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Three Fiends Spiral winds and jagged lightning sped towards the Dark Fiend of Fire. Quickly, Vince jumped up in the air, and the two attacks passed beneath him, intersecting at odd angles. As Lydia and Steve fired again and again, Vince dashed and dodged, trying to avoid the attacks. Then, he ran in between the two other Fiends. As soon as they fired, Vince dashed away again. Lydia narrowly sidestepped a lightning bolt while Steve barely avoided an incoming drill wind. "We gotta be more careful," Lydia said. "How about I'll hold him still while you shock him?" "Sounds good," Steve replied. Lydia reached out with both arms. Suddenly, Vince found himself locked in place. The winds wrapped around his body, keeping him from moving. Then, Steve shot a bolt of lightning at Vince. Because Vince could not move, he could not dodge. The lightning struck him, sending millions of volts through his body. As Vince screamed through the immense pain, Lydia laughed. "Last time, you said I lost because I divided my power between attack and defense," Lydia said. "This time, I'm going all out defense while Lightning over there kicks your ass. How are you going to win this time?" Then, Steve gave a pause to his lightning. Vince felt the winds pulling him through the air. Lydia, using the winds, slammed Vince through an old-style abandoned train. Vince crashed through its engine, sending shards of metal flying everywhere. He landed on the train tracks on the other side, but immediately, the winds pulled him up into the air. As Vince hovered there, about a foot off the ground, Steve jumped on top of the train and began frying Vince with electricity. Vince cried in pain. All over his body, his skin was tearing open. The blood barely began to leak out before it already boiled. Then, Vince saw that Lydia had hopped on the train tracks for a better view of him. With great effort, Vince produced a fireball in his hand and threw it straight down. The explosion twisted the train tracks beneath him, but they remained mostly connected. However, one portion of the metal tracks had been lifted into the air. It was only a few inches beneath Vince's left foot. With all the strength he could muster, Vince thrust that foot downward, touching it to the railroad tracks. Lydia saw what Vince was doing and tried to jump out of the way, but her reaction was too slow. The electricity went through Vince's foot, into the railroad track, and down to where Lydia was standing. As she took the powerful shock, Vince felt the winds weaken. Steve, upon seeing that his attack harmed his ally, stopped it. Vince then sent out a shockwave of flame to tear away the weakened winds, freeing himself of both attacks. With burning rage, he ran toward Lydia. As soon as she stood up, she was pummeled with flaming fists. Then, Vince spun around behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck, applying pressure. Lydia was now his hostage. Steve hopped off the train and was about to strike at Vince with lightning, but Lydia interrupted. "No, don't shoot," Lydia shouted. "You might hit me." Thus, instead of shooting off lightning, Steve calmly walked up to Vince. Suddenly, Vince threw Lydia forward, using her as a projectile. Steve caught her, then, holding on to her, fired lightning at Vince. Vince cartwheeled to the side to avoid the lightning. Then, when Steve heard screaming coming from the body he held, he stopped and looked down. Lydia had been shocked. "It's been raining the whole time," Vince thought. "We're all soaking wet, so when Steve shoots lightning, he gets caught in it, too, but since he's the Dark Fiend of Lightning, it doesn't hurt him, but when he's touching Lydia, the water makes her get shocked by it, too." Steve looked down with his cold eyes at the lady Fiend that he had accidentally fried. She was still breathing, but weakly. Suddenly, Vince sprung forward and punched Lydia in the back with a flaming fist. Forced by the impact, she coughed blood. Then, Vince kicked her, knocking her out of the ditch that held the railroad tracks. Lydia landed on the platform, where the force of the blow rolled her away. Vince and Steve stood face to face. Steve chuckled. "If this is going to be a battle of attrition, it looks like I have the advantage," Steve said with confidence in his voice. "Then, it won't be a battle of attrition," Vince replied simply. "How can you be so sure, if we're so evenly matched?" Steve said. Steve burst forward with lightning in his hands. Vince responded by attacking with fists of flame. The dance of fire and lightning continued. After several steps more, Vince missed an attack, and Steve struck him square in the chest. Vince was sent flying through the air. He crashed into a steel water tower, bending it slightly. The water tank 20 feet above him now leaned forward. Steve calmly walked up to the fallen Vince. "It looks like I win," Steve taunted, "and you die!" Steve shot a bolt of lightning toward Vince, but Vince threw a fireball upward at the water tank. The fireball