Inferno

There he was, Inferno, his dark black eyes were staring right at mine as I see them quickly turn bright red, flames start bursting from him.
'I won't be able to teleport in time...'
As the flames were about to consume me, I hear Gaia.
"PILLAR OF EARTH."

Suddenly a huge pillar of rock is summoned, crashing down right on top of him, with all the strength as Gaia could muster to cause it to come down, narrowly missing me in the process.
Before I know what happened Gaia quickly jumps up and grabs me, quickly carrying me back down, and towards the rest of the group.
"KAZU, ARE YOU OK?"
"...Yes... I think."
Relief washes over her.
"I'm so glad! Go to Tarou. Hopefully you'll be safer hidden with him."
"Got it..."
'I'm way too shell shocked to refuse.'
"Hey, stop worrying about the pant wetter, there's movement coming from the pillar!"
We had barely moved, so I was still close to where Tarou was hiding, behind one of the storage containers. I quickly get to him and start watching from there.
"You ok man?"
"I'll be fine."
There's no time for talking as cracks appear all over the pillar, moments later crumbling apart explosively, shooting debris and rocks everywhere, with some inevitably hitting and creating holes in some of the gas containers.
There he was, Inferno, still alive after that attack, protected by a shield of fire.
"Tsk, I guess you've also been upgraded."
"In a way, yes, but it wasn't strength that I got more of."
He suddenly looks our way, and Gaia understands.
"You won't lay a finger on them."
"It doesn't matter where they go, I'll be able to find them."

'Does he... Have increased senses?'

"Over my dead body."
Gaia suddenly throws seeds all around him.
"Grow my little ones, and crush him completely!"
From them all kinds of plants and shrubbery start growing at an incredible speed, creating a tiny garden and blasting upwards, turning into massive behemoths of trees, covered in vines and thorns.
Light Show upon seeing this starts running further into the containers.
"Sorry, but I'm gonna need my book if I want to take him on!"
Gaia pays her no mind, staring intently at where Inferno was.

'Did she do it? Those trees are enormous...'

A smell of burning starts spreading all around us. Without waiting, Gaia immediately summons more jagged rocks and launches them, piercing the mass of trees.
Moments pass before she speaks again.
"Tsk, how resilient is this guy."
Another explosion happens, completely obliterating the stump and causing the huge tree to start falling towards the river.
"You know, the thing with fire is that as long as there's fuel, it tends to stay alive. I'm sure you've realized by now."
"Fuel huh."
"Yes, this area was a personal recommendation of mine, after all, all the fuel that I need is right here!"
"Quite the pesky bit of magic you learned."
"Yes, now let me give you a teste of INFERNO!"
Giant walls of fire blast from the ground all around her, slowly spreading, causing nearby tanks to explode and further fuelling the flames to become even more intense.
Inferno then starts cackling maniacally.
"HOW'S THE HEAT? SCORCHING HOPEFULLY!"
The cackling doesn't last long as he soon stops, and not only that, so too do all the flames suddenly start converging inwards towards Gaia, suddenly ceasing.

'Did she...'
"Kazu... Coach really is the best...!"
Gaia had consumed all the flames, causing her to obtain glowing red stripes all over her body, with bright red eyes.
"Nowhere near hot enough to break me."
She expels the flames from her body spewing it all out towards him, turning to a ball of flame covering him completely, then she extends her arms out.
'What is she doing?'
"Hmph, trying to fight fire with fire? How foolish."
He too starts consuming the fire, though before he can finish Gaia continues.
"No, just buying myself some time."
Suddenly a blast of energy is felt all around us coming from the river, as if the entire body of water had gained sentience, then Gaia calmly speaks.
"Tidalwave."

