Chapter 39
Rise of the Crusader
âI lost again!â Bane exclaimed, with his eyes glued to the television.
Devon, who was sitting beside him, holding on to a gamepad flashed a light smile at Bane. He cracked his fingers, before then scooping the bucket of popcorn in front of him.
A few minutes had passed since Raphael went into his room, and during that minutes, Devon was able to pardon Bane, and play video games with him. As for Camille, she had been engaging in a conversation with Aiden, not until he went into Devonâs room.
âThe gamepad is the problem, some buttons arenât working... Do you have any other gamepad or if you are certain that you are really good, why donât we change the gamepad?â Bane said.
There was an expression of disbelief on Devonâs face when he heard Bane. He then stared at the table, on which about three other gamepads were placed on, and he couldnât help but shake his head.
Devon and Bane had played different games, and in each of them, Devon gave Bane a beat down. Bane wasnât even able to win any of the games they played, and each time Bane lost, he would blame it on either the gamepad or come out with the excuse that he hasnât eaten yet.
Bane had used the whole gamepad in the room, and yet he still suffered defeat after defeat from Devon. But this time around, he took his shamelessness to another level and demanded for Devonâs gamepad.
.....
âWhat do you say, Devon?â
Devon stared at Bane for a couple of seconds, before he then passed the gamepad to Bane with a rather confident look on his face.
âYou still wonât win!â Camille, who had remained quiet the whole time suddenly, spoke.
She was, however, greeted by an intense glare from Bane. âWe will see about that...â Bane muttered, and then clicked the start button on the gamepad.
Devon and Bane had gone through a few games before the both of them decided to stick to an arcade fighting game. And after Bane clicked the button, the game started immediately.
The character which Bane was using had the upper hand, once the game started, bringing a smile to Baneâs face. He continued to deliver all sorts of combos both hands and feet on Aidenâs character, and Bane was ecstatic.
However, after a few minutes, the tables turned, and Baneâs character soon found himself in a dire state. It seemed to be as though Devon had given Bane the upper hand intentionally to give him hope that he had a chance, and when the right moment came, he took the hope which Bane had away.
âFinish him!â
As that voice rang out from the television speaker, the character which Bane was controlling had his body covered in flames by the dragon that just appeared. And in merely the blink of an eye, it was only the ashes of the character that could be seen.
What followed after was the âGame overâ word that was displayed on the screen. Bane dropped the gamepad on the couch and moved towards the other couch.
Camilleâs lips curved into a smile, she then moved towards the place that Bane was formerly seating and took hold of the gamepad. âLetâs play!â Camille said.
Devonâs eyes twitched when he heard Camille, it was almost as if he had heard the wrong words, and he couldnât help but stare at Bane, who was just as surprised as he was.
âI choose this!â Camille didnât wait for Devon to respond to her, and she chose the character that she was going to be using.
âItâs your turn to chooseâ
Devon gulped when he heard Camille, but this time around he didnât stare at Bane, and instead, he selected the character he would be using.
The match was about to begin between the both of them when Devonâs room door was slammed open, and Aiden stepped out. With his placed inside pocket, Aiden walked forward majestically, with a prideful look on his face.
âUrgh!â Seeing how Devon, Bane, and Camille had eyes glued to the television, and werenât staring at him, Aiden frowned deeply. He then walked over, and stood in front of the television, blocking the three of them view.
âHeyy... What are you...â Bane suddenly paused as he stared at Aiden, who was in front of him.
Whether it was Bane, Devon, or even Camille, they all had an appalled look on their faces as they stared at Aiden. Devon even went to the length of pausing the game, then seized Aiden from head to toe.
The smile which was on Aidenâs face after the saw how the three of them were staring at him widened. He turned around, allowing them to take a good look at his magnificence, before he then said, âSo, what do you think?!â
Aiden seemed to be asking the three of them about their opinion, but the truth was, he didnât really care what the three of them thought. Because he was absolutely certain that he looked ravishing in the clothes he had on.
âHahahahahahahaha!!!!â
And about a few seconds later, the three of them roared out laughing. Bane laughed so hard that he fell from the couch on which he was seating on, despite that he continued to laugh like a maniac.
Camille and Devon were in the same situation, as they stared at the clothes which Aiden had on. It was only until after five minutes went by that the three of them stopped.
âOh my god... You have got to be kidding me!â Bane stood from the floor and walked towards Aiden. As Bane then pointed his hand at Aiden, he couldnât help but laugh once again. âWhat the hell are you putting on! This canât really be your costumes, right?!â Bane jested.
