Fierce Of Flames (Wrath Of Gods Precursor 3)

Three: What Do You Want To Drink? Coffee, Tea, Liquor? A Cup Of Fire Please

PANDORA:
"Good Pandora, good." I ducked, rolling as she lashed out with a flaming whip. Retaliating, I swept out a flaming kick. Wenzi easily jumped it and flung a flaming sword toward me. I caught it and flung it right back. Wenzi laughed as she ducked it and then flung a spinning shield toward me. I punched straight through it and used the splintered flames to coalesce around my arm in a flaming punch. Wenzi blocked the punch though it sent her sprawling back a few feet. "Good good, but remember, fire is life, not just pure undiluted destruction. It is not just to be used as a weapon." She held out her hands, and, I felt, something, some kind of will over my body, inside, my body. At first it was nothing more or less than a whisper. But then, I felt it all, grasping my mind and forcing my body to burn. Flames roiling inside my arms and legs, coiling around my stomach. I almost screamed before remembering, I, was, fire. Without hesitation, I allowed the burn and used it to shift into a flaming phoenix. Wenzi smirked as I rose into the air and dove at her.
"Very, very, very, good." She said as we took a break. Nodding, she said, "Normally, I would never use that last trick, that ensure's a person's death, from the inside out they burn to death." "I figured as much." I said haltingly as I gulped down water. "Yet you being what you are, you were able to turn that to your advantage, very resourceful." I crossed my arms. Wenzi lowered her water. "Ah what is it? What has you so sad and frustrated?" "It's just, all this." I waved at the sector at large, all the different complex areas, all the training indigo of all races. I saw Bella swirl water around herself and her opposition before lashing out with an ice shard. Her opposition ducked and returned with a whip of water. Bella froze the whip and smashed it into splinters. She smirked as she spun and weapons began appearing, slashing for her opponent. "Childish." Said Wenzi from behind me. "Huh?" I asked, completely dumfounded. "How is that childish, she's making weapons out of water." "True, but Audrey could do that even before she was properly trained." Wenzi said smugly.
    "With indigoism, symbols and science go hand in hand. The only limits are the limits one has on one's own mind. If you can't dream it up, you can't do it. Observe." She said, and didn't move. Flames roiled around us both, and, from within those flames, animals roiled to life. Wolves, birds of prey, deer, horses, dragons, even a few flaming dolphins. And, what's more, it seemed to put no strain on Wenzi at all. "How—"Some would say expert training and constant practice. Others would say some just have the nack more than others." The flames vanished. "For example, from what I've seen, no one has had the power to summon lava from the earth like a certain Sydney could. I also haven't seen anyone who could cause storms yet, or shake the ground like Reina could." She shrugged. "Perhaps certain symbols die with those indigo, perhaps they shall be reborn. Either way, the reason I'm telling you this," she said, before I could even ask. "Is that there are no true limitations to one's own strength and power. Especially with the indigo. Of course it is true that one may never reach the level of power and deftness as one of the indigo gods, it doesn't mean you can't succeed amongst yourselves as deft indigo who know how to use their power with intelligence rather than brute strength and force. Strength, always has to bow down to wisdom."
    With that little lesson, Wenzi attacked. I threw myself backward rolling aside as a wolf came howling into existence. "Remember the basics, and use that to branch outward." I paused as she circled. Then lashed out with two scissor kicks that kicked fire toward me. I blocked the kicks and lashed out with a flaming fist. I drew the fire toward myself and drank it in. The ground under us grew hot and cracked as we worked. "Fire is life, not just destruction, not just chaos." I breathed in and let it out, a gust of fire exhaling from my mouth in a sudden burst. "YES GIRL." Wenzi shouted. I smiled and did it again, feeling the warm power flow through me as I attacked. I swooped up in a ball of fire, shifting into my phoenix form again. Flames roiled around me, power singing in every feather. I cawed puissantly and dove. Wenzi smirked and raised a hand. I sensed more than saw the eagle flying at my wing. Shifting back in mid flight, I summoned a burst of fire and lashed out, grasping the eagle and drinking in it's fire. I landed and swept out my foot in a flaming roundhouse kick. Wenzi caught the kick on her forearm. She retaliated with a fireball to my face.
