The man of fire fell against the ground, a crater formed from the impact. The woman controlling water threw her arms up, collecting a wave of fluid. She threw her arms towards the man, the water flying towards him.
"Tidal Wav-" She yelled excitedly. Time had paused, the woman floating in mid air. A figure much like the woman wheeled her chair out from the shadows, weaving through the frozen wreckage. The figure came up to the woman and stared at her. It removed its hood, revealing who it was. No surprise, the figure was the woman, who still was hanging in the air. She pulled from her coat pocket a pen. A sharpie. She looked around, looking for anyone who would stop her. She met eyes with me.
"Woah!" The woman jumped, startled to see anyone else moving.
"Wait, are you starting the story here?" She asked me. I nodded, unsure of what the answer would be.
"Oh no, you have to start at the beginning!" The woman grabbed my hand and steered me to a field. If I recall correctly, there was a building there before.
"Timey wimey, wibbly wobbly." The woman stated, noting my stares. She pushed me onto the grass, a new scene taking place. The woman rolled across the scene, motioning me to follow. She pointed at two figures on the plain, time still frozen.
"See, that one's me." She pointed to the figure in blue. She used the sharpie to circle her, the pen inking on air. She drew an arrow to the other figure.
"That one is- oh, you'll see. Stay here." She rode away and time started again. I glanced back at the figures, only meters away now. The one the woman had noted as herself stormed my way.
"Brook, calm down." The other form spoke, trying to calm down its friend.
"Go away Amelia." Brook walked on, passing in front of me, her hands clenched.
"Brook..." Amelia whispered, laying her hands on her friends shoulder. Brook whipped around, turning to face her.
"No. Go. Away." Brook thrust her hands to her friend, pushing her away. I felt water trickling up my legs. Wait, up? I back up, a circle of dried plants losing their water to the sky. The liquid swam through the air, shocking the two girls. It then darted to Amelia, encircling her in a sphere of water. Brook stared at her hands, wondering if it was her own fault the water was flying. Amelia was trying to swim to the top of the circle. The water stopped her, the pressure letting her do nothing but sit. She was worried now, I could tell from her expression. Brook looked up now, seeing her friend struggling.
"Oh my god!" She ran over to the water, but it flew away. Amelia struggled to hold her breath a bit longer, let her life last a bit more. But it was no use. The water pushed the air out of her, leaving her to breath in water. And she began to drown.
Brook screamed, trying to get her friend to wake up. The water flew back to the plants, giving life back to the grass. Amelia lied on the grass, not breathing. Brook, unsure of what to do, sat and cried. She stopped moving, and so did the wind. Time had been paused again. I turned around and looked at Brook, grown and mature, her hair greyed. She wiped her eyes.
"Oh, I-I wasn't crying," She sniffed,"I was sweating from my eyes." I followed her as she opened a door to a house. The plain had been what seemed endless with no buildings earlier. I just assumed she was playing with time and space, making it bend and squeeze. I walked in the building, a living room opening up the house.
"Watch." The woman moved back, blending with the shadows. A man walked down a set of stairs and sat on a couch. He laid back, getting ready to take a nap. The door we had come in burst open, young Brook pulling her friends lifeless body into the room. The man stared, unsure of what to say.
Brook huffed, regaining her breath.
"Did you know?" She asked aloud. A woman walked in from another room. She was polishing a glass, which quickly dropped to the floor, breaking into shards. The woman ran over to the girl, checking for any signs of life.
"We can still save her. Jack, take her to the hospital." The man nodded and picked up Amelia's body.
"Did. You. Know." Brook turned to the woman, a fire in her eyes.
"Know what, sweety?" The woman smiled, trying to keep the subject at a light tone.
"You know exactly!" Brook yelled. Her tear stained cheeks were wet once again.
The woman had a confused expression on her face.
"Honey, I don't..."
"YES YOU DO!" Brook screamed, tears streaming down her face. She ran to the couch which I assumed her father was at before and threw her face into the pillows. Mother sighed and walked over, careful to be quiet. The rest her hand on her daughter's back.
"I think it's time we talk to Sensei Bayou." She pat Brook's back. Her hand paused mid air, and her breathing stopped. Brook stepped from the shadows.
"Yeah..." She breathed,"A bit of a temper tantrum." She led me up a ramp to an aquarium- or what it looked like. The room was a giant fish tank with a few air pockets here and there. Each pocket had a room set up, example cafe. It was a bit odd, but the man sitting in the center of the tank was even more. His skin was made up of teal scales. His blonde hair drifted in the water, slightly tinted green at the ends. He sat with his legs crossed, hands rested in the water around him.
The door we walked in opened up, Brook and her mother walking in. Grandma Brook hid in the shadows, watching from the sidelines.
