Finally back from my vacation, but I was constantly working even on break. Cause my mind won't shut up. Oh well here's the next chapter.
I do not own Digimon.
ABC = Talking
ABC = Thoughts or Flashbacks
Chapter 24: Earthquake
A small child shivered atop the stairwell. His small hands gripped on the wood railing as he peered down into the darkened halls. He was as quiet as a dormouse. He didn't want to be caught awake at this hour of the night.
But how could he sleep?
He sat there quietly and listened to the angry voices shouting back and forth at each other. Harsh threats and profanities too unrecognizable for a young child's ear echoed through the halls. Did they know that they had woken him? Did they even care? Who could say really?
With a small whimper, the child slowly crawled his way back upstairs, taking extra precaution not to let the floors creak. He slumped his way back to his room and crawled into bed. He picked up his scattered blankets and brought them up to his chin. He dug his face into his pillow and tried to drown himself into the feel and smell of the cotton, but it was no use. The faintest of muffled shouting reach his ears and kept him awake. With a sniffle his turned his head to the side and stared at the wall, waiting and hoping for darkness to overtake him.
Lucas blinked his eyes open. He let out a bored yawn before stretching and shifting on the rock he was sitting on. He leaned his head back and inhaled deeply, taking in the dry, dusty air of the silent canyon. He blinked a few more times and stared blankly at the sky. The darkness from the canyon made it seem brighter than it actually was. Lucas sniffed again.
"I'm getting tired of waiting," he thought as he lowered his head, "I know you're coming for me, so why is it taking so damn long? Don't chicken out on me."
He leaned his head back down and sighed irritably. That damn memory. Why'd he have to think about that now of all times? It should matter now anyway, it would only be a distraction. His eyebrows scrunched together and he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Goddammit, I need to get my head in the game," Lucas said to himself, "I'm not gonna lose today."
The sound of falling rocks suddenly caught his attention. He glanced up and saw a few tiny rocks sliding down the canyon wall, and right behind them followed the thunder warrior. Shibayama land one the ground a few feet in front of him, his back turned and unaware of his presence.
"Finally," Lucas sneered as he watched the warrior search for him, since he was well hidden in the shadows. Shibayama. The teen seemed to have an irritating effect on him for some reason he couldn't quite explain. However, Lucas had promised him a fight and he was a man true to his word.
"I know you're here! Stop hiding and let's finish this!"
"I'm not hiding," Lucas spoke up to the searching teen. He smirked when he saw J.P jump then turn to face him, "I was wondering when you'd show up," Lucas said. The glare that was present on the thunder warrior's face was striking.
"Well…here I am," J.P stated to him.
"That's good, I was getting pretty bored of just sitting here," Lucas smirked as he stood up on his rock and waved his hammer around tauntingly, "So, how's it gonna be? You gonna beg for me to give this up and say how much you wanna help me?" J.P snorted.
"There'd be no point would there?" J.P muttered, "You won't listen no matter what I say."
Lucas chuckled, "Too right," he gripped his weapon tighter and grinded his teeth together in a manic smile, "So you ready for that brawl I promised, Shibayama?"
J.P sneered, "I don't really have a choice. I don't see why you're so eager though?"
"Ah you don't know me at all, Shibayama," Lucas laughed mockingly, "It's nothing really personal, it's just the way things are. People fight and the strong stay on top. Sorry about that," he spoke in his cocky manner.
"What make you think I'll lose?" J.p asked him.
"Hmm," Lucas hummed, still wearing his arrogant smirk that made J.P's eye twitch in annoyance, "Heh, if you think I'm scared of losing to you, think again. You're friend's maybe, but you…not so much. I remember back on earth, I would always see you slouching around behind your other friends. You don't like much of a threat to me."
"Don't be so sure," J.P stated, a smirk appeared on his face while a frown replaced Lucas's, "You talk pretty big, but so far every time we've met you've yet to beat me," J.P stated boldly. He could he struck a nerve in the earth warrior. His once overconfident expression had become a menacing glare. J.P didn't stop there though.
"Don't you remember back at the temple…or maybe you don't since you were knocked out at the time…by me!" That was the straw that broke the camel's back. In a millisecond, Lucas leapt from his perch and his hammer struck the ground in front of the thunder warrior.
"Shit!" J.P jumped away just in time so the attack didn't reach him. The hammer struck the ground with such force that it left behind a small crater and shook the earth. J.P looked on with a slightly nervous gaze, "Well, that got his attention." J.P looked back up. The shaking had stopped and the dust settled revealing the earth warrior to him. Lucas was staring back at him, the glare unchanged.
"The taunter doesn't like to be taunted, I see!" J.P exclaimed. Lucas huffed and pulled his hammer from the ground then slung it across his back.
"I was getting annoyed of all your talking," Lucas said in an eerily calm tone.
"Fine! I'm done talking anyway!" J.P exclaimed then lunged forward. Lucas watched him come closer with the look of a hunter ready to gun down his prey. At the last second, Lucas took his hammer and swung it like a bat at the warrior. J.P was quick to see this though; he ducked and dodged the attack, surprising the earth warrior. J.P then swung his fist and punched him right above his eye. Lucas grunted, but didn't even flinch. He glared and snarled at the thunder warrior, feeling with a sense of unnerving dread. Lucas swung his hammer again. This time he struck J.P's side and he was sent tumbling across the rocks until his backs collided with the canyon wall. He pulled himself up, gasping and flinching as he grasped his side. He looked back and saw Lucas rushing at him.
"Rawrgh!" Lucas roared with rage as he ran towards him and swung his hammer. J.P let out a yelp and quickly ducked away from the attack. The hammer struck the canyon wall, breaking off large chunks of rocks. Lucas sung his hammer again and again J.P dodged. The weapon collided against the wall and created numerous cracks in the hard stone. Lucas growled and yanked it away from the rock.
"Bastard!" he snarled as he lifted the weapon above his head, "Fight back!" he exclaimed as he swung it down upon the thunder warrior. J.P quickly held up his hands and caught the hammer's head before it reached him. Lucas growled with anger and pushed the weapon harder against the warrior. J.P groaned at the burning tension in his arms as he pushed back. Lucas was strong, stronger than J.P had first thought. He could feel the armor on his back scraped up against the stone behind him. His boots were sliding on the sandy ground as he struggled to remain standing. For a moment, he locked eyes with Lucas and the look there was startling. There was an intenseness to it, like a predator that had cornered its prey. Prey that J.P refused to be. J.P summoned all of his strength and forcefully started pushing the hammer back up against its wielder. Lucas snarled, a bit surprised at the sudden burst of strength, and forced the weapon even harder against the thunder warrior.
"Ah!" J.P's muscles cried under the added pressure. It was beginning to feel as though his arms might snap. This wasn't a time to give in though. J.P took in a deep breath, then gave one last hard shove against the earth warrior, knocking their foreheads together as well. Lucas sputtered and stepped backwards in shock. Finally free, J.P then kicked straight up, catapulting the hammer out of Lucas's hand and high up into the air.
