Well, it's been a while. I've been busy at school and my final college admission exams are coming up so I'm gonna be pretty busy for the next days. Luckily, I finished chapter 8 in time (Phew... This one is pretty long.). Asides from a new friend, the gang will be getting their first enemy on this chapter (One very familiar to the Megaman fans.). Have fun! R&R!
Chapter 8: True strenght.
It all started with a sparring section at the Green Light House. X and Zero were practicing.
"Okay, X, let's see how ya doing." Zero said getting into a fighting stance. "You ready?"
X took a deep breath. "Let's do this." He replied getting ready.
Zero made the first move. He charged at X and tried a roundhouse kick. X crossed his arms to block the the blow and then he tried to counter with some quick jabs.
"Close one, X." Zero smirked as he easily dodged X's punches. "But not close enough!" He gave X a low kick.
X fell, but he quickly did a back flip to regain his balance. "Darn it... I feel for that one again..." He thought steadying himself.
Vee, Axl, Star and StarZ watched them training. "Wow... X and Zero are awesome!" Vee said in awe.
"True. They're pretty good, but I think X could do better." StarZ said.
"What do ya mean?" Star asked looking at him.
"Think about it: Zero trains both X and Axl. Even though X's usually able to beat Axl, I don't remember seeing him beating Zero" StarZ replied. "It's like he's holding back or something."
"Well, X was never the kind of guy that enjoyed fighting." Axl stated. "He's skilled, that's true, but he only fights for real as the very last resource or to protect someone."
The group suddenly heard a loud thud. Zero had managed to knock X down and immobilize his arms. "Guess that's it." Zero said.
X sighed as Zero let go of him. "Nice one, Zero..."
"C'mon, buddy, you were pretty good today." Zero said helping X up. "Trust me, you're improving."
"I don't know..." X said. "You're always giving me tips, but..."
"But?" Zero asked crossing his arms.
"Nevermind..." X decided. "I guess I just need to keep practicing."
Zero knew X well enough to know that he wasn't in a good mood so he decided to drop the subject. "Suit yourself." He shrugged.
Meanwhile, DMZ and Alpheon were chatting. "So, ninja, what's with the rumors about a biker gang?" DMZ asked.
"I'm not sure." Alpheon replied. "From what I heard, they seem to be patroling the streets every night looking for something or..."
"Someone." Rigel concluded. "I heard that the leader has a score to settle with someone from the martial arts championship."
"Isn't that the championship Zero won last year?" Kazegama asked before looking at Zero. "Better be careful, Zero. You could be the target."
"Hmpf. I don't believe in rumors." Zero said crossing his arms. "And even if those rumors were true, I'd teach those scums a lesson!"
"Well, people would think twice before messing with ya. That's for sure." Vega said. "Then again, street scums were never the brightest people."
"Either way, this does sound rather odd in my opinion." Faust said. "Perhaps we should be cautious for the time being."
"I'm with Faust." Pallette said. "Even though they haven't attacked yet, who knows when those street gangs may attack."
"I agree." Alia said.
"Me too." Layer added. "They can be so unpredicable."
"Better watch your backs." P. Shadow suddenly said as he walked towards the door. "Word has it that those bikers mean business."
"You watch your back too." Zero told him.
Precursor Shadow just smirked and left.
"Vee and I also have to go." Star said getting up. "I still have to write an essay about a book, but I left it at home."
"I'm going with you." DMZ said. "Just in case."
"I'll tag along." Alpheon said.
"Me too." StarZ decided. "We live close to each other anyway."
"The more, the merrier!" Vee said giggling.
"Be careful, everybody." X said. "If you get in trouble, call us."
Star and the others nodded. They all waved good bye and left.
"Well, I guess we should get going too." Rigel said. "It's getting late."
"Yeah. I guess so." Kazegama said.
The others nodded in agreement. They picked their stuff and left the Green Light House without knowing they were in for some surprises.
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"So far, so good." Vega said as the group walked down the street. "Guess those rumors were wrong after all."
"Big surprise." Zero said. "Those bikers probably started those rumors to scare off people and they could have the streets empty and race as much as they want."
"Yeah. You're probably right." Faust said before looking at X. "Hey, X. Something on your mind?"
"It's nothing..." X said glancing at the sky. It was a dark night without stars. "For some reason... I have a bad feeling."
"A bad feeling?" Layer asked. "About what, X?"
"I don't know..." X sighed. "It's just a feeling..."
"You worry too much sometimes, X." Axl shrugged as the gang was crossing the street. "Chill out a bit."
"Maybe..." X said. He was the last one to cross the street.
As X was crossing the street, three bikers riding fast motorcycles were quickly approaching. X didn't notice them coming because they had their lights off.
Zero suddenly saw the bikers and gasped: they were going run over X! Then, without a thought but his friend's sake, he acted. "X! LOOK OUT!!!" Zero yelled running towards him.
Before X could do anything, Zero tackled him out of the way just as the bikers zipped past them, barely hitting them!
"X! ZERO!" The others yelled with a gasp.
X landed next to the sidewalk. He was dizzy and slightly stunned. "Ugh... What happened?" He asked himself before finding Zero siting next to him while clutching his shoulder. "Zero!?"
"I'm fine..." Zero winced. He tried to move his arm to show he was okay, but he couldn't. "Okay... That's not good."
X checked Zero's arm. It had a few scratches and something seemed to be wrong with his shoulder. It looked... Dislocated. "Zero..." X looked at him with a gasp. "Your shoulder..."
The others ran up to them. "X! Zero! You two okay?" Alia asked worried.
"I'm okay, but Zero... He dislocated his shoulder." X replied.
The gang glanced at Zero worried. "I'm fine. I just hit my shoulder on the sidewalk." Zero said trying to calm down the gang.
"Don't feing tough, Zero." X said with a stern tone as he took off his jacket and used it as a sling for Zero's arm. "Don't move your arm. It'll only worse your injury."
Vega looked around. "Oh-uh... Those guys are coming back!"
X got up and, with Layer's help, helped Zero up. "Axl, stay here with Zero and the girls." He decided. "Vega, Faust, Kazegama, let's go."
The three teens nodded. Zero tried to argue, but Layer grabbed him by his good arm and dragged him to a nearby alley along with Axl and the other girls.
"Well, look what we have here." One of the bikers said as they stopped in front of the four teens. "Your friend's pretty fast."
"Yeah, otherwise you both'd be pancakes by now." Another biker mocked.
"Spare us from your crap!" Kazegama said clenching his fists. "Why did you attack our friends?!"
"Nothing personal, kids." A third biker shrugged. "Our boss told us to find the champion and give him a message: payback time is coming soon. Be ready."
"You're scaring people and attacked our friends just because of an stupid order?!" Faust asked angry. "I always knew street scum were rotten, but not that despicable!"
"I don't know what you said, twerp, but I didn't like the tone you used!" The first biker growled.
"You started this, punk, not us!" X said ready to fight.
Axl and Pallette watched the whole thing from behind a nearby. "Man, this doesn't look good." Axl gritted his teeth.
"Axl, what should we do?" Pallette asked. "Those bikers seem pretty tough."
Axl growled. He himself didn't know what to do.
"Okay, you brats, you asked for it!" The head biker said as they dashed at X's group ready to ram them with their bikes.
"Too slow, buster!" Vega said as he jumped out of the biker's way. "Man, at moments like this I'm glad for being a ninja." He thought as he kept dodging the biker's attacks.
Not too far from there, Kazegama and Faust ran as another biker raced after them. "You won't get away!" He mocked.
"I do hope you have a plan, my friend." Faust said as he glanced at their pursuer. "He's quickly approaching us!"
"Don't worry. I got that covered." Kazegama said.
Faust took another glancer at the biker: he was gaining on them! He was about to tell that to Kazegama when he realised that the elder teen was gone! "What on earth?!" He gasped as he reached a dead end.
"You friend can't help ya now!" The biker said as he quickly approached.
Faust didn't know what to do. Suddenly, as he was about to get hit, someone grabbed him by his shoulders and picked him up just before the biker ran over him. It was Kazegama. "Didn't I say that I had it covered?" The ninja smirked as he clinged to a nearby wall while holding Faust.
Faust let out a relieved sigh. "Indeed, but you could've told me sooner." He smiled weakly as they landed.
Meanwhile, X was doing his best to dodge as the head biker tried to ran over him. "Give it up, kid!" He mocked. "You can't dodge forever!"
"I don't have to!" X said running towards him. "Zero told me to use this move when dealing with fast targets." He thought. "I've never used it before so I'll have to give it my best shot!"
As he was about to get hit, X jumped up and spin kicked the punk so hard he lost control of the bike and fell off.
"I... I did it!" X thought as he landed on his feet.
"X!" He suddenly hear Alia yelling. "Behind you!"
X turned around and quickly jumped out of the way as the other two bikers zipped past him and the head honcho hopped on one of the bikes.
"Mark my words: our boss is gonna make mincemeat outta of you all!" He yelled as they sped off.
"Good riddance." Kazegama said dusting off his clothes.
"It's not over yet." Faust said pointing to the out of control bike as it quickly approached them. "Watch out!"
X and the others stepped out of they in time. Soon, the bike crashed into the tree from where Axl and Pallette were watching the battle. "Whoa!" Pallette yelled startled as she fell on her back.
"Pallette, you okay?" Axl asked as he knelt down to help her up.
Suddenly, Zero heard something snapping. He looked up and gasped: one of the biggest an tallest branches of the tree was breaking away due the bike crash and it was gonna fall on Axl and Pallette!
X also noticed that and he tried to warn his younger friends. "Axl! Pallette! Get out of there! Now!"
By the time they heard X, it was too late. With a loud snap, the branch broke off and quickly fell. Everybody gasped.
Too scared to move, Axl brought Pallette close to him and held her in his arms, trying to protect her. They both closed their eyes and waited for the blow, but it never came. Instead, they heard surprised gasps and also some grunting sounds as if someone was holding something really heavy.
Slowly, Axl and Pallette opened their eyes. "Wow..." They said in awe as they found out what had happened.
A teen around seventeen, with fiery, wild blond hair and light hazel eyes had grabbed the branch and held it without any effort. He wore a dark green t-shirt with red stars on the shoulders, grey shorts, white sneakers and a dark green headband around his forehead.
"Hey, you two okay?" The teen asked noticing Axl and Pallette looking at him.
Axl nodded as he and Pallette slowly got up, still holding each other though. "Yeah... We're fine."
"Glad to hear that. Just a sec." The teen turned around and easily threw the branch on a nearby dumpster. "There you go." He dusted off his hands before glancing at Axl and Pallette. "Uh... Are you two gonna stay like that?"
Axl and Pallette glanced at each other. Realising that they were almost hugging, they backed away from each other blushing slightly while the teen chuckled a bit.
X and the others walked up to them. "Axl, Pallette, you two okay?" Layer asked. "You really scared us."
"We're okay." Pallette said. "Thanks to him."
X glanced at the guy. "Thanks a lot for helping out our friends."
"Don't mention it." The teen said before noticing Zero clutching his shoulder as his arm rested on the sling. "You should really have that shoulder checked, Zero. Those bikers are up to no good for sure."
"Huh? How do you know..." Zero said as the mysterious guy walked away. "My name?"
"Who was that guy?" Faust asked.
"Dunno, dude, but I'm sure I've seen him somewhere." Vega replied.
"Yeah. He looked familiar to me too." Rigel added.
"I wonder how that guy knew Zero's name." Kazegama said.
"I'm not sure, but I'll get to the bottom of this!" Zero said before wincing due a sharp pain on his shoulder. "Ugh..."
"You won't get anywhere until your shoulder is properly tended, Zero." Alia said. "Otherwise, your arm might become useless."
"Alia's right." X said. "Let's go to the hospital."
Zero, looking disgruntled, nodded and the group headed to the nearest hospital.
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At an abandoned part of the city, the three bikers who had attacked the gang were gathered with another group of punks.
"You're saying you morons found the guy and his friends made fools outta you?!" The head biker, a tall punk wearing a purple leather jacket, black jeans, booths and a dark purple helmet that kept his wild black hair at bay and often concealed his bright red eyes, roared. "Idiots! Can't ya get a thing right?!"
"D-D-Don't be mad, boss!" One of the bikers said. "That guy dislocated his shoulder while trying to protect one of his friends. He should be an easy match for you now."
An evil grin appeared on the leader's face. "Guess you ain't that useless after all." He said before looking at his other men. "Get ready, everybody! We'll strike tomorrow!"
The punks cheered on that. "You're gonna pay for that humiliation, Zero!" He sneered. "Ya gonna pay..."
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At the Green Light House, on the next day...
