"So where does Snow white want to meet us at?" Zack asked

"He said him and the cannoli brothers are headed to the abandoned city. I'm assuming he means the twins. But something that struck me as weird was his tone, sounded pretty normal." I replied.

"Huh, you'd think it would take longer to get over losing his favorite."

I sighed and slid my phone back into my pocket. 'You'll never hear about it, because everyone there is already dead'. He has lost everything before, I can't imagine what that would do to somebody.

"Well, maybe he's just used to it. He has been through a lot more than you and I."

"Pppffft, I'd like to compare notes."

I rolled my eyes.

"Anyways, let's stop by the apartment. I left my sword there."

"What? Don't you summon weapons?"

"Well yeah, but I got an upgrade. Finally got something that might not break against Weislungs blades."

"Are you really thinking about fighting him again? You literally turned into a Stryder kabob."

"Yeah, but I mean. I really enjoyed the fight. He was really good, I was able to go all out without thinking about it too."

"How have I known you all these years and never known you were a masochist? Is that why you always leap in to stop fights?" He teased.

I shoved him and started walking.

"I don't necessarily like pain, but I love giving my all in a fight. There's just nothing that feels better."

I looked over to Zack, and he just stared at me in disgust.

"W-what! You gotta problem!?"

"No, just didn't know you were at the point where you were admitting stuff like that to yourself." He smirked and walked ahead of me. "I see you're finally flying on your own, huh?"

I smiled and followed behind.

"Something like that, I'm still nowhere near where I need to be."

"Hey, at least you're doing better than me." Zack chuckled.

But, what exactly does that mean? I thought about the hospital talk and decided to just leave it be. That's something he's gonna have to learn to deal with.

….

I was frozen in place as I stared eye to eye with a ghost. Zack's jaw dropped and I rubbed my eyes to see if this was just a trick. No, even after that he still stood before us.

Jack, Leo, Elo, and RUSHON! We're sitting back on rubble eating. He's alive!? How is he alive!? What!? Is this a joke!? A deal with the devil!? What!?

"Oh, hey!" Jack cheered and waved over to us.

Zack and I walked over and stopped in front of them. My eyes never left Rushon, who was eating a box of Chinese food. Zack walked over to Rushon and stared him down.

"U-umm hey?" Rushon said.

Zack didn't respond, he just grabbed Rushons cheeks and yanked on them.

"Ah! That hurt!" Rushon yelped.

"What the hell’s going on here!?" Zack yelled.

Jack picked up his can of Sprite and looked over to the twins, who were eating meatball subs.

"Oh, lunch." He replied.

My eyes twitched. Lunch, did he just say lunch!?

"No, we mean what's going on with Rushon! We heard he died! Did Lux lie to us!?" I yelled.

He held up his finger toward us and then started to chug his Sprite down.

"I'll kill him," Zack grumbled.

Jack then pulled the can away and gasped for air.

"Man that hit the spot!" He cheered, then tossed the can aside. "Alright, For one, rude. He was eating." Zack growled. "Two, Lux didn't technically lie. We all thought he died."

"So what happened!" Zack roared.

Jack held up his finger and shushed Zack, who ignited his hands on fire.

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"I got some new spells Snow Cone! If you don't start talking I'll try them out on you first!"

Jack smirked and pointed at Zack.

"That's it right there, you and Stryder both got upgrades right? Stuff you usually get from winning matches? Didn't you find it strange Zack you got new spells? Even though you supposedly lost?"

"Well, I didn't really think about it."

"Technically speaking you won your bet with the goddess. With that boost of your mana pool, you provided less stress on Stryder, who was able to still punch Jormungand hard enough to let Vergil and Leo blast his head off."

Zack's eyes grew wide.

"So what was with that whole Icarus gave up his life crap!?" Zack roared.

"Well that was real, he made an agreement to die for you. But the witch only did that to make fun of him." Jack grumbled. "She laughed and told him that his choice meant nothing, because Stryder accomplished it already. She did all of that extra just to crush his spirit some more."

"I'm starting to think we only won the bet so the goddess could torture Rushon some more." I sighed.

I looked over at Zack and watched him stomp over to Rushon. He snatched his collar and yanked him to his face, making Rushon drop his food.

