Call 1 - Flame of a God

[The Posting Music for this post, listen to it if you want!]

A single drop of sweat was slowly falling from the nose of the teenager standing inside of the warehouse. It had only been a short time since he returned from the place of legends, or rather, the time of legends - Psyren, the wasteland that was the future. How far into the future? Well, from the looks of the wasteland, and the monsters there, quite a long time. Still, ever since he returned, he didn't speak one word about it. Because it would've killed him. The rules on those cards... no reason NOT to believe them for now.
Since his return, Ryoji tried to find out as much about this 'PSI' as he could. Of course, most information found in the internet was bullshit, and he could tell that with his experience he had in his own already. Apparently, PSI was either the 'ability to change reality', the 'ability to enhance oneself' and the 'ability to change the mind of others'. Ryoji did see the first two in action, but not the last one, so he wasn't even sure if it existed or not. But what really interested him... was the drawbacks.
He felt it when he first used his power to kill a Tavoo, and now he felt it all the time - a sting in the head, that quickly evolved into migraenes if he used it for too long. If PSI was the locked ability of the brain, then there had to be a reason why it was locked in the first place - and from Ciros words, overuse was deadly.
And this was the reason for that one drop of sweat. Ryoji was standing in an empty, abandonned warehouse, his laptop and scarf sitting at the sidewall, with him standing in the middle. On both of his hands, you could see the marks of burns, red and not healthy looking at all. He was even more pale than usual, and simply sat down on the cold floor. He felt really drained and had a terrible headache, all from just using this fire-throw six times. Why had it been so easy in Psyren? There, he didn't burn himself the slightest, and felt nearly no drain... Maybe it was the aftereffects of awakening to the power? Or that strange hypnotizing feeling that told him how to channel the fire inside of his spirit into a blast of expanding red flames?
"Prometheus Flame... yeah, the name fits..." Maybe it was crazy to think of a name for his Pyromancy, but well... this was Ryoji. A guy who couldn't look at a good idea without thinking out entire STORIES for them.

I can feel it... the power... A pair of red eyes looked around the street he was standing in, cars passing by and the sounds of random chatter breaking through the air. He stopped in his tracks, and closed his eyes. A pulse of energy rang through the air, that seemed... strangely familiar to his. He opened his eyes again, and tried to follow the feeling that he had felt before. Looking around, he smiled softly. There was a warehouse nearby. That was the source. He smiled, crossed the street, and walked straight towards the building. Opening the door a crack, he looked through and saw a man, standing there, on fire. He blinked. It was so similar to his Psi...

He slipped through the door, and walked towards the man, keeping his distance from the flames that he was producing. Why did it seem so... malevolent? Even his abilites weren't that uncontrolled, and he went crazy the moment his powers were activated. He looked at the man for a few seconds, and once his flames had disappeared, he made his way closer.

"Your abilities..." He built a flaming bow and then retracted it. "Why are they so uncontrollable?" His eyes narrowed.

It was as if Ryoji forgot to breathe for a second when he actually noticed the person at the door. This was bad, REAL bad. How the hell was he going to explain that he was able to summon flames out of his mind without accidentally screwing up, revealing a fact about Psyren and being mind crushed by Q? But fate was playing nice today. The guy at the door didn't freak out, didn't scream, and didn't try to call the police. Instead... he asked something, as if seeing someone trying to control a crimson red fire was a normal, daily thing. Little did he know that it indeed WAS a daily thing for this stranger. But this exact stranger revealed why relatively fast - by creating a weapon out of fire himself, instead of just a short burst. It took Ryoji a little while to thaw out of his amazement, and he got up with some trouble, still holding his head with one hand. He seemed to have the destiny of being covered in dust lately.
"I... I don't really know. I discovered it... well, some days ago, you know? I had no idea I could do this before, really... So I just hoped using it would teach me." Careful, Ryoji, he was thinking to himself. That this guy could summon flames didn't mean he was a Drifter too... jumping to that conclusion could cost him his head. Or whatever Q did with a rule-breaker. The pale boy kinda looked like a ghost here, especially with being half covered in dust, a bit of lingering smoke, and with the scarf missing, he looked even thinner and more like a rather physically sick person, even though he felt fine. Well, if not for that terrible headache.

