Chapters 1-7
Chapter 1
A New Home
A moving truck pulled up to an ordinary house in a quiet neighborhood that was covered by rays of the scorching sun. A young teenager exited the passenger side dressed in blue jeans and a white v-neck shirt with a red plaid dress shirt over it. He opened the back of the truck where he grabbed several boxes that covered his face and stumbled up to the driver to thank him. The truck then drove off leaving the teen to what seemed to be his new home. He walked to the main entrance, took a deep breath, and tried to open the door but was unable to. Before confusion could even set in he heard a loud crash from inside the house. Becoming even more confused, he knocked on the door and heard even more crashes before the door sprung open. A smaller figure stood at the door but had a face covered with a welding mask. The smaller one asked in a shy voice if he was the roommate he was expecting. It seemed as if the boy in red was very thrown off by this sudden arrangement.
"Um, if we're gonna be roommates it would be nice to know what your face looks like?" the smaller boy inquired in a small tone.
The young man peeked his head around the tower of boxes to show a friendly face with blond hair and ocean blue eyes.
"You know, I could say the same for you." the young man said lightheartedly.
"Oh yeah, I-I guess you're right huh?"
The smaller figure slowly removed the mask to find a somewhat uneasy face with glasses and brown hair. The young man was quite surprised at the youthfulness of the other's face.
"Hey it's pretty hot out here, why don't you come in and you can get set up... You know, if that works?"
"Um, alright." The young man stated questionably.
As the two strolled through the cramped complex, made even worse due to the unimaginable amount of boxes that filled it, the young man was too conflicted with the aspect of living on his own to even notice the boxes or the fact that he was going to be sharing his apartment with a kid, where was the adult? The two finally reached a room where the tower of boxes could finally be dropped, and where the two could make a proper introduction.
"Phew, those boxes are a lot heavier than they look."
"Oh... Um, yeah I bet they are. So this is gonna be your room, you know if that's ok... Umm if it's not too much trouble do you mind telling me your name?"
"Oh yeah right I guess I haven't introduced myself yet have I? Just call me Nova."
"...Nova?... Is that short for something?
"Yeah, NovaKing!"
"Oh, ok? Well, my name's Tommy, it's nice to meet you Nova."
Tommy extended his arm for a handshake but for some reason seemed very nervous about it. Nova gave him a firm yet friendly handshake while showing the biggest smile which caught Tommy off guard, he treated it as if it were something he'd never experienced before.
"I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting to be sharing the apartment with anyone." Nova blurted out.
"Oh really? I was aware of our arrangement for quite some time."
"What! Man, that old geezer didn't even bother telling me, he would have known" Nova mumbled to himself.
"Hey, everything alright?" Tommy questioned.
"Oh sorry about that, just talking to myself. Disclaimer, I do that A LOT."
The two then began to sort through boxes, trying to make themselves at home. While they were unpacking Nova began to realize that Tommy not only had a lot of luggage but expensive luggage. They were filled with strange gizmos and doodads, all of which Nova was very hesitant of touching, he treated them as if they were lethal weapons.
"You sure have a lot of expensive-looking toys don't you." Nova pointed out.
"Well, I do specialize in tech, mostly mechanics anyway." Tommy said casually.
Nova quickly shot a confused look toward Tommy while holding some schematics he found from one of the boxes. Tommy quickly snatched the blueprints before telling Nova that he may be a little younger than the sophomore but he was in the same grade because of his knowledge of mechanics and robotics. Nova's confused face then turned to a shocked one as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Wait a second, you look like you should be an 8th grader, not a sophomore! Man, you must be like, really smart!"
"Y-Yeah I guess." Tommy mumbled while clenching the blueprints close to his chest.
After hours of unpacking the two finally decided to call it a day. Nova and Tommy both slid down the wall in their living room and both let out a sigh of relief and of exhaustion.
"Phew... Man, you have a lot and I mean A LOT of stuff. We haven't even gotten all of it done yet." Nova huffed.
"You know you didn't have to help me that much, I know it's a lot and it's not really your problem and..."
Before Tommy could even finish his sentence Nova extended his arm out to him in a fist.
"Listen man, it's no problem. We're roomies now, we gotta look out for each other!"
Tommy took a moment to just stare in disbelief, even tearing up a little, sharing a moment with someone who actually seemed to notice him, to actually care. Tommy slowly raised his arm and put his fist against Nova's and for the first time, Nova saw this young, shy boy... Smile.
Chapter
A New Friend
After settling in for the night, Nova decided to go out and buy something for dinner, promising to bring some for himself and for Tommy. As Nova continued down the sun covered street, still roasting in the heat that seemed to defy the late hours, he thought (talked to himself) of how he would be sharing his new home and surprising him even more, wondering how he'd even come this far. What troubled him even more was the thought of how much longer he could enjoy this new life before his secret would tear it all down.
Exiting the store, a bag in hand, Nova headed back home and went right back to talking to himself, about his secret, but this time about what it could do to others around him. The image of Tommy quickly popped into his head, wearing that ever so rare smile. Being so engrossed with his thoughts, Nova unknowingly bumped into someone else, knocking them both to the ground. Trying to pick himself up off the ground, Nova began to rub his head in pain and repeatedly apologize to whoever he hit. Opening his eyes, he discovered a young girl about his age with soft green eyes and even softer looking black hair. She was wearing a black tank top with jean shorts and sandals. Nova could do nothing but stare in awe at such a pretty girl. Getting his senses back he jumped up and offered the girl his hand. When she finally realized what was going on she shot Nova a very similar look of awe.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about that, I'm just out of it today. Are you ok?" Nova asked in a concerned tone.
"Oh, umm yeah I'm alright, thank you." The girl said before taking Nova's hand.
When the two were back on their feet, they stood there a moment before Nova noticed his hand still holding hers and quickly backed away, again asking if she was ok and apologizing once more for good measure.
"Please don't worry yourself so much, I'm just fine. Besides I'm just as much at fault. I should be the one apologizing, I just hope you can forgive me." She said before bowing.
"Whoa, you don't need to be so formal about it, I'm fine really. I'm just glad you're alright." Nova claimed while waving his arms frantically.
The girl began to blush and slowly began to raise herself up again to see a panicking Nova. Seeing the expression on her face, Nova stopped waving his arms and started staring once again; however, his eyes began to shift to something else, two bags of spilled groceries that laid on the warm ground beside the girl.
