He was drowning.

Mettan fought the urge to breathe. No Elemental that he had ever piloted had will like this. It was like hundreds of small voices all screaming at him at once. That was just the mental side of the fight. It was thrashing around as he fought to bring it under his control. He tried not to think about the other Elementals that were closing in on them. He was almost in control of this Elemental, but he needed more time.

Mettan felt the water begin splitting and twisting around. One of the Earth Elementals that had been wrecking the White House was behind him. Its monstrous arm was slicing through the water, aiming for him. He tried to move out of the way, but the water was holding him in place. All he could do was spin. He didn’t have much other slack.

Adrenaline fueled his focus as he doubled his effort to dominate the water Elemental. He had seconds to take control and move. If he didn’t then the arm was going to smash him.

The arm slowed as it cut further through the water. It still wasn’t going to be enough. He wasn’t making enough headway against the Water Elemental’s fractured will. He wasn’t going to be able to get out of the way. He closed his eyes and tried one final push.

It didn’t work. Its will was too fractured. There was too much noise. He couldn’t take control.

Mettan opened his eyes. He should have been dead. The arm should’ve smashed him, but it hadn’t. He looked for the arm, but he couldn’t see it. He turned and saw a spike in between him and the Earth Elemental. The spike had directed the arm above his head, passing it harmlessly around him.

Caleb saluted Mettan from the base of the pillar, and then rushed out of the way as the Earth Elemental tried to stomp on him.

There was a wrenching snap as the arm broke off, leaving it to fall through the Water Elemental. The spike pulled out of the ground, tearing up the lawn as it swung at Caleb. The Earth Elemental had changed its arm into the spike. That wasn’t good. The Elementals were learning how to adapt.

Mettan watched helplessly as Caleb erected a barrier in between himself and the fist. The Elemental’s fist smashed through the barrier and golfed Caleb into the air.

Caleb flew high into the air. Mettan could tell that his student was unconscious. It would be a miracle if he wasn’t dead. Caleb was too high up in the air. If he was alive he wasn’t going to survive the fall.

Black spots began to fill his vision. Mettan was running out of air. In a few minutes he was going to be joining his student.

Paige flew into the air and grabbed Caleb. She wrapped her arms around the broken human. She dodged over the arm of a Water Elemental, then flew around another. Every one of the Elementals had turned their attention to the only remaining Elementalists. They had bit off too much. They weren’t going to walk away.

Mettan fought the burning in his lungs. All it would take is one breath. All the pain, the burning, the failures. They would all be gone.

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A single voice snapped Mettan out of his thoughts.

“Mettan!”

Mettan looked down. He could barely see. Unconsciousness was threatening to take him.

Paige was on the ground. Something had finally hit her. She was wet and bleeding from a cut on her head. An Air and Water Elemental were pounding attacks on her. She was standing defiantly over Caleb’s body. Mettan couldn’t tell if he was alive or not.

The blasts were alternating between water and air. Paige was knocking them around her, but the hits were getting closer and closer. The Earth Elemental that had taken out Caleb was closing on her. She wouldn’t be able to stop Earth Attacks.

“HELP!” Paige screamed

Something stirred inside Mettan. It was almost like rage, but different. It was cool instead of hot. The blue in his eyes glowed as his will flooded into every part of the Water Elemental. His will thundered the voices into silence. He had lost so much. There were so many things that he hadn’t been able to stop. This wasn’t going to be one of those times. He wasn’t going to lose his students.

He surged up to the head of the Elemental. His upper body broke out of the water. He gulped in air, chasing the black specs out of his vision.

His Water Elemental grabbed the Water Elemental in front of him. He didn’t slow down as his Elemental began absorbing the other Elemental. He hit the Earth Elemental in the back of the knees, then pounded it from the front.

The Earth Elemental tried to stay on its feet, but Mettan’s water fist was stronger. The Elemental’s legs buckled and it fell backwards. The ground shook as the giant crashed to the ground.

The legs of the Water Elemental glided over the broken body of the Earth Elemental. The extra water from the other Water Elemental was sent over the body, encasing it in a watery cocoon. The cocoon began vibrating, chipping off pieces of the Earth Elemental until there was nothing left.

Mettan dropped the muddy water, leaving his Elemental still slightly larger than it had been before he had absorbed the other Water Elemental. He looked at the remaining Elementals. He had taken out three, but there were still three Water Elementals, three Earth Elementals, an Air Elemental, and the Fire Elemental. His body felt like it had hundreds of tiny cuts all over it. He could feel his heart throbbing in his chest. The world had taken a blue hue that was trying to convince his eyes to go to sleep. This was all he wanted to do.

In theory an Elementalist could channel their Elemental powers indefinitely. In practice, the body would begin to tire. The mental strain would wear away at their psyche and the muscles would tire from constant movements to direct the elements. How long an Elemental could actually last depended on the mental and physical conditioning of the Elementalist. Mettan was in perfect shape, but there were limits to even what he could do.

“METTAN! HELP!”

Mettan pushed the weariness away and grabbed the Water Elemental that was assaulting Paige. His student was on her knees, barely able to stand. Her blonde bangs were plastered to her face, her black uniform soaked. She had reached her limit a few minutes ago.

Mettan’s Water Elemental stepped over her. He wanted to reach down and cover her, to protect her. His body tightened as holes were dug out of his Elemental. The other Elementals had turned their attention to the biggest threat on the field. Him.

Rocks peppered their way into the Elemental. Air blasts blew off chunks, while fire evaporated more. Mettan retreated into the Water Elemental’s head, but that didn’t protect him enough. A few rocks managed to get through and tore holes in his uniform. Red began to mix with blue as he bled into the water.

The mental strain was too much. He began falling down through the water. He had reached his limit. He was going to fail again.