Hey guys, here's chapter 19 of Rise of Zeo. Not much else to say except enjoy.
Zeo leaned against a pillar next to the lockers, shuffling through his cards. He realized that most of the beasts he had were dark-types. From Knight Owl to Crimson-Eyes. Not that was complaining or anything, it was just an observation.
"Hey, Zeo" he heard the voices of the Blight twins as they approached.
"Oh, hey Edric, hey Emira" the card wielder greeted them.
"What're you up to?" Emira asked.
"Nothing much. Just looking through my cards" Zeo replied with a shrug of a single shoulder, "What're you guys doing?"
"We're just—"
"Look!" a female student cut Edric off midsentence, "He's here!" the female student pointed to the entrance.
Zeo and the twins turned to the entrance and saw a line of female students standing down either side of the hall. At that moment, in came a tall, somewhat fit guy with light skin. He had long, coiffed blue hair. In essence, he was one of those pretty boys that most girls would fall for… and not the good kind either. As part of his uniform, he wore pink sleeves and leggings, meaning that he was in the abomination track like Amity.
"Ugh, Xandopher…" Emira groaned with a roll of her eyes.
"Who?" Zeo looked at her with confusion.
They watched as Xandopher walked down the hall like a celebrity walking down the red carpet. Walking past Zeo as if he weren't even there, Xandopher approached Emira with a smug smirk.
"Emira. Hello again, my little illusionist queen" Xandopher caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, making her groan in disgust, "Happy to Xandopher again? Because Xandopher's happy to see you" he said flirtatiously. This guy often spoke in the third person, "How about you let Xandopher take you out on a date tonight?" he offered.
"Yeah, right. Thanks for the offer, but I'm not interested, Xandopher" Emira replied, smacking his hand away, "Just leave me alone"
"Come on. You, Xandopher. Xandopher guarantees you'll have the time your life" Xandopher said, continuing to flirt with her despite what she just said. He then put his arm around her, "Come on, baby, you know you want to—"
"Hey!" Xandopher was cut off by Zeo shouting at him. Xandopher turned around to see Zeo with his Dragon Blade in his hand, "The lady said she's not interested" he said, and then held the sword close to his neck, "So, back off! Or else…" he warned.
"Or else what?" Xandopher countered, unphased.
"Or else…" Zeo ignited the blade in flames, "I'll show you what my sword can really do. I'll cut you in half like a hot knife through butter!" he threatened.
"He'll do it, too" Edric chimed in.
"Yeah, take from us, Xandopher" Emira walked over to Zeo, "Zeo's not someone you want to mess with" she said, bending over and wrapping her arms around the boy from the side.
Xandopher looked at the twins, and then at the card wielder who looked at him with a glare. Xandopher scoffed and walked off, leaving the three behind as he turned a corner.
"So, who was that douchebag?" Zeo asked while recalling his weapon back into its card form.
"That was Xandopher, one of the popular guys from Abomination Track" Edric said, "He has a huge ego and practically hits on every girl in school. Most of them actually swoon over him" he told him.
"He especially likes to hit on Mittens and I. He always tries to go out with me" Emira added.
"Wait, he hits on Amity too?" Zeo raised an eyebrow.
"Uh-huh" Emira gave a confirming nod, "She and I always reject him though"
"You rejecting him is probably the reason he hits on you more than any other girl" Edric chimed in.
"Shut up, Edric!" Emira told her twin with a glare, making him step back a bit.
That's when they heard the bell ring, signaling them to head to class.
"That's the bell. Well, we better get to class" Edric said.
"You guys are going to ditch again, aren't you?" Zeo said with a deadpanned expression.
"Yeah" the twins replied in unison, Zeo releasing a sigh.
"See you around, Zeo" Edric waved at him before walking off.
"Thanks again for the save" Emira said with a kiss to Zeo's cheek. She then released him, "See you around, cutie" she winked at him before walking off. There was a brief pause as Zeo was left alone.
"Why is that girl so attracted to me?" Zeo asked himself.
"How dare that peasant get in Xandopher's way!" Xandopher growled, slamming his fist against a pillar, it being around lunchtime, "No one gets in the way of Xandopher Hocushire II! Just who does that guy think he is?!" he said.
That's when he heard a couple of giggles from behind him. Xandopher looked over his shoulder, he saw a group of girls walking down the other side of the hall. One of the girls was Bo, the Healing Track student that would sometimes hangout with Boscha and her gang. A smirk crossed the Abomination student's face.
"Hello, girls" Xandopher approached the girls.
"Hey Xandopher" the girls greeted him in swooned unison.
