#dark! raiden

3 months ago…

It was another stormy, summer day. And Elliot couldn’t be happier!

Many of their parents had advised against it, but of course, none of the children listened. Lightning scared none of them. I mean, what were the odds of actually getting struck by lightning?

They weren’t zero, apparently. At least, not when the storm isn’t a natural one.

Elliot pedaled her bike as fast as she could, trying to keep up with her best friend. Isolde had elected to stay home, working on another one of her schemes. The promise of something cool to see near the old military base drew them to the far edges of the town.

“Come on, we’ll run out of cloud cover! You know how hot it gets!” Aelga shouted through the sound of thunder and pouring rain.

“Huff…huff…I’m going as fast as I can, El! Why does Markus have to show us something this far out of town!” Elliot said through panting.

Aelga did an arc and stopped in front of Elliot, near the side of the old, paved desert road. “Here. Wrap this around your handle bars,” Aelga said, pulling out her old skate leash. She handed it to Elliot, who promptly tied it to her bike’s front.

“Alright, hold on tight. We’ll have to keep far away for a sec but once we hit a hill, I’ll pick up enough speed to just keep pulling you,” Aelga said as she tied the leash around her waist.

“Ready?”

“Ready!”

In just a moment, Elliot and Aelga were speeding off towards the old military base. As it came closer into view, hidden under the cover of an old rock formation, Elliot noticed a large amount of lightning hitting only near the base.

“Hey, does that look weird to you?” She shouted to her friend.

“It’s just…huff…lightning. We get a lot more of it in the desert,” Aelga said between panting.

“No, I mean it’s only striking the base,” Elliot said, eyes fixated on the tall buildings jutting out in the skyline like a sore thumb.

“Probably got a lot of lighting rods there. Or it’s an experiment. I dunno. Don’t…ask…questions,” Aelga panted back.

The two sped down the road some more until they were a few hundred yards from the gate to the base. Aelga took a sharp right onto a hill leading to the rock formation overlooking the base. Aelga slowed down, sitting on a nearby rock and unlatching her skates, putting on a spare pair of beat up skate shoes from her bag.

Elliot hopped off her bike, setting it down against a nearby Joshua tree. Aelga set her skates down against her sitting rock, and the two began hiking their way up behind the rock formation, careful to keep in a crouch when the rock didn’t cover them completely from view of the base. Far too many times had they gotten in trouble for peaking over the fence.

The two finally came around a bend to a peak overlooking the base. Marcus could be seen crouching over the cliff face, camera pointed at the scene below.

“What’d you want to-“ Aelga began, but was cut off by Marcus shushing her, followed by him beckoning them next to him. Aelga did as she was told, Elliot reluctantly following. As Elliot crouched on her belly next to the other children, she got a better look at the incident unfolding below.

Two extremely tall and muscular men were standing barely a shoulder width apart. One was wearing a Japanese rice hat, the other wore sleeveless armor and a long, white braid. Neither had pupils.

“Is that-?” Aelga began.

“Yep. And they’re real, apparently. The storm’s that guy’s,” Marcus said, pointing to the man in the rice hat.

“I knew they were real, but like-holy crap,” Elliot awed, crouching next to Marcus and Aelga. “Are…they fighting?”

“Looks like it,” Marcus replied, camera still pointed at the two.

“They’re brothers, though. Why are they fighting so much? Raiden and Fujin are like, the nicest of all the earth gods,” Aelga whispered.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. If one of them is throwing a temper tantrum, it can’t be good for Kensington,” Marcus whispered, adjusting his camera to get a better angle as the two gods began encircling eachother. Fujin seemed to be trying to reason with Raiden, who’s eyes became a crimson red, along with the lightning arcing from his body. He held a strange, golden amulet.

“Which brings me to why I brought you both here,” he began. “I need your help to get a closer shot. If I can get definitive, clear footage of this, it’d get the government to totally leave Kensington,” he proposed, speaking a bit louder than before. Fujin gave a small side glance in their direction. All three kids ducked underneath their hiding-rock, eyes wide with fear.

“Okay, so who wants to climb the fence?” A wide eyed Marcus whisper-yelled sarcastically.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Aelga asked angrily. “Marc, both of them could snap us like a twig. I’m all for getting the special forces out of our town, you know that, and I’d do anything to help my friends. But that-that’s insane. The footage we have is enough!”

“Aelga, we need to be as clear as we can. Remember the last time we thought we god footage? Everyone thought it was fake!” Marcus whisper yelled.

“That was one time. We didn’t know anything about this sort of thing. Now, we know how to get a decent shot!”

