NPF Avatars IV, Chapter XIII: Fire Three!

[Arhra]

On the ground again, Arhra struggled weakly, trying to climb back to her feet. On the whole, it could have been worse she decided - she could have an annoying man shouting in her ear, "Pain! Pain is your friend! Feel the burn!"

She might as well take this forced break from combat to get back to work on the important explosion channeling spell she had left sadly neglected. Trying to concentrate and weave the delicate magic, Arhra found her leaden arms not responding properly. She grunted in frustration.

If I could somehow free my mind to work on this, things would be a lot better. Arhra thought. Hmmm... maybe if I split myself... but I don't know if I could do that. Of course you can do it the thought came. You've done it before, haven't you? Well, yes... Arhra's mental commentary temporised But I don't have th- Just focus!

Head aching and bullying herself into giving it a try, Arhra focused. She clumsily pulled one arm, webbed with leaden flames, to the nape of her neck. Something flickered there, like a dark and brilliant jewel, and there was a white flash. Arhra jerked, a sylph-like shape separating from her body. She looked over herself - seeming to be mostly glowing, translucent, and largely featureless and then down at her real body, still enmeshed in weighty flames. "It'll do," she muttered, bending down and taking the incomplete spell off herself, dropping a ball of chaotic energy in return.

Back on track with the spell, Arhra was moving to get a better vantage point when she spotted the Chozo battle suit clad Phil.

She gave a gasp of joy. "Samus has come to save the day! (Obviously wearing the gravity suit and thus explaining the blue colour)" Arhra exclaimed. Then Gina came into view behind the armoured hobbit, restoring perspective and then manhood after neatly rapping Phil on the head with the fabled Staff of Gender Inversion, long thought lost.

Telling herself it was wrong to feel dissapointed - Samus was a very busy woman - Arhra loped up to Phil. "Hi Phil." the sleek, ghostly image said with a smile. "Charging the Caryatid? Good idea! Don't mind me, I'm not technically here."

* * *

Speaking of the Caryatid, she was busily fighting Hawk and Flare in the scattered remains of the fog cloud the water attack on her had created. Nikose was nearby, still pinned on a spear and possibly on fire. Hawk was attempting to interfere with the Caryatid's fiery attacks and freeze her with winds, unfortunately hampered by the fact that windchill is impossible to do inside volcanos.

"Ok, you're not the only one that can play with fire." Flare told the Caryatid, lashing at her armoured torso with two swords formed from flame and then drawing back, ducking and weaving to avoid a counter attack.

"Playtime is over children." the Caryatid told her sweetly. The Caryatid reared up on her serpentine body, flinging the two blades she currently held at Flare. She gestured to the side, fingers stabbing up and closing in a wedge, and the lava beneath Hawk erupted, fiery whips of molten rock whipping at Hawk like a magma kraken. Not that any such thing exists.

Swaying over to a pillar, she selected a new weapon. Holdng it it angled to the side, it was a sight to induce gulping. A heavy polearm, metal hafted and ending in a wicked blade, the Caryatid began whirling it around, surrounding herself with a series of deadly strikes. Sheets of flame lashed out with each sweep of the blade. She slithered towards Flare, each razor arc getting closer. The whole of her attention appeared to be taken up by the pair.

* * *

Not too far away, Arhra was watching the ongoing battle of Magmagatorah and Hydrazilla, cursing her continued immobility and left with a splitting headache from the split. "Once was bad enough." she muttered, trying to decide what possible use she could make of the magic she had left herself.

Hydra seemed she would be the clear victor in an open battlefield, but the magma beast was taking definate advantage of the lava pools all over the place. It took a step backwards, dipping one foot-jaw in the lava, gulping it in greedily, and then spraying the stuff at Hydra from the jaws on it's arms. Hydra dodged to the side and then the creature charged while she as off-balance, trying to rush her into a pool of fire. The two terrible lizards were locked together, Hydra scratching at the ground, feeling herself slowly getting forced back.

Arhra struggled against the leaden flames again, this time managing to get into a crawling position. She had to do something, but she was as slow as a snail with all the clinging weight of the fire. It definately was having a strengthening effect; she could feel the incremntal thickening of muscle it was causing, but it was too slow.

Then it hit her, a spell use that definately would probably not backfire!

She lifted the sphere of magic and tapped its power. "Accelerate!" she choked.