Beat the Heat event - Alix

It was a sunny day at the beach as all of Org-Underground gathered on the sandy dunes for some rest and relaxation. Numerous colorful umbrellas littered along the area, shading some of the members from the hazy sun. Nearly all of the girls were splashing around in the cool waves while tossing around a large beach ball. The guys, however, just watched them play…while oogling a certain part of the females’ bodies. But they were caught and were forced to do something else.

Alix stretched out amongst the sand, taking in the sun’s rays. “Hmm, this is nice.” Suddenly, the beach ball hit her square in the forehead, knocking her back. “GAH!”

“Sorry Alix!” Xullivan shouted.

Blinking, the pig-tailed girl picked up the ball and tossed it back. The taller girl caught it and returned to the others. Alix watched them play.

“Why don’t you go join them, Alix?” Nejx asked the younger girl from under her umbrella. The Chained Mailer was reading a magazine was lounging in a beach chair.

“I don’t feel like playing volleyball right now, Nejx.”

“Well, maybe you should do something else,” she suggested.

Alix looked toward Nejx. “Like what?”

The green-haired woman shrugged while turning a page. “Don’t know. Go build…what do they call them…a castle of sand?”

The Fragile Artisan blinked. “Don’t you mean a ‘sandcastle’, Nejx?”

“Hai, hai. That thing,” Nejx replied, not looking up from her reading material.

Alix sighed and got up, brushing some sand off her butt. She bid Nejx good-bye before walking down the shore, looking for a good spot to build the castle. The young girl found one that was nearby with the waves lightly splashing her feet. Sitting back down, she began her little project, the laughter of her friends nearby.

Hmm…this is relaxing…

The Lance-Corporal had just sculpted the base when something had slammed hard into her from behind. She let out a high shriek as she was pushed face-first into the sand, destroying her work. Her body shook as she suddenly jumped up, spitting sand from her mouth in a very unladylike manner.

“Ew! Ew! Ew! Blah-Blah! YUCK!”

Alix sharply turned around and deathly glared at whoever or whatever had pushed her. The two culprits were none other than Shaxir and Nahxs, with Shaxir holding a football in his arms. The petite girl balled her hands into fists.

“You…you…” she muttered.

Shaxir sweatdropped. “Sorry Alix. It was an accident,” he said, giving her a crooked smile.

Nahxs nodded. “Yeah, what he said.”

The silver-haired girl stared at her two friends before stomping off, cursing loudly in French. It took Alix about twenty minutes to find a nice, quiet spot on the beach away from everyone. Sighing, she sat back down on the sand and began her sculpting.  

“Let’s see…were there five windows on the first floor or six?” Alix muttered as she gathered up some wet sand between her palms.

The young maiden spent all afternoon sculpting her sandcastle. When she was finished, Alix had created an almost exact replica of the Beast’s Castle which came up to her waist. She wiped her brow, gazing at her work.

“Finished!” Alix cheered happily.

She smiled in triumphant, giving herself a mental pat on the back. The pig-tailed girl stood up and brushed the sand off her legs. Before she could take a step, the French girl felt the ground rumble underneath her sandaled feet.

“What the?”

Suddenly, Alix’s sandcastle had transformed into a large geyser, destroying all her hard work. The silver-haired Nobody stumbled from the force causing her back to collide with a large rock behind her. A loud, rumbling roar resonated from the geyser as a pair of fiery claws emerged from the sand. The hands rushed toward the young girl.

“Merde!”

Alix rolled out of the way, watching the claws shredded the rock to pebbles. She then reached for her pouch for some glass but felt nothing at her waist.

“Damn it all! I left it in my beach bag…”

Another loud roar snapped her at out her stupor. The French maiden looked toward where the bellowing sound came from. A giant monster, over thirty stories tall, with a cloak of sinister flames covering its bulky charcoal body stood before her. Its yellow eyes focused on the female Nobody, the color darkening as its gaze harden.

“Shit…” was the only thing Alix said before dodging two oncoming flamethrowers. The intense fire torched at the sand where she last stood.

The pig-tailed girl ran along the sand dunes, fleeing the flames that chased her. She panted heavily feeling the intense heat at her back.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” she shouted.

The giant beast roared again, the flames surrounding its body growing bigger. A large inferno erupted in Alix’s path, cutting her off from running any further. She skidded to a stop before she collided with it. A stray flicker grazed her cheek.

“Yow!”

Alix touched her burn, feeling blood lightly coat her fingers. The beast roared, charging up another attack.

So this is how I’m going to die. Being roasted to death…

Two more flamethrowers shot toward the Alix but before they could harm her, a glass shield blocked the fire. Her lessers, Ange and Diable, arrived to help their mistress, with the latter doing the blocking.

“About time you two showed up!” Alix cheered as she grasped Ange’s arm and shaped her into a glaive. She then took hold of a fully transformed Diable and charged toward the beast.

The blazing monster kept shooting out its flames, doubling the dosage. Alix focused on her energy into her weapons and strengthened the shape.

“Come on! Come on!”

