Elementalist

"Nick, Tina, I'm home!"
   
 I shut the wooden door after Rachel, who looked as if she's never been in a mansion before, and I rubbed my hands against my pants. "Make yourself at home," I grinned at her and wandered into the kitchen to find Nick there, reading one of his usual books at the kitchen table.
    
Nick looked up from his reading as I dug through the cabinets for some cloth to tie around my bloody hands. "Hey, Connor. Where were you?"
    
I pulled out some medical cloth from the cabinet and started to tie it onto my hands, wrist and halfway up to my elbow on my left arm, "I've been around places," I laughed, "oh, and that's Rachel, I randomly picked her up from the side of the streets." I started to bandage up my right arm.
    
"Hey!" Rachel yelled and I grinned at her. Nick looked just like Jimmy, but, he had brown eyes, not blue. "Nice to meet you, Nick, right?"
    
 Nick looked at Rachel, shook his head and I went back to admiring my bandaging. "Hah ha, these are going to bug the shit out of me if I have to fight," I laughed and looked at Nick, "did Hex or Sarah come looking for me while I was gone?"
    
Nick yawned, he seemed tired, and he looked tired. He had his usual fireballs floating around him, "Hex came by a few times, Connor."
    
"Have you been sleeping?" I asked, studying him, "and where's Tina?"
    
"I've been sleeping, Connor! You worry too much!" Nick yelled and glanced at Rachel who was admiring his fireballs, "and Tina's upstairs playing with her toys."
   
 I grinned, "I'll be back later," I headed out, "I'm taking a walk."
    
"To where, Connor?!" Rachel asked.
    
"The cliff," I grinned and wandered out the door.
 
   
 Ten minutes later, I had the wind in my hair and my right leg hanging off the cliff. My left leg was up so I could rest my arm over it and think to myself while I waited. A car stopped behind me.
    
"Connor! Where have you been?!"
   
 I glanced out the side of my eye and grinned at Hex. I went back to looking beyond the land of the cliff as he sat down, both of his legs hanging off the cliff, "Hey, Hex," I grinned at him.
    
Hex was my best friend. He had white hair and grayish-white eyes. He wore black pants and a dark blue tee-shirt. He had always been afraid at what may be in front of him, but he knows that I wouldn't go anywhere without him, except for the HTWBE part, which was kind of my own business.  "Where have you been, Connor?"
  
  "I've been around, Hex," I grinned and showed him my left arm; "actually, I went to kick some Elementalist's asses."
    
"Like who?"
    
"Let's see," I pondered for a moment, "I came across Jimmy and David.... and I might have pissed off some guy named Jerry at the "Helping the World be Elemental" company..."
    
"Why'd you do that, Connor?! They'll be hunting you down!" he yelled. He sounded shocked, also another reason why I didn't bring him.
    
"I have reasons," I sighed, "hey, remember the thing I said when we were five?"
    
"Which one, Connor?"
    
"The 'if you're ever in deep shit, hold your hands out in front of you and yell 'tornado' one?"
  
  "Yeah, I do, why'd you tell me to do that---" I put my finger to my lips to signal him to be quiet. I listened to the air and the sound of faded footsteps heading to Hex and I. Hex turned around to see who it was. The footsteps stopped.
  
  "Hello, Hexagram. How's Charlie doing? I could tell that Hay is doing spiffy."
    
I gritted my teeth, back still towards Jimmy. I beat him once without air powers but now he's in his element, but I'm in mine. "What do you want, Jimmy?"
  
  I heard Jimmy laugh, slightly. "You, Connor."
   
 I laughed at him, back still turned, "Why, Jimmy? Did those Elemental Bastards send you?"
    
"You're smart, Connor, but you need to learn not to cuss so much," Jimmy laughed, "fight me."
     
I got up and faced him. He stood in front of a black sphere like thing. "Hex, get out of here." He shook his head and I started to walk towards Jimmy, as I did, I started to pull off the cloth I put on earlier.
    
"So, you'll fight me?" Jimmy asked as he eyed Hex who walked a few feet from the edge of the cliff.
    
I laughed at him as I pulled off the rest of the cloth and shoved them both in my pocket. My hands were still slightly bleeding and small bits of glass were still stuck in it. "First thing, though," I grinned at him, "if I win, you teach me Earth."
    
"Fine, but if I win, you have to come to HTWBE with me," Jimmy answered.
    
"Okay, then," I watched Hex, "let's start."
    
"One more thing, Connor," he pointed to the black sphere, "we fight in there."
    