"Okay. No more joking around." DMZ told the gang crossing his arms. He looked impatient.
"What are you talking about?" Axl asked.
"Get serious, Axl." StarZ said. "No one has to be a genius to know that something's up. X and Zero didn't show up at lunchtime, they're not here and whenever someone brings up the matter, you guys keep changing the subject. Needless to say, something happened yesterday and we want to know what it is."
Pallette sighed. "Something did happen last night."
"We didn't tell you guys because Zero asked us to do so." Layer added. "He said he'd rather do it himself."
"But where is he? And X?" Vee asked.
Suddenly, X and Zero walked into the Green Light House. Everybody was surprised to see Zero not wearing his jacket and having his left arm all bandaged up and resting on a sling while X carried his backpack for him.
"Zero?" Star gasped. "What happened?"
"I dislocated my shoulder." Zero replied flatly as he and X sat down.
X sighed. "The reason Zero and I didn't show up for lunch was because we had to go to the infermary to have Zero's bandages changed." He explained.
"Okay, but how did that happen?" Star asked.
The group told them about their run-in with the bikers and the mysterious teen that saved Axl and Pallette.
"Why were those punks after you?" Alpheon asked.
"According to those bikers, their boss ordered them to find the champion and tell him to prepare because payback time was coming." Rigel replied. "I'm not sure, but I think that they meant Zero when they said champion. After all, he did win a championship last year."
"So, the one in charge of those bikers must've lost to Zero during the last martial arts championship." Kazegama pointed out.
"That confirms the rumors of the leader having a score to settle with someone from the championship then." DMZ stated. "He might be trying to get to Zero by threatning people close to him. That could explain why he's making his men patrol the streets at night."
"You might have a point there, DMZ." Zero said with a growl. "When I get my hands on those scums..."
"Zero, take it easy." Layer said. "According to the doctor, it'll take at least two weeks for your shoulder to heal."
"Fine." Zero said as he turned around, sulking.
"Man, talk about a bad mood." Vega said.
"The dislocated shoulder wasn't Zero's only injury." Faust said. "His pride has been injured as well."
"That's my fault..." X sighed. "Zero only got hurt because he tried to protect me... Had I paid more attention to my surroundings, none of this would've happened."
"X..." Alia said.
"Quit blaming yourself, X." Zero said without turning around. "I did what I did because we're friends. You'd do the same in my place. You know that. If my shoulder's like this, it's my own fault, okay?"
"Zero..." X said.
"Hey, about that guy that saved Axl and Pallette..." StarZ started. "Was he really that strong?"
"Yup. He grabbed that huge tree branch and lifted it as if it was a bamboo stick!" Pallette replied. "We didn't get to ask his name though. The weird part was that he knew Zero."
"Really? Hhmmm..." Vee crossed his arms, thinking. "Hey, about that guy... Does he have fiery blond hair, light brown eyes and a green headband?"
Everybody looked at the little kid. "That's him!" Zero said turning around. "How do ya know that, Vee?"
"Easy: he's right over there!" Vee replied pointing to the gym. The unknown teen was there beating up a punching bag.
"Well, that's the guy alright." Axl said.
"Wait. I know him." Alpheon said. "That's Gargantuan."
"Yeah. He's from our class." DMZ added.
"No wonder that dude looked so familiar." Vega said. "Didn't know he was that strong."
"A fighter with the true strenght." Precursor Shadow suddenly said, drawing everybody's atention. "That kind of fighter doesn't show what he's made of that easily."
"What do you know about that guy?" Kazegama asked.
"What do I know? That's a good question." P. Shadow replied with a smirk. "What I know I told you already."
"Do you really have to talk in riddles?" Axl asked annoyed as Precursor Shadow chuckled in response.
"Well, all I know is that he usually works out here after school." Vee said.
"So, he's from our school and he hangs out here... I guess that explains how he knew Zero." Alia said.
"I'm not that sure." Zero said. "I'm sure I've seen him somewhere else before, but I can't figure out where."
"Well, he seems to be a nice person." Star said. "You could ask him some other time."
"Maybe..." Zero said.
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Later that day, X and Zero were walking home along with Axl, Alia, Layer and Pallette. "How's your arm, Zero?" Axl asked.
"Fine." Zero replied when he heard a noise. "Huh? What was that?"
"It sounded like someone fighting." Alia replied. "That could mean trouble."
"That's what I thought. Let's go check it out." Zero said running off.
"Zero! Wait!" Layer called in vain.
"Zero never learns, does he?" X asked with a sigh. "C'mon, we'd better follow him."
The group of friends ran after Zero and, a few minutes later, they found him standing in front of an abandoned building site.
Before anyone could ask what was going on, Zero shushed them with a raise of his hand and the he pointed towards the site. The gang became silent as they watched: a rather larger number of bikers were gathered while watching two of them fighting each other.
"Hey, it's those bikers from yesterday!" Pallette whispered.
"That must be their gang then." Axl pointed out. "Looks like they're getting ready for a big fight."
"I really don't like this." Alia said. "This sounds like serious trouble."
"Alia's right." Layer agreed. "They already attacked us yesterday. If we get caught, they'll attack again."
"Let's go." X decided. "Last thing we need is another fight."
The group, even Zero nodded in agreement. Slowly, they started backing away to leave when X accidentaly tripped up on an empty can that was knocked down making a loud noise that drew the atention of every biker in the site. "Darn!" X muttered under his breath.
"It's those kids from yesterday!" One of the bikers yelled.
In no time, X and his friends were surrounded. "Well, well, well... Look what the cat dragged in." The leader mocked as he walked towards Zero. "Long time no see, Zero."
"Huh? Vile?!" Zero said clenching one fist. "So you're the one behind this!"
"How nice... You remember me." Vile laughed glancing at X and Axl. "Still hanging out with those weaklings I see."
"Vile... Now I remember..." X said. "You're the one Zero beat at the championship finals last year!"
"Damn right, twerp!" Vile hissed. "And thanks to him, I've been laughing matter for months! Now it's payback time."
"If you wanted a rematch, you could've just asked." Zero said rolling his eyes. "But I think making your goons do the dirty work for a scum like you is so much easier."
"Always with the brave talk, huh, Zero?" Vile laughed, "I thought my boys could scare you, but I guess the great 'champion' doesn't get scared easily." A smirk. "So, I see you've dislocated your shoulder... What a pity."
"Enough with the PR." Zero growled. "What do ya want?"
"Isn't that obvious? I wanna a rematch!" Vile replied cracking his knuckle. "Right here! Right now!"
Zero narrowed his eyes. With his arm injured like that, he knew he wouldn't be able to fight for real.
"You coward!" Axl yelled. "Now you want to fight Zero 'cause your buddies made him hurt his shoulder!"
"Pide down, half pint!" Vile roared. "This is my area so we play by my rules!" An evil grin. "And to make things more interesting... I have an idea."
Vile snapped his fingers. A group of punks walked up to him, carrying something that looked like a huge battle hammer.
Layer gasped. "That's a weapon from the Hollow War!"
"It's amazing what you can find at old buildings." Vile smirked as he picked up the hammer without making any effort. "This is gonna be fun."
Without warning, Vile lunged at Zero at full speed, ready to smash him to bits. Thinking fast, Zero jumped out of the way as Vile brought down the hammer missing him just a mere inches. "Damn it..." Zero thought. "This is not good."
"Zero!" X yelled. He was about to go help him when one of the punks grabbed him. "What the?! Let me go!"
"X!" Zero yelled.
"Sorry, but no interference." Vile said snapping his fingers as the other punks grabbed Axl and the girls.
"Put me down, you jerk!" Pallette yelled trying to break free.
"Leave my friends outta this, Vile!" Zero hissed. "This is our fight!"
"How cute, you're more concerned about you little friends' sake than your own." Vile mocked. "Ain't that touching?"
"Screw what you think, you piece of crap!" Zero yelled lunging at him. "There's no way I'm gonna lose to a scumbag like you!"
With a burst of anger, Zero kicked Vile hard on the gut before using his good arm to punch him on the face. Vile staggered back a bit before falling on one knee clutching his stomach.
"Ugh... Why you?!" Vile roared getting up. "No more playing around, Zero! You're toast!"
Vile lunged at Zero trying to smash again, but he missed. However, he was now striking faster and harder, making it more difficult for Zero to dodge. "Okay... Better think of something or I'm a goner for sure." Zero thought.
X growled as he watched helpless as Zero fought to protect himself. "Zero needs help..." He thought. "I gotta do something."
"Whoa!!" Zero suddenly yelled. He had barely dodged a hammer blow, but he lost his balance and fell on his back.
"Now I have you right where I want ya!" Vile laughed as he raised the hammer above his head. "You're finished!"
"NO!" X yelled when his insticts kicked in. He elbowed the punk in the gut who gasped in pain and let go of him. Without wasting time, X lunged at Vile and rammed him as hard as he could into a half destroyed stone pillar.
"X?" Zero called looking surprised to see his best friend looking so angry and ready to fight anyone as he stood in front of him.
"Zero, you okay?" X asked softly as he helped Zero up.
Zero couldn't help but grin a bit. "Yeah. I'm fine." He said. "Thanks, X."
Vile recovered from X's attack and got up. He rubbed his forehead and found a small trickle of blood running down from it. "You!" He roared glaring at X. "Mind your own business!"
"Like I'll listen to a worthless street scum like you!" X said narrowing his eyes as he stood in front of Zero. "If you think I'm gonna stand idly while you try to hurt my friends, you're more idiot than you look!" He clenched his fists. "If you want a fight, bring it on!"
"You gotta be kidding me!" Vile laughed clutching his hammer. "Oh well, I'll take you both down!"
"X, get out of here!" Zero told his friend. "This has nothing to do with you! Get going now!"
"No, Zero. I got us into this mess." X said getting into a fighting stance. "And I'm getting us and our friends out!"
"X..." Zero said.
"Any last words before I crush you two to bits?" Vile mocked raising his huge battle hammer.
"How about you shut up?" A voice replied. Outta nowhere, two figures came out and landed in front of Vile, standing between him and X and Zero. At the same time, a small group attacked the bikers, releasing Axl and the girls.
"Alpheon! DMZ!" X and Zero said in unison. Then they glanced at Axl and the girls and found that StarZ and the others were the ones who had saved them.
"Hey, who said you guys could start the party without us?" Alpheon smirked.
"How did you find us?" X asked.
"Precursor Shadow saw you guys in trouble and he contacted us." Star replied. "We came as soon as we could."
"He did that?" Zero asked looking up. Precursor Shadow stood on the top of the unfinished building smirking at the group.
"Didn't see that coming." Axl said.
"Anyway, we're here." DMZ said looking at Vile. "That's the scum behind of the bikers, I suppose."
"You meddler are getting on my nerves!" Vile hissed glaring at his men. "Just don't stand there, idiots! Get them!"
"All right, let's finish this!" X said as the group got ready.
In a matter of minutes, a huge battle broke out.
"Make no prisoners! Take them all out!" Vile ordered.
"Shut up, you big oaf!" Alpheon said as he and DMZ double punched him on the gut, but that didn't make much damage.
"Jeez... You really should lay off the steroids." DMZ said as he and Alpheon dodged a hammer blow.
Meanwhile, Axl, Star and StarZ were busy with a bunch of punks.. "Do you guys always have that knack for trouble?" StarZ asked punching one punk.
"Hey, don't look at me." Axl said kicking another one down. "They started this mess." He dodged another punk's punches and then knocked him down. "Where's Zero?"
"I think he's with X. I asked Vee to find them and... Back off!!!" Star yelled throwing over her shoulder a biker that was trying to sneak up on her. "Man, I hate these guys... Come on, we'd better make sure they're okay."
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Alia, Layer and Pallette found themselves facing one really big and strong punk. "Three girls? No fair." He said with a mocking tone. "This will be so fast it won't be any fun at all."
"Don't understimate us, buster." Alia said getting into a defensive stance. "We're tougher than we look."
"Oh yeah? Then prove it!" The giant roared lunging at the trio.
"You asked for it!" Layer said. As the giant approached, she jumped up and kicked him on the chin, making him lose his balance. "Now!"
Alia and Pallette ran up to the punk and knocked him dow with a double kick. "All right!" Pallette cheered jumping up and down. "We did it!"
However the punk was soon back up again. "I think you spoke a bit too soon." Alia said.
"Not bad... For a bunch of girls." The punk mocked rubbing his face. "That actually hurt. Guess I'll have to hurt you girls for real now!"
Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder. The punk turned around only to be sucker punched on the face by a stranger. "Better think again, hot-shot!" The stranger said as the punk blacked out before glancing at the girls. "You all okay?"
