The next morning, Sarah wore a blue shirt and her white short shorts. Connor didn’t wear a shirt, but he did wear his black pants and hiking shoes.
They arrived only five minutes before her mom and dad showed up at the clearing. Today Jack came shirtless as did Connor and Jillian wore a one piece bathing suit with red shorts. He also brought Haunt again as Connor did with Tool.
“What kind of training are we expected to do today?” Connor asked Jack who slung Haunt over his shoulder.
“Only two types of training today. Defense against an elemental attack and fighting while using the elements.” He stated with a playful grin. Connor knew he had more experience with using his abilities.
“Let’s get started.” Connor said standing to her left as he stretched.
Her father swung his metal club down and planted it firmly in the ground to announce “It won’t be just you, Connor, Sarah is participating in this as well.” Sarah’s heart beat wildly at just the thought. They can finally get to work together. It was her greatest hope for the day. Sarah became calmer when Connor laid his hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile.
Sarah’s mother walked up next to her father and said “The two of us are going to fire volleys of our elements directly at you and your job will be to collaborate and work together.” And her father added “You may not use the balancers chair to multiply your powers. You need to know how to defend yourselves as individuals first.”
With Connor at her side Jack explained the rules, after that he and his mate walked a ways back. They stopped at a safe distance and Jack said “You may use any and all of your elemental defensive capabilities. Try not to get hurt.” Her father turned to her in warning. “Sarah, you’re up first!”
As Sarah stepped forward Connor playfully tapped her bottom with his palm. “Good luck Princess. First make a pressure shield.”
“Ok, but don’t hit my butt unless you’re ready for the consequences…” She arched an eyebrow at him. And his face finally went red.
Facing her seven hundred year old father he created a small and controlled ball of red flames. He threw it in a high arc directly at her. Focusing her power to both of her palms Sarah created a circular pressure shield. As the flame hit the shield it scattered in every direction, but hers.
For Connor’s turn Jack made a larger flame. Before he threw it Connor said to Sarah “Back up.” And she did so knowing he wouldn’t say it unless he meant it.
As Jack threw the larger ball of fire at an arc at him Connor then took in a massive amount of air into his lungs, through his nose. His back muscles arched back, making his large chest swell even more to allow a greater volume of air inside. It was loud enough for her parents to hear him do it too. When the red ball came within fifteen feet, Connor released his breath through his pursed lips.
A six foot intense stream of red flames erupted out of Connor’s mouth.
When the ball hit the raging inferno, it was instantly consumed. Sarah felt the waves of heat radiating from the flame nearly instantly. After Connor’s flame died down every one of them besides Connor went speechless from the demonstration. Connor eventually broke the silence. “What do you think?”
“Connor, show me how to do that!” Sarah yelled in excitement. After he explained the method she tried it.
Using the fire element to warm the air around her mouth and nose Sarah then breathed it all in and heated it up some more with some of her own body heat and energy. She pursed her lips to focus the contained breath into a stream and she pushed the heated air out of her lungs. Sarah squeezed her diaphragm muscles and the air shot out. As the hot air in her lungs met the cooler outside air, it ignited into a fire stream. It wasn’t as large as Connor’s because her lungs couldn’t hold as much hot air. When she expelled all of the air she could, Sarah did as Connor strictly warned. She absorbed any heat left within her lungs back into her body just incase enough heated air resided in her lungs to reignite when she took a needed breath. “Where did you learn this trick?” She said in a breathless and excited manner.
Jillian and Jack came closer to hear this for themselves. “Last night I touched a fireball in my hand and it didn’t hurt. I deduced that as long as I controlled the flame it couldn’t hurt me. So I put together the two ideas…”
Jack interrupted by asking “What two? The most I was able to do is make either a huge fireball or make a flowing fire stream from my hand.”
“I used the demonstration from yesterday plus the feeling that the fire couldn’t hurt me. I used a form of the Back Draft Phenomenon plus flame resistance to make my breath turn into fire. It doesn’t hurt, but it feels different.” Connor admitted
“Wait...! Back Draft!” Jillian yelled. “You did that dangerous thing as a test? What the Hell is wrong with you!” She ran up to him and started hitting his stomach and crying all at the same time. It didn’t hurt him at all because his abdominal muscles are iron hard. Sarah knew from personal experience. His look told the others to let her do as she wished and not to take her away. Even with her strength, Jillian couldn’t hurt him. “How could you? You could have died and took my baby from me forever!”
Connor fell to his knees and held her shoulders. He spoke calmly and clearly. “Jillian, listen to me. It is dangerous and I will be the first to admit it, but only under pressure and if it explodes all at once. The method I used gave the energy a direction and it wasn’t compressed. I used a similar case of the Back Draft, not an actual one; like the one I demonstrated yesterday, ok.” He then brought her into a hug until she calmed down. “I would never put Sarah in any real danger, never.”
Meanwhile Sarah’s heart was still racing over this excitement about what she just did. “I just breathed fire like a Keeper. My husband is a genius.” Her heart remained beating and only added to the excitement. And her father stood there just listening to Connor with a smile written all over his face.
