"Seismic Smash!" A huge shockwave knocks the sand monsters to oblivion. Another grabs the earth lord by the neck. Four more loom behind the lord. Nick grabs his attacker's interlocked arms.
"Here, join your friends!" Nick launches his assailant to the group, the sheer force crushing them all to dust.
Nick brushes his hands clean of debris, his gaze wanders over to the outstretched wall before him.
Climbing was considered one option but that was soon dropped just by tilting his head slightly upwards. The wall expands out to the sky. Nick could be climbing for ages and there would be no ending in sight. This was his mind after all; it didn't have to follow the rules of reality, not like there were any rules when magic is involved but you get his point.
Then there's option 2: Bulldoze his way through. His massive gormiti body should break through the wall.
Nick slams into the wall only to fall backwards on impact. Not even a dent.
Time to find option 3.
Inspecting further there were weird patterns inscribed on the wall, but nothing resembled anything Nick read from the primal pad. They were not complete gibberish. Nick spots some recurring patterns here and there. However, there was a tiny piece of text straight in the middle that's in plain old English.
'To open the path, the answer lies within this riddle. Be warned stranger, for the first seed of mind will quench the light brought by past darkness.'
Not entirely sure what the inscription meant, Nick guesses this is where his true test begins. He reads further.
'I'm not alive but I grow; I don't have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a mouth but water kills me. What am I?'
Nick thinks aloud to himself. 'It doesn't have lungs but needs air. Hmm, it's not alive in a human sense. Maybe in materialistic sense or even elemental.'
Elemental… Nick ponders on that word. A flash image of Kagami appears in his head.
"Fire, the answer is fire!"
Nick shoots flints of rock into the sand. Picking the pieces up, he clashes them together, starting a small fire. The rocks light ablaze and the inscriptions on the wall glow.
Nick mouths a small 'Yes'. To him, riddles are super easy to solve.
A section of the wall collapses, and Nick marches his way in. A second wall blocks the way again, though there were two openings to his right and left: right leading to a dead-end.
"Ha, it's a maze."
All Nick had to do is dent the walls he passes and if he hits a dead end, he'd retrace his steps to head in the right direction. Time isn't really of the essence so he wouldn't have to worry about that.
This would be a hitch; Nick wishes he could say if the left path didn't also lead to a dead-end. There may be a slight possibility he's wrong about the maze part. Nick retraces his steps to the entrance, maybe there's another hint inscribed on the walls.
Heading to the entrance, the right path previously blocked off, now branches off in two paths. Going to the entrance would be put on hold for the moment.
Nick peeks at the closest. It's a long hallway. No telling how long it is, Nick decides to check the other path, that is until he hears a soft creaking. The earth lord turns around to the source.
The wall behind him closes on itself, locking Nick inside the hallway. He races over, a finger away from catching the edge but he's too late.
"I should've known it was a trap," Nick swears to himself. Now what?
Shouldn't have questioned. The wall moves forward, pushing Nick towards the never-ending corridor. Nick pushes back but his immense strength isn't enough.
"Pushing back won't do but maybe this will." Shifting his hands into two large hammers he smashes the ground. Splitting the ground in two would take the wall down with it – in the real world. Doesn't translate to the imaginary world in his mind. His attack did nada.
Time for plan B. Nick runs.
Thankful for being wrong this time, the corridor does have an end, with a door at that. Not a total dead end.
"Please don't screw me over." Nick pleads to himself, or more so the orb. The door's unlocked, the orb must have heard his pleas.
Is it likely another trap?
Probably.
Does he have a choice?
With the impending wall ready to crush him into last night's spaghetti, not really.
No choice in the matter, Nick opens the door and steps in. He reverts to his human form. And the orb feeling particularly nice at the moment, the other side didn't have a trap waiting for him, at least one that doesn't result in crushing him to death. Insert question mark at the end of death.
Nope, Nick found himself in a desert classroom. The strangest part of them all, with a Kagami seated at presumably the teacher's desk, typing away at the computer.
