//-------------------------------------------------------// Rise of the Elementals -by lolkorv- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 0: How It All Began //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 0: How It All Began Alex stood in the pouring rain, listening for footsteps ahead of him. The heavy rain would slow anyone unlucky enough to come in his path, but nothing would be able to hold him back. Not anymore. Minutes passed, and he stood in absolute silence in the dark alley, until he heard a cough. He thought the entire thing through. His entrance, the kill, the escape. He had it all planned out, nothing could go wrong. The person came closer and closer, and he could hear their quivering breaths. He began to walk forward, slowly and silently. He saw his victim in front of him now, but he stuck to the shadows, so she had no idea he was there. He saw it was a young blonde woman, she wore expensive clothes and had a strong perfume. He stood behind a dumpster and waited until she passed by him. He took swift steps and was right behind her in no-time. He took his knife from out of his pocket with his right hand and put his left hand over her mouth. In a moment and without words he slit her throat open. He heard her gurgling as she tried to breath, and he leaned his head over hear shoulder so he could get a better look at her wound. He felt extreme sadistic pleasure from the sight, but he knew he had to leave before someone saw him. He grabbed the side of he dumpster and pushed it over to where his victim laid, and he poured all its content over her. He knew his gloves would prevent any kind of fingerprints to be left at her or the dumpster, so he decided it was time to get away. He jogged away through the alley, the same way she had come from, until he reached the street, where he came to a slow-paced walk. He constantly look over his shoulder, to make sure there weren't any police cars behind him. Because a few weeks ago he murdered a young boy, but was spotted by the police, and since then they had been all over the city looking for him. As he looked back he bumped into another man on the street. "Hey watch whe-... Oh shit. Hands up!" He heard the man said. He looked at him and saw the he had accidentally bumped into a police officer. "Hey hey, let's take it easy now... What if we wou-" Alex talked smoothly before reaching his left hand out and grabbing the officer's gun and punching him in the face with the right, which caused him to let go of his gun. "Bad luck.." Alex said and quickly fired two bullets into the officer's stomach, where he knew it would hurt the most. But just moments after he fired the gun he heard sirens just around the corner of the building he stood next too. "Fuck!" He said and began to run in the opposite direction. He saw the blinking lights beside him after only a few seconds, and he turned and ran into the nearest alley-way as soon as he could. He heard the car's doors slam shut and he shots being fired after him. He took the chance as he got to the slimmest part of the alley to jump up between the walls until he reached a fire ladder, which he used to climb as high up as he could. The building he was on was impossible to continue up on, but he thought it would be possible to jump to the building behind him, which had its roof only two feet above him, but several more away. He was planning his jump until he noticed a bullet that bounced off the wall just a few inches away from him, and then he decided to jump. He pushed as hard as he could with his legs, and tried to get his arms into the right position, and sure enough he made it. But he didn't take anytime to rest, but began to pull himself onto the roof. He swung his body up, but just before he could get his left leg up, he felt the stinging pain of a bullet penetrating through his muscles. "Ahh, fuck!" He shouted and pulled himself up as his adrenalin gave him extra strength and numbed the pain. He got onto his feet and slowly made his way towards the opposite edge of the roof. As he peeked over the edge he saw two cops standing below him. And as he thought about it, he realized there were many more sirens now, and he figured they had the entire building surrounded. "Aww, come on. I'm just getting started. I can't go down like this." He complained. He noticed all his senses were slowly fading away. His vision began to blur, the sirens became muffled, and he realized he was about to die. He lost all feeling in his body, and he felt as if he was only a floating mind, trapped inside a bony cage. And then suddenly the sirens became louder than anything he had ever heard, and he could hear every word the cops were saying to each other. His vision became crimson-red, and he felt stronger than ever before. His breaths became stronger and deeper than he thought was humanly possible, and he felt as if his mind exploded with rage. He jumped onto his feet with a insane smile on his lips, before jumping off the building. He landed on a police car and smashed the roof in, but he felt fine. He moved faster and more agile than ever before, and he managed to hit one officer with enough force to break his skull. He turned around, slid over the smashed car's hood and hit another officer in the face, making him pass out immediately. Good... He heard a dark voice say in his mind, and he felt his torso getting pierced by bullets. And he dropped dead. