Monster

Words: 8500

Summary: Dan controls fire and Phil controls ice and they hate each other from previous events they do not speak off. However, when Dan gets hurt in battle Phil finds his hatred dissipating and replaced with worry.

Chris looked between the two of them. 

He turned to Dan.

Dan was across the field, fighting his opponent with his high level of skill. At every break however, if he caught Phil's eyes he'd glare in his direction. Chris turned to Phil who at every glance in Dan's direction was a permanent scowl.

Chris wondered how long this petty rivalry was going to go on, they were in a war for god's sake. Chris rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers in front of Phil's face who snapped out of it and looked at Chris with listening eyes.

"Dude, seriously. What's going on between you and Howell?" He asked, eyebrows raised. Suddenly PJ showed up, immediately entering the conversation.

"Yeah you two seem a little ... frosty." PJ smirked. "Pun intended." He added quickly. Phil rolled his eyes and wiped the smug look off PJ's face by freezing his evening coffee. Phil giggled when PJ tipped his cup all the way, waiting for something to come out and was met with an annoyed scowl.

"Anyway ..." Chris interrupted, looking at Phil expectantly.

Phil huffed, "I just don't like the guy." He retorted.

"Well I suppose it's natural for fire and ice to repel each other." PJ pointed out.

"Yeah but Phil is usually a decent guy, so that's not a good enough reason Lester." Chris replied.

"We just don't like each other, nothing more nothing less." Phil put bluntly, although he seemed to be keeping something back. Chis sighed and shook his head.

"Well you're going to have to get rid of this stupid mini war because you two are our best fighters and it would be a shame for them to dislike each other, especially out on missions!" Chris pointed out.

"Pfft, I hope I never get teamed with him." Phil replied bitterly. Chris and PJ looked at each other, they were very confused. Phil was usually nice to everyone but when it came to Dan his face went stony and a fire blazed in his eyes.

"You might one day, just don't complain when it happens, there's a bigger war going on around you." PJ pointed out.

"Whatever." Phil sighed.

"LESTER!" The commander called. Phil jumped to his feet, nodding a goodbye to his friends before going to the leader's tent. Elementals get their powers age 16 and Phil had been given the gift to control and manipulate ice and snow. Dan got the power to manipulate fire and black flames. 

When Phil entered the tent he almost growled when he saw Dan Howell standing there, giving him evil eyes. You see, Dan and Phil had known each other for a long time ... only no ones else knew that. They grew up together from age ten and their mothers were friends but something went bad between them. 

"I need you two to take out the north side tomorrow. You're our mot capable fighters and there are some high level demons coming in from that direction which will be too hard for our other ranks, especially one of this size." Commander Zeke explained. Phil nearly groaned out loud at the thought of being paired with Dan. He thought it would never happen and now he was proved wrong. He cast a glance at Dan and caught his dark eyes which glared at him.

"I expect you to both be professional on this mission. There is no room for mistakes, got it?" The commander said sternly. Phil and Dan broke eye contact.

"Yes sir." They both grumbled.

"Good, you both leave tomorrow morning, 9 sharp." The commander smirked. Dan was the first to storm out the tent and to his own sleeping quarters. Phil let out a breath before returning to Chris and PJ who were both looking curious.

"What's up with hot head?" Chris asked.

"Him and I are going on a special mission tomorrow." Phil groaned, miserably.

"I told you so!" PJ exclaimed with a smug look. Phil replied with a glare.

"Must be serious." Chris pointed out. Phil nodded.

"Must be."

"Mind you, with you both there you'd kick up a hurricane just by being near each other. I don't think the enemies stand a chance." Chris laughed. PJ chuckled too and Phil managed a small smile, he didn't like being angry too long. Just the sight of Dan however makes his blood boil.

"I need to be up early tomorrow so I'm going to go to sleep. Have a nice night guys." Phil smiled and walked off to his bunk. He changed into his sleeping gear and flopped down onto the small mattress and closed his eyes, exhausted. He had been training all day and his body was starting to feel it as every muscle began to ache slightly.

However Phil didn't find it hard to drift off into soundless sleep.

~

"Are you excited?" Dan asked, a grin on his face.

"Of course, I can't wait! I'm turning 16 tomorrow and I'll be able to find out my power." I replied. 

"I won't be too far behind either, only a month after you." Dan pointed out, eyes shining. He looked radiant on this cold winters day. His cheeks were rosy, eyes wide and childish and his dimples popped. He was blooming like a flower, a burst of colour against the winter snow.

"You look beautiful Dan." I hear myself say. Dan's cheeks grew darker and his mouth formed a perfect 'O'. After the shock he grinned like a fool and pulled me closer by the waist and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself." Dan grinned then pecked my lips once. I wanted to kiss him for longer but he turned and started running up the road, laughing like a child. I smirked and ran after him, not long catching up and tackling him. We both fell into a snow drift and giggled hysterically as we fought our way through the sea of white.

"I love you Phil." Dan suddenly sighed, once we were both comfortable were we sat, hands entwined.