"Say, do any of you girls know a guy named Zeo?" Xandopher asked them.
"Zeo Clawthorne? Yeah, I've heard of him" Bo spoke.
"Oh? What do you know about him?" Xandopher asked her.
"Only that he has a unique type of magic. I hear lots of girls in the Beast Keeping Track like him. I hear even the girls outside of the Beast Keeping Track like him" Bo informed him.
"Ok, thanks for the information" Xandopher said, caressing Bo's cheek with the back of his hand, making her shudder with delight.
"Bye, Xandopher" the girls said to him as proceeded to walk down the hall.
Once the girls were out of eyesight, Xandopher's smirk faded. Xandopher gritted his teeth with a growl. So, this Zeo was a lady's man as well. That would explain why Emira wasn't interested in him and was clinging to silver-haired punk earlier. Emira and Amity rejecting his advances was the reason he was attracted to them. Still though, the fact that the eldest and prettiest of the Blight sister would rather spend time with some freshman over the greatest lady's man on the Boiling Isles was rather vexing. How dare this little twerp take his prize! Not to mention all the other girls that should be rightfully his!
That's when the school bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. As the students flooded the hall, Xandopher headed for his next class. Several students passed him on their way to their respective classes. One of them being a silver-haired student with yellow sleeves and orange leggings. Xandopher narrowed his eyes at the boy.
"Hey, Zeo" Xandopher called out to the boy.
"Hm?" Zeo stopped and looked over his shoulder at him, "Oh, it's you again. What do you want?" he asked.
"Zeo, Xandopher challenges you to a witch's duel!" Xandopher declared, pointing at the card wielder, "You and Xandopher, after school!"
"A witch's duel…" Zeo repeated, "Yeah, no thanks, I'm not interested" he said, declining the challenge.
"Not interested?" Xandopher repeated.
"I have more important things to do than waste time battling some narcissistic, womanizing douchebag" Zeo told him.
"Womanizer? I'm the Boiling Isles' gift to women" Xandopher replied with a smug tone.
"Right, whatever you say" Zeo rolled his eyes, "Look, I've got to be heading to class; the last thing I need is for my teacher bitch at me for being late. See you around" Zeo said before continuing his way to class.
Xandopher clenched his fists with narrowed eyes. This guy wasn't interested in going up against the greatest Abomination student in this school and the true Hexside lady's man? Either Zeo was scared of losing or he was confident in his ability. Either way, his decline to Xandopher's challenge was an insult. Speaking of ladies, at the end of the hall, there was Emira running down the other hall. That was the hall leading to the locker rooms. A devious smile crossed Xandopher's face as he drew a small spell circle across his face.
"Abomination, rise!" Xandopher said.
Some Days Later…
Emira entered the building of Hexside, a straight expression upon her face. The Illusionist girl walked down the halls, walking past several other students. One of those students being Zeo.
"Hey Emira" she heard Zeo greet her.
Emira heard him, however, she gave no response. Once at the end of the hall, she turned a corner and was immediately greeted by the Abomination student, Xandopher.
"Hey sweetheart. Did you miss Xandopher?" Xandopher smiled with open arms.
"I sure did!" Emira smiled, hugging him around the waist and planting a kiss upon his cheek.
"Emira?" they turned to Zeo standing by the corner, "What's going on?" Zeo asked.
"I'm spending time with my boyfriend. Duh" Emira said with a roll of her eyes.
"Boyfriend? I thought you hated Xandopher?" Zeo asked with a confused expression.
"I came to my senses and decided to give him a chance" Emira told him, "He's actually super amazing. Even more amazing than you, Zeo" she said with a smirk.
"Xandopher always knew Emira liked Xandopher" Xandopher said, draping an arm over the illusionist girl's shoulders, "It was only a matter of time"
The three of them looked at each other. Emira noticed Zeo looking her up and down, as if he were checking something out.
"Super amazing, huh?" Zeo repeated, his eyes narrowed in what appeared to be suspicion, "Is that how you really feel?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It is" Emira said, kissing Xandopher's cheek.
"Are you serious?" Zeo asked to no one in particular.
"Looks like you were just a phase, Zeo" Xandopher smugly smiled at the card wielder, "Right, Emira?"
There was a brief pause.
"Yeah… just a phase" Emira repeated, making Zeo look at her with a tilt of her head.
Zeo heard the strain in her voice. He looked at her and saw she was clenching her fists. The card wielder narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Come, Emira, let's get to study hall. Xandopher has a new spell that she wants to try out" Xandopher said, leading her away, leaving Zeo alone.