"How about this, I'll pay you back by taking your groceries to your place for you." Nova said, only to be shot a strange look from the girl.
"What am I thinking, who says something like that! Now she's gonna think I'm some kind of pervert or something. I just wanted to be nice." Nova thought to himself as his friendly face turned into a scared and nervous one.
The girl continued to look at Nova with that same strange look, scaring Nova to no end. This look quickly changed however, it changed to a very tender smile in turn giving Nova the strange look.
"That sounds really nice actually. I graciously accept your offer!" The girl said enthusiastically before walking away, leaving Nova more confused than he was before.
"Well, come on we're going to my house, you are going to keep your word right?"
"Umm, quick question, are you being serious?" Nova questioned.
"That was what you offered, was it not?" she asked
"Yeah, but..."
Nova looked up at the girl and saw somewhat of a disappointed look in her eyes as a slight breeze blew through her hair.
"Actually you know what, you're right I did say that."
At this point Nova was the one walking away, leaving the other confused. He walked only to stop, look behind him, and say "We are going to your house right?" and back again came her tender, bright smile.
The two walked down the empty streets as they made their way closer to the girl's home. As they both strolled down the sidewalk to sidewalk they traded smiles and laughs all while basking in the evening's slight glow and warmth. Something that simply added to an amazing time that would forever stay with Nova and showed him that maybe things didn't have to be so bad. By the time the two had finally made it to their destination, the evening's soft glow disappeared only to be replaced by the glow of stars instead. When the girl stopped at what seemed to be her house, Nova looked at it and almost had his eyes pop right from their socket, as he had never seen a nicer place to call home. This monstrous house that made all of the others around it look like dollhouses instead of real ones, didn't only look like it was taken straight from a millionaire's property, but the girl treated it like any ordinary house that any ordinary person would own.
"So that's supposed to be your house, YOUR house?!"
"Well yes, this is where I stopped isn't it?"
After confusing Nova even further, the girl began to climb the steps to the front door where Nova quickly regained his senses and followed.
"Wow, your parents must have quite the sum to afford all of this." Nova inquired.
"Trust me it's a complicated story."
Once at the heavily decorated front door, the woman turned to Nova before taking the bags, putting on a big smile, and bowing once more to the overwhelmed Nova.
"I can't express how much I truly appreciate all you've done for me today. I honestly can't remember the last time I had such a good time, especially not when I was just out shopping. I hope that our paths will cross once again so I can make even more good memories." the girl said as she raised her face, appearing to be blushing.
"Hey it was no problem at all, and to be honest I feel the same way. I was a little stressed out when this whole day started, living on my own, having a roommate, and just some other stupid things that have clogged my brain, but talking to you, well that made my day a lot better and that means a lot." Nova preached.
"I-I don't know what to say." the girl said softly while continuing to blush more and more.
"Well telling me your name would be a good start." Nova said with a smile.
"Azumi, Azumi Yamamoto."
The pair seemed to fall into a trance as they stared at one another again, both wearing larger than life smiles. Nova fell out of the trance, however; when he seemed to remember something by looking at that smile, it was Tommy wearing his first, bright smile and Nova quickly began to panic.
"Listen, my roommate is expecting me home, I'm sorry but I gotta get going. I promise I'll stop by though some time, your house isn't exactly hard to find. Bye Azumi!" Nova said, waving to the girl as he ran off into the night.
At this point, all Azumi could do was wave back and continue to blush to no end, but was also confused why she felt such strange emotions.
Nova finally arrived home and found Tommy sleeping on the living room floor.
"Oh man, I guess I lost track of more time than I thought." Nova said, feeling guilty. He picked the sleeping boy up, carried him to his room, and set him down on a blanket and pillow since neither one had set up beds yet. Nova laid down across from Tommy and with a smile on his face, drifted to sleep.
Chapter 3
A New School
Nova's eyes opened and closed as he fluttered in and out of
consciousness as he heard a faint, echoing scream before finally shooting up from his makeshift floor-bed to find Tommy frantically running around the room.
"We're gonna be late, we're gonna be late! Oh my god, I can't believe I'm gonna be late for my first day of school! I've never missed school before, what'll they do to me, they might send me back a grade. I am NOT taking robotics again, it was just SOOOO easy and I-"
Before the rambling could continue, Nova placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder, causing the panicking mess to shriek almost like a girl.
"Listen, panicking isn't going to get us anywhere, I promise, we'll make it on time." Nova said with a smile on his face, one that reassured Tommy.
Bursting through the front door, Nova and Tommy ran as fast as their legs could take them. While running, Nova noticed that Tommy was already out of breath and at the rate they were going, would never make it to school on time. With a quick, fluid movement, Nova hoisted Tommy upon his shoulders almost seamlessly and began to run at almost ridiculous speeds, leaving Tommy only to shriek once more. Sprinting through the scorching heat, Nova remembered seeing the school when first coming into town and took a turn at an alleyway, making his own shortcut. Tommy at last found the courage to pry his eyes open to see an unfamiliar route.
"Nova, what are you doing, this isn't the way to school!"
"Don't worry, it's a shortcut found by yours truly!"
"Shortcut? What do you mean shortcut, you just moved here, how would you know the layout of the town or of its streets!"
"Don't think about it so much, like I said before we'll be fine. Besides what could go wrong with a little shortcut."
Just as these fateful words left Nova's lips, he caught a small glance that turned into a frantic stare and an agape mouth. Nova's "little shortcut" had led them to a construction zone where there was dirt for ground and surrounded by heavy machines lifting heavy building materials.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!"
"We're never going to make it to school!!!"
"That's what you're worried about, really? We might die!"
"DIE?!"
"Well let's just say that at this speed if we hit anything, it definitely won't be pretty"
A strange silence grew between the two as they ran straight into this metal maze, long seconds passed before the two let out a shout of desperation, being left with only one option, make it to the end of the maze. Nova bolted by the yelling construction workers as he dodged metal pipes, beams, and other heavy equipment, while still moving at almost unreal speeds, leaving a huge trail of dust behind him. Before Tommy could really assess the situation, his age got the better of him and he was paralyzed with fear, his eyes closed as he heard heavy machines and the angry voices of construction workers that only made his eyes shut tighter and his fear grow deeper. At last, all was quiet, no yelling Tommy, construction workers, or machinery he opened his eyes to find they were back on a regular sidewalk that led to the school.