Lucas growled and lunged for the thunder warrior with a raised fist. J.P quickly blocked the punch, but Lucas was moving too fast. With his free hand, Lucas then grabbed J.P'S head and slammed it against the rock. J.P became stunned as his head was pounded against the wall, giving him no time to react when Lucas grabbed him by the collar and flung him over his shoulder. J.P flipped in the air a few times before landing roughly on the ground on his back. Lucas looked up and saw his hammer making its descent. He leaped up and latched onto the wall then leapt up into the air and grabbed the falling weapon with ease. He looked down and saw J.P groaning on the ground below.
"Heh, too easy," Lucas sneered.
"SIESMIC SLEDGE!"
J.P groaned as he tried to sit up, but to no avail. He looked up, blinked a few times as his vision was fuzzy. He shook his head of the fog. His vision and his eyes widened. He saw the earth warrior coming down straight at him. J.P reacted quickly
"THUNDER FIST!"
J.P called out his attack just as the earth warrior reached him. His electrified fist collided against the hammer's face. The result was something like a sonic boom that rung throughout the canyon and shook both warriors to their core. Lucas was propelled backwards from the impact and collided with the wall behind him then collapsed to the ground. J.P was pushed harder into the ground from the forceful blow, leaving him momentarily breathless. J.P gasped and groaned as he rolled off of his back and onto his side. He clutched his throbbing fist, hissing as he flexed his fingers. Nothing seemed broken and he felt relief at that. He tried to get up, but suddenly felt small objects fall onto his head. He turned and saw more tiny rock fall on his face. His breath hitched when he saw cracks forming in the stone above him. His panic rose when he felt the ground beneath him. He leapt to his feet and saw cracks forming on the ground. Then, just as soon as it started, the rumbling stopped.
"This place is gonna fall apart if we keep this up," J.P thought. He heard a faint groan and turned to see Lucas beginning to stand, using his hammer as support. A spark of realization hit him. "The hammer!"
"Nishimura! Drop the hammer!" J.P shouted. Lucas looked at him with confusion.
"And why would I do that?" Lucas questioned with a sneer.
"Look around us!" J.P shouted, "This place is unstable! Another one of your earthquakes and we're buried under a pile of rubble!" he shouted as he waved his arm around gesturing to the area. Lucas glanced around the canyon. Though he eyed a few of the cracks in the walls, J.P could see the uncaring look on his face.
"How 'bout you just drop the hammer and fight me with your bare hands. I thought that how you preferred your brawls anyway?" J.P stated. Lucas's gaze turned back to him. J.P stared daggers at the earth warrior's blank gaze. Lucas chewed his bottom lip and looked down to his weapon in mock contemplation. He suddenly snickered and twirled the hammer in his hand.
"…No," he said with a coy smile. J.P's eyes widened at this.
"What?! Did you not hear what I just said?" J.P shouted.
"Oh yeah, I did," Lucas answered calmly, "I just don't care."
"Damn son of a-"J.P muttered lowly, "Are you saying that you'd rather risk a chance of dying than losing some stupid brawl?"
"…meh," Lucas shrugged. J.P growled in both agitation and annoyance, causing the earth warrior to snicker at his plight, "You're taking too seriously, don't ya think?" Lucas humored.
"I don't think you're taking this serious enough," J.P shot back.
"Oh come on!" Lucas rolled his eyes and tilted his head back.
"You laugh, but the reason I'm so serious about this is because there are other people's lives at risk. People I care about and so should you!" J.P shouted while pointing an accusing finger at the teen.
"Is that so?" Lucas asked, lowering his head back down to stare at the larger teen, "And tell me…Why should give a damn about a bunch of people I don't know? Seems like a waste of time to me."
"Tch, are you serious?" J.P growled, "There's really nothing you care about back on earth?" he asked. Lucas stared at him blankly for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. J.P shook his head in disbelief.
"You know Nishimura, I never liked you. Even if I had known you before all this, I still wouldn't have liked you," J.P said in a much calmer and softer tone. Lucas cocked his brow at the thunder warrior. What the hell was he talking about? He didn't care about this. He didn't care about what Shibayama or anyone else thought about him. It's not like any of that mattered in the end.
"You're a jerk. You're an asshole. You pick on the weak just because you think that'll make you strong," J.P continued. Though his voice never raised an octave, his tone was that of someone scolding a small child. Lucas narrowed his eyes. Now he was just spitting out information that he already knew. What was he trying to do, make him feel sorry for all the crap he did back home? If that was the case then he was wasting his time. He knew what he was. He knew what he did. What was he supposed to do about it, go back and apologize to everybody he had ever beaten to a pulp in the street. Sorry, but that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't about to drop to his knees and repent for all of his acts. Easier said than done. People don't change that easily or sometimes not at all.
"But…" J.P paused.
"But?" Lucas repeated. After a few seconds of silence, J.P said…
"…I still don't think you're a bad person…"
Lucas froze, eye wide, mouth agape, and completely dumbfounded. "W-wh…eh?" For the first time in a long time, Lucas was speechless. He never expected him to say something like that, especially after everything else. He didn't know what to say to that honestly. He's been called asshole, douchebag, cretin, and every other foul insult he could think off and he's never even batted an eye, but a simple sentence like that left him totally stupefied. He looked back over to J.P. The thunder warrior was just standing there, patiently watching for his response. Lucas curled his lips into a sneer.
"Are you serious!?" Lucas yelled at him. J.P gave a small nod. Lucas stepped back a bit, but didn't let his sneer falter, "Yeah…and what makes you say that?"
"You haven't denied it," J.P responded.
"What...I-I…what does that prove huh!?" Lucas shouted, nerves clearly on edge.
"Look how much you're freaking out! Normally you'd just laugh and shrug it off, but this isn't the case! Obviously I'm right!" J.P refuted, his voice rising to match the earth warrior's. Lucas's shoulders shook as his chest heaved up and down in furious breaths. "Well, am I!?" J.P shouted. Lucas growled and trembled with anger before raising his hammer again.
"Enough talking!" Lucas roared and charge at the warrior, swinging his hammer down at great speed. J.P quickly jumped away from the attack and landed in the dirt a foot away from him. J.P looked back and saw the fuming warrior surrounded by a cloud of dust. Though slightly startled, he had to keep pressing.
"Why is that making you so angry huh?" J.P continued questioning, ignoring the sharp glare being pointed at him, "Is it because you're a fake who only acts like a tough guy!"
"Shut up dammit!" Lucas charged for him again, flailing his weapon about clumsily. J.P easily blocked the surprisingly weak blow with his arm. Taking the advantage, J.P grabbed the shaft of the hammer. Lucas was too shocked by the teen's boldness to do anything. J.P then yanked hard and lifted the stunned warrior off his feet. J.P spun around and broke Lucas's weak grip on the weapon. Lucas was flung forward and his back collided harshly with the canyon wall. He landed face first on the ground, coughing violently and head throbbing with pain from the impact. J.P tossed the weapon into the air, where it impacted with the wall above and stuck there. Lucas glanced up and saw his hammer embedded within the rock and growled lowly, but couldn't find the strength to get up yet. Instead, he turned his attention back to the thunder warrior.