Water, water, and more water. That's all Toby could see. A vast ocean of infinity.
'Achoo!' a loud sneeze escapes his lips.
Stuck in an ocean with no land to be seen with a cold. He's drenched from head to toe but hey, it's far better than freezing in the cold waters. If Toby had stayed there for a couple more seconds, it'd be the ending of Titanic, you know, if Jack died alone instead of by the love of his life. Talk about making an already depressing story extra depressing.
"I thought you said this wasn't real?" Toby asks/coughs to his companion on the narrowboat. He shouldn't complain about the boat though, it did save his life.
"It isn't. Just because it's fake doesn't mean it can't reflect the real world. Kind of like a dream!" his companion replies. He's a young Asian-looking boy with dark hair, currently stirring the boat to who knows where.
"Or it's the orb's doing," Toby mutters. The mysterious boy already let Toby in on the current situation.
"Could be. This may be your mind, but your orb has some control too. I wouldn't trust anything out here if I were you."
Mr. Ono did say it was dangerous and Toby doesn't know what to expect. Anything can be used against him here. Even someone he would consider an ally.
His gaze lingers on the boy. It is strange how he saved Toby just in time, plus he knows all this information about his orb and on 'beating' it. Could he be…?
"You know what's weird?" Toby speaks up, garnering the attention of the boy. "Out of nowhere, you showed up in a fancy old boat and saved me right as I was about to drown. Sounds suspicious doesn't it?"
The boy looks up. Actions of a traitor.
Toby continues. "And you said you came from the orb too. Wouldn't it make sense for you to pull a fast one on me?"
The boy stops rowing, paying weirdly close attention to his feet, his back facing Toby. He doesn't answer.
Not liking the tense atmosphere, toby stands up, already in a battle pose. Fighting on a tiny boat isn't ideal but the boy didn't seem to want to talk. Instead, his shoulders shook with a peal of low demonic laughter. Straight up evil.
That confirms it. He is a –
"AAARGH YOU'RE RIGHT!" the boy screams. Flaying about the boy curls into a turtle position. "I am here to trick you. After all, I am a copy from the orb and the orb's infected!" He hits his head against the boat. Ouch. "I should've known! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
'Is this a trick?' Toby thinks to himself. If it is then this boy is a pretty good actor. Toby is generally concerned but he doesn't know if he should approach or –
"DO IT!" The boy twists around, standing in front of Toby with his arms stretched out. He almost tips them both into the ocean. "Do it! Take me out! This might be your chance to get out!"
"Huh?" Toby cocks his head to the side.
"Hit me! I know you can do it! I might be here to test you ya know! Or trick you! Or- wait- "The boy holds a long gasp. "am I being mind-controlled by the orb?!"
The boy strides closer to Toby, rocking the boat further. "Do it! I'm your enemy! And I thought I was here to help you! I'm such an idiot!"
Toby grasps the ledge of the boat, steadying himself. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself." He tries to calm the boy down. All this rocking and crazy hand flailing, does he want to knock himself and Toby off the boat?
"I believe you're not the bad guy." Okay, he might be telling a half-fib but screw it, Toby had to say something to calm him down.
The boy stops flailing and raving. Toby takes a breath, removing his hand from the railings. Everything seems fine, not really. The boy stiffens, his eyes wide in shock. What the –
"Look out!" the boy dashes to Toby. Toby turns to whatever the boy warned about. It was all so fast, Toby couldn't pinpoint what the boy was referring to. However, what Toby did catch was water. A lot of it, not like a wave but a body of water, attacking or heading straight at Toby. And the boy tackles it head-on, both him and it diving deep into the ocean with a big splash.
"HEY!" Toby calls from the edge.
No reply.
Toby leaps from the boat the same point the boy and whatever attacked him disappeared.
The boy isn't real. He said so himself. 'I'm a copy of the previous lord of the sea. I'm not from your memories rather the orb's memories.'
But he saved Toby from that thing. This could be a whole big ploy against Toby but Toby for the life of him couldn't leave the boy behind.
