//------------------------------// // Chapter 1- Advent of the Phoenix // Story: Straight Shot: Expanding the World! // by WozWuzHere //------------------------------// Straight Shot "Advent of the Phoenix" --- Reality can be really weird when it wants to be. This morning, I got up, showered, dressed, and went about what I usually do during my day. Which is to say a whole lot of nothing, as today was my day off. I didn't feel like dealing with reality today. "...kinda wish that reality avoidance wasn't so BORING though." I muttered to myself, readjusting my gaze on my laptop. Some would say that I should go find some friends, or even a girlfriend...I do have friends, but they have very heavy work schedules. As for the girlfriend thing...yeah, I'm not opening THAT can of worms right now. At the very least, I wish someone needed me. I wish I could do something to help someone right now. That'd be the best use of this free time, I think. I mean, it would cure my boredom, sure, but I just genuinely enjoy helping others...maybe a bit too much admittedly, my "hero habits" have gotten me injured more than once. Still... *Bibi-beep!* "Hm?" The noise was an indicator that I had received an e-mail...which is probably spam, since no one ever e-mails me. "Well, no harm in looking." The message itself listed as from "Phoenix", at a very strange e-mail domain. "phoenixthermal@reality.grd? The hell?" I contemplated on whether I should click this or not...aw, the hell with it, I can run the anti-virus after. I opened the message...and then started to feel like I'd been hit with an industrial-strength tranquilizer dart. I started to drift off... ----- "...Claus..." I heard an unfamilar voice calling me. Was this a dream...? "Hey, Claus! Rise and shine!" I opened my eyes to find myself drifting in what appeared to be outer space. "What the he-" It was then I realized that I could breathe and talk normally. I may not know THAT much about space, but I do know humans need to breathe air to live- something the vacuum of space normally LACKS. I then looked around...imagine how surprised I was when I found myself floating near a giant flaming eagle. I spent the next minute trying to form whole words. "I...but...what...you...why...?" The hot bird appeared to roll its eyes at me, to which I scowled a bit. "Hey, it's not polite to roll your eyes at someone like that, bird-brain." "Bird-brain, huh? Gee, I don't get called THAT often." The big burning bird snarked back. "So, initial barbs aside, can you maybe explain WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON BEFORE I HAVE AN ANEURYSM TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT!?" The bird-thing stuck its wing over its face in a manner that looked like the archetypical "facepalm". Well, in this case, "facewing", but that's semantics. "Alright, Claus, just calm down and I'll explain. I called you here." I raised an eyebrow at two noticeable details. First, how did this thing know my name, and why did it "call me"? "Oh I know your name alright." Well that explains- wait a minute, did it just read my mind!? "I have a name you know. I'm the Abstract Spirit of Fire and Heat, Phoenix." "Abstract...what?" Well, Abstract is one way to describe all this, that's for sure... Phoenix cupped his head in his wing again, seemingly flustered at trying to explain this. "Basically, Abstract Spirits are sort of embodiments of various things in the universe. For instance, I embody thermal energy." ...so he's like the patron saint of space heaters? "So are there more Spirits like you?" Phoenix nodded. "Yes there are. In fact, that's part of the reason why I pulled you here. I need your help." I was confused of course. KFC incarnate needed my help? "Well, I'd like to help, but what do you need help with, and why do you need me?" I noticed Phoenix's expression turn grim. "My baby sister and her friends are in danger." Phoenix definitely had my attention now. "Danger how? Is this sister of yours another spirit?" Phoenix nodded. "My sister and her friends are a set of 6 Spirits that go by the group name "The Elements of Harmony"." "That's kind of corny." I quipped. "BE THAT AS IT MAY," Phoenix raised his voice with a noticeable indignation, but I could tell he was chortling a bit. "These Elements are being threatened by something...something extremely sinister and alien." "Right, dark nebulous force threatening the land." This whole situation was starting to read like a checklist of cliches. "...and I need you to help me stop it." And there was the clincher. "Why do you need me? You're a giant flaming bird! Can't you just, burn them to death or gouge their eyes out or leave incendiary bird craps on their car or something?" "If only it were that simple...and I only did the bird crap thing once, thank you!" I relented a bit so Phoenix could explain himself. "Well, you're right that I am powerful, but this...entity seems to be able to block me from getting close to it, or where my sister is. However, if I empower a mortal to use my abilities, such as yourself..." "...I can help your sister in your place, bypassing the issue." Yep, definitely cliche checklist. It didn't take me long to decide on this. Giant flaming bird monster or no, I don't turn my back on people-or in this case, giant birds- who need help. "Well, if you did read my mind, I'm pretty sure you know my answer already." Phoenix smiled at me. Did I mention smiling with a beak looks really, really weird? "I expected as much from you. You're like fire yourself, you know." I was like...fire? Did that mean I was hot? ...was he coming on to me? "Fire is known for two things; heat, and light. You warm the hearts of others, like heat, and you guide and help others, like light." "That's even cornier than the Harmony thing." I retorted again. "But sure, I'll go." "My thanks, Claus...oh, before I forget, the world you're entering is going to be...different than what you're probably used to, but as long as you stay like fire, you'll be fine." "Heat and