At first glance it seemed easy. Retak'ka was alone, and there were seven of them.

Oh how wrong they was.

Retak'ka had centuries of knowledge in his asernal, and they were just a bunch of untrained teenage boys who somehow wielded some mysterious powers.

However, the tide began to turn when they broke off in pairs, merging their powers to cause more destruction.

Blaze and Ice were quite an impressive team. Despite being at each other's throats since they manifested, they work quite well together, their movements seeming to be an extension of the other.

Taufan and Duri were a terrifying duo. They were the perfect example on why you should not anger cinnamon buns. Thee look on their faces were downright cute and frightening at the same time as they took turns in trying to strangle Retak'ka.

Hali and Solar, out of everyone, had caused the most damage in hindsight. Their personalities seemed to blend with each other as they alternately sprouted some smartass remarks towards Retak'ka.

Gempa fought alone, though he helped the pairs as much as he could. He internally wanted to whoop in victory as Taufan's blast finally knocked the villain down, and Duri was ready to wrap some vines in Retak'ka's throat.

Then it happened. Retak'ka was fast and agile despite his age, and he managed to evade Duri's vines. On a strong boost of confidence, he raised his hands and summoned his Gamma powers, aiming for Gempa's back.

Hali, who saw the incoming attack, dashed towards Gempa's side and threw his sword at Retak'ka's direction.

But not before the attack went through him, leaving a large, gaping wound in Hali's stomach.

Several pained screams rang through the air. One was undeniably Taufan's, one was Solar's, and the last came from Gempa himself. The three said people abandoned their positions and ran towards their fallen comrade. The other three fell against their other side, diligently defending their fallen friend.

"Gempa..."

"Shhh, Hali. Don't speak now. Help is on its way."

"N-no Gempa, listen to me," Hali whispered, feeling his body grow weaker by every passing second. "I don't have much time left, and I know you know that. I just want to tell you something."

"I love you, Gempa. I always had."

The earth elemental sneaked a glance at his boyfriend who caught his eye. Solar gave him a brief nod, indicating that he did knew oh Hali's feelings towards him.

"Oh Hali," Gempa whispered softly. "I wish you'd told me."

"I-I never stood a chance anyway," Hali choked a small laugh. "Why even bother?"

"The thing is, Hali, you did," Gempa told him sadly. "You did stand a chance once."

Hali coughed furiously, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.

"C-can you kiss me?" Hali whispered, his eyes dropping for a bit. "I-I just want to know what it feels like."

Gempa didn't even hesitate. He leaned forward and put his lips against him. The kiss he gave was gentle, as if he was afraid to hurt Hali.

When Gempa broke away and laid his forehead against Hali's, the lightning elemental was smiling in a soft content manner, something that looked oddly fitting in Hali's face.

His scarlet eyes drifted shut and he went limp, his head falling to the side as he took his last breath.

"GUYS," Blaze screamed, breaking the heart breaking peace that settled over them. "WE CAN'T HOLD THEM FOR MUCH LONGER!"

Gempa gently laid down Hali into the ground and summoned his earth gloves. Then he stood and strode past Blaze, Ice, and Duri, punching away Retak'ka so hard that he got blasted through the wall, making a Retak'ka-sized hole. Gempa then doubled over, clutching his hair tightly.

Then he screamed.

The others would confirm that they'd never heard a more terrifying sound in their lives later, when they could think about it without tearing up. It was then that they knew that Gempa wasn't just an earth elemental manipulator.

He was an earth shaker.

Earthquakes weren't feared for nothing.

Scars began to open in the ground, knocking everyone off their feet. A human-sized hole opened up under Retak'ka and swallowed him whole, leaving nothing but utter chaos and destruction in his wake.

The battle was over.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The battle happened on Planet Earth, if you're confused. And Retak'ka died of sharp rocks piercing through him when Gempa dragged him into the hole he made.

Hope you like this story. I was supposed to post this last night but I wasn't able to finish writing it.

Lovelots,

Glace, the Queen of Angst