at least apologize, given how adamant you were about protecting me before, but I see that appeasing your appetite for carnage is more important to you."

"Look, that's not-" I sigh. "I'm sorry, okay? Just fix your dudes and help me find a way to Zazel. Can't be far from here."

She blinks her hammer and shield back into her hands. "Fine. But we will speak on this matter again, Hero. It cannot go unresolved."

While I pretend to look for a way out, my mind is a speeding turbine of emotions that drowns out all my thoughts. I don't know what I'm thinking or feeling because I'm thinking and feeling so much all at once.

I feel a mass inside my jacket. I reach in and and pull out a fresh new pair of aviators. I put them on, and I feel a bit of peace return to me. It washes over me like a gentle stream of water, and my mind finally begins to slow down and work a little more like normal again.

I guess Althea's right, it's probably a bad idea to let myself go off the rails like that. But that's why she needs to stay back. I'm gonna need every bit of power, every drop of blood, and every strand of muscle to beat the Liberation Society, but I can't do that if I have to worry about making friendly fire. Still, I need to make sure things between me and Althea don't go too badly; I'm gonna need her help to keep Zazel from running wild. If that's even possible.