The air was chill, colder than the nights before it. The moon was gone from the sky, stars taking its place on the new moon. The ground was covered in frost, reaching from its central point, a silent, seething figure on the sandy river shore.

The fight had started as a skirmish, another chance encounter. She had only been about fishing, something she used to calm her nerves during trying times such as a war. She heard the footsteps, felt the chill down her spine reach the dew covered grass and spread in tendrils. She watched the river freeze over, her fishing line stuck in place as she set down the fishing rod to her side.

The footsteps had stopped when she started to get up, the tendrils of frost reaching outward from where her hand touched the ground. Her observations had been as sharp as cracked ice, ready to strike like an icicle set into an awning.

She turned calmly, her face not one of anger but expectancy. She knew she should’ve done this by her own base, where the fish were sparse but the night was quiet. She was scared to fall too far from the G-Team base, though, worried that they may need her at a second’s notice. She wasn’t very surprised that she was the one that needed them.

Her brown eyes tinged blue met with two pairs in the unlit night. She could hear zombies groan and skeletons clatter in the distance, but none of the three humans made a noise.

There was Impulse, standing with his hands clasped behind his back and glowing brighter than normal. A yellow aura surrounded him, wavering with the heat that came off of his form. He was ready to summon his weapon from behind him at the drop of a hat, the smirk on his face threatening and cocky.

Behind him, a few meters back was Ren, in his prime. His eyes glowed slightly, a charged power inside him giving them a silver tinge. His lips curled up in excitement, teeth bared and legs ready to sprint. He carries a sword with one hand, the blade gleaming in Impulse’s bright aura.

“Hello boys,” Stress said sweetly, testing a smile. “Great night for fishing.”

They could all see the reaching tendrils of frost covering the ground. The wide break it had around Impulse wouldn’t go unnoticed either, though it was only some frost.

“Would only be better if it was raining,” Ren joked, Stress understood the implication.

Her hand, still next to her side, slid into her right back pocket. Inside sat a little button, one she pressed with a simple click. She kept her hand in her pocket, attempting to not look suspicious. It was a 1v2, the odds against her. She needed help, any that would come. She knew she would still have to stall.

“What have you come all the way out here for?” she asked, her voice as relaxed as she could force it.

“To send an ice queen out of commission for one, maybe two days,” Impulse said matter-of-factly. “Think you know anything about it?”

Stress licked her lips, sliding her foot to the side and widening her stance as she removed her hand from her pocket. “What’re you planning for tomorrow?” she played along.

“Nothing yet,” Ren replied.

She saw him start to move but she struggled to catch the movement. A trail of ice started to follow him, nipping at his heels as he sprinted circles around her. She knew better than to take her eyes off of Impulse, though. She saw that glow burn brighter, a red-hot light coming from behind his back.

Preparing her other hand, she glanced quickly to Ren. She immediately glanced back at Impulse, throwing her left hand up into the chilly night air. The frost that had surrounded him solidified and strengthened, shooting upwards in a series of tightly knit spikes that reached their peak mere feet above Impulse’s head. A jail cell of ice, layers upon layers keeping them solid to the ground. It would do little to cage one of the three fire elementals without a little help.

She pulled away the hand that chased Ren’s movement and clasped it with her other. They unclasped, slowly moving apart, matching the pace at which the layers of ice thickened, turning a crinkled blue with frost covering its edges.

With her attention drawn away, Ren changed direction sharply, pushing up grass in the pivot. He kicked off into a sprint again, shining iron sword extended as he held it ready in his right hand. Stress heard his approach, turned too late as she caught the gleam of the sword in her eye before it caught in her side. Iron as cold as ice sliced through her side. Blood soaked her cardigan, though the wound was ultimately superficial. She was still blown back, moving away from the blade and doubling over. She set a hand on the wound, her hand and clothes tacky with blood.

The frozen cage was melting, water flooding the ground as a hot yellow glow came from the inside and through the cracks. She heard the whip crackling and sizzling against the ice. Stress straightened up and faced Ren. She just had to buy some time.

Ren was now about fifteen feet away, blade out and dripping, held carefully in one hand. His stance was wide, one leg more bent than the other as he readied himself to sprint again. He wasn’t at his strongest, but just barely. The new moon only hindered him slightly, but he was still stronger than any of the rest of them.

His leg bent more, he was ready to sprint. As he kicked off, Stress flung her hand towards him, watching a sheet of ice cover the ground between her and Ren. He attempted to stop short but quickly felt the ground come out from under him and his stomach drop to his feet. His back hit the sheet of ice, sending a resounding smack echoing in the night air.