"I love you too Dan, very much." I replied, running my thumb over his knuckles.

"A-and you won't leave me right? No matter what?" Dan asked, sounding vulnerable. I turned to him, he had a faraway look but he looked scared above all things.

"No matter what." I whispered, reaching over and taking his lips in mine. He kissed me back passionately and I could feel the emotion of the kiss. I was sure I was in love with him. We had been together for nearly a year and had been friends for four years. 

Dan pulled away, looking a lot more relaxed. He let out a sigh before snuggling into my side and nuzzling his nose in my neck. I chuckled as his hair tickled my skin and his hot breath brushed my neck.

~

"Wow Phil!" Dan exclaimed. 

It was snowing in Dan's room and even though he was freezing he didn't ask for me to stop demonstrating my new power.

"That's so cool!" He exclaimed and watched as crystallized ice curled up my fingers and my hands. I was mesmerized myself, it was magical being able to do such amazing things.

"You'll love it Dan, I can promise you that! My friend got his a few months ago, he can control earth and he couldn't stop for weeks. I don't think I'll be able to stop either, it's so cool." I exclaimed in excitement.

"You look particularly stunning right now." Dan suddenly commented, making my concentration break and my cheeks flush. It continued to snow but the crystals disappeared. I looked up at Dan to see him propping his head up with his palm, just staring at me in fascination. I blushed and smiled shyly. "You're eyes look amazing, they're shining." He smiled and got to his feet.

I was surprised when he wrapped his arms round my waist and brought me into a passionate kiss. He moved his lips firmly with mine, his hand cupping the  back of my head and keeping me in place. I wasn't complaining, I wrapped my arms round his neck and eagerly kissed him back. Once it was over we both breathed heavily.

"That was nice." I smiled, still a bit dazed. This caused the most beautiful giggle to leave Dan's mouth before he pecked me again and rested his head against mine. 

"It was, wasn't it?" He grinned goofily and dragged me back to the bed. We both lay down on it and Dan started drawing patterns into my chest. "So ..." Dan started, his tone had changed, taking a suddenly serious turn. "What job are you going to go for?" He asked. I couldn't see his face but I could tell he was cringing.

"Dan ... we spoke about this. I said I'd enter military." I sighed.

"But you don't need to! It''s not our fight! You don't need to get yourself hurt, we can get normal jobs or stay at base and look after new comers or-"

"Dan." I stated firmly, making him shut up. I craned my neck and saw his lip tremble slightly but he bit down on it hard. I felt my heart sink, such a beautiful evening had taken such a depressing turn. "I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life, I want to get out there." I explained softly.

"I don't want to lose you." Dan whispered, burying his face in my side.

"You won't." I stated firmly, "I'll train hard, I'll make sure of it." 

"But you can't promise anything." Dan spoke, suddenly bitterly. I was surprised at his tone, he had never shown that much opinion before, at least not with an emotional connection.

"Not really-" Dan suddenly pulled away from our embrace and sat up, with a scowl on his features. I hated the expression as soon as I saw it. Dan's beautiful face wasn't meant for this harsh look. 

"I'm sick of this!" He hissed. My eyes widened.

"What?" I asked.

"I'M SICK OF PEOPLE LEAVING ME!" He yelled. I frowned. "My dad left, my mum's never home. My brother hates me and has moved away, most of my friends are in the fucking military and now YOU!" He shouts, suddenly getting to his feet angrily. 

In all the time we had been together I had only seen Dan raise his voice once and it was in defense to a question about his family. He didn't like talking to them and when I pressed on about it when we were younger he lost his temper and yelled at me. Now I can see things are serious if he's getting so angry.

"Dan-"

"NO PHIL I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! This isn't a romantic novel where the partner goes off to war, becomes a hero and returns to their girlfriend! If you go I will hardly see any of you. Almost everyone who inherits these powers goes into military, ALL my friends have and now YOU want to leave as well? Some people don't come back!" He spat.

"DAN!" I shouted, trying to get my opinion in as well. "This isn't all about you! I want to do this, I love you and I feel as my boyfriend you need to respect my decisions, even if some don't always include you. I'll write and I can visit on holidays and stuff like that if you're planning on staying-"

"I AM planning on staying, and ON HOLIDAYS? Are you listening to yourself right now? 'I'll write, we can see each other once a month' What sort of a relationship is that? I'll be here by myself with no one!" 

"I'm sorry you feel that way but I can't stay here forever Dan I have to get out into the world. I can't have you anchoring me down all the time!" I snapped. Dan looked like he had been slapped in the face. 

"ANCHOR!?" He yelled. "You think I'm holding you back?" He spat. I knew the conversation (well, argument) was heading in an ugly direction but I couldn't stop myself. I was angry and so was Dan, we all say stupid things.

"Actually YES! You think we can stay here our whole lives, doing ordinary things in ordinary life? I can't do that Dan, I have to go and do things and whether that's what you want isn't your decision! I am my own person and don't need your permission!" I growled.

"I know you don't!" Dan hissed through gritted teeth. "BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE LEAVING ME!" Dan shrieked.