"How did you-, how are we-"
"I told you we'd be fine didn't I, jeez you really gotta take my word more often."
Tommy's face turned from a frightened one to one that carried that rare smile of his; however, this slight moment of peace was quickly destroyed as Tommy noticed one last obstacle that they would need to overcome before reaching the sweet salvation of school.
Nova moved to an island by the name of The Forest of Lost Colors. It was called this because it was found in the middle of nowhere by a stranded man and he was captivated by the 4 sections of woods that made up the island itself, a green forest, a red one, a pink one, and an orange one, all of which is very beautiful and easy on the eyes. The island was mainly preserved but the stranded man did return to the mainlands of Paradise where he gathered a handful of believers where they would create "A true paradise" in the words of the stranded man and so the one large city was crafted where the descendants of the stranded man still reside to this day. The island city prospers, but only because a train by the title of "The Lifeline Express" delivered goods to the city to keep it alive due to its lack of interaction with the outside world, some say that's what makes the island a real paradise, a lack of contact, a kind of true peace. This very train that kept the city alive could very well take lives instead since it now stood in Nova's way of reaching his goal of making it to school on time.
"Nova, please don't tell me you're gonna do what I think you're going to do."
"Trust me if I could stop I would. At the rate I'm going, I won't be able to slow down in time."
"Just what are you anyway?!"
"Well, I guess I'm the guy who's gonna get you to school on time, even if that means jumping a train." Nova said with strange confidence as Tommy's face turned whiter than a ghost's.
As the two raced toward the speeding train, Nova readied himself, never missing a step. With each step, Nova got closer and closer, so close that you could actually hear the train over the constant shrieking of Tommy.
"Ok man I'm about to jump, you ready?"
After hearing Nova, Tommy quickly went silent and shut his eyes as hard as humanly possible.
"I'll just go ahead and take that as a yes."
Taking one last, ground roaring step, Nova bent down and pushed with everything he had, launching both him and Tommy higher than ever thought possible. Nova leaped completely over the train as he flew through the sky. Nova then crashed into the earth where he stumbled to regain control while not missing a step that could very well kill the two. Without even missing a beat, Nova again made a mad dash for the school where only a minute remained before they would be late for school. Tommy finally found it in him to open his eyes where he found he wasn't dead! In fact, he could actually make out the school and with this goal in his sights, the usually timid boy shouted, not of fear, but of happiness. Nova glanced back to see a smile brighter than any light. Seeing this, Nova couldn't help but smile to himself and together the two let out their victory cries to the world; however, Nova's smile quickly turned into a look of panic and confusion.
"WE DID IT!!! WE'RE NOT DEAD!!!" Tommy yelled with joy.
"Yeah... about that." Nova said timidly.
"Huh..."
"Still haven't figured out how exactly I'm going to stop."
"HUH!!!"
Hearing his friends' worried words, Tommy again began to almost scream his head off in terror. Quickly approaching the school entrance, Nova had to think of a plan and fast. Tommy then heard a few words that warmed him to the very core and somehow assured him that everything would be alright, he even stopped screaming!
"Don't worry buddy, I'll make sure that you or anyone else won't get hurt, I Promise." Nova said seriously.
Not even seconds after the words left his mouth, Nova hopped slightly in the air so that he could dig his feet into the ground a little, enough to where he could slide and slowly stop himself from crashing into anything or anyone. Just as the two were about to slow to a safe speed, a certain someone had to walk in Nova's way.
Familiar green eyes locked with Nova's. It was Azumi and she walked right in front of the school doors, she was the last and most difficult obstacle to overcome. Nova tried frantically to stop himself even faster but with little success until his day was saved by one little rock. Nova's sliding foot hit the smallest rock possible and when Nova tripped on this pebble, both he and Tommy were sent flying over a very confused Azumi. She looked up only to see Nova's baffled face and Tommy's face of fear with plenty of tears.
The two boys crashed through the school's entrance where they rolled to a painful stop. It didn't take long for a crowd of curious students formed around the two only for a panicking Azumi to charge through them to see if the boys were hurt.
"Are you two ok?!" Azumi questioned while kneeling down in concern.
"Did we make it to school on time?" Nova muttered.
"Umm, yeah?" Azumi responded, confused.
"Then yeah, we're alright. Isn't that right Tommy?"
"Uhh yeah, sure." Tommy dribbled with spinning eyes.
Nova began to giggle and started laughing uncontrollably, leaving the entire crowd, but mainly Azumi, very confused as to what just happened.
NovaKing and Tommy both made it to the homeroom class that they shared in one piece and once the strange looks from those who saw the boy's entrance died down a bit, everything seemed to be ok. Once everyone was finally settled into their first class, something began to feel off. After all the students were accounted for, the teacher was about to give her introduction but was interrupted by a young man stepping into class. His face carried a bland expression and walked with his hands stuffed into his jean pockets. He approached the teacher who almost seemed intimidated by the young man's gloomy and almost rebellious expressions.
"I'm a new transfer student from Paradise, the office said this would be my homeroom." He explained in an almost angry, "couldn't care less" kind of tone.
"Oh, I-I see, well I'll figure that all out after class I suppose, for now just introduce yourself to the class and take whatever seat you'd like." The teacher said very timidly.
The expressionless young man then turned to face the class to give his introduction. He scanned the room as if he was giving the whole class a cold stare. His eyes eventually met with Nova's and the two simply stared back at one another. The young man sported a light, worn blue jeans with a chain in one of the pockets as well as a set of black boots. His upper clothing consisted of a black leather jacket, grey hood attached, with a dark blue undershirt which appeared to be a tank top. Nova inspected every inch of this new student, from his clothes to his blue eyes, to his somewhat messy blackish-blue hair. Nova felt that he, too, was being studied just as thoroughly. Once the two had their exchanges in glances, the new student then looked to the whole class.
"My name is Seth IceMan, don't get any ideas of being my "friend" or even dare think of becoming my enemy. To put it bluntly, don't try to associate yourself with me or you will regret it."
Ironically enough, the whole room became as cold as a walk-in freezer, as everyone sat frozen in confusion and even fear, even the teacher was at a loss for words. Seth calmly and cooly walked to the seat right beside Nova, before leaning back in his chair like nothing happened. Tommy was almost hiding behind Nova in the desk behind him while Azumi was analyzing Seth just as Nova was. The two knew one thing was for certain. Something was odd about Seth IceMan.
