"You guys've gotta be on your best behavior. No fighting, no bickering. Don't do nothing to piss me off. If you got something to say, save for when I'm not around."

Althea stands at attention like a soldier while Zazel makes a face like a kid who just got told to clean their room.

"Why do I have to be here for this?" Zazel whines. "I'm tired! I wanna go back to bed!"

"This is of the utmost importance, Chaos," Althea turns to Zazel. "The Hero is about to use his powers to their fullest, and he has deemed you worthy to observe and aid him. You would do well to appreciate the honor and save your complaints."

"What's there to observe? He gets angry, and it makes him strong. It's not particularly complicated. My time is better spent sleeping so I'm beautiful and sharp for when we actually get on with something challenging."

"You can have all the rest you want when the war concludes, you layabout. Our world and our lives are in peril."

"Just where do you get the audacity to lecture-"

"Hey!" I shout. "Knock that shit off! That's exactly what I'm talking about!"

Althea snaps back to attention. "Sorry, Hero."

"Apologies, sausage."

"Alright, enough talk. We're doing this. I'm gonna get some distance, then I'm going for it. If shit hits the fan, stay out of sight."

"Yes, Hero."

"Fine. Get on with it."

I jog well outside the property, going and going and going until Althea and Zazel are two little bugs on a hill. I wave at them until they wave back, then I strike a pose by crouching a bit and clenching my fists.

Little by little, not too much at once. Not yet.

I close my eyes, reach inside my core, and grab hold of my powers.

I can feel the power start to flow into my body, like hot water in my veins. The heat builds, and my heart starts to pound. My muscles swell, and a tingling sensation rushes through me.

That's not too bad, I only feel a little hot so far.

I let out a quick punch. There's a blur, then a crack with a rush of hot wind, but nothing too crazy.

I hit the Spawn way harder. Still, even the toughest dude ever would at least get knocked out by something like that.

I breath in deep, and pull out even more power.

The heat surges, and so does the energy. My body is getting stronger, and it hurts, but it also feels incredible. It's almost like a drug, a high unlike anything else. I wanna keep pulling more and more.

I want more!

My heart is beating fast, and I feel sweat rolling down my neck. My breathing quickens as heat rises.

I throw another punch, and this time there's a thunderous boom and a wave of hot air blasts past me.

Okay, pretty good. Not too pissed yet, maybe a little grouchy. Let's kick it up a notch.

I remember when I got pissed and laid into Bub, and decide that's a good spot to aim for. I reach deep and pull hard.

The heat becomes almost unbearable, and I feel my face starting to get sweaty. I'm not too sure, but my body seems to be swelling even bigger, like it's getting pumped up with a bunch of air.

Then it starts to burn inside. The same searing pain begins to peel and crack my insides as the pressure builds. Bad memories flash in my mind's eye for a few seconds, and I know there's no going back.

"GYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHGGGGHHHH!!"

I scream at the top of my lungs, and I'm blinded by a flash of fire. My skin burns and peels like I'm being slow cooked over an open flame as a feeling of intense hatred washes over me.

Something needs to get fucked up! Right fucking now!

I scream again as a I unleash another wave of punches, which barely register in my blurry vision. They sound like thunderclaps, and the wind is burning hot, like an oven.

The ground starts to crack beneath me, and the air smells like sulfur.

A tree is blown over, and a hill starts to cave in, but I'm too pissed to care. I keep wailing on the earth, sending out another flurry of punches, and then another.

"DIE, YOU GODDAMNED LITTLE FUCKING SHITSTAINS! JUST FUCKING DIE!"

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My heart is on the verge of exploding. Every second is a painful struggle. But there's a part of me that likes it. The part that crave destructive power.

"EAT SHIT!"

The final punch is like a missile, and the whole world explodes around me. Dust and fire cloud my vision and my ears rattle with the final thunderous burst, which seems to rock all of Astraea.

With that final punch, the rage feels nearly absent from my body. Though my bones ache and my skin is pretty much totally red, I can feel my mind clearing and my reason returning.

So releasing the power cools me down as well. Good.

Forgetting that I just roasted myself, I start to move and I'm instantly assaulted all over with the worst stinging pain I've ever felt.

"Ah! Fuck!"

But then I remember my other power. I take in a deep breath, then let out a deep, bestial growl. The smoldering heat inside of me turns to a simmer as the pain subsides. There is a faint fleshy sound as my red skin returns to its normal, healthy hue.

I still feel kind of pissed, but at least the pain is gone.

The dust and smoke clear, and the area around me grabs my attention.

"Holy shit..."

There are no more trees, just scorched stumps. The grass and flowers that spread out before me are totally gone, it's just a grove of smoldering dirt now.

As the smoke and dust settle, the voices of the Elementals ring out.

"That was incredible!" Althea calls out.

"My ears hurt, you absolute roast!" Zazel squawks.

I shoot my arm and give them a thumbs up, but truthfully, I'm not satisfied. But, there's one more ability. One I haven't used yet.

'Incensed Instincts', huh? But how do I make it work?