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU DAN! YOU CAN SURVIVE! YOU'LL FIND OTHER FRIENDS FINE! IT'S NOT LIKE I'LL NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!" 

"OH BUT YOU SEE PHIL THAT CAN HAPPEN AND IT WILL HAPPEN BECAUSE EVERY ONE IN MY LIFE DISAPPEARS AND LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENING, OH, YOU'RE LEAVING ME!"

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!"

"YES YOU ARE! YOU KNOW WHAT? I BET YOU WON'T EVEN BE GOOD AT IT, I BET YOU'LL DIE FIRST WEEK THERE AND THEN WHAT WILL HAPPEN? I'LL BE LEFT HERE ON MY OWN SAYING OVER AND OVER, 'I TOLD YOU SO' BUT YOU DIDN'T LISTEN!" Dan snapped. I was getting furious now and the windows in the room were frosting over. The snow in the room was being whipped around by a cold wind but Dan seemed unaffected by it.

"STOP BEING SO SELFISH DAN, IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT EVERY ONE LEFT YOU!" I shouted in rage. As soon as I saw Dan's expression I knew things had gone too far, I wanted to stop and pull him into a hug and apologize over and over. For some reason I continued to glare at him and I felt like ripping him apart. I remembered my friend telling me that mood swings can get out of hand easily in the first month of having powers and strong emotions were to be avoided because they could cause serious damage.

As I looked over Dan's broken expression, something seemed to click in his. Suddenly he was shaking and glaring at me with the most hateful expression I'd ever seen. It made a shiver run down my spine, there was a weird evil in his eyes and it chilled me to the bone.

His body began to heat up and suddenly there were black flames erupting from his arms and a furious blaze in his eyes. My own eyes widened in shock. You weren't supposed to come into your powers early, you could be a serious danger to those around you. When I saw the black flames licking at his arms I gasped.

I took a step back and looked at him in disgust, "You're a monster!" I spat. A part of me deep down wanted to strangle myself for saying something like that to him but I was so angry and shocked at the time I couldn't control the intensity of emotion my powers were creating.

His black flames symbolized evil and I thought then that he was evil. He was a monster. As soon as I remembered Dan telling me his father's name is all clicked into place. James Howell, also known as James Black, evil elemental on the dark side with the ability to control black flames. Dan was his son, no wonder his father left and his mother kept her distance. 

"You're evil, and you're father was evil too, he was a murderer, A KILLER, NO WONDER HE NEVER WANTED YOU!" I screamed.

"GET. THE. FUCK. OUT. OF. MY. HOUSE." Dan roared, his eyes black and a deadly look on his face.

"I never want to see you again, get out of my life." I spat and left. 

~

Phil woke up in a cold sweat, eyes wide. He was shaking and sat up abruptly, gasping for air. A tear or two rolled down his cheek and he quickly wiped them away. He slowed down his breathing and ran a hand through his hair in relief. 

He had that dream at least once a month, always replaying in his head. He hated the guilt but he could never apologize to Dan. He felt like that was it, there was now a barricade between them and if either one tried to break through all hell would break loose.

Phil was surprised to find Dan in the military five years later. At the time his hatred was still sort of fresh and wondered why they'd let such an evil 'thing' into the military. He was beyond furious when Dan proved to be the best out of all of them. There had been a tense hatred between them ever since and Phil tried hard to get to where he now was, one of the best.

He got dressed and ready, still feeling shaken by the dream. As he got out of his tent he stretched and breathed in the chill morning air. He glanced around and his gaze stopped on a dark figure sitting on some rocks near the stream. As he squinted his eyes he made out Dan's skinny figure looking glassy eyed over the water.

Despite the hatred, Phil did like to admire Dan from afar sometimes. They did go out at one point and he'd be lying if he said he still didn't share any of his previous emotions. He didn't know Dan anymore though, he never bothered getting to know his new personality and something tells him that he doesn't want to find out in case he is what he thinks ... a monster. 

A pang of guilt struck him again and he tore his gaze away, clenching his fists. Even now he still regrets those words no matter what.

~

Dan and Phil walked side by side, not uttering a word. There was a tension in the air full of many emotions. Phil was a lot more uncomfortable than Dan looked to be. In all honesty Dan never liked being in Phil's presence for too long because it made him start to ache. In his heart mostly. He came across with a stony expression and he nearly became the monster Phil thought he was but he saved a bit of himself.

A bit of humanity that was still in love with Phil and hurt like a bitch.

They were five minutes from the north side battle grounds and they haden't spoken for twenty minutes. Phil was beginning to get impatient, he expected something, anything. He glanced sideways at Dan, getting a close look at him for the first time. 

His hair was a lot shorter from when they were younger but was a good length for him. His skin had paled but he was still dark compared to Phil's paper white skin. He had grown taller than Phil over the years and had gained a little muscle on the arms. The childish glint was gone from his eyes and his dimple wasn't in sight as his face was always in a hard line, eyebrows knitted together.

Dan felt Phil's eyes on him and turned to meet his gaze. Phil quickly looked away, looking anywhere but Dan. "What?" Dan growled, speaking for the first time.

