Wrath Reincarnated

JULES

Men and horses alike rose from the sand and dunes themselves. Each one of them wore brown cloaks and grey head wraps to protect them from both the harsh sunlight and the freezing cold nights. The man accosting them waved a torch at them to take in their faces and features, until a dozen men had them surrounded. Jules' Party all grouped together as one. They were still recovering from their previous fight, and didn't have much Ryoku to spare for another.

We have to talk our way out of this, Jules thought to the others. Keep your cool and let me do all the talking.

"Who are you?" the leader demanded. Damn, I wish I had paid more attention to those history classes with Isolda. Without Faction crests, I don't know if you're Nomads or Elementalists. "Speak!"

"We are just wanderers," Jules said. "Lost in the desert." The man eyed Jules, then focused his torch on Jules, close to his face, but he was unaffected. Can use that fire as a last ditch resort…

"In the middle of a DMZ? I find that very hard to believe." Jules felt Rukia and Whiskers shrink further into the crevices between Jules and the others, trying to stay hidden.

"We don't have any maps, and must have wandered off too—"

"Names and papers."

"Papers?" Jules asked. The man looked each of them up and down. His eyes rested on Kaizen for a while.

"No info at all then, men." The leader looked at the man to his right. "Tell me, was it you who Teleported here?"

"T-Teleported? How do you mean?"

The man pulled back his torch and straightened his back even more. "Giant eye in the sky. Anyone for miles away could have seen it. Especially some wanderers right beneath it."

"Oh, we saw the eye."

"So where did you come from?"

"Why do you assume it was us?"

Cy, why don't you just lie!? Katarina demanded.

I think the Truth Serum is still working on me.

Gonna have to rely on Scripts if this goes south, Jules thought, since the Sound is out of commission.

"Because there's no one for miles, child. Who. Sent. You."

"Afraid I won't be able to answer that." Jules took one step forward and raised his head so the shadows would reveal his face, as well as his identity. Clouds separated in the sky, and the moonlight struck his face as well.

"I recognize you." The leader studied Jules face, then lowered his torch and snuffed it out. Damn. "You are a Sin."

"Wrath," the man to the right said.

"Why would you say that?" Cyrus asked.

"Relax," the leader ordered. "We are not zealots here."

"When it comes to that," Jules corrected him. Let's see if you slip and give anything away.

"True. We do hate The Elementalists. Would be a shame if they sent you here. Them… Or any of their associates." The leader's gaze rested on Katarina. Jules' heart quickened. At least we know who you are, now.

The thunder of even more hooves approached, and Jules noticed the Nomads divert their attention. Who could be more important than us?

Wow, Jules, Kaizen thought. Very humble of you.

Jules turned to face the newest-comers. Men of darker skin, of a different creed than these Nomads. Crimson cloaks and robes. Jagged blades clipped to their waists instead of scimitars. Even their horses were a different breed. But what stuck out most of all were the Faction crests. Get ready, everyone. The Elementalists have arrived.

They stopped just short, and another man called out to them. "Why do you have so many Soldiers stationed in the DMZ? We demand an explanation. This is no place for terrorism."

The Nomadic leader spat to his side. "Fucking 'Sidians, making demands of me." He demounted his horse and drew his scimitar on approach. The other Nomads remained on their horses, but moved their hands to their hilts. The Elementalists held fast, not betraying however ready they were for a skirmish. "The hell you calling a terrorist?"

"That's right," the Elementalist said. "You prefer the term freedom fighter."

"How'd you know we were here in the first place?"

Be ready to sneak out the back door, Jules ordered his Party.

"Who are these civilians you've detained?" the Elementalist asked.

"Did you all set up trip lines? In the DMZ?"

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It's about to come to blows…

The Elementalist flung a leg over and slid through the sand, down a dune, until he was face-to-face with the other. "Who are they, and why are they here? I will not ask again."

"We're lost travelers, just passing through," Katarina said.

"They yours?" the Elementalist asked. "They come out of that Teleportal?"

"Are you accusing me and my men of starting a War?"

Seems like exposing myself was a baaad idea…

"Girl, who are you?" The Elementalist drew his jagged blade. "Last chance."

"They're ours to deal with." The Nomadic leader moved between them.

"Not in the DMZ, they're not." The Elementalist brushed shoulders with the clan leader and walked up to Katarina. He grabbed her wrist, and she jerked it away with her entire body, and her necklace popped out from beneath her shirt. His eyes grew wide, and he froze. "Who…are you?"

"They're Elementalists, men!" the Nomadic leader shouted. Every horse angled directly at Jules' Party, who hunkered down into each other once more. The Nomads all drew their swords. Jules shuffled one step in front of Katarina. "You'd break the DMZ covenant and start the 17th War?"

"I'm not an Elementalist," Katarina protested. "I was given this necklace by someone!" No one listened to her.

"I had no orders…" The Elementalist gazed at the clan leader through awestruck eyes. "I would have been alerted."

"It's a ploy by Kazuma! They didn't know about—men, these warmongers are expendable." He raised his sword high. "Kill them all—but preserve the travelers!"

"B-But what about the ceasefire? The armistice!?" The Elementalist backed away from them all.

"It seems like Kazuma has betrayed his people again. The War's begun." The leaders clashed, and the clan leader chopped off the Elementalist leader's sword hand. He fell to the ground shrieking, until he fell silent after another blow.

"Fight!" Jules ordered.

"Protect the travelers!" another Elementalist shouted.