The three girls were suprised to see whot it was. The newcomer just smiled at them. "Looks like you girls and your friends could use some help."
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"Dude, talk about an annoying bunch." Vega thought as he fought his way past a group of bikers. "Back off!!" He yelled knocking them down with a spin kick. "Now where are the others?"
A large biker tried to sneak up on Vega, but he was hit on the back of the head by Faust and knocked out. "You really need to watch yourselv, my friend." He said as Vega turned around.
"Thanks, dude." Vega smirked. "Say, where's everybody?"
Before Faust could reply, the punks Vega had previously knocked down got up and surrounded them. "I don't know, but I hope they arrive soon." Faust said ans they backed away from the punks.
As the two frineds were in trouble, P. Shadow watched everything from the to of the old building. "Man, those guys really know how to get in a mess." He said glancing to his left. A small support prevented a pile of barrels from falling off. A smirk. "Hmm... That could work."
With a quick move of his wrist, Precursor Shadow wipped out a card and threw it at the support, knocking it over and unleashing the barrels that fell on the punks knocking them out.
"Whoa..." Vega said before glancing at P. Shadow with a grin. "Yo! PS! Thanks for the help!"
"Just watch your back, okay?" P. Shadow smirked as he landed next to them. "You should go after pals. They need some help."
"Why didn't you say so?" Faust said. "Let's go!"
A few yards from there, Rigel and Kazegama hid behind some old gallons from two bikers. "Where the heck did those brats go?" One of them asked as they walked past the two ninjas' hideout wihtout noticing them.
"I don't know, but if we don't find them, the boss is gonna kill us!" The other said as they ran off.
Slowly, Rigel and Kazegama left their hide out. "Close one..." Kazegama said as he looked around. "The coast is clear, but I don't see Alpheon and the others around here."
"They must be here somewhere." Rigel stated.
As the two teens tried to figure out what to do, Kazegama suddenly felt someone behind him. "Kyah!" He yelled as he spunned arund ready to punch whoever was trying to sneak up on him. However, his fist stopped as few inches from the stranger's face as he found out that it was Vega. "Huh? Vega?"
"Whoa, easy, dude. This is one faced that doesn't deserver to be pummeled." Vega joked. "You two ok?"
"Yeah, we're fine." Rigel replied as she saw Faust and Precursor Shadow walking up to them. "I'm glad to see you guys."
"Likewise, but some of our friends are still missing." Faust said. "We must regroup before more unwanted guests appear."
"The kid's got a point." P. Shadow said. "Let's roll."
The group nodded and ran off.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
X and Zero had their backs to each other. They were on the look out for more bikers. "I think we're safe for the time being." X said glancing at Zero who was rubbing his injured shoulder. "You okay, Zero?"
"Yeah... Just a bit sore." Zero replied before wincing. "Ow..."
"If you keep pushing yourself too hard, your shoulder'll get worse." X frowned. "We need to find the others and get out of here."
As they were talking, a shadow quickly approached them. When the two realised they were being watched, the shadow landed in front of them, similing. It was Vee. "X! Zero! There you are!" Vee squealed waving his arms.
X and Zero smiled a bit, glad to see the little kid. "Good to see you too, squirt." Zero smirked. "Where are the others?"
Suddenly, the trio heard a loud yell. They turned around and saw Vile being knocked down by and uppercut from DMZ and a low kick from Alpheon. "Had enough?" DMZ asked.
Vile got up. "That didn't even leave a scratch." He hissed before spotting X, Zero and Vee. He grinned and picked up his huge battle hammer. "I've got bigger fishes to catch."
"Oh, really?" A voice suddenly asked. "Maybe I can suit up to your fighting needs, buster."
Everybody looked up as a stranger walked up into the area. Zero and X quickly recognized him. "Gargantuan?" X asked confused. "What's he doing here?"
"He helped us out." Alia replied as she and the others arrived. "He said he had heard the commotion so he decided to investigate."
Vile stared at Gargantuan in complete disbelief. "Gate?!" He yelled. "Why the hell are you helping out those brats?!"
"Gate?" Zero said surprised. "Wait a minute... I've heard that name before..." Finally, it hit him. "No way..."
"The name's Gargantuan." Gargantuan said cracking his knuckles. "I always heard that sore losers were cowards, but I didn't think someone could go as low as you."
"Why, you little?!" Vile roared lunging at the younger teen ready to pummel hims with his hammer. "You're going down!"
"Look out!" X yelled.
Gargantuan just held his ground. When Vile tried to smash him, he simply grabbed the hammer's handle with his bare hands!
"No way!" One of the bikers yelled. "No one's strong lile the boss!"
"I don't think Gargantuan's as strong as Vile." Axl said. "He's way STRONGER!"
No matter how hard Vile tried, he simply couldn't get the hammer back. Gargantuan, on the other hand, didn't seem to be trying too hard to keep his grasp on it. "Argh! You little runt!" Vile yelled furious. "Let go!"
"Hmpf! Talk about a lame fighter." Gargantuan said snatching the hammer away from Vile. "If you have to rely on weapons like this one and cowardly tactics to beat someone, you're more pathetic than you look." With that, he snapped the hammer's handle in two and tossed it away.
Everybody was amazed and shocked by Gargantuan's display of strenght. "Holy crap!" A punk said. "That hammer was made of pure metal and that kid snapped it like a twig!"
"Whoa... That dude IS strong!" Vega said in awe.
"Damn it!" Vile roared. "You're gonna pay for that!"
Taking that as a cue, one of the punks charged at Gargantuan hoping to ambush the younger fighter.
Luckily, X realised wha what he was up to and quickly acted. "Gargantuan!" He yelled. "Behind you!"
Hearing X, Gargantuan turned around just in time to grab the punk's fist before he could hit him. "Gah! What the?!" The punk gasped.
"You asked for it!" Gargantuan yelled. Without warning, he punched the punk so hard on the face it sent him flying. The punk crashed through a wooden fence and landed on a car parked nearby. That made the car's alarms went off.
"Something tells me that's a bad thing." StarZ said.
"Nah, ya think so?" DMZ said as he heard sirens. "Here comes the cops."
"Let's scram!" Vile yelled as he and his gang ran away.
"Hmpf. Always running away when things get rough." Zero said. "That's Vile alright."
"We'd better get going too." Alpheon said. "I don't think the police officers would believe in us about this whole ordeal."
"Let's split up." X decided. "That way we can avoid being ambushed by Vile and his bunch. We'll meetat the Green Light House as soon as possible. Let's go!"
Without wasting time, the group ran away.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
As Zero, X and Star ran, the young girl found that something wasn't right. "Guys, Vee's gone!" She said. "He was here with me a second ago!"
The trio stopped running. "He must've gotten separated from us while running away." Zero stated.
"Star, take Zero and go meet the others. I'll go back to find Vee." X said. "I'll meet up with you later."
Before his friends could argue, X turned around and took off on a swift run. "X..." Star said. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"Of course he is." Zero said. "No matter what the odds may be, X can beat them." He added smiling. However, deep inside, he had a bad feeling. "Take care, buddy." He thought before glancing at Star. "Let's go."
Star nodded and they left.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
X hid behind a tree as some bikers ran past him. "Vile's goons are everywhere..." He whispered. "I've gotta find Vee and fast."
After the bikers left, X walked out of his hiding spot and glanced at his PET. "He's around here somewhere..." He put the PET away and looked around. "Vee! Vee, where are you?"
Some fighting noises coming from an alley answered his question. Heading towards the sound, X found Vee facing off a biker that was three times the little kid's size. The young teen gasped. "Vee?!"
"Hold still, you little brat!" The biker yelled trying to grab Vee, but the little kid kept dodging.
"Like I'll listen to some stupid scumface like you! Back off!" Vee yelled. He gave the punk a sommersault kick that hit him on the chin and knocked him into some trash cans, out cold.
X was surprised. Not only with Vee's skill, but with his behaviour as well. At times he didn't act like the little boy he and his friends knew. "Vee?" X called softly as he slowly approached him. "Vee, you okay?"
Vee spunned around with his fists clenched and ready to fight. However, when he saw it was X, Vee smiled and dropped his fighting stance. "X!" He squealed as he threw himself into X's arms. "I'm so glad to see you!"
X couldn't help but smiling at the little boy. "I'm happy to see you too, Vee." He said. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I'm okay." Vee replied. "While we were running, that big jerk grabbed me and dragged me into this alley. He said something about grabbing one of the champion's friends so his boss could have his revenge."
"Vile... Can't he and his goons get any lower than this?" X growled. "Don't worry, Vee. Everything will be okay."
"What about Star? And the others?" Vee asked.
"They're safe." X replied. "Let's go, they're waiting for us."
Vee nodded with a smile. However, his smile vanished whe he saw a shadow looming over X while holding a huge iron bar.
"Vee? Vee, what's the matter?" X asked as he noticed Vee's sudden worried expression.
As the shadow raised the bar above X's head, Vee gasped. "X! BEHIND YOU!" Vee suddenly yelled.
X quickly turned around. However he wasn't fast enough. All he saw was the bar quickly descending and then a sickening crack was heard as X fell to the ground, wide eyed, with blood dribbling everywhere, staining his jacket and his cap that now lied on the ground.
"X?! X, you okay?" Vee yelled rushing to his side. "X, please, get up!"
Shaking his throobing head, X struggled back to his feet, but the injury took its tool on him. As the shadow neared them, X tried to focus his eyes as the shadow appeared in two.
"HA HA HA! Your concern for your friends will be your downfall, X!" Vile laughed as he walked out of the shadows holding the blood stained bar. "I may not be able to beat Zero, but I'll have the pleasure of taking one of his best friends down!"
"V-Vile... You won't get... away with... this..." X groaned trying to get up, with very little success, though.
"Hah, face it, X, you can't do a thing agaisnt me now!" Vile mocked before spotting Vee standing next to X. "Hmm... I might as well take out this little runt with you."
X narrowed his eyes. He was hurt alright, but that wasn't gonna stop him from protecting his young friend. "You can do... whatever you want with me..." X growled. "But I won't... let you... hurt Vee..."
"X..." Vee whispered before glaring at Vile. "You monster! You're nothing but a sick, no good, spineless coward!"
"Well, what do ya know? The rascal got guts." Vile said amused looking at Vee. "Wanna take me own, twerp?"
"V-Vee... Leave me..." X whispered. "Get out of here..."
"No! I won't leave you, X!" Vee yelled standing in front of X while clenching his fists. "You're my friend, X. I can't leave you behind!"
"Vee..." X groaned. His vision was getting blurry and he was slowly losing conscience. "Please, go..."
"Don't worry. I'll finish you both quickly!" Vile said raising the bar. "Say good night, you brats!"
Vile was about to bring down the bar when someone grabbed it and yanked it off his hands. "HEY!" Vile yelled truning around. "What's the big...?!"
The head biker was cut off by a hard punch on the face that shattered the helmet's visor into pieces. Vile staggered back a bit before he collapsed completely out cold.
"That'll teach ya!" The one who had punched Vile said while rubbing his fist. "Pick someone that can fend for oneself, will ya?"
Vee glanced at his and X's saviour. "Wow..." He said in awe when a soft groan caught his atention. He quickly glanced at X whose bleeding wouldn't stop. "X, hang in there!"
X felt himself getting weaker. His head was spinning and he could only hear muffled sounds while Vee tried to tell him something and the stranger walked up to them. X tried to see who it was, but all he saw was blurs. "Ze-Zero..." He whispered as everything around him faded and he blacked out.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The gang was gathered in front of the Green Light House where they waited for X, Zero, Star and Vee.
"Where are they?" Axl asked pacing around.
"Easy, Axl." Kazegama said to calm the younger teen. "I know the others will arrive here anytime soon."
As Kazegama finished his sentence, StarZ spotted someone approaching them. "Hey, here they come!" He said.
Star and Zero arrived. "Are you two okay?" Layer asked.
"Yeah, no problems." Zero replied. "What about you guys?"
"Asides from an ocasional scracth, we're fine." DMZ replied.
Star looked around. Someone was missing. "Where are X and Vee?"
The gang exchanged glances. "They haven't arrived yet." Alia replied. "We thought they were with you."
Zero frowned. "Vee got separated from us so while we were running away." He said. "X went back to find him."
"Shouldn't them be here by now?" Faust asked.
"Maybe they're hiding, dudes." Vega suggested. "That area is probably infested with bikers so it must be pretty dangerous even with the cops around."
Star picked her PET and pressed a few buttons. "I've got a bad feeling about this.X, Vee, it's me, Star. Can you hear me?" She called hoping to get an answer, but there was none. "X, Vee, can you hear me? Please respond." She called once again and there was no answer. She glanced at the others worried. "No good... I can't contact them."
