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The Dark Fiends Vince was being held in the air by a wrap of winds, restrained from moving. Two dumpsters were being held in the air on either side of him. A female creature covered in a thick black hide with long, disheveled purple hair held her arms up. It was as if she were controlling the winds that held up Vince and the dumpsters. "I'm going to crush you like an insect," the lady beast said. She made a quick gesture of her hands, and the two dumpsters went flying toward each other, to collide at and crush Vince. Vince struggled with all his might, but he just could not move. "Please," Vince begged no one. "I can't die now. Not now." That's when flames appeared. They were caught in the winds that ensnared Vince and spread to engulf both Vince and the restraining winds in flames. The flames even caught the wind holding up the dumpsters and set them on fire. The two flaming dumpsters collided with the fireball that contained Vince, resulting in an explosion. However, when the smoke cleared a moment later, a figure covered in black hide with red hair fell from the area of impact and landed on the floor. It was Vince. "You might control the air," Vince said, "but I control the fire." He quickly threw two fireballs at the lady beast. She barely avoided them. The second one singed a portion of her hair. "Hmmph!" she said. "I'm not done yet." At this point, she began spinning, floating in the air, and spinning faster and faster. Before Vince knew it, he was facing a 25-foot tornado. "Oh, shit!" he swore as the tornado approached him. Vince took a few steps back, then dove head first into the tornado. While spinning inside the turbulent cyclone, Vince saw myriad objects flying around: various pieces of debris, bricks, garbage cans, and other trash. He had absolutely no control over his movements within the tornado. One of the objects flew by and hit Vince in the head. As he grunted in pain, a second one bashed him in the stomach. Before a third one could hit him, though, Vince fired off a fireball to intercept it. Then, he fired another, and another to defend himself. Then, in a move of desperation, Vince fired off a shockwave of flame from all his body to incinerate the debris within the tornado. That's when he saw her. The lady beast was close by. He tried to fire off a fireball, but he missed. Then, he saw a whole brick wall flying toward him. Vince made a swift spin to get around the brick wall, then kicked off the other side of the wall to propel himself toward the lady beast. She never saw him coming. Before she knew it, Vince had tackled her out of the sky. As the lady beast fell to the floor, the tornado, no longer sustained by the lady beast's energy, dissipated. After landing, Vince was immediately on top of the fallen lady beast, ready to strike. "Enough!" the lady beast cried. A swirl of wind surrounded her, and her black hide melted into human flesh and clothes, and her hair reverted to neat and light brown. The lady looked about as old as a college student. She wore an all black outfit: black 3/4 length pants and a black short-sleeve shirt. "It's . . . you!" Vince said, shocked, as he backed away from the woman. It was the same woman who had confronted him mere moments ago and led him into the alley for the fight. "Enough," she said. "Yesterday, I felt another Dark Fiend in this area. Then, today, I felt the Dark Fiend in you, but I had to be sure." Vince recalled the woman previously saying, "Yes, you're definitely him. I can feel your power." "But, after seeing the way you fought, I know that you definitely are a Dark Fiend and that you're worthy of that power," the woman said. "Who are you?" Vince asked. "And what the hell is going on here?" "My name is Lydia Robertson," the woman said, "and I am the Dark Fiend of Air. You are the Dark Fiend of Fire. The two of us have both been given a gift of incredible power. I sense that you've just received the power recently and you still need help understanding it. I can help you. I'll teach you train you until you have full control over your powers." She held out her right hand as if hoping to seal the deal with a handshake. Vince hesitated. "I don't trust you, especially after you're 'introduction,'" Vince said. "I take it you're not very happy about the fight," Lydia said with a laugh. "It was just a test, just a test." "I still don't trust you," Vince said. "Very well," Lydia replied. "But if you're every interested in my help, just go to the rooftop of the coffee shop at night, on any night, and I'll come and meet you." Vince made no effort to reply. He only gave her an angry glare. "Goodbye, Fire," Lydia said. "I'll be watching you." Then, she left. Vince, not knowing