I shook my head yes and walked into it, after passing Jimmy who wore a smug smile. Jimmy laughed as I slipped into it and he slipped his hands into his pockets. He took a step and the Earth shook, not under him but all around. I gritted my teeth as he took another step.
    
"Hex! Get out of there! Run!" I yelled and headed at the wall. Hex, clearly, couldn't hear me and I got to the wall. I hit the wall, expecting to get out, but I fell back from the force.
    
"Now, Connor, don't do that again," Jimmy laughed, "and Hex, you'll die now."
    
"Hex!" I yelled, eyes turning white "Get the hell out of there!"
    
Hex still couldn't hear me. Jimmy launched himself into the air and did a back flip. I watched Jimmy land, lightly on his right foot and then dropped his left. The Earth underneath him shook and a wave was formed. The wave grew bigger as it crept closer to Hex.
    
"Jimmy, I'll kill you!" I yelled my voice cracking like earlier when I fought them before. I pointed my hands to the ground. I thought that I could get out through the top, "air blast!" I shot up, hit the top of the sphere and then landed back on the ground with a loud thump. I felt a few of my ribs break.
    
"Connor!"
    
It took all my strength I had left and I watched the wave knock my sixteen year old friend off the cliff. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.
    
"Now for you," Jimmy said as he entered the sphere and kicked my side harder so that more of my ribs broke, "look at you, you're pathetic. You can't even stand up." he kicked me again so I went flying and hit the other side of the sphere. I used it to push myself up onto my feet. I stood up, one hand holding my ribcage, the other holding me up against the sphere. "Oh, wow! I'm amazed you CAN stand up, seeing as you're in so much pain."
    
"What pain, Jimmy? One can overcome pain if they have enough anger. Oh, and for me what?" I asked as I moved the hand supporting me on the wall to wipe some blood off my face, "I'll kill you as you killed Hex!"
    
"So? Remember, you can't kill me because we have a deal," Jimmy laughed as I held my hands at him.
    
"Air Bla--" I let my hands fall and I glanced at the cliff. Nothing but Hex's car was there.
    
"Why are you stopping, little brother?" Jimmy laughed and pointed at me, "Earth fist!"
    
A large fist of earth grabbed me from behind and made me unable to move. I gritted my teeth and took a large breath, a painful breath actually. Jimmy walked up to me and punched my face, "So this is how you end up, huh, Connor? A filthy scum bag?"
   
 "Do what you want," I managed to say in between hurtful and very painful breaths, "but I'm just warming up." my chest was pounding like Hell, like it needed to be let loose, almost like I had another me.
    
"You're a runt," Jimmy laughed, "you're not even worth to having a life. Why don't I kill you here?" He punched my face again.
    
"Never call Connor a scum bag or a runt!"
   
 I looked up, the best I could from looking at the rocks, to see Hex standing there on top of a large tornado. Clearly, he took my advice about the 'if you're ever in deep shit, hold your hands out and yell tornado' and I smiled. His white hair jetted in and out of his eyes.
    
"He...Hex?" I managed to ask and gritted my teeth.
    
"Come on, Connor! You're not going to give up THAT easily, are you?! Come on! Who said Pain doesn't hurt when you over come it!" Hex yelled, dropping himself onto solid ground, "Are you just going to let your damn ass older brother beat you? Let him call you a worthless Elementalist?  A scum bag and a runt?!"
    
"You're right," I said, that anger that I had burning in me again came up, "And I'm NOT going to lose to some bullshit ass fighter like you!"
    
I gritted my teeth and I closed my eyes. I felt heat rising, not only out of my chest but every other part of my body also. I opened my eyes, "You will now lose!" I pulled my hands out, no matter how much my sides hurt, and shattered the earth that held me. I ran my fingers through my hair, which was mostly pulled up into spikes.
    
"How can it be?!" Jimmy cried backing away into Hex who grabbed him, "Your eyes are red and orange and... And..."
    
"Hex! Move!" I yelled, and Hex moved, "Fist of Fire!" I yelled as I hit the ground with my red and orange heat fist. The earth cracked from where I hit it to underneath Jimmy's feet.
    
"Come on, Connor!" Hex yelled.
    
"What the hell? When did he get this?!" Jimmy asked, kind of shocked.
    
"Rise!" I lifted my hand and fire raised up from the crack. Jimmy was pushed up to the top of the sphere, cracked the top and hit the ground. The sphere crashed down and I grabbed my right arm, "I told you I was just warming up."
    
Jimmy groaned as my hair flattened and my eyes turned back to brown. "Fine, you got me this time, Connor," Jimmy mumbled and I laughed.
    
"Remember our deal."