Rigel checked her PET. "And they're out of the tracking range too..." She said with a frown. "Where could they be?"
"There's just one way to find out." Alpheon said. "I'm going back to find them."
"It's too dangerous, Alpheon." Pallette said. "Those bikers could still be around the area."
"Don't worry about me." Alpheon smirked. "I'm a ninja, you know. They won't spot me that easily."
"Still, it's kinda crazy going there on your own." Kazegama said while Vega and Rigel nodded in agreement. "We can join ya if you want."
Alpheon thought for an instant. "Guess you're right. Let's move out, ninjas!" He said before looking at Zero. "If we find any sign of them, we'll contact you asap."
Zero nodded. The four ninjas climbed a nearby fire stairway and started running across the rooftops. In a matter of seconds, they were gone.
"This is a waste of time." Precursor Shadow said with a shrug.
Axl glared at him. "How can you say that at a time like this?!" He asked angry. "Don't you care about X or Vee?"
"Don't get me wrong, kiddo. I just think that going back won't do any good." P. Shadow said walking away.
"And what do ya suggest us to do?!" StarZ asked crossing his arms. "Sit here and hope they return?!"
P. Shadow stopped walking. "If you really wanna a suggestion, go look somewhere else." He said without turning around. "It's really up to you." With that, he left.
"Why, the nerve of that guy!" Axl growled. He was about to run after P. Shadow when an arm in front of him stopped him. It was DMZ. "Huh? DMZ?"
"Take it easy." DMZ said. "That guy has his own way to deal with things. What he says may not make sense at first, but he's been known to know more than he's telling."
Faust crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. "If going back won't help us find X and Vee... That could mean that something serious must've happened with them!" He concluded. "Something that made them head somewhere else instead of meeting us here."
Everybody glanced at the young musician. "Precursor Shadow probably knew that and for that reason he left." Alia stated before sighing. "X and Vee could be anywhere..."
DMZ started walking away. "Well, no use staying here." He said. "I'll take a look around the area."
StarZ and Faust glanced at each other and nodded. "We'll tag along." StarZ decided. "We'll have better chances that way."
DMZ nodded and the trio left.
"Should we head out too?" Layer asked.
Zero clenched one fist. "I'm going after them." He said. "You guys wait here in case they show up."
Zero was about to leave when Axl placed a hand on his shoulder. "Zero, you can't go alone." He said. "What if you ran into trouble? You won't be able to fight with your arm like that."
Zero growled. He didn't want to admit, but he knew Axl was right. Still, he couldn't simply sit around knowing that two of his closest friends were missing and they could be in trouble.
"Zero, I understand that how you must be feeling." Star said. "I know you're worried about X and Vee, but that's no excuse for heading out on your own and getting yourself into trouble."
"Star..." Zero said looking at her.
Star gave her friend the warmest smile. "Let's go together, guys. If we're gonna get in trouble, we might as well get in trouble together. Besides, sitting here won't do us any good."
The group nodded in agreement. Zero smiled weakly. "Thanks, Star." He said. "Let's go!"
The six friends left.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Pain... That was the first thing X felt when he woke up. His head hurt so much it felt like was gonna explode. Also he felt sick, as if his stomach had been turned upside down.
Slowly, X opened his eyes. At first, his vision was blurry, but it became clearer after X blinked a few times and the young teen found himself resting on someone's bed. "Huh? Where am I?" X whispered to himself before groaning. "Ugh... My head... What happened with me?"
X tried to recall what had happened, but he couldn't focus due the pain. "Gah... It hurts too much even to think straight..." He sighed. "Why can't I remember what happened?"
The young teen slowly managed to get himself into a sitting position though a wave of dizziness hit him, making him feel sick. "Argh..." X clutched his head in pain.
After his dizziness stopped, X scanned his surroundings. He was at a small bedroom. Glancing at himself, X found out that he was wearing only his white t-shirt and his jeans. Rubbing his head, he found some bandages wrapped around it. He winced when he touched a wounded spot of his forehead though.
"Ow... Now I know why my head hurts so much..." X said glancing at the window. Not knowing where he was and being unable to remember what had happened made him feel uneasy. "I can't stay here... I don't know why, but I have to get out of here."
X slowly got off the bed. His legs woobled a bit so he had to rest his back against the wall before moving on. With every step he took, stronger waves of nausea hit him and he felt dizzier. Despite that, X kept moving. However, when he was almost at the door, a really strong wave of dizziness hit him making X lose his balance and collapse.
As that happened, the door opened. "What are you doing?!" X heard someone gasping as he suddenly stopped falling. "You musn't stand! You're injured!"
X felt himself being lifted by someone who carried him and placed him back on the bed. X held his head, groaning a bit. He felt like the entire room was spinning.
"The blow was harder than I thought." The person told X. "Maybe you should lie down a bit, X."
After X's head stopped spinning, he was able to look at the person that had helped him. When he did so, he was surprised to see who it was. "Gargantuan?"
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Alpheon sighed as he and the other ninjas landed on a rooftop. They were back at the battle site, but there was no sign of X or Vee. "This is gonna be harder than I thought." He said. "Any luck, guys?"
"Dude, those bikers are everywhere!" Vega replied as he looked on the alley below them. Several bikers ran around the area. "They seem to be looking for something, but I don't see our friends around here."
Rigel glanced at her PET. "And there's no sign of them on the PET either." She frowned. "I'm getting worried..."
Kazegama was about to speak up when somehitng caught his attention. "Hey, guys, check this out!" He said.
The four friends watched as a group of bikers ran down the streets carrying an unconcious guy with them. One the gang knew too well. "Hey, it's the bikers' leader, Vile!" Vega pointed out. "What happened with him?"
"Looks like someone taught him a good lesson." Kazegama replied. "The helmet's got a broken visor and Vile's got a broken nose. It's even bleeding a bit." Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. "Hey, you guys think X got into a fight with Vile?"
"There's no way X could've done that damage. It's just not like him." Alpheon replied crossing his arms. "Then again..."
"Right now, that is not important, guys." Rigel said. "We still don't know where they are..."
"She's got a point, dude." Vega said, "If they're not here, they must be at somewhere else, but where?"
"We won't find out if we just stand here." Kazegama replied.
Alpheon nodded. "Point taken." He said. "Let's go, ninjas!"
The four ninjas kept searching.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
X couldn't help but being surprised. "I must be at Gargantuan's house." He thought. "But how did I get here?"
"Hey, X, you okay?" Gargantuan asked noticing the young teen's confused look. "You seem awfully…out there."
X tried to reply, but his head started hurting again. "Argh..." He groaned clutching his head.
"That answers my question." Gargantuan crossed his arms. "Actually, I'm surprised to see you awake so soon. I mean, you got a serious concussion and..."
"A concussion?" X glanced at him confused. "What happened?"
"All in due time." Gargantuan replied. "First, I need you to tell me what you do remember."
X frowned, but nodded. "Well... Last thing I remember was talking with Vee and..." He gasped. "Vee! Where's he? Is he okay?"
Suddenly, the door opened and Vee walked into the room. "You're awake!" He squealed happy. "You okay, X?"
X let out a relieved sigh before smiling weakly. "I am now, Vee." He said patting the little tyke on the head.
"I'll take you remembered everything." Gargantuan stated.
X glanced at him and nodded. "Yeah... Everything's coming back." He said. "Me and my friends got into a fight with Vile and his bikers... You helped us out... When Vee and I were trying to leave the area, Vile ambushed us... He hit me and... Last thing I remember was seeing someone punching him and then everything went black..." A pause. "That was you, wasn't it?"
Gargantuan nodded with a small smirk. "Yep. That was me." He replied. "Well, your memory seems to be working fine which means there was no internal damage. You might have one nasty headache, though."
"Tell me about it..." X sighed rubbing his head. "By the way, Gargantuan, I didn't get to thank you for helping me and Vee out. Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Gargantuan said smiling. "So, asides from the headache, how ya feeling, X?"
"Honestly, I feel kinda sick and weak..." X replied. "I can barely move my limbs and my head feels light..."
Vee looked at Gargantuan with a worried look. "That isn't a good sign, is it?" He asked.
"Don't worry. It's not that serious." Gargantuan replied as he picked two pillows that were lying on the groud before placing them on the bed so X could rest his back on them. "Confusion, nausea, tiredness, weakness... Those are common symptons of a concussion. All X needs is a good rest and he'll get better soon."
"Wow... You're so smart, Gargantuan!" Vee said amazed. "How do ya know so much?"
Gargantuan was silent at first. "Well... You're bound to learn a thing or two when you spend nearly your whole life as a street fighter." He finally replied.
Both X and Vee were surprised. "A street fighter?" They said in unison.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
StarZ, along with DMZ and Faust, was in front of the school. The trio had no idea of where their friends could be. "Any sign of them on the PET, Faust?" He asked.
"I'm afraid not." Faust frowned. "I'm not picking any reading from their PETs or I'm able to contact them."
DMZ crossed his arms. "Something's up." He said. "Knowing X, by now he would've at least contacted us. Specially if Vee was with him."
"Do you think something happened with him?" Faust asked.
"Well, my guess on what could've happened is that X could've been ambushed by Vile's goons while looking for Vee." StarZ replied. "But if that was the case, Vee would've met us at the meeting spot... We're missing something here."
"Nice grasp of the obvious, kid." Precursor Shadow said walking up to them with a smirk. "That's some progress."
"Okay, wise guy, and what did you find?" StarZ asked annoyed.
"Me? Well... I found a little something." P. Shadow said dropping his smirk. "But I don't think you'd want to see it."
"Knock it off and show us already." DMZ said looking impatient.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn ya." Precursor Shadow said showing them what he had found.
The three friends gasped. P. Shadow had showed the a blood stained, sky blue cap. "By Jove..." Faust said with a trembling voice. "That hat... It belongs to X!"
"Where did you find this?" DMZ asked.
"Near the subway station." P. Shadow replied. "It was being carried away by the wind."
"The subway? But that's like ten blocks from where we last saw X." StarZ pointed out. "The wind's not strong enough to carry it that far."
"I'm starting to think your whole 'X being ambushed' theory might be right." DMZ said looking at Precursor Shadow. "Any signs of Vee?"
"Negative. All I found was X's cap." P. Shadow replied. "However, I did see some punks running around the place saying something about their boss being beaten up really badly."
"Someone beat Vile up?" Faust asked confused. "Who?"
"Meh, don't ask me." Precursor Shadow shrugged. "That's all what I heard."
StarZ raised an eyebrow. "You guys think X had something to do with that?" He asked.
"This doesn't look like X's doing..." DMZ replied. "Even if it was to protect someone, he wouldn't go that far."
"We're missing some pieces of this puzzle." Faust sighed. "In order to find our friends' whereabouts, we need to figure that mystery out."
"So, now what?" Precursor Shadow asked.
Suddenly, DMZ's PET started beeping. He picked it up and glanced at the monitor. "It's an e-mail from Star." He said before he started reading the message. "Alpheon's group and ours haven't found them yet. What about you guys? By the way, Zero asked me to tell you guys to meet us at his place by nightfall if you don't find them. Star."
"Looks like the others' luck is as bad as ours." StarZ said.
"Should we report to Zero what we have uncovered?" Faust asked.
"Hhmmm... No. At least, not yet." DMZ replied. "The girls would probably freak out if we told them we found X's cap stained with blood. Let's keep looking. We still have some time."
"That works for me." P. Shadow shrugged.
Faust and StarZ nodded in agreement and the group left.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Gargantuan sighed. He kinda expected X and Vee's reaction. "Guess you two didn't expect that, huh?" He scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I guess so." X replied. "There hasn't been many records of street fighters since the end of the Hollow War."
"In a way, you're right." Gargantuan said as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "Better sit down. This is gonna be a long story." A short breath. "Have you ever heard about a man named Gate?"
Looking confused, Vee shook his head before he sat at the edge of the bed.
"Wait. I think I have." X said. "He was one of the most brilliant scientists before the war, but when it broke out, he became one of the most powerful warriors that ever fought on it."
"Cool..." Vee said. "Hey, now I remember. Vile called you Gate when you showed up to help us. Why?"
"That's because... We have quite a lot in common." Gargantuan replied earning some odd looks from the younger boys. "I'll explain: most people don't know, but Gate changed his own body in order to become a fighting machine. After the war was over, he became a legend as the unbeatable street fighter." A sigh. "That is, until he was captured by some former henchmen of Sigma that survived the battle. They planned to carry on thei master's legacy using Gate's DNA."
