Chapter Twenty-Five:
The Face Off
Nicodemus
I shot up in bed, screaming out a little louder than I intended. The room was still black, and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as I desperately felt around my chest to make sure it was still beating. I took a deep breath before covering my face, sniffling softly. Mom must have heard my scream because she came in the room a few moments later and wrapped her arms around me immediately. “Hey, it’s ok, Nick,” she cooed, kissing my hair softly. Her words brought me back to reality; I relaxed and cuddled into her side gratefully, our usual routine nowadays. “Did you have another nightmare?”
“Yeah... What time is it?” I whispered, turning my alarm clock.
“Ten thirty.”
“Huh...?”
“I kept the room dark so you could sleep. You were up and down all night.”
“But I have practice…!” I cried.
“I told Blaine you weren’t going today, so relax.” I sighed as she pulled the covers back and us down underneath them. “I can’t believe your almost eighteen. You’re growing faster than I can keep up!” She teased, trying to change the subject.
“Oh, stop it, Mom,” I joked, rolling my eyes as she giggled. “Hey, Mom? Do you have any idea why I have white hair when I change into my Elemental form?”
She shrugged, “Couldn’t tell you if I wanted to, kiddo.”
“It’s weird. You sure I’m not adopted?”
“If you’d like me to verify my experience with child birth, then sure, I’ll tell you.”
“Eww, no.”
“Then yes, you’re my child,” she laughed, “How has your vision been?”
“No complaints, but then again, I still run into brick walls, so maybe we should stop by Lysander’s office to be safe.” We both snorted a huge laugh, which filled the house that had been close to silent all morning.
“Well, I'm glad I was invited to the party!” Dad snapped jokingly as he walked into the room with a smile. “Hey buddy. Everything ok?”
“Had a nightmare, but I'm ok,” I tried to smooth over as he sat on the bed beside me.
“We were just discussing his vision,” Mom added.
“Everything ok with it?” Dad said with slight anxiety.
“Yes, it’s fine. I’m just so grateful I’m able to see.” I sighed loosely.
“Well, we surely have Odysseus to thank for that,” he said happily. I blushed hard at Odysseus’s name, wringing my hands out as they both raised an eyebrow to me. “Did I say something wrong?” He asked evilly.
“I mean, I dunno.”
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…?”
“You didn’t!” I yelled, clasping a hand over my mouth for the outburst, “I, er, well… I guess, I can bring it up now. Sebastian and I had a conversation the other day…”
“Oh no!” They teased in perfect unison.
“This is serious, guys,” I croaked, which made them nod politely. “He wanted me to tell you something, something really important that I’ve been putting off.”
“Something?” Mom pressed.
“Since we’re all here, I’d like to get it off my chest. It’s not a bad thing, but, I mean, I hope it isn’t.” I grumbled, though I was twisting the ends of my shirt aggressively to try and distract myself from my racing heartbeat.
“You can tell us anything?” Mom reminded as Dad wrapped his arms around us. Mom realized I wasn’t going to be able to get it out on my own, so she brushed my hair back so I could see her full smile, “Is it about school?” I shook my head, tears filling my eyes. “About, you?”
“Mhm…” I whispered.
They looked to one another with tender smiles before Dad asked, “About your personality?” I nodded fast as I buried my face into my sleeves. “Are you gay?” Dad finally prompted. I shook my head yes; he threw his arms around me as soon as I did. “Oh buddy, its ok...!” He sang, he and Mom both clutching me tight in relief.
“I'm sorry...!” I cried into his chest.
“Don’t you dare apologize! You have nothing to be sorry for! Being gay doesn’t change a single thing about the way we love you.” He spoke as if they had been waiting to tell me this for an incredibly long time, and the words were so perfect that I couldn’t help but shed some tears.
“All we want is your happiness, Nicodemus. Thank you so much for telling us…” Mom said with a beautiful smile while brushing the tears from my eyes, “Though, we kind of figured something was up when you kissed Odysseus?” She lightly joked.
“You, d-don’t hate me?” I pathetically choked.