"So what…you saying I'm a good person now?" Lucas asked.
"No I still think you're an asshole, but I said I don't think you're all bad," J.P replied.
"Why? Just because I haven't killed you yet or sometin'?" Lucas asked.
"You're not going to kill me," J.P stated.
"Wanna bet!" Lucas exclaimed.
"Answer this! Why do you keep putting up this false tough, don't care about anybody, guy act? Why do care about proving to everybody that you're stronger than them?" J.P questioned.
"Because that's how you survive!" Lucas suddenly snapped. J.P stepped back at the outburst, warily watching as the earth warrior pulled himself up, "If you're not strong, you're weak. If you're weak, you lose. When you lose, you get buried. That's how the world works Shibayama," he stated.
"That's not true," J.P replied.
"Yeah maybe not for you," Lucas continued. His tone and expression had once again lost the traces of anger and was replaced by a more sullen expression, "You're strong Shibayama, I'll even admit that, but you let people walk all over you despite that."
"So I should just be like you and pummel anybody who crosses my path? Sorry, not gonna happen," J.P said.
"Heh, don't expect ya to," Lucas chuckled, "That's another problem with you. You're strong, but you're soft. You care too much about people and that'll slow you down."
"Tch, says only you," J.P sneered, "What's the problem with care about others or relying on friends? That sounds better than being alone and bitter towards everything and everyone like you seem to be."
"I ain't bitter, I'm just realistic."
"Realistic?! I think you're delusional! I don't get what could be so bad that you'd be willing to follow some maniac!" J.P exclaimed. Lucas didn't answer. He turned his head away and looked to the ground. J.P let his anger fade as he watched him. For a split second, he saw what looked like sadness pass through his features, as though he were reminiscing about something. If he was hiding something truly depressing behind his tough guy façade, then he must desperately want to keep it that way.
"Nishimura," J.P called out to him, "I do want to help you." Lucas's head turned back at that statement and he glared at the teen.
"I don't need your help," he snarled.
"I think you do," J.P said.
"I don't want your help! I ain't some weakling asking for help from some 'hero' like you or your friends!" Lucas exclaimed.
"Accepting help is not a form of weakness, idiot!" J.P shouted back.
"I don't care! Our world is cruel and I'm going to keep getting stronger, cause I have to be! I have to be for her!" Lucas shouted at the top of his lungs.
"…her?" J.P repeated questioningly. Lucas's eyes went wide, releasing what he just blurted out in his anger fueled rant. J.P eyed him curiously, noticing the almost frightened expression on his face. What did he mean by her? He didn't have any friends, as far as J.P knew, and certainly he didn't have a girlfriend. So there was only one other conclusion that he couldn't have come up with.
"Her? Do you mean your family? Your…mom?" J.P then asked him. Panic overtook the earth warrior's expression. Sweat rolled off his forehead and his breathing turned heavy. J.P's own eyes began to widen. That little slip up just answered a lot of questions to him, but why was he so upset over that? "Is that it then?" J.P asked. Lucas's expression suddenly switched back to anger and he lunged at the thunder warrior with a furious roar and a raised fist. J.P was quick to jump away from the oncoming punch. Lucas instead continued moving forward until his fist collided with the opposite rock wall. J.P stared in shock and awe at the teen's sudden burst of rage.
"Showing that you do care about someone isn't something to be ashamed of, it isn't weakness!" J.P tried to tell him.
"Be quiet!" Lucas lunged once again, swinging his fist rapidly at the thunder warrior.
"If you do actually care for her, then you should know this is not what she would want!" J.P shouted as he dodged and blocked the oncoming fists.
"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing!" Lucas shouted as he continued his onslaught.
"Yeah! Maybe I don't!" J.P blocked another punch by catching the incoming fist with his hand. He winced at the stinging pain that shot through his hand and wrist from the impact. That was just enough distraction for Lucas to swing his other fist and land a brutal punch to the side of J.P's jaw. J.P was knocked off his feet and slammed down into the dirt. He hissed in pain and clutched his jaw as the earth warrior glared down at him, his chest heaving up and down heavily. J.P slowly turned his head to look back at him.
"I don't see why you're so ashamed of that," J.P told him. Lucas growled then kneeled down to grab him by his collar.
"I don't need you prying into my life, Shibayama," Lucas snarled at him.
"I'm not trying to! All I'm saying is that what you're doing is all backwards!" J.P exclaimed, "If you really want to protect your mom, then you shouldn't be siding with some psychopath! Don't you get it? If Solomon succeeds he's going to destroy everything! He doesn't care about anyone who gets in way!" J.P tried to explain to him. Lucas stared down blankly at him, but J.P could see a hint of recognition pass through his eyes, "Just think about it! When he gets enough power, he's gonna wreak havoc on our homes! How are you gonna stop him then huh?"
"If he gets in my way, then I won't hold back either," Lucas answered.
"Don't be so cocky! You're not strong enough to take him down on your own!" J.P told him.
"And you are?" Lucas asked with a sneer.
"Maybe but-" J.P was cut off when Lucas's grip moved from his collar to his throat.
"But…that's the key word here!" Lucas said as gripped his victim's neck, "You're strong, but you and your friends stay in the same place! You haven't pushed yourselves any further than what you are! I easily overcame you in just a few moves!" J.P struggled underneath him, trying and failing to wrench his gasp away from his throat. This only made Lucas grip harder, "You wanna know what really ticks me off about you and your friends? It's because everything you have now was just handed to you on a silver platter! Nishihara told us about how you all were chosen to by these spirits. You just woke up and they were just given to you, you didn't have to do a damn thing!"
"Is that…what you think!?" J.P exclaimed in a strangled voice.
"Prove me wrong!" Lucas shouted back, "You and your friends were just like the rest of us right, just a bunch of random nobodies in the crowd! Only you got a lucky break! Me, I didn't, I had work to the bone to get stronger every day and I got nothing for it! That's pretty shitty huh!?"
"…You're nuts," J.P choked out.
"Shut up! I've finally gotten the power and I'm not gonna easily let it go! I can't just slow down though! I'll keep getting more and grow even stronger! Who knows, maybe one day I'll take out that old man and then I'll be on top! I'll never have to worry about not being good enough! I'll never have worry about anyone and she'll never have to worry about me ever again! I'll…I'll…aaaahhhhh!" Lucas suddenly shot up, screaming and clutching his head in pain. J.P took in a breath of relief at being released. J.P gazed up curiously as the earth warrior continued gripping his head, pulling at his hair and mumbling curses into his palms. As J.P watched him, his brow furrowed when he saw a few tiny, dark purple tendrils coming from his head. Upon seeing this, J.P was shocked out of his stupor.
"THUNDER FIST!"
