Cloud - Chapter 22: Chapter 22

"I vote for the option of killing him."
"And I vote for the option of letting him live."
"Why? He is of no help to us. He is just a nuisance that will bring us only problems."
"Did you hear what Alexandro told us right or did you just turn a deaf ear? Nicolas is not the enemy, actually we can make him an ally."
"You want to make a pathetic, defenseless, ignorant human who has barely any guardian powers an ally against the battle with the most powerful clan that ever existed? Yeah, sounds like a good plan, Calum."
"My idea is still better than killing him, Cale."
"I agree with Calum on that point," I finally stepped in the twins' little argument.
"Of course, you would agree with him," Cale exclaimed, looking at me with a disapproving look, "Each time, someone tried to kill Nicolas, you defended him...like if you are the boss around here."
"Sorry if I don't agree with the idea of killing an innocent being," I told him and he huffed, leaning against the wall behind him.
"Nicolas is far from being innocent," he said.
"For me, he is and also, know that if someone tried to kill you, I will protect you," I informed him and he rolled his eyes while murmuring under his breath that he did not need my help for anything.
The twins and I were standing in the hallway near Nicolas' room, discussing about the different options for Nicolas' case. Rain declared that as Nicolas was basically a guardian, it was for Cale and Calum to decide what they were going to do with him but knowing Cale's opinion on the subject, I preferred to join them into making the right decision.
Since Alexandro left the place yesterday, Nicolas has been unconscious. The fact that he hasn't woken up yet seemed to please many of us as he was usually uncontrollable when he was awake. Sadly, he was not the only one in that state, someone else too did not wake up yet and that was my mom. Calum assured me that it was normal, that she just needed to rest to regain all of her strength but that did not stop me from being worried for her.
We both stayed at Cloud's house that night. Nova kept my mom in her room while I went to sleep in one of the guest rooms. Despite knowing that I was now safe, I could not sleep at all. Too many things were going on in my mind and I was also kind of scared.
I was scared of the things that I could possibly do in my sleep without knowing.
Those powers that I received were still new to me and obviously I could not control them yet. I did not even know what I could do with them. I was scared that I lose control and then hurt someone that was dear to me. I would not be able to forgive myself if that was to happen.
"So boys," Cale started, "You both don't want to kill Nicolas, but what are we going to do with him then?"
"Firstly, we need to block his connection with Nike," Calum replied.
"And how exactly are we going to do that?" I asked them.
"Well," Calum replied slowly, "The best option is to actually kill him."
"Which we already agreed on not doing," I said firmly, glancing at Cale who looked like he wanted to protest but in the end, he did not say anything. "Aren't there any other options?"
"Um," Calum seemed unsure, "Angels did create special objects which can be used to block the connection between two twin brothers."
"Oh, perfect. We just have to find one of these objects and the problem will be solved," I exclaimed but the twins did not share my joy. I frowned, "Why do you look both not so fond of the idea?"
"Because these objects are found in heaven," Cale replied, "And if we try to put one feet there, the angels are going to kill us."
Before I could ask why, Calum enlightened me on the matter.
"We are denied access to heaven because we failed our mission," he told me with a sigh, "Yeah, Frederick did get his final vision but he did not die like he was supposed to and for heaven, it's a failure. Plus, we are now working for Rain and Cloud and as you already know, they are from the dark side and angels don't appreciate that."
"So you see, now we can't go back to our home because everyone in heaven considers us as traitors who need to be killed at first sight," Cale added and I remained quiet.
I never thought that those two could not go back to heaven anymore. Why were they even considered as traitors? Yeah, maybe Frederick did not die like he was supposed to but still, he got his final vision and now Cale and Calum were trying to make things right by stopping the Vins. Besides, they were basically forced to serve Rain and Cloud.
"Apart from killing Nicolas or going to heaven, isn't there something else that can be done?" I asked them and they seemed to think.
"There is one last option," Cale informed me and then he explained, "With enough practice, I can block Calum's link to me but it's really, really hard to do and Nicolas is too weak to do that. He doesn't even have any powers."
"Or maybe he does," Calum protested and I looked at him curiously, "I don't know why it happened but Ken was assigned Nike and Nicolas as guardians, even though those two are not really qualified for the job. As Nike is stronger, he succeeded to not appear when Ken needed help but Nicolas did and I think that it's because deep down, some of his guardian powers are still there. Now we just need to make him awake them."
"And how are we going to do that?" Cale questioned, "Nicolas thinks that we are psychopaths that kidnapped him and whatever we tell him, he is not going to believe us, so trying to make him awake his powers is not going to be a piece of cake."