Not when he reminds him so much of Kagami.
Toby opens his eyes. In the vast blue, the boy and whatever he tackled were nowhere. Toby swims up to the surface. One fresh breath of air and he's hit by a big splash. The currents became more active, pulling Toby all over. If that wasn't bad enough the boat's gone and Toby was under for a good 5 seconds.
"Gotta be the orb's doing."
No boat and his potential ticket outta his head kidnapped, he's back to square one. And there is more to come, Toby feels it down his spine.
Rising from the depths of the ocean, a horse made of water neighs violently at Toby. Toby's initial instinct is to cover his ears, leaving himself defenceless. Striving for the opportunity, the horse hammers at Toby, pulling him deep into the sea.
Giving into his body's impulses, Toby gasps for air. He expects to struggle with the major intake of water and drown but it doesn't arrive. He's still breathing fine.
He can breathe underwater. Perks of being stuck in his mind.
Almost forgotten, the horse is pushing him down. Toby, getting over his initial shock, kicks it away and the hose disperses, physical form long gone.
Toby floats around, searching every possible corner for something to attack. "Argh!" a swipe to his side sends Toby rolling left. Another swipe to his back plunges him downwards. He winces in pain.
"I can breathe underwater, but the pain packs a hard punch." Why does the mind have to be complicated?
Round 2 of attacks and Toby couldn't tell head or tails, up or down. How far is he from the surface now? The only thing he's sure about is that the pain from those attacks feels all too real and hurts like hell.
"Urgh!" a colossal blow to the head spins him around two 360s. His hand finds his head, trying to ease the distortion from the attack.
He couldn't fight like this. He needed something he was comfortable with. Toby knew exactly what to do.
Another attack hits Toby on the side of his abdomen. He won't falter this time.
"Current Canon!" Toby calls out a shot of water globes in the direction of the attack. He heard a faint cry. His attack hit his target.
"Just because I don't have my powers in the real world, doesn't mean I don't have them here!" Toby shouts out, now in gormiti form. Whatever attacked Toby perceived it as a threat? Quite possibly since now, they decide to reveal themselves. Vague, though Toby could still make out a figure. Ha's encircled by a pack of water horses.
"Thanks for making it a fair fight but don't say I didn't warn ya!"
Jessica shoots out a bolt of lightning. The wind monster, which looks somewhat familiar to Whirlwind dodges the attack, deflecting its own lightning bolt at Jessica. She flies past it but another attack hits her back, plummeting Jessica to one of the floating windmills. Jessica breaks her fall, landing on all fours without a scratch.
She huffs. The monsters have done a number on her, covered in glowing scratches all over. And worst, she felt every ounce of those attacks, like static electricity. Jessica grimaces, having landed funny on her ankle.
"You're losing the battle. It won't be long until the orb takes over." A voice from above says. It belongs to a boy, dressed in blue.
Jessica grunts, ready to rebuke the boy until another slash almost beheads her. She dodges another slew of energy bolts. Six more whirlwinds land on a floating platform. They give chase and Jessica's legs kick in, following the circular structure of the platform before jumping off. Allowing herself to fall then extends her wings, flying to another Windmill platform. She struggles to take a breath.
"Are you going to keep running? That's not going to get you anywhere." Another voice rings out, a more feminine voice. This time it was a girl, dressed in the same deep blue as the boy.
"You think I don't know that!?" Jessica shouts, wincing as the pain from her side vibrates harder. It's obvious Jessica's losing. She may be prideful at times but she's not stupid nor blind. But how is she going to get out of this? She's injured all over and those monsters come in droves. There's no end to them! It's a lose-lose situation, and the twins aren't doing her any favours with their commentaries.
"Behind you!" the girl calls out and Jessica narrowly misses a sword swing from another monster.
Jessica blows it off the platform with a wind attack. She stumbles at the force of her attack but regains her posture. "They have swords now?!" she questions. What's next? A battle axe-wielding, three-armed cyclops?
