"No, You stay back. I will deal with him. Do not dare to use your powers in front of him."
Jessie shouts. "Huh, do you expect me to sit down and watch you fight him alone. I won't do it. He's too strong, even for you."
Lucy smiles although still scared underneath why wouldn't she, she has no experience of the fight but she still utters the words that might enhance Jessie's hope and trust in her..
"C'mon Jessie it's not time for an argument, besides the sun is still out, my powers get a thousand times stronger under the sun."
Lucy's reply gives Jessie hope and an idea.
"That's why I am saying let me help too, my shadow could also be stronger."
Lucy yells at her "That's why I am telling you to not use your powers, do not freaking use them, just sit down."
Jessie freezes after hearing what Lucy said.
"So sad…. She is not letting me fight waaa…. waaa.." He rubs her eyes acting like he's crying but he just teases them.
He laughs pointing at them.
"What happened to if she refuses, I refuse too. You changed too suddenly."
After a silence that felt longer than time it finally began.
"Enough talk, let's begin." He whispers to himself.
Ground beneath them shatters again, this time bunches of branches come out, they hold Jessie's legs and drag her away.
"No!!!" She screams.
"He's fast, I didn't even see it coming."
He smiles wickedly, hangs Jessie's body onto a tree, Jessie tries to struggle but her hands are held tight by those branches making her unable to contact her shadow.
"Now she outta our way, You can go all out."
She rushes blindly at him screaming, "Give her back!!!"
He's just standing there waiting for Lucy to come closer.
"She's using her gift as a bright light. It's hard to see her."
He squeezes his eyes to see it more but stops as he realizes.
"I still have my humane habits, I keep forgetting, I don't need to see her. But goddamn I want to see her."
"Oh my, my…. I am quite impressed. Lucy Navarro, you would be my specimen if I wasn't the bad guy here."
She smirks at his face with the confidence of someone who had already won. Her voice comes out sharp as an arrow.
"I won't be your subject even if you were the good guy." Her fist infused with her gift is about to land.
"Gotcha." She said confidently.
From his back, a branch appears, it blocks Lucy's punch and absorbs her energy."
"Ahhhh!" A loud scream enters his and Lucy's ears, she quickly looks at the direction where Jessie is.
Her blood boils, she throws one punch again in her anger, the man grabs her wrist and throws her far like a disc.
She spins on both the air and then on the ground.
Her right elbow and foot got sprained, but she still stands up groaning in pain, thanks to her running adrenaline, she doesn't even realize it yet.
Jessie screams again "AHHH"
"Stop doing that or I will kill you. Stop hurting her for god's sake."
Her bubble expands exponentially due to her anger.
The man holds his chin and gives a reply that makes Lucy's soul shiver to the core.
"You are having a misunderstanding, Lucy. I am not the one who's hurting her. I would never hurt my specimen."
He snickers. "You are the one who's hurting her. to be exact it's your powers."
Lucy breaks her wrist free.
"Someone's getting strong," he says.
"Ahhhh!" Jessie screams again, this time a lot louder, her tears starts flowing.
"Aww, someone's hurt."
He laughs as loudly as he can. His laughter shakes the earth beneath them
"Hahahahaha"
"You are much more naive than I thought you would be. You still haven't realized what's causing her agonizing pain. see the more you use your powers more she will get hurt, so... be careful."
She stops, her anger goes away, a cloud of darkness starts hovering on her mind trying to consume it.
"I hurt her. I hurt Jessie, I made her cry,"
"You hurt her! you hurt her! you made her cry. Ahhhhhh!"
Her brain is now filled with voices crying and screaming at her, a dark cloud is about to take over but suddenly Jessie yells at her.
"I am fine, Do not freaking listen to him, just focus on getting his ass. Don't worry about me."
Jessie's voice blows all the dark fog from her mind, even though she is a subject of darkness itself at this moment she has become the light of Lucy.
Lucy stands up straight and confident, wipes her tears.
Her bubble deactivates.
"I see it now, I just need to not use my powers on your ugly branches of yours."
He grins. "Without using your powers, ehhh. How long do you think you can go on?"
He lets her get closer as she closes the distance between her and him, she jumps and gives a spin kick to his face.
"Aha…. Got you."
"I got you." he says, Lucy smiles fades away as she realizes that her leg has been caught and what she is expecting has already happened before so she gets ready for it.
He sends her straight into the sky up to 100 meters, then smacks her back to the ground.
She screams out of pain. "Aghhh!"
He walks closer towards her while she is crying, his branches retract letting Lucy legs free.
Her cries stopped.
He grabs her chin lightly, wipes her tears with a smile so charming moon itself will be shy.
"See kid, that would have killed you if your gift wasn't awakened. Now I am asking you again to tell Jessie to come with me, I will change her life for good. It's for her own good."
She shakes his hand away and stands up, aggressively rubs her face where he touched her.
"I see that as a no then." He stands back too. "Just so you know, your month of experience isn't enough to defeat someone with 2 years worth of experience."
Lucy heads back to gain momentum then charges towards him like a raging bull. "Gyahhh!"
He doesn't react, just takes his phone out and sees time. 5:55 P.M.
"Hmph….. I am out of time, sorry I can't play anymore, we have to rush."
Multiple branches come out of the ground, they all grab Lucy's limbs and hold her up in the air.
He walks closely and whispers in her ear so Jessie can't hear.
"I will slowly kill you, in front of your friend, your pain and agony will be the reason your friend succumbs to darkness, your demise will be her awakening. My goals will be achieved. My revenge will be taken. The world will be fixed."
Lucy smiles back. "I would like you to try, she is not someone that can succumb into darkness that easily."
"We will see soon." He said as he pierced her shoulder all the way through.
"Aghhh!"