The Sun, The Moon, And The Stars

EPISODE V: Bdubs Is Totally Normal

Bdubs didn't know what to say. Had the new kid known about his powers? Is that why they were here, to expose Bdubs' secret blessings? Whether it was or not, he didn't doubt that they told his friends about his powers. How they knew in the first place, though, was a mystery.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bdubs said again, crossing his arms. "There is no correlation between me and the sky whatsoever."

The unnamed menace smirked. "Nobody said anything about the sky, Bdouble O."

Bdubs froze, his eyes locked on that evil child's face, and their expression mocked him, silently whispering to him: checkmate. A shiver ran down Bdubs' spine as he felt more than saw his friends' stares on his back. He swallowed thickly, then said, "I have to go."

The new kid chuckled as Bdubs asked the teacher to leave for the bathroom, earning the attention of the boys around them. They eyed the boys' confused expressions, then sighed. "I think I forgot to tell you guys my name," they mentioned, having thought about it for a second. "It's Grian."

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"Stupid, dumb idiot..." Bdubs grumbled as he kicked a rock down the sidewalk, walking home from school. He didn't bother to say hello to anyone as he walked by his neighbors, making them concerned. He didn't even say goodbye to his friends before he left.

If that kid knew about his powers and they told the guys, then they'd probably tell the whole damn school about it. Which meant that the gods would definitely take his powers away. Why did everything have to go so wrong all of a sudden?

"Hey."

Bdubs let out a shriek as he jumped, Grian standing right in front of him with that damned third eye glowing brightly. "What the fuck?!"

Grian giggled. "Sorry not sorry, I totally meant to scare you," they said unapologetically, and Bdubs narrowed his eyes at them. "If you're thinking I told your little friends about your secret, you're wrong. They kind of just... figured it out."

"How am I supposed to believe you?" Bdubs said skeptically. "You're basically trying to get my powers taken away from me!"

"No, not basically," Grian said blankly. "I am."

Bdubs' hands started to shake and he clenched them into tight fists to keep them still. "Why?"

Grian smiled in mock innocence. "Well it's simple, really," they said, then dropped the smile. "You're in my way."

"How am I-" Bdubs stopped when he noticed large, purple wings sprout from Grian's back, the limbs hanging low and looking like they were broken; feathers everywhere and bones mangled. "What the..."

"You did this to me," Grian said, their dark eyes suddenly void of any kind of emotion or spark. "You ruined the cycle of chaos and you took away everything I had." They stepped forward. "So now my only goal is to get rid of you and those stupid powers that are keeping the world from descending into darkness and chaos again."

Bdubs stumbled backward a bit. "What the hell are you?"

"I am Xelqua."

Bdubs' eyes widened. "You're the God of Chaos," he muttered breathlessly.

They grinned. "Your worst enemy."

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"You guys don't actually believe that Bdubs has magic powers that control the sky, right?" Etho said, stuffing chips in his mouth. "I mean, think about it. It sounds so ridiculous. Bdubs is just a normal kid like us."

Zedaph shook his head, pacing around Etho's living room. "No, it makes total sense, Etho," he said. "Thinking about it logically, Bdubs has a set bedtime every night and a set wake up time every morning, and he's always punctual about it. But the one night that he stayed up to play video games with us, the sun is out until almost ten o'clock. Then he kept falling asleep in school, which lined up perfectly with the sky flip-flopping. If two and two equals four, this has to mean that Bdubs has something to do with the sky."

"He's the Golden Child," Skizz muttered, staring at the coffee table, and everyone turned to him. He looked up from the table and up at Zedaph. "You know that story our parents would always tell us? About the child that was blessed to protect the earth and cycle the sun, moon, and stars?"

Zedaph nodded.

"That child must be Bdubs," Skizz said. "There's no other explanation."

"Or," Etho said, "you guys are delulu and are coming up with a very unreasonable solulu."

Zed and Skizz gave Etho two "What the fuck" expressions.

"Since when do you talk like someone who bought their personality off TikTok?" Skizz joked, though it was genuinely unsettling the way Etho had said what he said. "You sound delusional."

Etho rolled his eyes. "I just think you guys are being a little crazy and jumping to conclusions," he said, shrugging. "Bdubs is totally normal."

The three of them jumped when the front door opened to reveal a very glowy Bdubs with white hair and a mark in the shape of a crescent moon around his eye, the boy breathing hard and looking horrified.

"Okay, nevermind."