"It's our only option," I said, "Maybe with his powers, he will be able to block Nike."
"Did you miss the part where I told you that he is too weak?"  Cale asked me in disbelief. "Nike is stronger, he will sense it if Nicolas tries to block him and I don't think that he is going to let that happen so easily."
"Then are you ready to go to heaven to find one of these objects that we need?" I snapped back at him and that shut him up. "We are going to tell Nicolas about the truth and maybe that will return back some of his stolen memories."
I opened the door to Nicolas' current bedroom and went inside. I heard Cale murmured something like 'he really likes to act like the boss' to Calum behind my back but I did not mind him. It was not like I was trying to be bossy with anyone, I just wanted to do what I thought was right.
Looking at Nicolas, I saw that his eyes were still closed and his hands still tied to the bed. Now how was I going to wake him up?"
"Nicolas," I said, walking closer to him to shake him off and Cale chuckled.
"I don't think that this is going to work," he said.
"Do you have a better option?" I asked him and he nodded with a smirk. He went to stand at the other side of the bed and he slowly touched Nicolas' face. I looked at him in confusion when he suddenly gave the poor boy a smack on his cheek. "Don't hit him!"
Cale shrugged and gave Nicolas another violent slap. I thought of stopping him, I really did but before I could, I noticed that his method was actually working. Slowly, Nicolas started to move on the bed and his expression changed into a painful one before he finally opened his eyes. I immediately saw the panic look appeared in his eyes when he realized where he was.
"What the hell!" he exclaimed, trying to get up and it was then that he seemed to remember that he was tied to the bed. "I am still here! Let me go!"
"Here we go again," Cale sighed miserably and he glared down at Nicolas. "Calm down. We are not going to do anything to you."
"You already kidnapped me!" Nicolas shouted, still fighting to free himself, "Somebody help me! Please help me!"
"I don't think that he realized that this is not going to work," Calum said slowly, looking at Nicolas with a pitiful look in the eyes.
"Okay, Nicolas, calm down. We just want to talk to you," I told him and he glared at me.
"You, shut up," he snapped at me. "You helped them into kidnapping me! You will rot in prison, or even better, you are going to go in a mental institution! My parents are going to make you pay for this! They are really powerful people!"
Now that we were on the parents topic...
"Hey, now that I realize, aren't his parents searching for him?" I questioned. "He has been there for some time now."
"Actually no," Calum replied, "I gave them a little visit and right now they both think that Nicolas is on a paradise island having fun, so no one is searching for him."
"What?" Nicolas exclaimed with widened eyes. "No, it can't be! You monsters!"
"Nicolas-"
"No," he shouted, interrupting me, "I wanna go home! Please let me go! Please! I did not do anything to you! Just let me go!"
"Is he going to cry?" Cale asked in amazement and really, we could see the tears forming in Nicolas' eyes. I could not blame him for crying. We did kind of kidnap him and now he just learnt that no one was searching for him.
He must surely be feeling scared and lonely. To think that all of this was happening to him just because of a fight with his brother. I understood that Nike lost the love of his life but still, it was not a reason for him to torture his brother in that way. Was his brotherly love for Nicolas weaker than his love for Mila? I could not understand that.
"Nicolas, listen to me," I started once again. "You need to calm down and let us explain everything to you."
"Why should I listen to you?" He cried out and he did have a point.
"Okay, look," I decided to change strategy, "I'm going to untie you and in exchange, you are going to listen to what we have to say."
"What?" Cale exclaimed in surprise.
"He will try to run away for sure," Calum said but I knew better.
"No, he won't," I protested and Nicolas looked at me curiously. I let out a sigh, "Because if he tries to run away, Cale will kill him instantly."
"You can't be serious," Nicolas said in shock.
"I am," I told him, "I will untie you and you will listen to me but if you try to run away, you are dead."
"Now we are going somewhere," Cale said, clapping his hands joyfully.
I did not have any other choice. It was the only way to make Nicolas listen to us without shouting or fighting back. Of course, I did not want to kill him and I was hoping for him to listen to me. I did not know how fast Cale was when he was asked to kill someone and I was not sure if I would be quick enough to stop him if Nicolas tried to run away.
Giving Nicolas a warning look, I started to untie him and he watched me intensely. Once his hands were free, he immediately sat up straight and wiped away his tears before rubbing his wrists. I saw him glance at the opened door but thankfully, he did not try to make a move to run away. Cale seemed to be displeased by that.
"Okay, what do you have to tell me?" Nicolas asked me and I looked at the twins, not knowing how to start that thing.
