-Last few weeks were a bit rough, and this part of the story was difficult to write for me, as it simply re-tells the movie, which is kind of exhausting.

-Anyway, the end of the chapter is the beginning of the final arc, the War, so for anyone who actually aims to finish this story, it would be useful to read that part

-I apologize for my delays and for the style in this chapter, I guess I'm no good at continuous work -_-

"Warren, how could you?", it was the first time that he had seen the girl this exasperated, walking around in her room, visibly angry, "You just told me how important it is that you'd get closer, and then you attack him and off all things snap and tell him to piss off?"

Warren huffed, things had gotten out of hand and he was feeling stupid enough as it was, he didn't need complaining now: "I'm in a stage where I can be moody, right? It's not my fault, it's evolution."

"You told me again and again how everything depends on this, I don't think this is a time to be moody, do you?"

"Not everyone can be as cold as you", Warren scoffed and left the room, hearing Nivia groan in frustration.

Things only got worse from there on, Warren grew unnerved and unable to think of a good plan to make up for his disastrous failure, and even when Stronghold saved him from Speed in the hero-challenge he couldn't catch the opportunity to finally recruit Will for the fight he knew was going to come.

After another few weeks, he got saved by sheer luck. When he was working as usual in the Paper Lantern, he suddenly found himself standing in front of Layla Williams.

His mood had gone from irritated to desolate by then, and he probably wouldn't have known what to say if Layla hadn't started the conversation, greeting him casually.

As Warren expected Layla talked about Will nonstop, but the sole fact that she actually was speaking to him sufficed to him.

He was careful not to make her suspicious about him knowing too much about her and Will, and managed to create a somewhat calm mood, until they were cut off by his boss, who shouted out of the kitchen that he should hurry up.

After that Evening, Warren felt better, even though Nivia still wouldn't talk to him.

However, when at the following morning Layla walked up to his table in the cafeteria and just casually dropped on a chair across him, and told him that she planned on going with him to homecoming, he felt that well-known annoyance he had felt when Layla had bumped into him two years ago.

„I don't remember that being the plan‟, he wasn't about to be dragged into some relationship.

Things got even more distracting when the whole gang he had seen with Will before seated themselves around Warren, too, and he quickly realized that things were changing too quick.

But at least Layla wasn't doing this to get through too him, personally, which made the situation bearable.

Things were painful the next days, with Layla clinging onto him whenever Will was looking and Warren growing more uncertain if this really was a good idea to get through to them.

After a brief encounter with Will at the Paper Lantern, at which he cleared things up, the dance was the next time he actually had contact with his former friends.

Homecoming was as boring as expected, until The Commander and Jetstream arrived, oblivious of Warren's presence, and some girl named Gwen, who Warren had never really cared about, revealed herself as some second-class Super-villain called 'Royal Pain'.

Jonathan Boy, Coach Boomer and even Principal Powers an the Strongholds proved useless, as only Warren and Layla's friends were able to escape the following shootout with some gun that turned people into babies.

Warren had asked himself where Will had gotten to, until the boy in question suddenly appeared, apologized to his friends that he, as he had told Warren earlier, had treated them like shit.

After they made up, Lash and Speed and some black girl who had the ability to multiply attacked them, but where defeated, which gave Warren the opportunity to analyze the gang's powers, and form a few plans for his task in his head.

The rest happened really quick, Royal tried to slam the school into the ground, quite literally, as she had somehow sabotaged the device that caused the school to float, Will developed a flying power, and Magenta morphed into a guinea-pig to save the school.

After that, the dance went on as before, having saved the day Will was his old self and Warren felt relieved.

"So it worked out in the end I guess?", an unexpected voice, Warren turned around and faced Nivia, who had been standing beside him, arms crossed.

He smiled subtly and answered: "I guess it did."

Silence, as they watched each other, uncomfortable and for what seemed ages.

The noise from around grew louder, as people danced, cheered, and Warren didn't notice anything strange yet.

He watched as her skin became paler, colder, then a layer of ice covered her arm, avoiding his gaze she turned and said something that he didn't catch.

Flames leaked leaked out of his skin, grabbing Nivia's Hand he watched as their powers compensated one another, eradicating both, flames and ice, a strange and somewhat peculiar feeling.

And at that moment, the moment of victory and happiness, without a warning, without bad omens, the war erupted.

A white flash, at first Warren didn't even notice it, then he caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye.

He didn't let go of Nivia's hand as he turned, gasped and began to move quickly towards an exist, his shout of surprise perishing in the overall noise of the dance.

One moment frisky dance, the other gruesome panic.

People screaming, running, powering up, dying.

Warren felt it, felt Sky High crumbling as the whole school moldered and fell.

He gripped on a table, still holding the blonde girl close to him, tried to think, watched the ground drawing nearer, jumped, felt the pain for a split-second and blacked out.

I will rewrite this as soon as I feel a little better, but first I'll write a little further, so the next chapter has priority for now.