A burst of fire erupted from his chest as it spread throughout his body. It dispersed, leaving him in a red short-sleeved gi uniform shirt with matching red pants. A black belt wrapped around his waist while his wrists sported red wristbands and matching red boots. Materialized on the right side of his chest was a gold emblem with the fire symbol embedded in it. On both sides of his face were two curved markings. A matching-colored headband wrapped around his forehead. Finally, his hair turned red, finishing the transformation. He opened his eyes, still retaining his normal auburn color and struck a pose by thrust his fist forward.
Pilot raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"He's posing." The sister deadpanned.
"Why?"
Realizing he was being criticized, his expression saddened. "It's cool."
"I disagree." Pilot replied blankly
The fire warrior sighed, stopping the pose. He looked at his hands, then threw a few punches "Wow… I feel… strong… mighty."
Pilot growled. "Power corrupts. Don't let it get to your head."
"Yeah… um, can I come up with a code name?"
"If you want. No one in this world will distinguish between your two forms. Non-mana users won't recognize you, even when you are close to them."
"Amazing!"
"Now…" A soft chime rang, prompting Pilot to pull out a small silver disk from his pocket. He pressed a button and a holographic map of the city materialized before them. On the map, a blinking light was visible.
Jake blinked. "What's that?"
"Trouble in the city." Pilot said flatly. "Come, you and I will check it out."
"What about me?" Tina asked, frowned. "Are you going to leave me here?"
"Then I'll keep you company."
Landing in front of them with grace was a young woman, bearing the same elf ears. Her violet hair was tied in a bun and violet eyes shining with silent confidence. She wore a sleeve purple battle kimono top with gray accents and a black shirt underneath, dark purple sash around her waist, black pants, gray elbow length, fingerless gloves, and gray boots. On her left leg was a leather case holding kunai, a black utility belt on her waist.
"Ah!" Jake and Tina jumped in shock at the strange woman. Pilot merely glanced at her
"This is Reinstar, a colleague."
Reinstar bowed. "Greetings. It's a pleasure to meet a new elemental warrior."
"We don't have time for pleasantries." The redheaded canokian grabbed Jake's arm. "Take her back home and set up the equipment. The Radiant and I will find the problem." He brought his hand up to his ear, revealing a communicating device nestled within. "Luka, coordinates."
"Straight to the point, I like that." spoke a melodic voice. "Sending you now."
If things didn't become weirder for the newly appointed Fire Radiant, he was wrong. His world spun as a strange feeling overcame him. His version blurred, then refocused in what felt like seconds. When his orientation returned, he gasped.
He was standing on the rooftop of a five story building, overlooking a city. The sudden change left him speechless, but then something else caught his attention. A strange presence pressed against his senses. It felt malicious.
"You feel that?" Pilot watched him. "You're sensing their mana. The stronger the mana, the more dangerous they are. You can sense mine, right?"
Jake's eyes widened. "Woah, you're super strong… but that feeling is below your level."
"Correct, which is why you will handle it."
"Me?" He was apprehensive. "But?"
"You need training. I wanted to prepare you before your first real fight, but the universe has different plans, Jake."
"… Can you call me Blaze in this form? Also, what am I going to fight?"
The sound of a crash echoed nearby drew their attention. On the neighboring rooftop, a hulking beast with thick brown fur loomed, clutching the broken body of a bloodied older man.
"That's our target…" Pilot eyed the man solemnly. "The man with it is dead."
Upon hearing those words, a negative feeling settled in his heart. He wondered if he could have prevented the death if he did not hesitate the offer. But there was another small feeling suggesting the outcome would've remained the same. The monster leapt over them, and landed on the next building. The beast glared at them with its yellow eyes, then it leapt away.
Without a word, they chased it across the rooftops, following it to an abandoned warehouse. As they entered the structure, the fire warrior could not shake the feeling that they were stepping into the pages of a comic book, where villains lurked in the shadows.
"Seems you got what you were looking for." said a feminine voice.
"He's dead… he's dead." The male voice cracked with spiteful glee, gradually repeating the words like a chant.
"Do you feel satisfied?"
"… No… I need to find the other… the other…. The other."
Jakee and Pilot entered a wide area, spotting the trio. The bulked monster stood off to the side. A ragged and crazed man kneet by the corpse, feverishly muttering, as if expecting it to return to life. Next to the man, stood the woman in pink. She twirled her pink umbrella while giggling with delight.
The duo's presence caught her attention.
"Ooo… a canokian was it?" she cooed. "It's been what? Nearly over 300 years since I was imprisoned."
Pilot blinked. "300 years… hmmm. You're a human born with unnatural powers."
