*-(J.R. Tolkien, LOTR)

Well, here is the chapter you've all been waiting for! The faceoff! (Its a little violent btw.) Sorry it took a little longer. I'm just working on a project for my cousin, so im being kept busy. The next chapter will take a little longer too, because I will have to plan it carefully. So, it will be out sometime next week.

I hope you guys like this, and if there is anything I need to improve on, or change about my writing, please leave a comment. I don't know what I need to improve on, only my loyal readers do.

Enjoy!

"Chapter 9: Outcome"

The note told me everything. Rhidion was watching me, so if I tried to escape with Tobey, he'd kill us both. He said after I freed Tobey, I had to go into the actual auditorium part of the building. It said Tobey was in the lobby. I had found that second note from Rhidion on the building door that led into the lobby. After reading it, I tore it down and ripped it to shreds. There would be no evidence.

I flung the doors open and just as the note said, Tobey was tied to a chair right there in the lobby. The sight made me gasp, even though it shouldn't have surprised me. It was the normal capture routine. 'Tie your captive to a chair and put a cloth over their mouth.' I sped over him. The cloth was the first to go.

"Oh, Wordgirl! That man! That man kidnapped me!" He exclaimed to me as I untied the rest of the rope. "We've got to get out of here!"

He started pulling me, but I didn't budge. I stood my ground.

"C'mon! What are you waiting for?" He demanded, trying harder to pull me.

I sighed. I glanced up on the wall and saw a security camera. So that's how he was watching me. I glared at the camera, making sure Rhidion got the point. I was angry at him for putting me through that.

"Becky! Let's go!"

"No."

The boy genius stopped tugging.

"Huh?"

"No. We aren't going. You are," I explained calmly. I didn't want to lose control of myself. Not there. Not in front of Him.

"What are you talking about? Of course you are coming!" He started pulling again.

That time, I jumped away.

"No, I'm not! I can't," I told him, lowering my head.

There it was again; the fight, the tears, just like the other day. But that time, NOTHING would change my mind. If something could've, then Paige would have figured it out and convinced me.

"What do you mean?" He demanded with the same sad tone as in the other fight.

"It's a trade off, Tobey. A life for a life," I told him.

It took him a few seconds to figure it out. Then, his face went pale, his mouth dropped open, and his eyes went extra wide.

"No! Absolutely not!" He responded loudly.

I shook my head. I knew I would've been able to get him out without telling him what had to go down.

"You can't sacrifice your life for mine! You can't…And I won't let you!"

"It's not your choice! It's mine! I'm saving you and there's nothing you can do about it!" I replied, starting to yell like him.

"Then, I'm staying right here! You can't make me leave!"

He pitifully ran behind the chair like a child who didn't want to do what his parents wanted him to do.

"Oh, yes you will!"

"Nope! Didn't you pay attention the other day? I can't live without my gravity! FYI, that's you! You can't die and leave me alone!" Tobey commanded.

"YOU should've paid attention!" I made my way over to him. "I said I'd give my life for yours! And that's what I'm doing!"

"No! If you die, I die!"

"NO!" I growled. "You. Will. Live. You are going to live. You will live until it is truly your time. It is not your time now. It's mine. You better do what I say. You will NOT kill yourself."

The boy stepped back one step.

"It's my time now, like I said. I will go to the best place there is. Someday, while riding on the ship, a gray curtain will be lifted. And then, you will see it."

I stared off into space. He watched me, waiting for me to continue.

"See what?"

"White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise*. You will see me there someday, when it is your time. I will be happy. Away from the drama that has come to me in the past couple days. I can be at peace."

Tobey looked about to cry. He was obviously a very emotional person.

"This is what I want, Tobey. This is my destiny. I love you, but I have to do this," I finished.

I walked over to him, and hugged him. Shockingly, he hugged back. He finally understood, most likely more than Paige had. We pulled apart and I smiled at him. The final smile I'd give to him; the final moments I could see him.

"Have Paige tell you everything. She's at my house. Tell her I am truly sorry," I commanded of the boy.

He nodded.

"Goodbye, Tobey."

"Goodbye…Becky," He squeaked.

I watched him walk out of the door. I spun towards the theater door.

It was time.

OOoo

I kicked the auditorium door wide open. Anger was flowing through me. Everything was being taken from me. Everything and everyone I loved, including my own life. I was going to let it all out on him before I went out. I wasn't going down without a fight.

"Rhidion! Where are you? I'm here," I yelled into the empty theater.

While walking down the middle aisle, I scanned the room for the villain. Nobody was in sight anywhere. Where was he? He was probably playing a trick on me, waiting to lunge. I spun around and looked everywhere. I wanted to be ready for it. He wasn't going to catch me off guard.

