The Elementals
Prologue
Hoshira was a dying planet, well before Zim-Nar and Yan-Nar decimated it. They were known as “Princes of the Elements;” they were to inherit the 7 elements that bring balance to life itself: Water, Fire, Greenery, Rock, Electricity, Wildlife, and Wind. Along with the 7 basic elements 2 higher and more powerful elements were to be given to the stronger brother for their coronation at the earthly age of 21. the elements of Life and Death. Vigorous training since the earthly age of 8 years old had the twins learning and practicing the 7 elements. Zim-Nar was stronger and more loved by the people (purely because of his strength) however, Yan-Nar was more focused and tenacious than his brother, possessing more knowledge of the element’s true power.
The economy and stability of Hoshira was crumbling due to the lack of proper leadership. The twin’s father was old and weak, however, he was the master of both life and death along with the 7 elements in his prime.
Zim was inpatient, “The old bastard should die already, we all know I’m ready for the elements. With me as the leader I’ll save our dying society,” said Zim. Yan thought his brother was a fool to hope for their father’s eventual death
“Don’t say that. You know we aren’t old enough yet, besides if he died now Hoshira would surely fall.” Yan remarked.
Zim turned to his brother and stared at him with a smirk of displeasure, “Hoshira is already on the brink of destruction. Can’t you see, the rivers are dried up, the soil and plants are withering and rotting, and there are lightning storms with fierce winds every day, causing fire to spread throughout the forests. Even our livestock is dying, and If someone doesn’t do something soon we will all die”
Yin countered his argument “If anything happens to our father before one of us properly inherits the powers, not only will our society crumble, but this world will be destroyed.”
“You don’t know that!” exclaimed Zim.
“ I do because unlike you, I studied the effects of the elements on the environment around them. All you ever did was get stronger physically, never cared to learn what the elements even are, if you tried to inherit the elements now the powers of Life or Death could consume you.” Zim stood there, contemplating Yan’s words, and then he turned and walked away.
Under his breath, Zim said, “Someone has to bring balance, someone has to bring order, someone has to be the hero, and that someone will be me.” Probably thinking Yan couldn’t hear him, but he did, because he had very large ears that he was teased ever since they were kids, even though they were supposedly monozygotic twins Zim and Yan’s face and baldness were the only things they had in common physically; Zim was taller then Yan and was also much stronger and built then Yan, Yan was still a good athlete however never came close to Zim.
The twins were 19 when things took a turn for the worst. Still, 2 years before the eventual coronation of a new emperor, and the world around them started to fall. “Where is father?!” shouted Zim.
The commotion and the ground rumbling caused their home to break and crumble. “He’s evacuating with the rest of the population, and if we want to live to obtain the elements then we should go as well,” answered Yan.
“Evacuating?!” exclaimed Zim, “No, no, no, NO we cannot just abandon everything and leave. This is our home WE can save it, Yan. The old man just has to give his power to us and we can fix this.”
“Are you out of your mind? We can’t, it’s all too far gone. Doing so would only make things worse!” yelled Yan.
“If we hadn’t sat back and done nothing, none of this would be happening. In fact, the only reason this is happening is because the old man can’t control the elements anymore,” said Zim in a voice filled with rage, confusion, and fear. Yan could tell Zim was about to do something that he would live to regret. Trees fell around them, as animals fled, and debris flew everywhere as Zim was sprinting towards their father’s spacecraft. Yan realized what was about to happen as he entered the aircraft. Zim stood in front of him holding their father in the air by his collar yelling, “Give them to me now!” the ground started to tremble harder, and the sounds of screams thunder and lightning grew as well.
“I can’t!” yelled their father in a weak voice “You are not ready, and you probably never will be!” stated their father. Zim dropped him to the ground stepping back, obviously hurt by the words their father said. “Our world is done for, but the elements and the people still have a chance to survive. This ship was designed by our best engineers, able to withstand almost anything, and the technology inside is large enough for a whole army and it can hold the elements in a physical form however, it will just carry us 3.” said the emperor. Zim and Yan stared at each other than at their father who had stood straight and walked closer to 9 chambers, 7 small ones and 2 large ones about the size of grown adults, their father placed his hand on one of the small chambers and said in a worried and rushed way “I am weak, and this is my fault, but once I let go of the elements I will lose complete control over them. Once the 7 basic elements are in, we will leave right away.” Yan could hear other crafts flying away now, and the world slowly cracking and breaking. His father began to let go of the elements, 1st FIre, then Water and Wind, Electricity, Greenery, Wildlife, and Rock; floating on the palm of his hand. Once the elements were inside the chambers Yan could see them, they were a sort of vapor representation of each element, and as the last one was placed the world shuck so hard that Yan could barely stand. Their father walked toward the larger chambers placing his hand on one of them he started letting go of Death itself but Zim grabbed his hand pulling it and placing it on his chest. Their father was in shock struggling to let go, but couldn’t, the power of Death was entering Zim’s body and soul.
