The Fire

Chapter Five: Emerson Gets Hard

Emerson gulped after I told him it was his turn to meditate and harness his powers. A look of fear came over his face. Sweat began to drip down the poor boy's face. I could see that he was beginning to freak out.

"Hey," I said, getting his attention. "Just close your eyes and imagine your core as a rock."

Emerson took in a deep breath and let it out. He kept breathing and imagining his core. I remembered back to what Silver had told me. Earth is triggered by stubbornness, I thought. I looked at Emerson, who seemed to be a little bit more relaxed and a little more into his meditation.

"Imagine your core as a boulder," I added. "Imagine that it's unbreakable. Imagine that nothing can hurt it or alter it in any way, shape, or form. Imagine that I'm throwing fire at it. Don't let it catch ablaze. Imagine Vicky is trying to douse it in water. Now keep it dry. Imagine wind blowing against it. Make it stand its ground."

I knew Emerson was listening. He started radiating a green energy. I figured the key to accessing the powers of earth was to be unbreakable. Emerson took in a deep breath and let one out. Rocks began rolling towards him without him grabbing them. The boulders around us began to levitate in the air. The ground beneath us began to shake. In some places, the grass began to grow. In others, it began to die. Emerson opened his eyes and gasped. He had a smile that lit up like a Christmas Tree. He extended his hand toward one of the boulders and all the others dropped. The grass went back to normal. The rocks stopped moving. The ground stopped shaking. Emerson retraced his arm and the boulder floated towards him. He made a fist with his hand and the boulder began to rotate.

Alright, I thought. While he does that, I'm gonna work with fire a bit more. I focused and made a flame again. I made ring of fire and projected them in the sky above Emerson. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make flames at will. Once I knew where they came from and what I had to do to access that power, it was easy as hell.

"Emerson, extend your arm and aim the boulder at the rings," I said, Emerson nodding in response.

Emerson extended his arm at the rings of fire and the boulder shot through them like a bullet from a gun. The boulder went up and Emerson brought his arm to a 90 degree angle. The boulder came to a halt in the air. Emerson brought his arm down to the ground and the boulder came down to the field, gently.

I held out my hand and the rings returned to a little flame in my hand. I closed my hand and the flames vanished. I looked over at Emerson, who was all jittery and happy, and smiled.

***

The next morning, we found ourselves back on the battleground. Emerson and I stood, once again facing off with Seven and Vicky. Vicky charged at me, sword in hand as I held mine. She struck at me and I jumped onto one of the boulders. She began running at the rock.

"Now, Emerson!" I yelled. Emerson extended his arm and the boulder began to shake. I backflipped off of it as he moved his arm and sent the boulder rolling back at Vicky, who then dodged the attack with a jump to her left. Emerson made the boulder stop and began rolling it back after Vicky.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" Vicky said, jumping up in the air, the boulder rolling under her and at me. I jumped onto the boulder and at Vicky, swinging my sword as I landed. "You're getting some skills, boy."

I chuckled as our swords met. "Yeah, I did."

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew me right over into Emerson. Fuck, I thought. I forgot about him... Seven twirled his arms and wind began blowing towards him, pulling me at him. As I flew towards him, he drew a staff and hit me, sending me back across the field. A cloud of dust gathered around me as I slid by Emerson, who stomped the ground, making a crack that split right under Vicky. She fell to the ground. Seven began drawing us in again.

"Emerson, chuck a boulder at him!" I yelled.

Emerson sent a boulder flying at Seven, who was still making a whirl towards himself. The boulder immediately picked up speed and hit Seven right in the chest, sending him into another boulder. Well that's gotta hurt, I thought as I took to my feet. Vicky jumped back to her feet and charged me. Ah fuck. I created a flame in each of my hands and I clapped really hard. A large wave of fire shot at Vicky, blasting her up in the air. I nodded at Emerson, who then stomped again, this time creating a boulder from the ground beneath me that shot me into the air after Vicky. I shot above her and created a ball of fire and threw it at her, sending her back down to the ground. She landed and rolled down next to Seven. I landed, creating a burst of fire around me.

Nick stood, observing the fight in absolute shock. His jaw dropped and he just stared, blinking only occasionally. Emerson extended his hands, clearing the debri. I walked over to Vicky, who was obviously hurt. I knelt down beside her.

"Hey," I said, reaching under her and picking her up. "Are you alright?"

Vicky smiled, once again blushing.

"Come on," I continued, standing up and carrying her. "Let's get you some medical attention."

Lord knows I wasn't exaggerating. If I had tried any harder, she would have had some serious burns. Emerson helped Seven to his feet and they followed me as I walked. When I got to the nurse's office, I laid Nicky on the bed and began to walk out when she stopped me.

"Rick..." She said, her voice weak and her body flinching in pain. "Come here."

I turned around and walked back to her. "What's up?"

"You did really good out there," she complimented. "You kicked some serious ass. I've never seen someone be able to control their power that much in just a day. Impressive."

"Thank you, Vicky. Too bad I hurt you though... That wasn't part of the plan that I had thought through."

"That's okay, hun. If it helps you practice and get better, I'm all for it."

I looked at her. She was smiling, which I didn't understand. "Well hey, get better and we'll have a rematch. Just you and me. One on one. Sound good?"

Vicky nodded. I made my way out of the nurse's office and made my way towards the meditation room. Nick stood outside, as if he were waiting for me. He began walking with me as I headed down the hall.

"Well, I'll be damned," Nick chuckled. "I've never seen Vicky open up like this before....to anyone."

"What do you mean?" I asked, completely clueless.

"I mean that I think she likes you. Normally, she shuts people out. Hell, I've known her for two years now and she's never opened up like that to me. She actually opened up and told you about her mom. She broke down and cried on your shoulder. She let you hug her. And today, you kicked her ass on the battleground and she ain't holding a grudge. Normally, she would have sent you out of that nurse's office crying and fearing for your life."

Nick's word hit me like a freight train. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Wow," I replied. "I didn't realize... What's funny is that when I hugged her, something clicked. She trusted me and saw something in me. And I trusted her. I acknowledged the fact that she had beaten Emerson and I knew I had kicked her ass but, she was still a nice person. And I understood her pain of losing a parent to Xorale. He had his henchmen kill people I loved too, apparently. I mean, they say my dad died in a car crash, but something tells me Xorale was behind it. And she is supporting me in my journey to gain control of my powers. But the funniest thing, to me, is that I want to protect her."

"Aww," Nick teased. "The little pyro is crushing..."

I could feel myself blushing. "I most certainly am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not, douche nozzle."

We playfully argued all the way to the meditation room. Once we got there, I sat down and began to focus once again.

***

And this time, I was on one of the floors to the Empire State Building, a black figure with purple eyes standing across from me. I knew it was Xorale. From the figure came a blast of darkness, sending me flying into the wall.

"You're weak," he said. "If you can't even beat me in here, then what will happen to your precious school?"

***