Dad scoffed and squished my cheeks in between his hands, which made me inevitably giggle. “If anyone knows how important love is, it’s your mother and I. I could never imagine my life without her, as much as I couldn’t imagine it without you. We would never hate you, Nick, especially for your sexuality. If you love someone, their gender doesn’t matter whatsoever. The only thing that matters…” He took an obnoxiously deep breath, “Is that you have a couple kids for us to smother.”
“Dad!” I laughed hysterically, screeching until the tears in my eyes turned to happy ones. My parents joined in, and continued to squeeze me in their supportive, loving arms, which made me angry with myself for ever considering that they would think any less of me.
╪
Competition day came.
The crowds just beyond the steps of the locker room were restless, and buzzed with an excitement that seemed to be never-ending. Downstairs, I stood before a full body mirror and took in my image, my jaw taut as I summoned every ounce of confidence I could brew. The armor I wore was thick, and though heavy, it felt right. Akira was as serious as I was, his eyes deep as they reflected in the mirror as well. He was ready to prove himself, and I eager to show the world the progress we had made. I personally requested to fight Delias today, and even though most begged me to choose otherwise, I was ready to murder him. My parents protested that I was nowhere near ready to fight again, but Galaxy was the one to agree, with a smile that meant he knew my reasons.
“Contestant twenty-three, Nicodemus Crawford, Elemental of Death.” Emery, one of the two announcers in the high booth above us, called as I emerged from the underground locker room and stepped out into the field. Hundreds of Elementals screamed in joy as I took my position beside Samantha, who nodded to me. All of the Gods were in the crowd accompanied by their children, which filled me with a determination like none other to win this fight. As I scanned their faces, I blinked in shock to see Odysseus standing beside his father. He saw me looking up to him and cracked a beautiful smile that filled my soul with undeniable pride.
“Here comes dickhead,” Samantha snorted. Delias stepped into the field, grinning at me from across the arena. He was incredibly revved up and ready for blood but I expected no less, and was ready to prove him wrong once and for all.
Samantha clapped her hand with mine and wished me luck before I walked across the arena to where my battle would take place. I took my spot in front of Delias before the circle lifted us high so that everyone could see us. Akira and I stood perfectly still, though Delias bounced excitedly like a toddler, his yellow eyes glowing hungrily. “Three...two...one... fight!” Salem and Emery barked, hitting a button that made a buzzer echo through the field.
The field erupted in light.
I slammed my scythe into Delias’s face, sending him flying back thirty feet while Akira changed into a dragon. Claude and Jackson threw up a protection shield as Delias stood, whipping his chain and conjuring a lightning storm. His chain wrapped around my scythe, but I quickly dislodged the hold and darted back to conjure a spirit ring. We fought hard, the ground turning to clouds of black smoke underneath us as my spell began to take place. He was disoriented by my swings, but otherwise caught his bearings.
“Kill him!” Sebastian screamed, terror filling his and Odysseus’s eyes as Delias shot me across the arena into a wall. I shook my head out and darted back at him, my scythe erupting in black fire as I whipped it fast into his gut.
{Let’s give him a taste of his own medicine!} May snapped. I nodded before we back stepped and held our arms out. May drew every ounce of energy out of the humid air, and reached down to grab my hand once she had. When we brought our embrace up, a wave that towered forty stories high crashed down into the arena, carrying Delias back and swallowing him whole. He spasmed and screeched when the water hit his element, but that was music to our ears.
“Yes! Haha!” Blaine screamed, high fiving Deveraux. My parents, aunt, and uncle were completely entranced by the fight, their faces deadpan with seriousness. Their concentration was unbreakable, and not a single one cheered due to their overwhelming worry.
“Come on, Nicodemus! You can do this!” Odysseus yelled.
The ground rumbled, and Delias came out from the wave riding a large snake made of electricity. It let out a horrific screech before flashing at an incredible speed across the field. I tried to dodge the head, but in doing so lost sight of the tail. It grabbed my neck fluidly and wrenched me upwards, only to slam me to the ground so Delias could wrap his chain around my neck and try to electrocute me. (Nicodemus!) Claude bolted across the field and grabbed its tail, spun it around his wrist three times, then snapped the current so fiercely that the snake split in half. It shrieked and threw me down into the wall, where I hacked blood across the ground hard with a grunt. Akira was wrestling the snake, and Delias was concentrated on that, which gave me time to get my Bladedance assembled.
Six thousand and ninety-eight souls appeared.