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: Stick Figures //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: Stick Figures Alex felt the blood pound through his head so it hurt, and he could barely move his body. He felt that he laid in a thick and wet moss, and he would do so for some time before he could get up. It took almost ten minutes of consciousness before he managed to rise. He sat up and looked around with his hazy and stinging eyes. He got onto his feet, and felt the stinging feeling from his wound in the leg. "Hugh, why can't shit ever go my way?" He complained loudly as he limped forward slowly. He was in a thick and dark forest, if he didn't know better he'd say it was haunted, maybe even evil. Good, you are awake, at last. He heard the familiar voice from when he was on his rampage. "Who's there?" He said and spun around. Be didn't know which direction it came from, it seemed to come from the entire forest around him, and from inside his head. Ha ha ha, I am not your enemy, Alex. I, am your ally. Your friend. The voice said slowly. "Where the fuck am I?" Alex asked angrily. Now now, do not be mad at me. I saved your only life. I protected you. And now I have brought you here. To where you may rule. To where you make the rules. The voice said. Alex breathed heavily as he thought about what the voice was saying. "What the hell do you mean?" He asked. Humans, as you know them, are weak. You proved that by letting those cowardly people get the better of you. I have given you the chance to become stronger than any living being any world as ever seen. The voice said calmly. "And how exactly is that?" Alex asked in confusion. Why do you not see for yourself? The voice said, and Alex heard a rustle in the bushes beside him. He wondered what the hell was going on. He knew he wasn't sane, but this was strange even by his standards. He saw a strange wooden thing come out from the bush. It came further and further out and became larger and larger, far bigger than the bush could possibly conceal. He saw the form of a giant wolf made out of sticks, and it had an unnatural red aura surrounding it. "What in the actual fuck?" Alex said as the wolf snarled and took a heavy step towards him. Fight it. Let your emotions control you. Use your instincts. The voice said. "Oh screw that!" Alex shouted as the giant wolf continued to walk towards him. He took off as quickly as he could, and he saw the forest sink into the ground around him. He heard the wolf's heavy steps behind him, and he knew he couldn't possibly outrun it. "What do I do, what do i do?" He said as he ran. The forest had now sunk all the way into the ground, and only the tallest trees were visible like tiny bushes scattered across the now barren desert landscape. Fight, Alex. It is the only way. The voice echoed in his head. "How? The thing is massive!" He shouted. Oh, if only you knew how big YOU could become. The voice said, and it faded into his mind. He ran until he saw tall mountains towering in the distance. "Yes, maybe I can loose it there." He said and pushed on to run faster. He was surprised the wolf hadn't caught up with him yet. And as his thoughts wandered, he realized he wasn't tired after his long and quick sprint. As he was lost in his thought he just barely noticed the ground below him became darker, and he saw the shadow of the wolf. "Fuck!" He said and prepared his body for the crushing blow from the wolf's claws, or its mighty fangs. He felt it clamp down on him, but it didn't hurt. The wolf released him and howled in pain. "The hell?" He asked himself. The ground below him began to shake, and large tremors appeared across the desert's surface, and out off the tremors came even more of the monstrous wolfs. Kill them, Alex. It is what you are meant to do. He heard the voice in his head, but he ignored it and continued to run. Listen to me, Alex. You stand no chance with your back turned towards your enemy. You must face them, destroy them! The voice said, becoming louder and louder, and more and more demanding. "Hey, I didn't die back there to get killed here!" Alex shouted. You fool. You must obey! It is the only way you will live! The voice growled in his head. Alex didn't respond this time, he just kept running until he reached the mountains. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2: Ponies //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2: Ponies Alex reached the mountains, which now were a lot smaller than he had hoped, but he ran up the mountain-side, all while hearing the wolfs behind him. He came to the top of the mountain much quicker than he expected, and quicker than he had hoped. Instead of being able to hide behind a large boulder or something, his speed forced him to keep running down the other side of the mountain. "No no no, fuck fuck fuck!" He shouted as he ran uncontrollably down the mountain. The wolves came to a brief stop as they came to the top of the mountain, but they quickly continued their pursuit, but they had left a large gap between themselves and Alex, who had no idea about what was happening behind him. As he had come half-way down the mountain he saw a town not too far away. "Yes, if I can get there. Maybe these things won't follow." He said to himself. Alex, destroy them. We both know you can do it. You want to. But you are holding yourself back. Unleash your rage upon them. Make them suffer. The voice said in his head. "I'd love to, but I can't really stop right now." Alex said as he sped down the mountain. He came to the