This AU originates from Rosie(@ladysouthpaw1213)'s idea, starting from a basic concept she mentioned in DMs months ago. The basic setup she gave me was "Adler is the fire elemental, and the reader is the ice elemental." So, I combined this with the firefighter motif, one of her favorites.
I just wrote it as I pleased... the protagonist stays asleep through most of the story until they finally awaken to meet Adler.
[Summary] Having his identity as a fire elemental exposed to a national intelligence agency, Russell Adler had been living a tedious life working as a firefighter with his fire powers sealed in order to live among humans. Meanwhile, the reader experiences a fire while partying with friends at a remote suburban house...
Note* - It got a bit long while writing.
It's an experimental piece, distinct from typical reader inserts or AUs.
Strictly speaking, a large portion is dedicated to world building.
If you like this concept, feel free to modify and use it however you want, and anyone who wishes is welcome to continue the sequel.
Elementals have been around for a very long time.
Ever since the four elements were first recognized in ancient times, they nearly had their secret exposed countless times. But they survived thanks to human belief. Humans always craved faith and looked for gods in everything. Half out of caprice and half in response to desperate human prayers, elementals used their powers... powers strong enough to rewrite history.
Among them, fire represented destruction, but at the same time, purification. Fire elementals burned down sinful cities as punishment while purifying the land beneath. However, when human greed and malice reached a tipping point, fire ended up taking innocent lives instead. Those unintended deaths served as a harsh warning to the wicked.
Most of it was simply the result of rash decisions with unforeseen outcomes.
Most fire elementals knew how to spark a fire from almost nothing and fan the flames, but once it raged out of control, they were helpless. They had to rely on ice or water elementals (their natural opposites) just to barely put it out, though things rarely went as planned.
The fire elemental here, Russell Adler, was never one to let rules get in the way of his goals. He was an expert at burning things to the ground, but he had zero talent for putting out a spark once it got going. The elemental elders were on edge, terrified he might ruin things for everyone. Sure enough, in the modern era, his cover was blown to a government agency... all because of him.
He accidentally used fire to punish human sins, and it was caught on CCTV.
Classified as a dangerous individual, he was locked away for several months, but in order to break out of prison, he almost burned the prison down. Ultimately, that action landed him in a cell equipped with a special firewall.
In the meantime, the elemental elders earnestly begged the government to let him out, negotiating conditions such as him doing community service for human society, and having a monitor assigned to control and watch over his fire powers.
Left with no choice, Russell Adler had to become a public servant, and ironically, he became a firefighter putting out fires. Except for his days off, he always had to stand guard next to a fire truck full of water, which he found deeply displeasing.
"Serves you right."
A whistle and a teasing voice drifted over from somewhere. As Russell adjusted his boots and looked toward the voice, there leaned Lawrence Sims, the water elemental acting as his monitor, resting against a truck.
Lawrence could've stayed blended in with humans without ever getting caught, but because the government demanded a monitor, his identity was forced into the light too.
"I got dragged into the light because of you, and now I'm stuck babysitting you and doing community service to boot," Lawrence said. "I knew you'd pull something eventually, but I never thought you'd go this far."
"…Humans were bound to figure it out sooner or later. They don't rely on pure elements anymore."
Russell muttered bluntly, referring to the reality that humans had mobilized all their intellect to the point of threatening the existence of elementals. Not that humans could completely control the forces of nature, mind you.
"You're just looking at outcomes again, Adler. Then why do people say the journey matters if everyone dies in the end?"
While they were idling, a call came in. Usually, it was mundane stuff rather than actual fires... rescuing a child stuck somewhere, or saving a cat that climbed a tree and couldn't get down.
That day was no different. The report claimed a black cat was throwing a fit, clinging to a branch for hours. Russell and Lawrence sighed, wincing as they stared up at the cat. They filled a half-cut plastic bottle with water, tied it to a long pole, and slowly offered it to the cat. The cat hissed at first, but realizing it was water, started drinking frantically.
Exchanging knowing, smug glances, they watched the cat quickly regain its energy, its dull eyes sharpening right back up. After a few minutes of earning its trust, the cat finally climbed down to the ground.
Job done, Russell let out a dry laugh, picturing the ridiculous scene. Two full-grown, burly men standing under a tree, meowing to reason with a cat.