"Tell me why."

"W-what?" Rushon stuttered.

"Why did you give up your life!?"

Rushon just looked away.

"Answer me!"

"It's just, it just seemed like the right thing to do."

"I'm not a hero! I'm not trying to change the world! I'm a selfish guy who barely knows where he's going in life! How is dying for me the right thing to do!?"

Rushon looked up into his eyes and grabbed a hold of his wrist.

"Because even if you don't intend on doing it, I've seen the lives you've changed. It's not about being perfect or wanting to change the world. I saved you because I saw value in your life, you matter to a lot of people."

Zack dropped his shirt and Rushon let go of his wrist. Then, Zack took a step back and continued to glare at him.

"I didn't ask for that ya know," Zack grumbled. "I didn't ask for any of that! I don't care about this stupid place like the rest of you idiots!"

"And that's fine, I never said you had to. It's your choice what you do with your life. Just like it's my choice to decide if I'll give up my life or not."

Rushon looked up, but this time he had his intense stare. While Zack continued to just glare at him.

"You're an idiot," Zack grumbled.

"I guess, but that's just who I am." Rushon chuckled, and softened his stare.

Zack didn't say another word, he just stomped back over to me.

"Feel better?" I asked.

"Shut up." He grumbled.

I looked over to him, and his eyes met mine. He seemed lost.

"Zack, you okay?" I asked

He immediately looked away from me and stepped forward.

"Well, it looks like the devilishly handsome Zack is who you all should cheer for!" Zack said, followed by a hard laugh.

"Zack are you-" I started, but he just yelled over me.

"Without me the loser Icarus couldn't have accomplished anything!" Then he pointed toward me. "And without me, you'd be dragon chow!" Zack started to pretend to flex. "All in a day's work for the mighty destroyer of worlds!"

"You died, remember?" Leo spoke up.

"Yeah, I guess your right. I was completely useless during that fight with Jormungand." Rushon replied.

"Yeah, but it was your planning that got us that far," I said and elbowed Zack. "Plus the goddess even said he was able to beat Jormungand on his own."

"Blah, blah, blah, details, details. I really doubt that flightless bird could do that. I mean we knocked that guy around town and stabbed a sword through him! And he still didn't die. And Icarus is just a glorified air conditioner."

"Don't underestimate him, he could fight you both at the same time and win," Jack spoke up.

His tone made me uneasy, it was suddenly serious.

"Jack! No, I really couldn't. I'm barely sure I could beat one of them."

"Ha, I wouldn't want to fight me either." Zack snickered.

What was Zack's angle? Why is he suddenly on the attack like this for Rushon?

"Then let's put it to a test? A quick sparring match?" Jack suggested.

"Wait Jack no! We don't need to do this! Seriously, I'm not on their level." Rushon pleaded.

Jack walked over to Rushon and moved an arm around him, then pointed at Zack.

"Didn't you train every day so punks like this wouldn't look down on you? Didn't you give it your all to be able to look people in the eye? Don't let him disrespect the hard work you've put in."

"Pfft, yeah, sure I'm down." Zack chuckled.

I grabbed Zack's arm and yanked him over to me, and I made him look me in the eye.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing. If I didn't know better I'd say Rushon was just some random guy on the street to you."

But Zack just yanked his arm back.

"Didn't I already tell you? I'm not a hero. So are you gonna fight or not?" He demanded.

"Both you guys have upgrades right? Might as well try them out." Jack said as he moved his arms from around Icarus.

I growled, Zack really triggered Jack. I looked over to Rushon, who still hid his face behind his hood. A part of me was curious, I haven't seen him go all out. Something itched on the inside. I didn't want to fall for Zack's games, but I really wanted to fight him.

"Sure I'm in," I mumbled.

"Are things always this lively?" Elo asked.

"Only with these idiots. ." Leo sighed.

Jack reached over and snatched Rushons hoodie from him, then he took a shiny belt from around him.

"No gadgets, and you better not hold back," Jack said as he walked over to Leo and Elo.

No gadgets!? Jack really had faith in him. The memory of his fight with the fire girl came into mind. I didn't want to say this out loud, but I didn't think he could beat me or Zack one on one. Let alone together. He's strategic, so maybe with prep time and gadgets. But he's fighting us naked right now.

