Author's Notes:

Direct continuation of the previous chapter, "Unexpected Hostage".

I felt like I had to continue it, since Joshua was in a tight spot and he needed to get out of it, not to mention that it was an even better opportunity for me to demonstrate how an older and more experienced Joshua, proficient in the Unknown Element, would fight.

Once again, this will not be considered Aimless canon, though you can probably gleam traces of what is or what will be canon from here. Ahh, the price of having fun.

Enjoy!

Third Entry: Aimless x Firelight

Turnaround

"When you're in a turnaround situation, you cannot incrementalize your way out of it."

- Steve Easterbrook

An untouchable golem to his left.

Hooded Girl in front, with a hostage in grasp. A hostage that turned out to be someone from the main cast of one of his favorite Spyro fanfiction.

Nuala was all alone. This was definitely the city she masqueraded as Statica in. Joshua had a feeling she hadn't met Charla and Lance yet. So he had no allies coming to help.

"Surrender," urged the witch. "Give up now and I'll spare the vulpala. There's nothing else you can do."

Her sphere of life radiated confidence. Strings of mana linked her to the life dangling within her chains of magic and... to the golem watching over him?

Hmm...

.

.

.

Perhaps there was a way out after all.

Twin daggers of pure, white light materialized in his left hand. Conjured from mana and thought alone, the man hurled them at Hooded Girl with a clear mental picture of her clutching her neck, unable to breathe. He shelved the image aside in his short-term memory the second the daggers shot out.

"Your struggling is useless!" shouted Hooded Girl while she bent backwards to avoid the twin daggers. "Now suffer!"

The golem started to move. It lifted its enormous legs and hurled itself at the enhanced human with every intention of crushing him beneath its weight. Joshua knew it wouldn't kill him, but if he was caught, he was finished.

Luckily Hooded Girl was distracted enough for Joshua Renalia to tap into his sixth sense, perceive the spheres of life before him—the one brimming with power and tendrils of magic—and dive into it while simultaneously leaping in an attempt to toss his body out of harm's way.

Rather than fully immersing his self into Hooded Girl he lingered on the surface. He ignored the sensation of surprise bursting into existence in his chest—and the hot, radiating power at his fingertips—so he could snap the tendrils of mana by sheer force of will.

Joshua was silently chanting his mantra in each and every moment. As a reward for his efforts, the magic connecting Hooded Girl to both Nuala and the golem vanished into the ether. The golem crashed into the ground and, severed from its source of power, did not get up.

"Nuala! RUN!" She did not need any convincing to instantly fly away from the witch, but Nuala wouldn't—she couldn't get far considering the injuries she suffered in Hooded Girl's hands.

"I-impossible!" cried Hooded Girl. Even her ethereal scythe disappeared.

Joshua tucked his head in and transitioned into a roll. When he got back on his feet, he maintained his momentum with his fist cocked back, encased in white. "Says you, bitch!"

"I'm not that easy," Hooded Girl growled. She brought up her hand, the gloved palm facing forward, and shot out rays of blue, frigid coldness...

In the wrong direction.

The rays flew through empty space and hit nothing. Hooded Girl gnashed her teeth. "An illusion! I'll kill that damn fox!"

"Not if I kill you first!" Joshua yelled and thrust his fist at her muzzle.

Hooded Girl's head leaned to the side at the last second and evaded the attack. The orb enveloping Joshua's hand suddenly exploded, yet she had the awareness and the reflexes to crouch a split-second earlier. The move narrowly saved her. Her sphere of life burst with intention. A glint of metal slipped out one of her sleeves, and the only thing that was visible was a prismatic blur of light. Caught at a precarious position, Joshua Renalia exploited his momentum and leaped. His body pirouetted in the air in a quick somersault. It was the only thing he could've done.

Magical energies weren't connecting Hooded Girl to her weapon. An enchanted sword! There was no f*cking way in hell he could defend against that unarmed.

Joshua smoothly rolled across the cobblestones the second his feet met solid ground. He ignored the pain on his back, on his neck, and snatched a small stone on the way up. Once more, he muttered the three D's and, seeing his Element coat the pebble, chucked the tiny thing in the witch's direction.

Hooded Girl saw the stone coming and slashed at it, her magic blade cutting it apart before it could touch her. She sprinted towards Joshua in a display of agility unbecoming of a sorceress.