"Hmm…" Zeo rubbed his chin in curiosity.
Amity exited one of the stalls of the girls' bathroom, having finished doing her business. She normally didn't go to the bathroom during class, but she had a big breakfast in order to prepare herself for a test that she had later today. The youngest Blight sibling walked over to the sink where she proceeded to wash her hands. That's when something caught her attention which made her ears perk.
It was a familiar sound. Kind of like someone sobbing… crying even. Listening carefully, Amity could hear it coming from one of the other stalls. Walking over, she could hear the cries coming from the second stall. She peeked through the door, which was cracked open. Amity gasped upon seeing who it was.
"Emira?" Amity asked, seeing her sister crying into her hands. Emira gasped upon hearing her name being called, lifting her head to see Amity standing there with the stall door open, "Are you ok?" Amity asked with a concerned expression.
"I'm… *sniff*… I'm fine, Mittens" Emira said, wiping her face of tears.
"You sure? You don't look fine" Amity said.
"I'm sure. Don't worry about me" Emira replied, sniffling.
There was a short pause between the Blight sisters.
"Yeah, I don't think so" Amity said, approaching her sister, sitting beside her on the toilet, "Come on, Em, there has to be something wrong. You wouldn't be crying if there weren't"
Emira looked at her younger sister. She blinked as a few more tears rolled down her cheeks.
"If I tell you, do you promise not tell any of your friends?" Emira asked.
"I promise" Amity said with one hand raised and the other over her heart, "Now, what happened?"
"Well, you see, a few days ago…" Emira started.
[Flashback]
Emira left the girls' bathroom. Once school had let out, she had told her siblings to go home ahead of her since she really needed to go.
"Ahh… I needed that" Emira said, drying off her hands with a paper towel before tossing it in the trash.
"Hey Emira" she heard a voice.
"Oh, great…" Emira muttered sarcastically, "What do you want now, Xandopher?" she asked, turning to the Abomination student who approached her.
"Well, let's take a look, shall we?" Xandopher said, pulling out what appeared to be photos, the kind from one of those film cameras.
Emira gasped, her eyes widening upon seeing what the photos depicted. Four photos, each depicting her removing an article of clothing, having lesser and lesser clothing than the one before. In the background of the photos were some lockers and benches, meaning she was in the girls' locker room.
"How did you…" Emira started to ask, only to be answered by Xandopher drawing a spell circle which summoned a mini abomination onto his shoulder.
"You know, it'd be a be shame if the entire school were to see these" Xandopher said with a smug smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you blackmailing me?" Emira growled, clenching her fists with a glare.
"Xandopher prefers the term "extortion", it's nicer" Xandopher said. Emira raised a finger, "Don't even bother trying to destroy these, Xandopher poured a potion on them to keep them from being destroyed by magical means" he added.
"You…" Emira growled through gritted teeth.
"So, here's the deal" Xandopher started, "From this point on you'll be Xandopher's girlfriend, showing Xandopher praise and affection and how much you enjoy being around Xandopher. So much as one negative comment and everyone in the school sees these photos" he told her.
Emira released a small gasp under her breath as she took a step back.
[End of Flashback]
"So, he's really blackmailing you?" Amity asked, her sister replying with a slow nod of her head, "Wow. I knew that guy was a creep, but blackmailing someone with half naked pictures of them? Even you don't deserve that"
"Now I know how you felt when Ed and I threatened to post your diary across the school" Emira said, Amity groaning internally, "The worst part is I had to call him my boyfriend in front of Zeo! Just when I thought I couldn't hate that asshole more than I already did!" Emira cried, burying her face in her hands.
"Yeah, that reminds me. How's Xandopher's flirting with you different from your flirting with Zeo?" Amity asked.
"When I flirt with Zeo, I'm just being playful, a little harmless teasing. When Xandopher does it, it comes off as forward, egotistical, and douchey" Emira explained, "This is worse than being stuck with Edric… *sob*… My rest of my life is going to be miserable!"
"Emira…" Amity muttered her sister's name in a sympathetic tone as she watched her cry once more.
Deep down, Amity thought that this might've been ironic cosmic payback for the library diary incident. However, seeing her sister in such a vulnerable state… it only made her heart break. Sure, her siblings annoyed the hell out of her… and lots of other people for that matter, but they were still her siblings and they still cared for each other. Although, out of the two of them, she was probably closer to her sister than she was to her brother. In a move to comfort her sister, Amity wrapped her arms around her waist, catching the older girl a bit off guard.
"Mittens?" Emira looked down at her younger sister.
