After eating, Jake and Tina took a bus to a place called Petalburg Park, where they took in the scenery around them. They decided to embark on a hike deep in the woods.

Tina tapped a stick on the ground. "Okay, this place is not bad, but it's no Birchwood."

"Yep, it's not Birchwood, that was home."

"Hey, let's take trips there more often?"

"It's a six-hour roundtrip."

Her expression of disappointment was displayed. "Okay... but."

He sighed. "I know you miss your friends… at least try to befriend people here."

"I'll try," She grunted. "I won't like it. I hope they aren't like Robert or Marissa. If they are like the two girls, that would be great."

The boy's mind drifted back to Amy and Christina, who sounded and appeared pleasant to be around. However, he found his memories shifting to someone he wished not to remember. He sternly reminded himself not to draw comparisons between them. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by his sister poking him. He looked at her and groaned at her teasing smile.

"Well? Christina has a pretty face, but do you tough girls? Amy is very pretty, but too playful."

"Can we drop this?"

"Fine." She picked up a pinecone and tossed it. "But please don't think of that other girl."

He silently nodded as they walked along the trail, enjoying the scenery around them. Before deciding to head back home, a strange light shot through the air and headed straight for them.

"What's that?" Tina cried out in fear.

"Get back!" Jake, equally alarmed, pushed her out of the way.

However, the strange red light stopped in front of them, revealing itself to be a red crystal. The two looked at it with caution.

"What is that?" whimpered Tina.

"I don't know." He gazed at it fearfully.

"That is the Elemental Crystal of Fire."

The duo quickly turned to the source of the voice, a strange red-haired man with long ears.

Jake was not too sure about this person nor liked his sudden appearance, but he had to stand firm even if he was in danger, even if he was afraid. He motioned his sister to stand behind him. "Who are you?"

"Trust me, if I wanted to kill you." To the average eye, the man seemed to have vanished before them. "I would have done so." They jumped back when they found him behind them.

"Th-that's not a g-good case to make." The spiky raven shakily responded.

"True, but trust may be a factor here, and we don't have time. I have researched about you, Jake Ishida. This was the best time and place to find you alone, even with your kin being here."

"Who... what are you?"

"My name is Pilot, a canokian from Galvania. I am a member of the Guardian Corp. My duty is to ensure a new warrior of fire, a Radiant, is born. That new warrior is you."

Jake nervously gazed at the crystal. "Me?"

The redhead stared at the crystal, "You are picked to defend against rising chaotic forces that will harm you and everyone around you."

The boy's eyes widened in shock. He turned to face his sister, who only looked up at him with concern. He was picked to fight threats that could harm his family? It sounded too weird to be true, but if his family were threatened and if it was all on him? Inwardly, he grimaced, knowing he would be making a bad decision.

"What if I refuse?"

"You can. It will either choose its second host or continue seeking you out."

He stared at the radiating crimson object in front of him, feeling warmth from it. It was as though it belonged to him. "So you say… someone else might have it?"

"Yes."

Jake instantly thought about a few people who would use it for personal reasons. Worriedly rubbing his head, he answered. "Why me?"

"Who knows... maybe you are the noblest of them, or it is random… or you have potential. The last option, to me, is the most accurate reason."

"Potential, huh." He muttered.

"You doubt yourself? Listen closely. No matter what people say about you, they are usually wrong and will put you down if you don't conform to their standards. With your world, people do it every day."

"Yeah…" He stared at it, debating. "I'd be in danger, but I guess I cou-."

"Hold on." The young girl regained her resolve. "Are you crazy? Listening to this guy? What kind of power is that?"

"Your attributes will increase, wield abilities unique to you, and gain the power of fire."

"I don't like this." said the scared girl.

"Yeah…" The spiky raven said, his weariness lessening. "This may sound stupid. If I don't… who will? What if it goes to… Randall or HER?"

"I doubt it will."

"I know…" He slowly reached out for the crystal, steadily increasing his resolve. "But if the next guy messes up, I will feel bad, knowing I would have done a better job."

"That sounds crazy!" She cried out to him.

He grabbed the jewel. Once he did, it shined brightly before it was absorbed into his chest. After a moment, he felt a comforting warmth emanating from within before it gradually faded.

"Good… now it should be clear as day how to command the transformation."

"I see…" Jake clenched his fist. "Raging Fire: Ignite!"

A burst of fire erupted from his chest as it spread throughout his body. It dispersed, leaving him in a red short-sleeved gi uniform shirt with matching red pants. A black belt wrapped around his waist while his wrists sported red wristbands and matching red boots. Materialized on the right side of his chest was a gold emblem with the fire symbol embedded in it. On both sides of his face were two curved markings. A matching-colored headband wrapped around his forehead. Finally, his hair turned red, finishing the transformation. He opened his eyes, still retaining his normal auburn color, then thrust his fist forward in a pose.

