Violet
The cavern walls shatter, layers of obsidian scattering and melting under the intense resonance emanating from the roar of the beast who rules the land. Aleph pools Aether around herself, gripping the atmosphere and forming a small safe zone around the group. Though able to halt the tempest bearing upon them, this does nothing to tame the intense heat eating away at their surroundings. Everywhere is equally as hot, so I can't just offload the heat with convection. I can bend the light, but that would blind the others, and I can't do much else alongside that. If it's just me I can manage, but what about the others?
Her gaze drifts to her companions. Lyly and Dyly stand completely unbothered by the heat, guard raised and pedipalps waggling. Makes sense. Fire resistance is common among demons and Lyly is basically invincible. Fluffy stands coated in sweat, steam obscuring his body, yet largely unperturbed all things considered. I hope he's not putting up a front. He's a tough cookie though, I'm sure he'll be fine. I'm more worried about Goldy. How is he... Goldy's fur shimmers with white frost, the monkey clearly the least bothered out of anyone here. Guess he's fine.
"Lyly, you distract him. Dyly and I can go for the attack while Goldy supports. And Fluffy can wait for opportunities to strike. Go!"
Cyan
"Boost me!" Lyla declares, hopping from her perch to allow the dragon's tail to swipe her into the air. Fuehehe! What'll be the best way to piss this bastard off? Splat! She lands directly in his eye, even the pupil of which dwarfs her in size. Hell yea! Go dragon! Best aim ever! Now I can just... Chomp! Her fangs dig into the surface, injecting the mild but still very much toxic venom directly into his eye. "Take that, asshole! See how you like- Iiiii!" The eye darts to the side, the momentum tossing her away. Latching a thread to his lid, she manages to swing her way back onto his face. "Fuahahaha! Can't get rid of me that easily!"
Gold
Golden fur shimmers white, amber eyes fading to pale as Gol Dhee stirs up frigid winds around his body to curb the overwhelming inferno assaulting him. I must provide support. Let us begin with this. He grips the earth, evicting the essence infused within to establish his own dominance, and flips it like a cloth. The emissary and the creature of flames are launched into the air towards their foe, and Gol Dhee turns his attention to the warrior of green. He is strong... To endure this heat with naught but his body is a remarkable feat. I would last but a moment in his place.
Red
This is my first real fight! Ever... I have to make a good impression! Diala soars through the air beside Aleph, who spreads her wings to glide up. Narrowing her body, she dives into the magma below and begins pushing her way through the viscous fluid towards the dragon. Her body turns thin and aerodynamic, weaving through the boiling rock like a snake until she surfaces by the dragon's tail. Leaping from the lake she lands atop the serpentine back and begins scaling her way along its hide, each footfall light as a feather.
Green
Damn. It's hot. Fluffy watches patiently for an opportunity to strike, steam from his sweat slightly obscuring his vision. Teacher vanishes from view, shortly followed by an impact on the fire dragon's side while Tiny lands a kick on his spine, arching his back. The dragon winds, spinning and coiling to be rid of the parasites clinging to him before raising itself from the ground and glowing bright red. Lightning erupts from its scales, stunning Tiny and throwing Teacher back to shore. Electricity coagulates before washing over his body, Lil' Blue taking the full brunt in stride and throwing more insults towards the beast.
He stopped moving. This is a chance. Fluffy takes stance, tenses his muscles in sequence, and throws a punch.
Violet
Aleph leaps, just in time to avoid the magma spewing from the horizontal eruption directed towards Mekrotok. The larger dragon is thrown from its place, flying into the pillar of magma in the centre of the lake. Bursting out, the dragon makes to roar, only to be thrown back by another eruption of wind from Fluffy who is now running full sprint across the magma, and another, and another, and-
Thoom!
A slice of the lake is carved from existence, stone vaporised and a ravine newly formed and steadily filling with magma once again, the island once gracing the centre of the lake now vanished. Aleph dives towards the source of the blast, building up momentum to strike the beast with the blade of her tail, carving into the scales on its neck. Not enough! Dammit!
Green
Fluffy strains his body, arms held in front with skin scorched black from the blast. He pries himself from the back wall of the cavern, dizziness threatening to throw him to the ground. I must... His vision steadily darkens, dancing with the threat of unconsciousness. Hyperthermia... I was... complacent... His eyes turn to the side, drawn to a gold and white figure, and his equipment beside him. One agonising step at a time he stumbles forward, Muscles rushing over to assist only to be pushed aside as he staggers straight towards his sword.
