"Behold!" Steve waved his hands in front of the contraption.
Down in Steve's basement, the strange vehicle was a silver rocket-shaped machine with chrome that glistened underneath the harsh white lights that blared onto Moxie's heated skin. From Steve's Basement, the vehicle rose up through a shaft hidden in the white room all the way through the house. The end had a pointed solar panel about the width of a pinhair that stretched out not unlike a swordfish in the ocean next to Steve's house. In the center of the rocket was a simple velvet pilot chair with a glass dome fixed overhead.
"The sun-powered Rainbow Rocket," Steve stroked the body of the flying machine like a monkey finding a precious banana. "This baby is guaranteed to get you to the exact GPS coordinates of your target within the span of just twenty seconds."
"All the way to Northern California?" Moxie asked. The girl stepped forward and placed her hands on her hips. "Twenty seconds?"
"Actually, it gets most anywhere in twenty seconds," Steve pressed a button on the side and opened up the cockpit. The glass dome slid into the frame of the rocket and opened the char for seating. "You wanna go to China? Twenty seconds. The grocery store? Twenty seconds. The moon? Probably twenty seconds, but you'll blow up before that point. Space stuff, y'know."
Moxie squeezed her teeth together to stop from chattering in the cold air that pumped out of the air vents humming above. She rubbed her toned arms and paced around the machine. "So, why is called the Rainbow Rocket if it looks like a bullet?"
"It produces the prettiest rainbow from the exhaust pipe," Steve kneeled down and knocked on a thin pipe right at the bumper of the rocket. "A personal touch."
Moxie saw her reflection in the chrome and ran a finger over it. Her digit left a small trail that smeared from the oils of her hand. "So...can we use it?"
Steve shot up like a whack-a-mole prop and scratched at the back of his head. "Well, I could only get it approved from the state if I made it solar powered. And it only holds a charge for a few seconds from full charge before it shortens out. Also," Shoto pointed at a gauge on the dashboard of the interior. "It only shoots once. After that, it just becomes a big hunk of metal and I have to make another one."
Moxie stroked her cheek. "Sounds mighty inconvenient," She said.
Steve nodded and headed over for a pedestal. On it were green buttons that lit up to the touch of his fingers. He pressed on a few of them before a beeping noise dinged out from the mechanism. "The other problem is that...I haven't exactly tested it yet on a person."
The southern girl flashed a dumbfounded expression on her face. She clutched her chest and sucked in an audible gust of air. "What?"
Steve shrugged and pressed one more button. "I mean, the dummies I tested it on would have survived if they were human. Just a few broken ribs. Although one was missing a head, but I think I just assembled the dummy wrong."
"Ain't there a slightly less deadly way to get there in time?"
"Moxie," Steve said. He faced her and paused to gather her attention. "Are you sure Shoto is going to do this?"
Moxie stopped herself and gazed down at her shoes. Why was she doing all of this now? It couldn't have been just for Katsu. As much as she enjoyed the boy's company, she was not at the life-risking stage of a relationship with anybody yet. That said, she already felt a strange bond and connection to Shoto that made her understand the hero more than many other people. It was clear to her that both of them faced disappointment and abandonment from others, and that was part of the reason they were trying to be heroes to begin with.
She sniffled, her heart tugging at her chest with the thought of losing somebody else she cared about so soon after her mom had ended her life. She pulled the muscles in her neck to the right, the stress of the night causing a small throb of pain that locked up her throat. She thought back to James' harsh words earlier. She was made to feel belittled and small by many people she had grown to care about. If she were to perform this big act and save one of their lives, maybe she would find acceptance from others much faster. Ultimately, Moxie knew she was doing this more for herself.
"When I was four or five, me and my brother were down by the creek. I liked to go down there for the minnows when they would nibble at my feet. On the way there, we were walking down the road past this store. My brother got thirsty, so we stopped in. And in the store, this man burst out and started screaming about wanting money from the register. Atticus, my dumb brother, decided he wanted to be a hero. So, he tells me to shush and then runs around to the corner right by the chips. When I poked my head to the side, I saw the guy with a shotgun. Atticus, he don't have no quirk, so he'd be a splatter on the ground in that fight. But he's strong and he's stubborn. When he got an idea, he'll fight for it."