J.P swung his charged fist at the earth warrior, striking the side of his face. Lucas was too distracted to react and he was hurled off of the thunder warrior, tumbling across the dirt until he stopped a couple of feet away from him. J.P quickly rose to his feet and looked upon the downed warrior. Lucas crawled onto his knees still clutching his head. J.P was growing concerned. He had never seen him in this much pain. He continued to see those dark tendrils coming from his head. His mind raced for he could've sworn to have something similar to those elsewhere. Then he suddenly remembered. Back when Solomon had first attacked them directly at the school, similar looking dark mist coming from his hands when he attacked. Solomon had used Lucemon's power to once again corrupt the spirits; maybe that dark data was beginning to overtake their human minds now as well.
"Nishimura! I don't care about whatever grudge you may have against me or anyone else right now," J.P called out, "but it's time to finally give up and forfeit the earth spirit! If you stay like this it's gonna because more harm to your body than anything else!" Lucas stopped what he was doing and turned his head to glare at the warrior. He then slowly began to rise to his feet, shaking his head of the lingering pain.
"I told you to shut up dammit!" Lucas snarled.
"How 'bout you just listen for-"
"Enough!" Lucas raised his fist and then struck the ground beneath him, bringing it down with so much force that he buried his fist into the hard rock. Upon impact the ground began to shake violently. J.P looked down in shock as a crack began running all the way from Lucas's fist, between his legs, and continuing further behind him. The tremors turned even more violent as J.P watched the ground begin to split open before him. With his feet on either side of the crack, his legs were slowly being spread apart by the shifting plates. J.P then jumped to the side and ran over to the canyon wall, pressing himself firmly against it as he watched the earth split and chunks of the ground break off and fall into the emerging abyss. J.P looked over to the earth warrior who was smiling devilishly at his plight. Lucas put more weight onto his arm and buried his fist deeper into the ground, twisting it slightly as he did. The added strength of the earth warrior caused the earthquake to reach new levels of magnitude. J.P could feel the remaining ground beneath him starting to crumble away. J.P jumped up and clutched onto a portion of the wall for dear life. As he hung there, he looked down into the large pit below and his heartrate skyrocketed. The pit extended from where Lucas was to as far as J.P could see and it was so deep that it was pitch black.
"Holy shit," a shiver ran down his spine as he clung desperately to the canyon. He gulped and lifted his feet up and pressed them against the wall, hoping that would help in keeping him from falling. Down below, on the remaining area of land, Lucas stood up and glared at J.P with rage. He eyes then moved away from the dangling warrior and glided across the wall. His gaze then stopped and widened when he saw his precious hammer that was still stuck into the rock. Lucas leapt up onto the rock. He then began to climb up the wall. J.P glanced over and saw him climbing the wall, heading for his weapon.
"Stop!" J.P yelled. He started swinging across the rock wall, cautiously but quickly grabbing at different ledges as he kept his eyes set on his target. Lucas was still climbing for his hammer. He was just about to reach when he felt something grab his leg and pull him back down. He looked down and saw J.P holding onto his ankle.
"Dammit! Just fall already!" Lucas yelled. He then kicked his heel hard against the thunder warrior's face. J.P grunted but didn't let go.
"You can't get rid of me so easily!" J.P exclaimed and yanked the warrior down hard. Lucas's grasp on the rock was broken as J.P pulled him down below him. Lucas's head struck the rock and he now hung upside down with J.P still grasping tightly to his ankle. His heart skipped a beat when he looked down into the darkened pit. Not wanting to appear scared, Lucas craned his neck to look back up tauntingly at his capture.
"Why don't you just let me fall?" he asked.
"I still have to bring you back home!" J.P exclaimed.
"Well, good luck with that!" Lucas then kicked J.P's hand. J.P yelp in pained and released his grip. Lucas started to fall but quickly grabbed the wall again. He then propelled himself upward next to the stunned warrior. Before J.P could react, Lucas kicked him hard in the gut and knocked him off the wall. J.P was falling at a fast rate. He quickly reached out and grabbed the wall, digging his fingers as deep as he could into the rock. He could feel the chunks of rock fly off the wall and through his fingers as he used all his strength to stop. Soon enough he skidded to a halt but he couldn't let his guard down for long. He heard a furious yell and turned his head up and saw the earth warrior, having jumped from his perch, heading straight for him. In happened to fast, Lucas's feet collided with J.P's chest, burying him further into the wall. Lucas had his feet on both sides of the thunder warrior and one of his hands had a hold of his collar. J.P looked up and saw Lucas's fist coming right for his face. J.P quickly moved his head and the fist instead impacted with the wall. J.P roughly grabbed the earth warrior's collar then pulled him forward and collided his forehead harshly with his. Lucas was knocked back, releasing his grip and about to fall of the wall. J.P was quick to grab ahold of his arm before he did. J.P then swung the limp warrior around, slamming him into the wall next to him. He then swung him around again and flung him across the pit. Lucas crashed into the opposite wall, creating a large indent in the rock. J.P remained still for a moment as the air turned silent. Soon a light moaning reached his ears and he looked across the pit to see the earth warrior still clinging to the wall ahead, though obviously weakened by the blow. This was his chance to take him out finally. J.P took a giant leap off the wall.
"THUNDER FIST!"
J.P hurled himself towards the warrior with his charged fist raised. Lucas was slowly coming out of his haze when he heard the attack. He looked up and locked his stunned gaze with J.P's. it only lasted a few seconds before J.P reached the wall and crashed with a giant cloud of dust following the impact. Silence filled the air again, but soon enough the sound of J.P coughing broke through it. J.P hacked and spit out the bit of rocks and dust that entered his mouth. His eyes burned from the dust and he wiped his face along his shoulder.
"What happened? There's too much dust," J.P wondered. He coughed so more and tried to lift his hand to wipe his eyes, but he couldn't. When he tried to lift his arm it seemed to be stuck on something.
"Wait what!?" J.P tried to yank his arm again but it wouldn't budge. Soon the dust cleared and he could see what it was stuck on...or in to be accurate, the canyon wall.
"What the…how?!" J.P exclaimed in utter shock. His fist was stuck in between the rock and Lucas was nowhere to be seen. With a few heavy grunts, J.P was able to pull his hand out of the rock and grabbed the cliff before he could fall off. He then frantically started to look around for the missing warrior.
"Where'd he go? Did he let go and fall?" J.P looked down into the pit but saw nothing but blackness. He visibly gulped. Nishimura wouldn't really run away, J.P knew that, but where did he go. No sooner did he wonder that, he then heard and quiet rumbling nearby. He looked around again but still saw nothing. He heard the rumbling again. He looked back to the wall in front of him and on a hunch he decided to press his ear against the rock. The rumbling became clearer once he did, it sounded as though something was moving around beneath it. His eyes widened with sudden realization.
"No way, he couldn't have!" Just then J.P heard a loud explosion next to him. He looked over and saw large chunk of debris flying out of the wall along with and blast of dust.