"Nothing." 

"it's obviously something! You've been staring at me for ten minutes!" Dan retorted.

"I have not!" Phil retaliated, glaring at him.

"Yes you have! What's wrong? Scared to see my black flames?" Dan taunted, stopping and towering over Phil.

"There's no time for this Dan. Grow up and lets get this done!" Phil replied, ignoring him and walked forward.

"Yeah run away, you're good at leaving me behind." Dan mumbled beneath his breath. Phil heard though and his heart beat sped up but he clenched his jaw and powered on.

The two of them soon made it to the battle line, laying low and looking out over the bloody valley where previous Elementals had fallen. Phil scanned the grassy landscape and focused his eyes on the edge of the forest opposite them. After a moment's wait Phil spotted movement in the trees and five upper class demons walking along the edge.

"There." Phil whispered. Dan didn't say anything and nodded.

"Come in from both sides?" 

"Yeah." Phil agreed and they split up. Phil hid behind a tree, only a few metres from the demons and glanced at Dan who was hiding in a familiar place to him. He caught Dan's eye and made a thumbs up sign which Dan returned. For some reason Phil felt his mood rise at the effort Dan was giving to co-operate and work with him. Phil counted down from five on his fingers then nodded and they jumped out.

Phil froze the first one to the ground and took his sword out of his sheath and sliced the second in five seconds flat. Dan immediately eliminated two on his side. Six others ran through the trees towards them as well as the one still left over. Dan and Phil backed into the open. Phil thrust his hand forward and several sharp ice shards shot forward, piercing the one in ice and two oncoming ones which killed them. At the same time Dan threw five fireballs and caught two on fire. 

However the ones that dodged came straight at them and Phil reacted quickly, whipping his sword to the side and slicing the demon's back. Two attacked Dan but he dodged every attack effortlessly, setting one alight and pulling out a silver handgun and shooting it in the head with a special bullet. 

Three came from Phil and he froze one in place and sliced one's head off but was tackled by the third. He groaned as the demon's heavy body flattened him and made him drop his sword. Phil felt the demon's claws dig into his chest and he let out a whale of pain before setting his hands on the creatures chest and feeling his power surge through him.

The creature shrieked as two ice shards went straight through its body. It slumped lifelessly and Phil got to his feet, wincing as his chest scream in pain. He retrieved his sword and looked at Dan and was shocked to see Dan standing completely still. His expression looked utterly horrified and terrified at the same time, an expression Phil had never seen the boy possess. Dan's body was rigid and he was staring ahead but he was shivering in what looked like fear. 

Then Phil saw it. 

There was a dark figure, hardly visible standing just behind Dan, whispering in his ear. Phil's eyes widened, who was it? A demon distracted him again and he groaned in frustration when he saw four more coming his way. He turned to Dan helplessly, he couldn't save Dan and defeat the creatures at the same time. Why wasn't Dan fighting and why was he so scared? 

Phil didn't have time to make his own decision because two demons came at him at once and he glared at them, freezing them in place. They struggled to get out and Phil went on to angrily plunge his sword into the third and punched the fourth. He wrapped his hand round the demon's neck and let the ice burn his neck. He screamed and Phil froze his whole body before punching it and watching it smash to pieces. 

One of the demons broke from the ice and came charging at Phil. He quickly glanced at Dan and saw that he was still standing still with this mysterious figure speaking to him.

"DAN!" Phil yelled but he didn't respond. Phil growled and punched the demon, letting it crash to the ground and killed the one in the ice. Phil spun around and saw just in time the figure reach out to Dan's heart and place his hand on it. Dan's body went stiff and his eyes went even wider. He dropped his sword and dropped to his knees, screaming. The figure disappeared.

"DAN!" Phil screamed, feeling fear course through him for the first time in ages. However he was rammed into by the last demon and gave him a dislocated shoulder. Phil yelled in agony but reached his good hand out and killed the last one with an ice shard through the heart. 

Phil got to his feet, clutching his shoulder and chest. He limped over to Dan and looked down in horror. Dan's skin was pale and his body was having a spasm. "Dan! Speak to me come on!" Phil exclaimed, shaking his shoulder. When Dan didn't reply he reached to his shirt and pulled it up. 

Phil gasped when he saw a black mark right over where his heart was. The black substance spread out into the veins around the area. It looked ugly and pure evil. Dan was gasping for air and clenching and un-clenching his hands, squeezing his eyes shut. He groaned and then he went limp. "Dan!" Phil tried again but there was no reply. He couldn't be dead! 

Phil felt for a pulse and was relieved to feel one. He looked over Dan's limp body and ran a hand through his hair in worry. What had happened?

~

"Where are they? They should have been here hours ago!" PJ worried. Chris nodded, not saying anything and looked out for their lost colleagues. Zeke was with them, scanning the path for any life forms.

"It shouldn't take this long. They are the best, they should have been back around midday." He growled.

"Maybe they got ambushed?" Chris suggested.

"What if they actually ... y'know-" But before the sentence could be finished two figures arrived over the hill.