tore a hole in the water tank, and gallons of water came pouring down. The artificial waterfall acted as a shield, absorbing the lightning attack. While momentarily protected, Vince gathered fire energies into his hands. Steve grunted in rage and struck the water tower with lightning, causing it to burst. The rest of the water fell away, and the water shield was effectively gone. However, at that moment, Vince threw the two massive fireballs in his hand. The fireballs smashed into Steve, knocking him across the battlefield and into the front of the train. The already damaged train engine, when Steve smashed into it, exploded, sending burning debris--and Steve--into the air. The Dark Fiend of Lightning fell back to the ground with a thud, unconscious. "I have to go... finish him... before it's too late..." Vince said, tired and weakened from the battle. The Dark Fiend of Fire slowly climbed to his feet. He staggered toward Steve, but then, Lydia walked up to Steve and lifted him up with a wind spell. "Consider this a draw," Lydia said. "We're all badly injured. We're all equally beaten, but as for me, I'm going to fly away and live to fight another day." With a sudden movement, Lydia extended her hand. A wind wrapped around itself in a mad coil and shot forward, kicking up dirt and dust. The drill wind cut through Vince's torso, knocking him back down. Then, the Dark Fiend of Air flew away, carrying Steve with her in her pouch of wind. The Dark Fiend of Fire lay there on the floor, bleeding profusely, his blood mixing with the raindrops that fell on him. Vince, however, was still alive. "I'm all right," he said to himself. "Just let me rest here for an hour or two. Then, I'll go home. Just let me rest here for a while." Tina Chen ran into Stephanie's room to check in on her. Then, she ran out again. However, Stephanie didn't notice Tina at all. She was too distracted, thinking about Vince. She was remembering the first time they had met, about a year ago. "Sister!" Tina shouted. "You have to help me decorate for my birthday party!" "Huh? What? That's today?" Stephanie said. She had been busily working on her Pre-Calculus Honors homework. "Yeah, it's Saturday!" Tina replied. "It's my 13th birthday, come on!" "Oh, all right," Stephanie said, putting down her pencil and notebook. She and Tina walked down the stairs. From a box, they pulled out various party decorations, including balloons, streamers, and other colorful stuffs. Then, while Stephanie was in the middle of tying balloons to the top of the stairs, the doorbell rang. Tina ran up and answered it. "Oh, hi Alice!" Tina said excitedly. "You're certainly here early." "Well, Vince needs to go to a Cross Country thing, so he decided to drive me here early," Alice replied. "Happy Birthday!" she added, handing Tina a wrapped box. "Open it! Now!" Tina hesitated for a moment, then excitedly tore the wrapped gift open. "Oh! A laptop!" Tina said with exhilarating joy. "I always wanted one of these!" Tina then put the laptop aside and hugged Alice. It was at that moment that Stephanie came to the bottom of the stairs to tie some balloons on the banister. This put her in view of the front door. "Stephanie?" came a voice. Stephanie turned around and saw a guy who she assumed was Alice's brother. "Hello," she greeted him with much shyness. "You're Vincent Zeng, aren't you?" By now, Tina and Alice had gone elsewhere. "Yeah," Vincent replied. "I thought I recognized you. It's that ribbon tied in your hair. It looks real cute on you." "Thanks," Stephanie said, blushing. "Well, I have to go to a Cross Country meet," Vincent said. "I'll see you at school. Bye, Stephanie!" As he waved and turned around to leave, Stephanie waved back and said, "Bye!" The next Monday, while Stephanie waited in the lunch line, Vincent got in line behind her. She didn't notice at first because she faced toward the front of the line. It was only after she felt a tapping on her shoulder that she turned around and noticed him. "Hi, Stephanie," Vincent said. "Oh, hi, Vincent," she replied. "That ribbon looks just as cute on you today as it did the other day," Vincent said. "Thanks," Stephanie replied, blushing again. Thus, they began talking, talking about school, about current events, about friends, about life in general. It was awkward at first, because Vincent seemed nervous and Stephanie was very shy. However, after a few moments, everything smoothed over and they seemed to have a lot to talk about. After she had bought her lunch, Stephanie waited for Vincent. Then, they went over to a table and ate lunch together, chatting. Vincent Zeng seemed like a very nice, very friendly person. Yet, while they talked, Stephanie felt as if there was something Vincent wanted to say, but that he kept putting off out of fear. Finally, after the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, Vincent spoke up. "Uh, Stephanie, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me," he said, his confidence wavering. "You know, go see a movie, get something to eat, stuff like that." "Sure," Stephanie