Nick had gone into the room AJ was staying in only to find him missing. His first reaction was to freak out, run back out of the room to alert the others of their missing brother, but he knew AJ better than that… he wasn’t stupid; he wouldn’t have ran off, knowing that there are guys who are NOT fans looking for them. Knowing AJ, he probably wandered off somewhere to cool down and collect his thoughts… he and AJ had a lot more in common than people recognized.

So, instead of alerting the other guys, he took it upon himself to find the missing member, figuring he was somewhere on this acreage of land. While Howie and Brian busied themselves in checking up on Kevin, he wandered out the back sliding door that led to James massive backyard. He was greeted by endless greenery, small hills and a water trench that ran through the land off to the right hand side. A fort of tall trees seemed to encase his property perfectly… great open space for them to practice.

He wandered up one of the small hills off to the side, that led him closer to the wide and long trench. He looked down to find beautiful and various kois swimming along the gentle stream. Koi was one of his favorite fish, they symbolized tranquility and peace, which was something that was definitely needed during this time. He followed along, coming across a sturdy wooden bridge that would lead him to the other side. Though the trench was wide, he was pretty sure he could jump across to the other side, if he wanted to.

Instead, he crossed the bridge and found himself walking into an area that seemed like a Chinese garden. He now found himself surrounded by bonsai shrubbery, antique looking pottery, and there in the middle stood a Chinese gazebo. He truly felt at peace being here. He slowly walked up to the gazebo, finding AJ to be in it, kneeling on the ground. He had his head down, and he knelt before two statues; one was a Buddha statue, while the other was an ancient Chinese dragon.

Nick stopped a few feet away and watched as AJ remained kneeling in silence, looking as if he were praying. A few moments later, AJ looked up and rose from the ground. Nick watched as the second youngest clasped his hand together, and began to form a glowing energy within his clasped hands. All of a sudden, AJ unleashed what he had formed, and Nick watched in fascination as he saw what appeared to be a long rope on fire shoot out from his hands. AJ cracked the fire rope, like a whip, and quickly spun around, bringing it back to him and extinguishing it within his bare hands.

Guess learning how to do pirouettes while dancing comes in handy. Nick thought, slightly amazed at how agile and gentle he seemed to be on his feet. Then again, AJ was always like that when it came to dancing, he was a great dancer! Deciding not to say a word to distract the determined man, Nick settled on displaying a little of his own power. Holding his hand out, he used his energy to draw forth water straight from the trench.

He turned and watched as a funnel of water rose straight up from the trench, and focused his mind on bringing the stream of water to him. Content when the water came close enough to him, he made the suspended stream spiral up and around his body, before it all eventually collected within his hands, which he held apart to accommodate it.

There he stood, with a ball of water between his hands. “That was some nice Mortal Kombat shit.” Nick finally voiced out.

AJ quickly spun around at the sound of the sudden voice, to find his youngest brother standing a few feet behind him. They both stared at each other, as if exchanging words with only a look; and they both understood one another clearly. Most people always thought it was only Nick and Brian that had that ability to do that with one another; they were Frick and Frack that were always up to no good! But it was actually the two youngest of the group that had come to use and hone their ability to read each other’s looks and know instantly what was to be understood. Could be a young thing, or could be the fact that that’s just how Nick and AJ came to understand one another, with or without words, and that’s what helped to make their bond that much more special.

AJ gave a slight smirk as he stepped out from the gazebo. Nick took a step back. There they stood, staring at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. AJ decided to go first. Clasping his hands together, he began forming a fireball within his hands. Nick switched his stance a bit, preparing himself for what was going to happen. Without warning, AJ launched the fireball in Nick’s direction.

Nick immediately thrust his hands out, the ball of water he once held now turned into a power jet stream as it sped it’s way to meet with the fireball. Both fire and water met between them, and the stream of water Nick had sent immediately extinguished the fireball AJ had released. All that remained was a billow of smoke between them. Though the smoke had hazed their vision, they could clearly see each other’s smirks. To display their power was one thing, but to be able to practice with another that possessed powers just as you do, that’s a whole different ballgame and to them, it felt fucking awesome.

“So, what the hell was that thing you did?” Nick asked as he walked up to AJ.

AJ smiled, “Nothing much. Instead of creating a basic fireball, I focused on trying to create a fire whip.”

“A fire whip?”

“Sure. Being that we can control and manipulate an element, you can focus your mind on forming your element to be whatever you want, at least I’ve come to learn that. So, if you wanted to, I’m sure you could create a huge fist made entirely of water to smash down on something or someone… though, I assume that would take a lot of energy and concentration.”

“Definitely.” Nick chuckled, “So, if I wanted to, I could create a… water whip?”

AJ shrugged, “If you wanted to, but that would be kinda gay. I mean, a water whip coming at me? Yeah, I wouldn’t really find that threatening.”

Nick laughed, ’Hey, it could hurt! Perhaps it could feel like when you belly flop right onto calm water… that shit stings! You never know.”

“Okay, you try that and let me know how it goes Nick.”

Nick continued to laugh and shook his head, “But on the real, that was some sick Mortal Kombat shit! You looked like fucking Scorpion with making that fire whip come out from your hands!”

“Yeah, well… like I said, I was trying to focus my energy on doing different things with my power. Instead of a classic ball of fire, I decided why not try a whip? I just envisioned it, and there I had it.”

