Air Gear UK

Chapter 1: how it began.

Since a young age I have been taught to always get back up after I'm knocked down. A fist comes at you, you avoid it, you can't avoid it you take it head on and get back up afterwards.

I didn't understand why, when I was young nobody pushed me around, why would I need to get back up? It didn't make sense, thou the second I got into school I knew, I understood everything. A bully knocks you down you get up and walk away, a kid swings a punch at you, you dodge it and walk away.

My family were very big on non-violence, so when I reached secondary school and found a place where fights weren't resolved as easily as 'Walk away' I was in some trouble.

My Names is James Cross. I have a brother called Higure 'Kai' cross. 10 years ago we both joined a new school, brought up on values of non-violence we were 12 at the time and didn't have a clue how to fight back.

First day in our new school we had more than just crap kicked out of us. Kids with Air Treks lined up to pummel the kids without their own A.T.
Ever seen an American Public service advert about bullying? Where two guys hold up the small innocent kid while several others do their best to touch the wall behind them with their fists. It was like that only with A.T. running start.

For 4 years this continued, though we were beaten on everyday it didn't do either of us complete harm. Our bodies were toughened and over the years we became cooler, taking the blows that were dealt to us and then just getting up as if nothing had happened. The two brothers, enigmatic to the last, became what most high schoolers wished they were, the enigmatic, silent type who all the girls wanted to be with.

It was our final year that my mind was turned to stop just holding back. Though I was willing to let things keep going the way they were others had grown annoyed at the way some A.T. users, AKA Storm-riders used their wheels. Higure, by this time, was a popular kid for the most part, he had a girlfriend and a close nit group of friends and was pretty much left alone by the riders, while I was still the enigmatic, keep out of the way type who got beat up every day.

It was one day in September, we had just come back to school for our final year before going up into 6th form we were both 16, having the same birth date it was kinda hard for us not to both be the same age. Anyway. It was one day in September when I was getting my daily beating, half way through the beating it happened, they were about to put their full speed treks straight onto my skin, something they hadn't done before. Inches away and then, nothing, well, a sound, the sound of a fist hitting a face at full speed sounded throughout the yard.

It was almost graceful the way it happened, another storm rider, female, wearing a jacket that crossed her front only just enough to cover herself, sped across the grounds and attacked, sending her fist into the kids face.
Moments later she had dispatched the other boys and was helping me to my feet.

"You ok James?" she asked, locking the wheels of her A.T. in place.
"Er, yeah, I'm fine." I said, pulling myself up and dusting off. "nice punch,"

"Thanks, but I can't really take all the credit. Most of it goes to the girls." She grinned, pointing at her A.T.
"Nice A.T." I said in reply, not really knowing what else to say. "I could never afford A.T. been saving up for over a year now and I'm not exactly a lot closer."
"How much you got?" she asked, "it's just, I know a little place where you can get some cheap high quality gear."
"170… 180 summing quid. That's including the money my brother has to get his pair so all in all I have about £90."
"Cool, that should be enough, bring your brother around to this address tonight and I'll set you up with a pair each, so long as I can convince the owner to part with them so cheap." And with that she un-locked her blades and was off again.

"Thank you… Kind Stranger"

"So what am I doing here?" Higure asked, walking along side me, clutching his money.
"Getting a pair of air Treks." I replied, looking at the piece of paper with the address and then back up at the address on the door. "this is it." I raised my hand to knock but was beaten to it by a small girl with double pony tail and black hair. She looked about 7 but was going around on A.T. like a pro. "Hey, um… I was told to come…"
"Hey James, come on in, my sister's got you and your brothers treks up stairs." She said, skating out of he way to allow us in.
"How does she know your name?" Higure muttered, looking around the room with wide eyes.
"Her sister probably told her." I replied, stepping into the house and beginning to follow the girl's directions.
"The sister you don't knows name?"
"Right." I said, half ignoring Higure.

I jogged up the stairs, they seemed rickety, but right then I didn't seem very worried. The place obviously hadn't been lived in in years, the girls must have used it for a hide out, or clubhouse. When I reached the top I had a choice of three doors to go through. I turned back to look at the little girl, and she shouted up the stairs
"Third door."
"Thanks." I shouted back, turning back to the landing and walking across to the furthest door. I opened the door just as the girl who had saved me was leaving the room, she must have heard me. She was wearing tight jeans, A.T a tight white T-shirt and a red cap.
"Hey Guys, how's it going?" she asked, moving aside to allow us into the room.
"Pretty good, yourself?" I asked, walking in and sitting on a chair next to a window.
"Hey, don't I know you?" Higure asked, stepping in, "It's Hannah right? Member of the Blue Clover Air Trek team, right?"
"Close," she said, smiling and walking across the room. "Ex member of the Blue Clovers. They were letting people get away with things on Air Treks that nobody should have. Take what happened to you guys for instance, they were all ready to let that go on till graduation. Anyway, I got you're A.T." She seemed to have a permanent smile, she opened a draw in a chest of draws by the wall and pulled out two boxes, one with a pair of Black A.T. inside and one with a pair of Blue A.T. inside.
Hannah, as it seems she was called, handed the Black A.T. to me and the blue set to Higure.
"Thanks," I said, reaching into my pocket for my money.
"If that's the payment don't worry about it I managed to get them free,"
"Really?" I asked, so amazed I was getting a free pair of A.T.s "You sure you don't want the money anyway?"
"No, it's ok, you guys are going to need it while we're setting up our new team."

