"Now…. where were we?" PB said cracking his knuckles. "Oh yeah I was bashing your face in!"
"Ax….el" the white hair boy groaned barely keeping consciousness.
With the abrasions that covered his temple, it was clear he had suffered serious damage to the brain and was reeling from multiple concussions.
"Hhe," Pb laughed, "No one can save you now!" he yelled pulling back his hand.
SPLASH!
As he stepped back to prepare his next punch he was surprised to find his foot submerged in a puddle.
"Huh?" Pb said bewildered by this now ankle deep pool of water.
When he looked down to see what he had stepped in, he realized that he wasn't standing in a puddle. Rather, a full stream of water was now coming out from the shore to the other side of the valley. Emanating from the stream, four strands of water split off and made their way to the where Axel was lying down.
" PB" Jeff remarked "You've got to see this" he said pointing over to Axel
Over where Axel had been knocked down, the pools of water were collecting and slamming into each other. As the waters collided they began to collect themselves into a spiraling column of water droplets.
As the water droplets ascended into the sky above Axel, the ground began to shake and tremble as Axels body slowly started to rise. He was not standing on his own but rather water was pushing up from behind his back, bringing him to his feet.
As Axel Reached his feet, his eyes popped open as he felt a rush of ether explode throughout his body. Clasping his two fists together he shot his hands backward causing a shockwave of water to erupt behind him.
"PBBBBBBBBB!!!!" He shouted from the other side of the shore.
PB gazed at Axel's rising water spectacle unable to grasp the situation. He remained arrogant as ever, taking Axels second rising as another harmless attempt at a second go.
"Oh wow! Look at you splashing water everywhere! So this is your power? Water HAHA what are you going to splash me to death?" he said grabbing his sides.
"Peter…. This kid…. He is getting stronger! You might want to-" Jeff began.
"Shut it!" Pb said thrusting Jeff aside. He was furious now. No one had ever managed to scathe him before, powers or not, and here Jeff was insisting that this kid… this loser! Was capable of doing damage? The thought alone was nerve racking, but the indignation by which Axel looked down on him only added to it.
"PB!" Axel boomed in a low murderous tone "This has been a long time coming… I can forgive you for what you've done to me.. But this…. THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE!" Axel screamed jetting out another blast of water.
"What are you gonna do it about it huh?" Pb challenged "Give Me Your Best Shot! But remember, just like last time I get to hit you back!" He said smiling evilly.
"The light of the father shine brightly within you..." Axel heard in his head
Axel closed his eyes and leaned back bringing the torrent of water to a screeching halt. He reached deep within himself feeling the new rush of overwhelming power.
"So this is what Ether feels like" he said feeling the rush of the new power flood his body.
As he began to concentrate, he could feel a new sensation inside him. All around him were these tiny threads spilling out around him. He couldn't see the threads but he felt the smallest amount of resistance as well as tiny sensations pulling him on the surface of his skin.
"I wonder what would happen If i…"
He made an abrupt tugging attempt on the strings
BOOOM!
A huge puddle of water erupted behind him sprinkling the area with a tiny mist.
"HAHAHA is that the best you've got? Stop playing around and hit me already!" Pb gloated.
Axel began to tense up allowing the water to run up the invisible strings circling him in a column of water again.
"I see…" He said grinning "So…. if i've got all these strings attached to me… and the flood of water comes when I tense my muscles… I wonder what would happen… If I gathered them all in one place!" He shouted.
Axel leaned back preparing a punch aimed at Pb gathering as many strings as he could into the small area of his fist.
"Yeh! Now Run!" he said, running the water down the strings into his fist.
As he commanded the water began to blast into his hand and emerge from the cracks in his fist like a burst fire hydrant.
"Any… day now…" Pb said, pretending to yawn.
"Now all I have to do is tug on the strings as soon as I get close enough" Axel assured himself.
"I hope you're ready!" Axel said, taking off in a jet."Here I come!"
He was really trailblazing now. The torrent of water pulsed behind him as if he were on a jet ski blasting an arc of water in his trail! He was nearing air bike speeds now.
As he sprinted towards PB with the water flushing out from his fingertips, he wore the cold scorn of vengeance in his eyes.
Pb taken aback by this change in Axel's expression took a step backwards.
"What is this?" Pb thought as a strange feeling overcame him "Is this… fear?
"You laughed at me" Axel said
"No There's no way!" Pb said reassuring himself "I'm not afraid of some two bit loser like him… NEVER!" PB thought, taking a step forward back into his stance.
"You beat me down over and over again"
But as Axel got closer and closer he couldn't help but feel a pale tinge of apprehension lingering on the cusp of his throat.
"Peter!" Jeff yelled trying to grab PBs attention.
If he took a blow like that as he was, even PB…. No that was impossible!" Jeff thought as he watched Axel's watery torrent of vengeance close in on PB.
"But every day I clung to my dream! This very moment I had seen so many times inside of my mind!"
Axel was just a few feet away now. He looked angry as ever. His hair jostled in the high wind of the turbulence of his speed as well as his clothes, giving him a much larger appearance then normal.
Yet Still, Pb definitively stood his ground with his arms lowered ready to embrace the blow.
"PETEERRRRR!" Jeff screamed from behind him. Axel was just inches away from him now.
It couldn't have been more than a moment, no definitely less than a second, but all of a sudden a terrible anxiety overwhelmed the arrogant Peter Brown.
" If….. I don't guard this attack… if I don't protect myself I'm going to die..." He thought. He was only milliseconds from contact but the reality had just sunk in.
"There's…. There's no way he should be able to hurt me… hes… hes just a loser….' he thought as the water from Axel's knuckle began to splash his face.
"I told you the day would come where you would lie at my feet!" Axel screamed
In the last moment before Axel connected, PB shrouded a small portion of his face and mouth in lead alloy preparing himself for the blast.
Axel's eyes pulsed with rage as he saw the now shocked PB trying to recover from his pompous stance by raising his hands and shielding himself. His hands were already lowered and at Axels distance there was no way He could manage to block it in time.
"Today is that day! The day my dream becomes a reality!" Axel shouted.
CREEEAAAAAAAAAAKKK!
The sound of a loud metal crunch filled the air, briefly followed up by some loud splashes of water and the sound of a devastating thunderbolt.
Axels blow had been devastating.
The blow had connected at PBS jaw sending him flying cross the other side of the water. As he catapulted through the air smashing through branches of trees he skid on the water for a bit like a tossed rock skipping on the tide before slamming into a giant bolder. Fully incapacitated from the attack he fell to the floor with his eyes still spinning from the shellshock..
Axel now free of PBs terror, ran to the boy and tried to rescue him.
"Axel... tha...t was…. incredible" the white haired boy barely let out.
"Save your energy! let's get out of here!" Axel yelled, slouching him over his shoulder.
"Not so fast!" a voice said behind them.
Jeff stood his ground blocking their path.
"Your not the only one with dreams! How dare you... How dare you do that to my friend!" Jeff yelled