"Muscles!" He shouts, arresting the ape's attention. "Watch closely! You must finish this fight!" He raises the blade high, muscles tightened into steel and Aether surging through his form. And he swings.
Gold
Gol Dhee stares in rapt awe. The cavern, once melted apart by the king of flames, now severed once again as a deep gouge bores through the ceiling and floor, carving deep to the point of even reaching the layers above and below. Stone crumbles and magma rains, the world falling apart around them. The king of flames stands at the opposed point of the cavern, his form obscured by layers of fire and lightning, save for the vertical slice carved through his scales and burrowing into his flesh. The look of shock quickly wears off as the king of flame darts into the air, flames spewing forth and vaporising the falling stone as he melts and solidifies the ceiling to prevent a cave-in.
Thud! Snapping himself from his stupor, Gol Dhee rushes over to the warrior of green, brushing his collapsed form with cool winds. Was the heat too much? I should have offered to cool him! I'm a fool! Shaking his head, he hoists the warrior upon his shoulder and returns his attention to the battle. It is no matter. For now I must prioritise my role in this fight.
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Cyan
Huh... I guess he's stronger than I thought. I wonder if... Is that a way down? Dangling from a hair on Mekrotok's mane, Lyla's eyes are drawn to the deep ravine poking into the layer below. It's been so long... Can I finally... Her eyes shift, drawn to her companions. The demon clings to the mane like her, disrupting Mekrotok's flight and bruising his scales with whip-like strikes. Not too far from them is the dragon, eyes filled with unreadable emotion as she glides towards the beast. At the other end of the cavern stands the monkey, carrying the injured elf with a much more readable expression of steeled resolve. I could just... Oh fuck it. Even I know I'm too soft for this shit. Time to commit some war crimes.
"Hey Mekkabitch! Prepare your ass for my secret technique!" Lyla darts around the dragon, weaving along his scales and through his hair to dive into his ear. "Lyla you parasite! What are you-" Zooming around his ear canal she sticks thread all over, stuffing it full of unbreakable fibres before leaping out and winding more threads into a muzzle around his snout.
Red
Ew... Mekrotok writhes in frustration, and probably disgust as the spider continues sticking and stuffing threads everywhere you seriously do not want threads to be stuffed. I hate it, but... that does actually give me an idea. Diala scampers her way across the dragon's back, reaching and standing just outside his other ear. "Another pest?!" He booms, throwing his head to the side to eject the invader. With a swipe of her arm, crack! The sound barrier breaks, and his eardrum along with it. According to at least a dozen books I've read on flesh-based organisms, this should completely take him out of the fi- Diala's body is thrown by a sudden force, leaving her barely able to catch onto a whisker before being flung away. The books lied!
Violet
Focus... Focus... Focus! Aleph's vision grows clouded, her thoughts distracted by concern. Should we retreat? Fluffy is injured and Goldy will be occupied caring for him. Lyly is... ew... And Dyly is all the way down there now... They aren't backing down though. I might have to aim at killing him. I'm no good at taking down big opponents like this without killing them, that's what Fluffy was supposed to do with his wide area attacks. But... This isn't some animal. As far as I'm concerned he's a person. Do we have the luxury of a clean fight? She nears the larger dragon, one eye glazed pale, threads coating his face, and several cuts and gashes across his body, yet he holds firm with a gaze soaked in resolve. Why is he so determined?
"Enough!"
Flames burst forth from the dragon, his wounds burning shut and scales growing back as two tiny attackers are ejected from him with intense force. Aleph dives down, pressing Aether into the magma below to gain solid footing as a wave of flames pushes past her. The flames expand, obscuring his body before condensing to a point. Thoom! He erupts from the flames, his body reduced to match Aleph in size and his injuries closed in to mere scratches. This actually works way better.
She leaps, a crater forming in the magma and slowly filling back up as she soars upwards to her foe. A blinding light disrupts her flight as she bends to dodge the condensed ray of plasma directed her way, setting the air on fire and burning through her scales even after dodging. Fuck! I'm jealous! He gets cool laser-beam attacks and I'm stuck with melee for anything real-time! A trail of light begins to form behind him, his motions that of a dance as his claws grip at the air, walking through the sky to form a mesh of light. A spell? What is he... Flicking his tail he sends the array careening towards Aleph, building itself into a sphere of patterns and symbols around her. "Begone."