“We can’t be cowards about this! If we want to be Kombat Champions one day, we need to be fearless! I’d climb the fence myself, but we both know I’d be too heavy for the fence. You guys are both way more nimble than me. Aelga, you have amazing balance and coordination, and Elliot, I’ve seen you hiking, you’re a natural,” Marcus said, gesturing to them both.

“No way, Marcus. This is too far!” Aelga whisper-yelled.

“Come on, don’t be a chicken! We gotta do this! For Kensington!” Marcus taunted.

“I’ll do it!” Elliot blurted, raising her hand. Aelga pulled her hand down. “Lia, you don’t have to do this. Come on!”

“No, I’m serious. Like Marcus said, I’m a great climber and I can be pretty quiet about it. I’ll just climb the fence and crawl into that big Joshua tree. They’ll be none the wiser,” Elliot said.

“Lia, We won’t think any less of you. Come on!” Aelga said, placing a hand on Elliot’s shoulder.

“I will,” Marcus muttered. Aelga punched him in the arm.

“I’m doing this, Aelga. I’ll be fine!” Elliot said, grabbing the old handheld camera from Marcus.

Elliot began climbing over their hiding rock, jumping down onto the fence just in front of it. She landed about halfway on the fence, gripping the chain links just behind the giant, old Joshua tree.

“Lia, wait!” Aelga began, reaching after Elliot. Marcus cupped her mouth and pulled her down so that both were just barely peeking over the fence.

Elliot snuck a peek at the two bickering gods before her. The one called Raiden took a step toward the one called Fujin, stomping in warning as lighting surged around his body, fists balled in anger. Elliot flinched, and frantically climbed the rest of the way up the fence, holding the video camera by the hand strap in her teeth.

When Elliot made it to the top of the fence, she was met by a barbed wire. She thought for a moment, then made her way up so that only her legs were standing on the fence. She grabbed two branches of the Joshua tree and lifted herself carefully over the barbed wire, then resting her legs onto a larger tree branch. Perfect.

Elliot shimmied along the branch until she was near the top, still hidden by thick leaves. She sat herself upright and grabbed the video camera in hand, making sure the recording light was still on. Sure it was, Elliot pointed the camera at Raiden and Fujin, zoomed in. Elliot was maybe 10-15 feet off the ground, but still incredibly close to the fight below. She shook a bit with both fear and nervousness, trying to keep her breathing as quiet as possible. She tried to listen carefully to the fight.

“Brother, let go of the amulet! This isn’t you!” Came the man in the braid. Fujin, she assumed, trying to remember the poster on Aelga’s wall with all the major earth gods.

“And why should I? The amulet has only made things clearer!” Raiden roared, a crack of Thunder ringing as he spoke. Fujin and Raiden circled eachother, Raiden now standing about five feet from the trunk of the tree, Fujin another 10 feet from Raiden. Where Elliot sat on her branch, she was right above where middle between them was.

“You’re talking nonsense! The amulet has only clouded your judgement! Let go of it! You’re not acting yourself, you’d never kill a former champion, no matter how far they fell!” Fujin hissed.

“I see now that you only wish to get in my way, dear brother! If you refuse to quit your interruption of earth’s protection, then you leave me no choice!” Raiden shouted, gathering lighting around his right arm as he prepared to strike Fujin. What happened next seemed to happen somehow in slow motion but also in a blur to Elliot.

The gesture Fujin made startled her, loosening her grip on the tree branch she was hugging. Losing her balance, she managed to grip onto the tree just before falling, hanging upside down onto it, but still doing her best to hug the tree branch with her free hand and legs. She kept the camera pointed at the fight as best she could.

Fujin acted quicker, however, and in a swift twist of his arms, shot a gust of wind that sent Raiden flying against the trunk of the Joshua tree, sending a wave of force that shook the whole tree. Elliot lost her grip, dropping the camera to the ground, and fumbling before she found herself plummeting to the ground with a big, “OOF!”

She landed smack dab in the middle of the two demigods, back first. Fujin’s eyes widened with worry. “What in the realms..? Get out of here, young one. Hurry!” He shouted, approaching the girl.

Elliot shook her head, pain shooting up through her spine to her neck and head. Everything went sort of black for a second. Her world span in circles, but she could still move somewhat. Raiden got himself up, shaking off the blow. Even more rage shot through his being, lightning surging from his fists to his eyes. Fujin tried to get help the girl up, but Raiden got to her first.

“Get out of the way, welp. Before I move you myself,” he spat.

Elliot blinked as she looked up at Raiden, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain. She shook in both pain and fear, Barely comprehending his words. Elliot tried to stagger onto her feet, but it wasn’t fast enough, apparently. Raiden grabbed her by her collar, and threw her back against the tree with far more force than her fall. But before she could even make it halfway to the tree trunk, Raiden shot a large stream of red lightning at her, landing on her right shoulder, shoving her even harder into the tree trunk. She screamed in pain as her body collided with the tree trunk and an unnatural amount of electricity ran through her nervous system. When she made contact with the tree, Raiden still kept the lighting flowing for a moment.