Her assailant easily floats back onto the platform, bringing along a couple more of his friends. They all encircle her readying their attacks.
Expecting her fight with her orb to be easy wasn't in the bag but to struggle this much? Jessica kicks the door to the windmill open, heading inside. She breaks a makeshift hole in one of the upper corners, an escape. She flies away.
'Gotta find time to think up a strategy.'
Of course, they chase after her. If only they'd give her a break.
Jessica summons a wind attack, trapping them in a cyclone of wind. It won't get rid of them and there's surely more to come but it'll stall them long enough for her to think up something.
However, it wasn't just the monsters, the wind itself is against her, pushing her back. Too strong, some debris and stone from the windmills fly straight at her. Jessica swerves and dodges the projectiles, but the force tires her wings. Her wings would give way at any moment. She needs to find shelter.
"Work!" she commands her wings, catching herself in the air.
With all the strength that Jessica could muster she flaps her wings against the wind, heading towards a windmill not so run down like the rest. Landing on the platform she beats the door, almost falling to the floor, she shuts the door behind her.
"Arrgh!" she screams, smashing her fist to the ground. She should be better than this! Why can't her attacks do any damage? "I shouldn't be so weak, why am I like this..nrgh." Jessica flinches, the pain taking over once more. Even the stress from her wings aches like hell.
"It is true, you seem to be a lot weaker here compared to the real world." The boy from before reiterates. At this point, Jessica stopped questioning his disappearing-reappearing tricks. This isn't real after all. "I wonder why…"
Yeah, Jessica would like the answer to that too.
"Isn't it obvious." The girl reveals herself, standing right next to the boy. "This is the battle of the mind. You don't have a strong conviction and that manifests into your physical strength here."
"That's bullshit!" Jessica grunts, attempting to stand up by latching onto a stone cove. Her not having a strong mind? That's not true!
"Be honest with yourself, Jessica. You were hesitating to come here, weren't you?" The girl pokes.
Jessica struggles to keep in a wince. Suddenly the pain increases tenfold and she opts to just sit on the ground. The girl takes that as a sign she's right.
"But I want to be here. I want to do this. Urgh…I can't let the Gorm or my friends down. I wouldn't have come here if I didn't…aah." Jessica tends to her abdomen.
"Words don't mean anything here." The boy picks up. "Your true feelings are out in the clear. You're doomed at the state you're in. You shouldn't have come here if you had mixed feelings."
"I'm…not…doomed." Jessica huffs out. Screw the twins, Jessica knows she wants to do this. She's sure of it.
"She's right." The female twin agrees. Finally, she's making some sense, Jessica thinks to herself. "If she can figure out whatever mental block she has, she can make it back to the real world."
The girl walks up to Jessica. "Jessica, I need you to think real deeply about this. What are you afraid of? Why don't you want to protect the Gorm?"
"Of course I want...nrgh.. to protect the Gorm!" Jessica rebukes.
"Yes, you do but some part of you doesn't. Why? You need to think clearly about this or else the orb wins!"
There was no use arguing with the twins. They were Jessica's only chance of getting out. So, she stops and thinks. Why doesn't she want to protect the Gorm, to help and save Kagami?
But it seems so wrong. Why would Jessica feel this way? Kagami's in danger, in the hands of the lava gormiti. And the lava gormiti must've obtained a new source of power, given they were able to restore the fire orb. If she doesn't protect the Gorm, her people, then the whole world is screwed. She can't do nothing. That's selfish and yet…
Why does it have to be her responsibility?
The ceiling comes tumbling down, letting the wind sweep over and batter down on them.
"What's going on?!" she calls, now having the strength to stand up.
Sparks and thunder roar with rain spurting down from the crushed ceiling. Jessica encounters her new adversary and her features droop with a surge of despair.
"It's over…" she murmurs. "There's no way I can beat it."
She should've been honest from the start. She shouldn't have come.
Kagami stops what she's doing, her eyes locked with Nick's.
"Nick!" she calls out to him, stepping out of her seat and ambles her way to him.