Whatever he's trying to do is not going to be good for me. I need to figure this out before it casts. A dense layer of Aether spreads out from her body, nearly everything she has warping to wrap around the array and peer inward to observe the very Mana forming it. Space wobbles and oscillates, atoms skewing and redirecting as if influenced by an ever growing gravitational pull. Is this forming a wormhole? He's trying to teleport me! Shit! I don't know how fast the spell is, and I can't directly counter something like this yet! But... Yes, I can make it too expensive to cast. Aether shifts, conforming to the shape of the Mana, yet acting in contrast. Where Mana pulls, Aether pushes, where one expands space, the other contracts it. Go ahead. Just see how much Mana this will take to cast now. I dare you.
The fire dragon snarls, the array falling apart and scattering into nothing as he prepares his next attack. Capitalising on the moment, Aleph flaps her wings, surging through the air and closing the gap. Contorting her body beyond what should be natural, she dodges the next ray of plasma, ignoring the burning of her scales as she lunges into him. Fangs burrow into scales and she twists her body to throw him down, plunging after him to slam into the magma below.
Gold
He seems stable... I know too little of medicine to heal him, but I can at least keep him cool. Turning his eyes to the battle, Gol Dhee watches the spray of boiling rock bursting forth from each strike. Even from where he stands the heat is oppressive, his coat of frigid wind barely enough to curb it as the stone around him melts and cracks. Does he truly believe I can match his strength enough to end this fight? I feel this is beyond me...
Gripping the earth, he raises a wall to block oncoming spray from the fight before pushing it away to continue watching. What does he always see in me... Does it even matter? Gol Dhee grips his hand, holding tight to a small pendant, simple in design and bearing no essence or profound aura, yet significant nonetheless. Technique is vital... His eyes turn to the warrior of green. To stand on equal ground, one must seek to surpass... His gaze focuses back on the battle.
Within the chaos of fire and stone, visions of the emissary and the king of flame can be seen matching strikes as claws, fangs, and flames battle for every slight edge. Gol Dhee watches, eyes trained on the dragon for any chance, any moment for him to strike. The lake explodes, pushed back by a sudden air pressure as the king of flames returns to his normal size, firing down with his breath of light. And for a moment, he is still. Recoil from his own attack binding him in place. It must be now!
Gol Dhee pools his essence, focuses his mind, and narrows his gaze. I cannot form a strike like the warrior of green, nor build vines as tight as the bright one's. But I can pull the earth, bend the ocean, and hold the air. And so I shall. He grips the world, his essence enforcing dominance over every stone, every flame, every speck of air. And he pulls. For a moment, his eyes flicker lime, the entire cavern warping and closing in towards the king of flame until...
Krakoom!
Red
Diala's body warps and bends, slithering around flying magma and hopping across soaring rocks as she carries a pale spider through the storm of stone and fire. Holy shit! Remind me to never piss any of these guys off! What kind of world is this where this is the first real fight I see?! Layer after layer of stone surges towards Mekrotok, who in turn bursts forth from his coffin of earth again and again, only to continue being encased.
Weaving through the rocks towards the pair comes Aleph, swooping down to pick them up. Hopping on top, Diala releases Lyla to allow her return to her rightful perch. "Is this Gol Dhee's doing?" "Yep!" "How long do you think he can hold out?" "He's already stopped." The last layer of stone shoots past, allowing the trio a smooth flight towards the rest of the group. As soon as they land, Aleph takes over the job of keeping them cool by pushing away the heat, causing vision to be obscured as the ape collapses, completely spent.
"Is it over? Is he dead?" Diala asks, her eyes trained on the ball of melting earth behind them. "He's not dead." We're not done?! "He'll probably break out soon, but he's stuck under a ton of rock so we should get out while we can" Oh thank fuck. "Are you sure? How can you see?" "Aether perception sphere." What language is she actually speaking? It sounds familiar-ish, but the translation system makes it hard to tell. "I guess we should go then. Those two aren't looking so good." "Agreed. I'd like to get them out of the heat sooner rather than later."
Gathering atop the dragon, the group set off, gliding down the hole carved into the layer below.