Zemblanity

Episode 12: Take Flight

A few weeks have passed.

It was another day at Clover Middle.

In the middle of class though, Luke began to feel strange suddenly.

He attempted to brush it off and focus on his school work.

Until he began to feel his wings starting to rip through his shirt, his eyes began to glow a gold color.

Before anyone could notice, he jetted out of the classroom and into the boys' bathroom.

W-What's happening...? I feel so lightheaded...

His wings finally busted through his shirt. And they were much larger than before.

In the middle of his panic, a demon walked in.

"Luke? You in here?" the demon spoke, "It's Drake. I can smell your scent as clear as day, dude. Smells like a damn bubble bath in here."

As Drake got closer to the last stall, he could sense a strong power in the air.

"...Luke? What's going on?" the demon asked with concern, as he stood in front of the occupied stall.

"I-I'm fine, Dr-Drake..." the blonde boy trembled as he answered.

Drake then slid down the stall door and sat on the floor, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay. But I'm not gonna leave you in here by yourself. I can tell you're scared. Something has you terrified. I don't want to leave you alone like this... I won't. So, I'm here if you need me." the demon expressed sincerely.

The angel then broke down in tears as he wrapped himself in his own pure white wings as he continued to tremble.

Drake hated seeing his friend like this. Especially when he knew there wasn't a thing in the world he could do about it. All he could do was be with him in the moment.

"Luke...I'm not exactly sure what's going on. And I know you don't either, but what I do know is that it's getting out of hand. Like I said before, I really think we should bring this up to your grandparents, so they can help." Drake explained.

Luke sighed, "Al-Alright... Could w-we just g-go h-home now...?" he requested.

"When you're ready to. For now, you gotta calm down a bit before we head outside. You can borrow my jacket to try and hide your wings." Drake replied as he removed his jacket and tossed it over the door.

Luke took hold of the jacket and placed it over his back and around his shoulders before opening the stall door.

Drake stood up as he said, "Your eyes. They're glowing gold? J-Just don't make eye contact with anyone."

The two boys then left the bathroom together, but were cautious to make sure no one else was around.

They made their way out some backdoors and headed straight home.

"Gr-Grandma!" the young angel hollered as they entered the house.

Grandma O'Malley immediately rushed over, "Luke, dear! What happened?" she expressed her concern.

She then quickly realized what was happening once she saw her grandson's wings poking out from underneath the jacket. She then let out a sigh before saying, "I knew this day would come... I just didn't think it would be so soon. Help him to the couch, dear." she instructed the demon.

The young angel trembled as his symptoms seemed to only become worse with each passing second.

"Luke." his grandmother began, "You come from a long bloodline of powerful angels. Only a few develop celestial powers like you have. We even thought that part of our bloodline was gone long ago. But you've proven otherwise." she explained.

"S-So, what d-do I do...?" Luke asked the elder.

"You must allow the power to take over you, fully. It's difficult, and nearly unbearable, but it's the only way to gain full control. Or you'll continue to experience it this way unwillingly." Grandma O'Malley answered.

Drake stayed by Luke's side the entire time.

"But I d-don't wanna h-hurt an-anyone...." Luke spoke.

Grandma O'Malley gently held the young angel's hands as she said, "And you won't, dear. There's a secret room down in the basement that's made especially for situations like this. It's been around for several generations."

The three of them then headed down to the basement and entered a door through the back that lead them to a massive stone covered room.

Grandma O'Malley lead Luke to the center of the room and sat him down gently, "Now, you don't need to fight it anymore. Just let it all flow. It still may be painful, but after this, you'll have full control." she explained before exiting the room with the demon.

"W-Will he be alright in there on his own...?" Drake asked concerningly.

"Oh, trust me. You wouldn't want to be in there. This sort of power can become quite intense." Grandma O'Malley replied.

The demon thought for a moment, "So, did you have that room especially built for this or...?" he questioned.

"Oh, no. Almost every house has them. If they've been around for decades. Since powerful celestials use to be more somewhat common, they thought of it as essential for every home to have one. Just in case." the elder answered.

As some hours passed, Drake grew more restless, worrying about his friend.

As for the young angel, his wings finally reached their full size and length. After much blood loss, it only got worse from there. His eyes changed from his usual sky blue color to a blindingly bright gold. The same gold color shimmered from his feathered wings and glistened off the splatters of blood. The room shook as though there was an earthquake approaching, but it was only the presence of the celestial powers emerging.

The demon could sense the celestial aura from below. With each passing minute, it became stronger. He couldn't bear it any longer.

Drake made the decision to go down there to check on the young angel. Once he did, he wasn't quite sure how to react at first once coming onto the scene.

Luke's eyes were lit up golden, almost like a couple of small suns. He was on his knees. His pure white wings were massive and were dripping in blood. Even electric bolts from his powers were everywhere. The room shook like it was sure to collapse at any moment.

"L-LUKE!!" the demon shouted before running over to his friend's side, "Luke! Can you hear me!? It's Drake! PLEASE!! Snap out of it!!"

The demon wrapped his arms around the angel, even though the electrical shocks hurt him in the process. He didn't care. All he cared about was the wellbeing of his friend.

Shortly after, the storm within the room seemed to finally come to an end. It became silent.

"Dr-Drake..." the angel spoke weakly, "You're... You're hurt..." as his wings fell flat.

Drake pulled back from the embrace, "I'm hurt?! Look at you! Y-You could of DIED, LUKE!" the boy cried.

After a moment, the young angel's wings transitioned back inside. And his eyes went back to his usual sky blue color. He weakly wrapped an arm around the demon, "Thank you....Drake...." as he then fell unconscious in the demon's arms.

Honestly, with that much blood loss, I expected that...

Drake then carried his friend back up stairs and into the bedroom.

As the young angel was catching up on some rest, the demon decided to catch up on some research. He checked out some books from the public library on demonology.

If Luke could overcome his powers this way, then maybe Drake could do the same. Before trying out such a risky challenge, he had to know more, or at least try to.

~ End of Episode 12 ~