base of the mountain and regained control of his speed. "Fuck, that could've gone bad." He said as he panted, now as exhaustion got to him. He sprinted towards the town, he was only a hundred meters away as he could heart the wolfs behind him again. And now that he was tired he noticed they were catching up on him. He suddenly felt as if time slowed down, and it sounded as if the universe shouted for him to jump; So he did. And moments after he left the ground he saw one of the wolf's large paw swing beneath him. He landed and continued to run into the town, but unfortunately for him the wolves didn't care in the slightest. He ran straight into the town, where he saw strange little horses run around and scream. He would question it, but he'd save it for later. He made a quick step to the side and turned and threw himself in behind a house. The wolves ran past him, but one crashed straight into the house he was hiding behind. He stared the beast in the eyes as it got onto its feet after its collision. "Oh shit..." He said as his mind immediately tried to find a way out of the situation. The wolf lunged towards him, jaws wide open. Alex once again felt time slow down around him, and he could see every detail on the beast's body. Destroy it! The voice in his mind shouted, and he felt his emotions take control over his body. He felt his body become warmer, his head became clear of all thoughts. And he lifted his arms up to block the wolf as it attacked him. He felt his muscles tense up, and he saw the most spectacular thing in his entire life. His hands and wrists became enveloped in flames and as they made contact with the wolf's wooden body it burst into flames. It howled in agony and ran away as a blazing ball of light. His senses returned to him, and the fire went out. "What the hell was that?" Your true power. Use it, destroy these low creatures. Show them who you are. The voice echoed in his head. He walked out into the middle of the town where he saw six ponies fight against the remaining four wolves. "Okay, showtime." Alex said and ran up behind the wolves. He instinctively knew how to re-light his hands, and as soon as he did he jumped onto one of the wolves. He stood on it as it turned its head to look at him, but as it did he jumped up into the air, using a sudden burst of fire to gain some extra height, and then smashing down into the wolf, which turned it into a burning pile of ash and sticks. The three remaining wolves turned towards Alex and growled loudly. But he just got a fighting stance and smirked. "Bring it." The first wolf jumped towards him, but he easily smashed its head with his flaming fist. The remaining two walked in two directions and circled him. "Heh, bad move." Alex said mockingly as he made a quick spin, shooting long flames from his hands which hit the wolves and forced them to retreat. He felt his body becoming completely drained of power and his vision blurred. "Awh, come on. Not again." He complained before he fell onto his knees. He put his hands on the ground in front of him to support his body. He felt his stomach ache before he was overcome by a feeling of absolute awfulness. He felt like throwing up, passing out and exploding, all at the same time. He heard voices beside him, before one of the ponies walked up to him. "Oh my, are you alright? Do you need help?" He heard a careful voice beside him. He looked up and saw a yellow pony with a pink mane look at him with worried eyes. "What the fuck?" He said silently. "I'm sorry. I didn't quite hear that..." The pony said shyly. "Uhh, I'm fine." He said as his mind went crazy over the strange shit that was going on. She's trouble, kill her. He heard the voice say in his head. He looked at the small pony, and for the first time in his entire life, he felt like he didn't want to kill the person he had just met. Something inside him had changed, he felt uncomfortably light-hearted. But he knew he wasn't that good. "Well, if you're certain. But can you stand up?" The pony said. "... yeah" He said and got onto his feet. He felt everything in his stomach move around and he felt like throwing up again. "Ugh" He said and placed a hand on his stomach. He tried to take a small step, but fell onto his knees. His hearing disappeared, and his vision darkened. Before he passed out. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3: Friend or Foe //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3: Friend or Foe Alex slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He laid in a large white and light grey room, filled with strange machines. He tried to move slightly, but felt his body convulse and he began to cough up blood. He heard the sound of hooves outside the room before a small pony entered and saw him as he laid on the side on his bed with the floor and his mouth covered in blood. "Oh dear, doctor!" The pony shouted as she hurried to Alex's side. The small pony looked around before somehow levitating a bucket to Alex's side. "Don't worry. The doctor will be here in a few moments." The pony said. "I don't need a doctor. I hate doctors." Alex said and sat up slowly, trying his best to ignore the pain surging through his body. A few seconds later a pony with, what Alex assumed to be a doctor's outfit came in along with two ponies from yesterday. The yellow one he had talked to, and a lavender/purple-ish. "Oh my, what happened?" The yellow pony asked. "I don't know. I came here less than a minute ago myself." The