The Rise Of A Porter

"Did you invite someone over?" Arnold looked at Nina who was still in his arms. 

Nina shook her head and smiled, "I don't remember, why don't you check who it is while I get dressed."

Arnold looked at her. He knew she was planning something, the look on her face gave her away. But if she wanted to play, he'd play along with her. 

He dropped her on the bed and threw a bathing robe over her. Then he jumped out of the bed and opened the door. 

'Oh, you sly devil.' Arnold thought after he saw Nicole standing in there. 

Nicole was shocked to see a shirtless Arnold standing there too. But the shock soon dissipated and she turned around to leave. She was confused as to why Nina would call her when Arnold was over? Didn't she remember Arnold didn't want to see her? Now he'll get even more pissed at her than he initially was. 

Various thoughts kept running through her mind as she walked away. But as she was about to enter the elevator, something happened. 

"Um... Nicole, don't you wanna come in?" Arnold asked her. 

She turned around to see Arnold standing there while scratching his overgrown hair. She tried to calm herself down but couldn't. Her eyes welled up, waterworks happened and all it took was Arnold to say her name.

She rushed over to him wanting to hug him but then Donna said something, 'Be careful. He has ascended to the level of a cosmic being. He's ranked above you... You're stuck at C and he's at cosmic rank B. Remain vigilant around him for now. Although I can't sense any bad intention towards you, you never know what he could be thinking.'

Donna's words were clear. But Nicole didn't give a crap. She knew the man in front of him wasn't the one everyone else knew, but the brother who had previously refused to acknowledge her after she lost her cool and attacked him. Yet now, he had called her by her name... For the first time in ages! She wasn't going to stop because her stupid 'personality' wanted her to. 

She hugged him with tremendous force, knocking Arnold over. Still, she didn't let go. She held him tightly thinking she was having a dream and Arnold would disappear any moment. 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." She kept mumbling while Arnold looked at her crying a river on his chest. 

At that moment a message popped up in front of him. 

___

Power signature of another < Paladin > detected.

Initialising contact protocol.

...

...

...

Connection established. < Paladin of the Mischievous One > doesn't seem to have any ill will towards you. The system will continue monitoring the situation for now. 

___

'So she was a paladin all along.' Arnold smiled weakly, as she wept on his chest. 

He knew the trials and tribulations of being a paladin and knowing that his sister too went through something similar, turned his heart back to loving her. But not unconditionally like he used to. That love was gone but he could still develop a new relationship with his sister. 

Nina stayed next to her bed. Tears of joy welling up in her eyes. Finally, the two people she cared about the most were back together. Still, she knew it would take some time for them to make up for the lost time but Arnold not pushing Nicole away or shouting at her was a good start. 

Last night when Arnold visited her, she insisted on him to get a shower and while he was inside the shower, she called Nicole and asked her to come over the next morning. At that moment she thought she was playing with fire but after seeing their reaction, she knew she made the right choice. 

Arnold gently patted Nicole's head. They both had caused each other pain, but at the end of the day, he was her big brother. He needed to understand that family makes mistakes. He needed to learn and forgive Nicole and she needed to do the same thing. It's what their parents would've wanted. 

Nicole continued to cry while Arnold hugged her tightly, "Shh... Shh... It's all good, little one. I'm not going anywhere and I'm at fault too. So how about we sit down first and then talk about it, huh? The floor might not be as comfortable as you think."

Nicole nodded in reply and wiped the tears off her face and ignored his bad joke. Yet she didn't let go of him. With his current strength, Arnold could easily throw her off him but he didn't. Arnold helplessly looked at Nina who came rushing and slowly managed to pull Nicole off him along with his help. Yet the moment he was up, Nicole tightly hugged his arm while they sat down. She was still afraid that it was all happening in her head and Arnold would soon disappear into thin air.

