Hello, everybody! It's me again, just lettin' y'all know that I've posted yet another chapter of this story, so here it is, just in time for Valentine's Day, which it already is here in Japan. So grab your significant other and enjoy the latest installment.
chyp: Thanx, dude. I'm glad somebody agrees with me!
James worked busily outside, meticulously untying knots that had formed from years of storage, use, and neglect. The seemingly insurmountable problem merely passed over him as he continued to untangle the mess of lights that lay before him. Having been so caught up in his determination to finish the job before dark, he jumped in surprise when a hand touched his shoulder.
"Working hard?" a feminine voice asked, "or hardly working."
"You be the judge," James said in reply, looking up. "What are you doing here?"
"Well," she began uneasily, "I brought you your newspaper. It was over in the bushes."
"And?" James asked, probing for the real reason she had come to visit.
"Something's come up," she spat quickly. "I can't make it tonight for dinner. I'm sorry."
"Sam," James said with an air of disappointment, "this is the fourth time you've broken a 'date' with me. You were the one who wanted to do the whole dating thing in the first place. What's going on with you?"
"It's…complicated," she answered hesitantly. "I wish I could explain it to you, but now's not the time."
"When is the time, then?" he asked firmly. "I think I deserve at least…watch out!"
His words were cut off by a large green fireball sailing through the air, on a collision course for James. With Sam standing in front of him, the fireball would surely hit her first, disintegrating her in an instant. Reacting quickly, James grabbed her and pushed her out of the way, just as he jumped away from his sitting spot. The fireball was unrelenting and continued its course. It struck the still tangled ball of Christmas lights with a fiery roar. They slowly melted away, leaving nothing but a small stain on the lawn.
James looked absolutely livid. All of the time put into sorting the lights had been put in the toilet and flushed down the drain in a matter of seconds. His hand lifted itself instinctively, but he quickly lowered it upon realizing that Sam might see everything, prompting a long conversation with her afterwards. He didn't want her to see anything, and with the situation out of his hands he went with the first possibility that flashed through his mind.
"Number fourteen," Wesley continued as Matthew buried his face deeper into his hands.
"If I died would you stop talking?" Matthew mumbled.
"No," Wesley answered.
Out of the corner of his eye he spotted James appear into the room, flashing in and out as if he was being projected onto a screen. Matthew let out an audible sigh of both frustration and relief upon seeing James' clone.
"Trouble outside," James warned. "Sam's out there!"
"Who are you talking to?" Sam asked, unaware that James had used his power to clone himself. Unfortunately, James still had not mastered the ability to control both clones independently.
"Nobody," James quickly said. "Listen, you have to get out of here. It's not safe."
"What about you?" Sam asked. "What if something happens to you?"
"Don't worry about me," he said. "Just get out of here and we'll talk later."
James pushed her roughly in the opposite direction of the source of the fireball. She turned around briefly to see James dodging another magical attack, sliding along the grass as he narrowly missed the flickering green projectile aimed at his head. She hurried off, not looking back a second time. She knew that James would be able to take care of himself, no matter what happened.
James turned his attention to Sam, checking to see if she followed his directions. Thankfully, she was out of sight and presumably out of danger. As he turned to face the demon, he nearly wet his pants as a fireball, still emanating heat, hovered inches from his face. He looked around and saw Matthew standing alongside Wesley, whose arms remained outstretched.
"You gotta work on your reflexes," James said to Wesley.
"Just do your job and vanquish him," Wesley said nonchalantly to James.
James waved his hand dismissingly, tapping into his telekinetic powers, and the fireball magically flew towards its source, who also stood frozen in place. The instant the fireball touched the demon, both vanished in a banal, hardly impressive conflagration. James joined his brothers, checking the area for anyone who might have witnessed this act of supernatural activity.
"Nobody saw," James said.
"Good," Matthew said. "I see he finished the lights for you."
"I know," James said in a mellow tone.
"Did your girl see any of this?" Wesley asked.
"No," James said. "Looks like she got out in time…again."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Matthew asked.
"She cancelled again," James told his brothers.
"Again?" Wesley asked. "What is this, number sixteen?"
"Four," James corrected him. "I just wanna know what she's up to that keeps her so busy."
"Why don't we focus on who attacked us," Matthew said.
"Let me tell you about women," Wesley said, ignoring Matthew and throwing an arm around James' neck.
"Oh God," Matthew said, covering his ears as they all returned into the house.