All of them screamed and darted for Delias, pulling him down into the depths of the void they had emerged from. Delias let out grunts and desperately tried reaching for the top, clawing at the edge of the arena desperately. My scythe hummed like a machine, and black smoke seeped from my eyes at the power I was exerting.
[Oh no...!] Alice croaked. I looked up as the sky turned black. Delias was free, and angry. Lighting crashed, and before I knew it, a thousand volts were swallowing my body. Screams filled the crowd as I spasmed hard and uncontrollably at the violent shocks, flopping like a fish on the ground. Though disorienting, though, Pandora had shocked me so many times that my body was somewhat used to this kind of attack, and I was able to grit my teeth and numbly reach for my scythe through the currents.
The arena fell quiet.
A large rumble sounded, and before I knew it, the field lit up in a red haze. Claude turned back to me in shock, gasping, as a loud growl erupted. Akira began to spasm behind me, and slowly morphed into a giant three headed dragon. He breathed black flames, and bellowed a roar that sent shivers down the spines of the crowd. With his transformation, more souls began to appear, and by more, I meant thirty thousand of them. They dashed across the field in wisps of white smoke, howling their war cry into the empty air.
“What a Bladedance…” Galaxy said in awe.
The energy that erupted from my scythe was so powerful it could have knocked me on my feet if I were completely in control of myself, but I realized, Akira was doing this… he was lending me his energy. “Let’s finish him, Akira.” I hissed powerfully over the screaming souls. I darted forward in a blur; Akira screeched loudly and grabbed Delias by the throat. I dashed through the air, moving in wispy flashes back and forth as I bounced along the platforms. As I ran, my scythe began contorting in my hands. It grew longer and doubled in size, the skull hissing loud screams as it illuminated. The black smoke that usually emanated from it turned into the same roaring black flames that Akira breathed, and our souls connected on a wave length we’d never experienced. “Whoa!” Praxis and Soren cried, leaning over the edge like the rest of the crowd was.
“Atlas, what is happening?” Galaxy snapped to him, shaking him fast.
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“He’s becoming an official Bladedancer… He has officially mastered the most coveted of Death Elemental spells.” Dad replied, his eyes glossy with pure pride.
I slammed my scythe down onto Delias’s chest, which made him crash into a giant crater in the dirt. He coughed out a large splat of blood, but stood and conjured another lightning storm. The bolts ricocheted off my back like rain, and left Delias disoriented as he tried to distance himself. I grabbed his arm, throwing him as if he were a baseball into the wall, and breathed a pillowing cloud of black flames to keep him from squirming towards his weapon.
“What are you doing!” Treyton, Delias’s trainer, cried angrily. Delias numbly pulled himself up, swaying, but Akira tossed him up, slamming him back down over and over with his tail. All the souls Akira and I had conjured stood before me, using their energy to help heal me up. The air was incredibly thick, but the energy they were feeding me was amazing; I felt fully recharged within seconds.
“Look at Grim’s boy go!” Salem called, which made the crowd cheer with he and Emery. The two were hanging out of their booth with wide eyes, with no regard to the fact that they were seconds from falling into the arena. Delias shot up with the little energy he had left before sending an electrical current across the field. Claude caught it, absorbing the shock before sending it hurdling back at Delias. This left him dazed and confused, unsure of how to penetrate our wall of defense at this point.
“Akira, Blood Swipe.” I commanded, holding my hand to his side so I could pass some much needed energy back to him. He screeched and rose his wings, which created a force of demonic energy that reverberated through the entire field. The blast knocked Delias off his feet, allowing me to dart forward after him. I raised my scythe powerfully before slamming it down onto his chest, which made his eyes roll back and his mouth flop open in agony as the blast siphoned every ounce of Elemental energy out of him. His body rocketed across the field before he fell into the dirt, dead unconscious from the violent release.
Screams erupted through the arena.
Valyce Academy was ballistically cheering as Treyton screamed angrily, snapping his chair in half before disappearing down the stairs. The buzzer blared loudly in the background, and my picture flashed across the giant screen. “Nicodemus Crawford, Contestant twenty-three, is the official winner of match number four!” Salem’s deafening call exploded from the speakers.