what to do, decided to pull out Stephanie's Calculus notebook and began reading the notes within. "At least, this will keep my mind off things until I revert to good old normal Vince," he thought. Vince was tired. He had been running for the last half hour. Sweat was coming down his face like water over a waterfall. His clothes were drenched in sweat. He was running down a path surrounded by forest. About a week had passed since his fight with Lydia. He hadn't really thought about the Dark Fiends, and he didn't plan to ever think about them. Vince was running at a cross-country race, the first one of the year. The track was a circular path through the Trioustan Forest. As was with all the other official races, Vince always became extremely tired from the running. "Just a little more," Vince told himself repeatedly. "Just a little more." Then, without warning, Vince's skin burst into flame, and he emerged as the Dark Fiend of Fire. "Wha-what the hell?" Vince cried in a panic. "I'm not even fighting anybody this time." Fortunately, no one was around to see him. "I gotta get the hell outta here," Vince said to himself. As he ran for the forest, one runner came around the bend and saw him, and she screamed. Vince kept running until he was in a deep part of the first. He stopped and sat be a tree, but he could not calm himself down. Five minutes passed and nothing happened. Then, ten minutes passed. Then, 20 minutes, but, still, nothing happened. He stayed as the Dark Fiend of Fire. "Whaa? What's taking so long?" Vince said to himself. "Screw it, I'm going home." In a panic, Vince ran back to his house. It wasn't a long way from the forest. Vince climbed up a tree, opened a window to a nearby house, and climbed inside. He was home now, but he was still the Dark Fiend of Fire, and this still panicked him. It was getting dark. Vince quickly closed the window, drew the shutters closed, and locked the door before anyone could see him. After sitting down to catch his breath, Vince turned on the TV. "This just in," said the news reporter. "A strange creature was sighted at the Trioustan Forest. The only person who saw this creature first hand was Trioustan Sophomore Diana Kilsberg." A young girl then appeared on the TV and said, "I was running for the Cross Country meet, and suddenly, I see this big black monster running into the forest. I was so scared, I couldn't move for a minute, and by that time, a bunch of other people had caught up to me." The news reporter reappeared and said, "Also, a security camera were able to get this quick shot of this alleged monster." Then, Vince saw a video recording of himself as the Dark Fiend of Fire running through the forest. He immediately shut off the TV. "Oh, my god..." Vince slowly said in disbelief. He sat there, thinking absent-mindedly for a moment. "I have to go see Lydia," Vince suddenly said. Vince then opened the window and climbed out. He started running through the neighborhood, trying desperately to avoid the streets. The night enshrouded the sky as the sun set. The Dark Fiend of Fire was sitting atop the roof of the coffee shop. There were boxes on the roof, and Vince used some of them as a chair. It was well into the night and the stars illuminated the city. The Dark Fiend of Air, with her purple hair, flew over and landed on the roof near him. "What took you so long?" Vince asked. "I've been waiting up here for more than two hours." Vince was still stressed at heart. His inability to understand what had caused the transformation still sent shockwaves of panic through his body. "Hey, I'm a busy woman," Lydia said as she sat down opposite to him. "I can't be expected to be here as soon as you show up." "Well, can you tell me why I still haven't changed back yet?" Vince asked. "You're still way too panicked," Lydia replied. "It's all about adrenaline. That's why you can't change back." "So, the adrenaline from the run changed me into the Dark Fiend, and the panic from not being able to turn back kept me from changing back?" Vince said. "That's right," Lydia replied. "You have to calm yourself down. Like all magic arts, if you control your mind, your body will follow." "This is magic?" Vince asked in amazement. "Of course, it is," Lydia answered. "Now, take a deep breath and think only happy thoughts. That'll help." Lydia then reverted to her human form. Vince took a deep breath. "What did I do the first time to calm myself down?" he thought. A pause for him to think, and then he remembered. "Stephanie..." he whispered. He closed his eyes and tried to visualize her face. He saw her delicate eyes, her beautiful smile. He remembered her friendliness, how she was always willing to help him with schoolwork. It wasn't hard to figure out why he