Shaking is felt everywhere as a huge wave appears, almost as if the entire river was changing course and being directed right at us. Gaia quickly looks at me and nods.
'Damn it... Well, I can do two, let's try for three.'
I suddenly embrace Tarou and White, wrapping my arms around them tightly.
"HOLD ON TIGHT, I'M NOT USED TO TRAVELLING WITH MULTIPLE PEOPLE!"
Tarou immediately does it, as White seems embarassed, I focus as our lives depend on it.
'...Got it.'
Success, before the tidal wave had reached us I was able to teleport all three of us to a nearby water tower, avoiding the wave completely.
"Woah...! You're amazing!"
"W- WHY DID YOU HUG ME?! Wait... Where are we? Huh?"
"Teleportation magic... Very tired... Have to rest."
"We're safe here. Rest up man!"

Helicopters are now swarming the area, likely broadcasting the fight live.
I look towards the ground, among the now very wet ground I see a familiar bunker made of earth. It soon then crumbles, as Gaia emerges out of it.
"Good... She's ok."
I look over to where Inferno was and see a huge amount of steam.
'Is that it? Is he gone?'
My hopes are quickly dashed however as a bright light appears from it, an impossibly bright orb of fire.
'It can't be...'
The orb then fades, as two figures are revealed beneath it.
"...Damn it."
"What is it Kazu?"
Tarou looks over and his eyes widen.
"Oh."
"Hm?"
White gasps.
"RED!"
Red had joined Inferno. With their powers combined they managed to create a fire shield strong enough to endure the tidal wave.

Gaia looks at them for a moment before speaking.
"You don't want to do this Red."
"Hmph."
"She's not going to listen to you, fool."
Quickly a small fireball is launched from Inferno, which Gaia easily tanks after summoning a barricade from the earth.
"You want to see your friend right? Amy wasn't it?"
Suddenly Red freezes, seeming to think about something, but quickly shakes it off.
"Doesn't matter, I'll free her myself."

White who was watching this all unfold starts tearing up.
"No... She's just gonna get herself deeper into trouble again..."
Me and Tarou look at her, then back at Red with pity.
However, before we even know what happened, White suddenly jumps off, yelling, causing our jaws to drop.
"CHLOE, STOP!"
Red suddenly looks up, eyes widening, and before Inferno can stop her she uses her fire magic to fly up enough to grab her, before landing safely thanks to White using her earth magic to raise up the ground below.
They then embrace and drop down, before Red starts speaking.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"
"I couldn't let you keep doing these stupid mistakes! Stop being an idiot!"
"HUH?!"
"We don't want this remember? This is just making things worse, for both of us!"
Her eyes widen, she looks down for a moment, before turning back up and speaking.
"I'm sorr-"
Before anything more can be said Inferno intervenes and grabs Red.
"I TOLD YOU, her heart's not in it! Leave her so we can deal with these heroes!"
He tries pulling her but his hand is quickly smacked away.
"You caused me to abandon her once... Never again."
"Then you are against me, you and your friend will pay dearly."
"Oh really? I think you're forgetting something, what I can now do thanks to my new artefact."
She suddenly wraps her hand around his neck, as we then start to see something getting sucked out of him and into her.
It doesn't last long until he's completely drained. She lets go and he collapses.
"What the- Tarou hold tight."
I hold onto Tarou as I teleport us both back down.
"Woah, you ok Kazu?"
"Yeah, I'm getting used to two people, so I'm alright."
I approach Red.
"Hey, what did you just do to him?"
She looks back.
"Drained his energy completely, I think he's still alive."
"Little Kazu, what are you doing down here?"
"Back to calling me little? I guess you also realize then, the enemies are defeated right? Red isn't gonna turn on us?"
"No... I already did enough of that."

Before we can get to celebrate, a booming voice calls out.
"Really? Shame. But quite the show you all provided."

We all turn to look at the source, but are instead met with a rain of ice spikes.
White creates a wall protecting her and Red, quickly I take cover with them as Tarou takes a hit on the arm before hiding behind a container.
Gaia however faces it head on, the spikes somehow getting deflected from her.

When it all stops we hear steps coming towards and we look.
Neptune had arrived.