Interstellar Academy

07: Duel

Jim hated the idea of fighting in front of his mother; he'd generally briefed her on the stakes, so she mildly understood why he was doing it. Even so, he felt almost animalistic, how his thirst for this creature's downfall seemed almost overpowering. He lifted his flintlock- which looked like a sword, initially- and aimed it at Roger. The man beamed evilly at the weapon; he wasn't undermining it. Good. Jim wanted the man to let his guard down.

Roger revealed the mother of flintlocks: it was double barreled, large trigger so there was no slipping, and a "hidden" barrel that looked it replaced the one on top.

He wouldn't admit it, but Jim did feel a little inferior. But he wasn't going to allow that to stop him from his goal. He glanced up at Nova, who was holding her face, anxious. She was looking between the two competitors, her eyes landing on Jim's staring at her. He could see her body relax under his gaze. He nodded once at her, subtly, but he got one right back.

"GO!"

Roger shot the instant the referee gave the verbal OK. Jim was ready for the cheap shot and barrel-rolled out of the way. The blast was powerful and nearly took his leg off. Roger looked frustrated that Jim was so mentally prepared, but wasn't deterred.

Charlotte came up behind Nova, scaring her, but wrapped an arm around her thinned waist anyway. "I know that you're scared for him."

"N-No." Nova couldn't bring herself to look at her old friend. She'd ditched all of them since she'd started "dating" Roger. "Roger can help himself. He's a big boy."

"We both know who you're talking about." They're conversation paused at the sound of another loud blast. It had come from Jim, who, evidently, installed some type of laser in his sword attachment.

"I know…" Nova leaned against the railing, squeezing the cold metal. "Roger is so sneaky. He could make it all look like an accident…"

Charlotte rubbed Nova's back, surprised at how much her spine was protruding through her skin. Her and Roger have only been together for two weeks; how many meals HAD she had in those fourteen days?

"Jim has this under control," Charlotte reassured her. "We've been practicing."

Nova raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, simply watching.

Roger and Jim had sent a blast of energy simultaneously, causing a large ball of plasma to form in the middle of the playing field.

Nova panicked. "JIM!" She practically fell forward, trying to find her ex-boyfriend amidst the dust cloud.

The smoke cleared, revealing both boys injured, but still standing. The crowd was going crazy. They wanted more explosions. Nova took a daring glance at Jim's mother, Sarah, who had at the same time looked at her. She wore the same worried expression Nova knew she held. They turned their attention back to the field.

Jim was holding his arm- his flintlock holding arm- and wincing, a scrape on his head bleeding almost profusely. Roger was no better. In fact, Nova was more than convinced that the silver-haired demon was worse off. There was blood streaming out of his ear and down his neck, his shirt had been ripped in the crossfire, revealing scratches that would no doubt form into scars.

"Jim, please. Someone, just forfeit," Nova silently begged, her eyes tearing up. "Someone just give up."

"You know they're not going to do that," said Stav, surprising her. Apparently, her old gang had all decided to stand beside her. "As long as it's you, Jim won't give up."

"You didn't disprove or approve, Miss Finn," Ruse said with a sly expression. "So Jim took that as your affirmation."

"Idiot!" Nova half-shouted.

"You know boys and fighting," Helena said nonchalantly. "They never give up until someone's the wiser."

Nova bit her lip. She had to stop them from doing this. She held no feelings toward Roger, and he'd brutally hurt her, but even through all that, she couldn't bring herself to want any sort of pain toward the demon. "The wiser… the wiser…" She repeated the words over and over, looking around the stadium, until something caught her eye. "I got it!" She pushed passed Stav and Charlotte on her right and toward Sarah. "I need your help to stop this!"

Sarah looked surprised, then determined. "Anything."

Nova grabbed hold of her wrist and tugged her toward an upper part of the stadium. "We gotta knock a flintlock from SOMEONE'S hand. That way, if it's destroyed, it's automatic disqualification, and no one wins because it's no one's fault on the field."

"They can go home safe and not dead, sounds like an excellent plan to me!"

At the top of the dome, Nova saw a loose light fixture. She opened the top of the dome, to everyone's surprise, allowing the stars to stream through. "I need you to start untying this. And when I get over there, let it go. Don't think, don't hesitate, just let it go."