Moxie trudged over to the rocket. Steve looked on when the girl wedged herself between him and the rocket faced her own reflection again. "And I remember. I remember being on the aisle right behind the man. And I remember Atticus accidentally knocking over the chips rack. Making a noise. And that guy...with his shotgun turned and...and I saw his finger just an inch from blasting at him. But...I ran over. I screamed and...heh...maybe this guy was so surprised by a little girl trying to do something about it. He froze like a deer in the headlights and I grabbed onto the shotgun. I tried wrestling it away, but after a few, he just knocked me back on my feet. But what I felt was weird. There was this weird glowing thing I felt in my hands," Moxie looked down at them. "And it gave off some light. A warm vibrating went up my arms. I remember it. And then he pushed me away and turned right at Atticus. And..."
Moxie pointed her finger at the reflection and mimicked firing a gun.
"Nothing happened," She said. "The shotgun jammed up, and my brother rushed over. Took him down in a hot minute. Now, the science reason, this is what the cops told my daddy, was that I lowered the energy with my quirk so when the firing pin hit the primer, no sparks ignited the powder. But part of me thinks two things. One is that it was a bad shotgun and I knocked it enough to break it. But the other reason...that I'm meant to be doing things like that. Saving others. And when I think about that moment when I thought Atticus was going be blown away...that part of my heart that died in that moment and I don't think ever came back...that's when I found my quirk. And that's why I wanna save Shoto. So he can keep doing more of that. Till me and the rest of my class become heroes and then he won't have to do it no more."
Moxie pulled out Martel's DNA tracker. Seeing the red dot on the map in the forest, she ran her thumb over the center of the screen. She was not going to be a burden anymore, and she would not let someone else she knew fall into the clutches of misery.
Looking back up at Steve, a layer of resolve burned in her grey eyes. That told Steve all he needed.
Up above, James held on for dear life; the flaps of Drake's wings almost knocking him off the talon of the boy.
James yelled when Drake took an unexpected dive just underneath a hanging cloud that drifted off the cliffs of the morning oceanside. His gaze now battered by the drenching sun, the entire skyline of the Malibu beachfront homes were set ablaze with an apricot glaze over the shimmering mansions. He swung like a precarious pendulum off the talons of Drake's claw. On the other side, Anton was tossed like a rag doll with every bank and turn the part-dragon made over the highway gushing with cars.
Anton slammed his foot into James' side. The boy nearly lost his grip with his hand slipping off one of the ivory talons. He reached up with his other hand and grasped onto the appendage and dangled himself to smack into Anton's shoulder.
"Watch where you're swinging," James shouted over the harsh wind.
Anton frowned with sweat dripping off his face. "It's hard for me to grip. My hands are slippery."
"Do more pull ups in the gym, Virus Boy," James yelled.
Drake grunted out and took another dive. He was having trouble lifting up two people at once. Before, it was just Megan and Blake. They were manageable. the two argumentative teenagers underneath him were far from easy to handle. He was annoyed at having to lug around both of them, and he decided another surprise skim of the Earth would be proper comeuppance.
The boys shouted underneath him before he leveled out just atop the roofs of the pristine manors. Anton's foot just kissed the siding of one of the sloped roofs. The boy squeaked out and hunched his legs upward to avoid an impact. Drake rose up again with the three boys soaring down the road just above the roofs of the various buses and cars zooming like scared mice on the pavement. A few cars honked as they flew past.
Drake darted back upwards, his own breath racing the speed of his flight. His strength was faltering with his wings flapping at a slower pace. His body tremored in the sky; his arms straining from the heave of the two boys that hung onto him. However, he breathed out a hot sigh of relief when he felt Anton release on of his arms to point at a specific house on the horizon.
"There," Anton said. "Steve's house."
Drake sliced through the air towards the humble home. His heart slammed in his ears with his wings beginning to taper out of existence. He jumbled like a plane in turbulence and let out a shout to stretch himself over the final meadow towards the house.
James looked up and braced himself for the jumbling of Drake. The three kids jostled through the air with Drake carrying two lead weights up an insurmountable colossus called gravity. They were only just a field away, but Drake was slowing to a near halt.
That was when James saw it.
A hole opened up in the mocha roof of the split-level ranch home. From the house, a strange rocket shaped aircraft rose up on hydraulic lifts to the rooftop. It stood on a platform all of its own that rose through the entire foundation of the home. The tip of the rocket peaked out and pointed up into the sky. Once the sunshine from the now risen sun hit the charging battery on the front edge, a green light started to fill up the electronic tube on the front spire.