X gasped. He knew where Gargantuan was getting at. "They... They planned to to create an army of super soldiers using his DNA?!"
Gargantuan nodded. "You catch things pretty quickly." He said. "Anyway, that's right. They used Gate as a lab subject and copied his DNA hoping to create the ultimate soldiers and, after they got what they wanted... They disposed of him."
"That's... That's awful..." Vee said. "Wait, but if they got rid of Gate and he was the only one that knew how to change one's body, how could they create an army of super men?"
"That's the point..." Gargantuan said as his expression grew darker. "They didn't use men on their experiments..."
X stared at Gargantuan, shocked. "So, you're saying... That the reason to why you're so strong is because..."
"They experimented on newly born orphans..." Gargantuan said looking away. "Since a baby's body is fragile and it's still developing itself, they assumed it'd be easier to change it. They injected the babies with some liquid that contained Gate's DNA and that slowly changed their body structure." A sigh. "I was one of those babies and the only one that survived their experiments... Luckily, the authorities found out their plans and all people involved were arrested. As for me, I was sent to an orphanage so I'd grew up like a normal kid."
A long silence fell over them. X didn't know what to say. Gargantuan had just saved his and Vee's lifes and now he was telling them his story regardless of how painful it was. "Gargantuan..." He whispered. "I'm sorry..."
Vee said nothing. With a sob he hugged the elder teen.
Gargantuan smiled weakly as he patted Vee's head. "It's okay, guys..." He said looking at X. "No matter how painful a memory may be, we can always find the strenght to move on. That's what I believe."
X slowly nodded. "So... How did you find this out?"
"Well... As you might have noticed, I'm a lot stronger than your average 17-year-old guy. And it's been like that since I was a little squirt like Vee." Gargantuan replied. "Because of my strenght, most kids at the orphanage were afraid that I could hurt them, even unintentionally, so they'd stay away from me. When I turned twelve, the orphanage caretaker gave me and old book containing notes about Gate, the experiments and their effects on my body. He said that, if I understood why I was so strong, I would be able to control my strenght and make good use of it."
"So, you became a street fighter in order to hone your skills and become a true warrior like Gate?" X asked.
"Basically, yeah." Gargantuan replied. "I figured that becoming like him was the best way to control my strenght. I got int several fights and faced all kinds of opponents: robbers, bikers, martial artists and even gang leaders that fought back in the Hollow War. Due my victories, I guess you can say I gained quite a reputation in the city underworld."
"And that's how Vile knew you?" Vee asked.
"Yeah. More than once, street gangs faced me trying to force me to join them, but I'd always refuse so they'd face me in a battle. Of course, I'd always beat them up." Gargantuan answered. "In no time, I've become known as the new Gate, the street fighter. But, no matter how many times I won, no matter how many opponents I beat, I simply couldn't unleash my true potential. The random fights I used to pick made no more sense to me, but I only realised that after fighting two guys."
"Who are they?" X asked.
"One is a kid around your age, X." Gargantuan replied. "We bumped into each other one day. I was in a bad mood, so we ended up fighting." A chuckle. "We fought so far and for so long that we both fell down exhausted. In the end, we called it a draw and became good friends."
"Cool!" Vee said. "And who is the other one?"
"You two know him better than me." Gargantuan smirked a bit. "The other one is your good friend... Zero."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Zero, Axl and the girls walked down the street. They were heading to Zero and Axl's places to meet up with the others. The sun was setting and they still had no idea of X and Vee's whereabouts.
"Damn it!" Zero suddenly hissed as he brought up his good arm and punched a nearby wall. "This is all my fault... I knew I shouldn't have let him go alone!"
The others turned around. "Don't beat yourself up about it, Zero." Layer said. "You know X better than any of us: if a friend's in trouble he won't hesitate in facing danger alone to help."
"I know, but that doesn't change the fact that I was the one who got us into a fight with Vile and his goons." Zero said looking away.
"If there's anyone to blame here, that's Vile and his bunch, Zero." Axl crossed his arms. "They started this mess. We didn't."
Zero remained silent. Anyone that knew him could tell he was worried. Along with Axl, X had been Zero's best friend eversince he could remember so it was natural that he felt responsable for them. As for Vee, everybody felt responsable for the kid of the group and Zero was no exception.
"I know things doesn't look good, guys, but we can't give up." Star said. "I'm sure X and Vee are safe and..." A sudden beep from her PET cut her off. "Huh? It must be DMZ!"
Star picked her PET as the others gathered around her. "Yup. It's DMZ's reply." She said before reading the message. "So far we haven't found them, but we found something that might help us. We'll call you if we find them. Otherwise, we'll meet you by nightfall. DMZ."
"I wonder what DMZ's group found." Pallette said.
"I'm not sure." Alia said. "It's strange that he didn't say what they'd found."
"I think DMZ wants to make sure that whatever they found will be of any real help." Star said glancing at her PET. "Hey, there's another message here."
"From who?" Axl asked.
"It's from the City Communication Department." Star replied. "It says here that the communication between PETs might not be working properly. The East Sector Server had to be temporarly shut down for maintence."
"East Sector? That's where we were when this whole thing started." Layer said. "That explains why we can't contact X or track him donw. The tracking program requires data from all four city servers to work. Without them, the program is useless."
"That makes sense, but I think we're missing something else here." Pallette said. "Something important."
Zero suddenly remembered. "Gargantuan..."
The group stared at him. "What about him?" Star asked.
"Wait, now that you mentioned it, we haven't seen him since we split up after that whole mess." Alia said.
"Hey, that reminds me. I saw him running back to the battle site after we split up." Axl said. "He looked worried about something."
"Okay... That's weird and all, but it doesn't help us much now..." Star sighed. "It's getting dark. The others must be waiting for us."
The group nodded and walked away. "It's too much of a coincidence that he vanished right after those two did." Zero thought as he followed the others. "If Gargantuan is who I think he really is, then there's more about this whole story than it seems."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"You gotta be kidding!" Vee said surprised. "You're saying you and Zero fought before?"
"Yep. You heard it right." Gargantuan replied looking at X. "You probably remember that match, don't you, X?"
"That's it..." X said. "Now I know why Zero thought you two had met before... It was at the last championship."
Gargantuan nodded. "That's right." He said. "That happened a while after I met that friend of mine. I entered the tournament to test my skills. I easily made it to the semi finals when I faced Zero." A grin. "Talk about a fight."
Flashback.
Gargantuan stretched his arms. So far, hed had faced just weaklings. "Man, this is a waste of time." He said to himself. "Bet the next match will be as short as the last ones."
"Would you like to make a bet on that statement?" A voice asked.
Gargantuan turned around. Zero stood a few feet from him with his arms crossed while looking at him. "You're Zero, right?" Gargantuan asked looking at him. "What do you want?"
"Just wanted to meet ya before the match." Zero replied walking up to him. "After all, it's not everyday I get to meet the legendary street fighter in person. Isn't right, Gate?"
Gargantuan blinked surprised. "How do you know who I am?"
"The background doesn't lie." Zero said. "Your fighting style, knuckles wrapped in bandages and clothes full of thorns... It wasn't hard to put two and two together."
Gargantuan chuckled. "Well, you're quite the detective." He said. "Anyway, Gate is just a nickname. My real name's Gargantuan."
"So, you could've just used your alias to sign up." Zero said. "You have quite a rep, you know."
"True, but if I did that, I bet all the other fighters would chicken out before the matches started." Gargantuan smirked.
Zero smirked. "Most people would, but not me." He said. "I'm not the kind of guy that refuses a good challenge."
"Heh, confident, aren't ya?" Gargantuan said amused. "Well, I just hope you're as skilled as you're streetwise."
"Trust me, you won't get dissapointed." Zero said when he heard someone calling him. "My friends are calling me. See you at the arena."
Gargantuan watched as Zero walked towards X and Axl. "Those two are even younger than me." He thought. "That Zero guy is unusual."A smirk. "This will be good, after all."
A few minutes later, Zero and Gargantuan stood at the main arena, ready to face each other. X and Axl were at the stands, cheering for their blond friend.
"Go for it, Zero!" Axl cheered.
"You can do it!" X added.
Gargantuan smirked. "You got quite a fan club, huh, Zero?"
"Whatever." Zero said assuming a fighting stance. "You ready?"
"You bet!" Gargantuan said doing the same. "Let's do this!"
The referee stood between both teens. "Ladies and gentlemen, the semi final round is about to start!" He said as the crowd went wild. "Let the fight begin!"
As soon as the referee was out of the way, Zero and Gargantuan charged at each other with their fists clenched.
"YAH!" They yelled in unison as they threw simultaneous punches at each other. When they fists collided, the impact sent both teens staggering backwards.
"Whoa...He packs quite a punch." Gargantuan thought steadying himself. "That was the first time someone paired an attack of mine like that."
Quickly, Gargantuan ducked to dodge a roundhouse kick from Zero. "Close, but not close enough!" He smirked as he took the opportunity to grab Zero's leg and lift him in the air.
Thinking fast, Zero spinned in the air to land back on his feet. Without wasting time, he counter attacked with quick jabs.
Gargantuan quickly attacked with fast blows as well to counter Zero's. Each time he managed to hit the blond teen, Gargantuan was hit as well. "Man, that guy means business." Gargantuan thought as he tried to dodge some punches before smirking a bit. "Time to get serious!"
Without warning, Gargantuan threw a punch with all his might. Zero, realising he wouldn't be able to block that, did a backflip and avoided being hit by a few inches. However, Gargantuan's fist hit the ground covering the arena with cracks!
The whole crowd watched, wide-eyed and mouth-opened, as Gargantuan got up and faced Zero again. The blond teen seemed rather surprised. "Impressed, Zero?" He smirked.
"Kinda." Zero smirked back at him. "Knew you were strong, but not that much." He got into an attacking stance. "But it'll take more than that to beat me."
Gargantuan narrowed his eyes. "How can he stay so darn calm?" He thought panting a bit. "I used nearly all my strenght on that last blow... I gotta finish this, right here, right now!" He clenched his fist. "Okay, Zero, this ends now!" He yelled charging at him.
"Bring it on!" Zero said doing the same.
As both teens approached each other, they tried to punch each other once again. However, unlike the previous time, their fists didn't collide. Instead, they hit each other's faces at the same time!
The whole crowd became slient as everyone watched in awe as both teens stood still. One's fist reamained on the other's face. At first, it seemed that one's blow didn't affect the other as both teens stood there without even moving an inch.
"X, what's going on?" Axl asked looking confused.
"I... I don't know, Axl." X replied. He looked confused as well.
Finally, after what it felt like an eternity, something happened. At the same time, Zero and Gargantuan smirked at each other as they slowly lowered their fists. No one knew what was going on until both teens staggered backwards. Suddenly, Gargantuan collapsed on his back while Zero placed his hands on his knees to keep his balance. Both teens were breathing heavily.
"Gargantuan's unable to battle!" The referee said looking to Zero. "The winner is Zero!"
The crowd went wild. "Zero!" X and Axl yelled in unison before they leapt from the stands and rushed to the arena.
Zero panted trying to catch his breath when he heard laughter. Glancing to his side, he found Gargantuan, still lying on the ground. His eyes were closed and he was smiling. "Heh... I've never had a match like that..." He chuckled looking at Zero. "That was pretty fun, wasn't it Zero?"
Zero grinned a bit before he held out his hand to Gargantuan. "You okay?"
Gargantuan grabbed Zero's hand and got up with his help. "It's kinda weird." He smiled. "I lost, yet I feel like I had won. That match was great."
"I'll say." Zero smirked. "You nearly got me several times back there, buddy. I have to admit I'm impressed."
"You impressed me too." Gargantuan said. "I never thought a guy that hangs out with kids could be a better fighter than all the street fighters I faced and, trust me, I faced a lot of those."
"Actually, it's because of them I'm strong." Zero said as Gargantuan gave him an odd look. "X and Axl have been my friends for a long time and we've been through a lot together. By trying to protect them, I found my true strenght."
"Your true strenght?" Gargantuan asked.
"A reason to fight. A reason to give it all I've got in battle to win." Zero explained. "It's what allows you to unlock your true potential."
"Unlock my true potential, huh?" Gargantuan crossed his arms. "I've been getting myself in all kinds of brawls to find my true power, but I didn't have much luck so far. How did ya do it?"
"Sorry, but that's something you have to figure out on your own." Zero said. "It took me a while to find it too."
"Guess so..." Gargantuan sighed.
"Hey, I'm sure you'll find it." Zero said. "Tell ya what, let's make a deal: when ya find your true strenght, let's have a rematch. It'd be an honor to fight ya again."