Pilot observed the gesture and raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What are you doing?"

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"He's posing." The sister replied.

"Why?"

Realizing he was being criticized, his expression saddened. "It's cool."

"I disagree."

The fire warrior sighed as he stood up. He looked at his hands and punched the air a few times. "Wow… I feel… strong… mighty."

"Power corrupts… don't let it get to your head."

"Yeah… um, can I come up with a code name?"

"You can operate freely without anyone knowing you? No one in this world will distinguish between your current and regular appearances. Non-mana users won't recognize you, even when you are close to them."

"Amazing."

"Now…" A ring sounded, prompting Pilot to pull out a small silver disk from his pocket. After activating the device by pressing a button, a holographic map of the city materialized before them. On the map, a blinking light was visible.

"What's that?"

"Trouble in the city."

"Trouble?"

"Come, you and I will check it out."

"What about me?" Tina frowned. "Are you going to leave me here?"

"Then I'll keep you company."

Landing in front of them with grace was a young woman with the same elf ears. Her violet hair tied in a bun and violet eyes showed confidence. She wore a long-sleeved purple shirt underneath a matching-colored vest. Underneath the shirt was a pair of fishnets. Purple shorts just inches above the knee and knee-high matching color boots. On her left leg was a leather case holding kunai, a black utility belt on her waist.

"Ah!" Jake and Tina jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance. Pilot remained unfazed while gazing at her slightly."

"This is Reinstar, one of my colleagues."

Reinstar bowed. "Greetings, it's a pleasure to meet a new warrior of the element."

"We don't have time for pleasantries." The redheaded canokian grabbed Jake's arm. "Take her back home and set up the equipment. The Radiant and I will find the problem." He brought his hand up to his ear, revealing a communicating device nestled within. "Luka, coordinates."

"Straight to the point, I like that." spoke a melodic voice. "Sending you now."

In one moment, Jake was out in the park; in the next, he ended up on the roof of a building. He looked around in amazement at being sent somewhere that felt instantaneous. Then he felt something, a dark feeling. He turned around for the source.

"You feel that? Good. You're sensing their mana and how strong they are. The stronger the mana, the more dangerous they are. You can sense mine, right?"

Jake turned to him and gaped. "Woah, you're super strong… but that feeling is below your level."

"Correct, which is why you are going to handle it."

"Me?" He was apprehensive. "But?"

"You need training. I wanted to prepare you before your first real fight, but the universe has different plans, Jake."

"… Can you call me Blaze in this form? Also, what am I going to fight?"

The sound of a crash prompted the duo to look at the next building. They discovered a strange brown-furred beast with large upper body strength. It was carrying someone, a man in his 60s who was bloodied and broken. Jake gazed at the body with horror. He tried to sense something from him.

"That's our target…" Pilot eyed the man solemnly. "The man with it is dead."

Upon hearing those words, a negative feeling settled in his heart. He wondered if he could have prevented the death if he did not hesitate. Yet, there was a feeling in his consciousness suggesting the outcome would remain the same. There were more pressing matters, the dangerous monster. Meanwhile, the monster leaped in the air, sailed over them, and landed on the ground behind them. The beast glared at them with its yellow eyes before leaping away, prompting the duo to follow it to an abandoned warehouse. As they entered the structure, the fire warrior could not shake the feeling that they were stepping into the pages of a comic book, where villains lurked in the shadows. The continue their exploration until they heard distant voices.

"Seems you got what you were looking for."

"He's dead… he's dead." The voice sounded as if he could not believe it, and his spiteful glee gradually increased with each chant.

"Do you feel satisfied?"

"… No… I need to find the other… the other…. The other."

The duo walked through the doorway and got a look at the group of three. The monster was standing off to the side, standing 6'5". The man appeared ragged and crazed as he gazed at the lifeless form as if expecting it to return to life. Finally, the woman in pink was standing elegantly across from the man. The woman twirled her umbrella while giggling with delight. Once the duo stepped into her sight, her attention was on them.

The woman giggled. "Ooo… a canokian was it? It's been what? Nearly over 300 years since I was imprisoned."

Pilot blinked. "300 years… hmmm, you're a human born with unnatural powers."

The woman giggled and then spotted Blaze. She lowered her umbrella and looked thoughtfully at him with her blue eyes. Her platinum blonde hair flowed with an unnatural wind. "Oh… another one. He wields fire, right? Not the same one, but it's still one of the three who imprisoned me years ago. You would know that period... the Salem Witch Trials."

Blaze gasped. "Y-you were there?"