"Well," I started, unsure of myself, "How should I explain this?"
"It's easy," Cale said and then he threw at Nicolas' face without any tact, "Just like Calum and I, you are a guardian. Guardians are created by angels to protect important people on earth. All guardians must have a twin brother and you too, you have one and his name is Nike. Apparently, in the past, you two got in a fight but too bad for you, Nike won and absorbed all your powers, making you completely weak and useless. He tortured you for some years and then one day, he erased your memory and you were reborn into a weak and pathetic human being. End of the story."
Nicolas blinked a few times while looking at Cale. I could not believe that the latter just spilled out everything at his face without any care in the world. But maybe it was better like this. Suddenly, though, Nicolas started to laugh and it just confused us.
"You are crazy," he stated while he continued to laugh, "You really think that I am going to believe that dumb ass story?"
"This is the truth," Calum told him.
"You are saying that I was created by angels," he said, pointing at himself in amusement. "What? Did they have sex or something?"
Cale rolled his eyes, saying, "No, we were created in a special laboratory."
"You are crazy," Nicolas said once again as he shook his head. "I am not a guardian and I don't have any twin brother named Nike, I don't even have a twin brother. And I think that I would remember it if I was really tortured for years like you said."
"I told you, your memory was erased," Cale said and Nicolas rolled his eyes.
"I know that it's hard to believe but it's the truth," I told him then and he looked at me.
"And what are you exactly?" He asked me. "Were you created by angels too?"
The sarcasm could be heard in his voice.
"I am..." I did not finish my sentence.
What was I? A human? No. A replica? Maybe. Someone with powers? Kinda. I did not know the real answer to that question. Before it was more simple, I could say without any hesitation that I was human but now, I was no longer sure.
"I am Luffy," I replied to his question at last. This was the only answer that I could give him without confusing myself. "And you are Nicolas, a guardian. We have no reason to lie to you."
"This is not possible," he protested, "None of this is real. You seriously need some mental help."
"You are the one who needs help to accept the reality of life," Cale exclaimed.
"Do you have any proof to prove what you are saying?" Nicolas asked us and Calum nodded before snapping his fingers. He disappeared in front of our sight and reappeared near the bed in a matter of seconds. Nicolas was surprised but he quickly took back his calm posture. "Where did you learn that magic trick?"
"This is not a trick," Calum protested. "This is my powers. Us guardians, we obtain our powers from the source of light. We can heal people, cast protective spells and we have swords that can be used to destroy any enemy. We have super strength and we can appear anywhere we want in a matter of seconds."
"And blah blah blah," Nicolas added making Calum frown, "These are just words. I still don't believe you."
This guy was impossible. Cale seemed to be near the verge of breaking and just when I opened my mouth to say something, he suddenly grabbed Nicolas by his shirt and lifted him in the air.
"Cale," I exclaimed, incredulous. "Put him down."
"No," he protested, "He wants proof. I'm going to give him some."
And just then, they both disappeared from the room. I looked around, panicked but I did not see them reappear anywhere.
"Where the hell did they go?" I asked Calum and he closed his eyes.
"Don't worry, they are on the rooftop of the house," Calum said before adding, "And Cale is scaring the shit out of Nicolas by hanging him in the air."
Yeah, I should totally not worried about that.
"Do we need to do something?" I questioned and he opened his eyes, shaking his head.
"It may be the only solution to make Nicolas believe in our words," he said and then he sighed, "But maybe Cale is right. Nicolas will never believe in whatever we say. He is too stubborn for that."
"Unless we succeed to prove to him that we are telling the truth," I said and he just stared at me.
"I never heard of him," he told me suddenly.
"What do you mean?" I asked him in confusion.
"Well," he started, "I never heard of Nicolas' and Nike's story before Alexandro told us about them and it's really strange. In my head, I have a list of all guardians that ever existed and I can assure you that Nicolas' and Nike's names are not listed."
"How is that possible?" I asked him and he seemed hesitant to answer.
"I have a theory," he replied slowly, "And I think that I can get a few information about Nicolas' past but I will have to sneak in heaven for that."
"But you can't do that," I reminded him and he took a deep breath.
"I can still try. I might find the proof that Nicolas needs to believe in us," he said.
"No, Calum," I protested.
"This is the only way," he told me, "I will be back quick. I promise. I just need you to trust me on this."
Could I really do that? I did not want him to get hurt. It was a suicide mission. I could not let him go but I noticed the look of determination in his eyes and I just knew that whatever I would say, it would not be enough to stop him.