Inside the cockpit, Moxie gripped the leather of the steering stick in front of her; the whites of her tan knuckles popping out from the grey surface of the cockpit that she sat within. The hydraulic hiss of the levers lifting up the contraption rang hollow through Moxie's ears as she clasped on the white helmet that covered the crown of her head. She jolted in her seat when the rocket lurched to a halt at the very top of the roof.
"Alright Moxie. Just twenty seconds to launch," Steve blared out on the radio.
"Alright," Moxie said with a slight stammer. "This won't be so bad. Just like mudding in a pickup truck."
The gauge on the dashboard clicked upward to the fullest level of the meter. A countdown started on the clock that took up the biggest part of the screen.
Moxie's heart raced faster than the speeding sports cars on the highway visible from the rooftop. She bit her lip and drummed on the leather. The sound of the engine started low, but then rose into a harsh whine that sputtered into a robotic roar. The entire ship started to vibrate in place with a small flume of purple smoke steaming out of the exhaust behind her. It rose up into the sky, and Moxie followed its trajectory to calm herself. It evaporated into the auburn sky, and Moxie calmed herself by simply looking at how peaceful the smoke floated away.
"Right," Moxie assured herself as she looked out onto the hills and felt the air brush through her long brown hair. "This won't be bad. Just me and heights and the sunshine and somebody flying towards me and about to crash into m-wha?"
Moxie screamed right as Drake's wings disappeared from his back. Completely exhausted, Drake's talons disappeared which made the three boy's plummet forward right at the rooftop. They were in free fall with only the momentum from the flight carrying them forward. James at the last moment swung himself on Drake's claws and threw himself forward over the roof.
Anton was not so lucky. He dropped like a boulder and fell right before reaching the edge of the roof. He crashed into a window on the side and disappeared into the house.
Drake kept his velocity longer and tried to initiate wigs again for a soft landing. Nothing appeared as the red-head fell legs first right into a certain Abel-shaped hole on the roof. The boy knocked the wind out of his lungs, his arms pinned once he was wedged into the chimney. Only his head and spiked hair stuck out as he cried out in pain.
James paid no mind and dived through the air right at the ship. As luck would have it, he slammed right into the side of the rocket right as the cockpit glass was sliding to encapsulate Moxie inside. James recovered his breath and felt the glass rise up with his hands still on the sill of the cockpit. He heaved himself over the edge and found himself squeezed into the drivers seat right on Moxie's lap.
"J-James?" Moxie cried out. Her hands were still gripping the steering wheel as James propped himself in between her arms. His head squeezed onto the top of the cockpit glass as he had both knees on either side of Moxie's pilot seat. He was hunched over Moxie's lap and wiggled himself to get more comfortable to no avail.
The glass closed up completely with the rocket launching a buzzer that initiated the final ten second countdown.
"Moxie, what's happening?" Steve shouted. "I detected another presence. And also, it's really drafty in my house for some reason!"
Moxie ignored him and placed her hands on James' taut chest. She pushed him back to gain some more room between them, but the space was so cramped it only made James wedge himself further into the girl's lap. He groaned out with one of his eyes closed from his arm scrunching itself between his head and the back headrest of Moxie's chair.
"James," Moxie said in a befuddled tone. "What? But how? And why?"
"I'm sorry," James said in a strained voice. "I shouldn't have said that shit to you. I'm sorry."
"Wh-you came here just to apologize?" Moxie shouted.
"I did. Now, accept it, you manatee," James said.
"But wait," Moxie panicked. "What about the Sports Festival? This only goes one way. You'll miss it! And wait," Moxie shouted in her radio. "Steve, how do I land?"
"Oh, that's easy," Steve said. "You just have to-."
One more beep.
"Launch. Start." A robot voice said.
Blam!
The rocket screamed into the air.
The scenery disappeared below as all Moxie saw was the bright tangerine of the morning oasis above. Not a cloud obscured her view as the sky soon deepened into a cerulean of the higher atmosphere. James pinned himself to Moxie with his head smacking the back headrest. His nose digging right next to Moxie's ear in the harsh velvet, James' heart plunged to his stomach as he felt the weightlessness of the launch take over. His arms hugged the sides of the chair with his teeth clashing with each other from being unbuckled in the radical ascent.
James shut his eyes and kept his head buried in the seat. He screamed along with Moxie, but his voice was drowned out by the engine screeching higher as the rocket soared into the sky.
