Chapter 52

Overblot Vil appeared on the stage surrounded by his poisonous purple mist.

"We just have to hold him off until the reinforcements get here." Ace said pulling out his pen.

"It's going to get rough." Jamil reminded the group.

"We need to end this before he runs out of magic. We need to get him back to his sense fast." Kalim pointed out.

"Today I'm not gonna lose." Epel said taking a fighting stance.

"Vil, we will free you from your prison of pain." Rook vowed.

The group tried to keep Odette in the back of the ground since she was the only non-fighter but Vil made the group scattered when his blot monster rolled poisonous apple bombs at them.

The first years were separated from Rook, Jamil and Kalim.

The bombs destroyed most of the stage and the audience sitting area. The mist surrounded the entire area.

When Vil would focus on one group another would attach him but he still managed to wear out both groups.

Any time a bomb came near Odette Grim would explode it early by breathing fire on it. "Holding it together this time." Grim commented.

"I keep telling you I have no control over that." Odette snapped back as they dodged another apple bomb.

"Urgh, you meddling spuds. If I must then I shall drag all of you down with me." Vil ranted as the groups reconnected. The mist began to grow thicker.

"Vil please, you have to stop you're not going to survive if you keep this up." Kalim cried out.

"Rgh! We're so close to breaking his blot form." Jamil

"I'm running dry on magic over here." Ace huffed out.

"Yeah, I can't breath another puff of fire." Grim stated.

"Stay on your feet everyone. We need to at least get clear of the poison mist." Rook coughed.

"Everyone get down!" Deuce ordered as he got in front of the group.

"Huh?" Grim asked as Odette yanked him down to the ground as she dropped to her knees.

"Oh! I get it! Everyone do what Deuce says lickey split." Epel said doing the same.

Everyone else looked confused but followed suit.

"My brain doesn't work well under pressure I can't understand things unless I hammer them in repeatedly But IF something is hammered into me enough then I'm able to turn it into something worthwhile." Deuce snapped as the air around him began crackle and fill with an electrical charge.

"What's this? An aura of power is rising up around Deuce." Rook commented.

"Wait! What is that?" Ace asked shocked.

"How! Is that possible? How did you keep that much magic in reserve?" Vil snapped.

"It's not my magic, Vil. It's the power you've hammered into me! And now it's a power that only I have. It's payback time! Get a load of this! DOUBLE DOWN!" Deuce shouted as a shield began to form then blasted into Vil.

'Not now.' Odette thought as her vision began to grow dark until it was black. She could could barely hear the others around her as static began to overcome all other noises. She could barely hear Odette calling her name. Her hand went to her head then to her heart as it began to race. She tried to take deep breathes to calm herself down but it was no use. The only thing she could now see was Vil's memories and she could only hear his voice.

In his memory a young Vil around eight years old is running up to his dad but Odette could only see his silhouette.

"Dad! Dad! I passed the audition. I'm going to be in musical school drama." A young Vil shouted happily.

"Congratulations Vil! What are you playing this time?" His father asked sounding proud.

"Oh! The star! Well. The star's rival. It's another mean villain." Vil said sounding a little less happy now.

"The director's got smarts, picking the cutest boy in the world as his villain." His father said.

"I was the villain bullying the hero in the last play I was in too. Why do I keep getting picked to play the bad guy? Do I look mean?" Vil asked looking up at his father.

"Oh far from it. I think it's because you're an exceptionally beautiful charming boy. Stories wouldn't have any dramatic flair without villains, They're an essential special part of a production. Sometimes productions are more selective about their villain casting than their hero casting. You should be proud." His father explained.

"I get it dad." Vil said as the memory began to fade out.

'But villains never stay on stage for the whole play. Once their role is finished all they do is watch from the shadows, as the happy ending plays out. What I want is to stay on stage longer than anyone else.' Vil thought as another memory began.

A young Vil around eleven years old was walking around the park when he overheard other children playing.

"Hey look that; the guy who was the bullying the hero on the TV show last night." A child said pointing towards Vil.

"How can anyone be so mean? He must be pretty messed up?" Another child said.

"He looks like a wimp up close let's teach him not to treat the hero like that." The first said as they took a step towards Vil who just continuing to ignore them.

"Hey! You bullies better not even think of ganging up on him!" A young Jack shouted as he appeared behind the bullies.

"Ah! It's Jack! Run for it!" The second child yelled as they ran away.

"You're the new kid who moved in right? You okay?" Jack asked as he walked up to Vil.

"I'm trained in boxing and fencing. I could've fended them off without your help." Vil said looking annoyed.

"Oh really? Sorry for butting in then." Jack said shrugging.

"Don't be, thank you. Those kids were trying to hold me accountable for a work of fiction. Silly boys the lot of them." Vil said shaking his head.

"I don't watch much TV, so I'm not an expert on this stuff but it sounds to me like your acting was so convincing they thought it was real." Jack suggested.

"I suppose so then I'll win the lead role in my next audition and move them to tears." Vil said as the this memory fade out.

'I always wanted the role of the hero but all I ever got was the villain.' Vil thought as he remember something else.

Vil was backstage on the way to his dressing room when he overheard crew members talking about him.

"Did you hear? The movie adaption of a children's' novel starring Neige pulled in 20 million thumarks in it's first week." The first crew member whispered.

"Neige is just incredible. The friendly charm and wholesome vibe come naturally to him." The second one replied.

"Vil was pretty impressive as the villain himself. He carries himself with a real dignity. You never guess he was only 12 years old. He's gonna be the hero one of these days." The first said with a smile.

"I don't know. The thing about Vil is he's too perfect his beauty is otherworldly. Vil is too special to play the part of a regular teen that viewers can relate to. Without that reliability I don't think he'll ever pull off playing a hero." The second sighed as this memory began to fade out.

'I would do anything to be beautiful. The most rigorous training, the most tedious hair and skin care regimens I would shy away from none of it and yet why? Why is it never me! All I want is to stay on stage until the end of the show.' Vil thought as the darkness began to receded and Odette began come around.

"Vil, Oh fair Vil please wake up." Rook cried out.

Odette got up and went to Rook and Vil. Rook had Vil's head in his lap. Odette sat the same way and reached for Vil's hand. "He'll come around soon." Odette whispered.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for stilling around. This battle was fun to write but it was harder work in the memories like in the last battles. I still enjoyed it this chapter either way. Next chapter does feature one of our Diasomnia boys. So I hope you come back.