"Is that my book?" Kagami asks, pointing down at what's in Nick's hands. Nick follows the direction of her gaze and as she said her book, the one Toby stole from her room, is in his hands.
"I thought I'd never see it again." Surprising Nick, Kagami goes in for a hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Nick." Her honey-like vocals vibrate, melting Nick's heart like she usually does.
His heartbeat comes to a stark halt as Kagami leans in to kiss his cheek.
'Did-did she – '
She lets go of her hold, taking her book with her. "Do you want to head over to the library and study together? I'm already finished with student council for the day?"
Nick doesn't reply.
"Is there something wrong?" Kagami asks, teleporting suspiciously close to him.
"No, no…" Nick puts some distance between them. Why is he suddenly so…nervous? He's always nervous around Kagami, not that he doesn't like being around her, he just doesn't want to embarrass himself in front of her.
"Is this about what happened last weekend?" Kagami poses.
"Last weekend?" Nick repeats. God so much has happened in the past few days; Nick couldn't bring himself to recall everything in a couple of seconds.
"When I asked you to kiss me."
…
Kagami steps closer to Nick.
"If you want, we can try…again?"
Nick grabs Kagami's shoulder, gently extending the gap between them. "No, you're not the real Kagami."
"But you're not denying that do want to try it again. You wouldn't have sent me this if you didn't." at that, Kagami shows Nick his phone, a message sent to Kagami.
'Hey, I'm okay. Thanks for letting me know you left. I would've been worried sick if anything bad happened to you. About last night when you asked me to kiss you. Are you still up for that?'
Nick immediately grabs his phone. "I didn't send this. And no, I don't want to 'try again'. Why am I even divulging this to you? You're just a ploy from the orb." It's one thing for the orb to be lurking in his mind but his memories? That, Nick takes personal offense to.
Kagami puts her hands up, "Okay, I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do." She walks up to the door, hand on the doorknob. "But, since you insist, this shouldn't mean anything to you." Kagami swings the door open. Nick does a double-take, unable to enunciate his words.
"T-toby?"
Why is Toby here? Unless…
Kagami wraps her arms around Toby's neck. Toby's traces his to her hips.
No. God no.
Kagami and Toby lean in for a kiss. Nick jolts, finding himself between the two. Grabbing Toby's shirt, Nick pushes his brother towards one of the desks. His grip on his brother tightens.
"If you touch her again, I swear I'll - I'll-" his grip loosens. What is he doing? Nick can't hurt his brother, even the fake version.
"Or you'll what?" fake-Toby provokes. "Kagami likes me. Remember last weekend?"
She places a warm hand on the exposed flesh of Toby's chest. "I think I like you too, Toby."
"No, she doesn't." Nick rebuts, his hold on Toby loosens.
"Yes, I do." fake Kagami says. She walks up the boys, removing Nick's hand from his brother's shirt.
"I think I like you too, Toby."
"No, you don't," Nick reassures.
"I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby."
Nick closes his eyes. He demands his mind to stop repeating that scene.
"I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby."
Kagami was just upset at her grandfather, she wasn't thinking straight. Besides, she wanted to kiss Nick later on. Just because she wanted to kiss Toby doesn't mean she liked him.
"I think I like you too, Toby." "I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby." "I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby." "I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby." "I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby." "I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby." "I think I like you too, Toby."
"I think I like you too, Toby."
"I like you, Toby."
"STOP! JUST STOP IT!"
…
…
It stopped.
Nick breathes a sigh of relief and opens his eyes. Toby and Kagami were gone with the classroom. The whole environment was replaced with a boxing ring, again in the desert. Wherever he magically teleports to, he can't escape the desert.
Not to mention the change of setting, Nick isn't in his normal attire. He's topless, decked out in boxing gear.
"I don't like where this is go – urgh!" A fist decks Nick in the jaw.
The bespectacled teen lays on the grounds of the boxing ring, processing what just happened and that nasty sucker punch that could've dislocated his jaw.