Then, he heard the scream of the girl in front of him bubble into a giggle.
Moxie let out a laugh from the insane velocity of the ascent. She could not help herself. At first, she was nervous. As they kept ascending, she found herself enjoying the trip like a maniacal roller coaster. She closed her eyes and let out a cheer once the rocket leveled out and pierced through the immaculate crystal air above the decrepit state of California.
"James," Moxie shouted. "This is amazing! Whoo!"
Just then, another blast.
Moxie opened her eyes. Her mouth snapped open. Around them, the sky had disappeared. Instead, a running tunnel of brilliant emeralds and indigos swam with streaks of lilac and paprika red sliding past the glass of the cockpit. The roar of the engine had dies down into an idle lull, and the light inside had been filled with the refraction of the rainbow tunnel that consumed them and kept them hidden from the outside world.
Moxie tapped on James' shoulder. The boy's eye fluttered open. With the rocket more stable, he pushed himself off the back of the chair and looked up at the colors flowing around him. Straddling the girl's lap, James gaped in awe at the kaleidoscope that swirled around with the occasional gold flash snapping and erupting into a spark that jumped and arced around the very top of the rocket.
James, for once, was speechless. His mouth wide and his heterochromic eyes reflecting the light show dancing around him, he had never seen anything quite as beautiful.
"What," Moxie beamed at the symphony of color. "Is this?"
The boy on her lap finally calmed down and stared the girl right in her face. She pried her eyes away and faced James who bore a serious expression.
"Moxie," James said. "I shouldn't have said that. And I should've supported you getting to Shoto. I'm sorry."
"James," Moxie lowered hier gaze in embarrassment. "You're gonna miss the Sports Festival."
"You dummy," James grunted. "Can't you see I'd rather be here with you?"
Moxie gave off the sheepish of grins. "James, I...I don't know to say to that?"
"You don't have to say nothing. I've been lectured to enough by my classmates," James huffed. "Just accept the apology. Uh...please?"
"You don't seem like the kinda guy that apologizes a lot," Moxie said. "You've done it a few times to me now."
James scratched at the back of his neck. "Well, that's it. You only get about three per lifetime. So you used them all up now."
Moxie smiled at the boy. Looking gazes with him, her eyes went slightly lidded and she craned her neck upward towards him. "James...how many chances do we get?"
The boy blinked. "Huh? What's that mean?"
"I said," Moxie drawled in her southern accent. "How many chances...do we get?"
James sat frozen, only able to trace his own reflection in Moxie's grey eyes with the rainbow blinking around him. His face flushed and beginning to warm, he had a feeling that his internal body temperature was rising. However, this time, it was not due to dehydration.
Before either could respond, the rocket jostled again.
As soon as the colors had appeared, they vanished.
And then, both of the student's stomachs fell as the sky reappeared. They let out a scream when they saw that the rocket headed straight for two people at the edge of a cliff. This time, a cliff right below them and no way of knowing how to land.
Alistair, with a boyish cry, wafted away the furious flames that tagged the edges of his black velvet robes. He paced backwards; a matador on the run from a raging bull as Shoto unleashed his short attacks.
He brushed away the flames, and the momentary heat that scorched his skin died away into the now muggy and haze-filled air of the near-sunrise on the summit. The entire landscape now soaked in bright orange, blinked and regained his vision to see Shoto charging towards the pills perched on the very edge of the cliff, this time with Shoto glaring at him with every step as if daring him to strike. Alistair pointed the wand at his back.
Another jolt of pain erupted from Shoto's chest. However, he timed his attack to start right when Alistair had flicked his wrist. Right as the throbbing spasms zapped Shoto's nerves, a slice of ice popped Alistair right in his face. Shoto collapsed onto his side, but the ice sliced out of him in time to hit Alistair in a simultaneous fashion. Alistair stumbled backwards with the chunks of ice jutting out from the floor and causing the boy's nose to leak out blood.
They continued in a half-invisible duel pacing around in a circle. Alistair would stab Shoto with his magic. Shoto would time it just right to unleash a small spark of fire and alternated to spike of ice that would knock Alistair back. Soon, Alistair sped up the pace. He was tired of being pushed around by Shoto, especially since he was the one that was supposed to be in charge. The arrogance the boy had mixed with the annoyance at still being bested made him go crazy, and he would try to inject the magic of pain into Shoto with every waking second he refused to join him. With blood dripping down over his mouth, Alistair was covered in flecks of ash from the burnt tips of his robes and melting ice that seeped into his skin and made him shiver.