"Sure! It's a deal!" Gargantuan smiled as they shook hands. "I'll beat ya next time we face each other."
"Yeah, right." Zero chuckled. "I'll be waiting."
Their conversation was interrupted by X and Axl's arrival. "Zero! That was awesome!" Axl said as he and X stood outside the arena. "I've never seen a match like that!"
"Yeah, you were great!" X praised him.
Zero just smirked at his two friends while Gargantuan glanced at them. "He became stronger to protect them..." He thought before he started walking away.
"Gargantuan?" Zero called as he noticed Gargantuan leaving.
"Your next match should be with Vile." Gargantuan said as he kept walking. "I know you'll do fine, but stay alert. That guy tends to fight dirty when he's losing."
Zero nodded. "Got it. Thanks for the tip."
Gargantuan just glanced at him with a grin before he gave him a thumbs up and walked away.
End Flashback.
"And that's what happened." Gargantuan said.
"Wow... From what you said, you and Zero must've had one heck of a fight!" Vee said in awe.
"You can say that again." Gargantuan chuckled. "After that fight, I started training on my own and stopped picking random street fights. By fighting Zero, I learned that the true strenght can't be gained by beating up anyone that crossed my path."
X chuckled. "That's Zero alright. You can always learn a thing or two with him." He said. "He once told me that not even when he won the championship he had an intense match like the one when he faced you."
"Heh, no wonder. I saw that match." Gargantuan said. "Zero wipped the floor with Vile that day. In fact, if Zero hadn't dislocated his shoulder, he would've beaten Vile up again."
X frowned at that. "X? What's wrong?" Vee asked looking at him.
"Zero wouldn't have dislocated his shoulder... If I had been able to stand up for myself." X sighed. "And I wouldn't have gotten this head injury either... I was an easy target..."
"X..." Vee said.
"I'm not strong enough..." X said looking away. "Although Zero trained me and Axl, I'm not as good as them... I never liked fighting..."
"Just because you don't like using your strenght doesn't mean ya don't have it, X." Gargantuan said. "You were willing to take Vile on a one-on-one fight to protect Zero and the others. Not to mention you headed out all by yourself to find Vee. It takes a lot of strenght to fight against the odds, but it takes even more strenght to stand up for others like the way you did for your friends."
X stared at him, surprised. "Gargantuan..."
"If there's one thing I learned from Zero is that the true strenght doesn't come from the body." Gargantuan said. "It comes from the heart."
"That makes sense." Vee said. "You're strong 'cause you have a big heart!"
"Thanks, Vee." Gargantuan chuckled patting Vee on the head. "You're one of the very few people that is not afraid of me because of my strenght."
"How could I fear someone so kind and cool that saved me and X?" Vee shrugged. "I'd rather be friends with you."
X and Gargantuan couldn't help but laugh at Vee's naive, yet honest, statement. "Heh, you're unique, Vee." Gargantuan said
"Thanks... I think." Vee said before glancing at the window. "Hey, it's getting dark."
"Dark? I was asleep for that long?" X gasped a bit. "Zero and the others must really worried about us."
"Yeah... We tried to call them while you were resting, but my PET didn't work." Vee said.
"With one of the city servers down for maintence, communication around this area has been pretty bad." Gargantuan added.
"I see..." X glanced at Vee. "We need to find them." He tried to get up, but his head started hurting again. "Argh..."
"X, please, don't stand!" Vee said worried. "You're still hurt!"
"I'm okay..." X whispered as his head stopped aching.
"Clearly your not, X." Gargantuan crossed his arms. "You've been up for a long time. You need to rest."
"I can't..." X said. "I can't just sit around while all my friends are probably worried about me."
"Really, X, do you think you can find them in your condition?" Gargantuan asked. "You can barely stand, let alone walk ten blocks at night with a little kid. Not to mention that Vile's bunch could still be around here somewhere."
X sighed. "You're right, but..."
"Hey, I understand." Gargantuan smiled. "You two are also worried about Zero and the others, right?"
X and Vee nodded. "Yeah... I really hope they're safe." Vee said.
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Gargantuan said. "Don't worry. Leave everything to me."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The gang was gathered in front of Zero and Axl's place. Night had falled and the group didn't know what to do next.
"So no one found anything?" Axl asked.
"Well, PS found something." StarZ replied. "But... We don't know if we should show you..."
"If it may help us find X and Vee we should know what it is." Layer said.
"Okay, but I'm warning ya, this is not gonna be pretty." Precursor Shadow said before he showed them the blood stained cap.
Everybody stared, shocked. "It's... It's X's cap!" Alia gasped as she took the cap from PS's hands. She was at the verge of tears. "No... X..."
Layer embraced Alia to confort her while Pallette glanced at DMZ. "Whe... Where did you find this?" She asked with a shaky voice.
"Precursor Shadow found it near the subway." DMZ replied. "Unfortunately, there was no sign of Vee."
Star looked away. She was worried sick about Vee, but she believed that, as long as the little tyke was with X, he'd be safe. Now that she knew that something bad had happened with X, she was getting even more concerned about her friends' safety.
"Guys, this is getting really serious." Rigel said. "We should call the police or at least ask Mr. Signas for advice."
"I think Rigel's right." Kazegama said. "We searched the entire city and nothing."
"I know what ya mean, dude, but if X got into trouble with some street punk, calling the cops could make things worse." Vega said.
"Indeed. This is a rather delicate situation." Faust said.
Zero rested his back against the building. He was both worried about X being injured and angry with himself for letting that happen. Suddenly he felt an hand on his shoulder. It was Alpheon. "We'll keep searching." He said. "I won't rest until they're both safe."
The others nodded in agreement. StarZ was about to say something when he heard quick footsteps heading towards him. Next thing he knew someone had jumped on his back while wrapping his arms around his neck. "GAH!" StarZ yelled nearly falling backwards. "What gives!?"
"StarZ!" A little voice squealed. "I found ya! I found ya!"
StarZ knew that voice and so did the others. He turned his face to see the newcomer and he grinned. "Hey, Vee!"
The gang smiled. It was the little kid. Very relieved, everybody gathered around Vee who was really happy to see them as well. "I'm so happy you guys are safe." He smiled. "I was worried about you."
"You were worried about us?" Kazegama chuckled. "You little rascal, we were the ones worried about ya."
"Sorry... Didn't mean to cause all that trouble." Vee said.
Star just smiled before taking Vee from StarZ. "I know you didn't. I'm just happy that you're safe." She said hugging him.
Zero glanced at Vee with a little smile. Knowing that the little kid was safe had calmed him a bit, but he was still worried about X. Suddenly, he noticed something curious about Vee: he was carrying on his back a large sky blue backpack. A very familiar one. "Wait a minute." He said. "Vee, what are you doing with X's bag?"
Everybody glanced at the little tyke. Zero was right. Vee frowned as Star put him down. "I'm carrying it for him." He replied. "After what happened, he won't be able to carry anything heavy for a while."
"Is he okay?" Alia asked. She looked really worried.
"And where is he?" Axl asked.
Before Vee could reply, a familiar voice did it for him. "Hey, no worries, everybody!" It said. "X's safe and sound."
The gang turned around as Gargantuan walked up to them while carrying someone on his back. Finally, when he stopped next to them, Zero and the others could see who it was. Everybody, except for Vee, gasped surprised. "X!" They nearly yelled.
"Hey, keep it down!" Gargantuan said. "He's sleeping, ya know."
Taking a better glance at X, the gang found that Gargantuan was right. X was fast asleep with a peaceful look on his face.
"My, X looks exhausted." Faust stated.
"Well, he went through a lot today." Gargantuan said.
"Man, he's got a lot of bandages on his head."Axl said looking at X's forehead. "What happened?"
"After X found me, we were ambushed... By Vile." Vee replied with a frown. "He hit X on the head with an iron bar... The blow was so hard it gave him a concussion."
"Vile... I should've known he had something with this!" Zero growled. Anger burner brightly in his eyes. "When I get him..."
"Don't worry about that guy." Gargantuan said. "I already took care of him."
Alpheon crossed his arms. "You took care of him?" He asked. "Wait. Then it was you who who beat Vile up after we split up."
"Basically, yeah." Gargantuan said. "While running, I overheard Vile ordering his goons to catch one of Zero's friends. When I realized what he was planning, I went back." A sigh. "Unfortunately, I didn't arrive in time to stop him from hurting X."
"At least you stopped him before he could do some real damage." Vega said.
"Yeah. Vile got what he deserved." Vee said. "Anyway, after that, Gargantuan picked X up and took us to his house. He tended to X's wounds and checked on his while he was resting. I tried to call you guys in the meantime, but with one server down for maintence, my PET wasn't working."
"Okay... That explains all but one thing." DMZ said. "Why did we find X's cap next to the subway entrance?"
"The subway? Well, I live two blocks from there, but..." Gargantuan started.
"I can explain that." Vee said as everybody glanced at him. "I was holding X's jacket and his cap while Gargantuan carried him. I was so scared and worried I must've dropped it without noticing."
A soft groan interrupted the conversation. The gang stared suprised as X opened his eyes. "Hhmm... Wha?" He asked as his voice came out as a small whisper. He looked around as much as he could before spotting Alia and Zero. "Zero? Alia?"
"It's okay, X. We're all here." Zero smiled at him.
"Are you okay, X?" Alia asked worried.
"I am now..." X replied with a faint smile as he closed his eyes. "Sorry for worrying you all... I was reckless."
Zero shook his head with a sigh. X never changed: here he was, tired and wounded and he was still more worried about his friends than about himself. "What am I gonna do with you, X?"
"Heh, he was worried sick about you guys." Gargantuan said. "And since he wasn't in shape to walk, I decided to bring him home. Vee showed the way."
"You did a lot for us... Gargantuan..." X said as he slowly fell asleep. "Thank... you..."
In a matter of seconds, X was fast asleep again.
"Man, the kid is even more tired than he looks." P. Shadow said.
"Better take him to his room." Axl suggested.
"I can do that." Gargantuan said.
"By the way, Gargantuan..." Zero started.
"I know you remember me now, Zero." Gargantuan said. "Let's chat after we get X into a more confortable place."
Zero nodded with a small smiel. Along with Axl, Alia, Star and Vee, he and Gargantuan entered the building.
"I'm glad everything is okay now." Layer smiled a bit.
"Me too." Pallette agreed. "I just hope X'll be okay."
"He may not look, but he is tough." Kazegama said. "I mean, from what Vee told us, X got one nasty concussion. It's amazing he was able to stay awake, even if it was for just a few minutes, after taking a blow like that. Most people would've reamained out cold for days!"
"I dread to think what could've happened to X and Vee if Gargantuan hadn't interfered." Faust shuddered.
"You said it, dude." Vega said. "Say, you guys think Vile might go after them and Zero again?"
"I'm afraid that's possible." Rigel replied with a sigh. "Vile seems to be determinated to have his revenge."
"In other words, anyone close to Zero, namely us, can be a target." Precursor Shadow concluded.
"Well, if he tries to do anything with our gang, he'll be receiving a real smackdown from me!" StarZ said cracking his knuckles.
As the group talked, Alpheon suddenly felt that someone was watching them from a nearby alley. Quietly, he left the group and entered the alley to investigate. "I know you're here." He said. "Come on out and show yourself!"
Slowly a teen walked out from behind a nearby dumpster. "I knew you'd find me sooner or later." He said looking at Alpheon.
Alpheon recognized the teen. "You? You're the guy that gave me Vee's nametag!" He said. "Who are you anyway?"
"You'll know when the time comes." The teen replied. "For now, I'm here to give you and your friends a warning: once Vile finds out who beat him up, he'll do whatever it takes to get revenge and that includes dirty and dishonorable tricks. The fighter, the kid and the blue cap teen will be probably targeted by him or his gang. Also, you should watch over that Star girl."
Alpheon crossed his arms. "And how do you know so much?" He asked. "Just what is your cause?"
"I'm looking for someone." The teen replied looking deep into Alpheon's eyes. "And you? Who are you?"
"Who am I?" Alpheon asked "I... I am..."
"Alpheon? Hey, Alpheon." A voice called.
Alpheon turned his face to the left and found DMZ standing next to him. "DMZ?"
"Hey, ninja, what's with the sneaking out?" DMZ asked.
"Someone was watching us." Alpheon replied looking at where the unknown teen stood. He was nowhere to be seen. "He's gone..."
"You know who it was?" DMZ asked.
"The guy that gave us Vee's tag." Alpheon replied. "He said that some of us are more likely to be targeted by Vile's gang."
"And how does he know that?" DMZ asked raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not sure." Alpheon clenched one fist. "But I won't let anyone harm our friends! Not him nor Vile!"