"It's going to be ok, Emira" Amity told her, "I don't know but we'll find a you a way out of this"
Emira sniffled a bit as small smile crossed her face.
"Thanks, Amity. You're a good sister" Emira told the younger girl as she returned the gesture.
After school, Emira placed stuff in her locker, preparing to leave. She heard the clearing of someone's throat. She turned her head, where she saw her Amity standing there.
"Ready to go?" Amity asked.
"Yeah, come on" Emira replied, "You didn't tell Edric about our little conversation, did you?" she asked as they walked.
"Of course not. A conversation like that stays between sisters" Amity replied, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder, Emira giving her a small smile.
"Hey Amity" a voice called. The Blight sisters look over their shoulders and saw Bo running up to them.
"Bo?" Amity questioned.
"Hey, you're going to go see the big witch's duel, right?" Bo asked, a sound of excitement in her voice.
"Witch's duel?" Amity and Emira repeated in confused unison.
"Who's fighting?" Emira asked.
"Xandopher. He was challenged to a witch's duel and he's going up against Zeo at the grudgby court" Bo told them.
"Zeo?" the Blight sisters repeated, looking at each other.
The Grudgby Court…
Emira and Amity walked into the bleachers where they met up with their brother. Surprisingly, lots of other students were there too. Practically half of the entire student body… if not, the entire student body.
"This is quite the turnout. This must be some duel" Edric commented.
"Two of the top students going up against each other? It should be" Emira replied.
A few rows down, Amity could see Luz with Willow and Gus, sitting in the front. She also saw the three other students that were in dual tracks… whatever their names were.
"I have to admit, I'm excited to see this" Willow said with Grimrose sitting in her lap.
"If Zeo's the one fighting then it'll definitely be fun to watch!" Luz beamed.
Luz then looked to the sky. She saw none other than Eda, riding sidesaddle on her staff as she flew through the sky. The Owl Lady descended from flight in front of the bleachers right in front of Luz.
"Hey kid," Eda greeted her human apprentice, "What's going on here, some kind of assembly?"
"Actually, Eda, there's a witch's duel that's about to start soon" Luz informed her.
"A witch's duel? Who's going at it?" Eda raised an eyebrow.
"Good afternoon, Hexside Academy" they looked to Principal Bump who was standing at the other side of the court, microphone in hand, "Welcome to an impromptu battle between two of the most skilled witches at Hexside. Xandopher Hocushire II…" Bump gestured to the teen on the right side of the court, "Versus… Zeo Clawthorne!" he gestured to silver-haired card wielder on the left side of court, who was now wearing his normal attire.
"Zeo?" Eda questioned.
"Apparently he challenged that other guy to a witch's duel" Willow told her.
"No one knows why, but who cares? It's not often we see a witch's duel!" Gus beamed.
"Eh, the dweeb's got a point" Eda shrugged before hopping the bleacher wall, sitting between Luz and Willow, "Alright, let's see what my…" Eda was about to say something but stopped herself.
"Your son?" Luz teased, raising an eyebrow playfully.
"Let's just see what the kid can do…" Eda muttered, turning her attention to the two duelists.
The two boys stared each other down, a light gust blowing across the court. There was more to this than just a casual witch's duel.
"You remember our little wager, don't you?" Xandopher asked Zeo with a smug expression.
[Flashback]
"Hey, Xandopher" Zeo called to the Abomination student as he approached him.
"Yes? What is it, Zeo?" Xandopher asked.
"Yeah, I've only known you for a few days and I'm already sick of your crap. It's time someone took you down a notch. I'm challenging you to a witch's duel!" Zeo told him.
"Oh? What made you change you mind?" Xandopher raised an eyebrow.
"I have my reasons" Zeo looked off to the side, "One of them being that I think you're a total douche" he muttered.
"Very well, Xandopher accepts his challenge" Xandopher said, "But let's make this interesting, shall we? Loser leaves Hexside forever"
"Fine. But if I win, you never speak to Emira again" Zeo added.
"Same to you" Xandopher countered.
"Shake on it?" Zeo held out his hand.
Xandopher drew a spell circle around Zeo's hand then shook it with his own, both their hands glowing with a small, golden light.
"The everlasting oath has been sealed" Xandopher said, the spell fading.
"That's probably fine, I guess" Zeo said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Meet Xandopher at the grudgby court after school. Let's see what kind of witch you really are" Xandopher said as he turned and walked away.
Zeo narrowed his eyes in a glare.
[End of Flashback]
"Yeah, how could I forget?" Zeo replied with a straight face.