A louder crack came from Impulse’s direction. She snapped her head back to him in time to watch several of the spikes that the cage was made out of slide from their supports and shatter on the ground. Dull light came from Impulse’s form, sending Stress’s heart going ten times faster.

Rapid footsteps came from her left, Ren’s direction. His boots crunched the frost they walked on. She needed to focus on Impulse though. She stepped back, trying to create some more distance between him and her. She saw the light of the G-Team base glimmer in Ren’s sword again, a warning she appreciated but ignored. Her eyes were trained on Impulse. Out of panic or determination, she wasn’t actually sure.

Ren stopped short of Stress, yelling out in pain. He hit the ground, spun backward by his arm. Her eyes tore from Impulse. Ren was flat on the ground, groaning and holding his shoulder. He had let go of the sword so it was sitting at his side.

There were footsteps running rapidly from the G-Team base, armor clanging that reminded Stress that she had left the base without it. She didn’t have time to address them as Ren started to get up, propping himself up with the arm that wasn’t in intense pain.

Stress ran up to Ren and kicked the sword away by the handle. She knelt towards the ground, pressing her knee against his chest to keep him in place. She aimed her hands down at his wrists and shot, forming bolts of ice into restraints that would keep him much longer than they would Impulse. Speaking of… She heard the crackle of fire the clang of sword against iron. She pulled her attention away from Ren, confident that the restraints would hold.

Only one had joined her on the battlefield, at which she sighed in relief. The others needed their rest. Most had been injured in a recent battle. Although they were quick to recover, it wouldn’t be smart for any of their injured to run out onto the battlefield again. Instead, Jevin had joined her, swinging his sword with more force than was normally possible. Impulse was glued in place, feet stuck to the ground and unable to move his limbs with as much accuracy as he usually would have. He lobbed heavy blows of fire in Jevin’s direction, barely missing each hit as Jevin dodged out of the way.

Stress ran back to her fishing outpost and threw open a chest. Out of it, she yanked a quiver of arrows and a loosely strung bow, which she was quick to tighten. She shoved an arrow into the notch, brushing over the flinthead and feeling it chill and sharpen under her fingers, ice coating the tip. She let the arrow loose, watching it fly towards Impulse at top speed. As it entered the area around him, it dropped with the sudden change of gravity. She was lucky when hit his thigh. This time she aimed high, hitting him the right arm. A smile pulled at her lips, knowing they had the upper ground.

A flash of light to her left blinded her, and from the surprised noise, it seemed Jevin as well. There was a distant thump, a few feet away from where Impulse once stood. When Stress’ eyes readjusted, she saw Impulse thrown against a knoll, though with almost no physical side effects besides being thrown off for a second. He quickly recovered, pulling himself to his feet as Jevin continued to try to recover his vision.

Impulse sucked in a breath. Stress’ heartbeat skipped. He blew outward, holding a finger in front of his mouth like a whisper. The resulting flame carried outwards in a cone of fire, encompassing Jevin in the blast.

Jevin yelled out in agony. Stress could hear bubbles pop sickenly, making her stomach churn. When the fire cleared, Impulse having run out of breath, she saw the slime that made up Jevin’s form bubble and steam, boiling in the intense heat. He was grimacing in pain, kneeling down with a sword in one hand and the other on the ground as he pushed himself up. Impulse looked cocky for a few seconds before Jevin made a sharp nod upwards.

Impulse flew into the air, turning upside down at first in surprise before gaining control over his position again. He looked down to see the ground far, far below him. If he fell now then he would be fine, but if Jevin used his power further…

He sucked in another breath subtly, watching Jevin get up and look away temporarily. He was weak, it was clear.

“Doing alright Stress?” Jevin asked, though from the grimace he still held and the fact his form still bubbled and steamed it would be smart to worry for himself.

“Yeah, I’m-” she started, her brow knitted in concern.

A yellow-hot light caught her eye. She pushed off from her standing position, sprinting towards Jevin. The ground under her turned to ice, spreading out like vines with each step, reaching the river in her speed and power. Heat drew closer, making her sweat profusely, her head started to get light. Her breathing was quick and she barely worked up the energy to keep sprinting.

She jumped, the step where she took off spreading ice that quickly shot up into sharp spikes to follow her feet. She felt her hands connect with Jevin’s shoulder and push off, sending him sprawling against the ground and barely out of the range of the cone of fire that was quickly incoming.

> StressMonster101 went up in flames