Saving Soul

Anja put her hands together and chanted under her breath. "Aquate Nymph"

Water bubbled up from the floor under Voltaire. Like it had a mind, a form of its own, it reached up and surrounded Voltaire, pulling him into its chilly grip.

Voltaire cried out as the cold liquid coils tightened around him, steam erupting from his body. He spat out fire and struggled vainly.

Adair's petty sense of revenge soon dissolved into anxiety. He didn't expect the attack to be that persistent and strong.

"Stop it," he said, half in fear and half in warning.

Anja looked over to him. "Why should I?" She asked calmly.

The steam lessened. Voltaire started to shiver violently.

"He may act like an ass, but he's my friend," Adair answered. "Something like this could kill him."

Anja sighed like it was a bother. "Fine. Nymph, dissate." She commanded, drawing a glowing rune in the air.

The water dispersed into the ground.

Voltaire collapsed to the ground upon being freed, his body still shuddering with cold.

"The...The freaking hell, Adair?" he sputtered, shooting the Hero a glare of rage. "What, you happy now that I'm half-dead?"

Of course Adair wasn't happy now. What the hell had he been thinking? He had just suggested to a near-stranger to attack his partner with a water summon. Adair had assumed it would be some water sprite or something that would more annoy Voltaire into leaving than actually hurting him, but he knew such assumptions were stupid in the first place. The wolf creature Anja had summoned was no weak being, so why would he assume her other summons were? Now he could have gotten Voltaire killed for such an assumption.

He started swaying side to side as his emotions continued to panic and rise, his blue eyes looking dazed. Some black-and-white fire passed from his lips every other breath. That was stupid, that was stupid, that was-

Voltaire gaze, though still angry, started to give way to alarm.

"Ah, hell. Don't-"

"What's going on?" Anja asked, slightly paniced by the flames coming from Adair's mouth. "What's wrong with the hero??"

Adair knew he was going, but at that point he didn't really care. It didn't take long for his emotions to shut down when he slipping into Chiaroscuro.

"...Shit," Voltaire hissed, knowing what was to come in a few moments and wishing he wasn't so weak from the water trap earlier. He turned to Anja. "Look, you, summon something. Something sturdy that can keep Adair distracted for a while."

"Um, Wha-What element?" Anja paniced.

"Something fire-resistant. Not water. He's sensitive to it like I am," Voltaire replied. He wondered if the water-binding from before might not be such a bad idea, but he knew that it might not work as well on Adair while he was in such a state. Maybe as a last resort.

Adair stopped swaying as the occasional breath of monochromatic flame became a steady stream from his mouth. His arms also became engulfed in the unnatural fire, the flickering of the blaze slower and more mist-like than the usual flame. He lifted his head up slightly, eyes dilated and dead-looking.

"Hurry up!" Voltaire insisted, braced for defense if needed.

Anja pressed her hands together tightly and forwent the chanting entirely. "Gaia Golem!" She commanded.

This time the very earth moved. Rocks moved to shield Voltaire and Anja, while at the same time, separating Adair from the cave entrance.

Adair glanced at the up-jutting rocks around him with disinterest. Then, suddenly, he rushed forward and began bashing at one of them with his flaming arms. He darted back, spewed a stream of fire at the same rock, then shot forward and began striking at it again. There was no pleasure or even rage in his expression as he attacked, but a cold sereneness.

Voltaire could hear the vicious attack from behind his own stone shield. He was slightly breathless from the usual strain that he indirectly received from Chiaroscuro. Whichever rock Adair was assailing, it seemed to be far from him. He hoped it wasn't the summoner's.

Anja gulped. She knew her earth spirit could withstand anything, but she was scared. This was new. This- This made her wish she wasn't an orphan- she wanted someone to hold her and tell her everything would be alright.

Adair's relentless attack spree went on for a few more minutes. By the time the bright-dark flames returned to being normal-colored flames, the whole area he was enclosed in was stained with slightly glowing black-and-white. He staggered around in circles for a little while, numb, before finally sitting down on the ground, exhausted.