loved her. "Open you eyes, kid," Lydia said. "You're back to your human self, now." "Don't call me 'kid,'" Vince said. "My name is Vincent Zeng, but I prefer Vince." "Okay, Vincent," Lydia said. "What do you think of my offer? Do you still not trust me?" Vince replied, "Well, I think it would be better if I had control over my Dark Fiend abilities. I wouldn't want something like this to happen again." "Good," Lydia said. She stood up and transformed herself into the Dark Fiend of Air. "Shall we begin your first lesson tonight?" Vince stood up to meet her. "Sure." "First, thing's first," Lydia began. "Before you can fight as the Dark Fiend, you must be able to become the Dark Fiend." "Lydia told me to meet her here," Vince said to himself as he entered the Trioustan Park. It was the next night. Vince and Lydia had agreed to meet every night so he could train under the cover of darkness. Vince, in human form at the moment, walked over and sat on a bench. Suddenly, something jumped out of the bush behind him and grabbed him around the neck, trying to strangle him. Vince struggled for a moment. Then, a flare, and Vince became the Dark Fiend of Fire. He leapt into the air and threw his attacker off. It was the Dark Fiend of Air. As Lydia landed, she told him, "Never let you're guard down, Vincent. Always be on the alert. An experienced warrior such as myself develops almost a sixth sense. We can practically feel, intuitively, if there's something nearby." "A sixth sense? Feel?" Vince asked. "That's right," Lydia replied. "We call it the Warrior's Sense. We're not sure how it happens, but some of us think that it comes from seeing certain signs and hearing certain sounds and even feeling patterns in the wind. It all happens subconsciously, but it really does help in battle." "I see," Vince said. Lydia continued, "In any case, how about a warm-up spar." She assumed a fighting stance. "While we fight, I'd like to tell you about the Shadow Religion." "Must you lecture me while we fight?" Vince asked while blocking a high kick from Lydia. "You have much to learn, Vince," Lydia said as she tripped Vince. "We don't have the luxury of time. From today on, you'll be practicing one thing while listening to another." She blocked a few quick punches from Vince. "In any case, the Shadow Religion... We worship the Shadow Lord Skias, ruler of the Shadow Realm." "Shadow..." Vince repeated as he attempted to grab and throw Lydia. "The word makes it sound evil." "That's Western propaganda for you," Lydia replied as she broke Vince's grasp in kicked him in the forehead. "They teach you that Light is good and that Darkness is evil. Tell me, what is evil about the night?" "Well, it's hard to see at night," was Vince's pathetic excuse for an answer. "And that's evil why?" Lydia asked as she caught Vince's arm and threw him backwards. "I see your point," Vince said while lying on the ground. "In any case, Skias commands an army of metaphysical beasts called Shadows," Lydia said while watching Vince climb to his feet. "So, the Shadow Religion has Skias who commands the Shadows while the Alliatus Religion has the Great Power in Heaven commanding a Legion of Angels," Vince said as he punched Lydia in the stomach. "Are you . . . a follower of Alliatus?" Lydia asked as blocked a barrage of punches. "No, I'm an atheist," Vince said as he took a kick to the face. "My girlfriend's Alliatus." Lydia gave Vince a mighty punch in the chest. "I hate Alliatus," she said. "If any religion is evil, it's Alliatus. They persecute anyone who doesn't follow their ways. That's why there are so few followers of Shadow, because Alliatus is killing them off. Only about ten percent of the world is Shadow while more than fifty percent is Alliatus." While trying to avoid a series of attacks, Vince asked, "So, is the Shadow Religion correct, then?" "All religions are equally correct," Lydia said as she landed a massive backwards kick across Vince's body. "But each Religion follows a different set of deities and has different values, some of which are better than others." "So, there's no point in being an atheist, then?" Vince asked while grasping his stomach in pain. Lydia watched him collapse to the floor and said, "Yes, you should be Shadow instead. After all, it was Skias who gave you your gift, the power of the Dark Fiend of Fire." She helped him up. "So, I'm like a chosen one for the Shadow Religion?" Vince asked as he climbed to his feet. "Precisely," Lydia replied. "You have been destined by Skias for greatness." She reverted to her human form. "Let's move on to something else now. Can you turn back into a human?" "I'm trying to," Vince said. "I see you'll need more training," Lydia replied, looking down and shaking her head. |