"There." Her mother pointed to the man in the center. She pushed Brook along, who was staring mesmerized at the tank. They walked to a door, leading into the tank. Brook pushed the door open. I walked in, looking around. The room seemed to be a bubble, yet the furniture didn't pop the walls. Brook walked in and sat on a bench, shocked by the room. Her mother was unsurprised, merely plopped down on the couch. The doors closed and the bubble disconnected from the frame. It floated around a bit, its main direction to the man. I glanced over at young Brook, who now was standing next to me, staring at the man. We edged closer to him, yearning to find out who he was. The room stopped feet from him, letting us catch our breaths.
The man opened an eye, staring at the two women.
"Hmph." He huffed. Brook stepped back as he swam to the room. He slid through the wall, not a drop of water on him.
"Miss Harkness." He bowed to Brook's mother.
"I assume this is Miss Brook, the prodigy you have been telling me about?" He glanced over at Brook and I. I stepped around, trying to see her face.
"Uh-huh." Brook breathed. Her jaw dropped as the man moved the water from outside the room. He twisted it, using only his hands from thirty feet away.
"Lets start right away. It'll be about an hour, Miss Harkness." The man parted the water, creating a hallway. I followed him, ahead for Brook, who was just steps behind. I looked around, fish and sharks swimming in harmony. As our feet pounded the water path, Brook began to speak.
"H-How is this possible!?" She put her hand in the walls as she walked, it easily pressing through.
"You will be able to do this one day." He spread his hands, a large room of air created.
"Now, let's begin." He turned and put his hands together. He blinked, but his eyes did not open.
"So that's how that started..." Brook rolled out again, the shadows falling off of her. She moved through the bubble into a hallway, like the ones you see at zoos. Except, these exhibits didn't have animals, but scenes.
"I trained for years, always coming home with bruises. Water hurts, okay?" We walked, peering in to each scene. One, she fell against the floor. Another, she created a crack in the big aquarium. Sensai covered it in duct tape.
"Ok, this looks right." She found an exhibit, a school hallway. She breathed heavily as she grabbed her cane. Tapping the glass twice, it then came crashing down. She rolled into the exhibit, passing by row of lockers. Students were walking around, ignoring us. A bell rang, and students hurried into classrooms. A group of students ahead didn't budge at the sound. They were snickering, pushing something up.
Brook sighed. "I'm over there. Go take a look." She pushed me over. I walked closer, examining the scene. A young Brook, much like the first one I saw, was being held up by a few peers.
"Where's your lunch money, scrub?" A boy yelled at her. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Stop, please!" She begged. The boy and his friends laughed.
"What if I don't want to?" He sassed. Brook clenched her fist, and the boy stood still. He released his grip on her, grabbing at his throat. His friends ran, scared of what was happening.
Brook released her grip when she was a good thirty feet away, and he began to breath again.
"Wha... What the he-"
"And lets not let him say that." Brook wheeled back, laughing.
"He tried to take my 'lunch money', which he and I both knew was code for a key. He didn't know what to, though." She pulled out her marker again and drew on the boys face.
"Heh, I've been wanting to do that for years." She drew a mustache on him, his face unchanging.
"Thats enough. It'll only last for this second. He's just going to feel the ghost writing." With that, time began again, and he felt his face.
"Told you. Now come." She breathed heavily as she rolled down the hall. I took control and pushed her, letting her rest.
"Ahh, thank you." We continued, the students avoiding us as we changed scenes. The hall led to a street, houses lining each side.
"This, eh, this is where it starts getting bad." A young Brook came into view, walking down the street.
"See, this was a week after that," She pointed behind me, "And he had come home and followed me, wondering why I always rushed home with my hands clutching something." Brook was clutching something, small. She worriedly looked both ways, as if she would be caught.
"Ah, there he is." She pointed behind her younger self, a flame on a electric pole standing erect. It moved, jumping with extreme agility. It jumped ahead of her, and sped off.
"He had looked up my address in the school records. Here, this is where I leave you for a bit." She wheeled herself off, leaving me standing to watch the scene. I ran up behind Brook, watching what she saw.
"I can't let him get this. If he found out what it is, he'd surely melt it." She spoke aloud, clutching the item closer. She undid the cover and I stole a glance at it. It was a key, red fire patterns enveloping the design. She covered it again and look up, sniffing the air. We smelled the fire, and both began to run towards the smell. A house, much like the one I saw before, was burning.
"Oh god..." She ran to the building, still clutching the artifact. I ran after her, wanting to see what happens. She put the key in her pocket and threw her fist to the ground, eyes closed. I watched as she trailed her hands along the ground, searching for something. Her hands locked on, and she pulled up. Water, I presumed from a sewer, flew up through the ground, creating a deep hole in the dirt. She swished her hands, and the water followed her movements. She then thrust her hands to the house, and the fire was cleansed. She dropped her hands and ran into the building.
I chased behind her, heavy breathing coming from both of us. The fire had only began a few minutes ago, so the items had just been licked by the fire. We ran up the stairs to find a flame still burning. And melting her parents brains.
"Stop!" She yelled. I looked at the flame, it standing six feet tall with a familiar face.