"Ready?" Bump asked. There was a brief pause. "Begin!"
"Abominations, rise!" Xandopher drew a spell circle.
A spell circle then appeared on the ground. Out of the circle came an army of miniature abominations, about 20 or so.
"He can summon multiple abominations at once?" Luz said with some surprise.
"That takes some skill" Eda commented.
The Blight siblings looked on.
"Summoning multiple abominations at once. Does that mean he's better than you, Amity?" Edric asked.
"As much as I hate to admit it, yes" Amity replied.
"Abominations, attack!" Xandopher commanded them, the miniature goop creatures charging at Zeo surprisingly quick.
Zeo took a quick look at the miniature abominations. He pulled out the cards for his Beast Weapons. Seeing how short these things were, it'd probably be best to destroy these things from a long-range distance.
"Beast Weapon: Alicorn Crossbow, arise!" Zeo tossed the card, bringing out the alicorn themed weapon, setting it to the arcane setting.
"So, that's the unique type of magic you have that Xandopher has heard so much about" Xandopher said, somewhat intrigued.
Zeo just scoffed at his remark. Sure, he could use Knight Owl or one of his other beasts to destroy these things in a single blast, but where was the fun in that? Zeo shot an arcane bolt at one of them, its body glowing in blue light before exploding in a puff of glitter.
"Glitter? Ugh…" Zeo groaned with a roll of his eyes. Though given the fact that this weapon was based on girly horse, he probably should've expected that. Damn it, Luz.
Zeo shot out several more bolts, destroying at least five more abominations before running to the left. He then leaped and rebounded off the bleacher wall and blasted four more, and then rolling across the ground.
"Wow, he's already taken down half of them!" Viney beamed, sitting on the other side of Luz, followed by Jerbo and Barcus.
Five more blasts were then heard.
"Make that 75% of them" Luz corrected with the same tone.
Eda glanced at both girls as they leaned against each other with a swoon. Wow, a lot girls really liked Zeo. He kind of reminded him of her at that age… which was kind of scary.
"Seriously?" Zeo destroyed the remaining mini abominations, "Are these mini abominations the best you can do?" he asked mockingly.
"Actually, that was just part one" Xandopher drew a spell circle, "Here's part two!" another circle appeared in the ground.
This time, instead of miniature abominations, out came three regular sized abominations. Zeo recalled the Alicorn Crossbow back into its card state. The card wielder walked over to the bleacher wall up to Luz and the others. He then removed his cloak and shirt.
"Hold this for me, would you, Luz" Zeo said, handing Luz the articles of clothing.
"Uh, ok" Luz said as Zeo walked back to the battlefield, "Oh, wow…" she muttered, she, Viney and possibly several other girls blushing as they saw him shirtless.
Zeo's body was well-toned with at least a four-pack set of abs. Luz pulled at the collar of her hoodie, feeling as if it had suddenly gotten hotter outside even though it really hadn't. Viney's eyes were half lidded as she panted like a dog in heat. Amity saw Willow fanning herself with her hand which made the Abomination Track Blight growl with a blush of annoyance. The only girl that wasn't entranced other than Amity was Emira, but that was only because she was focusing on the duel at hand.
"Beast Weapon: Dragon Blade, arise!" Zeo tossed the card, summoning his favorite of his beast weapons, "Being shirtless should help with the heat… and the abomination goo, just in case" he said, muttering that last part.
"Abominations, attack!" Xandopher commanded the goop monsters.
Zeo and the abominations charged at each other. Zeo dropped and skidded across the ground between the middle abomination's legs. Once behind them, Zeo stood and, with a spin, sliced the middle abomination clean in half, its legs turning into mush. Unfortunately, the upper half of its body regenerated new legs.
"Oh, son of a bitch! I forgot they could do that!" Zeo said.
The three abominations turned around and detached their heads, Zeo's eyes going wide. From left to right, each of the abominations tossed their heads at the card wielder, which he was able to dodge the first two and slash the last one. Just as with the first one's legs, the abominations' heads regenerated. Zeo narrowed his eyes at the three abominations, igniting the blade of his sword with flames.
Each of the abominations lunged at Zeo. Zeo countered with a side steps and twirls, followed up slashes of his flaming sword. This left the goo monsters cut in half with flames on certain parts of their bodies. Once again, they started to regenerate.
"I don't think so…" Zeo muttered, holding his sword with both hands, "Dragon's Inferno!" he shouted before swinging his sword.
A dragon made of fire was released, flying towards the abominations with a roar. The attack hit the creatures, creating a large flame before exploding in a small dome of fire. What was left behind were some small flames and chared, dried up abomination goo.