Dai peered at the man for a few seconds, he seemed to be plagued by the headaches that every other user of this ability he had met was plagued with, unlike him... Dai had more than headaches to worry about with his Psi. Another few seconds of thought later, and Dai stepped slightly closer, tilting his head to the side, thinking on it a little more, and nodding confidently.

"I don't know why, and I, frankly, don't care. But you're lying about your powers. You've known about them for longer than that... No, don't tell me - I don't need someone else's secret hanging over my head." The man had panicked, that's how Dai had worked out his deceit. If he'd stayed calm, Dai might not have noticed, but that wasn't the case. The fire that he'd been producing looked like it was ready to consume anything in it's way, it's malevolence was astounding. He sighed, and walked one or two steps closer.

"Why is it... that the power of your's seems ready to destroy anything in it's path? I've never seen a flame like your's before, and I doubt I will again. So for that, it's intriguing..."

Seemed like this new person misunderstood his panic attack, but that was understandable. Still, Ryoji didn't like it one bit - he wasn't one to lie to people. Sadly, he had to, or else... no, the alternative if he DIDN'T tell sime lies was way too deadly to even think about it. Turning into ash and being blown away... no thanks. Not really what he wanted for his future, no. As the other Psychicer walked closer, Ryoji instinctively took on a not so casual stance - his hidden senses told him that this man could be his end if he wasn't careful. Something was odd about this other fire user, but the holder of the Prometheus Flame couldn't pinpoint what.
Carefully, he tried to dive deeper into his one hidden sense that told him about the strength of this other fire user. It wasn't easy... no, in fact, it was hard, very hard at first, but at least it didn't cause further headaches.
"It's up to you if you believe me or not... but I still can't tell you more. I can't even show you anymore... my head feels like it will burst open any second. Do you know that feeling of being completely drained?" Dangerous or not, Ryoji needed info. He couldn't daydream while talking to a Psychicer... and it was quite hard for him NOT to do it. He felt his mind wandering, and pushed it back into the here and now - which was like defiling himself. It was a stinging feeling.
"I could... tell you some things, though. My fire... is aggressive, like a wild animal. It tries to consume everything in its way, including myself. That's why I can't summon it for more than a few moments without turning into a candle. And every time I break it, I feel like splitting my own head. But what about your fire? It seemed to... controlled, and tame."

Dai understood about not being told more. There were plenty of secrets in this world, and he didn't need to know all of them. He sighed, and looked at the roof of the warehouse, taking in the filtered light that came through. What... a place...

"But what about your fire? It seemed to... controlled, and tame." His eyes opened wider, and he looked back down at the other person, eyes narrowed.

"One thing about my Psi powers. I may be able to control my flames, and it may not lead to the sort of pain that you experience when using your abilities. But... But the Tsuyoi Ganbo comes with a different price, of sorts. I may be able to maintain control of the abilities, but the longer I use them, the more I delve into madness. The use of this ability brings about a persona of mine - an uncontrollable, feral persona." His eyes went to the ground, and he sighed softly. That was a side of him that he hated through and through.

"It's like taking a backseat in your own car. You have no control over your actions, and no control over your words. It just does what it wants." He sighed again, this was something he hated to talk about.

"You may have no control over your Psi, but I have less control over my mind."

