Interstellar Academy

27: Fight (Part II)

Jim rushed back to join his classmates and friends. Grabbing a dropped flintlock, he pushed his way passed the crowd formed at the cafeteria entrance to find his one and only target.

The black-haired Roger clones were firing mercilessly around him, but he ignored them. When he found his mark, he aimed his gun and shot, nailing the man's shoulder. Roger gave a growl in pain and landed on the ground, flat footed. He scanned the area for the person who would dare aim at him, finding Jim in a second.

He stood up and approached the human slowly. "Ah, just like last year, yes?"

Jim didn't answer, just glared angrily.

"Don't be like that, James. We can't all win."

"I know, but I will. I don't like to lose."

Roger chuckled, shaking his head. "Yes, that makes two of us, doesn't it?"

The demon pushed himself from the ground and into the air, summoning all the power he could and throwing it at his nemesis. Jim barely moved out of the way in time, and it narrowly missed his leg.

It just healed!

Jim fired shots at Roger relentlessly, though it did no good. Though he got a few good hits, they didn't seem to phase him in the slightest. In fact, with each hit, as he grew more frustrated, he seemed to grow more powerful.

"You can't defeat me, and I will get what I want!" Roger scoffed, resting his feet on the ground again.

The fighting had built up around them, though neither boy noticed.

"You can have that blasted red head. She's been on my tail since I met her." Roger rolled his eyes at the thought of Leslie. "She's quite annoying, but useful. She does whatever I wish, no question. A good girl, though pestering."

Even though Jim held no positive feelings toward Leslie at this point, he couldn't help but get angry at the way Roger referred to her. Not like a friend, or even a person, but a simple asset he could throw away whenever he pleased.

"Are you telling me you're just using her?"

"Of course!" Roger laughed at his question, as if were the most tedious thing someone could ask him. "What else would I do with her?"

"Don't you think that if a girl was willing to go through that much trouble for you, then it's more than just some… some agreement?"

"It is- for her. But don't you treat Nova the same? Just using her?"

That tore right through Jim, and he fired a blast right at Roger's chest; the demon doubled over in evident pain, but still looked up at the boy, right into his eyes, his yellow eyes shining now knowing his weakness.

"You don't love her. Why would you go to some other girl if you truly loved her? No, you have ulterior motives for the little sunmaid. So just hand her off to me, it will solve all your problems. If she wasn't around, you could be with someone normal, who actually cares about you. Probably a human you could grow old with instead of some girl you'd have to consistently hide from the world. Do you want to hide the love of your life?"

Jim's heart broke at the thought of Nova never being around.

Yes, she made his life complicated. They would have to hide from the rest of the world and the rest of the universe. She was clumsy, and thoughtless. Though very smart, she had no sense about her half the time.

But she was loving, sweet, intelligent and incredibly beautiful inside and out. She saved the life of this monster, despite all the hurt and pain he'd put her through. She was compassionate and understanding.

Nova drove him absolutely insane, but in the end he truly did love her.

The fact Roger felt he had a right to question that angered Jim.

"She's not some prize, Roger. And I'm not giving her up for anything, especially to the likes of you."

Roger aimed a firebomb at Jim, and it grazed the boys shoulder. He stared the boy down, his eyebrows dangerously low on his face. "What is she to you! Why do you fight for her, now, after everything!"

"The same reason Leslie is outside, fighting for you! Because I love her!"

Roger stopped in his tracks, as if the words were unfamiliar to his ears. His eyes softened, and his scowl turned into a simple frown.

Something was sinking in. Jim decided to roll with it.

"When you care about someone that's what you do, you fight for them. Leslie is outside fighting the love of MY life to fight the love of HERS. YOU. She'd do anything for you, don't you see that? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Jim sighed softly. "What girl would go through such measures, if she weren't in love? Think about it. And you have to care for her in return, even though you believe all you care about is for Nova and her power. You wouldn't have dealt with her all this time if you didn't."

Roger opened his mouth to protest, but shut it quickly. He had no fight left in him, Jim could see it. He was growing tired, keeping the clones alive and defending himself, even if it was just some human.

"You love Leslie too. But you're so hell bent on power, you don't let yourself realize it."

Roger dropped to his knees, his eyes showing how evidently tired he was. Jim came up by him and just stood beside him, not saying another word. Roger looked up then, his expression sad.

"Does it also hurt, being in love with someone?"

"Sometimes. But it's looking past that hurt to see all the wonderful things."

Roger just nodded. After a moment, Jim took this as an opportunity to bind the villain. He found some loose robe and tied the boy's wrists together. The clones disappeared into thin air as all of Roger's power vanished. He lowered his head to the ground, his body dangerously still.

That was when the girls walked in.

Jim stared into Nova's eyes with so much love and passion, and she returned his gaze just as intensely.

Yes, she was worth fighting for. No matter how horrible things seemed to be, he would always fight for her, in the end.

At this point, it wasn't even a choice. It was inevitable.