{Be careful, you used a lot of energy…} May warned as I slowly pulled the Bladedance back, and closed the portal to the Shadow Realm once more.
Akira tiredly flopped onto my shoulder as a fox, puffing a little ball of black fire that made me laugh hysterically. “You did so good, little buddy!” I cried, picking Akira up and kissing him repeatedly, “I knew you were special…!” I cooed while he yipped happily for me.
Blaine raced onto the field to join me in the trainer’s circle, beaming with pride. “That was amazing! You whooped that kids’ ass!” He laughed as we high fived.
“I couldn’t have done it without a trainer like you!” I reminded him, which made him flush at my compliment. My Shadows appeared behind me, smiling as I raced to throw my arms around them. “I am so proud of all of you...! I can’t believe how strong you are!”
(How strong we are? You did phenomenal, Nick!) Claude cried.
[We all make an amazing team! Now, go get your trophy, my darling,] Alice sang.
Blaine and I proudly walked up the stage to where Elizabeth was standing, holding a huge golden trophy. She set it in my arms before slipping a medal around my neck and Blaine’s, her eyes twinkling. “Congratulations, Nicodemus. Go enjoy yourself, and take a well-deserved break!” She sang with a playful wink, eluding that she would join us shortly.
Blaine and I raced the field before I stepped out into the stands, where I was enveloped by multiple screaming peers. I thanked everyone as best as I could while Blaine shoved us through the crowd, snarling in annoyance as he continuously batted off cameras and other students. “Nicodemus, you wonderful child, you!” Dad cried, swinging me around like a rag doll while I laughed and squeezed him back.
“Yes, congratulations,” Galaxy said, shaking my hand. “You did amazing, and I’m so proud of you. Absolutely flawless, young man.”
“That’s still no excuse to put him up against Delias,” Zephyrine hissed.
“I agreed to it so that he could learn how to use Akira properly, and equally whoop that kids ass; which he did. This went exactly how I had planned.” Galaxy said matter-of-factly.
“How did you know he could help your Bladedance?” Dad asked in awe.
“I dunno really. I thought my Shadows were giving me energy, but I realized it was Akira when I saw his eyes were red. We connected so perfectly that we were able to fuel one another throughout the entire fight. It’s the first time we’ve done it, honestly,” I said with a shrug.
“What a strong little fox,” Sebastian sang.
I stroked his chin with a warm smile, “Isn’t he?”
“I can see why you picked him, Nicodemus. For a demon, he’s pretty cool.” Griffin laughed, which made Akira huff in annoyance at him.
“Now, this calls for a celebration!” Dad cheered, wrapping an arm around my shoulders proudly, “Who wants to hit the town?”
╪
“I want to ride with Nick!” Sebastian screamed as he and Soren fought in the parking lot.
“No, I want to! Why is this always an argument!?” Soren yelled back.
“Actually, maggots, Odysseus and I get to ride with Nick since I’m the glorious trainer that helped him win the competition today.” Blaine said, smacking Sebastian to the side and throwing the door to my father’s truck open.
“WHAT! NO FAIR!” The boys screamed as the Levasseur’s and I slid into the back seat.
“Come on boys, or we’re never going to get to the restaurant!” Zephyrine laughed as the angry teenagers stormed to their parents’ cars.
“What a bunch of babies.” I cackled as Dad backed out of the driveway with a smile and a shake of his head. I turned to Odysseus, who was sitting between Blaine and I with a ferocious blush, “Thanks for coming today, Odysseus. I wasn’t expecting it to be honest,” I said cheerfully.
“There’s no way I was going to miss you pulverizing that asshole.” He said with a wink just for me, nudging me with his knee playfully.
“You’re going to get one heck of a pay raise for this, Blaine,” Mom joked.
Blaine looked up from his phone with a scoff, “As if! Galaxy’s a cheap bastard!”
“Maybe so, but you’re kid won the competition. Other academies are going to try and scoop you up every chance they get!” She said, smacking his knee playfully.
“There’s no way I would ever leave Valyce...” He sighed, ruffling my hair, “I'm too invested in my rug rats. Speaking of, Atlas, I was thinking about something.”
“Shoot,” Dad replied.
“Since Nicodemus did so well in the competition, I think it’s time he starts taking a crack at battling with you,” Blaine suggested.
