Conflicts between the Lucitor Kingdom and the Fire Nymph tribe had died down over the years. While they still had their conflicts, their 'war' against one another could hardly be considered anything more than occasional battles. Most of them not even to the death anymore. And after the death of Phyra, Warlord Cole had made even more of an effort to cut down on on their aggressive ways.

Of course they didn't sit well with… most of the tribe really. You couldn't just suddenly tell a people who had spent generations being raised to fight to just stop. He may have been in a position of authority, but not everyone in the tribe was willing to just drop their traditions, or the hate they held towards their demon enemies.

So despite Cole's best efforts, Margo knew that some conflicts would be unavoidable.

But to think that a group would be so bold as to attack one of their outposts… that was something that she knew would require her personal attention.

Margo yelled as she spun around and cut down another fire nymph warrior. The battle had been raging on for what felt like hours, and despite how many she had been able to take down, the enemy had just kept on coming. Fire nymphs were known for their ferocity, and none of them seemed to be backing down or even thinking of retreating.

"Is that it?! How many of them are left?!" she asked panting.

"Just one your highness!" a nearby demon warrior said. "But it seems like he's-"

BOOM!

Everyone nearby whipped their heads towards the source of the noise. Margo narrowed her eyes and rushed towards the scene. There was smoke and debris coming from the entrance of the outpost, and dozens of fallen soldiers on the ground. One of them still had a bit of life in him, and reached up towards her. "M-my Queen, be careful, he-"

A figure suddenly shot out and cracked on top of him, and suddenly a flash when off. Margo covered her face as an explosion went off. When she looked back up, there was a smoking crater where the soldier once laid. And standing over it was a figure with short flame like hair.

"Well, well, well, looks like it was my lucky day. I came across the Queen herself. I couldn't have asked for a better target."

The man was large, and had short orange hair. Much shorter than the other warriors she faced, which was odd. He wore a blood red vest, long baggy brown pants, and had an eyepatch over his left eye. He was muscular, and had a long scar running across his chest. Margo narrowed her eyes at him.

Usually the ones with the short hair weren't considered to be valued as warriors. Had he simply hung out in the back behind the others to survive? No, there were dozens of bodies around, and not one of them was a Fire Nymph. He had taken these soldiers down himself.

"You're the last one left, you have no chance of winning," she said pointing her sword up at him. "Surrender, and we'll take you as a prisoner."

He laughed. "Surrender, prisoner? You must be joking?" he asked as he smashed his fist into his palm. "Who cares if I'm outnumbered? That'll just make the tale of my victory all the more exciting."

"You can't honestly think you can beat me, can you?" Margo asked.

"The word 'Can't' isn't in my vocabulary."

He rushed towards her, and two of the guards nearby moved in to cut him off. They swung their swords at him, but he heated up his arms and swung, shattering the blades into pieces. The guards were knocked aside, and he kept the charge towards her going. More guards moved to intercept, but Margo stopped them.

"No, I'll handle him myself!"

She sped forward to meet him, and the nymph laughed. "I'm glad you're not hiding behind your guards! I thought I would have to beat down all the fodder before getting to the main course!" he yelled, swinging at her. Margo ducked and spun around, swinging her blade right at his chest. He backed up, but the blade skimmed across his bare chest, leaving a cut.

Margo frowned. It was shallow and wouldn't do any real damage. She lunged towards him and jabbed at him, but he just barely managed to avoid the attacks. "There's no reason to keep doing this! The fight is over!" Margo shouted. "Why keep going?!"

He raised both arms and swung down at her, but she flipped backwards and out of his reach. He looked up at her with a chuckle. "Your question doesn't make any sense," he said standing back up. "Why wouldn't I want to fight someone like you? You're the Demon Blade. What more reason than that do I need?"

"You're willing to risk your life over something like that?" Margo asked as she charged back in towards him. "Don't you think going back to your tribe would be better?" She swiped at him again, this time cutting him across his cheek.

He just seemed to shrug it off and kept on fighting, and Margo narrowly avoided his fists. When he punched the ground however, his body glowed, and suddenly Margo was blown back as an explosive wave of heat shot off from his body. "I'd rather bring back your head! When I do, I'll be recognized as the greatest in the entire tribe!"

Margo hit the ground and slid back, and the warriors behind her were all nearly knocked off their feet. She pushed herself back up and glared. There were still waves of heat coming off of him. She sighed. "Cole said he wanted peace. He wanted… look, don't make me do this," she said.

"As if I care what Cole wants," he said walking towards her. "The only thing that matters to me is beating who's strongest. And anyone with eyes can tell that it's you."

Margo walked forward to meet him. With that explosive heat coming off of him, it would be tricky. But she would bring him down. She always did…

"Bang and Crackle haven't returned…"

Cole sighed as he looked down at the fidgetly little infant before him. He had no idea what they had been thinking. Leaving him behind to pull some reckless stunt like this. They had never made the best of decisions, but this… this was crossing a line even for them. "I'll talk to Margo and see if she knows anything, but… we have to assume…"

They weren't coming back. Which meant they had yet another orphaned child on their hands. With how battle crazy the tribe was, it wasn't something that was all that uncommon. But this… was going to be tricky. He had short hair, which meant that there wouldn't be too many people eager to take him in. If any.

Maybe… maybe he should take him in. He doubted Topaz would make much of a fuss over it. She would probably sympathize seeing as she was so close to Zafira, but… no, between all his responsibilities he wouldn't have time to care for the boy.

"I'll look after him."

Cole looked up towards Elder Crisp surprised. "What?" he asked, confused. "Elder Crisp, I can't ask you to do that. You have your own responsibilities, and… not to be rude, but do you really think you'll be able to keep up with a child?" He remembered just how much of a trial it was to take care of Topaz, and that was back when he had Phyra.

The elder was one of the few in the tribe who didn't sneer or look down at him at every turn, and he felt bad throwing something like this one him. Crisp picked up the child, who had just seemed to wake up and looked none too pleased. "Don't you worry about me. I may be up in age, but this isn't the first orphan I've had to look after, and… well, I would like it to be the last but…"

Cole still looked hesitant. "Are you really sure about this? I'm sure if we looked that someone else would be willing to take him in. Or at the very least help you out."

"It's alright. I'm the one who taught his father. I feel like… I'm partly responsible for this. I know it won't make up for it, but it's the least I can do," he said. "Maybe I can keep this one from being as reckless as his parents."

"Aw, he's so cute!"

"I'm not cute! Put me down!"

Vera smiled as she held Sputter in her arms. He struggled and squirmed to get out of her grip as Maria, Nia and Visas stood around and cooed over him. "He's like an angry little ball of adorableness," Nia said, poking his cheek.

"Get the hell off of me! I'll kick all of your asses!"

Margo looked on in amusement as she watched her daughter and her friends continue poking and prodding the boy. Sputter was a foul mouthed little thing, but there was something adorable about how bratty he was. There was also… something familiar about him. She couldn't quite place it though.

A/N: Oh yeah, I had this planned out for a while! I thought the idea of a certain Queen being the one who took out Sputter's parents would be an interesting idea. Certain people already know, but Sputter has no idea. Will he find out, and what will he think of it? What do you guys think?!