So the controlled looking flame was eating away the users mind, while the wild flame tried to consume the user himself. Bottom line, fire was one bitch to control - sighing, Ryoji closed his eyes for a moment as he looked up to the damaged roof of the abandonned warehouse. Little did he know that he wasn't the first Drifter to ever train in such a location - such abandonned buildings nearly had nostalgic meanings for the history of Psyren and the Drifters. But it was good to know that those with Psychic Powers existed outside of the small group of Drifters.
Mainly because the few Drifters he knew were not the kind of guys he would trust with his life. Ciro... seemed like an okay guy. But there was always Cide. Sho, he didn't know enough. And those two where the only experienced Drifters he knew. He had to take any advice from this Psychicer here before being send into Psyren the next time.
"Fire doing what it wants... I know that from somewhere. It seems like in our own ways, we're both screwed over..." That he actually knew Psychicers without real control problems should remain a secret for now. Revealing information about other Drifters could not only be dangerous, but maybe Nemesis Q would attack him if he did - something he had no chance of surviving against. He would have a better chance at fighting Cide without PSI. Slowly, the headache of the young Drifter faded away, his brain recovering from the stress and overclocking put on it.
"So... how long have you been doing this? Lighting stuff on fire with your mind only, I mean?" Ryoji was a bit curious on at which age a normal Psychicer awakened. At least interested enough to be bothered to ask, he would most likely forget once he daydreamed again anyway. The pale white face of the black haired boy still didn't lighten up or become really friendly - maybe he was being overly careful. After all, in his first trip to Psyren, he accepted all other Drifters right away, and even tried to protect Sho against Cide. But it was good that didn't lead to a first fight right away, since without the endurance he was slowly gaining, he lacked any chance.

"It seems like in our own ways, we're both screwed over..."

The redhead laughed softly and nodded in agreement. Yep, they were both screwed in one way or another. While his control may have been limited by his mind's sanctity, at least his fire didn't want to consume his entire being. He sighed, and suddenly perked up at the next comment.

"So... how long have you been doing this? Lighting stuff on fire with your mind only, I mean?"

Dai thought for a few seconds, considering the times and dates and everything in between. Yeah... when had he gained his abilities? It would've almost been a year now, right? He smiled, and nodded in confirmation.

"About a year. Yeah, about a week after I turned 20. That day, I managed to burn down an entire block of buildings in a fit of insane rage." He laughed nervously, and scratched the back of his neck with a soft smile. He didn't need to remember that one incident - it kinda pissed him off that he'd lost control so easily... And he was kinda looking for a way to repress that side of himself. He sighed, and spoke again.

"How about you? I mean, you just said you discovered it a few days ago... But I don't know... It seems strange that you can exert that much power so easily. Either you're some kind of prodigy, or you're lying." His eyes were steely.

Ciro flew quickly across the sky. He had locked onto Ryoji. He might hate Ciro at first. But he knew that Ryoji would be stronger because of it. Ciro had experience. He knew what he was doing. He would push him to his limits and then push him farther. Cide would just kill him, but Ciro wouldn't let that happen. The telekinetic continued to fly at full power only in his black silk pajamas. He didn't care that he was wearing this. It was comfy so bitches could fuck themselves.

He landed at the side of the building. He could hear the voices inside. "Ryoji! Prepare yourself!" He stood there with his hands in his pockets and flexed his power. He blew apart the warehouse's walls, totally demolishing it. Ciro stood there as the dying telekinetic waves rolled harmlessly over the two males inside. "You're not...Well Ryoji, you're alive so you're doing something right. Fine...whatever. Defend yourself, or die trying. They would allow you rest, and you'd best think again if you think I will..." With that Ciro gathered a heavy condensed ball of telekinetic energy that shot out to Ryoji with lightning fast speed. It would hurt like a bitch it it hit Ryoji and send him black plenty far. The small projectile forcefield was a lesser used version of the force field he was so fond of, but he managed to use it now and then.

...




...




That... was random. The redhead blinked as the building was disintegrated before his eyes. Okay... Maybe he should just go now. As he turned to leave, something struck the back of his head. A piece of rubble? He sighed, and turned back to the newcomer, taking in the stranger in his black silk clothing. Erg... More people, and more power.

But the Psi this guy was emitting... Far from his. It was definitely powerful. He sighed, and sat down. Like, literally, just sat down. The guy wasn't after him, that was for sure. He could tell just by his actions and mannerisms, Dai was likely safe. He might do something soon, but for now, watching would be the plan. He sighed, and laid back on the ground with a yawn.

"Bleh."