It took a while but eventually the words sunk into the brothers thick sculls.
"A team?" I repeated. "We've never put A.T. on before in our lives and you want us to create a team?"
"Why are you doing this for us anyway?" Higure asked, pulling off his shoes.
"Yes, a team," she said to me, turning to Higure as I unlaced my trainers to try the A.T. on. "I'm not sure really, It might be because I saw a rare spark in your brother that I've only ever heard about, When I saw you getting beaten up all those times and getting back up straight away you know what you did? You smiled, now that is something that only a true spirit would do."
"Or someone so concussed that he didn't know what he was doing." Higure suggested.
Hannah ignored Higure and continued, "It might be that, or it might just be because you're Hot."
I blushed at that, not really knowing what to say I pulled on the A.T. and pretended to be so involved with them I didn't hear what was going on. The blades fit perfectly onto my feet, and they looked so good with my clothes, the black fabric, the black and red wheels, they all matched my clothes.

"So what do we have to do, for this Team thing?" Higure asked, standing up on his A.T. he stood oddly straight and vertical, considering this was his first time on A.T. he wasn't even flinching, it looked as if this was his 1001st time, not his 1st.
"Wow, you're pretty good, especially for a first timer." Hannah said, staring at Higure. "Anyway, to make a team we have a few things to decide, first off who should be the leader, I vote James, Votes are in, James is the leader and I will act as his aid, ok, next order of business, a team na…"
"Hold on a second, what just happened?" I asked, stopping Hannah from talking. "Did I just…"
"Yes, the group voted you as the team leader unanimously, there wasn't one vote against you. As I was saying, we need a team name, I vote Blade Walkers, the Vote is i…"
"Hang on a sec, I'm not letting you pick the team name without a vote as well." Higure said, stopping Hannah mid sentence.
"Fine," she frowned, wow she could frown, I had forgotten that.
"I think we should call it the Shadow Fire." Higure said.
Hannah raised her eyebrows for a second. "You know that doesn't actually sound that bad. We should go with it."
"Ok," I said, standing up on the A.T. just like Higure it was my first time, but unlike Higure I was handling the motorised roller blades as if I had been using them my whole life, not just for 1001 days. It was quite an experience. "What next."
"Next we get our new stickers and emblems off of my little siste… crap" a noise had sounded outside, motors, storm riders were coming. "come on." She said, opening the door and racing down the stairs to where the little girl crouched low beneath a window. A necklace with a storm rider emblem fell from under her t-shirt to dangle around her neck; it was made out of an interesting black and grey metal, and depicted a dark fire trailing off to the right with the words 'The Shadow Flame' emboldened on it. I looked down at the little girl's hands, she held 3 more of the same emblem and a large box of stickers with the same emblem, the only difference was the grey bits were now red and yellow.
I, who had been crouching beside Hannah, grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. "How the hell did you play my brother so well?" he asked in a hushed voice as the storm raiders continued to make noise outside. He wasn't too worried about them, as they were just passing though, but that's when he heard it, a voice, a very familiar voice.

"Yo, Turd Sack!" came the voice of my tormentor. The kid who had beaten me up every day for the last 4 years. "Nobody to save you this time, its just you, your brother and your two little girlfriends against me and the Under-Riders, and you're on our turf."
"I knew this was too good to be true." I said, sighing and standing up. "Well time to lose my new A.T." I sighed again and grabbed the front door handle. I froze and turned back to the others, "You guys stay here and find a way out. Higure hold my money."
I began to turn the door handle again but, again, froze as Hannah leapt up off of the floor and kissed me. Yes, Kissed me, don't ask me why, maybe she thought I was gonna die, and like she said, she thought I was hot, who knows, all I know is what she told me. She released me and stared into my eyes. "You are the strongest Storm Rider I have ever seen, take them down… take them all down."
Needless to say I was momentarily stunned. "Ok." I eventually said in a voice that screamed 'My voice just broke'.
I pushed Hannah away, blushing and made her hide behind the door. I took the Shadow Flame emblem that belonged to me away from the youngster, Mila, and clipped it to the chain I already wore. Then I took a sticker and left, closing the door behind me.

"Where are the others?" the boy, also known as Garry, said, moving forwards on his A.T. then he stopped, staring at me, "You've gotta be kidding, you are a Storm rider? From a team?" he skated over and grabbed my emblem and looked at it. "The Shadow Flame? Sounds like a magic attack from a Saturday morning cartoon show." He began to laugh, looked around at his team mates and they started laughing.
I ignored them, turning my head to look around the alley way, there it was, the Under-Riders sticker, flat on the front of the building. I turned towards it and moved airily forwards. The second I started moving the riders shut up, they were silent, figuring out what I was up to.

I pulled back the cover of the sticker and flattened it over theirs. I'd seen enough TV-shows about storm riders to know what I had just done. I had initiated a battle. Before now I had never done anything, obviously I wasn't registered so the rules of whatever this was, were obviously non-existent.
The storm riders started laughing again.
"We're C class, what do you think you're going to be able to do, all on your own?" Garry said, skating forward.
"I dunno, that all depends on what you want this competition to involve." I said, pulling my emblem off and throwing it into a bowl off to the right.
Garry grinned at his friends and turned to me again. "A battle royale, you against all of us. You win you get our emblem, we disband and never try anything against you again, we win, and we get to humiliate you every day in front of the whole school for the rest of your school life."
The decision was easy, obviously yes, Hannah was watching, of course it was Yes. Besides they'd been humiliating me for years anyway, what worse could happen?

the British school system goes like this:
Primary school –
Nursery
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Secondary school –
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
6th form –
lower 6th ((Year12))
Upper 6th ((Year 13))

University