Sarah nodded, unsure of the actual plan going on in the girl's head, but not arguing with it. Though she did have something to say. "You still love him, don't you?"

Nova felt this was an awkward conversation to have with someone's mother, but why not just answer the question? "Yes. Very much." She looked back at Sarah with so much longing and sadness that the older woman couldn't argue with her. She simply nodded for the girl to go.

The moons were bright tonight, two of them full, and the stars were full on.

Oh, look, a meteor shower! This night was perfectly timed, Nova couldn't help but think.

The girl gave herself a running start then darted across the field toward the loose fixture. Once she had her hands on it, Sarah let go of the rope holding it up. Nova and the light went flying toward the field, right toward Roger. She reached out one hand to grab his flintlock.

But one thing Nova hadn't accounted for was, 'What if they grabbed back?'

She held her shimmery star form, her face covered by many plasma orbs. Roger had held on as she swung toward the other side, the rope wanting to go up opposite of Sarah. Roger wasn't having it, but looked like he didn't have a choice. His girlfriend was a lot stronger in this form, and gave up his flintlock. She tossed it into the stands, toward some blank seats, and almost screamed when it exploded into smithereens, all evidence of it gone.

The referee was speechless at first, trying to take in the scene, then regained himself and said over the mike, "Looks like Landers must forfeit. So James Hawkins wins the competition!"

The crowd went crazy over this news; maybe Landers had less followers than he initially bragged about.

Nova snuck away and into the outer-dome, shifting back into the "original" form and rushing back inside to meet with a victorious- and smiling- Jim. He didn't look particularly excited to see her, but hugged her tightly anyway, carefully as if not to crush her.

"You shouldn't have done that, Finn."

"You shouldn't have gone to kill yourself, Hawkins."

They let go so Jim could meet with his professor for his grade. Hopefully, Roger would receive a decent grade for participating.

Outside, as people dwindled into their townhomes and dorms for the night, the excitement having gotten to them, Nova met with Roger, who was fuming angry.

"You… YOU!" He lifted his hand as if to slap her. She flinched at the movement, holding her hands in front of her face. "You ruined everything for me! I could have beaten Hawkins, could have showed the world just what a powerful man I am! Now look at me- LOOK AT ME!" He grabbed hold of her wrist, twisting it down to force her to look up. "I looked like an absolute idiot!" His hand still suspended, he went to bring it down to strike Nova.

Only a paler, stronger one came and stopped him.

"It's over, Landers." Jim's voice floated into Nova's ears, and she sprang upright, embarrassed. "You're not going to lay another hand on her."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was a relationship for THREE," Roger sneered. "As long as she's not with you, I can do as I please, for she's with me."

Those words brought a heart-wrenching solution to her problem.

"Fine," the girl spoke up, stepping away from both of them. "Then I'm single. From both of you." She looked angrily at Roger, then sadly at Jim. "You said as long as I'm not with Jim, right?" Roger, flustered, tried to correct himself, but Nova wasn't having it. "Nope. That's what you said, as long as I'm not with Jim. You can't bring anymore harm to either of us." Jim looked shocked and disappointed at what Nova was declaring, but also knew this was probably the best answer.

"FINE!" Roger growled. A short burst of lightning shot behind him, making both Nova and Jim flinch. "One wrong glance, one forbidden kiss, one ANYTHING IN THE ACT OF BEING A COUPLE, and I'll bring you both down!"

Nova and Jim nodded solemnly, then watched the demon walk away, a storm cloud following above him. Then the girl crashed onto her knees, her small body unable to handle anymore stress.

"Nova!" Jim bent down to help her up, but she pushed him away, almost falling over in the process. "Nova, friends help each other out. Come on, please?"

She looked up into his desperate blue gaze and adhered to his wish, reaching a hand out to him. Leaning against him, she allowed him to lead her home where Charlie and Helena had met them to help her into bed.

That night, she cried silent crystal tears, wishing their lives hadn't gotten so complicated, and silently asking herself when in the world it actually did. She cried herself to sleep, her last thought being of her brown haired, blue-eyed hero.