Chapter 2: Awakening
**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is based heavily on episode 15, but after this chapter the story diverges completely from the TV show plot. NO copyright infringement intended!**
"My best friend. What a mess."
It's all my fault. I couldn't protect her. I can't believe I didn't discourage Kluke from leaving our village to travel with me. I should have known she would have been safer at home. If only I'd really insisted I'd be fine, I bet she wouldn't have come along… or be in a coma right now, for that matter!
Shu couldn't stem the flow of accusations his hindsight was so generously showing him. Each revelation of the disasters his stupidity had caused was like a physical blow to him. Yet bitterly he acknowledged that he would take a thousand such blows if it would be enough to bring Kluke back.
Shu laughed to himself, without humor. On the bright side at least there's no way I could feel more miserable than I do now.
Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching the boulder on which he sat.
"Oh. So there you are, " a scornful voice he'd know anywhere addressed him.
"Oh. Jiro." Or maybe not.
"Well, I was just checking in to see if you're done feeling sorry for yourself."
Shu's hackles immediately went up. "What?"
"Not that I'm surprised by your reaction," Jiro continued, folding his arms. "You're so predictable."
"Stop picking on me!" Shu growled.
"How mature of you. You are truly pathetic! You think you were ready to stand up to Nene? Well just like the rest of us, you were outmatched."
"Shut your mouth!" Shu yelled furiously.
"So sad really. If you had only been more powerful, maybe Kluke wouldn't be in a coma now," Jiro added with a smirk, continuing to needle Shu on. It was almost a physical relief to him to be able to pin the blame of Kluke's injury on someone, especially when that someone was Shu.
"I said SHUT UP!" Shu screamed, drawing back his fist to throw a punch at Jiro's face, who easily sidestepped the blow and tripped him.
Looking down at the slightly younger boy groaning on the ground, Jiro couldn't help the small jolt of pleasure he felt at seeing his rival downed so easily.
"Get the point yet? You act impulsively. As a result, your attack's ineffective," he sneered.
Looking up, Shu stared at Jiro, aghast. What a dirty hypocrite! How like him to blame everyone but himself!
"Well you're no better than me!"
Jiro flinched.
"Even though you act like you've got it together, when it came down to it, you weren't the least bit effective either!"
Shu charged at Jiro, grappling with him.
"Oh yeah?" Jiro demanded. Shu's remark had struck a nerve, yet another reminder to him of how weak he was.
Shu finally managed to break through Jiro's guard, punching the older boy squarely on his cheek, with enough force to knock Jiro over.
"Don't jump on my case," Shu retorted, "not when you were just as outmatched as me!"
"And maybe if we trained harder," he continued, grabbing Jiro by the collar, "Kluke wouldn't be lying there unconscious on that bed!" Shu landed another punch on the other boy's cheek for emphasis.
"If you'd quit moping around, maybe we could train," Jiro answered angrily. "That's what I was coming out here to tell you."
"What would be the point?" Shu demanded, punching him again. "The guy's too strong! We lost, don't you get it?"
"You lost maybe, but not me." Jiro replied.
"What?" Shu asked in disbelief.
Seeing his chance, Jiro landed a solid punch to Shu's gut, knocking the other boy off him.
Getting up, he glared down at Shu. "Here's a flash for you: I'm still alive! And as long as I'm alive, I'm not giving up hope. And I'll come at him again, no matter how many takes before that monster is defeated! I'll never stop until I have my revenge."
Realizing how serious Jiro was, Shu's angry expression smoothed out slightly. "Okay, I get it."
"So pull yourself together. I don't want someone around me who isn't committed to complete victory." Jiro snapped. "It makes me want to throw up," he tacked on as an afterthought, adding insult to injury.
"Are you saying I'm a quitter?" Shu demanded.
The two boys were on their feet, glaring daggers at each other, when suddenly there was a loud boom, not far from where they stood.
Rushing to the edge of the cliff they looked down to see a hooded figure rapidly approaching, closely pursued by three Grankingdom shadow-wielding autobots.