"Alright, let the match begin!"

Rushon looked up and moved the dreads from in front of his face. His eyes met mine, and it sent shivers down my spine. His jade eyes shined brightly, and it felt like he was peering into my soul.

The wind started to pick up around us, the dust from the ground flew into the air, and then suddenly became violent. I summoned light armor over my body and activated my eyes, just when I was about to charge him. A huge tornado formed around me. Separating me and Zack. It was dark from the rubble and dust it picked up, I couldn't see a thing.

Then, the tornado abruptly stopped and all the flying dirt and debris dropped. That's when I noticed, Rushon was missing.

"W-what the hell!" Zack yelped.

I looked over, and I was speechless.

Zack was laid out on the ground with Rushon sitting on his back. His foot rested on top of Zack's head and held it down. He noticed me and picked up a pebble and I prepared myself and summoned a blade.

"You know, a tornado can even make a pebble pierce a tree? Enough force and anything can be a gun." Rushon mumbled.

Then he reeled his arm back and launched the pebble to the left of him. It sounded like something popped when it left his fingers, which was followed by an agonizing scream. Red mist started to leak from the sky, and I watched as Bean materialized from it. Just to flip onto the ground.

The red mist was steaming out from Beans head. Does that mean he managed to one-shot him!?

Zack pushed his head up.

"H-how did you even see-"

"I sense the wind remember? Bean maybe invisible, but I could sense him through the air current. Just like how I sensed the very dense layer of solidified air you had and went around it."

Rushon said and then shoved Zack's head back into the ground with his foot.

"The loser of many worlds is out!" Jack cheered,

How, how did he do it so fast!? Did he get stronger since he fought Helios comet!? Was he just holding back!? He didn't even do that good against Rex as much as we did!

Rushon stood up and Zack started gasping for air. I summoned light armor over my body and held out my new sword. Then Rushons body got all wavey, like when we were at the school. I activated my strength and increased my speed. Then the wind picked up, and another funnel of dirt and debris surrounded me.

This time the dirty seemed to be directed toward my eyes. I had to close them, and as soon as I did I felt his kick slam into my stomach and sent me flying. I crashed against the ground and started to tumble back. I tried to just roll onto my feet, but it was like the wind was keeping me rolling.

I used my strength and finely rolled onto my feet and held my ground against the intense gusts of wind. I forced myself up and increased my strength output. Then summoned the heaviest plate armor over me.

CLUNK!

Something hard ram into the back of my helmet. I quickly turned and swung my sword behind me. The funnel dropped, and I saw Rushon jumping back.

"Your sneak attacks don't mean anything If you can't touch me!"

I felt this tingling sensation in my palms, like something was gonna burst out of them! I swung my sword and an azure blast came out from my blade. Air coiled around Rushon and he managed to change trajectory mid-air to dodge.

I smirked and charged in at him. This match was mine now! This armor was not only a good defense but with my strength activated it barely even slowed me down! I came in with a flurry of slashes and blasts. Rushon didn't falter though. His body was blurry again, and he managed to dodge everything I threw at him. Even with my eyes, he was faster than me.

"I'm sorry, did you think you had the advantage up close?" He asked.

What!?

He blasted forward at me, and I went to slash at him. He dodged in mid-air and spun his body around to where he was coming at me upside down. Then he grabbed my helmet and covered my eye holes. I went to attack him, but suddenly my whole body malfunctioned!

My ears popped, and it felt like my eyes were being pulled out of their socket. I closed them, and suddenly it became hard to breathe. I gasped for air, and it felt like I was gonna pass out. I staggered back and suddenly I felt lighter, and I was able to breathe again. I opened my eyes and saw my armor was gone. Before I could think why, his leg slammed into my stomach. Which kicked all the air out of me again.

I was sent back and slammed into a wall. Then I heard a loud crunch next to my ear. I gasped for air and keeled over. That's when I felt the burning pain in my side, did he break my ribs!? I looked over and saw rubble fall from a hole in the wall next to me. Then I saw it, a rock was embedded in there.

That was almost my head...

"I guess your powers do work on concentration then," Rushon said as he stepped toward me.

"Like I said. Winner, Icarus." Jack called out.