They had all seen Aiden walk into the room with the bag in his hand, and when he came outside, he was looking completely different.
âWhat is wrong with my costumes?â Aiden innocently asked, staring at the clothes which he was putting on.
âHahahahahahahahah!!!â
However, another roar of laughter erupted from Devon, Bane, and Camilleâs mouths when they heard him. Bane was the first to quit laughing, he placed his hand on Aidenâs shoulder and said, âEverything is wrong with the costumes.â
âTo be honest, even a homeless man wouldnât pull up with something this terrible.â Bane jested.
Staring at Aiden who was putting on a spandex bodysuit, black loose leather jacket, black wavy shoulder-length wig, blue sunglasses, fingerless leather gloves, red shorts, and a red cowboy boot, Bane placed his hand on his mouth.
âAre you sure that this is really what you asked the academy to create for you?â Bane asked. And receiving, a nod of the head from Aiden, his eyes twitched.
He glanced at Devon and Camille before then saying, âShit, you must have been high when you wrote this down.â
Aiden glared at Bane when he heard him, he then went back into the room, and after a short while, he came out back. This time around, he even raised his collars high, âYou know what, youâre just jealous.â Aiden stated.
It was about a second after Aidenâs voice rang out, that Raphaelâs room door opened, and Raphael walked out of his room.
Raphael had merely taken a few steps backward when he suddenly paused. Raising, and seeing how they were all staring at him, Raphael raised an eyebrow.
âRaphael, what do you think about my costume?â Aiden appeared in front of Raphael right away.
He then turned his body around, so Raphael would have a whole look at what he was putting on. And after that was done, Aiden stood with a smile on his face.
As for Raphael, he placed his hand on his chin, with his eyes moving from the gloves, the leather jacket all the way to the cowboy boot. Raphael then stared at Aiden and said, âItâs not that bad, so long as you are not going out in this!â Raphael said.
Listening to the first part of Raphaelâs word, the smile which was on Aidenâs face widened, but when he heard the rest of it, that smile vanished immediately.
âHahaha haha hahaha... Didnât I tell you!â
Raphael glanced at the television screen, before then walking towards the door. He pushed the door open, and a delivery man was standing right in front of him. âThanks!â Raphael took the pizza which he ordered and shut the door closed.
âThe pizza is for everyone, not just for only meâ Raphael exclaimed as everyone, including Aiden, was staring at the large pizza with their mouth wide open.
Raphael placed the gamepads on the shelf and then dropped the pizza on the table. âHere we go!â He took a slice from it and sat on the couch with a book in his hand.
The others stared at Raphael for a moment, before then taking their slice. Devon and Aiden were surprised because ever since Raphael came, he was always locked in his room, and hardly came out.
So, it came as a surprise, that he was seating in the parlor with them.
âRaphael, have you heard, you and Aliyah are in the same group.â It was Camille that spoke. Camille didnât glance at Raphael when she spoke, and instead, her eyes were glued to the television in front of her.
As for Raphael, a bewildered look appeared on his face.
âWho is the third person?â Raphael asked.
âBeckyâ Camille responded.
Raphaelâs eyebrows furrowed, he was about to ask who arranged the team, when he decided not to any longer. And instead, he took another slice of pizza, placed one leg on top of the other, and stared at the television.
As Raphael and Bane continued to watch as Devon and Camille battled it out, Aiden went back into the room, with a perplexed look on his face. âIt canât be that bad, right?â Aiden mumbled in a low voice.
GAME OVER!
A couple of minutes after Devon and Camille continued with the game, she was left frustrated, just like Bane. Camille heaved a deep, and then stood from the couch. âEnough of the game, letâs go!â Camille exclaimed.
Bane chuckled when he saw the look on Camilleâs face. He, however, stood from his couch, âAiden, itâs already time to leave!â
âWhere are you guys going to?â Raphael asked, with a pizza in his mouth.
âWe are going to the alley!â Camille replied, âWe will be leaving for the Bass mansion by midnight, so we want to go train ourselves in the alley. I say you do the same also, or why donât you come with us?â
Raphael glanced at Bane and Devon, who were both staring at him before he then said. âNo, Iâm good!â
Camille nodded her head when she heard Raphael, âAlright, then suit yourself.â She said, and once Aiden came out of the room putting on the casual outfit he had on earlier, the four of them left.
âLet me see what is so fun about these video games!â