"There they are!" PJ exclaimed, smiling in relief. However one of them was slumped over the shoulder of the other and from a distance they could tell they were limping.

"Somthing's wrong." Zeke frowned. "YOU GUARDS WITH ME!" He yelled and ran over to Dan and Phil. 

He was shocked to see Dan unconscious and arm wrapped over Phil's shoulder as he limped, clutching his shoulder and chest.

"What happened?" Zeke asked, wide eyed as he watched Phil collapse with Dan. "Guards! Get them to the meds!" He yelled and the others helped Dan and Phil to the medical tent.

Half an hour later, after Phil was cleaned up and his shoulder was popped back into place Zeke came to see him. He had a sling on and a bruise was forming on his cheek, just under his eye.

"Phil, how did this happen?" Zeke asked, looking serious.

"I-I don't know. It was so different! There were so many, more than usual. We got them all of course but something happened to Dan. It was so weird. He suddenly froze up and his body went rigid. I thought I saw some translucent dark figure whispering in his ear. I had no idea what was going on but next thing I knew the figure touched Dan's heart and he had a spasm and fell unconscious. I don't know where the figure went but the remaining demons tackled me and I got these." Phil explained, gesturing towards his sling.

"That doesn't sound right ... I'm going to up the guard around here. Obviously something's up. I think something's coming. I can just feel it, I know it. We need to get every one ready to fight just in case. If there are more of those things that did something to Dan then there may be no hope for us." Zeke explained, looking panicked for the first time. "How many are there on camp?" Zeke asked.

"Just under seven hundred sir." Phil replied.

"They could have thousands." Zeke muttered, looking stressed. "I'll up the training, no more goofing around. We need to know what's going on. For now, just rest up and heal. We need you in top shape to help us when the time comes. For now just keep an eye on Dan tell us about any peculiar activity r if he wakes up." 

"Yes sir." Phil nodded and watched Zeke leave his tent. 

He sighed and stood up, walking outside and over to the medical tent. When he entered one of the meds were inserting an IV into Dan's arm. Phil cringed and looked away but still approached the bed. 

"How is it?" Phil asked.

"I have never seen it before but it looks like some of poison. It's dark magic though and none of our medicines would probably work, we'd need a black magician and Dan is the only one who knows how to use black magic ..." The med trailed off, looking hopeless. Phil felt his heart sink as he looked at Dan's unconscious state.

"We're calling home to see if there is anyone who knows black magic, but I think the chances are slim because most of them are working for James Black." The med shook his head.

"Oh ... well thanks anyway." Phil sighed.

"Call me if you need anything." He said and left. Phil walked over to Dan's side and took a seat on the chair provided. It took one more look and he slapped his hand over his mouth. How could he have been so stupid? He should have gone straight to help Dan! He felt a lump in his throat, and his heart ache. He didn't care about their rivalry, he felt awful, guilty. 

In one evening he was now ready to get on his knees and beg for Dan's forgiveness. How could he have done those things to Dan? His best friend? His boyfriend? His soul mate? A tear reached Phil's eye and he choked on a sob, determined to not cry when someone could hear. He lifted a shaky hand to push Dan's fringe out of his eyes. He was so beautiful. 

"I'm sorry." Phil shook. "I'm so sorry Dan, for everything ... I'm such an asshole!" Phil whimpered, hiding his head in his hands. "How could I say those things to you? You're not a monster, I am. You were never a monster, you were sweet and caring and happy ... and all because of my selfish ambitions I made you hurt and hate me. I made you come into your powers early! You could have been harmed by that! I'm such a horrible person, I'm so sorry!" Phil sniffed, looking at Dan's still form and slumping further when there was no reply.

"I'm sorry." He repeated, reaching out and taking Dan's cold hand. The cold didn't bother Phil but he knew that Dan's body temperature was dangerously low, especially for someone who used fire as their element. Phil smoothed his thumb over Dan's knuckles and brought it up to his lips and kissed them. "I'll make it up to you, I promise. I'll do whatever it takes." Phil assured and left to go to his own tent and attempt to sleep.

~

"Wow Michael, I can't wait to do that myself." I grinned as my older brother made water rise from a glass in hover in the air. My best friend, Dan, also watched in fascination as the shape twisted and turned into a dog. 

"That's cool." Dan agreed.

"Too bad you two aren't even fifteen yet." Michael smirked.

"Shut up! I'll be fifteen next month then it's only one more year!" I retorted.

"That's a long wait!" Michael teased and ruffled my hair. I scowled. 

"Being fourteen sucks, I want my powers." Dan moaned once Michael left the kitchen.

"The wait will be worth it." I reassured. Dan grinned at me, his adorable dimple poking out. I like him as more than a friend. I was definite. After a year of weird butterflies every time he held my hand or accidentally touched me confirmed my feelings. I was going to tell him sooner or later but I needed the right moment. I knew he wouldn't leave me, even if he didn't want to be more than friends.

"Want to go to the amusement park? It just opened up today and my mum bought tickets for the Ferris wheel." Dan asked.