Chapter 4
A Daunting Revelation
Nova was able to make it through his multiple classes, many of which he had with Tommy, Azumi, and even Seth until he finally made it to lunch. Nova sat down with Tommy and chatted away with him but Tommy seemed as if he wasn't there, more in his head, just staring at Nova. Nova eventually took notice and decided to ask about it.
"Hey Tommy, you alright man?" Nova asked close to Tommy's face, as to draw his attention.
"You've been really quiet ever since we got here and all you've really done is just stare at me." Nova exclaimed.
"Are we both just going to forget about what you did this morning?!" Shouted before covering his mouth, not believing that he would ever act out like that.
Quickly, others began to look at Nova and Tommy confused while Nova wore an almost sad expression.
"Ha, guess I couldn't just expect you to forget that all that huh?"
Tommy was puzzled by what Nova said and why he seemed so sad about it.
"Listen, we can talk about it but let's go somewhere more private first."
Tommy reluctantly followed Nova outside of the school where the two sat down on a bench.
"I was really hoping that I wouldn't get anyone else dragged into my stupid mess, especially not you.
Tommy looked at Nova in confusion while Nova just looked out at the peaceful city, still wearing that sad face.
"I don't know how or why it happened, but ever since I was born I've been cursed with a monster that has practically stolen away most of my life. When I lived in an orphanage in the Vashlands for the first six years of my life, everyone just saw me as a monster, a bother that no one wanted around. They even left me in the desert to die after an "incident". After I was taken in by a kind man of the desert, I lived a life with no other friends or family, I still felt like an outcast. Sometimes I have dreams of hearing this beast and it will always tell me that one day I will do its bidding, that I will become the perfect vessel for battle or it will ruin my life forever. I moved here to Paradise so that maybe I could have a fresh start, live a normal life, with friends..... But I should've known better ..."
All Tommy could do was stare at Nova in pure disbelief. Nova saw this and let out a small laugh.
"I guess you being someone of the sciences makes it pretty hard for you to believe a word I'm saying huh?" Nova asked.
"Well, even though I saw you perform inhuman feats of strength and speed, I do have a hard time believing that a "beast" resides in you. I'm sorry but there's just no way that's possible."
"Ha, I thought you'd say that."
Nova stood up and faced Tommy.
Tommy looked at Nova with a very confused face. Nova smirked while he extended his arm out with an open hand. Tommy looked attentively at Nova's hand, waiting for something to happen when all of a sudden a small flame began to hover above the boy's hand. Shocked, Tommy flew backward into the bench, not believing what he had just seen. The little flame quickly became a palm-size fireball. Tommy slowly made his way back to his feet and stared at the ball of flame in pure astonishment.
"I know it's cool looking and all, but if you get too close you'll get burned." Nova said jokingly before closing his hand to extinguish the flame.
When the flame was extinguished, it was almost as if Tommy fell out of a trance and focused his attention back on Nova.
"I'm not exactly sure what this thing is that lives in me, but I know that it has an affinity for fire. Ever since I was little I've been able to control my own fire supplied by that beast inside me. Over the years I've learned to control it "
"I- I don't know what to say. My roommate is the vessel for a battle-hungry fire beast! There's no way, that can't be true!"
Tommy started to visually break down with smoke almost coming off his head.
"Haha, listen Tommy I know it's hard to believe but I promise I'm telling the truth. I just need you to keep my secret and for you to know that I won't get you involved and I'll never lose control of this thing. I promise."
Although Tommy could hardly believe what he had just seen with his very eyes, when he heard that gently said promise, it seemed to calm him down. He looked up from his panic to see a smiling face that reassured Tommy of what Nova was really trying to say. Everything was going to be ok.
"Alright, I'll keep your secret. Hehe, besides having a roommate like you will definitely make things interesting, to say the least."
Nova was astonished to find someone to accept him for who he was, he was filled with happiness and hope for his future.
At last, the school day had finally come to an end and Nova was about to make his way home after staying in late with Tommy.
"Tommy, I'm heading home, you coming?"
"Yeah, I just need to gather my things, I'll catch up with you."
As Nova was making his way off of school grounds, he approached a bridge leaving school that crossed over a small stream. While crossing the bridge, Nova sensed that he was not alone. He turned around to see a familiar face, Seth Icemen.
"Oh hey, your Seth Iceman right? Is there something I can do for you?"
"There is actually."
Shortly after these words left Seth's mouth something strange began to happen. It started snowing in late summer. Nova was awestruck and while trying to find the source for this snow, something even stranger happened, the stream below the two was completely frozen over.
"I know your little secret, NovaKing..." Seth mumbled under his cold breath
Nova's eyes grew wide as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You aren't the only one with such a beast residing in your body, there is another host and I'm afraid he wants you dead."
Out of nowhere a pillar of ice blasted out at an angle from the now frozen stream and knocked Nova clear off the bridge. Nova was able to correct himself and land on his feet as he slid backward on the icy surface. Seth jumped off onto the frozen stream to face Nova.
"You aren't the only gifted one around here" Seth exclaims before his frosty breath escapes his smirk.
"Listen I don't know why you're helping someone try and kill me or where you got your powers but I'm honestly not a big fan of violence and I'd much rather just talk this out." Nova explained.
"What a pathetic thing to say, I'm pretty disappointed." Seth said before throwing his arms up in a crossed position.
Immediately after saying this, Nova is quickly encased in a jagged prism of ice. Seth scoffs at the imprisoned Nova and turns to walk away but is quickly stopped after hearing a quiet mumbling voice.
"Don't say I didn't give you a chance.." mumbled Nova from inside the ice before casually blasting an opening in the ice with a single punch.
Nova calmly stepped out of the ice with a menacing glare on his face as he slowly approached Seth
"Don't ever confuse my kindness with weakness, I was simply giving you a chance to come out of this without getting burned..." Nova stated while getting closer and closer to Seth.
Nova stopped dead in his tracks and an intense staredown ensued between the two. The air was still and cold without a sound to be heard and the tension grew even further.
"Tell me what else you know about this beast inside me." Nova asked intensely.
"You're gonna have to beat that kind of info out of me." Seth said with a smirk.
"I really didn't want to do this..."
Nova rushed at Seth with inhuman speed, shattering much of the ice that laid beneath him. Seth raised his arms in an upward motion and a large wall of ice rose in front of him to shield him from the blast.