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
At the dorm, Gargantuan was talking with Zero and Axl after he laid X on his bed and covered him with some sheets. Alia, Vee and Star stayed at X's room to check on him.
"So, you're that guy that had that awesome fight with Zero?" Axl said. "Man, and I didn't recognise ya."
"Can't blame ya. After I took a break from street fighting, I got a new wardrobe, uncluding this headband." Gargantuan chuckled. "Guess the cover worked better than expected."
Zero chuckled a bit. "Guess so." He said. "Anyway, Gargantuan, I guess you found what you were looking for."
"Yeah..." Gargantuan smiled. "My true strenght... I've finally found it. By protecting people, I can unlock my true power."
Zero nodded in approval. "Of course, you know what else that means."
"Yep, but I'd rather wait a bit more for your rematch." Gargantuan smirked. "It'll take a while 'til your shoulder's fine. Besides, you got more important things to worry about, like taking care of X. I've waited until now, I can wait a bit more. Just le me know when ya ready."
"Why don't you hang out with us then?" Star asked as she walked out of X's room with Alia and Vee. "Gargantuan, you saved Axl and Pallette, you came to our aid when those punks attacked, not to mention you saved X and Vee from Vile and took care of them. Needless to say, you're a true and loyal guy with an heart of gold. It'd be an honor to be your friend."
"Gee... I don't know." Gargantuan scratched the back of his head. "I mean, most people'd be unconfortable with a street fighter around."
"Get serious, buddy! It'd be awesome to have you around, buddy." Axl said. "And besides, with a bunch like ours, why would we feel unconfortable by your presence?"
"Yeah, our gang has four ninjas and a gambler and we all get along just fine!" Vee said smiling. "Also, I bet X would be really happy to have you as a part of the team."
"Speaking of which, how's he?" Gargantuan asked.
"Fast asleep." Alia replied. "You did a great job tending to his wounds. They're healing just fine. We just changed the bandages just in case."
"Glad to hear that." Gargantuan said before looking at Zero and Axl. "Well, I suppose I can give it a try. I'm tired of training alone anyway."
The gang smiled. "Heh, welcome to the gang, Gargantuan." Zero smirked holding out his good arm to Gargantuan.
"Thanks." Gargantuan smiled as they shook hands.
Suddenly, Vee yawned. "I think it's time to go home." Star said picking him up. "Vee's tired and it's pretty late."
"I guess so. We all had a long day." Alia said.
"Star... If we really have to go now, can we visit X tomorrow?" Vee asked.
"Of course, Vee." Star smiled. "We'll check on him tomorrow."
Vee smiled as he rested his head on Star's shoulder. He looked really sleepy.
Axl glanced at the window. "Hey, the others are still waiting downstairs." He said. "Guess they want some news."
"Well, let's go down." Zero decided. "X needs to sleep anyway."
The group nodded.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Alpheon and the gang were talking when Zero and the others arrived. "So, how's X?" The Black Ninja asked.
"Sleeping like a baby." Axl smirked.
"A few days resting and he'll be as good as new." Gargantuan added.
"Speaking of resting..." Vega yawned. "I could use some zee too."
"You said it." Kazegama rubbed his eyes. "I'm beat."
The others nodded. "All of us are tired, that's for sure." Star said as she held the now sleeping Vee. "We all should go home and rest now that X and Vee are safe."
"Star's right. Thanks for the help, everybody." Zero said. "Sorry for dragging you all into this mess, though."
"Meh, don't sweat about it." StarZ shrugged. "Something like that was bound to happy anyway. Luckily, it's over now."
"I agree. However, I don't think we've seen the last of Vile and his bunch." Faust said with a sigh. "That scoundrel is as stubborn as evil."
"True, but thanks to the beating Gargantuan gave him, we won't be seeing Your Ugliness for a while." DMZ said.
"Got that right. Also, his thugs won't have the guts to attack without his orders." P. Shadow added.
"Still, we'll need to be cautious for a while." Alpheon said looking at Gargantuan. "That goes to you too, Gargantuan. Maybe you should stick with us."
"You guys don't mind?" Gargantuan asked.
"Of course not." Alpheon smiled patting Gargantuan's back. "Anyone that fights to protect others and also helps out my friends not only earns my respect but my friendship as well."
"I'm with the Black Ninja on that one." StarZ smirked. "Maybe we can spar some day. I heard you got some cool moves."
"Heh, okay." Gargantuan smirked. "But don't expect me to go easy on ya just because you're a kid."
"HEY!! I'm sixteen already!" StarZ scowled.
The others laughed at that. "Okay, guys, enough fooling around." Star giggled. "Let's head home. It's pretty late now."
The others nodded in agreement. Everybody waved good bye and the all went to their homes.
"Phew... Talk about a long day." Axl sighed.
"Tell me about it." Zero said. "You go to bed. I'll keep an eye on X."
"Hey, you need some rest too, Zero." Axl said. "We can take turns watching over him. X's my friend too, ya know."
Zero chuckled. "Fine. I won't argue with you." He said. "Let's go."
Axl nodded and they both entered the building.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
After the incident, X had to stay in bed for some days in order to recover from his concussion so Zero and Axl took turns watching over him. Though X couldn't move much, that didn't stop him from checking on Zero's shoulder while Axl usually changed both teens' bandages.
Alia, Layer and Pallette visited the three friends everyday to help them. Alia often checked on X's wounds and she'd also help him with the schoolwork she often brought for him. Layer checked on Zero's shoulder to make sure it was healing properly while she gave him some simple exercises to regain its movements. As for Pallette, she made sure Axl didn't tire himself out watching over his elder friends.
In the meantime, the rest of the gang also tried to help on both teen's recovery asides from often visiting them. Star and Vee brought X some books or keept him company. Alpheon, DMZ and StarZ, aided by Gargantuan who now hung out with the gang, were on the look out from any activity from Vile's gang or the mysterious teen with the help of Faust and the other three ninjas who'd report to Zero what they had uncovered. Even Precursor Shadow did his part when he found out that several bikers from Vile's gang had been arrested on the same day the gang ran into them. Slowy, things were getting back to normal.
Finally, two weeks after the incident, both X and Zero wer fully healed. Since it was a beatiful spring day and both teens had been cooped up at home for a while the gang decide to spend the day at the park to have some fun.
X took a deep breath."This feels great!" He smiled before he and Alia sat under a huge tree. "The wheather is so nice."
"True. We couldn't have chosen a better day to come here." Alia said.
"You said it." Star agreed as she joined them. She glanced at X with a smile. "You're quite enjoying yourself, huh, X?"
"Well, I guess I'm just happy for being here." X chuckled. "I mean, after two weeks stuck on my room, it's nice to be somewhere else for a change."
Both girls giggled at that before the three friends looked around the area to see what their friends were doing.
Vega was busy tinkering with his guitar while Faust polished his flute. Next to them were Rigel and Kazegama. The elder teen was showing Rigel a book that seemed to be really interesting since she was leaning closer to him take a better glance at it. That made Kazegama blush a lot, but Rigel didn't seem to notice it.
Layer and Pallette chatted with DMZ and Zero who was also doing a few push-ups. After his shoulder had recovered, he wanted to make up for the time he was unable to train. Watching them all with a smirk, Precursor Shadow sat on a tree branch while shuffling his playing cards.
Alpheon was teaching Vee a few moves. Axl and StarZ watched them while chatting. "You can't be serious." StarZ said. "Gargantuan is the legendary street fighter known as Gate?"
"That's what Zero told me." Axl replied. "Also, if you consider his fighting style it kinda makes a lot of sense."
"Still, it's kinda hard to believe that." StarZ said looking at Gargantuan. The young fighter was taking a nap under a tree. "I mean, just look at him."
"Well, he really doesn't look like a fighter, but he is one." Axl shrugged.
"Right, but how about we figure out if he is that good?" StarZ smirked crossing his arms.
Slowly, StarZ snuck up on Gargantuan trying to pull a prank on him by pretending to punch him. "GOTCHA!" StarZ suddenly yelled jumping at him.
Gargantuan opened one eye and smirked. "I don't think so!" He said as he quickly rolled out of the way. Without warning, he grabbed StarZ by his ankle. "What were ya saying?" He mocked as he got up while lifting StarZ.
"Gah! You were listening?!" StarZ said as he tried to get down.
"Well, you and Axl are pretty noisy, ya know." Gargantuan laughed. "It's kinda hard to get some sleep with ya two chit chatting."
Axl burst into laughter. "Told ya he meant business."
"Okay! Okay! I got the point!" StarZ yelled. "Now get me down, will ya?!"
Gargantuan laughed as he gently put StarZ down. "Very funny." StarZ scowled crossing his arms before he glared at Axl.
"Hey, don't look at me." Axl snickered. "It was your idea remember?"
Vee and Alpheon walked up to them. "Hey, what's with all the laughter, guys?" Alpheon asked.
"Let's just say StarZ's little prank backfired." Gargantuan smirked.
"I see..." Alpheon said looking at StarZ's sulking face before he glanced at Gargantuan. "Hey, Gargantuan, wanna spar?"
"Sure, but I won't hold back just because we're friends." Gargantua smirked clenching his fist.
"I'd have it no other way." Alpheon smirked back at him before he got into a fighting stance.
StarZ suddenly smirked and got up. "How bout a three way?" He grinned. "I'd like to see how well I've been doing reccently."
Alpheon and Gargantuan nodded. Vee and Axl backed away.
"A three way battle? Heh, that'll be cool to see." Axl said.
"I've never seen a that kind of battle." Vee said.
"In that case, Vee, you might learn a few things with this match." Alpheon said looking at StarZ and Gargantuan. "Okay, you two, give me you all!"
"Bring it on!" Gargantuan said.
The three friends charged at each other. Without wasting time, Alpheon knocked Gargantuan down with a low kick and then tried to hit StarZ wit some fast punches, but StarZ managed to dodge them all and then he threw Alpheon over his shoulder only to be tackled down by Gargantuan.
"Wow! This is so cool!" Vee said. "Awesome!"
While StarZ was down, Gargantuan and Alpheon exchanged heavy blows when they attempted a charging attack. However, they hit each other at the same time and collapsed with their eyes spinning. They both were dizzy.
"Ow... That must've hurt." Vee winced.
"Guess the fight's over." Axl said.
"Fight's over?" Alpheon and Gargantuan asked in unison as they got up still feeling a bit dizzy.
"I don't think it is." StarZ replied rushing to them and then the trio got into a fighting frenzy.
"All right... Let's get this going on!" Gargantuan said as he grabbed Alpheon by the leg.
"Wha?!" Was all Alpheon could say before he was thrown into StarZ leaving both teens dazed.
"Ow!" StarZ cried before he leapt in the air and kicked Gargantuan while Alpheon did a sweep kick tripping him up.
When StarZ least expected, Alpheon kicked him into a nearby tree, but StarZ came back down and knocked him into another tree before getting punched by Gargantuan across the face and on the stomach.
Gargantuan kept pummeling StarZ until Alpheon tackled him down.
While the two brawled, StarZ dropped to one knee while holding his stomach. Realising that both teens were distracted, he got back up, picked Gargantuan up and threw him at Alpheon.
"Gah, I think I pulled something." StarZ winced as he saw Gargantuan and Alpheon getting back up.
When all three friends were ready, they started running into a circle looking for an opening. Finally they charged at each other and hit each other at the same time.
StarZ flung into a three and feel hitting the ground out cold. Alpheon staggered a bit and fell on back. As Gargantuan stood, Axl and Vee swooped in to see the condition of the winner only to find him out cold as well!
"A three way tie?" Axl asked. "Wow..."
"You don't see that everyday." Vee stated.
By now, the trio's sparring had caught the gang's atention. DMZ and Zero walked up to Axl and Vee. "Hey, what's with all the racket?" DMZ asked before spotting the others out cold. "Huh? What happened?"
"They were showing me how a three way fight works." Vee replied.
"Really? Looks more like 'Knock yourself out 101' to me." Zero snickered.
Twenty minutes later...
"OW!" StarZ winced as Star put an ice bag on his back. "Easy there, Star!"
"Hold still, StarZ. I'm almost done." Star scolded as she, Rigel and Alia tended to StarZ, Alpheon and Gargantuan's wounds. "Honestly, I can't figure out how you guys managed to hurt yourselves that much on a simple sparring session."
"Guess we got a bit carried away." Alpheon said with a sheepish smile as he put an ice bag on his head. "Man, that smarts..."
"A bit carried away? I'm surprised you guys didn't give each other a black eye while training." Kazegama crossed his arms.