Letting out a battle cry, the French Nobody jumped up and swung her glaive forward, aiming for its hand. The blade cut across it blackened palm before melting away. The beast shrieked in pain and pulled its hand back, stopping its attacks. Alix jumped away and looked down at her weapons. They were slightly melted and cracked.

“Merci, Ange. Diable.”

The two Lessers shaped back into their original forms and bowed to the silver-haired girl. The wall of flames became bigger and enclosed faster around them. Alix cursed loudly and grabbed onto her glass servants, shaping them together into a large shield. Beads of sweat clung to her forehead, from the heat around her and from her energy decreasing.

I don’t think I could keep this up…

Alix used her shield to block the smoldering fire that neared her lithe body. A clawed hand swung at the distracted girl, knocking her back against a rock. The French Nobody grunted on impact. The wall disappeared, its flames returning to their master. Yellow eyes narrowed their gaze at Alix as the beast lumbered toward her.

“I can’t cut it without the glass melting…so how can I defeat it?”

The pig-tailed girl glanced over at the ocean and blinked. A plan slowly formatted in her mind.

“…That’s it.”

Before the monster could strike her again, Alix moved away and ran toward the water. It sent another inferno toward her. She changed paths, narrowly avoiding the fire. The demon roared and increased the intensity of the heat, making the flames burn hotter. It soon gave chase after her. The sand crackled from the heat.

“Diable! Ange!”

Alix relinquished her shield as the Lessers shaped back into humanoid form. Diable nodded to his counterpart and went right; Ange went left. Once she was waist-deep in the water, the Fragile Artisan turned toward the beast, watching it get closer.

I only have one shot… “NOW!” she shouted.

A translucent net appeared in front of the beast’s feet. The glass melted away as the beast fell toward the salty water. Taking a deep breath, Alix dove under the waves and swam away from the falling body. The beast shrieked as its flames were doused, vanishing under the cool liquid. Charcoal limbs thrashed and crumbled because with no fire surrounding it, the once inferno demon soon died. The beast’s body descended into the watery abyss.

Ange and Diable shaped back and waited for their mistress to resurface. A few minutes passed and no Alix. The glass Lessers were about to fetch Odin when a loud, sputtering cough came from the waves. The silver and dripping wet-haired girl crawled back on to the sand. Diable helped her to her feet with Ange plucking some seaweed off her body.

“Merci beaucoup…”

The glass pair nodded at their mistress and stepped back. Alix surveyed the damaged area and groaned in a disappointment. Rocks were both strewn and melted, and due to the intense heat, the sand had transformed into discolored glass. The remains of her sandcastle were hardly recognizable.

“Oh man. Guess I’ll have to start over again in a different area.”

Alix was about to leave when the sand-turned-glass caught her eye. Blinking, a smirk slowly formed on her face.

“On second thought…”

~~

It was dinnertime back at the camp. Some members were barbequing the food while others chatted about missions and whatnot. Nejx turned away from her conversation with Emxaia and Xullivan.

“Alix-chan has been gone a long time.”

Xullivan grabbed the green-haired woman’s forgotten magazine and leafed through it. “Maybe she’s fell asleep while relaxing.”

“Maybe we should go find her,” Emxaia said as she stood up.

Nejx and Xullivan nodded and followed suit. The trio were about to leave the camp when Alix came running up to them. The brunette woman noticed how fatigued the young girl was and the cuts along her body.

“Alix? What happened to you?”

The Lance-Corporal waved her off and smiled. “I’ll tell you later. But in the meantime, I have a little surprise for everyone!” she shouted gleefully.

“What surprise, Alix?” Odin asked as he approached them, overhearing what the French maiden had said.

The silver-haired girl tugged on Odin’s hand and pulled him in the direction of where she had been. She called out for everyone to follow her. After trekking to the former battle site, which Vendox raised an eyebrow about, Alix let go of her Emperor’s hand and ran toward the surprise.

“TA-DA!” she cheered.

All of the members gaped at what they saw next to a dramatically posed Alix. A giant glass replica of Beast’s Castle, as tall as the flame beast, glistened in the setting sun. Ange and Diable stood in either side of it, posing as well.

“What do you think?”

Odin blinked twice before answering. “How…did you do that? And where did you get that much glass?”

Alix chuckled nervously. “Well…I came here to build a sandcastle in peace but…this giant flame beast came and attacked me. When I defeated it, I saw that its flames melted the sand into glass and well…I made this.”

Odin walked up to the translucent structure and touched. “Nice job, Alix.”

A soft thud was then heard after the older man spoke. Alix had fainted, now sprawled out on the sand. Nejx went over and picked her up.

“Poor thing. She used up too much energy.”

Diable stepped forward and took his mistress from the Chained Mailer.

“Well, time to head back now. I’m pretty sure that the food is probably burning right now,” Vendox drawled out.

Upon hearing ‘food’ and ‘burning’, some of the male members rushed back toward camp with the females giggling after them. Ange brushed back Alix’s bangs as she and her partner followed the crowd of Nobodies.