light, yeah?" "Heat and light. Apologies for the impact." I was confused. "What do you mean impa-" THUD! ----- "Ow ow ow...why do I feel like I got slammed against a brick wall...?" I stood up and observed my surroundings. From what I could tell, I was in some sort of dense forest. "Huh...well, I suppose the best thing I can do now is try to find civilization." I started looking around the area. As I wandered, I started taking stock of my surroundings. While there WERE some staple pieces of flora, trees and such, I also noticed that some of the flowers and plants looked...unusual. "...this really is another world, huh...?" I was trying my best to remain calm, but I figure anyone would react with panic if they woke up in some alien forest. SNAP! I heard a series of what sounded like branches being broken near me. I dug my hands into my pants pockets and kept walking, trying to keep a low profile. "Grrrrrr...." My heart started to beat quickly. I kept walking. I could tell that whatever was growling behind me was still stalking me. I picked up my pace a bit more. Still following me...I started walking even faster. Eventually, I broke out into a full run. Whatever this thing was, it was persistent...and hungry. Unfortunately for me, it was also not alone...I found myself cornered by what appeared to be a wolf made of wood. "Damn it...what now!?" The wooden wolf lunged at me...I thought I was done for, but at that moment, it felt like the world paused. "What...? Everything's moving in slow motion...can I...?" I sidestepped to the left, and the wolf's attack missed, sending it head first into a nearby tree. "That was weird...but I shouldn't look a superpower gift horse in the mouth." The wolf-thing and its buddy started coming at me again, and I was sadly out of options on the ground...but a large branch above me started sticking out in my mind, like I was supposed to try to jump to grab it...so I did. "Whoaaaa! Why can I jump like this?" I started thinking...is this Phoenix's doing? But I elected to save the speculation until I was out of danger. From my vantage point in the tree, I noticed that there was what appeared to be a hut of sorts in the distance. This was all really weird, but I didn't have many options, so I jumped down from the tree and started to sprint in that direction. Sadly, the wood wolves had the same idea, and chased me as well. One of them was able to get in front of me, and I found myself surrounded. At that point, one of them lunged at me again. "That is ENOUGH!" I yelled, hurling a punch at the approaching beast. Truth be told, I didn't expect that punch to do anything, but I managed to knock the thing away. Quite a distance too...probably due to the same thing that made me able to react and jump. I took my chance and bolted as fast as I could. Eventually, I lost the damned things and found myself within proximity of that hut...I decided to play it safe and keep hidden so I could observe what was around. "Hmm...whoever lives at that hut loves animals, it looks like." I noticed someone come out of the hut...and was almost about to scream. This was a pony...person...pony-person...gah, I don't know! The figure in my sight appeared to be a female, with yellow fur and long pink hair...I think they'd call that a mane and tail on a normal horse. She was wearing rather modest clothing as well, and was apparently guiding some birds somewhere. I decided to follow, but was going to stay out of sight until I got a better idea of what was going on. As I stayed in pursuit, I noticed that this whole town seemed to be inhabited by similar pony-people...pony-ple? They all seemed to be getting ready for some event that was to happen at sunrise, which was about 10 minutes from then if I had my estimates right. Keeping myself concealed from view as much as possible, I followed the crowd to the area where the event was to take place, staking it out from a small alley nearby. I couldn't exactly make out what was being said, but I noticed that some of the pony-ple started panicking and running away. As I attempted to draw closer, I saw the source of their fear- a very sinister looking pony-person who was saying some stuff about "eternal night" in old English. And, as luck would have it, hero-instincts kicked in. I drew as close as I could and hurled a small rock at the bitch. It seemed to strike her near the horn on her head, causing her to stagger a bit. "WHO DARES CAST THAT STONE!?" I came out of hiding with another rock in my hand. "I don't know, lady...did it look like THIS!?" I said, pitching another stone. The evil looking pony-person blasted it out of the air with a burst of...something from that horn this time. "YOU INSOLENT WHELP! DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH!?" "I don't care!" I spat back. "If you're trying to hurt these ponies, you're gonna have to go through ME first!" The audience around me was staring in awe, not really comprehending what was going on. I picked up a nearby barrel and tossed it at my current opponent... Where she broke it into pieces. "Ha ha ha! You can't hit me with mere projectiles like that!" "Don't need to!" I ran up to Tall, Dark and Bitchy while she was gloating and wound up a punch, hitting her in the jaw. She seemed to be unharmed, but was reeling, as if she wasn't used to feeling a strike like that. I chalked that up to the recent mystery power boost I had. "ENOUGH! I have better things to do than entertain a hairless monkey...I will make the night will last forever!" The evil pony person began to vanish before my eyes. "Wait!" I tried to grab on but I was too slow. "Damn it, she got away..." At that point, I noticed everyone had their eyes on me. "..." I didn't say anything, and started walking back in the direction of the forest...or at least I tried, but some sort of ...violet energy field grabbed me. "What the hell?" I looked around and saw another pony-person, a purple one with a horn, and she was projecting this field from said horn... This may have been a bad move... -------