At that time, you were holding a small party with friends. It was an old house located slightly away from the city; it was quite large, but the owner had abandoned it long ago, the garden was overgrown with weeds, the swimming pool had dried up, and it was practically a haunted ruin.
You went along with your friends, sharing the burden of preparing party supplies with a fluttering heart, and unexpectedly someone brought a generator along with an amplifier so you could play music loudly.
"What if someone finds out because of the noise?"
"Then we just leave and head out. It's far enough from downtown that nobody will know anyway, right?"
This party was actually a small magic party meant to draw upon the desolate energy of the ruin to draw tarot cards or use a Ouija board to ask burning questions. The music wasn't very important, and cooking simple food using the fireplace or camping gear in the house was the entirety of the plan.
Looking closely inside the house, a few vines had grown through unclosed windows into the interior. In a way, it almost looked like a fairy's cottage with how lush the greenery was inside. Your group looked around the house and settled down on a worn rug in what appeared to be the living room.
Several candles in small glass jars cast the jars' colors and patterns onto the surroundings, and you smiled, illuminating each other's faces with the flickering candlelight and the faint glow of the fireplace.
Having turned into witches and wizards, you spent time asking mischievous questions to the Ouija board or tarot cards.
"Hello, hello, if anyone is there, give us a sign."
You and one of your friends closed your eyes, placed both hands on the board's planchette, relaxed your shoulders, and waited for an answer. When doing things like this, someone would often forcibly fabricate answers to liven up the party, but since the two of you were holding hands, you hoped that wouldn't happen.
The planchette didn't move for a while.
"Focus, don't get disappointed."
The friend who served as the leader of the group whispered, and you quickly shook off your disappointment and straightened your posture.
And...
The planchette slid smoothly across the board.
"Oh my god!"
When the planchette stopped, you opened your eyes and checked the answer.
yes......
You held your breath and immediately asked another question.
"...Can you see us? What do you see?"
The planchette lingered for a moment before gliding across the board to indicate an answer.
"......g...r...a...v...e"
When you locked eyes with your friends, unable to hide your brief thrill, the sound of a tree crying echoed from somewhere. In old houses, you could occasionally hear creaking sounds from the wood.
However, the sound quickly died down.
One of your friends grew scared in an instant and wanted to go home, but someone turned on quiet music, easing everyone's anxiety. You soon filled a small camping burner with the stew ingredients you had brought, continuing the party while enjoying the aroma of the simmering dish.
Then someone let out a startled cry, having discovered something in the fireplace.
"What is this? It's not human bone, is it?"
"It's an old house. It wouldn't be strange even if an animal had holed up here."
Driven by curiosity, however, they poked further into the ashes of the fireplace...
And shortly after... what looked like an intact human jawbone emerged from within the ashes.
"Wait... this... I'm getting out of here."
One of your friends tried to rush out, but another stopped them.
"Calm down, that has nothing to do with us. Weren't we supposed to come here precisely because we might find something like this?"
"There's a difference between might find it and actually finding it!"
The two bickered, and your attention was soon stolen by them. One reached out a hand to calm the other, but the panicked one reacted violently and stepped backward...
And immediately kicked over the gas burner and several candles.
...And in the blink of an eye, the fire swiftly leaped onto the old, grease-stained rug, all sorts of junk, and the wild vines creeping through the house.
Leaning against the old sofa in the truck bay and catching light sleep due to the night shift, Russell blinked and snapped awake.
Lawrence, who had been tapping his foot with his legs resting on the makeshift table beside him, glanced over at his sudden movement.
"What? Suddenly feel like setting a fire?"
"Don't joke around, Sims, right now... something is happening."
Since it was night and he had given up on wearing his sunglasses, the anxiety in Russell's eyes was completely exposed to Lawrence.
《Elemental Number Pyro-000 Russell Adler. You are urged to dedicate your life entirely to saving humans from fire, and atone for the actions of your ancestors who intervened in human history out of caprice over thousands of years.》
It was a feeling he hadn't experienced since that impersonal warning (not quite a warning, almost an order) was dropped upon him by government agencies a few months ago.
His anxiety wasn't solely because of the new mission thrust upon him, though.
Something even more urgent...
Yes. Something was calling to him.