"Hey, we were just having some fun." Gargantuan said before Alia gave him an ice bag to put on his arm. "Thanks, Alia."
"Don't mention it." Alia said. "I actually brought these for X and Zero in case they need it, but I think you'll need them more."
"Pretty ironic, isn't it?" P. Shadow chuckled as he stayed on his spot.
"Okay, so we made a bit of fools outta ourselves. Big deal." StarZ shrugged. "Next match will be different."
"Next?" Pallette raised an eyebrow. "I can't believe you guys. You just beat yourselves up and you still want more?"
"Hey, there has to be a winner ya know." Alpheon shrugged.
Rigel rolled her eyes. "The harder I try to understand you boys, the more confused I get." She sighed.
Zero started laughing. "I don't really blame. After all, real fighters are always on the look out for new challenges." He said. "That reminds me. I'm ready to spar too."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Zero?" Layer asked.
"Don't worry about me, Layer." Zero replied with a grin. "My shoulder is as good as new and I've been pretty rusty." He glanced at they boys. "So, who's up for it?"
All the boys exchanged glances. When Zero wanted to spar, he meant business and everybody knew that. "I am." A voice suddenly replied.
Everybody, even Zero, was surprised. Not only because someone was willing to spar with an eager Zero, but because that someone was none other than X! "It sounds like a good idea." X said getting up. "I could use some exercise as well."
"X, are you sure about this?" Alia asked.
"Don't worry, Alia." X smiled at her. "I know what I'm doing."
"Jeez... Maybe X got hit on head harder than we thought." Vega whispered to Faust. "Facing Zero when he's eager to spar is crazy!"
"I heard that, Vega." X said looking at the rocker who yelped startled. X chuckled. "I know this sounds kinda weird, guys, but trust me, I'm okay. And besides, sooner or later, I'll have to spar too."
"X..." Zero said.
"Hey, he's got a point." Gargantuan smirked a bit. "Give the kid a chance, Zero. This is gonna be good."
"Heh, okay." Zero grinned. "All right, X, let's do this."
X nodded. Both friends headed to the area where his friends were previously sparring and they got into defensive stances.
"You ready, Zero?" X asked.
"Bring it on!" Zero replied charging at X. He tried to punch X who easily blocked by crossing his arms in fron of his face.
"Hey, that was a pretty good move." Faust pointed out. "However, I don't recall seeing X using a move like that."
"Me neither." Axl said. "I wonder where he learned that."
Gargantuan just smirked. He seemed to know something.
Zero tried to counter with a roundhouse kick, but X raised his arm and blocked again. The younger teen then did a sweep kick that knocked Zero off his feet, but he did a back flip to regain his balance. "Hhmm... Something's up with X." He thought as he steadied himself. "He's fighting for real without holding back." A smirk. "I am so gonna enjoy this."
Before Zero could create any other thought, X tried to hit him with a serie of fast punches and kicks. Zero dodged a few blows and then countered with his own blows. They weren't able to hit each other very often because they were moving so fast, the gang could barely keep up with them.
"They're so fast!" Vee said amazed.
"X's no longer hesitating when he fights." DMZ stated. "One can see the determination on his face. He's putting all his efforts on this match and so is Zero. None of them is holding back."
"I knew X had a great potential, but not like that!" Alpheon said.
The others nodded in agreement. Everybody was amazed with X's skills. Sure, they knew Zero had trained X since they were kids, but X's strong dislike of violence was his most striking feature. It was kinda hard to believe that such pacifist like him could also be a skilled fighter. Then again, they also knew that X could be a force to be wrecking with when he wanted to.
The gang turned their attention back to X and Zero. X was backing away while blocking and dodging Zero's punches when he tripped on a small rock and started falling backwards. Zero took the opportunity and lunged at X, but he wasn't ready for what was coming next: while falling, X grabbed both Zero's arms and planted one foot on his stomach before throwing the blond teen a few yards away with a kick throw.
"Whoah!" Zero yelled before he fell flat on his back with a loud thud. He lied there motionless.
Everybody watched with their jaws dropped. "Did you... Did you guys see that?" Axl asked with wide eyes.
"I see it, but I don't believe it." StarZ replied with a blank look on his face.
X stood up looking surprised as well. Slowly, he walked up to Zero. "Zero?" He called. "Zero, are you okay?"
Everybody was surprised to hear a chuckle. Zero got himself into a sitting position before he glanced at X with a grin. "Good going, X." He said. "You really got me back there."
X smiled a bit embarassed before he helped Zero up. Vee ran up to them. "That was great! That was great!" The little tyke said jumping up and down. "You two rock!"
X and Zero just laughed at Vee's hyper atitude. "Okay, okay. We got your point, kid." Zero smirked. "Now take it easy, will ya?"
Vee giggled putting his hands behind his head. "Well, I guess you two had fun." He said. "You two look really happy."
"Well, I have to admit that felt pretty good." X smiled a bit.
"Yo, X!" Vega called. "Where'd ya learn all those cool moves?"
"Yeah, that was awesome!" Axl said. "How did ya do it?"
"Well, let's just say a friend gave me a few tips." X replied glancing at Gargantuan with a smile.
Gargantuan grinned at X. "Using your opponent's strenght agains him..." He said giving X a thumbs up. "You learned that lesson pretty well, X."
"So that's what you two were talking about while we were heading to the park." Kazegama smirked. "Smooth move, X."
"Yeah. You really showed Zero a thing or two." Alpheon grinned before he gave X a noogie. "Way to go."
"Knock it off, Alpheon! Let go!" X laughed as he tried to get free of Alpheon's grasp. "I just got lucky. That's all."
"You're too modest for your own good, X." P. Shadow with an amused tone.
The others laughed at that while Zero just crossed his arms. "Heh, X sure lives up to his name: his potential is limitless." He thought grinning a bit. "Way to go, X. I'm proud of you." He then glanced at the other boys. "Okay, I lost a match, so what? You guys wanna take me on now?"
The boys stopped laughing and exchanged nervous glances. Zero smirked. "That answers my question."
X laughed softly as Alpheon let go of him. "Well, while you guys figure that out, I'm gonna get some water." He said. "I'm thirsty."
"X, can I come too?" Vee asked tugging X's jacket.
"Of course, Vee." X smiled at the littke kid.
"Yay! Let's go!" Vee squealed running off.
"Hey! Wait up!" X said running after Vee.
"Oh boy... X may be a good fighter, but Vee can still give him a run for his money." DMZ snickered before glancing at Zero. "Hey, Zero, you don't look surprised about X beating ya."
"X's tougher than he thinks." Zero shrugged. "Besides, when ya have a great match, it doesn't really matter who wins or loses."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
X ran across the park trying to catch up with Vee. "Vee, slow down!" He said panting a bit. "Wait up!"
Vee stopped running so X could catch up with him. "Sorry." He said with a sheepish smile. "I guess I got a bit carried away."
X smiled and patted Vee on the head. "It's okay." He said. "I guess it's natural for a na athletic kid like you."
"Well, look what I found." A voice mocked. "A wimp and a brat."
X and Vee frozed when they heard that voice. They spunned around. "Vile?!" They gasped.
"Long time no see, X." Vile sneered. "I see you managed to survive."
"Not thanks to you, Vile." X narrowed his eyes as he stood in front of Vee. "Can't you leave me and my friends alone?"
"Not a chance." Vile hissed. "Thanks to you and your pals, half of my gang is behind the bars and the other half is too chicken to fight anymore." He drew an iron bar. "Now it's payback time."
"Vee, run!" X told the little kid. "You must warn Zero and the others."
"But, X..." Vee tried to argue.
"GO NOW!" X yelled.
Vee hesitated, but he ran off.
"Don't want the kid to see ya being beaten up again, X?" Vile laughed.
"Vile, you've already caused too much trouble for my friends." X clenched his fists getting ready to fight. "I won't let you hurt them!"
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Back to the gang, everybody was chilling when they heard yells. "Star! Zero!" Vee cried running towards them. The little kid looked really agitated. "Guys! Help!"
"Vee? What's wrong?" Star asked worried as Vee embraced her.
"It's X... He is trouble!" Vee panted trying to catch his breath. "Vile's back!"
"What?!" The gang yelled.
"Vile's back and he's totally mad!" Vee replied.
"Don't tell me X told you to warn us while he dealt with Vile alone." Faust said getting up.
Vee nodded looking nervous. "I didn't want to leave him, but..."
"Vile..." Zero growled. There was so much anger on his voice the gang could tell he hasn't forgotten what Vile had done to X. "He's not getting away with this!"
StarZ cracked his knuckles. "Looks like that scumbag didn't get the hint last time."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Rigel said. "C'mon!"
The others nodded and the gang ran off.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
X rolled out of the way to dodge Vile's blow. The large biker tried with all his might, but he couldn't hit the younger teen. "Argh! What's going on here?" Vile asked frustrated. "Ya went down with a single blow last time! Why can't I hit ya?!"
"Vile, you really don't understand, do you?" X asked. "You rely on ambushes and dirty tricks and without them, you can't win."
"Oh yeah? And what does a weakling like you know?" Vile growled.
"I may be weak. I won't deny that." X said. "But, unlike you, I don't fight without a reason! I fight for my friends! To protect them from people like you! And as long as I have that goal, no harm will come to them!"
"Quit talking trash!" Vile roared lunging at him. "Who needs a reason to fight? The strong rules and the weak bows before him!"
"I see it's pointless to argue with you." X sighed assuming a defensive stance. "It's time to finish this!"
Vile raised the bar above his head and tried to hit X. However, the young teen grabbed it on the very last second with his bare hands!
"What the hell?!" Vile yelled in disbelief. "That's impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible, Vile." X said as he yanked the bar off Vile's hands and tossed it away. "Give it up. There's no sense on continuing this."
"I don't think so!" Vile yelled throwing a punch at X who was caught off guard and fell down. "I'll do whatever it takes to be the strongest and it's not a wimpy kid like you that that's gonna stop me! Game's over, X!"
Vile tried to kick X while he was down, but X grabbed his leg and did a sweep kick to knock him down, giving X enough time to get back on his feet.
The leader biker quickly got up and he was furious. "That's it! I'm through messing around!" Vile roared throwing several punches at X.
The flurry of furious punches from Vile gace X no time to dodge and the young teen was getting beaten up really badly. "I... I can't lose..." X thought trying to focus. "I've got only one shot!"
When X saw Vile's fist heading straight to his face, X caught it with his left hand. "This ends now, Vile!" He yelled giving Vile a powerful uppercut that not only knocked his biker helmet off but it also sent Vile flying into a tree.
Tired and wounded, X breathed heavily as Vile got up. Blood ran down his mouth and he looked even more furious. "Damn you, X! You're gonna pay for this!" He hissed when he suddenly heard police sirens. "Crud... I'll let ya off this time, X, but you haven't seen the last of me!"
Quickly, Vile ran away.
"I'm glad this is over..." X sighed relieved when he heard something. "Huh?"
"X!" His friends yelled as they ran up to him.
"X, you okay?" Alia asked with worried tone.
X slowly turned around and smiled faintly at the others. "I'm okay..." He said. "Just a few scratches."
"You were great! You really showed Vile who's boss!" Axl said. "Man, you wipped the floor with him!"
X looked at his friend surprised. "Huh? You guys...?"
"Well, we couldn't just sit around after Vee told us Vile was back." Pallette said. "Also, who do ya think called the cops?"
"I see..." X said before sighing.
"What's wrong, X?" Layer asked.
"Even though Vile lost, I don't think he'll leave us alone." X stared at the sky. "I'm afraid we'll be seeing a lot more of him from now on."
"Some guys are hard to get rid of." Zero shrugged. "Anyway, X, you shouldn't worry about him. You beat him once, so you can do it again."
"Zero..." X said.
"He's got a point, you know." Vee said.
"X, you're stronger than you think. If you believe in yourself, you can find your true strenght and do anything." Gargantuan said. "Also, you got us as a backup."
The gang nodded. X smiled. "Thanks... Zero, Gargantuan... Everyone... Thanks for everything."
Everybody smiled. "Hey, that's what friends are for." DMZ said.
As the gang chatted, the mysterious teen watched them from behind a tree. "Daisuke's friend is more skilled than I expected. It's not everyone that can beat Vile on a one-on-one match even with all his dirty tricks." He thought walking away. "Well done, X."
Thanks to the gang and his new friend, Gargantuan, X was able to beat the odds and became more confident. More challenges would come, but now X knew he could overcome them all as long as he had his friends by his side.
A/N: On the original rp, Gargantuan was created from Gate's body. Just for the record. I hope you guys enjoyed it. More chapters soon to come.