"Is that all you've got, Nick? Who would've thunk that my weakest hit would take down the actual lord of earth himself? I'm awesome, aren't I?"
Though their conversation was brief, that snarky and honestly unnerving boaster is unforgettable.
"Adam?!"
Yep, its the Adam clone, sporting similar gear, except his colour was sparkling silver, orange.
"Are you going to get up and fight or stay down like a wimp?" Adam challenges Nick. His fists raised up, ready to pulse if Nick dare move an inch. "I won't hold it against you for choosing the wimp option. I would if I had to fight myself."
Nick did get up. He wasn't going to 'stay down like a wimp', especially since he has a million questions to ask Adam.
Like this one:
"Adam, what are you doing? I thought you were on my side?" Nick barely dodges a flying punch from Adam.
"No talking. Wanna get out? You gotta fight me." Adam huffs, hopping from toe to toe.
And here Nick thought Adam was on his side. The clone did come from the orb so it kinda makes sense but then why help Nick earlier? No time to think, Adam almost got Nick in a headlock.
Adam may over-exaggerate his achievements but no doubt, he's a good boxer. He ran circles around Nick, with the former barely evading his attacks. Adam lands another good jab at Nick's rib. The teen rolls over on the ground, nursing his wound.
A loud dinging from a bell. Nick didn't know much about boxing, but he does know that a bell signalizes the end of a match. Things had to go south and not in an I'm going to get sucker punched and it's gonna hurt like the burning pits of hell way. No, more of a Kagami's here to torture my poor fragile heart way.
Just to deepen Nick's emotional scars further, she had to wear a red skin-tight dress that shows off her slim legs.
Adam heads back to his corner where Kagami was waiting for him. She rubs the sweat off Adam's face with a towel she brought with her but not before she brings her attention to his arms.
"Wow, Adam. Your muscles are so…so…" Kagami struggles to come up with anything to say, too mesmerized by Adam's handsome features.
"Don't worry, baby. I know my muscles are every girls' weakness. You can touch 'em."
Kagami squeals like a fangirl and Nick resists the urge to vomit.
"Oh, come on! His muscles aren't that impressive! You want impressive muscles, go check out Mark Tuan's." Not that Nick checks out Mark's muscles, but he's got to admit they are impressive. Slim but not too bulky. Forgetting Mark's ab, Nick shouldn't be this heated, but this is straight-up cringe-inducing.
Nick continues his ramble. "And 'baby'? You've got to be joking. That's a terrible and generic pet name. Kagami doesn't like pet names, she'd barf if you'd call her that! Say there was a possibility that Kagami did like pet names which she doesn't, you'd need to come up with something that's unique and special for her. She's a special person."
Adam and Kagami pause. Nick being grossed out? Expected. Nick going on a tangent about pet names and Mark's abs? Not so much.
"Okay…ignoring that total lie about my muscles, Kagami seems alright with my little pet name for her, don't you baby." Adam states.
'That's because she's not really her.' Nick mutters to himself.
On cue, Kagami snuggles into Adam's arms.
"Face it, Nick. Kagami is only attracted to winners. And you, my friend, are a loser." Immediately, after Adam says that, Lucas pops up, heading into the arena with a microphone and one of those large boxer champion belts. The scene goes dark.
"And the winner is…" Lucas starts. Drum rolls play in the background until a flashy spotlight hits Adam. The champions belt on him with Kagami in his arms. "Adam!"
A pop of confetti hits the grounds of the boxing ring. More people gather to congratulate Adam on his victory. Not by mere happenstance, those people had to be Nick's friends. Jessica, Toby, Gina, even Razzle and were up there cheering for him.
Then, as if they remembered Nick was there, they all unanimously stop cheering. They all face Nick. Those cheers for Adam twisted and turned to hate. The repetitive "Adam's" became "Loser's" and were directed at Nick. That and the accompanied giggles and L's they were forming with their fingers were not making the situation any less unbearable.
This wasn't real. Nick knew that. But that didn't stop it from hurting any less.