Dad tightened his grip on the steering wheel, but hid his discomfort with a smile, “Sure, if you think he’s ready.” He said blandly.
“I mean, if he can face off with the Grim Reaper he can face off with anyone.”
“What about you, Odysseus? Think you’re up to take a few swings at me?” Mom joked.
“Oh, um, maybe!” He tried.
“He absolutely is,” Blaine interjected, “Really, all of them are. Soren and I have already begun facing off, and Sebastian has with his father. I'm having a hard time wrangling Galaxy for Griffin to have a shot, and Zephyrine’s always holed up in her damn office, but they both keep telling me they’ve done a few practice runs with the kids.”
My phone rang repeatedly in the middle of the conversation, which made me raise an eyebrow as I hit talk. “Hello?” I asked.
“Am I on speaker!?” Sebastian yelled in my ear.
“Um, no?”
“Put me on speaker!” I did what I was told, shrugging to Odysseus who leaned closer curiously, “Odysseus, can you hear me?”
“Um, yeah?”
“Did either one of you see the after-show they uploaded on the school’s website!?”
“No, not yet; why?”
“The caption for the video says, ‘Atlas better watch out, because Nicodemus Crawford looks to be next in line as the Grim Reaper after today’s incredible performance! Nicodemus sure proved he’s ready for the position, and won’t let anyone take his spot anytime soon.’ What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?”
The entire demeanor of the car changed.
Odysseus looked to me in horror, though our parents fell deadly quiet. I tightened my grip on the phone, my eyes dead in the screen’s reflection, “I don’t know what it means,” I lied.
“The fuck you don’t?! Galaxy told you something when you went to ask him about Seraphine, didn’t he!? You fucking knew about this the entire time!?” He angrily yelled.
“What makes you think I knew about something like this?!” I barked back.
“That’s what you couldn’t tell me in the courtyard! That’s what spooked you so badly that you wouldn’t talk to us! How the FUCK could you hide something like this from me, Nicodemus!? From all of us?! You knew we were meant to be Gods this whole fucking time, you lying-...!”
“WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!” I yelled crazily, which made everyone jump, “ You have absolutely NO CLUE what you are talking about...!”
“You back stabbing asshole, don’t think you’re getting out of this!”
Dad parked the car and tried keeping the doors locked to contain our fight, but as soon as Sebastian’s car pulled in I ripped the door open. “No, no, no... Nicodemus!” Dad yelled as I stormed across the parking lot, throwing my phone across the concrete. Praxis was screaming for Sebastian as he flung from his own car, his eyes pure green and vines crawling up his arms. We didn’t say a word, but as soon as we got close enough he threw his fist into my face, igniting the violent fight.
Our parents darted for us as I grabbed his collar and slammed him violently into the hood of his car, he and I punching one another wildly. Odysseus and Praxis desperately tried to grab our arms and rip us apart, but Sebastian hurled a wall of stone at them, which made them skid across the parking lot and into Dad’s truck. “Boys, boys, that’s enough!” Deveraux cried as Sebastian kicked me in the gut, jumping up to slam his fist into my face again. Dad swooped in right after I pounded Sebastian back, which made him spit blood before his father snatched him. Dad held my arms behind my back as I huffed horrifically on breaths, blood streaking from my nose and staining my shirt. “You fucking bitch, you absolute bitch!” I shrieked.
“AFTER EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER, YOU DO THIS...!” Sebastian screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks, “YOU FUCKING KEEP THIS GIANT SECRET FROM ME, FROM ALL OF US...!”
“I DIDN’T KEEP ANYTHING FROM YOU, YOUR FUCKING PARENTS DID!” I yelled back so loudly that my voice cracked, which made all of them cringe, “What was I supposed to do!? Tell you that you were going to kill your father to become a God?!” I sobbed.
He gasped in absolute horror, guilt flickering across his face. Deveraux turned away from him in utter shame as Galaxy pulled into the parking lot and threw his door open. “What is going on here!?” He yelled, his eyes pure yellow in anger.
“You’re big mouth has ruined everything once again!” Zephyrine yelled, which made him blink in disgust at her.
“Excuse me?” He scoffed.
“What the fuck possessed you to think telling him about the changing of the Gods was a good idea!? You filled their heads with these ridiculous ideas, and once again it’s caused chaos!”