"Shit!" J.P exclaimed. The cowardly bastard had escaped into the wall! J.P could now feel the rumbling beneath his fingertips. He quickly jumped across the wall just as another blast came out of the wall. His heart was now pounding against his chest, but he knew he couldn't stop. He kept scaling across the wall as fast as he could as more blasts followed him. This was bad. He can't run forever and he can feel the muscles in his arms and hands crying out in exhaustion. He had to think of a way to draw him out of hiding and fast, but it was hard to think considering the constant barrages of explosions that were following him. Suddenly, as J.P took another leap, another blast shot out from the wall and hit him in his side.
"AAHH!" J.P screamed in agony as the pain enveloped his abdomen. With one hand he held onto the rock while his other clutched his side. He panted and hissed as he hung there totally defenseless. He could still hear the rumbling growing louder beneath him, but he couldn't move. Another blast shot out from the wall where he was hanging. He was catapulted forward and struck the other wall. He grunted painfully as his body collided with the stone. He tried to lift himself up, but something came from behind and slammed into his back. J.P's head knocked into the hard wall, temporarily knocking him out. The extra weight left his back and J.P slowly slid down the rock. He regained enough consciousness to try and grab the rock. His fingers dug and scraped at the stone as he slowly skidded to a halt. J.P looked down and his heart rate skyrocketed when he saw the endless blackness below. His head shot back up he clutched the rock tighter. As his gaze traveled up, he saw high above him a figure climbing up the rock. Despite his vision still being a bit fuzzy, he quickly realized that it was Nishimura.
"No," J.P couldn't let him get away. He started to climb back up the wall, but after a few feet one of his hands slipped. He would've fallen if not for his other hand clinging tightly to the stone. Now he was again looking back down into the black abys before him with his heart racing at a million miles a minute. He scrambled in a panic to grab at the wall and lift himself up, but it was no use, his strength had left him. The pain of his side, the exhaustion of his muscles, everything was weighing him down. The sound of gravel shifting and tiny rocks falling on his head caught his attention. He lifted his gaze back up and saw above him the earth warrior glowering down at him. He was holding onto the wall with one hand while his other held his hammer.
"Lucas…don't," J.P said as he glanced between the warrior and his weapon.
Lucas sneered, "Sorry, but one of us has to fall," he then lifted his hammer.
"SIESMIC SLEDGE!"
Lucas slammed the hammer into the wall, right above J.P's head. The rock instantly started to shake and split. Large pieces of stone broke off and plummeted into the pit. J.P tried desperately to cling onto his perch as the rock shook violently beneath him. Soon enough, the rock he was hanging on began to break apart and he started to fall back. He frantically tried to grab the wall, but it was too late. The wall fell apart and large boulders came tumbling down the canyon, carrying the terrified and screaming warrior down with them. It only took a matter of seconds for the thunder warrior to disappear into to the blackness with an all-encompassing cloud of dust left in the wake of the destruction. Echoes rang throughout the canyon, while high above the earth warrior was clinging to the last remaining chunks of wall and shielding himself from the dust.
Soon the dust settled and silence followed.
…..
After a few more seconds, Lucas turned his head and looked down into the pit. Some of the haze still lingered but aside from that there was nothing but total blackness.
"Hmmm," Lucas hummed as he peered down. His eyes scanned the crater and he noticed to remaining area of solid land just several feet away. Lucas carefully strapped his hammer onto his back then started jumping across the rock wall, all the way over until he reached where the patch of land began and leapt down. He landed on the ground with a soft thud then turned to look back out at the bottomless pit behind him. He slowly crept over to the edge and peered down into the blackness one last time.
"Tch, I guess he's really gone," he sneered and backed away from the pit. Silence filled the air again, broken up only by the sound of Lucas's heavy breathing. Then, without warning, his head started to throb painfully.
"Ah!" he cried out and clutched his head. He stumbled over to a nearby wall and fell down next to it. Now he was sitting there, still clutching his head and rocking back and forth to try and ease the pain away.
"What the hell is going on?" he wondered. The pain wouldn't go away, in fact it seemed to be getting worse. The throbbing intensified and was continuing on nonstop like some maniac was repeatedly stabbing a large, thick needle into his forehead. His fingers gripped tightly at his hair and his teeth grinded together as his body trembled. A high pitched ringing reached his ears as he clenched his eyes shut as he rode out the pain. After a few more minutes, he finally felt the pain slowly ebb away. He kept his eyes shut though as he took deep, calming breaths to stop his shaking.
"Dammit," Lucas silently and removed his hands from his head. Small moans and coughs escaped from his lips. He felt sick, sick and exhausted. He blinked his eyes slowly. His vision had turned blurry and disorienting. He shook his head to clear his mind. Slowly his vision began to return and he felt relief as he stared at the ground. Then he saw something dripping onto the dirt. A tiny red dot now lied in front of him.
"Wha?" Lucas breathed out. He brought his hand up and touched his fingers to his mouth, just below his nose. He pulled away and his breath hitched, there was blood on his fingertips. "What?!" Lucas exclaimed in shock. He wiped his nose on arm and saw more blood staining his skin. His breathing became rapid and panicky as he gazed down at the red substance. He shook his head again.
"Shit, what the hell was that?" he cursed aloud. He looked back over to the pit and sneered, remembering the thunder warrior's earlier words.
"If you do actually care for her, then you should know this is not what she would want!"
Lucas cringed at his words, "You don't know a damn thing. None of them do," he told himself. He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. A soft whimper escaped from his lips, "Mom."
Everybody always told him how pretty and nice his mom is. Sure, they did that only to point out what a shitty son he was, but it's not like he ever disagreed with them. He could see his mother now. Her light chestnut hair, caring hazel eyes, and the kindest smile he had ever seen. She wasn't just kind, she was patient and understanding especially with someone like him. She was perfect to him and he knew he could never be like that. However, he knew he could be strong for her. Especially because of…him.
…his father.
Lucas's fingers clenched just at the thought of him. He hated him; he hated him with a passion. He was trying to remember when he started hating him, because he knew at one point he didn't. At one point he had loved his father as any child would love their parent and his father loved him like every father should. There were memories of his father holding him and smiling down at him. There were memories of him talking and joking to him with a kind tone. However those were so long ago and Lucas was so young then that the memories had almost faded completely away. They had been replaced by much darker images and a much darker man. He was probably seven when he first started noticing it. It was then that he noticed his father smiling less and less, even when he was looking at him. He would walk up behind his father when was napping on the couch when he was napping and a foul stench would enter his nose, only now could he figure out that it was the smell of cheap booze. He caught his father like that a lot, mostly when his mom was out at work. Then his mother would return and find his father passed out from the alcohol. That would be the only times he'd see her angry. The first time he saw them actually fight was when he was eight. He had hidden himself behind a corner to listen to them argue. There were no swung fists or threats made, only harsh words exchanged. He remembered how, after his mother left the room, his father sat back down on the couch with his head buried in his hands in silence. That didn't last very long though, after a second of silence his father leapt up, flipping the coffee table in front of him and sending those empty alcohol bottles flying. Lucas winced as he remembered the harsh, piercing sound of the glass shattering against the walls. It had sent him running back to his room and jumping onto his bed in a shivering mess. That day was the only time he saw his mother's anger.