Nonetheless, that wasn't the cream of the crop. No, because the only person who could ever rip his heart apart, to make him the juxtaposition of death and life, that's Kagami. And seeing her, the happiest and looking the cutest imaginable in that dress, like a pure angel, her mocking him? All whilst in the arms of a pompous jerk? Real or not, that cut through him more than her leaving for Gorm. That was his worst nightmare…for Kagami to reject him, to leave him.
Adam pulls Kagami closer into his embrace. The girl whispers something to Adam, her lips ever-so-close to his ears. They both burst into giggles at whatever she said. Her gaze, those lips, that touch. It was infuriating. Kagami would never. His Kagami would never.
And so, Nick 'unbecame' himself. An intent to kill festers inside him. He wouldn't be subjected to this torment anymore. His sights set on Adam, Nick carelessly bypasses his friends, not bothering to mouth apologies or excuse mes as he pushes them aside.
Balling his hand into a fist, Nick punches the ever-loving daylights out of Adam. A solid hit that sent Adam down at lightning speed. Oh, but Nick isn't done. He hoists Adam up to the nets of the boxing ring. Adam needed to suffer more - to feel the real loathing Nick hasn't bestowed yet.
"This is for laying your filthy impudent hands on my Kagami." Nick lands another strike on Adam. The clone spits out his gum-guard along with drops of blood. "This is for defiling her with your sick perversions!" Nick's fists slam onto Adam again. A bone cracked for sure. From whom? Nick's too absorbed in rage to notice any pain.
Despite the bruises and the bleeding, Adam still has the audacity to laugh!
Anger boiling to crazy heights, Nick grabs Adam's neck. "What are you laughing at?!" Nick barks, pushing Adam deeper into the nets.
"You." Adam chuckles, fuelling his own choked laughing fit. "You're so pathetic."
God, he wants to wipe that idiotic smirk from this jerk's face! "You bastard." Nick grunts, a fourth punch already on its way to Adam's face.
But it would not happen.
With a mere blink Adam was gone and so was everyone else. Nick was back to square one. Back to his gormiti form and back to the maze. Except he couldn't tell if he's at the entrance or the exit.
'Ah!' Kagami shrieks, but from where?
Too heightened by his emotions, Nick runs out the exit/entrance to find her. Mistake or not, his emotions double when his gaze lays on Kagami, her arms pinned behind her by Anchor, the fire gormiti from the fight at the forest.
"You…" Nick spits. "You stole Kagami from me."
All of this. All of this began with the lava gormiti. They twisted into Kagami's head. Caused her to lose her perfect grade by falling for Toby. If it weren't for them Kagami would still be his angelic, elegant muse. He wouldn't have lost her.
Anchor hardens his hold on Kagami causes her to yelp. "So, what if I did? You were the one who let her go. You weren't strong enough to protect her. Now she's in the hands of the lava gormiti."
Nick pounces at Anchor, forcing him to let go of his hold on Kagami. The fire gormiti attempts to attack but Nick intercepts, sending Anchor flying with his hammer. "I'm getting Kagami back."
The earth lord ambles to the defeated Anchor. Nick eyes the gormiti down with menacing hostility. "I won't let you taint her anymore."
Anchor, sensing the utter rage that's figuratively and literally, emitting from Nick's being, backs off, ready to flee. Nick pins him down.
His hand shifts into a drill. Kagami in the hands of another man. It was fine if it was anyone else, anyone else but Toby; Nick told himself. Lies. Nobody, none one else is good enough for Kagami. She's perfect on her own. He won't forgive the lava gormiti for ruining that.
A sight to be seen, Anchor, the scary, stoic fire gormiti, is now quivering in fear. "Please," he whimpers. "Don't hurt me."
Nick breathes an airy laugh. "I'm going to rip you apart limp by limp for what you did to Kagami. And I'm going to enjoy every last bit of it." Nick brings his drill closer to the apex of Anchor's head. Anchor shuts his eyes, whimpering in fear.