Russell marched straight into the chief's office without even knocking and demanded the truck. It was a relatively peaceful night with no false alarms, and the chief, whose tranquility had been disturbed, didn't hide his displeasure.
"What is it, Mr. 'Fairy'? Don't tell me you're bored because nothing's happening? This is how it's supposed to be normally."
Normally, being called a fairy would've been slur enough to set him off, but the look on Russell's face said it all.
"I don't want to fight right now. Just let me use one truck, and the ambulance too."
The chief stared at him for a moment before giving a single nod.
Scarcely a few minutes had passed since the fire started.
It clearly looked like a simple house structure, but as the ceiling began to collapse, viable exits started getting blocked off here and there.
Relying almost entirely on instinct, you moved along a sturdy pillar and found yourself trapped in a small room attached to the living room. With no windows, the oxygen would soon run out.
Debris blocked the entrance, and you had no choice but to watch the fire swell and ripple everywhere through the gaps.
And the carbon monoxide seeping through the cracks would soon turn this room into... a gas chamber and a grave all at once.
Helpless and crushed by the bitter realization that you might meet your death without being able to do a single thing, you sat curled up in a ball.
And in a situation where your life hung in the balance, humans inevitably turned to gods, just as they always did.
When faced with imminent death, humans ultimately end up looking much the same...
They pray, they repent, or they curse.
"Please, if I've done anything wrong in my life... let me live, I don't want to die like this."
As you buried your face in your knees and prayed, toxic gas soon seeped in, threatening to burn your lungs.
Your eyes stung and watered from the violent coughing.
Were you really going to die like this? Really?
Driven to the absolute limit of despair... without you even noticing, a change began to unfold.
A faint crackling sound echoed around you, accompanied by a whispering voice.
Startled, you looked down. Pale frost had begun creeping across the floor in all directions from where you sat. The frost spread further, wrapping around you completely, thickening by the moment.
Moments later, it turned to ice, swelling in volume until it became a solid, protective igloo around you.
By the time you could no longer smell the smoke and gas that had been lingering, you collapsed, losing consciousness.
As Russell's group turned a corner and approached the outer foothills, they spotted a place where the sky was rapidly turning red.
Both the truck crew and the ambulance crew, who had been skeptical and grumbling without believing his directions, were left speechless by the sight. It was a spot barely visible from downtown.
"Dammit…!" the chief swore. "You really are a damn fairy!"
Russell made no reply to those words, silently waiting for the truck to reach the accident site.
If mishandled, the fire threatened to spread into a wildfire.
The trees and grass in the long-neglected garden were like giant kindling; charred ruin aside, preventing it from spreading to the surrounding forest was the top priority.
Lawrence, the water elemental, joined the jet of water streaming from the truck, soaking the surrounding area to prevent the fire from jumping across.
"No choice. We have to break apart the rest of the house to stop the fire..."
"Are you sure? There could be people inside."
"Damn it... This is arson, no matter how you look at it. I can't let the whole forest burn down because of human stupidity. And if I have to take the blame for that, I'll pass." Russell spat through gritted teeth.
With sharp eyes, he identified the structures most susceptible to catching fire. As a fire elemental, he didn't need to study how to discern materials that could fuel a fire; it was like instinct.
Especially since he had more talent for fanning flames than putting them out…
No choice... I have to make a firebreak...
He asked the remaining crew to tear down and separate flammable materials. The house was falling apart anyway.
Its weak points were already exposed, and some were easily stripped away using the tools they carried.
As the dismantling work progressed to a certain degree, they spotted a bluish light leaking from inside the house. And they abruptly felt the surrounding air freeze over.
Yes, this was it... the thing that had been calling to him...!
That cold air met the surrounding heat violently, turning the area into a sauna. Their firefighter helmets began to fill with sweat from the humid heat.
Their house-dismantling work had proceeded efficiently, but they couldn't believe the existence of the massive object revealed right before their eyes...
Before them appeared a solid ice sphere, roughly 1.5 meters in diameter.
Inside this inferno, a solid ice sphere that wouldn't melt...?
Lawrence stopped working and let out a curse. Looking closer, a mysterious white light was leaking from inside the sphere...
"There's a person inside!"
The chief yelled at the top of his lungs.
Russell narrowed his eyes. He clearly saw you, curled up and sitting inside.