"What's going on?" Shu cried.
"I don't know!" Jiro replied, just as confused.
Shu squinted his eyes against the falling darkness. "It's looks like they've got somebody trapped," he said, pointing down into the canyon before them.
Before either Shu or Jiro could decide what to do, they spotted Zola jump down before the autobots and pull the stranger to safety. Stepping back out to face the autobots, she summoned her shadow, Killer Bat. Using no attack but her sword and Killer Bat's, Zola dispatched the three autobots with ease.
Rushing to the spot the stranger sat, cowering, Shu asked, "Are you all right, mister?
The mysterious stranger pulled down his hood and said, "You're late! Those metallic assassins almost took me out!"
Shu and Jiro could recognize that hairstyle and imperious voice anywhere.
Jiro groaned to himself. "You again."
"Old man Legolas," Shu said aloud in wonder.
Back in the abandoned home, standing with Zola and the others, listening to Legolas rant on and on about the all the dangers he had gone through, and how unthankful the lot of them were, Jiro had to control the twitching of his fingers that yearned to punch the burly officer's smug face. He tried to tune the man out. As his mind wandered, Jiro struggled not to look behind him to the corner in which Kluke lay. Focus, he told himself, trying to keep his misery at bay, Concentrate.
"…this is the thanks I get?... I was sent here with important information on assignment from the king," Legolas whined, stressing the word, "…so I came immediately, in spite of the fact that my unit urgently needed me on the battlefield to protect our homeland!"
Finally Zola interrupted, with a slight edge to her voice. "Where is this 'important information'?"
"In a safe place," Legolas told her with a rather self-satisfied smile. He then proceeded to reach down his throat to pull out his written report, eliciting revolted groans from everyone watching.
"…so ungrateful," Legolas mumbled under his breath.
Anxious to hear the news, Jiro struggled to control the frustration in his voice, as he sighed, "Go ahead with your presentation."
He listened attentively as Legolas explained how the spy named Salinas had stolen the Extra Seven in Jibrall Castle, only to be killed by an unknown assailant just outside the city walls. His expression changed to one of incredulous disgust as Legolas told them the trivial clues that had been discovered about the assassin's identity.
"…but after relentlessly cross-referencing all the reports, we can say that she is likely to be wearing some kind of perfume, that smells like some kind of flower." Legolas finished proudly.
Mouth still agape in disbelief, Jiro couldn't help himself from asking, "Is that all?"
"Is that all? What more could you ask?" Legolas replied angrily.
"Some real information!" Shu piped in before Jiro could answer. "You gave us a lot of nothing!" he shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the man.
As Legolas puffed up in anger and proceeded to complain about how it had taken Jibrall's best men two weeks to discover all that information, Jiro rolled his eyes.
He listened impassively as Zola cut in to explain to the others what the significance of the theft of the Extra Seven was, and even less interestedly in Legolas' remark that the information contained in the Extra Seven would apply to anyone descended from the original Seven shadow-wielders, telling them how to enhance their power.
Noticing Shu and the others' confused expressions, Jiro asked, "You understand what he's saying?"
It was clear none of them did. Zola helped them out, stating point blank, "All of us here are direct descendants of those seven warriors."
Bouquet gasped. "You're saying we're…,"
"…as powerful as those warriors?" Shu finished.
"I'm saying we have the potential to be. It's our birthright. I believe we can stop Nene, but we need those extra powers to do so. And the only way to achieve that is to recover the Extra Seven." Zola paused and turned to look at Jiro, then each of the others in turn. "It's a dangerous mission. I won't force you to go against your will."
She noticed the slight hardening around Shu's eyes. "What do you think Shu? Will you do it?" she asked.
Jiro glanced at Shu from the corner of his eyes, curious to see what he'd say.
Shu curled hand into a fist. "You bet I will. This creep has declared war on everybody living in the world! There's no choice. Before he can do any more damage, we have to bring him down. There's nobody else we can rely on to stop this guy. We can do it if we're the descendants of those seven warriors!"