Once I was 25 percent down the aisle, I stopped. The theater was chilly and I shivered. An empty theater was kind of creepy, with cold wind running down your spine. I became less angry. Fear filled the places anger left.

Unexpectedly, the door right by the stage opened. I narrowed my eyes, expecting Rhidion. I found someone I did not expect.

Tom the janitor backed in with his mop cart.

He turned around and gasped, "Oh, Wordgirl! Am I interrupting something?"

I shook my head and giggled, but then I frowned.

"What are you doing here? My friend Becky said you worked at the school," I asked, not taking my eyes off of him. His arrival disturbed me a little bit.

"Second job, honey."

That came as a shock.

"But you would know all about Becky Botsford, wouldn't you, sweetie?"

At that moment, I knew something was definitely off.

"Wait…what?"

He smiled evilly. I turned around to see if Rhidion had snuck up behind me. Nope. I faced the janitor again. He reached for his shirt. Oh no, I thought. When someone starts taking off their clothes, you know something is wrong. He unbuttoned his janitor's shirt to a black shirt. I have to say: I was kind of relieved, but not after his next move. He took off his hat and replaced it with black sunglasses. He pulled out from the mop cart a brown trench coat. I immediately noticed the brown boots on his feet. How had I not noticed those the day before? He smiled again, bigger, revealing his identity.

Rhidion.

I moaned. I had fallen for his trick. He had been at school, and tricked me into talking to him. Paige hadn't taught me anything about trickery, though it was a very typical villain thing to do. I didn't belong in any honor classes. I noticed, however, instead of guns in his trench coat, he had a sword in one pocket, and a knife in the other.

"What happened to your guns?" I asked curiously.

Yep, I was postponing my death. Luckily, I found out very fast that the guy loved to talk.

"I thought I'd make the fight fairer. Why? Do you prefer guns over swords?" He answered, smirking at me as he walked slowly from the door.

I gulped and shook my head.

"Guess that answers my question. It was just so easy to find out who you were," He continued.

I felt like smacking myself. How had I fallen for the incognito trick? I should've known better! Huggy was always about disguises those days. At least I was mentally kicking myself.

"Personally, I like interrogating my victims before killing them, so I hope you don't mind me talking," Rhidion said, walking up the far left aisle, slowly.

'I don't mind. I'm not looking forward to dying."

"That's not what you told your boyfriend before sending him off."

"Well, I'm not ready yet. I guess that's what I mean right now."

He chuckled. I had some final tricks up my sleeve.

"But why would you want to kill me? If I'm such a powerful piece, then why don't you force me to join your side? I could be a great asset to your side," I asked the villain.

He chuckled again, "Smart girl, trying to pull off something like that. Alas, it's not working. Why do you think we can't pull you onto our side? Because you can't be trusted!" He paused to look at my expression. "You have too many friends and family on the good side. Also, you are a superhero! You fight for justice! You'd betray us in a moment."

I lowered my head, for he had figured out my intentions. I'd have to think of more things to keep him going.

"You really thought we were that gullible and stupid? Well you were mistaken, Wordgirl. I am going to enjoy killing you."

I raised my head and glared at him.

"And how do you know you are going to kill me? I'm going to put up a fight, you know. There's always a chance for a miracle."

He laughed. "Do you know how dangerous I am? I thought that diviner would have told you all about me, being The Dead Lord's most dangerous general."

I thought up another sentence to keep him talking, "So you are a Lexiconian, not a monster. What two powers do you have then?"

He seemed to become amused once I had asked that. He evidently was very conceited; loving to talk about himself.

"Fighting and speed. And now, the atmosphere has enhanced my powers. You really think you have a chance?"

"Well, you keep saying I'm a threat. A very dangerous threat. An important piece of the puzzle. A powerful player in the game." Great, I was starting to sound like Lady Redundant Woman. "That's why you are killing me, right? Then don't I clearly have a shot?"

He thought to himself for 30 seconds, although it felt like hours. Apparently, my words meant something. At least, I thought they had anyway.

I just stood there as he stood where he was, thinking to himself. Rhidion was either contemplating my words, or trying to make me paranoid. And it was working.

"Huh. There is some truth in your words. Daughter of the general, 4 powers, lived on Earth, and learned on Earth. Nevertheless, I am still better," He finally said.

I frowned, "What? 4 powers?"

"You possess speed, strength, divining, and a power I have not faced or even seen. Flying," He explained, slowly walking again.

Flying. Why had I never thought about that ability, and why had Paige not explained it? I didn't like that she was keeping stuff from me.

"Don't ask me how you got that power, because I'm not entirely sure. I'm not some stalker that knows everything about you," Rhidion continued.

I couldn't help but smile. It was like he was talking about Paige. It sure seemed like she was sometimes, but I knew she could read my mind, plus she was extremely smart. Too bad she would never explain to me my flying abilities.