He gazed around at the victimized stones, the black and white everywhere, his feelings muted but returning. Here was the reason. Here was the reason he was a changeling and an outlaw instead of a proper Hero. All because of his weak and wounded heart. He hated it.

Anja gave a strangled breath. She still didn't know what was going on, and she was still scared.

Voltaire still felt like crap, but the drain from Chiaroscuro had faded away. It was finally over.

"Hey Adair!" he called, not sure how well the Hero could hear him over the tall rocks.

"...What?" came Adair's quiet reply, his tone defeated and drained. The fact that the redhead had replied at all confirmed his suspicions of Chiaroscuro passing. Adair was silent during Chiaroscuro, never even yelling in attack or pain.

"Hey, summoner girl! You can take the walls down now!"

Anja shakily traced a glowing rune on her wall and the rocks slowly retreated back to where they came.

Adair watched the rocks retreat with mild fascination. He knew what they were, a summon to protect the others from him. It wasn't like he didn't remember what he did during a Chiaroscuro fit or didn't understand what was happening around him. Sometimes he wished it was that way.

Voltaire and Anja soon came into view as the rocks fully submerge themselves back into the ground. He knew he should be glad that they weren't hurt, that his attack had been safely contained, but all he felt was sadness and self-loathing.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, not looking at either of them. "This always happens. I'm just rotten."

Anja shook, her back pressed against the wall. She knew that they were demons now. She could only summon one creature at a time, so if they wanted to kill her, they could.

Voltaire sighed, getting up. He noticed the terrified girl, and figured he owed some sort of explanation. It didn't have to be detailed or even that accurate, but it needed an answer.

"Mr. Hero here is...cursed," the Hunter began. "Whenever he gets too upset or too riled up or something, his heart gives out and that-" - he pointed to the black and white all around - "-happens."

"I'm sorry," said Adair.

"I know, be quiet," Voltaire replied, more of an resigned response than an irritated one. "Anyway, once his heart starts beating again it stops, but then he's depressed as hell like now. He'll snap out of it after a few hours."

Voltaire walked over to Adair, helping him up. Adair had some trouble standing on his own.

"Let's go," he said to Adair, letting the redhead lean on him. "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, summoner."

Anja gulped but nodded in agreement a moment later. She stayed where she was, pressed against the wall.

Voltaire walked out of the cave with Adair, squinting at the sunshine.

"Dammit, which way was the tournament again?" he muttered to himself.

"Sorry," Adair murmured.

"Quiet."

Anja remained in the cave. She held her knees and rested her forehead on her knees as the shook in silence.

(ooc: She's pretty traumatised. She'll be there for a while, go ahead and skip to where ever you want. oh, and is Kimi with voltaire in this one? Or separate story entirely?)

(Voltaire's by himself again. Skipping forward now)

Back at the tournament medical area Adair did what he did best after a Chiaroscuro fit: sleep. While he slumbered under Ava's wing, Voltaire found himself dreading the shot to come. Goddammit, it was the same shot as that nurse gave him all that time ago. Now everyone would know just what a black, rotten soul he had. Not even Adair would want to be near him after this. He would have to be, to stay in the tournament and to stay alive long enough to fix his heart, but he wouldn't like it anymore.

But he knew that was what would happen eventually anyway, right? Judging by Adair's earlier suggested attack he was already getting fed up with him anyway. This would just be the last straw.

Adair. He wondered if he told the girl anything. She had mentioned something about looking for the tournament, but she's clearly wasn't a demon or changeling. He almost wished for her or something else to screw up the tournament so he wouldn't have to take the shot and expose himself for what he really was, but it would be pointless. All the higher tournaments required soul as well as blood, so it would just be putting off the inevitable.

Anja was still in the cave. Her ankle was swollen badly, making her think she may have broken it when she fell. She shivered as she stared into her fire. Adair had lied to her. Voltaire had made that quite apparent. They had both known what the changeling tournament was, and Adair had lied to her and tried to take her away. Was it that important?