The sheer force pinned Elliot against the tree, searing her flesh and blinding her eyes, the electricity so close to her eyes. All she saw was a bright whitish-red flash of light as her whole body was completely overwhelmed in both temperature and shock. Her heart beat faster than she thought possible as electricity flowed through her body. Once the lighting stopped, her whole body felt numb. She gave out a blood curdling scream before her whole mind faded into blackness, all her senses so disoriented, all they sent her brain what was best described as a ringing sensation, just before her brain fell out of consciousness.

As for the impact against the tree, Elliot’s left arm made contact first against the tree, bones cracking under the force and weight of her own body pressing against her arm. Next we’re her ribs. An audible and loud “CRUNCH!” could be heard just over her scream. Fujin winced, eyes wide in horror, running to the little girl’s side.

The smell of burnt flesh and singed clothes filled the air. Elliot went limp onto the ground. Her right shirt sleeve was completely singed off, along with most of the back of her shirt, revealing black and red burnt flesh all along her arm, shoulder and back. It was almost difficult to make out her true skin color, so many char marks and a lightning bolt patterned-scars dotted her skin. Her hair on her right side was either gone or so burnt, all that was left was fuzz. Her entire right eyebrow as well as part of her left one were singed clean off. Blood had began to flow from her mostly unburnt left arm, cuts and scrapes from the rough tree bark.

Fujin cradled the broken body in his arms, checking for a pulse. Her heart did still beat, but it was faint and arrhythmic, holding onto dear life by a thread. A few small tears welled up in his eyes, before he let out a roar of anger. Raiden arced electricity around his fists, but Fujin sent him flying jn a gust of wind so hard, he landed square against the building nearby that held the special forces looking on in horror. The sheer force seemed to knock Raiden unconscious, sending the amulet out of his Raiden’s vice grip and landing with a clang a few yards from him. Several soldiers came rushing out to examine both the charred child and the unconscious Demi god. A medic ran to Fujin’s side.

“Is she alive?!” Came from the frantic medic, putting the stethoscope into her ears, gently putting it to Elliot’s chest. Barely, came an enraged Fujin. “She doesn’t have much time. We need to get her-“ the medic began, but was cut off when Fujin, cradling the charred child in his arms, stood up, determination filling his face.

“I will bring her back soon enough. But there’s only one thing that can save her right now. Maybe…” he said. Fujin bent his knees, and shot off like a hurricane in a jump. The sound of what could’ve been a jet normally rang loudly through the air, clouds of desert dust left in his wake.

“Stay with me little one. Please!” He whispered as he shot through the air. In a matter of seconds, he was just over the nearby moutain, and descended towards a cave near the base of the canyon the moutain transitioned into. Once he crossed the threshold into the mouth of the cave, his surroundings changed to that of the Sky Temple, as he passed through the portal. Fujin didn’t show his speed, blowing open every door in the grand building until he made it to the sacred Jinsei chamber.

Still cradling Elliot in his arms, he entered the pool, setting Elliot down to float on the surface of the water. Immediately, the water faintly glowed a soft blue as it surrounded Elliot’s charred flesh. The water went up to Fujin’s chest as he waded the water, still gingerly holding Elliot’s body. The remaining flesh surrounding Elliot’s arm swelled a little bit, a bit of muscle returning to the ligament. Before, Elliot’s skeleton was practically visible.

As the healing waters enveloped her, Fujin, in his heightened state of awareness from the adrenaline, could hear her little heartbeat slowly returning. It was still faint and arrhythmic, but the organ was no longer practically twitching but actually beating and pumping blood again. The cuts and scratches surrounding Elliot’s left arm closed up, along with a lot of the visible purple bruising fading from her chest. A purple imprint of her broken ribs were still visible, mind you, but her entire chest was no longer completely purple. The color returned to Elliot’s eyes. Most of the smaller burns along her body seemed to fade, leaving just her charred right arm and shoulder.

Time seemingly broke to a grueling halt as Fujin watched over Elliot’s more major wounds slowly close up or fade. “Do not fade, little one. Your spirit is strong, I can sense it. Please, just a little more,” he whispered in fear. His tears had dried, but he still felt himself shake from the whole ordeal. His anger had subsided a bit, being replaced by an intense protective instinct. Such a small person.

He’d guess her to be around 12 or 13, given her height and her more adolescent body shape. He assumed her to be female, given her tone of voice from earlier and more feminine voice and clothing choices. Well, what was left of them, anyway. They still looked quite plain though, almost rugged, as though they had been through many owners before her. Her build was a bit small, almost Hunger pained. She lean arms and legs though. He could tell she played outside quite frequently.