But that was the first time he would witness his father's rage….and as the years went by, he would see more and more.
It started slow at first, there weren't any more disputes after that day for a little while, but it couldn't last forever. Little by little he could sense things growing tenser in his home and around his parents. Whenever his father would look at him, it would almost always be a look of disdain. As the years went by, he found himself being harshly and unfairly punished by the man. Soon, a seven year old that loved and respected his father turned into a bitter ten year old boy constantly being sent to his room. He had begun at that point to show some resentment towards the man, but still could do nothing to fight back. He was just too weak. His mother, through all of this, continued to stay by his side and show him that kind smile. Lucas was grateful for that, she kept him sane during that time, but it didn't mean things got any better. He felt such worry for her. His kind mother, who had always done everything for him, was hurting and he knew it. He knew it because, even though he knew he was weak, she was weaker than him, and much weaker than his father. During the following years, his father began staying out more and coming home later, often stumbling through the door way in a drunken stupor. He had turned thirteen, and on one such night he had been awoken by the sound of a slamming door. It wasn't the first time it had happened and most of the time he would have just gone back to sleep, but not that night. He had decided to step out of the safety of his room and into the hall, instantly hearing the rise of angry voices. Perhaps are smarter kid would've just turned back around, but not that night. He walk down the hall, down the stairs of his home, and snuck towards the living room where the two were arguing quite loudly. He crept around the corner and stood in the doorway to the room. They were so wrapped up in yelling at each other that they didn't even notice him. He had watched the two in total silence. His mother was clearly furious at him, frustrated at all of this, and seemed to be scolding the man in front of her. His father was glaring menacing daggers back at her, though his eyes had the haze of alcohol in them. Time seemed to move slowly in front of him as he watched them exchange heated words, insults, and swears back and forth. His heart was palpitating wildly as he watched his father obviously growing angrier and more menacing with each passing second. Then his mother shoved a hand against his chest and that was it.
What was mere seconds felt like eternity when Lucas saw his father strike his mother with his hand, instantly knocking her to the ground.
He didn't remember what happened next except that his body suddenly collided with something large and hard. The next thing he saw was his father smashed against the wall, stunned and stumbling to stand back up. Lucas didn't know what had happened then. All he knew was that his mother was on the floor and he was angry, angrier than he had ever been before then and it was directed towards the man in front of him. His father turned his glare towards him now, yelling obscenities at him as well. Lucas didn't care then. When the man lunged at him, he lunged back with a surprising amount of strength fueled by fear and anger. He had grabbed his father's wrist in a weak attempt to push him back, but his father was too strong. However, he was smarter than some drunken brute. He then kneed the man in the crotch and then easily shoved him to the ground whimpering in pain. Afraid his father would get back up, he had then grabbed an empty bottle nearby and shattered it down on the man's head. That was it, his father was knocked unconscious and blood dripped from his head. Lucas had barely registered what happened, everything was a blur from then on. All he remembered was specks of his father's blood on his hands, his heart continuously pounding in his chest and his erratic breathing. He probably would have lunged for the man again if not for his mother holding him back, comforting him and calming him down. He then remembered crying until he saw the flashing lights of the police.
Lucas shivered and growled at the past images, "It's fine, I never have to see him again," he said to himself. After that incident, his father had been taken into custody on charges of domestic violence and abuse. They had questioned him as well about the incident, since when they arrived they were surprised to find a young teen standing above his unconscious father with blood on his hands. However they had quickly released him, judging his actions as purely self-defense. Soon after that, his mother had filed for divorce with his father and then he and his mom and moved far away from that man. Things should've have become much better afterword, but for him it didn't. His mom had tried her best to console him during that time and on the outside he appeared normal, but inside something had changed. No matter what, he couldn't let go of those emotion he felt on that night: anxiety, fear, and above all else inconsolably rage. Rage built from the years of his father oppressing them, watching his mother suffer under the falsehood of that content smile, and being beaten down like the weak little worm he was back then but not anymore.
"If you're not strong, you're weak. If you're weak, you lose. When you lose, you get buried," the mantra repeated over and over in the teen's head. That was what he believed and what he lived by. Punks and bullies at all his schools tried to take him on. They probably thought he was an easy target due to his short stature for his age, but they would quickly realize their mistakes. He wouldn't hesitate to pummel all of them into miserably piles, he knew from experience what could happen if you hesitate. You could call it paranoia or whatever, but couldn't give a damn and to hell with the consequences. All the times he would get in trouble and all the times that his mother reprimanded him, it didn't matter much to him in the end. She didn't really understand. He didn't want to go back to that fear of being overpowered if he could help it. He would be strong for his sake and for hers.
"Because I have to be," Lucas murmured.
"You should know this is not what she would want!"
Lucas shuddered again at the thunder warrior's previous words. He then turned his head to look at the crater again. A strange feeling of guilt suddenly formed in the pit of his stomach, "Are you really dead Shibayama?" He wondered.
Down in the depths of the dark crater, a lone figure dangled off the side of a ledge that jutted from the canyon wall. J.P gripped tightly to the ledge as he tried to pull himself up while also doing his best not to look down. He was tired and had desynchronized during the fall. J.P grunted and lifted himself up halfway onto the rock, reaching out and gripping to the dirt before him. When he finally pulled himself all the way onto the rock, he rolled over and collapsed onto his back. He looked up to the top of the crater and was panting heavily.
"Dammit, I just had to go after some psychopath with anger management problems didn't I?" he whined as he laid there. He let out a long sigh as he placed his arm over his eyes.
"Still, I'm surprised," J.P thought, "I didn't expect him to doing all this for the sake of someone else, let alone his own mother. I just thought he was some stupid, arrogant punk," J.P let out another sigh and lowered his arm down to his stomach, "Well, he still kinda is." The teen lifted himself into a sitting position. He rubbed his hand over his sore neck and jaw.
"I wish he realized that he going about this all wrong," J.P thought, "I mean…I get it. My priority would always be to protect the people I love but…I don't think I could just throw away other people's lives," J.P exhaled deeply through his nose, "I don't know if he's just blind to the facts or just arrogant. I don't think he's stupid though, he has to know what will happen if Solomon gets his way. That's why he's so determined to beat me, I guess. So he'll prove he's strong enough to beat Solomon. Damn, he's' really in over his head." He then craned his neck up to look back up to the distant sky.
"I might not know a lot about what happened in his life, but that's not my concern really," J.P reached for his pocket and grabbed his D-Tector, "I'll prove to him how wrong he is. No one's invincible." He looked down to his other hand and watched as the multiple streams of data appeared.
Lucas continued to eye the crater in silence for a few more minutes before finally rising to his feet.
"Guess that's it," he thought as he picked up his hammer and flung it across his shoulders. He turned his attention up towards the canyon opening. "Hmm, maybe I should go visit the old boss man? Is he really as tough as Shibayama said?" he wondered. A shiver suddenly ran up his spine as he remembered his first encounter with the man. How he had easily overpowered him in his grip and just how much tremendous power he had in a single attack. Lucas unconsciously moved his hand over his chest where he had been struck by the man's dark powers and winced at the painful memory.
