Chapter 35

A cold chill went down Lucas's spine as he stood outside with his mother for another day of training. Ever since his training and the day after the event, his view of his mother had changed dramatically. Standing before the once clumsy woman, who seemed to be trying her best to raise him, now stood a cold and precise warrior. Even though she stood across from him and looked as if she rolled out of bed a few seconds ago, he could feel her studying, countering, and figuring how to take him down the moment they left the front door.

"I'm a baby chihuahua up against a towering dragon." He thought to him as he remembered every time she took him down.

Lucas could feel a mixture of emotions bubbling inside of him. He felt nervous about how calm she was during their training, frustrated that he still couldn't make any progress in dodging her strikes, and scared of being knocked out by her again. Yet, Lucas was in awe at knowing his mom was a fantastic teacher, telling him where to improve, how to better his training, and most excited to be bonding with her each session. He had found an entirely new respect for his mom for actually teaching, showing, and allowing him to do any of this.

"I'm ready when you are, sweetie. I'll give you till the count of 10 before I make my move. Okay?" Elizabeth spoke as she scratched her messy bed hair and yawned from waking up. She barely had her eyes open, yet she was well aware of her son and his worries.

Compared to him, Elizabeth looked as if she had just rolled out of her bed. Her hair was a mess and unkempt. She had skull pajama pants that hugged tightly on her waist but drooped fully over her feet and a pink, heavily faded tank top that hugged her upper body. Even though she didn't have any makeup on, she was still stunning. Her arms were slowly crossing as she began to wonder what to try to make for breakfast or have a cup of coffee and allow the kids to figure it out.

Both Amay and Martha watched in anticipation to see what would happen. Amay had previously let Martha know how his training was going, which grabbed Martha's attention to see her brother in action for herself.

"Do you think he will dodge her punch today?" Amay asked Martha, who silently watched from the porch. She didn't expect her to speak to her after the events of yesterday. Yet, it didn't stop her.

"If he doesn't realize it soon, he would never be ready," Martha coldly answered in one breath. She was examining her brother's every step, even his composer.

From where she was standing, Martha could tell he was nervous and doubting himself. She knew he was also comparing himself to their mother just from how his eyes moved.

"You might be right, but I like to have a little faith," Amay chimed in as her eyes looked at Martha. Her eyes then turned back to Lucas as she leaned back and rested on her hands. She still wanted to see how far he could go. He always seemed to surprise her and wanted to see that look in his eyes once again. "You never know how things truly play out."

Martha's eyes moved away to look at the short girl with red hair and just let out a slight noise as she wondered herself. Her attention then went back to her mother and brother.

As the morning dew began to leave, Lucas took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He allowed his aura to flow around him while the energy was flowing through him. His mind began to work as he needed a plan.

"Relax and focus. I have until the count of 10 before she goes on the attack. I have time to figure something out," Lucas told himself. He then opened his eyes and clenched his fist as his aura flowed more.

The change in his aura and his clenched fist caused Elizabeth to open one eye fully. A smile barely crept across her face as she knew it was time.

"1," she said, beginning her count.

Lucas took off as she began to count. He kept in mind the weight of the situation but couldn't help but feel some excitement growing. He quickly went in to throw a punch at his mother in her stomach but watched as she faded from his vision. However, he promptly kicked his leg backward as he could feel his muscles tense as she reappeared behind him.

Elizabeth caught her son's foot. A smile grew across her face as she realized he was getting better at picking up where she would appear. Gently, she pushed him away before recrossing her arms.

"3. 4," she continued with her count.

Lucas lost his balance for a moment but quickly got his footing. He then tried to bombard his mom with multiple punches and strikes. He could feel each strike he threw moving a lot fast than the first time since he tried to punch her. Yet, he knew his fist was only hitting air.

"6, 7, 8," Elizabeth continued as she was barely putting any energy into dodging his punches. To her, it was like watching a balloon float slowly towards her face or different parts of her body. She did give her son credit for how far he had gotten to this point. She was proud he was giving it his best.

"Damnit," Lucas thought to himself. He pushed back and could feel his magical energy building up in his body.

Taking a deep breath and channeling his energy into his right hand, sparks began to dance. He pulled his hand back and tightly clenched his fist as his aura started to grow. Without a single word, he charged towards his mother, and just when she allowed nine to leave her lips, he released everything he had in that one punch at her.

"10," Elizabeth's said in a calm voice as a burst of magical energy released and went through her. It was enough to cause the grass and her long hair to flow backward from her son's attack.

The field went silent as both Martha and Amay watched with patience looks. They both felt his energy, which caused Martha to raise an eyebrow at how far he came from when she left. However, her brother wasn't thinking the same as them.

Lucas was breathing hard as he felt that he had hit her. However, a cold and uneasy sweat spread throughout his body. His arm tensed up while his fist began to shake. He began to mentally kick himself as he began to think about all the different things he could have done differently. But none of them could help him in the here and now.

"Damn it," he thought to himself. Lucas knew what would come next and couldn't even look up at his mom to watch it.

"That wasn't a bad hit, sweetie. But-" Elizabeth's voice trailed off as her eyes glowed orange at her son. She had blocked his punch with her right index finger with as much effort as blinking. "I'm afraid your time is up," she said, sending multiple chills down his spine.

Martha let out a sigh as she knew this battle was over. While she was impressed that he had gotten so much stronger when she was gone and hoped it would work, but she knew him putting everything into that one punch was his downfall. She slowly shook her head before turning around to open the door. She looked back one more time just to see how she would take him down.

Elizabeth let out a sigh as her right hand wrapped around his fist. She pulled her left hand back in one swift motion readying to end it. She then extended her arm and aimed to punch him in the jaw to make it a quick knockout.

"Goodnight, Luci," she told him in a soft voice.

"Damnit. Damnit. Damnit," Lucas thought to himself as he could do nothing but look at his mother's fist coming at him. "What can I do? What should I do? I'm trying my best, but what am I supposed to do?" He continued to doubt himself.

He let out a sigh as he was going to accept his fate. He wanted to close his eyes, but it felt like his body didn't want him to.

"Not yet." He told himself as he gritted his teeth.

Lucas felt his head suddenly jerk back and then felt a gust of air go past his throat. The force caused him to swallow hard before pulling his head down to cough. While he coughed, he noticed everything went silent as a new realization dawned on him. Hesitantly, his opened eyes looked up at his mom to see if she held back her punch, missed him on purpose, or did anything to say he imagined what happened. Except he did see it right.

Amay began to giggle as she clapped her hands and tapped her feet at what she had just witnessed. She then looked back to see that Martha, who usually had a strong poker face, seemed genuinely shocked. Martha's mouth was open as well as her eyes went wide. Amay childishly giggled at her and could see that she hit a nerve in Martha, who looked away with a red face.

"Told you. Things change."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped as she couldn't believe what she saw. When her fist almost connected with his jaw, his head jerked back. "My fist missed," she told herself, yet still didn't believe it. Still, in disbelief at what had just happened, she unconsciously released his hand and took a step back to process the moment in full.

"He dodged..." both her and Martha through in unison as their eyes entirely focused on the young man before them.

"Did I....dodge your attack?" Lucas asked in shock and disbelief.

"Tsk. Don't get cocky yet. We are going to try it again," Elizabeth told him as she felt herself getting a little misty-eyed. She was proud of her son, but she needed to make sure this wasn't a fluke.

"Yes, ma'am." Lucas choked a little with joy that he did it but got ready.

"I did it once. I hope I can do it again." He told himself as he took a deep breath and hoped what happened wasn't a fluke.