His Pupils were dilating, no, they were just black his eyes and veins were pulsing a black color as he let out a scream of Agony “HAAAGGHHH,” Yan could only watch as his brother was consumed by a power that he wasn’t ready for. His body froze as his brother’s body shot out of the aircraft hitting the ground making a crater.
His father’s weak hand grabbed Yan’s wrist “Son. I’m sorry. It shouldn’t have come to this, but there is no other way. Come here and I will give you the power of Life with the last strength I have,” Yan hesitantly got closer to his father. Placing his hand on his chest he let out the last Element into Yan and said “Save him.” His body felt lighter, his eyes saw nothing but light, but his head hurt and spun filled with so much light. As he regained his senses he saw his father on the ground. Dead. His heart shook and trembled just like the ground below him, and as he stared at his father he realized he could still do something. He knew it meant breaking rules however, he had the power to save his father because he had the power of LIfe now.
But as he went to save his father Zim let out another yell but it was different than the one before “AAAAGGGGHHHH.” It was a yell of power or triumph? Yan walked toward his brother completely forgetting about his dead father.
“Are you alr-,” he started to say as he got hit by something black and dark almost liquidy. It was some sort of creature with long arms and short legs; it didn’t have much of a face and early black liquid spewed and floated around it. Zim held his hand out, and almost as if being called, the creature ran toward Zim. Zim absorbed the creature and smiled.
“You were right brother. This world was doomed and destined to die,” Zim said as he stood straight. “ And I, as the savior of Hoshira, should make use of something destined to die, right?” His voice was deeper and distorted, and he had the same liquid as the creature floating and spewing around him.
“What are you talking about? Just a moment you couldn’t shut up about how you were going to save the planet,” said Yan. But then he realized that his brother had inherited an element without knowing what would happen, and not just any element, but the most dangerous of all. Death. At that moment he remembered his father. “He is dead, you know. What you did finished him off,” said Yan in an increasing rage tone.
His brother stared back at him with a curious expression ”it looks like I wasn’t the only one who “finished him off”,” he said with content. “Brother, give it to me. I know what needs to be done with it. I can control it, believe me,” he said almost with a sorrowful tone in his voice.
“No. I won’t. You, brother, have become a usurper, and I cannot, will not let you destroy our world,” Anger and Pain were going through Yan’s mind, and what he did next was something no brother should do to one another. Yan flew towards his brother and took him in the air. Yan didn’t know how he was doing it, but he was flying. Pushing his brother in front of him into and through a mountain; crashed into a large empty field. Dark clouds appeared around them, and instantly the grass around Zim blackened, shriveled, and died. “What you want to do is wrong, and unacceptable,” said Yan as his brother coughed in pain from the attack.
“You don’t understand. I’m truly sorry brother, but if you are not with me then you are against me,” and with that Zim hurled himself at Yan and started pummeling him with punch after punch. Each fist that hit him created dark flashes around them, and they felt like instead of bruising his skin, they cracked it. Yan hit Zim with an uppercut moving him out of the way, so Yan could regain his footing. Zim let out an annoyed grunt as he shot the black creature from before out of his body. The creature was erratic, not having a straight trail towards Yan, and making a bellowed sound. Yan grabbed the creature by what should be its neck and hurled it back at Zim. He absorbed it back into himself and grabbed onto Yan holding him in a chokehold. Yan felt his brother’s strong-arm squeeze against his neck. In a desperate attempt, Yan knocked the back of his head against Zim’s nose. As Zim was discombobulated Yan took the opportunity to grab him by the collar and take the battle to the air. For a second it was just him and his brother floating high-up in the air, and at that moment Yan thought back to every good memory he had with his brother, with his father, on his home-world, but all that was in the past. His brother is corrupted. His father is dead, and his world is on the brink of destruction. As they started to descend back to the ground Yan pushed Zim towards the ground at a frightening speed, and right before they hit the ground Yan inaudibly said, “I wish you had saved us.”
An earth-shattering noise came from the impact. It was the loudest thing Yan had ever heard, and as he stood up he realized that the once green valley had turned into a massive wasteland in the shape of a crater. There were black and white cracks on the ground around Yan. They seemed endless as if reaching the core of the planet. As if on cue, the earth around the unconscious body of Zim started to give. Yan instinctively grabbed his brother and took him to the edge of the crater. Hoshira was breaking into pieces and Yan couldn’t do anything. He thought he was dead, and that there was no point in trying to change that, but then he remembered, his father’s spacecraft was still operational. Without a second thought, he grabbed Zim and flew back towards the craft. On entering the craft Yan found that there wasn’t anything that could hold his brother. He started to think what would happen in space if his brother woke up all of a sudden. The large chambers for the elements were exactly the right size. As he placed his brother in the chamber, the ship started to tilt and shake. Yan ran towards the cockpit and started the launch. He could see his world crumble and fall, sinkholes formed, and mountains collapsed. The ship flew away and all that was left of his planet were asteroids and space trash. It was gone. Despite being so technologically advanced Hoshira was still very far from any hospitable planet, and so the only logical thing that Yan could think of doing was wait and see where the spacecraft would take him and his brother.