" heh, you're far too predictable!" Seth said with amusement behind his wall.
Nova didn't stop his advance and instead punched straight through the thick ice and with that same arm grabbed Seth and pulled him straight back through his own wall. The wall shattered and Nova carried through with his movement and tossed Seth clear back to the spot where Nova originally stood
"I'm actually kinda impressed with how strong you are." Seth said while wiping the blood from his lip.
"Why thank you, I'm quite flattered but do you think we can just talk this out yet."
"Not quite."
Seth quickly gestured toward himself with two fingers. Nova quickly caught on and looked behind him only to find an onslaught of ice shards flying at him. Nova dove to the right in order to avoid the barrage, but Seth was quick to stop them from hitting himself and sent them barreling back toward Nova like heat-seeking missiles. Nova ran down the stream, away from the shards, but with one fateful step, he lost his footing on the slick ice and began to fall backward. Seth saw this and took full advantage by immediately dropping the control on the ice shards in favor of raising himself high into the sky on a pedestal of ice before completely arching the pedestal downward at the slipped up Nova.
Seth rode the colossal ice pedestal right into Nova before bailing off last second. The collision caused a large icy explosion that sent frozen debris flying through the air. The frozen "dust" settled only to reveal a jagged hole in the ice where Nova was most likely sent under the water by the crash. Seth watched as the water settled and decided that it was simply an easy victory. He turned away to leave but quickly stopped as he heard what he thought was bubbling water. He turned his head to see vapor rising from the water and bubbles as if the water was starting to boil. Seemingly out of nowhere Nova burst out from the water and leaped high into the air with the sun as his backdrop. With the water on his body quickly evaporating he began to charge up a fireball with the flames coursing down his arm into the condensed ball of heat and flame in his hand.
"I've had enough!" Shouted Nova before hurling the blast straight at Seth.
An ice half dome quickly rose to defend Seth, but as the fire flew at Seth with such intense speed and heat that it was too strong and tore completely through the thick ice, annihilating it, before slamming into Seth where it pushed him clear to the other side of the bridge before dissipating.
Seth slowly stumbled back to his feet where he saw how visibly angry Nova had become with the look in his eyes.
"I guess you're a lot stronger than I gave you credit for" Seth admitted.
"Enough stalling! Tell me what you know right now!" Nova exclaimed impatiently.
The two could hear Tommy approaching wondering what he was hearing.
"I say we call this a draw, for now, I've got what I need for now anyway. Don't think this is over though, it's far from it." Seth sneered.
Seth rode off on the ice on the stream, quickly getting out of sight. As he left the stream quickly melted back to normal.
Chapter 5
A Fated Destiny
Tommy had heard what he thought was Nova on the bridge so he hurried to see what he was still doing there and crossed the bridge to find Nova down in the stream and simply cocked his head in confusion.
"Hehe, I guess I had a bit of a tumble over the bridge." Nova said smiling while holding the back of his head.
Tommy was still confused but laughed it off with Nova, but deep down Nova knew that what had happened was only going to lead to more trouble.
As the two slowly made their way home Tommy could tell that something was wrong with Nova and that he was being very spacy.
"Everything alright?" Tommy asked.
"Oh... Yeah, I'm good." Nova said after snapping out of his almost trance-like state.
Tommy stopped walking for a moment, which caused Nova to look back to see if something was wrong.
"You don't have to worry you know."
Nova looked behind him and was taken back by the shy boy.
"I know what it's like... to be alone and all, and though our situations are different, I know how much it hurts to be an outcast."
Nova couldn't even find the words to respond with.
"What I'm getting at is that I've got your back if you ever need anything, you're my first real friend after all, no weird powers you have will change that."
Nova was impressed with the amount of courage Tommy was able to summon in order to speak his mind, he was touched by his kindness and resolve to be friends.
The image of Seth suddenly popped into his mind. Nova's head quickly dropped.
"Getting involved with me would only put you in potential danger..." Nova said somberly.
"I could probably do with a bit of excitement in my life honestly." Tommy replied with a smile.
Nova quickly looked up at Tommy in confusion.
"Besides, based on what you've told me and my own experiences, we could both use social engagement." Tommy said jokingly.
Tommy smiled at Nova and he returned one just as big and the two began to laugh under the soft setting sun.
The two then quickly made their way back home and into bed. It was then that Nova was met with a strange and fore-telling vision. Nova found himself in a black void where he heard a deep, chilling, yet oh so familiar voice.
"It seems the time has finally come to show myself, this is a very overdue introduction..."
Bright, beast-like, yellow eyes began to flare to life, where then a dark red flame began to take shape around the eyes to create a lizard-like face.
"What are you?!" Nova shouted out
The beast let out a malicious chuckle
"I am the Great Red Dragon, Dragnar, and I am the source of your powers, the monster in your mind."
"So you're the one..." Nova mumbled with his head hung low
"WHY!!! What do you want with me, why would you ruin my life?!" Nova shouted in anger.
The beast leaned in closer to the furious Nova.
"Let me tell you a story. There was once a great war that pitted the divine beings of Heaven, Hell, and the outcasted fallen angels. My two brothers and I each joined a faction so that we could engage in bloody combat with each other. You see, us beings are that which is above the gods and where we resided, fighting was not permitted, so we ran away in the madness of the war and used it as a way to fight and decide who the strongest of us was."
"Why would you all fight so hard in a war that wasn't your own just to fight each other? Weren't you all brothers?"
"Yes but we despised each other and constantly bickered over who was the strongest, we simply decided to figure it out the right way, a fight to the death!"
Nova was bewildered at the dragon's story of gods and bloody wars. His mind could hardly process the information as he grasped at his head.
"I can't believe this is all tied to things like Heaven and Hell, those are places I've only heard of in stories, not to mention what you and these brothers of yours are. How can there be beings beyond gods?"
"Haha, relax child, think any harder, and your head might just pop off, you don't need to know what I am, but instead what you have become." Dragnar sneered.
Nova looked back up at the beast.
"When the time finally came for our battle, we went all out in a climactic showdown that ended in a fatal draw that ended all of us, it also ended the war in a draw that left all sides on the verge of extinction."
"Then how are you-"
"I stand before you now because only our bodies were destroyed in that battle and our spirits have gone on through the generations on this planet where our lives ended so that we could continue our rivalry through different strong human vessels. This however is the first time all three of us have been able to reincarnate with chosen vessels in the same time period."