I give myself a few more seconds to cool down a little more, then I try to focus. I close my eyes and sort of feel around inside for whatever part of me triggers this ability.

After a few seconds, I feel something weird twinge inside my core, and I get a rush of power. But instead of the energy and heat spreading all over like usual, most of it rushes to my head, as if somebody flipped me upside down.

Oh, shit! I hope this isn't gonna fuck up my brain!

I feel the need to open my eyes, and what I see is pretty wild.

What the fuck? Did I freeze time or something? What is this shit!?

Everything is frozen, like a movie that's been paused. The smoldering dirt, the dust in the air, and everything else seems to be standing completely still. I have a bit of tunnel vision, and everything seems to be glowing with a slight orange-red tinge.

And it's dead quiet. Like, deader than a morgue.

I move a bit, and it's a weird experience. It feels like moving underwater. My muscles feel kind of stiff and swollen, and the air doesn't seem to give way as I move through it. It's like it's pushing back on me, trying to stop me.

What the hell is going on?

Then, in a flash of memories I remember the crystals I saw out in the distance last night, and I get this sudden, crazy-enough-to-work idea.

The next moment, a strange sound fills the air, like a recording of a thunderclap played backwards. Then everything starts moving again and all the ambient noise comes rushing back.

Looks like someone pressed the play button.

I look around, flicking my head every which way, but all I see is the same green grass and scorched earth.

"What are you doing, you idiot!?"

I spin around and give Zazel two birds.

I have no clue what happened, but one thing is clear: I have a new idea, and I just know I have to try it.

I cup my hands around my mouth. "Hey! I'm gonna try something fucking stupid, so don't freak out!"

Althea looks at Zazel for a second, then shakes her head. "Please do not be reckless Hero!"

"Whatever you say, you stupid, overgrown dumpling!" Zazel yells.

"Don't call me that!"

"I'll call you what I want!"

I take a deep breath and turn away from them. I reach inside and tap into the power. The heat returns, and the rage comes with it, but this time it's manageable.

I've always had a hard time remembering stuff, but I'll be damned if I don't know exactly where those crystals are. Roughly exactly.

I draw up more and more power, rage and fire burn and boil my whole body while filling it with pure energy and raw strength once again.

"RRRRAAAAAHHHHHGGHGGHHH!!!"

My core is juicing me up real good, and I growl and crouch like a beast from the deepest circle of Hell, waiting for my rage to get to just the right level.

I pull more and more, and the pain intensifies as I burst into flames. My skin roasts, my hair burns off, and my clothes char, fray and melt.

"GYYAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!"

My energy climbs higher and higher and higher until, I get a feeling that the time is right.

"LESSMOTHERFUGGINGOOOOOO!!!"

Like a hellspawn rabbit jacked up on demonic jetfuel, I rocket into the air. The world becomes a blur as the air rushes around me, pulling back on my charred flesh as I blast up and through the air. I tear through the sky like a living missile, screaming all the way to the peak of my ascent.

The air grows cold and the wind stops. It's almost quiet as my momentum dies. My mind clears, the fire goes out, and the pain stops, mostly.

And then I look down, and I all see is green, tan, and grey. I'm high. Really fucking high.

"OH, SHIT! SHIT!"

Gravity grabs me by the balls and pulls me down hard. I'm falling, and there's no parachute.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!"

I'm a falling, screaming, naked meteor and I'm headed right towards the fucking ground.

I try to pull out the last of the rage to try to cushion my fall, or at least dull the pain of the impact, but the ground is closing in way too fast. There's nothing I can do about this other than take it on the chin.

This is gonna suck! Why the fuck did I do something so retarded?

I'm about halfway down and the ground is racing towards me.

"FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!"

The ground gets closer and closer, and my heart pounds in my ears. It looks like I'm going to land in a forest or grove or something.

Fuck, it's almost here!

"FUUUUCK!"

I brace and stiffen up as hard as I can, and then...

"GAGGGGHHHH!!"

My body hits the earth and it feels like I tried to drop kick speeding train as I land feet first. The force is absolutely unreal, and my whole body feels like it's exploding and imploding at the same time.

And the pain, fuck, the pain!

It's a living nightmare. I can't even think; it's too intense, seems to go on and on for a good while.

And then, it stalls and fades away into a deep, dull soreness. Instead of a torturous sensation, it just feels kind of like I got a little bit of an ass kicking.

I growl as I dip into my core and force my body to heal itself. In moments, my hair and skin comes back and my body feels good again.

I move around a little, testing the waters, then I stand, pull a fresh pair of shades out of my melted jacket, step out of my little crater, and take a look around.

I'm in a thick forest, and everything is lush and green. There are some funny, big-ass mushrooms, and some colorful flowers here and there. Birds sing in the canopy and the leaves and branches rustle as critters skitter through them.

I don't see the crystal, but somehow, I know it's close.

I tap into my power again. My core reacts, and I can feel my face flush. I just need a little.

I growl a bit , and then there's a flash of green in my mind's eye, and a feeling in my gut.

"Come to daddy..."