The pair exchanged blows. Occasionally, Shoto would try to slash at Alistair with two attacks at once, but only one would land while the other sailed off into the distance. Both of the men had bruises already forming on their faces. Shoto's head pounded from overuse of his quirk, and he felt his limbs weaken with every raise of his arms or kick from his legs.
Stab. Slice.
Stab. Whoosh.
Stab. Slice.
Stab Whoosh.
Shoto, panting along with Alistair, knew he had little energy for more than small spits of flame and ice at a time. He also knew his quirk would shorten out with more use, so he conserved what he had left to withstand the magic Alistair cursed upon him. He had no idea if he could defeat the boy from another realm, but he could at least harm him enough to get to the pill bottle.
Pushing forward towards Alistair, Shoto jumped and flipped in the air. He formed a bridge of ice right under his feet and landed on it. With his momentum, he slid ahead and created a wave of ice that banked to Alistair's right. Preparing for Alistair's attack, Shoto placed his hand on his back hiding it from view. His palm sizzled and popped with smoke furling out of his grasp. Alistair tried to trail Shoto with his wand, but Shoto was swinging through the ice with enormous speed practically surfing with the wind brushing through his hair.
Finally, Alistair found Shoto in the middle of the wave and flicked the wand again. Yet, Shoto was still prepared. He launched himself off the top of the wave, sailing into the air like a vulture stalking prey. His body just a dot in the bright, tangerine sky, Shoto noticed the beauty fo the landscape as time eked to a crawl. He faced the sunrise and felt the warmth on his face from the star peeking beyond the horizon for the first time. The birds above soared past him in packs as he stretched out his limps full in front of him.
Looking back down, he saw Alistair with the wand right underneath him and pointed right at him in the air.
With a yell, Shoto unleashed a laser of fire that blasted right down.
Alistair gaped at the fireball descending upon him like a shooting star crashing into the earth.
Shoto, still falling in the morning sky, hacked out in pain and clutched his chest when the spell hit him.
Right as the fireball hit Alistair.
Underneath Shoto, the ball of flame exploded right onto the spot the boy was located.
Timed perfectly, Shoto braced himself for the impact of the ground; the pain too strong for him to focus on cushioning the fall. The brilliant eruption of yellow preceded the familiar stench of smoke and crushed rock that followed the blast. Shoto closed his eyes once his face warmed from the remnants of the flames. Alistair had disappeared with the flames dying down into a heavy cloud of smoke. Shoto's ears rang out from the explosion, but he simply breathed and cut downward through the air like a trained diver.
Right as he was about to hit the ground, Shoto reached out his fist to form another pathway of ice he could harmlessly slide down. However, only hints of frost pumped out form his hands. Shoto turned to his side, the only other option he had for landing without breaking his collarbone. He waited for only a few feet above the surface of teh scorched ground. He booted his feet out and placed his hand right at the earth. With one more gasp, he coughed out a small rush of flames that knocked him to the side so he fell more lateral with the mountain peak. With the change in trajectory, Shoto slammed into the ground but skid across the summit rolling over the hard clay like a pebble kicked by the wind.
Shoto rolled over, his breath faltering from the impact as he clutched his midsection in the tumble. The world spun in his eyes, so he closed them again and went along with the roll just like his hero training had taught him. Keeping his momentum up, Shoto tumbled all the way to the base of the boulder where his will and farewell letters remained. He flipped over them and smacked his side into the boulder. The rock stopped him in his tracks, and Shoto laid there to regain focus of the world.
His arms splayed out next to him, his left hand nestled on top of the folder that he tried to bury earlier. Loose dirt covered his body with the hard rock underneath scratching at the back of his aching legs. He arrested air into his lungs, his chest palpitating upwards and downwards with the speed of the wind whistling over the mountain top.
Still breathing heavy, Shoto raised his head and saw the black outline of Alistair's robes. His white limbs were spread out to his side. Both palms open and empty, the boy seemed small from the few yards away he lay in repose.
Shoto grunted when he lifted himself up. He supported himself with his arms towards his side. He sat upright and surveyed the small sparks of flame that tickled the clay underneath. The flicker of fire snapped and died out from around the remnants of the battle between the two. Shoto breathed in the smoke, oddly comforting him when he felt his back muscles relax.