They sat down on the sofa while Nina brought them some coffee to drink. Nicole thought she was adept at hiding her broken feelings, yet when she was shown the hope of reconciliation, she started bawling like a baby. She wasn't like this. Or at least she thought she wasn't when in reality she was still a teenage girl at her core. The same girl whom Arnold had left to go to Brazil. 

With the coffee in their bowels, they started talking. But first Arnold needed to hear his sister out. Nina sat on his left side, while Nicole tightly hung onto his right. Still refusing to let it go. Arnold just smiled at told her to talk. He also told her, he needed to hear how she truly felt. No matter how harsh it was. He needed her to be a 100% truthful. That was his only condition. Nicole readily agreed and started her tale. 

She started talking about how Arnold left her alone. He practically abandoned her for a year. She thought Arnold was tired of taking care of her and that's why he left. Why else would her brother leave her with a bunch of strangers? The Blacks were kind people but still to her they weren't more than strangers to her. She now know why he had to leave but back then, she couldn't help but blame herself because of it.

Then she recalled how wrong she was for not responding to his messages as she 'hated' him. For a year, Arnold kept sending her texts and emails, he kept calling her but she didn't respond. And then one day... It all stopped. She thought Arnold had finally given up trying to maintain a relationship with her. She was angry that Arnold had stopped texting her. Although she never responded, she still read his texts. But now that the messages weren't coming in, she got upset. Not knowing that he was stuck inside a transdimensional portal. 

They after a week, Nicholas called Johnny to deliver the worst news of Nicole's life. He told Johnny that Arnold got stuck inside a transdimensional portal and was most probably dead. Nicole overheard the conversation between Johnny, Nathaniel and Nathan and that's when she swore to eradicate the monsters off this planet. All for him. 

But then the tragedy struck at them. And they lost a large part of America to the monsters. But one day... Arnold reappeared. She was ecstatic to meet him, but Donna interrupted her telling her that paladins often end up killing each other. She now knew it was all lies but back then, she didn't want to harm her brother that's why she stayed away. 

Fast forward to the day Nina and Nicole visited him at the Alpha base. As fate would have it, she ended up assuming that Arnold wanted to hurt her and that's why she attacked him. She emphasized on the fact that she didn't want to kill him as Arnold thought but she only wanted to disable him. She said she wasn't trying to justify what she did because she knew what she didn't was wrong and she wasn't thinking straight. But by the time it dawned upon her, it was already too late. She had done something she couldn't undo. That's why she hastily left the base and came back to the estate. 

"On my way back, I kept telling myself I was a good person." Nicole mumbled, once again on the verge of tears, "I kept telling myself everything will be alright. I kept reminding myself that I am a good person, I do good things, I have a heart full of love and the world is full of good people out there. People like my brother who would forgive me for my mistakes."

Nicole continued, "However all of my hopes were destroyed when you were found unconscious on at the base... I-I..."

Nicole grabbed his arms and broke down once again. She couldn't continue anymore. By now Nina way on the verge of tears too. Everyone was silent. 

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Arnold sighed heavily and pulled Nicole closer to his chest. 

"It takes two hands to clap. Not one. I'm equally responsible for this mess." He said and kissed Nicole's forehead. "Do you remember what dad used to tell us about regret?"

Nicole shook her head. She was quite young when they lost their parents so she didn't remember much about them. 

Arnold smiled, "He used to say: 'Regret is a learning tool. We let it educate us so that we can move on into a better future.' You're regretful and so am I. I failed myself, and you too. But we can rebuild our relationship. After all two of the strongest warriors in America can't always keep bickering can they?"

"So... Does it mean..." Nicole finally had a tinge of happiness on her face. 

"Mm-hmm. I forgive you, Nicole. I can't stay angry at you forever now can I?"

Both Nina and Nicole were happiest that they had been in a while. But little did they know, reconciliation wasn't the only goal Arnold had. He needed her to trust him and be at his side. For he still didn't know who the other ascended person was. And he might need her help sooner or later.