"Sounds good, what better thing to do on a Saturday morning?" I asked, earning a smile from Dan. My mum drove us to the park and and gave me a little pocket money to spend. We both grinned and looked around for rides we wanted to go on.

"OH PHIL! Please can we go on the Star Flyer?" Dan begged.

"How high is it?" I gulped, looked at the people dangling in the air.

"I think it's sixty metres high!" Dan spoke excitedly. 

"Sixty?!" 

"It's fine Phil! Come on, you'll love it!" Dan insisted, entwining our fingers. I looked down at our fingers and smiled. 

"Oh ok then." I sighed. Dan whooped and pecked my cheek before running to the line. I felt the butterflies fly about violently in my stomach. My cheeks went bright pink. Did Dan really kiss me?

"COME ON PHIL!" Dan shouted from the line, buying the tickets. I snapped out of it, beamed, and ran over to him.

~

"We'll have to go soon- oh wait! We still have the tickets for the Ferris wheel!" Dan smiled, holding them up for me to see. 

"Oh yeah."

"Come on, lets go before it closes!" Dan smiled, dragging me behind him and to the front of the line.

"This is the last one boys." The man warned and took our tickets, stamping it through a hole punch and handing them back. We clambered onto the last carriage and grinned at each other. 

As we reached the top we looked over the whole park, seeing all the bright lights illuminated in the dark. It was beautiful. As we went round for our next circuit a thought popped into my head. This is it. This is the moment. 

When we reached the top the wheel stopped. 

"D-"

"Phil I love you." Dan blurted out. My eyes widened in shock, my jaw dropping open. I was shell shocked, I had hardly got the first letter out and here he was just blurting out exactly what I was going to say.

"Y-you're serious?" I asked, a small smile appearing shyly on my face.

"Yes." Dan said firmly, looking determined.

"I love you too you idiot!" I chuckled. Dan's face turned into a beam, his dimple becoming prominent. He leaned in and attached our lips in a soft kiss only lasting a few seconds. It was shy and sweet. Before I could pull him in for a proper kiss the door to our carriage was opened.

"Come on boys, the park is closing." The man yawned. We both hurried out and jogged to the entrance. I quickly texted my mum so she could pick us up and then turned back to Dan, smiling. 

"Will you be my boyfriend?" I asked. He seemed to light up, his smile getting impossibly bigger. 

"Is that even a question?" He grinned and hugged me tight. I laughed and hugged him back, tight. When we pulled away I leaned in and gave him a firm kiss on the lips, a little longer than a peck.

~

Phl gasped and sat upright in bed. He dragged a hand down his face and sighed. He felt a pain in his heart from the dream. He wanted Dan back and craved for the times when they were utterly in love even if they were a little naive. 

He didn't care about the war, he just wanted Dan to be safe and then apologize over and over. He wanted to hug him and kiss him and tell him how much he missed him. He wanted to buy him all the treasures in the world and make sure he got anything he wanted because he deserved the world.

Once he was up and dressed he went to get some breakfast before he headed to the medical tent. 

"Hey Phil." Chris smiled.

"Hey Chris." Phil returned the smile.

"How are you? You looked pretty beat up. We heard what happened." PJ explained.

"I'm fine but Dan ..."He trailed off, cringing.

"What did the figure look like?" Chris asked.

"I don't know. It was like it was some one hiding in this barely visible cloak. I could just make out a shadowy face whispering things in Dan's ear, like promises. Dan looked so terrified." Phil explained, frowning at the table and taking a bite out of some toast.

"Wow, sounds serious. Did the meds say anything?" 

"Yeah, it's some sort of black magic. They're trying to call someone in to deal with it but there aren't many black magic users who aren't working with the demons." Phil sighed, taking another bite. "Apparently it's some sort of poison in his heart, it's going through the veins and everything." Phil cringed, and suddenly he didn't feel hungry anymore.

"How about your wounds?"

"And your shoulder?" Chris added.

"My shoulder is fine, it just needs to stay in place for a few days then it will be fine and the claw marks are healing up okay but they had to use some fire magic on it because it was a fire demon that got me." 

"Oh, good." PJ nodded.

"I need to go, Zeke said I should watch out for Dan and see if there's any weird activity." Phil explained and didn't let them reply. He walked into the medical tent and felt his mood dampen as soon as he saw Dan's pale figure. He looked so lifeless and it made panic shoot through Phil. Quickly, he double checked for a pulse and let out a sigh in relief when he felt the faint beat.

Phil stayed there all morning and through lunch time, sometimes talking to Dan and other's just watching his beautiful features. As it neared early afternoon a guard came into the tent.

"Phil, we're having an early dinner. Zeke wants to get some late afternoon training in." He explained.

"I'll be right with you." and with that the guard left.

Phil looked back at Dan and sighed, closing his eyes then getting to his feet. He bent over and placed his lips on Dan's forehead and gave it an affectionate kiss. "Get better soon, I promise I'll make it up to you." Phil smiled against Dan's skin then walked out the tent.