When Jillian eventually calmed, Jack shot her a playful smile. “I’m going to try!” and before she could say or do otherwise he made a stream of fire erupt from his lips. The stream was as big as Connor’s and as intense. “Thank you, Son. This is good to have in your arsenal if you ever lose your arms.” He looked at his mate and smiled impishly. For once Sarah saw how her mother fell in love with her father. “Hey Connor, did you try any other fire style variations?”
“I could only come up with one more since you already know how to make a continuous fire stream from your hands.” Connor walked away from the three of them. “I made a fire shield.”
Connor put his right forearm out towards the three of them and a spinning circular shield of fire conjured into existence as it rotated in a slow clockwise path over the top of his arm. “Jack, throw a fireball at my shield and see what happens!” Connor flashed him a grin. That fire shield felt different because it didn’t radiate any heat. In fact...
Jack stood there motionless, staring at Connor’s arm. “Before I do I have to ask a question. I’ve tried to make a shield like that before and it could never hold a shape. How did you manage to accomplish it?”
Connor’s arm dropped to his side while the red and orange shield continued rotating and following his arm as if it were attached like a true shield. “When you throw it. I will explain.” Connor took a blocking stance again. His right leg bent forward while his left leg remained straight, firmly planted behind. He brought the shield to his eye level and nodded his preparation.
“How big do you want it?” Jack asked and Connor shrugged his shoulders. While he gathered his energy Sarah mentally asked Connor “I don’t feel any heat from that fire. What is it?” Connor turned his head to smile at her. When her father gathered enough energy he held a watermelon sized ball of rotating flames.
With both hands Jack lobbed the fire at Connor’s shield. As the flame touched the shield its rotation instantly increased into a circular blur and grew. Sarah would have thought that when the flame hit the shield it would disperse like it had
with her pressure shield, instead the flames were absorbed into the shield. As the last of the flames were absorbed Connor stemmed his energy and the shield disappeared. “Thank you for the energy boost, Jack.” And Connor grinned. He walked up to them to explain what he did.
“Jack, I know why your shield didn’t work. When you made your shield you wanted it to only repel an attack, right?” Jack confirmed his suspicions. “Well fire is the purest form of energy and it gave me an idea. Instead of blocking from it I made the shield absorb. When you threw that fireball at my shield it absorbed the energy and transferred it into me. Thus I just increased my energy from your attack.” Connor looked at Sarah’s mother who was still upset from his last show and tell. “This shield cannot work against anyone other than a fire wielder. Jillian, throw a small amount of water at my shield.”
Connor made another shield and Jillian threw a small amount of water. As the water touched the shield it collapsed in on itself. “This shield is only capable of defending against Fire, if any other element comes in contact with it, it will collapse just like that.” He turned to Sarah. “Sarah, you need to try.” He turned to her father. “Jack, I want you to try as well.”
Sarah’s father stood beside her as Connor instructed them on this new fire technique. Her mother finally calmed and stood beside Connor.
“Begin.” Connor commanded. Sarah focused on her left forearm and a small shield appeared over her forearm and it looked like a Targe of equal size. There wasn’t any heat coming off of it, but she could feel it drawling heat from the air slowly and feeding her own energy, even as she released it to maintain the shield. No energy was wasted because she released as much energy as the shield absorbed from the air and returned it back into her stores. The fire spun slowly as well as moved along with the movement of her arm as if it were connected by some invisible thread. “Ready?” Sarah turned her head to her left and saw that her father as well made a shield and he was staring in amazement.
She felt a surge of power and looked over to see Connor holding a fireball in each of his hands. “Take your stance.” And Sarah did. She took the same stance Connor made and as she pulled the shield up and threw both balls at her father and herself.
As Connor’s flame hit both shields Sarah felt her shield change of its own accord. The moment his flame hit the defense, the shield spun quicker and seemed to control itself. As his flame absorbed into hers Sarah felt the warmth of his energy add to her own. When Connor’s flame fully absorbed, her shield slowed down to its original pace and size.
“Now Jillian you’re up. You have more control than I do over Liquid.” Connor said, allowing her to take his place. “Thank you for your confidence.” Jillian said and patted his shoulder.
She also made two small orbs of water in each hand and tossed them. As they hit the shields it felt like someone pinching Sarah’s arm hard as the shield imploded. Sarah looked at her father and knew he felt it too.
“What do you two think?” Connor smiled at both of them.
“To me it felt like the hotter it is, the more energy I will be able to absorb.” Jack said excitedly.
“Exactly the thought I had.” As Jack looked up at Connor, Sarah did as well. “This technique will give you a massive advantage over other Fire Balancers. The more fire they expend at you, the stronger you become.”
“Connor, can we do any other variations? What else did you come up with?” Sarah asked.
“I know of a few things that are possible, but the way we are now…” He shook his head. “It would not only be foolish, but also dangerous to try with our current level of stamina. I can feel that my body is still evolving to accommodate for more energy storage.” He turned to Jillian. “Your theory may be right. Last week when you gave us the test I was barely able to move some objects, but it is getting much easier.”
“I thought it was only me who was still changing.” Everyone turned to look at Sarah. “I feel like I have more energy to use than I did last week too. Even my telepathic communication with Connor and you two is clearer when we speak.” Connor smiled and nodded in agreement.
Changing the subject, Connor asked Jack “Should we keep working on defense against elements?”
“No, that was enough for today. For now let’s have close combat while using elements.”