Men and horses collided all around, with both Factions trying to isolate Katarina in particular. Wind magic erupted all around them; gusts knocked Jules side-to-side, and soon they were separated from each other. Sandstorms and sand twisters blasted him from every direction; they clouded his vision and stung his eyes, and Jules slowly lost track of Katarina and Cyrus. Sharp gales sliced open wounds into Jules' face and arms, even through his armored clothing. Cyrus shouted a string of Runes and added to the chaotic wind magic as he tried to create vacuums around them to ward off any damage.

Jules took a nasty blow that sent him flying off and away. At some point, he'd dropped both pieces of the Sound, and he crawled around looking for them. The Elementalists drew upon the light of the moon to blast beams all around. The Nomads disappeared into the sand and rose up behind their assailants to strike from behind. Jules found the first piece and scrambled for the second.

Fire magic erupted between the forces, though Jules couldn't tell who'd initiated it—It didn't matter, and commandeered control and swept it out in a large ring of fire, to consume any and everyone. Thin shards of ice sprayed down on them every once in a while, as there was little moisture in the air and no oasis nearby.

A Nomad closed in on Jules while he continued crawling through a sandy smoke screen. Jules rolled away from a downward scimitar strike and found the final piece of the Sound. He gripped it and shoved it into the man's face, then yanked it back out. Blood sprayed out and the man writhed on the ground, kicking and screaming in agony as sand continued to spread into his wounds. Jules shoved the Sound pieces into his shirt and stole the man's sword, and attacked the nearest Soldier.

A horse kicked him from behind face first into the sand, and Jules began to sink into it. He clawed all around him, trying to escape the quicksand, but only hastened his descent into darkness and suffocation. Intense heat blazed nearby. Jules concentrated on its source—I'll use it to blast everyone away but Cy. Sorry, Kat—but I can't find you, and you'll survive. He kept searching up until the point his chin was sand-level, but never found it. Damn—Are they using the desert's heat itself!? Without fire I can't take control—Shit, getting hard to breathe…

"AAAHHH—"

A man's shriek was cut short, and it fell silent. Jules stopped sinking into the pit.

"NOO!!" Katarina's primal cry shook Jules to his bones. With one arm missing, she dashed in front of Cyrus, and the sword raised to execute him.

"There is no mercy in the old ways," the Nomadic leader said.

"Spare him, and take me to your leader," Katarina said. "In exchange, I'll tell you everything."

The leader's right-hand man lightly touched his arm. "They are better off served as witnesses. To stand before the International Council."

"The Elementalists have gone too far, testing out an invasion with Teleportal magic."

"And ending them here won't end this strife. But maybe the Council will."

Jules, Katarina thought desperately. I'm bluffing—We need a way out!

"Fuck the Council! They never came to our aid for the 16th War."

Right. Jules closed his eyes and focused all of his Ryoku into his Seal.

"It is no coincidence that Wrath has arrived here."

Use everything you've got to shield Cy, Kat. I'm sorry. I'll see you tomorrow when we revive.

"Another War for another Sin—but this one's on the other side."

Jules had only used The Flames of Hell while Integrated with Kaizen, but his insufficient knowledge of it would have to do for now.

"He will want to see them personally. All of them—" The man's body went limp. His eyes lit up gold, along with a third eye that spread across his forehead.

Jules opened his eyes. They were as black as the lake's water of his nightmares.

«« Bring the Travelers to me »» [possessed Nomadic man]

Kaizen walked over to Jules, knelt down, and raised his open palm.

«« Flames of Hell »» [Jules]

Without flinching or batting an eye, Kaizen absorbed all of Jules' flames and Ryoku into a black slit in his palm. Everyone turned their heads to them, including the man possessed.

"Cut it off, Jules," Kaizen warned. His hand trembled. Black, veiny lines crept out of the slit and into his palm.

"Why are you interfering, Kaizen?" Jules tried to stop the flow of fire, but couldn't. It felt like a full loop, of sending hellfire into Kaizen's palm, only to refresh them from the depths of his soul. The possessed Nomad approached them; Jules' eyes darted to him. "Stay back."

The Nomad looked down at Jules, whose head was the only piece visible.

« Stop » [possessed Nomadic man]

The spell ended, and color returned to Jules' eyes. He took a breath, then thrashed about in the sand prison he found himself in. No! The Iron Maiden won't get me here—

"Kaizen, Rukia—Help!! Integrate! Integrate!" Neither obeyed.

"It's OK, Julesie," Rukia said. She walked over to him and sat down. "Can't you hear that sound?" Jules' heart rate sped up so fast he thought he'd have a heart attack. He felt betrayed, he felt crazy—Why wouldn't they help him?

THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP. The sound called him down. That familiar heart beat—He looked back up to Rukia. "The Sound?" She nodded her panting head.

«« Men, your orders are clear »» [possessed Nomadic man]

The third eye disappeared from the man's head, and the golden light faded from his eyes.

"I never expected the Nomads to work with The Iron Maiden." Jules spat at the man's feet. He'd have spat in his face if he could have reached it. I don't know what's going on here, but I know these are no friends of mine.

"The Iron Cunt?" the man asked. "Ha! Never." The Nomadic leader, still over by Cyrus and Katarina, threw his sword down to the ground and stormed off. His right-hand man, still in front of Jules, knelt down beside him. "Seems like our leader would like to personally welcome you to Riftwatch Outpost."

Jules began to ascend through the sand. We're in the belly of the beast, now.