"Whatever…He doesn't…scare me,"he told himself. He walked towards the canyon wall. Just as he grabbed the rock, ready to ascend up the wall, a flash of bright light caught his attention from behind. He whipped his head around in a panic.
"That came from the pit!" Lucas quickly surmised. He gripped his hammer tightly and crept towards the edge of the pit. Shaking slightly, he leaned over and peered down into the abyss. At first he saw only darkness, but he didn't let his guard down. He leaned down even more to try and see anything. Suddenly he saw a tiny light appear below. It gradually got bigger and brighter until…
"ELECTRON CANNON!"
A large blast came erupting from the abyss and straight toward the earth warrior. Lucas panicked and quickly leapt away from the crater just as the attack reached the top, breaking off the small pieces of land he was peering over.
"What the shit!" He exclaimed in shock with his face buried in the dirt. He looked up and saw his hammer laying a few feet away from him; he must have dropped it when he jumped. He hurriedly scrambled oven to the weapon and picked it up. As he did, he heard a loud thud behind and a familiar yet different voice call out to him.
"Did you think I let you leave?" Shibayama questioned in a surprisingly more gravely tone. Lucas turned and his eyes widened at the new sight of the teen, having never seen J.P fused with his beast spirit. The heavy armor, the intimidating cannon that had replaced his right arm, and the more feral look that adorned his face; it was all a shock to the earth warrior.
Noticing the stunned look of his opponent, J.P aimed his cannon directly at him ready to fire, "Scared Nishimura?" he asked in a low, threatening tone. Lucas's expression's instantly turned into that of rage.
"Like hell!" Lucas exclaimed. He then swung his hammer and struck J.P's arm cannon. A blast shot out from the barrel as it was struck, firing off and striking the ground a couple of feet away from the two. Chunks of rack and a wave of dust followed the blast that covered the two almost instantly. J.P growled as the dust entered his line of sight and cut him off from his opponent. That didn't last long however, when he saw a shadow rushing towards him through the dust cloud. J.P quickly shielded himself with his arm cannon right as before being struck by Lucas's hammer.
"Agh!" J.P growled as he pushed his body being pushed back along the dirt all while his eyes locked with the earth warriors in a glaring contest. J.P knew he was inching closer to the edge of the pit. Thinking quickly, J.P used the treads on his feet to halt his movements. Lucas snarled in annoyance at the thunder warrior's defiance and continued to try and push him over the edge. J.P was growing annoyed as well. With a heavy grunt, J.P took one step forward and pushed his massive weight against Nishimura's. Now Lucas was the one beginning to slide back, groaning as he tried desperately to keep his defense up.
"Give up now Nishimura!" J.P roared.
"Not…yet!" Lucas yelled in a now strained voice.
"Fine! Then you leave me no choice!" J.P lifted his knee and struck the earth warrior hard in the stomach. Lucas gasped and doubled over in pain, leaving himself open momentarily. J.P then delivered a brutal punch to the warrior's face. Lucas was stunned as he felt himself being catapulted backwards and colliding with one of the walls. He slumped to the ground in a shocked stupor; he didn't expect Shibayama to become so strong so fast. When he lifted his head, he saw the thunder warrior coming towards him with a raised fist and a feral look in his eyes. Lucas leapt up the wall and clutching desperately to rock hanging just a few feet above his head. He heard a loud crash beneath him and looked down to see a dust cloud. It quickly dissipated and Lucas saw the feral thunder warrior below slowly pulling out his fist which had been lodged in the rock wall. Lucas gulped, thinking about how that could have been him. J.P then looked up and Lucas's eyes widened dramatically. The thunder warrior was snarling viciously with his bare sharpened teeth showing clearly and his eyes were that of an angered beast eyeing his prey. Lucas felt his body shake and it surprised him. He hadn't felt like this for a long time but he remembered this feeling from so many years ago. This was fear. He was afraid! No, this wasn't possible! He was supposed to be strong, stronger than anyone so never have to feel this way again! This couldn't be happening!
"Dammit," Lucas breathed out as he stared into the eyes of the beastly warrior. J.P then suddenly pounced up toward the earth warrior with his claws bared. Lucas yelped and jumped off the wall right as J.P was about to grab him. Lucas landed all the way over on the opposite wall. J.P turned his head and snarled.
"So now you're running away?!" J.P roared at him. Lucas looked back to him and nervously gulped, his throat suddenly feeling dry.
"No…I'm…I'm not!" He sputtered out. J.P cocked his brow.
"You're afraid," he stated bluntly.
"No!" Lucas exclaimed.
"Don't lie!" J.P shouted back, "You know you are! So one last time, give up and save yourself!"
Lucas trembled. So many conflicting emotions were swirling around in his head that he didn't know what to do. The only word he could think of escaped his lips. "No," he muttered.
J.P sighed, "Alright then," he growled then pointed his cannon at him.
"ELECTRON CANNON!"
Lucas's eyes widened when he saw the blast coming right at him. He jumped away from the oncoming attack and it instead hit the rock next to him. Chunks flew out of the explosion. Lucas yelped in pain hen some struck him in the side and back, and a loud ringing reached his ears. Dust and debris flew all around him so that he couldn't see a thing.
"Dammit, I need to get away. I need time to regain my strength," he said to himself. He looked at the wall in front of him. He dropped his hammer and then slowly pushed his hands deep inside the rock. The dirt and stone instantly started to encompass him and pulled him further into the wall. Soon he was almost completely engulfed into the stone. He smirked, thinking it was a clean getaway until…
"That won't work a second time!" Lucas heard the thunder warrior yell from inside the rock. Suddenly he felt a hand grab the scruff of his neck and pull him roughly out of the rock. He grunted in pain as he was thrown to the ground, hitting his head against the dirt. He lifted his head up enough to see the thunder warrior perch on the wall above him and glaring down at him. J.P then jumped down with a feral growl and landed on top of the stunned earth warrior. Lucas cried out when he felt J.P massive boot land on top of his chest, pushing him further into the ground. J.P then aimed his fist to punch the earth warrior. Lucas quickly moved his head to avoid the punch. Lucas then grabbed the collar of his opponent and punch the thunder warrior hard in the jaw. J.P was stunned slightly from the blow. Lucas took the chance and pushed his foot against the thunder warrior's stomach. He lifted the thunder warrior off of him and rolled on his back to throw him toward the wall behind him. Lucas turned and saw the warrior land on the ground behind him with a grunt. He turned back and saw his discarded hammer a few feet away from him. He stood and quickly bolted towards the weapon. He grabbed it and turned back to the thunder warrior, who was kneeling on the ground and glaring at him, and pointed his hammer at him.
"See? I'm not through yet!" Lucas exclaimed. J.P remained silent, cocking his brow and spitting out a bit of saliva, taking notice of the hint of blood that was there as well. J.P stood back up and stared down at the earth warrior with an almost challenging look in his eyes.