first pony said, who Alex now assumed was a nurse. "But uhh, is it alright?" The lavender pony asked. "It's he, not it. And yes, I'm perfectly fine." Alex said and decided it was a good time to get out off the bed, which proved to be a bad idea as his entire body made a loud creak. "... ouch" He said and fell back onto the bed. The ponies looked at him with many different expressions. He returned their stares with an irritated expression. "Don't look at me!" He said angrily. "Sorry, it's just. We've never seen anypony like you before." The small yellow pony said. Alex sat up carefully again, and looked at the four ponies in the room around him. Throughout his entire life he had been hallucinating and he had been hearing voices, but this was on a scale he never thought possible. "Who are you? Where am I?" He asked and focused his vision on the yellow pony. "Oh, my name's Fluttershy. And this is Princess Twilight." The pony said and pointed her hoof towards the lavender pony. "And I'm Doctor Star Light, and this is Powder Snow, your nurse." The doctor pony said. Alex sat in silence for a few seconds, before looking around at the ponies again. "And what is your name? If you don't mind." Fluttershy asked. Alex didn't respond, he look with suspicion in his eyes. But he eventually figured that if it was all in his mind, he had no reason to work against it. "I'm Alex." He stated. Kill them. They are not your friends. In their eyes you are nothing but a freak, a monster. He heard the voice echo in his head. Alex felt tempted to do as the voice said, but so far these ponies had done nothing but helped, so he decided to let them be; In case he'd need help in the future. I am your only ally here. The voice said. "Oh would you shut up?" Alex said out loud in annoyance. "Oh, I'm sorry." Fluttershy said apologetically. "Not you." Alex said and rolled his eyes. Alex was lost deep in his thoughts as a sudden feeling of dread washed over him. "What the hell?" He asked as chills ran down his spine. He noticed that Twilight was feeling the same thigh as he did, and her horn gave off a faint glow. "What's going on?" He asked and looked around. The remaining three ponies stood in confusion and looked at Alex and Twilight's strange behavior. "What's wrong?" The doctor asked, and just moments later the ground began to shake. "Oh my, and earthquake." Fluttershy said as the machines in the room began to fall over and the ponies began to had trouble standing up. Now, Alex. This is your chance. Kill them, and join me. I will become the strongest entity in the universe, and you will rule this world under me. He heard the voice in his head. Hearing that made Alex more pissed than he had ever felt before, or at least in a week. "Oh fuck that, I'm not taking orders from you." Alex snarled in his mind. He got up from his bed and had a surprisingly easy time standing up. He walked past the ponies and kicked the door open. He slowly walked through the hallway and made his way down some stairs until he came to what resembled a lobby with two large glass doors which lead out. He walked outside and saw that he was in the same town as before, yet something was different. He walked further out and noticed strange black smoke coming from the ground. "What the hell?" He asked himself and got onto a knee to brush some dirt away. And as he did the ground opened up beneath him and a large rock pillar shot up and hit him in the stomach. The pillar became almost thirty meters high before it finally came to a halt, but Alex kept flying up for a few moments before he landed back down on it. He had the air blown out of him and was struggling to regain his breath. He gathered his strength and pulled himself up so he stood on the pillar. He looked down and saw that he was far too high up to survive jumping down. He was completely lost for words over what had just happened, and he had no idea of how to get down. Seconds later another pillar shot up beside him, and on it stood a muscular man with a grin on his face. "Haha, so he wasn't lying. There really are more of us here." The man said as he looked at Alex. "What? Who the fuck are you?" Alex asked. "My name's Daniel Summers. I was brought here by the same guy as you." The man said. "Okay... look, I'd love to hear more about this, I really would. But do you think we could take it on the ground?" Alex asked. Daniel laughed and smirked at him. "As you wish." He said, and the pillar immediately dissolved beneath Alex. "Bloody fuck!" Alex screamed as he fell towards the ground. He quickly came closer to the ground, and spun around so his feet were first down, and he managed to shoot a quick burst of fire from his hands to slow his fall, but this time it left him completely drained of power. "Huh? I didn't think you had it in ya already." Daniel said. "What? Were you trying to kill me?" Alex asked angrily. "No no, it'll take a lot more than that to kill one of us." Daniel said. "One of us?" Alex asked in confusion. "Yeah, E-oh shit! Hurry, their soldiers are coming." Daniel said as he looked behind Alex. "What? No way, I'm staying here." Alex said. "Are you insane? They'll kill you!" Daniel said. "Yeah, most people would say I am." Alex said nonchalantly and turned around, and saw the soldiers running towards them. "For god's sake man, let's leave!" Daniel said. "Yeah, you do that." Alex said. He heard Daniel grunt behind him. "You'll regret this, Alex. I'll make sure you do." Daniel said. "Whatever you