Hearing a cry, Shoto saw Alistair prop his head up. The boy sat himself up and clutched his head. His face was covered in blood with his clothes mainly in tatters. His robe was completely gone with a grey vest underneath also battered from the attack. A green tie underneath smoldered as his black dress pants were torn from the frayed ankles all the way to the holes around his knees. His hair was unkempt and covered in soot with bits of rock sprinkled in the blonde stalks. His angular face was covered in thin cuts and the swelling of future bruises forming around his cheekbones. His normally bright eyes, dull and dazed, made contact with Shoto.
Alistair, in a moment of desperate anger, reached back into the pocket of his robe. "You have no idea what you're denying, Shoto. Don't you want to have a life beyond this? Don't you want me to get home?"
"Not particularly," Shoto mocked. "You're a big boy. Buy a map and get home yourself."
Alistair yelled out and grabbed at his pocket ready to strike.
When he pulled his hand out, only his fist grasped at air.
The boy patted at his pockets. He shifted himself in his spot and scanned around his body. He swatted at the ground, kicking up dust like a madman picking at grass when he brushed through the mounds of soot and ash.
"Where is it?" Alistair asked in panic. "Where is it?"
Shoto sat puzzled at the frazzled boy, watching him dig around in the rubble of his fireball. The boy had become quite unconfident in a very quick period of time. However, it was no concern to Shoto as he mustered up the remaining energy he had to make one more dash for the pill bottle. He turned towards the edge of the cliff. Right at the precipice sat the range bottle blending into the blinding sun that was now halfway past the horizon.
Along with Alistair's wand.
Alistair seemed to have noticed this the same time Shoto did. Both of them opposite each other, but equally distant to the two items, they locked gazes one more time. One of desperation. One of resolve.
Both of them got up and stumbled to their feet. Shoto got up sooner and ran towards the edge. However, Shoto stumbled on a curb and fell onto his knees. Crashing on them, he rolled around and stumbled back upright. Alistair, more injured but younger, bounded faster for the edge and caught up to Shoto. When he got to his side, Shoto took a chance and connected the dots. If Alistair was susceptible to attacks when he used his wand, then maybe he could be attacked if his wand was not on him at all.
Shoto reached over to Alistair and shoved him to the side. Alistair lost his balance and fell to the side. He skid forward on his legs and shot back up.
They were now halfway to the edge. Alistair dived and grabbed at Shoto's heel. He yanked backward on it which caused Shoto to throw out his arms and flail them. He smacked face first into the ground with spit flying from his mouth. Alistair climbed over Shoto's body pinned down by the boy and lunged forward. Only feet awy from his wand. That was until Shoto grabbed at Alistair's foot and slammed it onto the ground. He froze it down, and Alistair slammed his chin into the ground as he reached out his hand towards his goal.
Shoto got back to full height and rushed forward. Alistair, however, only needed to snap his ankle forward once to break the ice. The crystals disintegrated into a thin mist from the weakened ice quirk, and Alistair dashed right at the edge.
They both ran nearly in lockstep with each other towards the very edge of the cliff. Alistair reached forward and grabbed at Shoto's rounded shoulder and pulled him away from the bottle of pills but closer to the wand. Shoto ran to the left of Alistair, and both of them huffed in the final feet of the race. In a final attempt to stop Shoto, Alistair dived forward and in front of Shoto. He crashed into him and fell over his body onto the ground. The both skid forward right to the edge of the cliff. Both of them lay perpendicular to the rim with Shoto's legs intertwined with Alistair's in the haphazard pileup.
Shoto saw what was in front of him.
The wand.
In front of Alistair, the pill bottle.
Without a thought, they grabbed what was directly in front of them and scrambled to their feet. Once at full height, they both caught their breath and huffed. Shoto's head throbbed almost as bad as his other limbs, while Alistair still had blood flowing from his nose and other wounds littered on his body. Once Shoto had the lightweight weapon in his hand, he felt a strange surge of electricity that tickled his spine. His breath hitched, and the world seemed to slow while Alistair stared with panic at him.
Green met charcoal and teal, and the two enemies panted with heavy consideration over the next move.
"My-my wand," Alistair said. "Give it to me. Or I dump this off the mountain," Alistair held the bottle out to his side over the rock lip of the cliff.
Shoto rolled the wood around in his fingertips. Small and granular etches were engrained into the frame that spindled all the way up to the tip. "This little stick is your wand? Has this really been the thing causing me pain? What are you, some kind of low-rent sorcerer?"