"Oh yes, I razed hell. I and some followers had fun terrorizing those hypocrites, but then my fun ran out because of those three Radiant. Fire was one of them. They beat me and sealed me away. I got out eventually, and I thought long and hard about how to take my revenge. Now... I will do what I want. I'll get followers while having fun. I will find what I seek. I will use people's rage to create their inner beast." She gestured toward the man and the monster. "That is the result. If you kill the monster, it will disappear, and the man might return to normal. Oh, I will look for it… yes… oh excuse me… being sealed away made me a bit crazy." She opened her umbrella. "I'm Mistress M, pleased to make your acquaintance. This will be fun. Now… hmmm… go fight the boy, I want to see him squirm."

"That brat? Sure. Then we can go after the other moron."

"Sure, but only if you defeat the boy," she said unusually cheerfully.

The man laughed. "YES!" The man turned to the monster. "Beast, get ready to beat the brat."

The monster roared and beat its chest.

The canokian was not swayed by it. "Blaze, this will be your test. If you fail here, we will train. I will make sure you won't die." He raised his hand up, and a long sword materialized in his hand. He took it and slammed the blade into the ground in front of him. "I will stay and watch you and her."

"Okay." He nodded meekly

"But at least try to win. Do you have prior experience with fighting?"

"Yeah, I took a martial arts class for two years."

"Good, it should be enough."

Blaze nodded and stepped forward. He stared at the monster as it stared back. He was nervous, scared, and excited. He took a big gulp and moved into a stance he was taught some time ago. His increased breathing showed nervousness. His power was radiating. He compared his energy level to the monster, they were nearly the same. Fresh, new, and inexperienced. He would only get better, but only after defeating the monster... hopefully. He still fe-

He barely dodged the monster's strike as it lunged at him. The monster pivoted and roared before jumping at him.

Blaze dodged the first few punches before blocking one and sending a strong knuckle into the face of the monster, causing it to stagger back. The boy was surprised at how strong he was, but that surprise made him lower his guard. The monster struck the teen with a kick to the face, sending him flying back.

The canokian scowled deeply as he watched the body hit the floor. "DO NOT give your enemy a reason to get past your guard."

"Kay." He felt embarrassed and hurt by what happened. The monster was strong; if he were normal, he would not be able to get back up.

"My, how the new blood is so distracted." Mistress M giggled. "I think I know what happens here, bye." The woman then vanished, leaving the man alone.

Pilot raised a brow at her desertion, keeping his guard active to make sure she would not plan a sneak attack.

Blaze dodged another attack and blocked another kick, which sent him sliding back. He launched himself forward and delivered a kick on his own and then a punch to knock the beast back. "Don't I have an attack?"

His thoughts were interrupted when the beast grabbed him and threw him across the area. He rolled over a few times as he landed. Once he stopped rolling, he started picking himself up while grunting. He watched the monster roar, then glared at the warrior.

He needed to figure out how to use his power. It was there, but he needed time. The monster opened its mouth and charged energy before firing a beam at him. The boy yelped and jumped from the energy beam.

"It can do that?"

"Always expect surprises!"

"Fine!" The teenager clenched his fist as he started to concentrate on gathering his power. He poured more and more in his fist as the monster started charging up for another attack. "I can do it too." Fire manifested around his hand. "Come on… more and more." Then it got bigger and bigger. "I think… yeah." He glared at the beast. "Time to burn you up!" He ran forward with his fist reeled back. He noticed how fast he was getting as he raced forward.

The monster fired another beam of energy, only for the boy to dodge quickly. The monster beat its chest before running forward with its left fist reeled back.

When the two got close, the monster sent a punch. Fortunately, the fire warrior leaped into the air.

"BLAZING FIIIIIIIIIIIIST!"

He slammed on the monster's head and caused an explosion of fire. With the monster's head destroyed, the body started to evaporate as it started falling to the floor. When the last trace was gone, the man screamed in pain before falling to the ground.

Pilot approached the man while expecting the woman to show. Meanwhile, Blaze started panting, feeling weak after putting all his power into that attack.

"Well done," He gazed down at the man. "You destroyed your first enemy, but that was a weak one."

Blaze tiredly nodded. "Yeah… I take it will get tougher from here?"

"Yes, with the right training, you won't tire as much, and your body will adapt to the power."

"How is he?"

"Unconscious."

Blaze nodded and gazed at the spot where the monster evaporated. He managed to kill something on his first try despite it being a weaker threat. He had a feeling his life would get more interesting from here on out.

Mistress M watched them from afar with a small smile. "Just a minor setback. I have work to do." She giggled as she vanished.

----------------------------------------

A/N

Jake: Height - 5'5

Amy: Height - 5'3

Christina: Height - 5'4