"Ok, that was a bit more fun" Zeo commented with a smirk.
"Impressive. No one you have so many girls attracted to you. You seem to be quite the lady's man, though not nearly as great with women as Xandopher" Xandoper said, running the back of his hand through his hair.
"Ugh…" Zeo, Luz, Eda and the groaned in unison.
"Dude, I don't give a damn about being a lady's man! I don't even know how have so many girls attracted to me being with, it just happens!" Zeo said.
"Unintentional or not, Zeo knows how woo a girl" Viney whispered to Luz, who nodded in agreement.
"Besides, I'm not dueling you to impress a bunch of chicks. I'm doing this to rid Hexside of an egotistical womanizer like you. I'm doing this for Emira!" Zeo exclaimed.
"He's doing this for Emira?" Luz repeated.
"For me?" Emira questioned with a bit of confusion, her cheeks turning red.
"How noble. Fortunately, Xandopher has one more trick up Xandopher's sleeve" Xandopher said.
He then pulled out two squares, each with a brown fist on it. Zeo recognized it as the symbol of the Construction Track, meaning those were Construction glyphs. Normally it'd be considered cheating to use those in a witch's duel, but Zeo agreed to allow them so he could have more of a challenge. Xandopher then placed a glyph on the back of each hand. The Abomination student screamed at the top of his lungs as a large, orange aura emanated from his body.
"This can't be good…" Amity muttered.
"Abomination, rise!" Xandopher shouted while drawing a large spell circle.
A third circle, larger than the ones before, appeared on the ground. Xandopher raised both arms above his head, allowing two large abomination arms to sprout out of the ring. Climbing out of the ring was an enormous abomination, one the size of two-story house.
"It's bigger than the one Amity summoned in our duel" Luz noted, taken back.
Zeo took a step back. With a creature that big, the goo would probably be too thick for his sword to cut through. He recalled his weapon back into its card state. Given the size of the creature, there was only one beast that could take it on. Zeo filed through his deck and took out the cards for the three dog bros.
"Blizzard Wolf, Inferno Fox, Storm Jackal, arise!" he tossed the cards, summoning the three elemental canines. He then pulled out another card, "Fusion Vortex!" he tossed the card between the them, the three dogs turning into wisps as they entered the vortex which exploded in a pillar of fire, ice and lightning.
"Another new fusion?" Eda questioned.
"And it's between the dog brothers. This should be good!" Luz beamed, this being the first time she, Eda and the others seeing this fusion.
"Come on out, Elemental Cerberus!" Zeo shouted as the elephant-sized demon dog appeared, spreading its wing with a loud howl that shook the court.
"Aww, a huge puppy! Zeo's he's SO cute!" Luz gushed, making both Zeo and Cerberus blush with slight embarrassment.
"Cerberus? That doesn't look a thing like a Cerberus. It doesn't even have three heads" Gus pointed out.
"Shut up, Gus! It's just a name!" Zeo shouted with some annoyance, "It has three eyes…" he muttered.
"But I was just—"
"Shut up, Gus!" the others shouted, making the illusionist shrink a bit.
Zeo exhaled. "Ok, ready for this, buddy?" he asked the large dog as he held one of the command cards, Elemental Cerberus replying with a confirming bark, "Command Card: Elemental Howl!" he tossed the card which flew into the beast's chest.
Cerberus' mouth filled with white light. He opened his mouth and fired the light in a beam, fire, ice and lighting dancing around it. The attack hit the giant abomination, piercing through its chest and coming out the other end, dissipating as it went into the sky. This left a large hole in the monster's chest.
"That did it!" Edric said, only for the abomination to regenerate and close up the hole, "Nevermind" he quickly said.
"Abomination, attack!" Xandopher commanded the large goo monster.
The abomination walked towards Elemental Cerberus, each step making the ground shake. Elemental Cerberus snarled. With a spread of his wings, the demon dog flew toward the monster. With a swipe of his paw, Cerberus knocked the abomination's head clean off its shoulders which flew to the other side of the court, splattering against the bleacher walls and coating several students in abomination goo.
The giant goo monster regrew its head and grabbed Elemental Cerberus by his tail, spinning him around and slamming him on the ground on his back. He swung him to the other side and slammed him on the ground on his front. Elemental Cerberus was spun around again like a top before being released and sent flying in Zeo's direction.
"Whoa!" Zeo said as he quickly bent over backwards, narrowly avoiding being hit by the giant, winged dog, who skidded across the ground.
Elemental Cerberus stood up, growling at the abomination.