Ciro quickly readjusted the trajectory of the force bubble to aim at Dai. How dare he sit down after what he just did. Ciro didn't mind being ignored sometimes. When it was expected, it was expected. But after blowing apart an entire building then firing on your company, that couldn't and shouldn't be ignored. So Ciro momentarily decided that this idiot should feel his wrath for a moment. "Trash..." was all he said as he redirected the force field bubble at Dai.

Now things started to get tricky. Dai seemed... alright. More so than Ciro, or any of the other Drifters he met on his first trip to Psyren. He was just about to at least tell Dai that he had to keep his reason for discovering the PSI a secret - but an exploding wall kind of made that impossible. Turning around, Ryoji wanted to do multiple things: let his jaw drop to the ground, facepalm, and sigh. In the end, he only did the last thing.
"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me..." Ciro destroyed the wall. Even more, he wanted to... fight? How crazy was that? Ryo was happy if he could fight for two minutes, and that was when he was recovered. Not when he was exhausted from training himself. Still, as the sudden dangerous aura was coming near, something awakened within the boy, something that also led him to activate his powers for the first time when he was actually in Psyren.
Jumping to the side, his quick movement was much more agile than you would think a nerd could move. In fact, the speed was already above human level, and without any real haste - it was a controlled sidestep. Not that he needed it, seeing as the attack was now redirected at Dai.
"What the hell, man?! Could you at least warn be BEFORE trying to kill me?" Ryoji said, shocked, annoyed and terrified by that behavior of his comrade Drifter. Did Ciro actually expect Ryo to... attack him? No way!

"There are at least five types that will jump you WITHOUT warning. That building blowing apart was plenty of warning. Always be ready!" Ciro shouted this and held out his left and right hands. In a machine gun-ish style bullets of Telekinetic energy flew out of his hands at at Ryoji. The force field bolt would either hit or miss Dai, but right now Ryoji had something like fifty medium sized bullets of Telekinetic energy, each that wouldn't knock back exactly, but they'd hurt like a bitch.

"Don't want to die? Never let your guard down. ESPECIALLY YOU! Your PSI from what I can tell is all offense at this point. Defense is your weakness. The best defense is a good offense was spoken by a man who died never knowing how to defend."

The redhead was suddenly hit by a bolt of energy, and sent sprawling across the ground. He picked himself up, and spoke, something obviously different about his mannerisms and the way that his voice left his mouth.

"Trash? Kukuku..." The expression on his face was dark, but inside Dai was confused to shit. He hadn't even started using his powers... Maybe it wasn't the Psi, but the type! Because he could tell one thing and one thing only about this guy from his current state... He used Burst. Dai looked up and shouted out in rage.

No... no! Not now! I need to stay calm! The redhead stared at the newcomer, anger in his eyes. He reached out his arm, and it suddenly glowed, building a bright, flaming longbow. He grinned, and stared downrange at Ciro.

"Big... Mistake... I WILL REVEL IN YOUR DESTRUCTION!" He nocked a single arrow, and fired it at the man with a growl.