"You know thought, Rhidion, you are a stalker. You watched me a school, and apparently stopping villains and at Tobey's house! Creeper!" I joked. Using teen lingo was actually a lot of fun.

He rolled his eyes.

"You don't know a creeper until you've met The Creeper on Lexicon. He's one of the creepiest guys I've ever met. All teens think they know everything," He told me, directly across from me in his aisle.

"Some do," I murmured, taking a step back.

"So, Wordgirl," The villain leaned on a chair, "Can you define the word 'procrastinate' for me?"

I gulped. He was catching on. And wasn't he a Lexiconian? All Lexiconians were word fans. Oh well. He knew my motive behind asking so many questions.

"Enough stalling," He announced.

Rhidion jumped over all of the seats and landed right in front of me.

"Time to die."

He whipped out his knife and in the same motion, slashed it at me. He missed me by mere inches. On instinct, I flew up quickly to the rafters. I had to come up with a game plan first.

He frowned at me before throwing the knife at me. He really proved that he had super speed. Again, it missed me merely by inches, since I flew to the left in time. I had no clue why my body was so reflexive. For some reason, I had natural fighting instincts.

"Your flying ability and super speed gives you help, Wordgirl. C'mon! Fight me!" He ordered me from down on the floor.

I eyed the knife stuck in the ceiling and pulled it out. He laughed. I guessed he didn't believe I could do anything with the knife. Frankly, neither did I.

I lowered myself down to him. I kept a good 5 ft. in between me and him. He swung the sword over my head. I dodged it, ducking down into a somersault. He was as quick as me.

As I flew up from the ground, he slashed my stomach. Fortunately, it only formed a long cut on my stomach. I gaped for breath. The blood started coming out, not that it was noticeable.

I hadn't even had time to use the knife. It was still in my hand.

"Use the knife," Paige said in my head.

I was confused for a second, but I quickly took the advice. I flew with my super speed down towards him and landed on my feet, ready to counter his strike.

I was completely unprepared for him to slash my arm. Again, it was a mere cut. I gripped my arm in pain and flew back up.

Rhidion growled. He obviously was getting annoyed with all of my escapes. It was very coward-like, but I had a gift. I was going to use it.

"Come down here and fight like a man!" The villain set down his sword; so naturally, I stuck the knife back in the ceiling.

I had never fought someone in hand-to-hand combat before; I never had to with the Fair City villains. Argh! If only Paige had trained me! Of course, it was my fault she hadn't had the opportunity.

I let myself down for the third time and he immediately swung a punch. I sidestepped, dodging it. He threw more punches and I dodged all of them. No wonder I was the dodge ball champion in school. I thought I had started getting the hang of it.

Out of the blue, he kicked my stomach, and I bent over in pain. I swiftly retreated. My body was getting brutally beaten. He huffed and glared as I floated back up onto a wooden rafter.

"Being the daughter of the general gives you fighting instincts, but it does not save you," Rhidion said from below.

"Offense! Use more offense," Paige demanded of me.

Huh? I was using offense! Or was I?

"Defend! Offend! Use the knife!" The girl started yelling into my head.

I was more scared of her at that point then Rhidion.

Matching his pace, I swiftly deflected a strike at my side with the knife. I sidestepped rapidly. We both had super speed so it went fast. I countered his swing at my stomach. I moved towards him, forcing him to back up.

Astoundingly, my instincts got me to use the knife and catch his sword on its hilt. Rhidion was as surprised as I was when I sent his sword flying into the ceiling. I grinned and jabbed at his arm. Offense was good. Sometimes.

My knife was in the ceiling as well in a second after he grabbed it and threw it up there.

The sudden punch in my face sent me down onto the ground. I rolled to the right, logically, dodging his kick that would have broken my ribs. I jumped up on my feet. I did a fun ninja kick right onto his stomach, forcing him to bend over.

He stood up, obviously unhurt. Oh, I always wanted to do a ninja kick that would actually hurt someone. I threw my fist at his face, but before I knew what hit me, I was lying on my back again. He had ducked down and kicked my legs, causing me to fall.

He was then standing over me, and kicked my side. It hurt badly. I saw his evil smirk.

Retreating was something I really loved doing. I sped back up to the rafters. I had a ton of bruises and he cuts continued to bleed. I hung onto a rafter, while the villain paced down below. He didn't even appear to be wounded what so ever.

I inhaled the last breaths my lungs would take in. I had to enjoy every breath, every blink, every tiny sound, for it would all disappear. There was just no way I could beat Rhidion.

"You fight well, Wordgirl. However, you are not properly trained. You must realize there is no way to beat me. I have no weaknesses!" He yelled up to me.

I was relieved he couldn't jump up to me. I needed my last moments of rest.

"The knife, Becky! Grab the knife!" Paige ordered me.

I shook my head. 'There's no good I can do with that thing,' I thought, 'I'm just going to give up.'