~

"One, two three, four. One, two, three, four." Zeke yelled, lifting his knees up high as the others copied his movements. Phil watched from the sidelines, laughing at how ridiculous some of them looked. 

He connected eyes with PJ who looked exhausted and smirked. PJ glared back and gave Phil the middle finger.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." Zeke yelled, changing the move to jogging. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, ei-"

"ZEKE!" Someone shrieked. All heads turned to the tents. A med was running towards them, with a panic stricken face.

"What's wrong?" Zeke asked, going serious.

"It's Dan!" The med exclaimed. Phil's eyes widened and he was immediately on his feet, running alongside Zeke to the medical tent. They both gasped in horror as they saw Meds trying to put the burning tent out. Black flames licked the material and reached up to the sky, flickering evilly. 

"He hardly ever uses his black flames." Zeke spoke in a serious tone.

"Where is he?"

"YOU! WHERE IS DAN?" Zeke called. A med called Jack turned in surprise. 

"I don't know. I was giving him some painkillers when suddenly his temperature rose to one hundred degrees. The machine overheated and broke. He suddenly went crazy and set the tent on fire. He disappeared after that but his eyes were pitch black. He looked like a monster.

Monster.

Phil shivered.

"We must find him. He could be a danger to himself and others around him-"

"ZEKE!"

"WHAT NOW?" Zeke bellowed, clearly stressed.

"Our messengers have just returned. There's word about the black army!" A guard reported. Zeke groaned in frustration and looked at Phil.

"Come on, lets go find out what. In the mean time, get some people to look out for Dan and restrain him." Zeke told the guard.

"Yes sir."

"You, with me Lester." Zeke sighed and they both walked to the leader's tent.

"Ok, so we have report that the Black Army is moving North. There is estimated about fifteen hundred of them. It's the main army, James Black will be there himself. We managed to get a mole in. It was tricky but we did it! They'll be there in three days, that should be enough time to prepare." The second in command - Josh, explained.

"Ok good. Think you'll be in shape by then Lester?" Zeke asked.

"Yes sir." 

"Good. You'll lead the front squad. We'll decide what to do with Dan if we find him. If we can miraculously cure him before the fight then we can seriously use his help too." Zeke sighed.

"Yes sir."

~

Dan wasn't found.

Phil and his squad marched to the North to meet the Black army. They didn't know they were coming so they were going for a surprise attack. It could mean everything. The war would be over if they could take out James Black. When that happens the Black army would fall apart with out their leader and then they'd only need to clean up.

It sounded easy but obviously it was more than that!

They finally made it to the castle ruins where the Black army were due to reach soon. Phil scanned the area with careful eyes and scanned the trees for any movement. "All eyes on look out men!" He warned.

Twenty minutes later there was finally some movement and demon after demon exited the trees. There was more than half of the Elementals but that wasn't going to stop them. Besides they had the advantage, even if there were only just over six hundred of them.

As the army made it towards the ruins James came into sight. He was sitting on the back of a black horse, complete with black cloak and evil grin. Something about the cloak made was familiar to Phil but he focused on the task at hand. 

"Ready men? ... GO!" And they were off, running straight to the demons. The creatures stared in surprise as they were attacked from the side and the battle begun. Phil froze five demons and let the other warriors take care of them. He took his sword out, slicing through four others. He did a quick spin when he was surrounded, sending numerous ice blades in a 360 move. They pierced each monster making them scream and collapse.

Monster.

He continued to fight for ten minuted straight, not even breaking a sweat. He grinned when he saw they were nearly equal now. He turned to James who looked furious and sent a cloud of dark magic, taking out ten of Phil's army. Phil glared at him and felt the fury burn in his chest. He extended his hand and sent an ice spear straight at him.

James turned and barely dodged it but got knocked down from the effort of the dodge. Phil ran fast to catch him. He ran up the castle steps and Phil threw five ice blades. James put up a black shield, barely blocking them. Phil was furious about what he did to Dan. He needed James's head on a stick.

Phil took out his sword and brought it down hard on Jame's shield, smashing it to pieces and punching him hard in the face. James stumbled and hit the wall. He growled and wiped his bloody nose. Phil raised his sword, ready to swing when he felt a force hit him in the side, winding him. Phil groaned as his body slammed into the ground. 

"The hell?" Phil growled and looked up to see who caused it. His jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw Dan's form standing over him.

"Dan!" Phil exclaimed. Dan just grinned evilly. His teeth were pearly little blades and his eyes were a scary black. His chestnut hair was a similar black to Phil's, raven. Two black flames emitted from his palms. All in all, he looked completely different.

Dan proceeded to pick Phil up by the throat and throw him down the steps. Phil gasped for air and screamed when he felt the stone hit hard against his shoulder. He saw Dan coming at him, fast. With a lot of effort he dodged out the way and to his feet. He was about to send some shards at him but then stopped. He'd hurt Dan, even if he was possessed.

The hesitation was all Dan needed as he rammed into Phil, knocking him down again. Phil groaned and glared at James who was watching smugly. That fury was building in Phil's chest. It was all HIS fault. He made Dan the way he was, HE took Dan away from Phil and HE is the one who killed thousands of his kind. 