say, bud." //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4: The Evil Within //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4: The Evil Within Alex watched as the pony soldiers ran as fast as they could. He could hear Daniel groan in anxiety behind him. "Fuck it, Alex. I'm not leaving without you!" Daniel said and grabbed his left wrist. Alex grabbed Daniel's arm with his left hand. And before he could react Alex punched him in the face with a closed fist. "Look, don't touch." Alex snarled. "Ouch, fuck! You'll regret that!" Daniel said and a large pillar of stone shot up from the ground and smashed into Alex's face. He was caught completely off guard, and he felt the rage boil within him. "Oh, now you've done it!" He said angrily as his fists were lit on fire and a shockwave of fire exploded from his entire body. Daniel fell backwards as he felt his skin get burnt by his burning clothes. He quickly encased himself in a tight rock shell and sank into the ground. "Yeah, you better run!" Alex said mockingly as he put out the fire around his hands and wrists. He saw Twilight and Fluttershy come running out from the hospital. He turned towards them with a cold expression on his face. "Oh dear Celestia, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked. "Couldn't be better." He snarled angrily. The ponies couldn't understand why he was so angry. They couldn't think of anything they'd done to offend him. "Alex, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. Behind you... He heard the dark voice echo in his head, and he felt the ground shake lightly. He took a step to the side as the ground where he had just been standing collapsed on itself and a large rock came flying from the ground behind him. It missed him. But Fluttershy wasn't quick enough to get out of it's way, and was hit straight on. "It's not nice to shoot a man in the back." Alex said slowly. "It's not very polite to refuse and invitation." He head Daniel's voice from behind him. Alex laughed and turned around. He saw Daniel standing on a flat rock hovering several meters over the ground. And four large rock spikes rotated around him. "Do you see now, Alex? If you would just come with me, your powers can become unbeatable. You'll be a god!" Daniel said. Alex laughed and looked at him with anger in his eyes. "God, huh? Pathetic." He said as his entire body lit on fire. He looked like a extremely compressed inferno. He smiled as he saw the surprised look on Daniel's face. "H-how? Th-that's impossible!" Daniel shouted. Right before Alex shot a stream of uncontrollable fire towards him. Daniel flew almost ten meters backwards as the fire hit him. He landed on the ground with a heavy thud, and Alex smiled wickedly. Alex shot a quick burst of fire backwards, which propelled quickly him to Daniel. "Time's up." Alex said and grabbed Daniel's wrists with his flaming hands. His hands burned all the way into Daniel's flesh. "What's wrong, Powerboy? Can't god escape the weak little human? Pfft, please." Alex mocked him. Alex lifted him into the air, but Daniel quickly fell to the ground as Alex's hands had managed to burn though his entire wrists. Daniel fell down with a thud and his hands landed next to him. Alex laughed mockingly and his fire went out. He grabbed Daniel's throat and lifted him into the air. "Y-you don't have the guts!" Daniel said as he slowly choked in Alex's grip. Alex just laughed at his futile try to discourage him. "Daniel Daniel Daniel. You don't know who I am, do you?" Alex asked with a soft voice. "Sho-" "Shut up!" Alex shouted as Daniel began to speak. "Look at me." He said stared into Daniel's eyes. "I do-... Oh shit. You're the guy from the news! Alex Hunt, the se-" Daniel said, before Alex crushed his throat. "I know who I am." Alex turned his attention towards the two ponies who had come out after him. He saw Twilight hunched over Fluttershy, who had a big pool of blood beside her. Let them be. She is of no use to either of us. He heard the voice say. "I ain't listening to your bullshit. You can always use a favor or two." Alex said before jogging towards the ponies. He saw a deep flesh wound in Fluttershy's side, and he was almost embarrassed he hadn't caused it himself. "Uhh, can I help?" He asked awkwardly. Twilight didn't answer him, and just moments later the same doctor and nurse who he had met earlier came running out from the hospital. "Oh dear Celestia. Let's take her inside." Star Light said and they rushed her inside again. Alex stood in silence outside. "Well fuck. What do I do now?" He asked himself. Go! Come to me. You have no use of these ponies. They will only get in your way. He heard the voice in his head say. "Didn't I sa-... Wait a minute. You're the one that brought me here, right?" Alex said suspiciously. Yes "And you told Daniel about me?" He did not know 'who' you were. Only your name and physical position. "That's far too much!.. And you only have a physical position." Alex said angrily. He heard a low rumble in his head, which he assumed was the voice trying to laugh. Alex... You have much to learn. For your entire life I have trained you. Yet you know nothing. The voice said. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Alex asked in irritated confusion. Your bloodlust is your ticket to power. Use it, and you will be unstoppable. "That didn't answer my question." Do my bidding, Alex. Or you will die. The voice snarled and slowly faded. "... Well that escalated quickly."