"Great. Just great. So you're playing the part of 'those' at the moment?" Ryoji was concious enough not to use the word Tavoo. He liked having his head where it was, after all. And now Dai was joining in the fight, too. Not like the boy had time to think about that - after two bullets of telekinetic energy hit the user of Prometheus Flame, something inside of him snapped. Ciro was being an asshole - so he would now get the asshole treatment, too. He was already covered in Dust, so he wouldn't be swimming in his own blood on top of that. Within a second, something 'flared' up quite literally - the psychic signature of the young Drifter activated.
"How about you drop that attitude?" Using the Rise out of sheer instinct again, Ryoji jumped upwards - this time, no scarf was gliding through the air behind him. That thing was still with his laptop at the sides of the warehouse, luckily enough, not the destroyed one. If it had been buried under rubble... Well, then Ciro wouldn't have had to taunt the boy in the first place.
Still, just jumping about 5 meters wouldn't save him from all those machine-gun like bullets of telekinetic energy. This was when it hit him. If his power was able to burn even stone for a moment, and metals... What about other PSI? He simply had to abuse the desire of his flames, the desire to destroy! He would destroy and burn those bullets!
Reaching out his right hand, Ryoji now didn't try to force his power to not destroy. He simply focused the destruction-will on the incoming bullets. Three more hit him and nearly broke his concentration while he was still in mid-air. A slight glow could be seen in his blue eyes.
"I am... the bone of my flame." Snapping the fingers of his right hand in a near-tranquil stage, like when he used it for the first time in Psyren itself. Instead of an uncontrolled cone bound backwards that wanted to consume Ryoji, the flame now did what it was supposed to do - shoot out from before his hand, so that it looked like it was produced from the hand itself, the snap of the fingers was Ryos focus point. Extending outwards, the crimson, bright flame shot out, expanding like a whirl, or shotgun blast. Hungry for things to consume, it actually managed to burn the telekinetic bullets away and reduce them to nothing. This was the greatest ability of Prometheus Flame - to burn anything for a short moment. The flame didn't stop, though - it was now wide-spread, and continued to spread while heading into Ciros direction. Of course, the flame weakened the further it travelled, but being hit at this stage could still hurt a bit, but not reduce someone to ash, even with a full head-on hit. It lost power and heat with distance, the drawback of the technique.

Ciro tilted his head a bit at Dai's reaction to being hit. He didn't see a problem. The boy should have been paying more attention. Psychiers...he hated them. Of course, that was assuming he was one. And if he was then, awesome. Someone else who knew jack shit about defending himself properly against Tavoo. He wondered if Dai existed in the future. Maybe...or maybe not. Regardless it was pointless to ponder as this was the here and now.

He looked as him get irritated. He then noticed Ryoji in his own attempt to avoid him."Attitude? You've seen no such thing yet..." He smiled playfully and watched him counter PSI with PSI, which is typically how these fights went. He looked at Dai again as an arrow was prepared for release. He looked at Ryoji as his fire began speeding to him. He tilted his head for a moment again and pursed his lips. What to do, what to do?...

"Well...I won't go all out on you Ryoji...No sense in that cause I doubt you could handle it just yet. Maybe soon, but not now..." He shrugged as he said it and used Rise to jump up over the fire, and the arrow by extent, and land on the other side of the boys in the middle of the rubble. He turned to smile at them. "But this won't make the fight any easier on you..." Using speed and strength Rise he began kicking up pieces of metal and kicking them at the boys. Dai got three pieces while Ryoji got five. On top of this more telekinetic bullets were released at Dai. Just sharing the love...

Ryoji now felt a never before known rush of adrenaline, in addition to the PSI he radiated into the world around him, wild and uncontrolled. Though he knew that he wouldn't be able to use large amounts of his fire, or he would have another breakdown, like the one before Dai showed up. But strangely enough, this last release of fire didn't cost him as much of his mental stamina as the ones before. Little did he know that he unconciously used a very basic program that nearly all Psychicers used - to tell his PSI what to do, and not what it should NOT do. In a way, Ciro already helped.
Still, the boy had no intention to be kicked to death with metal scraps that looked rather unpleasant. That telekinesis-user really was something - fighting him and Dai at the same time. Ryoji knew that Ciro going all out would mean his death - but he wanted to prove it. Prove that he was not just some random Drifter who would die in a few trips to Psyren. Show him that at some point, the bipolar could trust the Pyromancer as a fighter and backup, even if they maybe never reached the same terms on arguments. This was just how it was sometimes.
"Thanks, Ciro." Ryoji said with a sudden, slight smile. Maybe... just maybe... He wasn't such an airhead as he always pretended to be. "I won't back down!" His eyes seemed to widen a bit, as his Rise now flowed through his body, enhancing the speed above human levels. He had the luck that Ciro did NOT kick those metal parts at the actual speed of real bullets, or else he would've still been dead. This way, Ciro sidestepped the first, spinned around himself and jumped to dodge the second, and after landing, throwing himself to the ground to dodge the third. Jumping back up, the fourth metal piece headed directly for Ryo.
This time, however, he led the PSI flow differently, right into his left leg completely, and jump-kicked the scrap of metal. He felt his bones creak a bit, but thanks to the PSI, he took no visible damage from propelling that object straight up into the air. Now, for the fith piece, the Drifter decided to try something new. If his fire could burn even metal, simply throwing it wouldn't help - the melting and burning metal would then hit him. However, if he concentrated the destructive ability of Prometheus Flame into one direct line, he could rip through the object flying at him... and make the rests drift away from their originally inteded way. The perfect idea!
Releasing his Burst again, Ryoji shaped the flame into a long, blade-like object. Taking it into his hands, he slashed it downward, right before the metal piece came flying, slicing through it just as it entered his radius with this attack. As the flame blade, which would later be known as 'Dragon Tooth', desintegrated, two speeding metal pieces passed by Ryoji, making his clothes flutter violently, but not hurting him. Smirking for short time, Ryoji suddenly nearly fell to his knees, feeling a sharp pain in his head. But this time, with shaking legs, Ryo managed to stay on his feet, and slowly stretched himself back up. He didn't want to beg for mercy after just one move.