"It's mine! Give it back!"
Shoto fumed at Alistair. "Give me my pills."
"No," Alistair shouted. "Then, you'll kill yourself. I need you."
"That's my point, dummy," Shoto said. "Why can't you just let me be the master of my destiny? What gives you that right to control what my future is?"
"Because I am your future," Alistair said. "I am your one chance at living a meaningful life beyond withering away of cancer. Don't you realize that?"
"No," Shoto said. "You don't get to decide that. I have a right to make my life how I see fit. You won't be the master of me. I will."
Alistair tipped the bottle right over the edge of the cliff. One of the pills tittered on its axis between the bottle and the void promised on the long drop beyond the cliff's edge. "Then I'll drop this. And you won't get any retribution for your sins. You'll burn in hell for eternity."
"I'm not afraid of hell," Shoto said. "Hell is afraid of me."
"Wh-what?" Alistair asked.
That was...a weird thing to say. Shoto thought to himself. Shaking his head, he glared right at the boy and examined the wand in his hand.
"I'll break this," Shoto grabbed the wand with both fists and bent at the ends. The wood was spright and flexible enough to just bend.
"Wait, stop," Alistair said. "Please don't."
Shoto tilted his head at the boy. For the first time, he actually seemed fearful as he held up the bottle of pills in his hand. Despite that, he felt a strange renewed energy at the tips of his fingers. Whatever this stick was, it was rejuvenating him as he felt his voice grow stronger in his throat and he stood more upright on the edge of the cliff. "I'll snap this, and then you won't be able to go home anymore, right?"
Alistair gasped. "No, wait! Don't do it."
What am I doing? Shoto asked himself. I should just get the bottle. Why am I...enjoying this? Is this wand affecting how I act?
Not able to help himself, Shoto flashed a maniacal grin. He felt his conscious float up into the air and gaze down at him while he tortured the boy's mental state. He had little control over the sadism that was making his heart race with excitement. For some reason, Shoto was becoming more infused with whatever energy the wand was giving him, and it seemed to be dictating his actions. "I'll snap it, and you'll be stuck here. And if you're stuck here, you'll be powerless. And then I can watch you truly suffer."
Despite the small voice in his head screaming about how wrong this was and how he should use this time to snatch away the pills, Shoto chuckled with glee at seeing Alistair fall to his knees and lift up the bottle.
"No, please don't do it!" Alistair begged. "I must get back home. My friends and my family."
Alistair, collapsing to his knees, dropped the bottle in front of himself and rolled the bottle the five feet forward towards Shoto. He lifted up the tip of his foot and stopped the roll. With the bottle right underneath him, Shoto had control of the pills and the wand. He could solve this now, but Shoto's mind went haywire, and the wand influenced further his decision-making.
"You know what," Shoto laughed. "I think I'll just break it anyway."
"No, Shoto! Please! I promise I won't harm you again!"
"I believe you," Shoto said. "But just to be safe..."
Shoto bent the wand further. A few splinters of wood snapped from the center.
"No, stop!" Alistair shouted.
Right as Shoto was about to snap the wand completely in half, a blast rang out from above.
A miasmic cloud with the hue of a rainbow erupted like the mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb just a few yards in the sky above.
The last thing Shoto could remember was seeing a silver bullet-shaped rocket plunging right at the peak of the mountain. He stared right at the oncoming carnage, the ship going to fast to stop from a crash landing.
The rocket hurtled right at the two.
Distracted, Shoto was a deer in headlight completely frozen in place like an ice sculpture. He had never seen such a machine before. Squinting, he realized that the vehicle was being piloted by someone familiar. Specifically, a young teenage girl he had bailed out from jail just a month or so ago.
Is that, Shoto thought to himself. Moxie?
Shoto, in his moment of frenzied did not realize Alistair making one final dive for his wand. The boy from another universe leapt forward, kicking the pill bottle to his side and making it bounce right off the mountain.
The bottle skittered off the cliff and spun downward into the thick canopy of trees below. Shoto heard the rattle of the pills and turned his head back at Alistair. The boy stretched out his arm and grabbed onto the base right by Shoto's hand.
A spark of neon electricity erupted around the two.
Right as it did so, the rocket collided with the edge of the cliff where Alistair and Shoto stood.
The world flickered into darkness like a snuffed out candle.
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