She laughed airily, then Blaze caught her sight. She lowered her umbrella and looked thoughtfully at him with her blue eyes. "Oh… another one. He wields fire, right? Not the same one, but it's still one of the three who imprisoned me years ago. Are you familiar with that period? The Salem Witch Trials."
Blaze gasped. "Y-you were there?"
"Mm-hmm," she hummed. "I razed hell with my followers, terrorizing those hypocrites, but my fun ran out when those three Radiant sealed me away."
Her voice sharpened as her eyes gleamed.
"I got out eventually. I thought long and hard about how to take my revenge. Now... I will do what I want. Acquire followers, restart my goal. I will use people's rage to create their inner beast." She gestured toward the man and the monster. "See? If you kill the monster, the man might return to normal." She perked up. "Oh, I will look for it… yes… oh excuse me." She giggled. "Being sealed is healthy, right?"
She gave a mock bow, twirling her umbrella. "I'm Mistress M, pleased to make your acquaintance." She snapped her fingers. "Now… fight the boy, I want to see him squirm."
"That brat? Sure. Then we can go after the other moron."
"Sure, but only if you defeat the boy," she said unusually cheerfully.
The man laughed. "YES!" The man turned to the monster. "Beast! Kill the boy."
The monster roared and pounded its chest.
Pilot was not swayed. "Blaze, this will be your test. If you fail here, we will train. I will make sure you won't die." He raised his hand up, and a long sword materialized in his hand. He grabbed it and slammed the blade into the ground. "I will stay and watch you and her."
"Okay." Blaze nodded meekly
"At least try to win. Do you have prior experience with fighting?"
"Yeah… two years of martial arts."
"Good enough."
Swallowing hard, Blaze stepped forward. The beast locked onto him immediately, making the boy's muscles tensed. Fear, excitement, and doubt fought inside him. He moved into a fighting stance as his breathing increased. He compared his mana level to the monster's, nearly the same. Fresh, new, and inexperienced. He would only get better, but only after defeating the monster... hopefully.
The beast lunged.
He barely dodged, stumbling back from its claws. It pivoted and roared before jumping again
Blaze dodged more strikes before blocking one and struck back with a strong knuckle into the monster's face, surprising himself as it staggered. But that awe lowered his guard. A sudden kick to the face, sent him sprawling across the floor..
The canokian scowled deeply. "DO NOT give your enemy a reason to get past your guard."
"Kay." Blaze groaned, pushing himself up.
"My, my, how the new blood is so easily distracted." Mistress M cackled. "I think I know what happens here, bye." The woman then vanished, leaving the man alone.
Pilot raised a brow at her desertion, keeping his guard active for her return.
Blaze crossed his arms, blocking another kick that sent him sliding back. The boy leapt forward and landed a kick into the monster's guy followed by a punch, making the monster clumsily move back.
"Don't I have a special attack?"
While distracted, the beast grabbed him and hurled him across the warehouse. He crashed hard into the ground, rolling over a few times as he landed. Once he stopped rolling, he grunted while picking himself up.
He felt the power, but he needed to figure out how. Suddenly the beast opened its maw, charging energy before releasing a beam. The boy yelped and jumped from the energy beam scorching the floor.
"It can do that?!"
"Always expect surprises!"
He panted, frustration rising. Blaze clenched his fist, focusing on the power, pouring fire into his fist. Flame coiled around his fist, growing hotter and brighter.
The monster started charging up for another attack.
"I can do it too." He growled, pouring more power into his fist, watching it grow. "Come on… more and more… yeah!" He glared at the beast. "Time to burn you up!"
The boy shot forward, fist reeled back and eyes focused. The monster fired another energy beam, but Blaze blitzed past it, faster than before. With a loud roar, the beast swung at the boy, but Blaze leaped into the air.
"BLAZING FIIIIIIIIIIIIST!"
He slammed his burning fist into the monster's head, causing an explosion of fire. When the smoke cleared, the monster head was destroyed and body was on the floor, quickly evaporating.
When the last trace was gone, the man screamed in pain before collapsing. Pilot approached the man while expecting the woman to appear. Meanwhile, Blaze started panting, barely able to stand.
"Well done," He gazed down at the man. "You destroyed your first enemy, but that was a weakling."
Blaze tiredly nodded. "Yeah… I take it that will get tougher from here?"
"Yes, with training, you won't tire as much, and your power will increase."
"How is he?"
"Unconscious."
Blaze nodded and gazed at the spot where the monster evaporated, the weight of his victory settling on him. His life had changed and things would go further from here.
Mistress M watched them from afar with a small smile. "Just a minor setback. I have work to do." She giggled as she vanished.
A/N
Jake: Height - 5'5
Amy: Height - 5'3
Christina: Height - 5'4