Despite himself, Jiro smiled in approval at the boy's remark.
"No matter what it takes, I'm going to get strong enough to defeat him!" Shu declared. Grudgingly, Jiro's appreciation for the boy grew, hearing his own sentiments echoed in the Shu's words.
"What about you?" Zola asked, looking at Jiro.
He smiled knowingly. "I'm with this team to the end," he vowed.
Marumaro and Bouquet enthusiastically pledged themselves to the cause as well.
"Good." Zola said in satisfaction.
"But wait! What about Kluke?" Bouquet asked softly.
They all turned to look at the girl lying motionlessly beneath the blankets.
The silence in the air was tangible, as if a cloud of despair was hovering over them.
Then suddenly: "AAAaaarrghh! WHY?" Shu yelled at the top of his lungs.
Rushing to Kluke's side, he shook her. "Wake up Kluke! Can you hear us? It's because of you that everyone on the team was saved!"
Jiro flinched. Tired from the added effort it took that day of appearing collected and unfazed in front of the others, Jiro let his pride go for once, recognizing the truth in Shu's words. It really was all because of her. The rest of us were helpless against Nene. Including myself, he finally admitted to himself with shame. Who knew Kluke was so powerful? She can't not wake up, he thought furiously. We need her!
Shu continued to yell, not seeming to notice the tears spilling down his cheeks. "We know now what we have to do to fight Nene, and you have to be a part of it! Come on Kluke! Wake up! You can't leave us like this right in the middle of a mission! We need you! You're the glue that holds everything together!"
A part of Jiro wanted to reprimand the boy for shaking Kluke around so roughly, but a greater part of him understood the desperation that fueled Shu's actions. Jiro almost wished that he was the one sitting where Shu was, trying to revive Kluke with his own desperate pleas. But I'm in no position to do that. Fleetingly, he was envious of the other boy for having such a close friendship with Kluke. His jealousy was replaced with chagrin as he realized how difficult it must be for Shu to see Kluke so unresponsive this way. I, more than anyone should know better.
Jiro was startled when Shu suddenly got to his feet, ran over to their bags, and began to rummage through them.
What is that boy looking for?
Shu turned around, a pan and metal ladle in hand. Huh?
Raising his arms above his head, Shu began to bang the spoon against the pan. "Wake up Kluke! You can't sleep now, do you hear me? There's work to be done! Come on, open your eyes!" After a minute, he stopped banging the pan and lowered his arms in defeat.
Jiro didn't know what to say. Crazy as the boy's idea was, he himself was just about ready to try anything to revive Kluke.
"Kluke," he whispered, "Come on, please."
Jiro watched as Shu let his tears flow freely now, audible sobs racking his body. Jiro felt his own eyes burn, and quickly blinked away the moisture that began to collect there.
"I'm sorry Kluke. I tried. I don't know what else to do!" Shu continued, utterly oblivious to the others staring at him.
Then:
"Who was banging all the pots and pans?" came a weary voice.
Kluke! Jiro's heart jumped in his chest. She's awake!
"She's going to be okay!" Bouquet rejoiced. Jiro couldn't help the broad smile that came to his lips at her words.
"Kluke! Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" Shu exclaimed happily, reaching out to hug her.
BAM. Jiro watched with interest as Shu flew up against the wall. Hmm. Good hang time. Wow. Kluke is strong, even without her shadow, he mused.
"Don't try to cheat on your fiancé!" Kluke yelled.
Jiro chuckled to himself as Shu groaned in pain. His smile grew impossibly wider, and impulsively he said, "We're all happy you're back , Kluke."
"Thanks. Glad to be here." Kluke replied, seeming surprised, a blush staining her cheeks.
Not noticing, Jiro looked around and grinned in satisfaction. "It looks like the team's back. And more determined than ever."
**This is my first ever fanfic/ short-story, so I would REALLY appreciate REVIEWS! Tell me what you think (that is, anything I've written that doesn't make sense, any plot development ideas, etc).**