"Good God, they're frozen solid in this heat... Sims! Do you know anything about this phenomenon?"
Lawrence shook his head with a grim expression for a split second.
"I can't say for sure… Strictly speaking, that's outside a water elemental's realm. Though I've heard rumors that rare mutations exist."
"Pyro-000, are you the one who discovered that problematic object first?"
By the time daylight broke, a smartly dressed intelligence agency agent was solemnly questioning Russell. As always, they wore an air of bored indifference, neither easily surprised nor particularly interested.
"No. Our entire team discovered it."
"So ever since you showed up, we get to witness such bizarre phenomena. This massive... ice lump isn't your doing, is it? You said you were the one who sets fires, not puts them out, right?"
At the interrogation-like remarks that followed, Russell shook his head. Annoyance flared up at the phrasing, which sounded like it was pinning the blame on him, but he tried to remain as calm as possible.
Before long, the ice sphere containing you was transported to a specially prepared room in the intelligence bureau. They subjected the sphere holding you to all sorts of treatments.
Acts such as firing various kinds of rays at it or scraping its surface. However, although scratched, the sphere immediately returned to its original form.
There was only one effective experiment, and that was a thermal imaging device.
It detected the subtle body temperature you emitted while hibernating.
"Seems like they're alive, though. Literally sleeping like a hibernating bear."
"Bottom line is, that thing is 'unnatural.' Is that acceptable? With elementals and ghosts and all that starting up, things like this started popping up too...? Meaning this is a problem those specters need to sort out amongst themselves."
...In the end, you were left alone with Russell in a room equipped with a special firewall. Of course, you were still unconscious and trapped inside the large sphere.
"It's like a big egg. If I get you out, it'll be like being born by breaking out of an egg... Well then, shall we begin?"
Russell muttered, taking a deep breath to unleash the elemental power that had lingered in both his hands after such a long time.
This room was built to take a scorching anyway. Even with security cameras and wiretaps installed, it was meant to be burnt down.
He fired a 'normal' level of flame at the ice sphere containing you, already expecting that level of flame to easily bounce right off its surface.
He adjusted his sunglasses...
When Russell spread his arms wide, flames erupted from all directions, crashing mercilessly against your ice egg like a blast furnace.
For Russell, the liberation of unleashing his fire power after so long felt palpable, even if it was being applied to an absurd chunk of ice...
As ice met fire, dense, boiling steam billowed out into the room. It felt entirely different from simple fire colliding with water. The ice wall encasing you gradually began to thin out.
"To think it's this hard to see your face... You really must be a mutation. Come on out now, no need to be shy..."
Having exerted the power of his flames for so long, his mental stamina naturally began to drain. Even for him, unleashing so much restricted power all at once was taking its toll.
Soon after, the core of the ice sphere came into view, and it was a surprisingly soft, almost mushy liquid.
It was a fluid substance much like the Earth's mantle, absorbing all the impacts inflicted on the sphere so far to protect you.
And that substance gradually crumbled away, exposing you to the air... looking just like someone emerging from a mother's amniotic fluid.
Russell was dripping with sweat, but he didn't even bother to wipe it away.
Instead, he simply walked over to your soaked, unconscious form, gently brushing the wet hair stuck to your forehead out of the way.
The result?
The elementals had recovered one of their own lost to the past.
You were actually the descendant of a water elemental. Raised as an ordinary human from a young age because living as an elemental was too difficult, you had spent your entire life suppressing your true nature.
However, after being pent up for so long, the power of water had driven itself to its absolute extreme, manifesting as the power of ice.
There was no escaping it. You just had to embrace your new life as the prime Ice Elemental... And instead of Lawrence, you were chosen as the new monitor to keep Adler's fire in check.
As the only entity powerful enough to curb Russell's destructive might...
......So in the end, you too became an elemental registered with the national intelligence agency right alongside Adler.
[Creator's Note]
...In this story, the reader seemed far too shy😆, only revealing themselves to Adler after receiving a massive blast of fire from him.
In a way, it's a bit like a twisted variation of Sleeping Beauty... though, let's be honest, an awakening wouldn't be nearly as fun if it happened too easily.
My final reference sheet for the au! The next thing I will do for the AU is the lore for it but it will take a long time bc I need to think about multiple ideas to form the lore, however, I will post some information, illustration, and doodles abt the au.