Nick remained silent as he began to wander over towards the gazebo, “Is that why you’re out here?” he asked as he stepped inside, staring at the two Chinese statues, “Did you come out here to practice or… to get away from Kevin?”

AJ sighed as he followed Nick in to the gazebo, “To practice. I stumbled across this Zen of a yard James had back here, and this place is often used to seek enlightenment and meditate. It’s cool, calm, peaceful and quiet out here, how it‘s meant to be… nothing can break you from your focus. I knelt down and had let myself enter a meditative state… to help center myself to the very core of me and help bring forth a power that was meant to be controlled by me and only me… not the other way around. From there, I was easily able to try to push my power to their limits, without losing control or breaking my concentration.”

“Does that shit really work?” Nick asked, his face contorted in puzzlement.

AJ rolled his eyes, “Of course it does, don’t you know anything of Buddhism?”

“Besides the fact that the statue used to represent Buddhism is of a fat man, and you rub it’s stomach for good luck… nope, I can’t say that I do.”

AJ allowed his eyes to fall close as he shook his head at the obvious lack of knowledge his younger brother possessed, “It’s a religion for some, a philosophy for others that helps one to suppress worldly desires and other distracting outside factors so that they may attain their state of enlightenment and peace.”

“So… you just come out here and sit here in silence?” Nick questioned.

“Yes.”

“……….. that’s boring.”

“Only you would think so.”

Nick smirked as he sat himself down on the ground, before the two statues, “So, what about Kevin?”

“What about him?” AJ sat himself down next to Nick.

“Are you still mad at him?”

AJ closed his eyes and turned his head away, “No. I was never mad at him.”

Nick scoffed, “Yeah, cause throwing fireballs at a person is what you do when you’re happy to see them.”

AJ sighed, “I need to learn how to control my temper. When I’m placed in a position I don’t like being in, I do whatever I can to get out of it.”

Nick thought back to the explanation Howie had given them about AJ. “So, what are you exactly trying to say happened back there?”

AJ shook his head and shrugged, “I had let my temper get the best of me… I knew that wasn’t Kevin that had attacked me, yet I tried to fight back.”

Confusion etched across Nick’s face, “What do you mean?”

“It’s weird, but I… that moment that Kevin had locked eyes with me, it was like I couldn’t connect with him, and he was nowhere to be found in his own body. I could hear his voice off in the distance, but the next thing I knew when I had looked back at him before he used his power against me, it… it wasn’t Kevin that I was looking at.”

“Who was it?”

“The man that did this to us and now wants us back.” AJ replied in a scornful tone, his eyes darkening. “The man that we had come to call and believe was our real father.”

Nick continued to stare at AJ; he hadn’t come to know anything about this man their mother believed to be their real father, not what he sounded or looked like. The only thing he knew about this man was what James had told them… that he was only Kevin’s biological father.

AJ glanced over at Nick, knowing the youngest struggled to think of the man he was talking about, “You were too young to know, as was I… yet, old enough to remember his piercing eyes and his deep voice. At least, seeing and hearing it now, I remember.” he released a throaty chuckle of disbelief, “Kevin’s a splitting image of him, but that’s who I was staring back at… not Kevin.”

“Did you just see him because you were angry?”

AJ shook his head, “No… like I said, I knew it wasn’t Kevin, I couldn’t connect to him, couldn’t reach him in his own body. I could hear him though, he sounded far away and as if he was… struggling with… something.”

“Or someone?” Nick tried to correct.

“Or someone.” AJ agreed with a shrug, “It was like he was trying to connect with me telepathically, but couldn’t. I knew when Kevin attacked me that it wasn’t him doing it, but when I found myself staring at not him but his father, that’s when I snapped. I knew better, but like I said, put me in a position I don’t want to be in, I’ll want out. And staring at that man, knowing that he would hurt me and has practically fucked our lives over, I did let my temper get the best of me in that moment. So, if anything, I should be the one apologizing to Kevin.” he finished off sadly.

Nick nibbled on his lower lip, “Well then, if you ask me, perhaps no apology is needed from either of you. Perhaps all that’s needed is an explanation to clear it all up!” he rose up from where he sat and held his hand out for AJ to grab. “You ready to go back in there and face the music?”

AJ looked up at the youngest and smiled. The relationship he and Nick shared has always been a special one… they would go from rivalry to being the best of friends. Brian may have been Nick’s designated best friend, and Howie his, but he and Nick had a friendship on a whole other level. From being able to understand each other with words to just being understood with looks, there was no denying the bond the two youngest had with one another.

Going back to the days where he and Nick were grounded from doing many things the three eldest were able to do, they rode out many long, boring, lonely nights together, which had definitely helped them to grow close to one another. They both understood things they went through that the other three would never understand. When the group first had formed, AJ was Nick’s first official older brother… and, well, Nick was AJ’s first and ONLY youngest brother. AJ chuckled at that thought… that statement means so much more now. Brother was no longer a metaphor between them… it was blood.

“You can’t tell them what I just told you though… at least not now.” AJ said as he grasped Nick’s hand and allowed himself to be hauled up from the ground. “We already have enough shit to deal with, and I don’t want this… news, to be fuel to the fire. Between us for now, okay?”

Nick smiled, “We’ve kept many things just between us for you to know me better than that Jay.”

They say blood is thicker than water… what they have is thicker than blood.