Joshua, though, did not expect his attack to succeed. It was meant to buy him a few seconds for him to take a step back and raise his left hand. Five orbs the size of tennis balls materialized before his open palm and shot out noiselessly at his opponent, as five beams of energy. The white rays flickered as Joshua's head throbbed, the pain worse than before. His left ear popped. It hurt. He felt fluid leak out. Joshua hissed, but what else could he do? He didn't have much of a choice here!

Hooded Girl evaded the first two rays of what must've been certain death for her. She then turned into a rainbow-colored streak of light and outmaneuvered the remaining three. Joshua ground his teeth. He did not anticipate the witch tapping into movement magic here. She was approaching too fast. He didn't have time to extend his ego boundaries and disintegrate the invisible bonds tethering her spell to her soul. "F*ck!"

Joshua pushed down on the ground as soon as the rainbow light drew near. The witch materialized in the real world, airborne. She descended upon him, her rippling sword coming down fast. It was surrounded in an ethereal coating with five colors, each denoting the traditional elements of the Dragon Realms. Joshua stomped the ground as strongly as he could and sidestepped away from the center. Alas, Hooded Girl expected this reaction. The rabbit thrust a kick out at Joshua the second he landed. A padded foot big enough to leave an imprint on his face rushed out towards his midsection.

.

.

.

All according to plan.

Hooded Girl's counterattack was perfect for a typical close quarters match. Had it been any other fighter, they would've been knocked off their feet and promptly sliced up with the elemental sword. Likely, this was a reflex borne from training and experience, but this move would certainly be the witch's downfall.

Because Joshua's Element only required physical touch. It penetrated armor, clothing, and the environment as though they weren't there. A white aura encased Joshua's body as soon as that rabbit's foot slammed into his solar plexus. It vanished instantly when it hit, but by then the damage was done. While Joshua flew into the air, propelled by magically-empowered strength, Hooded Girl stumbled. Her foot no longer moved. A dark color spread through her extended leg. As per his mental picture, her leg now suffered heavy, internal bleeding. Blood vessels were bursting. Muscles were convulsing. And it would only keep spreading through her body if left alone.

The witch snarled. Without hesitation she raised her magic blade and amputated her foot from the knee down. A quick, decisive action that stopped Joshua's Element from spreading. "You're more skilled than I expected, Second," she said. "Even more impressive considering where you were just a week ago."

"Years of practice, lady," the man said. Joshua conceived a sword in his hands. An immaterial weapon constructed using his element. It came to life in the physical world. He faltered, almost collapsed. A bout of dizziness washed over him. His other ear popped. "Bring it on. There's more where this came from."

Hooded Girl scowled. "This is NOT over." Her sword vanished into the air. Once more, she became a rainbow streak of light. It soared high into the sky and flew out, growing farther and farther away.

Joshua grimaced. He dispelled his own magic and clutched his head. "F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f******ck that hurts. I haven't done that in a while." He fell on his knees, got himself half a minute's worth of rest.

But he couldn't stay here. He had to escape immediately. Hooded Girl mentioned her mistress was in the middle of opening a portal right on top of him.

Joshua concentrated on the lone pulse of life remaining motionless a few meters away, by the corner of a ruined building. He wobbled in its direction, wiping off the fluid dripping out of his ears as best he could. It was blood.

When Joshua turned the corner, he saw Nuala lying down, her eyes shut. She must have succumbed to whatever magic Hooded Girl subjected her to. And God, she looked pitiful. "Nuala, are you okay?" said the man. "Speak to me. Hey!"

He knelt down in front of her and slapped her muzzle. Lightly. "Hey. Hey! Wake up!"

Nothing.

Joshua took the unconscious winged fox into his arms and lifted her up to his chest. She was lighter than he thought. Terrifyingly lighter. Riverstyxx's art never made it look that way.

He was exposed to the world—to Hooded Girl's mistress—without her illusions. He needed a hideout, quickly! Thankfully, there was one other place he could go to. He didn't know how much time they had left, but any hiding place was better than none at all. He could make plans for the future later, once they were all safe.

And so he jogged towards the one remaining pulse of life in this dead city.

To Meredy, the sky serpent in Firelight.

Author's Notes:

If you guys want me to continue this, please let me know through DMs or on reviews left on the story proper or on this one.

Speaking of the story proper... the 38th chapter is actually finished. It clocks in at 12,500 words and it will be my last chapter for the year. The last third of the document is unedited though, and I'm waiting on strykeruk's feedback before I publish it.

Y'all are gonna like it. It's enjoyable. XD Well, he had fun reading it. I can only hope you guys will feel the same way...

Time to play the waiting game now... *sigh*