replied, her face blushing bright red. "But right now, I need to get to 5th period. I'll talk to you later." "I'll call you tonight," Vincent said. "You know my number?" Stephanie asked. "I'll ask Alice," Vincent replied. "She's friends with your sister. She'll know it." "All right," Stephanie said. "You do that. Bye, Vincent!" "Bye, Stephanie!" he replied. With that, Stephanie ran off to her English class. Tina walked in and out of Stephanie's room. This time, Stephanie noticed. "Poor Tina," she thought to herself. "She's been so excited for us ever since she found out that her sister was going out with her best friend's brother. I think she looks up to Vincent. Poor Tina. She's been affected by all this just as much as me and Vince." Vince tapped on a glass window. It was the evening after his fight with Steve. He had come to Steph's place to try to reason with her. Tina came and opened the window. "Hi, Tina," Vince said as he climbed in. "Oh, Vince, thank Heaven you're here," Tina said. "You have to go see Steph." "Um, that's what I came here for," Vince replied. Vince walked down the hall and quietly entered Stephanie's room. She was sitting in bed, crying. Her glasses were on the floor. Vince walked up to them and moved Stephanie's glasses back onto the table by the bed. Then, he gently patted Stephanie on the head. Immediately, she moved out of the way. "What do you want?" she asked harshly without even looking at him. "Stephanie, you're crying," Vince said. "I'm not crying for you," Stephanie replied. "I'm crying because of you." "Stephanie, I want to apologize and make it up to you," Vince replied. "If you're willing to listen." Stephanie didn't reply. She sat there, ignoring him, not even looking at him. Vince said, "First of all, Chrissy's dead, so let's just--" "What was that about me being dead?" said a voice. Vince turned around and saw a white girl with light brown, looking at him with her light brown eyes. "Chrissy!" Vince said, surprised. "You mean she's alive?" Stephanie yelled. She was looking at them now, a look of rage in their eyes. "Well, I certainly thought she was dead," Vince replied. "Not dead," Chrissy replied. "Dying. Apparently, my lifeforce was so weakened that you couldn't sense me beneath all that rock. Lucky for me, some snow seeped in through the cracks, and I used the cold to regenerate." "Get out of my house, Vince, and take your stupid white bitch with you!" Stephanie screamed. "Who is that girl?" Chrissy asked. "Uh, Chrissy, this is my girlfriend," Vince said. "Looks like she isn't anymore," Chrissy replied. "What happened?" "Vince, stop bothering me and leave!" Stephanie shouted. "Stephanie, please, calm down," Vince said. "I'm sorry about that, I really am--" "You told me she was dead, and I thought I might forgive you," Stephanie shouted. "But now, after I find out you've been lying to me, I'm never going to forgive you! Never!" "Stephanie," Vince pleaded. "I wasn't lying. I didn't know she was alive." "I don't want to hear it!" Stephanie cried. Vince paused. Then, he turned to Chrissy. "This is all your fault, bitch!" he yelled. "If it weren't for you, everything would be going well with me and Steph!" "What?" Chrissy said. "I didn't do anything. I didn't even know you had a girlfriend. You never told me." Vince responded with his fist, punching her in the face. Then, he walked out, leaving Chrissy clutching her face while Stephanie yelled at her. On his way out, Vince bumped into Tina, who had a look of utter sadness on her face. "Why don't you talk to her yourself?" Vince shouted. That response pushed Tina to tears. However, Vince didn't care. He simply jumped out Tina's open window and walked away. Later that evening, Vince returned to his own house. He went to the window of his room, but found it empty. Then, he climbed over to the window to Alice's room. The window was open, but there was no one there. "Alice?" Vince called out. "You there?" He heard a muffled voice. Quickly, he ran to the door and went into the hall. "Alice!" he shouted. Four Ragnarok soldiers stood in the hall. Two of them held Alice, keeping her from moving. A bandanna was tied around her mouth to keep her from making excessive noise. The other two held rifles, armed and ready for combat. Mandragon was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was away, working on a new MMH. However, Thalloric Motarius stood with the Ragnarok soldiers, his heavy silver sword in hand. "Motarius, what do you want?" Vince asked. "To eliminate you, Dark Fiend," Motarius replied. "You and I have never really fought each other. All the other times, we've been in the middle of other battles, so let us now fight to the death." Then, to the other four soldiers, "You are not to interfere!" Suddenly, Motarius shot forward with his sword. With one quick slash, the dark orb on Vince's necklace was shattered. "The Shadow Disruptor!" Vince cried out in horror. Vince had no time to mourn the loss of his greatest safety valve. At that moment, Motarius charged in, his sword ready to hack Vince into pieces. |