Phil turned back to Dan. He got to his feet and watched as Dan swung his fist as Phil. Phil closed his eyes and breathed in.

"SLAM."

. . .

Phil's hands caught Dan's fist. Dan growled and went to use his other hand but Phil caught that too. He used Dan's frustration against him and kicked his legs out from under him and twisted his arms behind his back. Dan yelled.

"DAN! LISTEN TO ME!" Phil tried to reason as he broke out of Phil's hold. Dan looked furious when he was back on his feet. "Dan, please you have to-" Dan threw two black flames at Phil and he quickly dodged. "listen to me!" Phil finished looking annoyed.

"It's no use, he's mine now." James cackled from the side. Phil scowled at him. 

"Dan, please! Look, just snap out of it! I know you can-" Four more fireballs and more dodging. "You're strong Dan, you don't need him to tell you what to do!" Dan ran at him and delivered punch after punch, some hitting some not.

Phil pushed Dan back. Dan was about to charge again and Phil snapped. "I'M SORRY!" He yelled as loud as he could. Dan froze in spot for a minute, looking shocked. "Dan ... I'm so sorry. You're not a monster! You never were! Dont' let him make you into one!" Phil said with pain.

Dan stood frozen to the spot, his black eyes going back to his brown one's for a split second. He glanced at James. "Finish him!" James yelled. Dan's eyes went black again. He ran at Phil.

"I love you." 

. . .

Dan stood an inch from Phil, arm raised, ready to punch. Phil looked into his eyes to see pain filled hazel ones staring right back. His hair had gone back to normal but his sharp teeth still stood out. His hair started to grow darker again and his pupils began to fill his iris. 

"You're beautiful, and amazing and gorgeous and perfect." Phil continued. Dan still hesitated but he kept glancing from James to Phil. "I still love you and I feel awful for what I said to you! I'm so sorry Dan! This is all because of me. You wouldn't be here because of me. Please don't become a monster. Please! You never were, don't start now! I should be the one being punished. JUST COME BACK TO ME DAN! DON'T LET HIM IN!" Phil yelled, tears in his eyes. 

Dan looked torn, he clutched his head in his hands, groaning. "Dan?" Dan's head lifted from his hands with a groan but the black hair and eyes were back again. Phil felt his heart sink, it wasn't enough.

"I'm sorry ... go ahead. I deserve it." Phil hung his head, dropping his sword.

"DO IT DAN!" James yelled. 

Phil looked at Dan. Once again his normal face showed through, looking miserable. "No!" He argued weakly but his eyes turned black once again and his hair turned black as night. He came charging at Phil. Phil sighed and closed his eyes. "Don't worry, I deserve it." 

. . .

He waited but no blow came. He felt a hot breath on his face and opened one eye. He nearly jumped when he saw black eyes only inches from his. Dan was holding himself back. Phil was still in shock from the close proximity but glanced at his lips anyway.

Dan may have looked like a monster but he wasn't.

Phil smiled and leaned forward, connecting their lips. Dan's body tensed then slowly relaxed. As their lips moved together Phil felt Dan's hands on his waist, pulling him closer. The kiss turned passionate immediately and Dan was clutching Phil as tight as he could. It was like he was scared that if he let go he'd go back to being a demon.

When air finally ran out they broke apart, both breathing heavily. Dan's eyes were back to their gorgeous hazel and the colour had come back into his face. "I love you too Phil and I'm sorry too! You don't deserve to die, it was my fault as well ... I missed you." He whispered, looking at Phil with that love sick look he always used to have. That little bit of humanity was now all back, he loved Phil.

"Oh Dan! I missed you too!" Phil cried and hugged him tight to his chest. 

"DANIEL!" James growled. The pair broke apart in shock. "YOU WILL DO WHAT I SAY!" James shrieked. Dan only glared at him and pulled Phil protectively to his side. Guards from the army started to surround James and he looked around in panic. He went to run for it but Phil froze ihs feet to the ground.

"You're coming back with us!" Zeke smirked, looking beyond happy.

Phil turned back to Dan with a shy smile. "Hi, long time no see." 

Dan grinned, resting his forehead against Phil's. "Can we forget what happened? I love you so much and I missed you so much and I just couldn't bare-" He was cut off by Phil's lips on his. He melted into the embrace and wrapped his arms tightly around Phil.

"Definitely, I love you too much." Phil smiled fondly.

"I love you too." Dan smiled and reattached their lips.

"Well that escalated quickly." Chris commented, watching the pair suck faces.

"I can't believe they loved each other all this time! I thought they were going to murder each other!" PJ exclaimed, looking completely shocked. Chris looked from Dan and Phil to PJ and smirked.

"Come here you." 

"What?" and suddenly Chris's lips were on PJ's. When he pulled away PJ's eyes were wide.

"I love you, you little shit!" Chris chuckled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay ... it started off good but I think I got a bit lazy at the end! OH WELL!  ... and holy shit it is LONG!

~HelloAnonymousWriter~