"If that's your whole reason for taking my body, why don't you just use those powers of yours to make me do what you want instead of waiting all this time just to explain it to me?"
"There was simply no need for me to take such a direct approach, I knew that my hasty brothers would make a move against us first and that you would be forced to fight... Whether you wanted to or not..."
The beast pulled its head away from Nova.
"It seems my hunch was correct, as seen with your conflict with that man earlier. It's the work of my brother, the Great White Dragon, Ashrothe, and his conniving vessel.
Nova quickly put two and two together and was able to make sense of Seth's comments about another person like himself.
Dragnar quickly jerked his head in frustration.
"I can't believe that cowardly brother of mine would stoop so low as to send a mere mortal to fight his battle, he'll regret not taking me seriously!"
Dragnar quickly shifted his attention back to Nova.
"You see boy, if you wish to continue living this normal little life of yours then you'll need to become strong enough to fight. My brothers are ruthless and won't stop, they'll come for you and anyone you hold dear that gets too close."
Nova's eyes widened as the images of Tommy and Azumi flashed through his mind.
"All I need to do is sit and wait for you to realize that you have no choice but to fight, it's our destiny, a fate you can not escape." Dragnar growled.
The beast let out a deep, earthshaking chuckle as he slowly shifted back into the pitch darkness.
Nova's body shot up as he awoke from his terrifying vision. He sat in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, with his hands cupping his face. He had no choice but to come to terms with the newfound truth, the question now was:
"What am I gonna do now...?".
Meanwhile back in the small city, there sat a large mansion tucked away, nearly behind the city where it was surrounded by the green section of the woods. Inside the empty estate's first floor lobby sat a disgruntled Seth Iceman. The main doors opened and 3 men made their way inside, the one on the left was a leaner grey-haired man with jeans and a grey hoodie with bits of scrap metal attached like armor. The one on the right was a larger, bulkier bald man with olive green cargo pants and a white tank top. Last but certainly not least, in the middle stood a tall, slightly slender, white-haired man, with light hazel colored eyes. He appeared to be around 17 years old, only a year older than NovaKing. He wore a completely white, rather expensive-looking suit, with a light blue tie. His snow-white hair looked very well kept and groomed, this was no ordinary teenager.
The white-haired man approached Seth, who was now at attention.
"So, was the job I sent you on a success?" The man calmly asked.
"No..." Seth mumbled after turning his head away as if in shame.
"Heh, I'd be lying if I said I was surprised, I thought that it might be too much for you to handle on your own."
Seth, still looking away, scoffed at this remark.
"Lucky for you I found these two lovely gentlemen in town who were in need of purpose, so they'll be joining our ranks and will assist you in the mission." The man remarked while motioning to the men behind him.
"I can do this on my own damnit!" Seth blurted out after standing up.
The white-haired man smirked to himself and turned to walk to the men behind him.
"Then do tell, why isn't he here at my feet?" Said the man before approaching the larger man with a syringe in hand.
Seth looked down in anger and frustration.
The white-haired man injected the syringe in the man's neck and then drew a green-like blood from his body. Seth looked up in confusion. The white-haired man once again approached Seth with the syringe in hand.
"You do want a second chance now don't you?"
"Yes sir..." Seth mumbled in embarrassment.
"I'm happy to hear that, but you of all people should understand that I don't tolerate failure, especially when there is oh so much on the line. Do we understand each other?"
Seth reluctantly nodded his head in agreement.
"Good, now if my observations reign consistent, then this should give you more than enough power to complete your task." The man said before injecting the green fluid into Seth's neck.
Seth pulled away as his body began to pulse as a newfound power surged through his veins, his eyes flashed a quick green as he stood with more power than he had ever known before. Seth raised his head with a devilish grin on his face.
"Next time that NovaKing kid will end up as nothing more than a frozen corpse!" Seth swore as a cold mist escaped his grin.
Chapter 6
High Octane Rematch
Nova did his best to get through his next day at school, but was in his own head most of the day, thinking about his terrifying vision from the night before. One thing he was able to pick up on however was the absence of Seth.
By the end of the day, Nova and Tommy were making their way to the main entrance of the school to start making their way home when they saw a mass of students gathered at one of the hall TVs. The two decided to investigate what was going on and were terrified at what they saw on the news.
There was an emergency broadcast that showed an aerial view of what appeared to be a large ice dome right in the middle of the city's supermassive and populated main street. Nova and Tommy were both in utter shock at what they were seeing.
At that same moment, Nova got a text from his phone and it was none other than Seth who somehow got his phone number.
"If you don't want people hurt then you'll come here alone to finish things."
After reading this chilling message, Nova made a run to the exit without saying a word to Tommy, who was too focused on what he was seeing to even notice. Azumi did notice however and began to tail Nova.
Nova ran as fast as he could, moving almost as quickly as a speeding car, and found himself in the center of the city where the massive ice dome sat. Thankfully there was no one around to really notice him as most people evacuated when the dome initially started to form, even the media kept their distance from the icey structure.
Once Nova came close to the dome, an entrance was made by the parting ice, Nova walked in with little to no hesitation. The road inside the dome was barren and cold, with only one thing inside of it, Seth standing in the middle, ever menacingly. His leather jacket was zipped up and his hood was on, shadowing part of his face, his hands in his pockets.
"Things aren't going to go as well for you as they did last time, I'm gonna finish what I started." Seth explained to Nova.
"Listen, I don't know why you got wrapped up in all this but it doesn't have to be this way, just please explain what's going on here and put an end to this fighting." Nova calmly pleaded with Seth.
Seth gave an evil smirk before lifting his hand toward Nova and sending a large, wave-like mass of ice at him. Before Nova could even react he was swept away in this wave and smashed hard against the dome wall, hitting hard enough to crack the ice slightly behind him and drop him to his knees. Seth began to walk toward the fallen Nova.
"If you want me to talk that badly, you'll have to beat it out of me."
Nova rose back up to meet Seth's wager.
"Then you've left me no choice." Nova claimed before walking to Seth.
The two walked closer to each other and the walking became jogging and the jogging became sprinting as they headed into a fateful clash. This clash was interrupted however because the two men stopped in their tracks as they saw an explosion to the side of them. A large hole had been blasted into the side of the ice dome, as the ice from the blast settled, there stood Azumi Yamamoto with her hand extended in a fist. She stood in a way that suggested she had delivered a form accurate punch. The two men stood in awe at what just occurred before them.
