The Patron Quadrilogy: The Legend Begins

Chapter 13

Saturday, October 14th, 4:25 p.m. 2018
Littleroot Pkmn Lab Warehouse (old)
Brendan and Steven's fight
"Fire-Type move: Ember!"
Brendan clenched his flaming fist and swept his arm from right to left, opening his fist as he did so. A barrage of small flames went hurtling towards Steven. Steven quickly slammed his fist into the ground, whipping up a small vortex in the warehouse. The small flames from Brendan's Ember exploded into larger, more intense fires.
"Really, Steven? Wind intensifies flame. I'd call that a rookie mistake, but I know that you aren't that stupid." Brendan snapped his fingers, and the flames dissipated. Sure enough, Steven wasn't there. Brendan instinctively leapt back, cloaking himself in fire. The top platform of the metal shelf he was standing on was cut repeatedly by the wind.
"Razor Wind, huh? Alright, if that's how it is... Fire Spin." Brendan quickly checked the damage to find where Steven was. "There's a small outline of raised steel around the cuts. Don't want to step on that, but now I know it came from below." He settled on the small desk Steven had been sitting on before hand. "He'll try to lunge at me when I jump down, and I'll use Fire Spin to repel him. But, I'll need to get the timing right."
Brendan leapt down, and sure enough, Steven lunged for him.
"Three seconds. Three..... Two..... One....." In an instant, Brendan launched more fire from his hands, spinning him round and round at the required speed. "Thirty rotations per second..... Fire Spin ready. And erupt!" The flames quickly engulfed him, just before Steven collided with him. Steven's wind intensified the blaze, resulting in an explosion shooting from the epicenter of their collision. The force of the blast sent Steven flying onto the roof of the "Observation Room", where May's friends watched the spectacle.
"Not bad, Brendan," Steven smirked, dusting his shoulder. "But, I can do better."
"Heh. Prove it, then, Steven."
Saturday, October 14th, 4:25, 2018
Littleroot Pkmn Lab Warehouse (old)
May and April's fight.
The fight wasn't going nearly as well for May as it was for Brendan. Thus far, she'd been on the defensive. She was looking over at April, a good sixty feet away. Between them was a floor littered with ice spikes, cubes, and shards; most of which were made from May's own attacks.
"I need to find a way to turn this fight around," she thought. "But, she can freeze whatever I throw at her...." She closed her eyes, trying to think of a strategy. The watery tendrils protruding from her shoulder blades were useless against an enemy that could freeze them. "If this was a real fight for my life, I'd be dead. She can counter any attack I make, and it doesn't even look like she's fazed by this fight. Me, on the other hand...." May knew she was exhausted, and she knew she wouldn't be able to evade April, whenever she decided to go on the attack. Using her powers for the first time was really wearing her out. "Brendan wasn't joking about the strain from these powers. All she'd have to do is fire a few ice spikes at me, and the fight would be over. Wait, that gives me an idea...." Suddenly, her knees buckled, and she dropped to one knee. She looked up, and saw April summoning ice spikes around her.
"Well," April began. "I suppose it's time to end this, huh, May?" She pointed two fingers at May. "Ice Spike!" The spikes of ice flew towards her at high speed.
May rolled to avoid two of them, but then she felt the third frozen projectile hit it's mark, and she was pinned to a metal shelf, by her left t-shirt sleeve. She grabbed the spike desperately, trying to free her shoulder, but to no avail. The tip of the spike had penetrated the steel shelf, and had melted and refroze to keep her shoulder pinned. April walked over, forming a sword out of the ice. She put the blade to the side of May's neck, and she stopped dead.
"Well, I guess it's over. If this was a real fight, you'd be dead." May closed her eyes, before smirking.
"This fight's not over yet," May chuckled, suddenly, and very quickly, putting her right hand to April's abdomen. Water quickly form around her wrist and palm. As if on instinct, she uttered the name of the move. "Water-Type Move: Water Pulse!" She pressed her hand into April's abdomen, and the water shot her back on contact, leaving a pulsing, rippling effect in the air where the point of contact was made. She leaned forward quickly, ripping her pinned sleeve, and freeing herself. She stood up, somewhat shaking as she fought off the tide of exhaustion. She could hear April groaning as she slowly got up, winded, but otherwise unharmed.