"You ok, Cerberus?" Zeo asked with concern. Cerberus looked at his master.
"Zeo, there's still a chance we can win" Cerberus told him telepathically, his voice that of Blizzard Wolf, Inferno Fox and Storm Jackal speaking in unison, "You have to use the Form Shift card"
"Form shift?" Zeo repeated.
"It'll allow me to change into my more powerful Fighter Mode. It'll us the advantage we need" Cerberus told him.
Zeo looked at the command cards in his hand and saw the card Cerberus mentioned. He looked at the winged dog and nodded. He held the Form Shift command card in between his fingers.
"Command Card: Form Shift!" Zeo tossed the card into Elemental Cerberus' chest.
Elemental Cerberus body glowed in a bright, white light. The giant dog reeled back and stood on his hindlegs. When the light vanished, Cerberus had become bipedal, able to use his front legs like arms. He also gained a sleeveless, orange gi, along with pants. Around his waist was a black belt with blue, red and yellow stripes at the end.
"Elemental Cerberus in Fighter Mode!" Zeo clenched a fist of righteousness.
"Whoa!" Luz and Viney beamed.
"Fighter Mode, huh? This shoulder be good" Eda smiled.
"Attack!" Zeo commanded.
Cerberus spread his wings and shot himself towards the goo monster. When up close, he grabbed the abomination and flew straight into the air at a high speed. Once several thousand feet in the air, Cerberus flew fast in a repeated loop. Cerberus then took the giant monster chucked it down below. Like comet, the abomination came flying down before crashing into the ground, leaving a large crater. Zeo saw the abomination's hand rise out of the crater, the monster pulling itself out, goo dripping from its body.
"Alright time to finish this" Zeo said as Cerberus flew down and landed in front of him. Zeo held another card between his fingers, "Command Card: Fury of the Gatekeeper!" he tossed the card into dog's chest.
Cerberus flew towards the abomination and threw a flurry of punches embowered by a combination of fire, ice and lightning. The abomination screeched as it was engulfed in a white energy, the elemental power of the punches starting to disintegrate its body from the outside in. A final uppercut was delivered, sending the abomination skyward where it exploded like fireworks, amazing everyone. Xandopher looked at the explosion in shock and disbelief, and then at Zeo.
"Thanks, buddy…" Zeo told Elemental Cerberus while summoning his Dragon Blade, "But I think I can take it from here" he said while stepping forward.
As Zeo approached, Xandopher stepped back, the Abomination student trembling. Xandoper repeatedly drew spell circles, sending fireball after fireball at the card wielder. This however, proved to be fruitless as Zeo simply dodged the flames with turns of his body. As Zeo got close, Xandopher found himself tripping backwards onto his rear, crawling back from the silver-haired witch warrior. Zeo then held out his sword, pressing the sharp edge up against the side of Xandopher's neck.
"Give it up, dude. It's over, I've won" Zeo told him while narrowing his eyes, "You leave Hexside and never speak to Emira again"
"You're right. We had a deal. Xandopher will Hexside forever and will never speak to the lovely Emira again…" Xandopher said in defeat… before pointing to the crowd, "But neither will you!"
Zeo followed the direction that Xandopher was pointing in and saw it was pointing at someone in particular. His eyes widened when he realized who the target was. Emira. Zeo looked at Elemental Cerberus and sent him a psychic message, the bipedal dog warrior running up to him and grabbed him. Just as Xandopher started forming an enormous spell circle, Cerberus chucked Zeo, sending him flying in Emira's direction.
Zeo landed in front of Emira, seconds before Xandopher finished the spell circle. A giant fireball was shot out towards the crowd, students screaming as they ran away to avoid the blast. Zeo stood, his back to Emira and her siblings with his arms spread. The card wielder braced himself as he took the full force of the fireball which exploded in a small cloud of smoke and flames. Everyone gasped, even Eda.
When the smoke cleared, there stood Zeo, unharmed. No scratches or burns. There wasn't even any soot anywhere on his body. Even Zeo himself was surprised by this. He looked at the weapon in his hand. Could it be that, along with high durability, Dragon Blade also made the wielder fireproof? Just when he thought this weapon couldn't be any cooler.
"Targeting an innocent girl? Oh, that's low" Zeo said, snapping his fingers.
Xandopher was lifted into the air by legs by Cerberus, who growled at him. Due to hanging upside down, several items fell out of his person. One of those items being a film camera which fell out the hood of his cowl. Some of the other items were photos that fell out of his pockets. Cerberus picked up the camera and looked at Zeo.
