Instinctively, he knew that he'd found exactly what he was looking for from within the long, complicated strands of DNA he was immersed in. All Vasuki had to do now was touch the magic within the human shape and let it show him how to flick the switch that would start the transformation back to his rightful prehistoric shape. Hoping that what was left of Flash would recognise him as a friend and not react to his serpent-like form as an enemy, the naga king picked through the twisted and broken fibres all around him, searching for that ever elusive spark of mystical power, reasonably sure he could achieve his aim of saving the broken being before him.
Magical mayhem exploding all around them, the two, father and daughter, faced off, each disgusted with the other, each driven by righteous fury at what had happened, neither willing to acknowledge the trigger point in their interconnected lives that had led to this very moment, neither willing to back down or budge even an inch. Today, there would only be one winner. One survivor! Each of them was sure the reasons that they firmly adhered to justified their actions, not just now but far off in the past; both knew deep down that if that one event had gone the other way and if destiny had intervened, things might have been so different. It hadn't, and now here we are, the fate of the planet hanging over the edge of a precipice, two close family members on opposite sides, willing to give their all to destroy the other, one ready to save it, the other hoping to destroy it. If you think your family's peculiar, then you should say a prayer for this one, because nothing good is going to happen here today. One way or another, evil will prevail.
With a snarl on her face and all the ferocity of a starving predator, the twisted Earth drew forth as much magic as she could hold on to in one go and, breaking into a sprint, launched it all at her father. Flaming cranberry coloured projectiles closed in on his position, his deranged daughter not far behind. Momentarily he paused, waiting for his young blood to show her hand. So that was it, he thought, watching the malevolent magic head his way, all the time in the background keeping an eye on his approaching adversary. Hastily, his body tossed up between staying put, deflecting the incoming energy away and departing the immediate area. Instinctively, he chose the second option. With the kind of speed Flash would have been proud of, Fredric let out a snort of contempt at his daughter's pitiful effort, before diving off to his left, his unruly, long, matted locks swaying this way and that, almost having a will of their own, much like his approaching offspring. Through all the magic zinging around the battlefield, Earth checked out her dad, confident she knew exactly what he was thinking. Sure enough, instead of holding his ground, he chose to tumble off to one side.
'So predictable,' she thought, knowing full well that would at some point be his total and utter undoing. Landing tentatively on his feet, careful not to slip on any of the debris he'd stumbled into, the former Antarctic prisoner siphoned off the power he needed from the chains adorning his torso, and as cool and calculating as you like, released a line of explosive magic, tearing across the marble floor. Curving around in an arc to follow the path of her loser father, surprise screamed loudly in her ears as the floor between the two of them started to explode, the detonations shredding the exquisite, white, shiny marble, on their way to make her pay. Intuitively and aided in no small part by the supernatural power deep within her, she leapt off to one side, somersaulting over a trio of dead nagas, skidding to a halt behind their grisly cadavers. Not totally surprised to see her sidestep his latest attempt, Fredric focused his mind, intricately moved his fingers and, putting not quite all his will behind it, cast the next spell.
'Hopefully that might have more luck,' he thought, as the magic in question did his bidding, bringing forth a gigantic, sizzling, electrical net, about thirty metres square, precisely above her serpent wriggling head. 'Let's see how much she likes that!'
Surprised at his magical ingenuity, hundreds of options of how to defeat it raced through her head in barely a second. One stood out. With a cast iron mental grip, her wayward and excitable magic took hold of the nearest pile of rubble that had fallen from the ceiling a short time ago. Directing all her power, she willed the huge stack to come to her. It wasn't quite as instantaneous as she'd hoped, but as her father's net started to drop, the mountain of rock slid across towards her.
Grinding his teeth in frustration, the founder of the Crimson Guards looked on as the massive mound of debris slid across to his daughter, the top of which pierced his net as it fell towards the ground, arcing and spitting electricity all over the place. As soon as it slid to a halt, avoiding all the sparking and flickering voltage, Earth quickly dived into a recess in the mass of rock, hidden away from the lattice trap that had by now totally fallen to the ground, spitting and hissing violently, bright blue energy crackling everywhere, magic that, had it caught her, would have incapacitated her for a very long time. Pleased to have countered all that he had, her nerves were starting to fray, whether through anger or fear or even a mixture of both, one thought alone inhabiting all of her. It was time! Time to finish it, and of course... HIM! With the click of her fingers, a deluge of water rained down out of nowhere, flooding the surrounding area, shorting out what was left of the powerful grid designed to take her down. Striding out of her hidey hole, looking both magnificent and mad, with cool, foamy water sloshing around her ankles, the resolve in her eyes was clear for Fredric to see, even at forty metres. Gnawing fear spread across his belly for the first time in decades. Imprisonment had been what it had been, and throughout all the torture he'd always known that he could have been killed. Quite early on he'd come to accept that, something that had fashioned his resolve and steeled the chilly confidence that the near solitude had provided him with. This, however, was something different all together. So far she'd matched him, magic for magic, and he had the ominous feeling that she was only getting warmed up. This did not bode well. Glancing around to see if support of any kind was even vaguely in the offing, it instantly became clear that it wasn't, and obvious to him that he was well and truly on his own. Wishing to just live a quiet, happy and productive life with his best friend George, and the grandson he loved so much, with a force of will stronger than most beings would ever know, he pushed the dangerous thoughts aside, and harnessing the laminium wrapped around him, brought forth some of the vilest magic he knew, hoping to very quickly end things once and for all.