Ciro noted that Dai was too slow and got smacked in the body and face by the metal plates. He'd be fine though, just very hurt. No broken bones, well...maybe a broken nose, but that won't kill him.

He flicked his blue eyes back on Ryoji. He was giving it his all just to dodge some metal plates. Ciro didn't understand why. Wouldn't it have been easier to just return them, or, even better, melt them away into something less harmful? Whatever...that wasn't Ciro's problem. As Ryoji tried to dodge the plates, Ciro began to casually walk over to him. There weren't a lot of plates so he did use Rise to "power walk" to him, but the end result was the same.

He took note of the blades Ryoji produced. "Lovely...he's got swords..." He mumbled under his breath. When Ryoji had split the final piece he would see Ciro behind it. The telekinetic used Rise for a simple thrust of his foot aimed at Ryoji's chest. He wasn't at full speed Rise, but the movement was still fairly powerful.

To add to Dai's injuries, he also released another force field bolt at him.

Dai hit the ground, the force of the plates hitting his face knocking him back. He groaned, and rubbed his nose slightly. Ow... He closed his eyes, moving the fracture back into a relatively straight line, and stood up, blood flooding down from his nostrils.

"That... hurt." The redhead groaned, and watched the pair attack each other. Something was going on... They knew each other. He stood backwards, stumbling slightly due to dizziness from the pain, and held the bow up to Ciro.

"Bi...tch. YOUR DESTRUCTION WILL BE GLORIOUS!" He nocked a single arrow, and suddenly shouted, wincing at the advent of extra pain.

"Urufubaraju!" Pulling back and firing the arrow, it suddenly multiplied in midair, firing a barrage of flaming arrows at Ciro. He kept this barrage up for as long as he could, before being hit by another telekinetic bolt, falling over. Again.

Things aren't... going my way...

Ciro frowned a bit as his foot nailed Ryoji right in the chest, causing him to fly back and hit the wall of a building, and leaving a nice imprint of him before he fell and hit the ground. Ribs would be bruised, and his breathing would get cut short for a moment which would result in a moment of time where he would have trouble breathing...but he'd be okay otherwise. Before he could even continue his assault, Dai seemed to get more and more irritated. This interested Ciro, and he wanted to see more. The amount of arrows as impressive, but he didn't feel like reflecting them. It'd be a waste of PSI energy for now.

Using his Rise, he began his fancy footwork to quickly dodge the arrows. Of course not all of them were dodged. He had burn wounds on his arms, thigh, chest and back. In total, he got actually hit twice, grazed ten times, and a narrow miss once. The rest were clean dodges. He looked at Dai as he fell over again and smiled. "If you kept that temper of yours under control I might have a reason to fear you..." With that, Ciro shoved off the ground for all he was worth, charged a large telekinetic bolt and launched it at Dai while falling with his leg extended, infused with Rise of course, aimed at Ryoji. If he didn't move. This would hurt...a lot.