"I don't understand what's going on here, but you must be more of a delinquent than I thought you were if you're going after someone as kind as NovaKing." Azumi said.
Seth simply grinned at the woman and gestured for her to leave.
"So you're an ice ki user, a rather radical one at that, I believe you've caused enough trouble here. Nova get back!" Azumi said before launching herself at Seth.
She bolted toward Seth at unreal speeds and Nova had no time to react so he simply watched in awe. Seth smirked at her approach and slid his foot ever slightly, creating a thin sheet of ice in front of him on the ground. Azumi was running too fast to see this and slipped completely on the ice due to how quickly she was moving when she hit it. Seth quickly reacted and grabbed Azumi's leg and slammed her body on the ground. Nova was disgusted at the sight of this. In a fast and fluid movement, Seth launched Azumi's body toward the ice wall and started to chase her down as she flew. Seth gestured his fingers toward him and a pillar of ice shot out from the wall behind the flying Azumi. The pillar collided with Azumi, striking her hard in the back. Before her lifeless body could drop, Seth caught up and slammed his ice-covered fist into her chest with so much force that it shattered the pillar behind her completely. Azumi coughed up blood as her body hit the ground, she laid lifeless, completely unconscious.
"Haha! I don't know who the broad is or why she was so damn quick, but this new strength of mine made her easy to deal with." Seth said while continuing to laugh as his icey arm cannon flaked off.
Seth looked back to find Nova with gritted teeth as he shook in anger. His eyes were hidden in shadow as his head was shifted downward, fists clenched as his body was engulfed in a fiery aura.
"You know I really hate having to use violence, but I hate those who would lay their hands on a woman in anger even more!" Nova gritted through his teeth.
Seth looked as Nova's aura flared up, he even began to step back in fear of what he was seeing. Embarrassed by his behavior, his fear quickly turned to anger.
"Sh-shut it!" Seth shouted as he threw an ice shard at Nova.
The ice shard flew at Nova's face, but he took no defensive stance. It came mere inches from his face before Nova snapped at the shard, catching it as if it were nothing but a nuisance. The ice quickly started to melt just from being in Nova's hand for a moment's time. Nova's head jolted back up to show the immeasurable amount of anger in his eyes as he stared down Seth.
"Scum that hit women with that kind of smile on their face deserve no mercy!" Nova roared as he smashed the melting ice shard in his hands.
Seth, growing ever more frustrated, charged at Nova with the same thick, iced over arm technique that did Azumi in. Nova didn't move an inch. As Seth moved in to deliver the punch his arm made contact with Nova's aura, melting away the ice before it could even make the mere foot's distance past the aura to hit Nova's face. Seth's normal fist however still managed to connect with Nova's face, but he didn't budge an inch and his face gave no expression of pain, only anger. Seth couldn't believe what was happening but before he could even make another move or pull his fist away, he noticed Nova gesture with his eyes to look down. Seth slowly shifted his eyes downward as his face shifted into terror. Pointed directly at Seth's stomach was Nova's hand, holding a condensed fireball. Seth looked back up in shock as Nova pushed the fireball deep into Seth's abdomen, where the blast carried Seth slightly into the air before crashing with a fiery explosion into the ground.
Seth stumbled back to his feet, visibly injured, and was given no time to recover. Nova pushed off with a flaming foot boost that sent him charging toward Seth. Nova suddenly noticed Seth's foot begin to pivot forward as it did when he created the ice that tripped Azumi. Nova anticipated this and landed hard with his heated up foot, completely shattering the icey layer below him and gaining his footing. With a planted stance, Nova delivered a solid punch to Seth's face, completely staggering him. Nova followed through with his punch with a fast, relentless barrage of punches all over Seth's body. Seth was blown back several feet due to the barrage and in an angered panic threw up an arched ice shield to gain cover. While behind cover, Seth crossed his arms together in a fast motion and caused ice pillars from Nova's right and left to shoot out from the dome. With no time to anticipate, Nova was forced to stop the pillars before they could smash him. His only option in that split-second was to use both arms to stop each pillar before they could crush him. Now however; Nova was left defenseless with no arms to use and no opening to get away.
Seth quickly placed his hands on the shield in front of him, which caused the front of the shield to start creating and launching a barrage of ice shards at the defenseless Nova. Seth continued to try and force the pillars to crush Nova so all he could do was stand his ground and take the full-frontal assault. The shards began to shred through Nova's clothes, slicing him up all over his body. Nova began to feel fatigued as he was starting to lose blood from his newformed cuts, on top of holding back the enormous pillars with each arm. Nova's arms started shaking as both pillars pushed closer and closer to crushing him.
"Haha! Not so tough anymore, are you? It's just a matter of time until you're crushed into nothing!" Seth shouted in glee.
Seth's arms are raised to the sky and thrown back down as an even larger ice pillar careened straight down toward Nova from above him.
Nova acted fast and with a growl of determination, shot an explosion of flame out of each hand, effectively destroying both pillars in order to catch the one above him in the knick of time. Seeing Nova struggling through the ice shield, Seth began to push the pillar down with even more force. The extreme amount of force caused Nova's legs to buckle under the pressure as the ground below him even started to crack and deform. Nova roared out as his flaming aura began to flare up with even more heat and intensity. With one last battle-like cry to the skies, Nova's hands shined with a bright heat as they suddenly released a large, towering explosion of roaring flames. These intense flames climbed the large pillar before shattering it into nothing more than falling snowflakes.
Nova's arms hung limp at his sides due to the tremendous strain just put on his body, he could barely stay conscious let alone stand upright. Seth was outraged at Nova's resilience and slammed his palm on the wall of the ice shield once again in order to send even more shards toward the fatigued Nova. Overly exhausted, Nova could barely move but managed to lift his arms up to deliver one last attack to finish it all. Nova let out one last shout to charge up what strength he had left as a brilliant light engulfed his palms.
An image quickly flashed through Nova's mind of a shadowed man, dressed in desert-like bounty hunting attire standing over a small child.
"Listen kid, you can't just use those powers all willy nilly, you need to create techniques to help you come closer to controlling it. Just think of it as a special move until you've gotten used to it!" The man said with a large grin on his face and a chuckle that slowly faded away as Nova snapped back into reality.
"INCINERATE!!!" Nova bellowed out in an earthquaking tone.