“Well I didn’t exactly see any of you stepping up to the plate!” He shot back, which made all of our parents’ eyes turn Elemental mode, “Someone has to tell the fucking kid something! How do you explain what’s been happening to him, Ashlynn!? You can’t coddle him forever...!”
“Watch yourself…!” Dad snapped, letting go of me with pure black eyes, “How we raise our son is NONE of your fucking business!” He hissed as stormed up to Galaxy.
“Oh really, Atlas, because if you weren’t a stubborn asshole and had let Nicodemus grow up here, he wouldn’t have been blind his entire life!” Galaxy yelled in his face, which made everyone gasp in shock.
Something snapped inside my father, a switch I never knew even existed, and was never meant to see. “And if you did your job, he and Sebastian wouldn’t have been kidnapped!”
“Maybe you should watch your damn kid more carefully, because my kids weren’t the ones who were kidnapped!” Galaxy snarled.
It was a low blow, and ignited an even bigger war between all of our fathers. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!” Deveraux scoffed, snapping around in a blur, “Are you trying to say we don’t care about our children!?”
“What I'm saying, is that I cannot do FUCKING EVERYTHING!” Galaxy’s voice radiated through the air, shaking all of the kid’s bones with it, “I AM ONE SINGLE MAN, AND I HAVE AN ENTIRE ACADEMY TO RUN. YOU FIVE RUN AROUND PLAYING TEACHER WHILE ELIZABETH AND I BUST OUR ASSES TRYING TO KEEP A THOUSAND KIDS, AND OUR OWN, SAFE! STOP BLAMING ME FOR SOMETHING I HAD NO CONTROL OVER!”
“You had absolutely NO RIGHT to tell him about the Gods, Galaxy. I don’t care what you think, but you are in the wrong, and all of this has caused nothing but trouble! It was a discussion we were supposed to have with them together, not an impulse to terrify my son!” Dad snapped.
“Why would you keep this a secret to begin with?” Soren said, which made everyone turn to him slowly, “If you all knew, why would you lie to us? Why would you pretend like everything was ok when something this big was going on behind closed doors? You knew Elementals were bound to come after us, which means in a way, you did let Sebby and Nick get kidnapped. You’re blaming each other when in reality it’s all of your faults. You’ve betrayed all of us…” he whimpered, his eyes glossy as he stared past his father. He abruptly whipped around with a violent glare to his father, while flames burst from his eyes and danced around his lash line, “My best friends were hurt because you all care more about keeping a secret than helping your children...!”
“No, Soren, that is not what happened...!” Galaxy cried.
“I’ve had enough of this...” I whispered, turning from Dad and storming past everyone.
Sebastian grabbed my arm, whimpering, “Nick, please, I'm so sorry…?” under his breath.
I ripped free and conjured a portal, which shimmered in the air before me as I looked to the ground. “Enough, is enough. This whole argument should have never involved any of us. It doesn’t matter who’s wrong, because in the end, Soren is right. We’re your kids, yet you never tell us anything, never let us into your world, and now we’re supposed to magically become Gods? And we have Pandora after us? Did you selfish bastards not think for five seconds that this is an extremely serious thing? That us being in the running as your ‘replacements’ is what put a target on us. This is a conversation we should have all had a long time ago, because now, all it has caused is us turning on one another.”
“Nick... We never meant to harm any of you...?” Mom croaked.
“Yeah?” I scoffed, “I find that hard to believe. If you had told us this was our destiny, that you knew we were more important than other Elementals, then we could have prepared ourselves for someone to come after us. We could have had even the slightest clue that we were in danger, and we would have understood why these things were happening to begin with. None of you were there when we were with Pandora. You didn’t experience the gut wrenching fear we felt every day. You didn’t cry yourselves to sleep, praying that your parents would recuse you from the nightmare you woke up to every morning. You didn’t watch someone utterly torture your best friend, while you could do nothing because you yourself were close to dead. You weren’t left in a pool of blood each night, until you were conscious enough to force your lungs to breathe again...”
“Nicodemus...?” Galaxy whispered in horror. I held a hand up before walking through the portal, which closed behind me and left them all standing in the parking lot, dumbfounded.