Closer... Closer…his Kagami, how dare they do that to her. Closer, just a little more closer…
"Nick!" Kagami places a hand over Nick's, teleporting right beside him. Nick reverts to his human form. With Anchor gone. His gaze now focused on Kagami.
"Are you okay?" her sweet vocals sound out.
Nick couldn't help but break out into an infectious smile. Taking that as a yes, Kagami invites Nick into a hug. Nick obliges, soaking in her warm embrace.
Nick couldn't delude himself, she wasn't the real Kagami. But, for this moment, he wanted to believe it is real. For what he's about to do to be real.
"Kagami?"
"Yes?"
Nick swallows a breath. Here he goes. "Can I kiss you?"
Thank god they're hugging. He could not face her. Lightly tugging at her shirt, he silently pleads for her to not reject him.
Kagami breaks the hug. Nick's heart palpitations skyrocket, his only defence down now they're staring face to face.
Kagami tucks a hair behind her ear, a light blush on her cheeks. "I thought you'd never ask.
Letting his guard down completely, Nick doesn't hesitate to lean in. Soft, tasteful plump lips all for the taking. Only for him, that's the way it should be.
"Attack!" the rock gormiti roar, rushing into a large crowd of fire gormiti, lead by the ruthless Obscurio.
Though finally allowed to go out and fight after all this time, thanks to Vestalt, Obscurio couldn't give in to his thirst for battle. There were more pressing matters. So instead, Amongst the utter chaos, him, Magmion, Anchor and Armageddon flee the battle. They had to find the beast.
"The compass points over there!" Anchor points to the direction of the Earth fortress. Flamma had made a compass that could track exponential dark energy just before Anchor left for his mission. He'd have to thank her later for making his job ten times easier.
"Then that's where we'll go," Obscurio says. The party bursts into the Earth fortress. An easy feat, given the earth gormiti are busy with the battle outside. They follow Flamma's compass, leading them to the depths of the earth gormiti cells, blasting any earth gormiti in their way.
At last, they've reached the cell where the monster is held captive.
"Now we've got to formulate a plan to get this thing to follow us back to Volcano mountain." Anchor comments examining the cell. The beast is dolce, hidden away in the shadows.
"That won't be necessary," Obscurio says.
Anchor immediately comes between Obscurio and the cell. "Do I have to remind you of a task? We do not need more pointless battles."
"And do I have to remind you of our scouts' reports?" Obscurio responds. "The lords' powers are gone. The Gorm is left vulnerable. This is the perfect time to strike back."
Magmion and Armaggedon push Anchor away from the cell, having already chosen a side.
"You will be risking the wrath of Magor!" Anchor yells. Three against one. Even if he did decide to fight, he's outmatched in numbers.
"Not if we take over the earth territory with this beast!" Then he'll see - Obscurio mouths in his head. He's a better fit to lead than Vestalt, a coward who prefers to stall.
Anchor growls. Armaggedon and Magmion surround him in case he tries to do anything.
"Sit and watch as I commence the conquest of Gorm!" Obscurio blasts the cell open. The monster screeches, thrashing about in its cell before escaping to broad daylight.
Anchor could only curse his own incompetence. From here on out, he'd have to wait and see how things pan out.
A/N:
This chapter was a pain in the behind to write and went through major rewrites. But I got it done and it's out for the world to see. In terms of the future of this fic, I have as of writing, 7 chapters written. This doesn't mean regular chapter releases (there's still a lot of tweaking and rewrites needed) just a 'hey! there's more to content hidden in my usb stick! Get hyped?!'
Anyways here's an obliged out-of-context next chapter preview:
Wanting to kiss your best friend isn't normal. Unless he likes Kagami?
"Show yourself!" Toby shouts, searching all around him until he hits a spot. Right there from the corner of his left eye. Obscured but a clear ripple in the ocean. It wasn't natural.
Mr. Ono's felt his heart plummet in anxiety, his breathe already sharp. This is what happened to Adam.
Credits to finalfanaticgorm for beta reading as always.