"That's what you think," J.P growled. Lucas snarled in anger and rushed towards the larger teen with his hammer raised. J.P watched, unmoving, as the earth warrior neared him. Lucas swung his hammer left, but J.P dodged to the right. Lucas then swung the hammer right, but J.P dodged left. Lucas snarled again as he was growing impatient.
"Damn you!" Lucas roared and raised his hammer up to strike the larger teen down. J.P sneered and then reached up to grab the oncoming hammers by its face, stopping it instantly.
"No!" Lucas cried, "I can't lose!" he trembled as he tried to force his weapon down, but it was no use. J.P was too strong for him now.
"Sorry, but neither can I," J.P stated. He then clenched the fist that was holding the hammer. Electrical sparks were flying out of his hand as he did. Suddenly the hammer's head shattered into many tiny wooden pieces. Lucas expression turned to shock and despair as he watch each tiny piece fall to the ground in front of him. That was it, he was done for. He didn't even budge when he felt the end of J.P's cannon on his chest.
"ELECTRON CANNON!"
Lucas heard him call out his attack and then felt the heat of the blast hit his chest. He was blasted backwards at top speed. His body collided painfully into the canyon wall behind him. The portion of the wall exploded from the impact, sending dust and debris flying everywhere so that you couldn't even see the earth warrior beneath it all. Chunks of rocks broke off from above and cascaded down the cliff into the gorge, covering more of the impact site. Soon only dust filled the air and sounds of the echoing blast bounced off what remained of the canyon walls. J.P stood completely still and watch the cloud dust before him. His eyes were scanning for any sign of movement. As the cloud began to clear, he could see the shifting of a large pile of rocks past it. A rather boulder shook slightly before being pushed off the pile and then fell to the ground below. A body soon crawled out of the pile and slid down the rocks. J.P sighed as he watched Lucas's body lay on the rock. His back was moving up and down, indicating that he was still alive. J.P sighed in relief at that.
"Finally," he thought to himself as he walked towards him.
Lucas however was laying on the pile completely drained of any energy, he barely had enough blink. "This can't be it," he said to himself and tried to lift himself up but to avail. He was defeated. A strange tingling sensation ran up and down his spine and all throughout his body. He blinked lazily and turned his head just slight to look behind him. In the corner of his eye he saw the glow of the data streams flying around his body. He open his mouth in a quiet gasp but no other words could be formed. He then watched as the data suddenly flew away from his body and into the air. As the data disappeared from his sight, he felt as though whatever amount of energy he had left was being sucked from his body as well. He could feel it, the weight of his armor disappearing, the added mass of his muscle slowly shrinking away, and the feeling of the dark energy abandoning his mind. The odd sensation passed as quickly as it came, leaving the teen lying beaten in the dirt but he knew he thunder warrior was standing not too far behind him, analyzing him. Suddenly a sense of true defeat hit him right then and there and he let out a huff of despair.
"How?" he muttered into the rock. J.P blinked in astonishment. He didn't except to hear that.
"Well, if you want all the details," J.P started.
"Not that," Lucas cut him off. J.P stopped and closed his lips in silence. Lucas groaned and tried to lift himself slightly off the rocks, "How could I find myself with my face in the dirt again. I swore to myself I would never find myself like this. I'm supposed to be strong, I have to be for her," he started to sob. J.P eyes widened at the teen. He thought he'd never see the this brutal bully from school sobbing face down in the dirt. This was the guy who wouldn't hesitate in picking a fight if you looked at him wrong, who could make those younger than him tremble with just his presence, and this just was a shock to see him so defeated. J.P let out a sigh.
"You know," J.P spoke up. Lucas grew quiet as he listened to the thunder warrior, "I don't think having physical strength is what makes you strong," J.P admitted. He then watched as Lucas rolled onto his back to glare up at him. J.P continued, "You think that just because you can take down the biggest, toughest guy on the street makes you stronger and I think you're wrong. You didn't become stronger, you became crueler."
"Hmm," Lucas hummed as he cast his gaze down to the ground.
"But, I don't think you're completely heartless," J.P then said. Lucas didn't raise his head, but J.P could tell he was listening, "You care for your mom, I can tell, and I think you know that this wasn't the right thing to do for her. It's time to let go of that pride and arrogance…for her," J.P stated, "I know people who could help you, I you want," he said as he extended his hand to help him up. Still, Lucas kept his gaze towards the ground. Then a smirk appeared on his face.
"Tch, you and friends are a bunch of softies," he said. He then turned his gaze to sneer at the thunder warrior, "Maybe I was wrong, but that doesn't instantly make us buddies Shibayama," he stated to him.
J.P sneered back at him, "Never said we were," J.P said as he pulled his hand away from him. Lucas cocked his brow and let out a snort of laughter.
"Don't think your speeches of encouragement will change his mind," Lucas then stated. J.P raised his brow at this, "Trust me, I've been around Nishihara long enough to tell that you reach him with words. He too far gone. He's a monster and I'm guessing it's you and your friends job to deal with monsters." he stated with that all too familiar smartass smirk.
"Don't worry, we'll take him down," J.P stated. Lucas sneered again.
"Hmph, don't screw it up," Lucas said.
"We won't," J.P replied. He held out his hand again, offering to help the teen up. Lucas glared at the hand then back at the thunder warrior. He let out an amused huff at him. J.P sneered and then, without any warning, punch the teen hard in the head. Lucas fell back onto the rocks, instantly out cold.
"I'm sorry really," J.P said to the unconscious teen, "That just a precaution really, so that I can make sure I get you home." J.P then pulled out the strange device he got from Kouji. He stepped towards the knocked out teen and placed it on his chest. He pressed the glowing button in the center and took a few steps back. A circular portal appeared out of the device and encompassed the unconscious teen. Then, in a bright flash of light, he was gone. J.P stared in slight awe at where the teen once lay, but then felt relief knowing that he had returned to their home.
"Finally," J.P sighed out. He then looked up to the top of the canyon. That part was done, but now it was time for the real challenge.
He's a monster…it's your and your friends job to deal with monsters.
"He's right," J.P thought, "If Solomon has truly become just another monster, then we have to deal with him like any other we've dealt with in the past." J.P shuddered at the thought, but quickly calmed himself. He walked over to the rock wall and prepared to scale it. He looked back up to the sky and his eyes narrowed in worry.
"It's getting darker."
Hello my beautiful peeps. This came out way later than I wanted it too honestly. However right as I got back from my vacation, I had to deal with preparing myself for college, moving to campus and now with me being a theater major my schedule became completely booked. So with that said, it probably will be a while before I can post the next chapter. I know that's not too surprising knowing me, but I like letting you guys know this and not be left in the dark. After all, there is nothing more important to me than all my wonderful readers. Thank you so much for sticking with me and supporting me, you don't know how much it truly means to me.
Anyway with all that sap out of the way, thanks for reading and I will talk with you guys in the next chapter.
Oh and please don't forget to leave a review! Thanks guys!