    Wenzi held up a hand and smiled. "There, that is exactly what I am looking for. You to use your indigoism as an extension of yourself." She eyed me appraisingly. "Go get cleaned up my apprentice, you did very well. Perhaps you will succeed after all." I frowned as a distant look came into her eyes. I nodded and turned away, leaving the fire pits. I took off the crown that I had used and felt myself return to my original clothes. I set the crown on the shelf with the others and turned to walk out of the training sector and find, someone who could help me with this prophecy. "Yo Pandwhora, decided to pull your big girl panties on and join the fight?" I turned and saw Bella swaggering toward me, her eyes alive with delight. "No, I'm learning to fight so I can kick your ass in the arena." "Wrong person to be training with don't you think? SHouldn't you be training with someone like a hydro? That at least would make some kind of sense." She turned to stare at Wenzi, who was flying overhead, her wings extended almost lazily. If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn she was watching us, seeing just what I would do.
    I knew what the smart thing would be to do. The smart thing would be to walk away, let her words roll off my back. But this girl had tormented me ever since we'd gotten here. ANd I was getting extremely tired of her comments and gestures and innuendos. I turned, back around, looking across the sector. "I think I have a good teacher." I said coldly. "Because she's teaching me things you don't know." "Oh yeah, then step into my domain Bitch and show me exactly what she taught you today on your first day." "One day, I will step into your domain, and when I do, you'll wish I hadn't." I declared, before stepping away. It didn't take him long at all. Troy caught up with me as I entered the entrance hall and paused at one of the display cases. Staring at it, I said, "Yes?" "You have more restraint then some give you credit for." I turned to see his wolfish smirk. "I can't lie, I thought you would take her up on that offer and make her drink fire." I shook my head.
    "Some of the things Wenzi said today just really stuck to me. Fire is life, not just pure destruction or chaos. We limit ourselves to the things we know rather than the things we can dream up. Or words to that effect anyway." Troy laughed. I frowned. "What?" "Dora this is so not you at all. You're usually secluded, to yourself, you never even wanted to set foot in the training sector, let alone learn anything within it. But now look at you." "I have a prophecy." I said. Troy sobered quickly. "I know, Asia told me." "And I have no choice. If I don't go through with it, bad things will happen, and from the sound of it, lives are on the line, so, I have to try at least."
    Troy nodded. "Just remember, you aren't alone anymore, none of us are." I nodded. "I am coming to realize that." "On more interesting news, will you ever face that asshole down?" I grinned savagely. "Fuck yeah I will." Troy choked on a laugh at my chosen expletive. "Well, I want to watch when you do, that bitch needs to have a taste of her own medicine, and I think you are the best one who can deliver it to her." "Don't you mean the only one?" I asked with a snicker. Troy merely shrugged and walked away. I snorted softly and turned to the reception desk. Six indigo were behind there, some on the computers, some watching the wall. I looked toward a hall that would lead to the research center. Sighing with just a hint of resignation, I walked for it.
    I hadn't ever walked into the center before, my rebellion against all things indigo keeping me from here. Still, I got lost just walking through the doors. Like the sector, the center was a gigantic maze with different departments like a mall. In fact, that's what both places reminded me of. I saw a huge hive, it was the only word for it, of computers where indigo talked, buzzed, sped all around. My eyes widened in what could've been awe at the sheer diversity. I stepped further in, quite forgetting why I was even there. There was a huge gap in the floor, several staircases leading down toward it. A huge map of the world, the actual world, was against the far wall, looking like it would take at least a few miles of walking just to get there. I hovered at the railing that separated me from the drop, staring at the world map. Indigo moved along catwalks as they studied the map, or pointed at it with pointers, clearly teaching. I saw a worker swoop overhead on a zip-line and land a few feet away from the group.