"Alright, I trust you," I told him and he smiled at me. "Just, in case of any danger, return here, please."
"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do," he said before disappearing from my sight.
I passed one hand in my hair in frustration. I could not believe that I allowed Calum to go in a place where he would surely get killed and what was more hard to believe was that that place was in fact heaven.
I understood now why it was hard for Nicolas to believe us.
Me too, at first I did not want to believe in any of this but after everything I have seen, I could not continue to deny the truth. God, I got attacked by a dead girl, my memory was erased and then when I got my memory back, I learnt about all sort of crazy stories. My mom nearly got killed and yeah, now I had powers. If someone had told me that any of that would happen, I would have never believed it.
A few minutes after Calum disappeared, the two other guardians appeared back in the room. Nicolas, as soon as his feet touched the ground, he immediately stepped away from Cale who looked at him with a smirk.
"Stay away from me!" Nicolas shouted in fear.
"You still think that this is a magic trick?" Cale asked him and Nicolas glared at him.
"You are a monster," he exclaimed and Cale huffed.
"Big news, you are a monster too," He informed Nicolas and then he glanced around with a frown, "Where is Calum? I can't sense him anywhere. That's strange."
"He..." I was lost for good words to say. How to tell him that his brother went in heaven to find some important information?
"He what?" He asked me impatiently as he stepped towards me. This did not look good.
"I'm sorry but he left, saying that he was going in heaven to find more about Nicolas' past and everything," I informed him and he just stared at me.
Something was going on in his mind. I just knew it. Nothing was said for a few seconds and when I opened my mouth to try to reassure him, he suddenly appeared in front of me and grabbed me by my neck, lifting me in the air.
What the hell!
"C-Cale," I said with difficulty, shocked, as I placed my hands on his to try to remove them.
"You sent my brother to die," he shouted angrily at my face.
"He-" I could not finish my sentence as his grip around my neck tightened. He was really trying to kill me. I needed air.
"I have enough of you," he told me with a glare. "I have enough of you ordering everyone around. You even got Cloud to do whatever you want. I'm going to kill you and all of our problems will end. There will be no more Vins then, no more original getting free."
"Hey, stop!" Nicolas surprisingly exclaimed, stepping towards Cale to stop him but it was in vain.
Cale easily pushed Nicolas away with his free air and he went flying in the air, hitting against a wall in the end. Nicolas did not stand up after that, he just remained on the floor in pain. I watched Cale in fear and I saw in his eyes that he was well decided to kill me.
I thought that I was really going to die at that moment. I could feel my heart slowly stopping to beat. I could feel my strength slowly leaving me. My hands fell to the side, my eyes were almost closing but I tried to fight as hard as I could to keep them open.
This was it. My end. I should normally give up and not fight back. I knew that I was weak. I knew that I could not defend myself, specially against someone as strong as Cale. He was not human after all and me, I was...what? Deep down, I knew the answer and maybe I should stop denying it.
I realized it now. I was a bit like Nicolas. He was denying who he truly was. The truth was just in front of him but he continued to close his eyes and believe in the lie. I was doing the same. I could not admit to myself that I was no longer human. I wanted to continue to live in the lie but I could not do that.
Not anymore...
Just before all of my strength left me, with difficulty, I slowly lifted my right hand. Cale watched me in confusion as I placed my hand on his chest. I did not know what to do or even how I should do it, I just knew that it was going to work and it actually did.
Cale released me and I fell on the ground. The air started to immediately fill my lungs and I watched Cale as he stepped back and placed one hand around his neck. It was his turn now to search for air. He was choking himself.
I raised to my feet as he fell down on his knees. I looked down at him but I did not have any will in myself to help him. He was the one who tried to kill me. It would not be my fault if I kill him right now. He was to blame.
"Die. You searched for it," I told him with a smirk and I could see the pleading look in his eyes.
Suddenly someone appeared at the door and I was surprised to see Cloud in the same clothes as yesterday. He looked around in confusion and when his eyes fell on Cale, he immediately ran to him.
"Cale," he exclaimed, grabbing him by his shoulders but that did not stop the little guardian from choking himself. Cloud tried to remove his hand around his own neck but it did not work. He glanced up at me and said in disbelief, "Luffy, what are you doing?"
His question seemed to snap me out of whatever I was in and just after, Cale could finally breath in some air. He seemed relieved. Cloud and I exchanged a long look and it just hurt me, because what I saw in his eyes just made me realize what I was about to do.
"I don't know," I replied to him and I placed my trembling hand in front of my mouth. "I don't know what I have become."