"Not bad..... May," she said, panting as she caught her breath. "That Water Pulse caught me by surprise. You were baiting me in, weren't you?"
"Yeah, when I realized that ranged attacks weren't going to do anything for me, I had to think up a plan. But, that being said, the exhaustion is genuine. I honestly thought that I'd be too tired to see it through." She broke off, feeling her knees give way again. She fell to a knee again, and pressed her left hand to the ground, panting. She felt sweat dripping from her head and chin. "Give me a minute, and we can continue this fight."
"No, that's enough," April stated, looking at her with a worried expression. "You can't continue. You're really pale, and you can barely keep yourself up. You used up a lot of energy, May."
"But I can still-"
"No. You can't. You shouldn't use anymore of your energy. I think you overexerted yourself. That's not good. Us continuing this fight would put your life at risk. You did well enough, but you need to learn to control yourself. Otherwise, this happens. You're at your limit. If you use anymore energy, you'd likely die."
"But, Brendan said that if I reached my limit, I'd pass out almost immediately from exhaustion."
"And he spoke true," April explained. "However, you're a coordinator. That's a high stress environment. You can take stress, and you don't pass out from it, correct?" She nodded. "You're used to stress and strain, and because of that, you're able to persevere through the exhaustion this causes the body. That's useful, but it is very dangerous."
"How can I expect to stand a chance against Harley if I can't even fight for more than ten minutes!?" She demanded, suddenly coughing. April raced over to her, pressing a hand against her back, and one against her head, which began to heat up from fever. April began cooling her blood as it circulated through her hands. The result was basically ice packs in hand form.
"You will get used to this, and your body will adapt to this. I promise. And, don't forget, you did use your powers to learn how to basic evasion. For beginners, that can exhaust them quickly. But, you were able to fight for a short period of time, before you reached your limit. May, that's very impressive. Rest here for a bit. I'll be back with a drink for you," she smiled. "Even a Patron of Water needs to stay refreshed. And, here, have a granola bar. Something to snack on. It'll help you start to recover some of your energy. Let's tell the other two to wrap it up right about now."
"No need," a voice replied. April and May looked to see Brendan. "We're done, too." He looked at May, concerned. "Are you going to be okay? You're looking pretty rough."
"She reached her limit," April said. "She can't tell how close to her limit she is until it's too late. Brendan, that's a serious issue."
"On the battlefield, that would be fatal," Groudon grumbled. "Then again, Kyogre's Patrons have always had a low survival rate."
"Not like the survival rate of your Patrons is any better," Brendan retorted. Groudon just huffed in response.
"You're still alive, human," he shot back. The Legend had to admit, Brendan was one of the strongest Patrons he'd had in awhile. Very few Patrons ever survived their first year, largely because they would clash with seasoned Patrons, and they'd be killed by accident. Others simply went insane, and took their own lives. Those who survived usually experienced suffering at some point prior, or they were of formidable mental prowess. Those who have felt pain, be it mental, emotional, or physical, could survive. If one's mind was strong enough, they could cope with the presence of another voice. There were even rare cases of potential Patrons actually dying from donning their Items for the first time.
The powers of Legends have always had a large risk, and sometimes people pay the ultimate price for tempting it.
"Well," Brendan sighed, putting her arm on his shoulders, and using his free hand to hold onto her waist. "Then we're done for today. C'mon, let's get her friends. I have to return the van and key, and May needs to rest. She'll sleep at Brimstone. I don't trust leaving her alone in her own apartment, especially since Harley is hunting her."
And that's a wrap on this chapter!
Sorry if updates are so few. My job takes up a lot of time, so I seldom have much time to myself these days. Don't worry, I'm not going to abandon this story, and I certainly won't be leaving Wattpad.
And, while I have you guys' attention, I want to thank you all for enjoying this story!
And I also want to thank OrigamiLantern11 and FieryDAWG for their kind and supporting words!