His heart sank, knowing that a difficult path of healing lay ahead for the young child before him, one filled with long rest and days spent away from her home. Barring her physical injuries, he couldn’t imagine her mind finding rest soon, especially at her young age. It didn’t help that she obviously lacked the Kombatant gene, the mysterious gene that gave so many Mortal champions their signature fast healing and incredibly resilient bodies. No, this girl’s body would have to heal like any normal human’s.

Elliot’s body’s healing began to slow, signaling the extent of what the Jinsei could do for her. Fujin was snapped back from his deep thoughts when the familiar sound of the doors to the chamber grinding open. Fujin got out of the pool and stood protectively in front of it. He was met by a wincing brother, holding his arm in pain, head hung in shame. Raiden barely met his brother’s anger-filled eyes. “B-brother…I-“

“Leave. The chamber is occupied,” Fujin said, eyes narrow at Raiden.

“Brother…please. I feel nothing but guilt and shame for what I did today. I am so sorry for what I did to you,” Raiden said, gesturing to the lacerations and cuts along Fujin’s arm. “I want nothing more than to-“

“Not by me!” Fujin shouted. “I will heal easily. I have seen your rage before. But her…” Fujin said as he stood aside, giving Raiden full view of the broken and charred body floating unconscious in the sacred pool. Raiden’s eyes grew wide in horror. He instinctively looked away, wincing at the mere ideas of her injuries entering his mind.

“She nearly died, Raiden. She’s a child! Her body can’t handle that kind of blast! You swore to protect them! Don’t you DARE look away! You did this! You destroyed her body!” Fujin screamed in anger.

Raiden stood silent for a moment, before looking up to meet Fujin’s gaze again. “What can I do to make amends, brother. I know how I acted…scared everyone,” Raiden said in a low voice.

“Everyone else?! Brother, the poor child! We’ve seen you possessed before, well all recover. They’re all Kombatants, they’ve seen much worse. But the girl…she may not heal fully again. You can start by checking on her once she has been checked in with the Special Forces doctors. She doesn’t have the kombatant gene, the Jinsei can only do so much,” Fujin said as he entered the Jinsei again, cradling Elliot’s body in his arms.

Fujin speed-walked past Raiden, sending him an icy stair. “You’d best stay here. The Special Forces will likely shoot you on sight, after what you just did. Heal, and then think about what you’ve done. As for the amulet-I will make sure it is safely stored. But you will have no part in it. You clearly cannot be trusted with it.” Fujin exited the chamber with a loud clang of the double doors.

————————-

As soon as Aelga saw the gust of wind, her heart sank. She had a small view of Elliot’s hiding spot in the tree, and saw Elliot flip over on the branch. Marcus took a sharp breath when he heard Elliot slip. In a blur of motion just a few seconds later, both kids heard Elliot let out a loud “OOF!” and a thump when she hit the ground. Both Marcus and Aelga looked at eachother, eyes wide with fear. They moved further right to get a better angle of the tree trunk, Elliot and the Demi gods coming into view.

Aelga wanted to move, wanted to spring into action, swoop in and save her friend. But the fear paralyzed her. She barely moved, heart racing in fear. In another blur and a flash, both children bore witness to the blast of lightning coming from Raiden, a blood curdling scream escaping Elliot, followed by a zapping sound, and then a crunch. Both their hearts sank, then Elliot hit the ground with a thud, her charred body laser engraved into the memories of both children.

“ELLIOT!” Screamed Aelga. She tried to jump to her friend’s rescue, but was held back by Marcus. He pulled Aelga back down, his eyes filled with fear and worry. He pointed to the thunder god, who began arcing lightning from his arms. “Don’t be a martyr! They’ll kill you!” Marcus said through gritted teeth. He shook from a rush of adrenaline.

They heard a loud roar from the infamously sweet wind god, sinking both their hearts further. Both Marcus and Aelga booked it to the area with Aelga’s skates and Elliot’s bike. Neither spoke, they just began pedaling and striding as fast as they could down the old dirt road. The adrenaline flowed through them, allowing both to keep pedaling and skating down the road at top speed the whole way home. They never once stopped or slowed down, never speaking a word. Both just ran straight to Aelga’s house, hiding in her and Isolde’s bed room.

Their father wasn’t home yet, his shift not ending for at least another hour. Both kids panted, breathing heavily. Isolde have both of them strange looks. “What the hell has gotten into you two?!” She asked incredulously. “And where’s Elliot?”

Tears welled up in Aelga’s face. “Elliot…she’s…I tried to do something! I tried to talk her out of it! Marcus-!” Was all Aelga sputtered out as Isolde hugged her sobbing sister. “