Sparks flashed up in front of Nova's hands in a "calm before the storm" like moment, before a large, condensed beam of fire and heat shot out from Nova's hands (Dubbed by Nova as the "Incinerating Shot".). The beam flew toward Seth and his barrier at a speed fast enough to tear apart the ground below it, melting the ice shards that flew at Nova. It crashed into the ice barrier with so much force that it completely annihilated the thick ice and Seth along with it. Seth went flying clear onto the other side of the dome as his body crashed heavily into the wall with enough force to crack it significantly. Seth's body fell to the ground as he fainted from the impact. His loss of consciousness led the dome around them to slowly start to crumble away.
Nova fell to his knees as the last bit of strength left his already nearly broken body. He took a few large breaths before slowly picking himself back up. He limped his way to Azumi and put her over his shoulder as he started to slowly hobble out of the collapsing structure. He stopped suddenly however and turned back to look at the fallen Seth, and with a heavy sigh, started walking back. He threw Seth over his other shoulder in a paining movement and again started making his way out of the dome.
Once outside, Nova noticed that the streets were still evacuated but heard the distant sounds of sirens and they were getting closer. Nova dropped Seth in a nearby alley.
"I'll admit, I've never been pushed so hard in my life, you almost had me there. If you know any better though, you'll never come after me or my friends again!" Nova mumbled to the barely conscious Seth before stumbling away with Azumi in hand as Seth faded back into unconsciousness.
After a while of walking, Nova finally made it back to his apartment where the ever worried Tommy was waiting inside. Tommy began bombarding Nova with questions, asking where he was and what happened, but all Nova could hear was muffled speech as he made his way to his newly furnished room. He gently placed Azumi in his bed and just looked down at her as he dripped blood from his cuts, his vision began to blur. Tommy slowly and concerningly approached the motionless Nova.
"I- I really thought it was over..."
Tommy looked up at Nova's somber expression.
"I really thought I could just live a normal life, that I could finally get away from it all..."
Nova's vision completely blacked out as his body slowly swayed back. He collapsed on the floor as he heard a deep voice ring out in his mind.
"Hm, not bad, kid. Maybe there's hope for you yet."
Chapter 7
The Aftermath
Nova slowly started waking up in his bed and his blurry vision began to clear until he could make out what appeared to be Azumi sitting next to him while ringing out a washcloth. Startled, Nova shot upright in his bed as he struggled to understand what was happening. He looked down to discover his shirt off and instead was covered in bandages. Azumi looked at him with a tender smile.
"Good, you're finally awake."
"Wh- What happened?" Nova asked while holding his head.
"Well when I came to, I saw your panicking roommate standing over your unconscious body. I figured it had something to do with that Seth character and I was worried the worst had happened, but thankfully I was able to patch up your wounds in time. How are you feeling now?"
"Oh don't worry about me, I feel fine actually."
Azumi eyed Nova down suspiciously.
"What exactly happened after I was knocked out back there?"
"Oh that, well um, I don't entirely know what Seth was after but it wasn't anything good, so I knew I had to get us out of there. I just got a little more scraped up during the escape than I would have liked." Nova said before letting out a nervous laugh.
Azumi could tell that Nova was clearly keeping much of what happened away from her.
"But don't worry though, I don't think Seth will be causing trouble for anyone any time soon. More importantly though, are you ok?"
"I'm ok, really, he just caught me off guard before. I can assure he won't be nearly as lucky next time." Azumi calmly replied.
Nova too felt that he wasn't being told the truth. He knew that Azumi was far from normal, that was made obvious back at the dome. Neither were open enough however to say any more about it at that time.
"I'm more concerned about you, the wounds you received were serious, you should probably go to a doctor as soon as you can."
"Yeah I'll probably make a visit but I wanna get you home first, you've done more than enough for me already."
Nova got up out of bed and Azumi was right there beside him expecting to help him, but she was impressed at his ability to stand on his own so soon.
"I'll just get some fresh clothes on first before we go"
As Nova walked to his dresser, Azumi noticed part of the bandage on Nova's arm starting to unravel. The skin underneath was completely fine where there was once a deep cut that Azumi saw with her own eyes, there wasn't even scaring.
Meanwhile, Seth awoke to find himself on the familiar sofa of the lounge area in the mansion. He sat up in tremendous pain, trying to make sense of what happened. Before he could get anywhere though, he was in shock to find the white-haired man standing over him with a stern look. Seth looked behind him to find the other two men still in toe.
"What the hell happened?" Seth asked, still trying to come to.
"What happened was that I had to send these two to fetch your body after that sorry excuse of a fight you put on. I'm sorry Seth but I'm afraid that second chance was the last showing of kindness I can afford to you. It seems I was wrong about you, you've exhausted your usefulness. I need to ask you to leave." The man said with a stern and professional voice.
Seth shot to his feet from the sofa and got right in the man's face.
"I've done everything for you, I've stayed with you since the beginning and you're just gonna toss me out without even a thought?!"
"Oh I gave it thought, I've just finally realized that you are no longer necessary for my efforts. I've grown significantly since we first met and my empire can now stand to lose the extra dead weight. I'm almost sorry to see you go, truly, but I can't let you impede my journey to greatness. Besides, I've grown quite tired of your attitude as of late."
Seth could do nothing but grit his teeth in anger before shoulder checking the man as he stormed out of the mansion's main entrance.
The man looked to the two behind him.
"It's your time now gentlemen, time to show me along with the rest of the world what you're capable of. You'll prove them all wrong."
The two men nodded as they turned to leave the mansion as well, leaving the man in white smirking as a white-hot aura encompassed his body.
As dusk approached, Nova and Azumi were walking the empty streets back to Azumi's home. They walked up to her decorated front door and before she could turn the doorknob to go inside, she turned around to confront Nova as he walked away.
"Nova, be honest with me, are you hiding something from me?" Azumi blurted out to him.
Nova stopped in his tracks and stood in hesitant silence. Eventually, he turned his head to acknowledge her.
"I'm not keeping anything from you. Everything is just fine, don't you worry about it." Nova gently said with an almost fake smile.
Nova started back down the street without another word said. Azumi just stood in silence and watched him walk away with a concerned look on her face before finally going inside.
On the walk back home, Nova was at war with his own mind, struggling to decide if lying to her was for the best. While in his own head, Nova realized he had a field trip coming up the next day to the colorful forests that made the island the special place it was.