"Are you kidding? Look at them squirm!" The fire placed a hand of flames on her mother's forehead. She screamed, her brain being set on fire from the inside out. I walked over to the wall of fire, wanting to knock him out. But I remembered that I was just viewing this, so I settled to look at the fiery face. I examined it, trying to figure out whom it was.
"Stop! I'll do anything!" Brook extended her hand, trying to make him stop.
"Ok," He paused momentarily,"Give me your 'lunch money'." It clicked who he was, the boy from the hall.
"Rory! You, of all people?" She shrunk, the courage taken out of her.
"Yes, me. I thought you'd recognize my voice."
"Oh, I tend to block out such ugly noises." Rory's fire burned blue, full of anger.
"Hand over the key, or I'll torture them," He held his hands over their heads,"Again."
"Only if you can catch me!" Brook pulled more water from the sewers and blasted up to the sky. I stepped into the water stream, it carrying me up to the top of her little tower.
Rory hissed and flew up to the sky, the flame rocketing through the blue sky. The battle had begun. Brook, with her water tail, and Rory, a flying flame.
"How are you doing that?" Brook asked, yet she knew the answer. She's been studying him for ages.
"Heat is lighter than cold."
"Looks like this jock hasn't been pushing around nerds to do their homework." He hissed again and threw a blast of fire towards Brook. She blocked it with a shield of water. The water evaporated, steaming into the sky. Brook smirked and pushed her tail further from the household, heading towards the bay. Rory apparently didn't see that, as he threw blast of fire every which way at her. Each time she blocked, the tail grew shorter and shorter. In the middle of the city, she had gotten down to about three feet off the ground. With that water, she thrust it at him, hitting him in the head. His fiery hair fell back to the slick, blonde hair from before. But in seconds it was ignited again.
"Think a little water will stop me?" He yelled. Citizens of the city now looked up, staring at the ball of fire in the air.
"No, but a lot of water may!" She pulled up from the ground again, water bursting through the floor. I stepped back, watching the view.
She thrust a few bits of water at him, weakening his defenses. But he shot back, fire balls aiming everywhere but her.
"Gosh darn new body!" He yelled as he thrust a ball of fire to Brook. It hit her square in the chest and threw her to the ground. She fell through a warehouse roof and crashed into an aquarium. Sensai Bayou's aquarium.
"What in the world?" He looked up from his water meditation, his green beard flowing in the water.
"Phoenix. I need the jar." Brook spoke to her instructor. I watched from the side, a crane keeping me up to see.
He nodded and thrust his hand to a cluster of sea weed.
"I had no idea he would come back this soon!" He willed the water to form a key and opened the chest. I looked from behind him, peering into the chest. A vase, a very old one, covered with markings of trapping a fire demon within it.
He thrust the water holding the jar to Brook. She caught it and sped off, leaving me with the instructor. He turned around and faced me.
"Go watch her! Don't sit here!" He thrust the water to speed me up to the sky. I sat there, hovering in the air, held up by a bubble of water.
"Oh, think that jar can do anything?" the Phoenix asked, his flame now a warm yellow with confidence.
Brook kept quiet and set the jar on the ground, now covered in scorch marks and holes. The water platform took me to her, and I landed by her side.
She whispered into the jar two little words.
"It's time"
The jar erupted with water, it spewing out like a fire hydrant. Brook took this water and thrust it to Rory. It ate away at his defenses, and his flame too. He dwindled down to just flaming hair and hands, lying beaten on the ground in a crater. The water collected above Brook. She began to speak her famous line.
"Tidal Wave!" She thrust her hands to him, and the water flew. It hit the Phoenix in the chest, and he exploded into ashes. The ashes fell onto the ground, drifting back and forth. The battle was fought. Water had won.
Brook brought the jar over to the spot where Rory's body had been. The ashes collected into the jar, tiny screams yelled, calling for revenge and that she was a bloody coward for not facing him again. People began to fill the streets again, after running for their lives into buildings. Brook placed the lid on the jar, keeping him trapped for another hundred years. People cheered and lifted her on their shoulders, cheering her name.
"Brook! Brook! Brook!" They threw her in the air, happy to be saved.
"Ahh, I was glad this had been over and done with." Brook wheeled up next to me, breathing heavily.
"The jar held for at least seventy years. To where I am now." Time speedup, and we reached a confinement center, a hospital room with a beeping heart monitor.
"Well, it's time for me to go. Keep a look out on my jar, would you?" She wheeled over to her bedside and lifted up a jar. I took the jar from her, her breathing getting faster.
"See you later!" She laughed and slid into the bed next to herself. The heart monitor increased, her heart trying to give a last 'hurrah'. She touched her other body, and her soul flew into it. The monitor went flat, and nurses and doctors flooded the room. I held the jar tightly, knowing what was within it. I had caught up with time, and I now stood in the room, seen by all. A woman escorted me home. I placed the jar on the table, examining it. A tiny crack had formed, leaking out heat. I used my hands to pull saliva out of my mouth, using the same powers my grandmother had taught me. I moved it to close over the crack.
The Phoenix would be returning soon, and I would be the one to stop it.