"No! Take the knife; make a tornado around him, throw the knife at him to distract him, and then fly with all of your super speed and super strength at him right after. You have to try," She explained.

I sighed. It was a good thing she was talking in my head, and not out so He could hear. It was my last shot, my final idea. After that, I'd have no strength left, and I'd give in for him to finish it.

I flew over to the knife slowly, and pulled it out. He smiled at me right before I flew down. I started making the tornado. He was confused at what I was doing, so the villain didn't do anything. He just stood there with his hands on his hips, with a huge frown.

I went faster and faster, making my way up. He started looking extremely smug then. I prayed that he didn't know what my plan was. Unfortunately, why else would he look smug?

I commenced phase two straight away, throwing the knife with all of my force from the middle of the tornado.

I flew to the top of it while he caught the knife and said, "Nice try."

Then, it happened. All in about 2 seconds.

I flew down at him, with everything I had. When I made contact, there was an enormous burst and I was flung back onto the wall. It was a powerful explosion.

Implanted in the wall, I didn't dare to open my eyes. The light of the explosion had blinded me, but it was over. I just didn't want to watch him finally destroy me. I also didn't want to see the destruction that had been made.

I listened to the sound of footsteps coming towards me. Strangely, they were much faster than I expected. Maybe he was in a hurry to kill me before I escaped again. But I wasn't going to escape, not that time.

The footsteps stopped right in front of me, and I tightened my eyes even more, waiting for the final blow. I had no strength left to fight back. It was time to end it.

I waited for what seemed like minutes before someone started shaking my shoulders.

"Wake up!" Rhidion demanded.

My ears weren't working well, so I couldn't hear right. His voice sounded mixed with different pitches and like it was underwater. Great, he WANTED me to watch him kill me. But I kept them shut. I wanted to die with my eyes closed.

"Wake up! You did it! You're not dead!" The voice continued. It started sounding not like his voice then.

I still had the strength to frown. Why was Rhidion saying that? Well, I figured there was no point in keeping my eyes closed, so I opened them to slits. There, with not much surprise, I found Paige with her hands on my shoulders.

"Paige?" I forced out of my throat. She always showed up in the weirdest situations randomly. Where had she come from? And where was Rhidion?

I opened my eyes wider and tired to peer around the girl. Paige took the hint and moved so I could see.

Where Rhidion had been standing was smoke and a large, black, burnt mark on the velvet floor.

"What…happened to him?" I asked, turning towards Paige. I hoped he hadn't escaped.

She grinned, "No, Becky. He didn't escape. He doesn't, oh, I mean, he didn't have the power of transportation. You blew him up with your force. Well, your tornado helped too, but the point is you defeated him!"

Suddenly, I had strength again. Life was returning to me. My ears perked up as well as my face. Color returned to my skin; bruises and cuts healed and vanished. My glory had healed me.

"That's a onetime thing, Becks. After your first victory for any Lexiconian, glory heals your body. I remember my first victory…" Paige trailed off, staring off into space.

That was a story she definitely had to tell me another time. I had other questions.

"But Paige, if you could have helped me all along, why didn't you tell me back at the house?"

Her not telling me that little detail had caused a lot of trouble. She could have saved me a lot of grief and belief that I was going to die.

"Because you needed to believe you were going to die, so you'd give it your all and not rely on me. Also, if I had told you, you would have gone into the battle, smug and sincere that you would win, and that would blind you. It turned out better this way," The girl explained.

Fair enough. She had points.

"What about my flying ability? You never explained why I have it," I continued.

She giggled.

"I don't know. I don't know everything. I'm not a stalker that knows everything about you."

Déjà-vu. Maybe she had known what he said and she was just repeating his words.

WHOOSH! The loud sound went over the top of the building. It shook the entire building, making some wood fall from the ceiling. Paige and I stared at the ceiling; me confused and Paige scared.

"Oh no," She muttered.

I looked back at her. What was that sound?

Suddenly, she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the wall. The girl started dragging me quickly towards the door. A silver thing caught my eye right next to the burnt mark.

"Hold on!" I demanded and ran for the item.

It was my knife. I picked it up. My constellation prize. The thing that saved me.

"Hurry!" Paige commanded, pulling me again. I hadn't had enough time to admire the knife before we got into the lobby.

We ran outside to an odd sight. A huge, circular space ship landed right in front of the building and the whole building and ship was under a blue bubble. The bubble was glowing slightly, but didn't seem to have a place where it came from.

I turned my attention back to the ship. The bottom opened and mist swirled out. Lights floated with it, creating an eerie fog.

Paige mumbled in a dark voice, "They're here."

PS: You might notice that the prologue isn't in here. Well, it was just foreshadowing the event, not exactly what Becky would describe. Thank you. BTW: The lack of comments is depressing…