In that moment that a bug landed on Zeo's shoulder, this bug being none other than Tracker Tick. Zeo looked at Cerberus and nodded, the dog beast crushing the camera in his free hand like an egg. Cerberus then grabbed the photos and tossed them into his mouth and gobbled them up, the photos dissolving in his stomach acid.
"That'll happen to you if you don't respect our agreement" Zeo said while pointing his sword at the dangling Abomination student, "Pack your bags and get out of her, you womanizing bastard!"
"Fine. A deal is a deal. Xandopher will leave Hexside" Xandopher said before being dropped by Cerberus with a thud, "But this isn't that last you've heard of Xandopher!" he said running out of the grudgby court.
Zeo sighed with relief, recalling Elemental Cerberus back into the card forms of his fusion materials.
"You ok, Emir—Ahh!" Zeo turned to her, only to be tackled by the female Blight twin in a bear hug where she proceeded to assault his face with kisses, "Heh. I'll take that as a yes" Zeo chuckled
Luz took a step forward, only to stop when she felt Eda place a hand on her shoulder.
"Let her have her moment" Eda told the human girl who gave an accepting sigh.
Applebeast's…
After school, Zeo and Emira headed over to Applebeast's. They had each gotten large hot fudge sundaes, Emira's treat. They were sitting beside each other in a booth.
"Thanks for the sundaes Emira" Zeo said, shoveling a scoop into his mouth.
"Eh, I should be the one thanking you after what you did about Xandopher" Emira replied, eating a scoop of her own, "By the way, what made you change your mind about dueling him anyway? And why'd you do it for me?" she asked.
"Well…" Zeo trailed off.
[Flashback]
"This is worse than being stuck with Edric… *sob*… My rest of my life is going to be miserable!" Emira cried, having told Amity the full story of what was going on with her.
Unknown to either Blight sister, Zeo had been listening outside, leaning against the wall between the bathroom of both genders. Having overheard the whole story in its entirety, a scowl formed on the card wielder's face. In this moment he decided walk around the school in search of a certain someone.
[End of Flashback]
"Oh. You heard that?" Emira asked, her cheeks lightly turning red with embarrassment.
"Yeah… I'm not exactly proud of it" Zeo said, "Then again, if I hadn't, Xandopher would still be womanizing the girls of Hexside and you'd still be "dating" him"
"Ugh, don't remind me" Emira winced.
"Oh, and don't worry about the evidence from earlier. Tracker Tick recorded the conversation you had with Xandopher in study hall and took pictures of him holding those photos. You can probably use it as evidence in court" Zeo told her.
"Thanks" Emira smiled at him.
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask. Why do you like me so much anyway?" Zeo asked curiously.
"Well, I didn't really at first. At first, I just flirted with you because I wanted to tease you and mess with you a little" Emira admitted, "But the more time we spent together and the fact that you always look out for your friends… at some point, those feeling started to become real"
"Uh, wow. Thanks, Emira" Zeo blushed with a sheepish smile.
"You know, after today, you really are a hero, Zeo…" Emira pulled him in, hugging him close, "You're my hero" she told him in a soft voice.
For the first time ever, Zeo returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around her waist. He couldn't lie, Emira may have annoyed him occasionally—granted, to lesser extent than her brother—but her still considered her a friend. He couldn't someone close to him being in trouble like she was. Deep down, he really did care about her, almost as much as he cared about Luz and Eda. She must've wormed her way into his heart at some point.
"Well, I'm glad I could help you" Zeo said as they broke the hug, "These sundaes were a nice way to thank me" he said, taking another bite of ice cream.
"Oh, this isn't my way of thanking you" Emira told him.
"Huh?" Zeo looked at her.
"These sundaes are just an excuse to spend more time with you. Trust me, eventually I'll properly repay you for what you did for me today" Emira took a bite of ice cream, "When you least expect it" she added with a flirtatious wink.
Zeo blushed yet again. How the hell was he attracting so many girls? More importantly… why did his pants suddenly feel tighter?
Ok, this was one long-ass chapter. It was worth it though. I actually really liked this chapter, it shows Zeo really does care about Emira despite her constant flirting. This chapter was thought up by my friend IrishKatana.
Speaking of friends, another friend of mine (not going to say who) suggested that Luzura and Luz merging is like a reference to the Camilla (Luz's mom) is the author of Azura/is Azura herself theory. Tell me, how do you think this Luzura and Luz merging relates to that theory? Say it in a review.
If you have ideas for a beast card or beast weapon, say it in a review or message me.
Remember to Read, Review and Favorite/Follow.