Here I am! Check chapter for the disclaimer. Let's roll!
BTW, sorry about the delay. My exams started. There won't be any new chapters for a while. Oh, and Naoki-Chan, if you like friendships fics you'll love this one. Every chapter the gang will make a new friend.
Chapter 4: Enter the StarZ.
It all started with X, Alia and Star's first class: Biology. "Good Morning, class." Biology Teacher, Mrs. Flora, said. "Today's class is about Botanic and..."
There was a sudden knock on the door before a teen burst in. He was around sixteen and he was wearing a silver gray jacket, a red long sleeved T-shirt, olive green pants and gray sneakers. His hair was short, spikey with a orange reddish color and his eyes were olive green.
"Sorry... about... the... delay..." The teen said trying to catch his breath. He seemed to have run all the way to school.
"Why if it isn't StarZ." Mrs. Flora smiled. "Welcome back."
"Thanks, Ma'am." StarZ said finally catching his breath.
"Well, sit down. We have plenty to study today." Mrs. Flora told him.
StarZ nodded and sat on the desk next to Star. "StarZ, huh?" Star thought. "Where did I hear that name before?"
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The gang was having lunch.
"Hey, X, I heard StarZ's come back." Zero said.
"Yeah. He just arrived during our first class." X said.
"I'll take he's been gone for a while." Star said.
"Yeah. He left a few days before you were transfered." Alia said.
Star crossed her arms. "Hmm... I'm sure I've heard about him..."
"You sure have." A voice said.
The gang glanced at the voice's owner. It was StarZ. He glanced at DMZ and grinned. "Hey there, buddy. It's been a while."
DMZ got up and walked towards him. Without saying anything, he smacked StarZ upside the head.
"OW!" StarZ cried clutching his head.
The gang glanced at each other, rather surprised. "DMZ!" Layer scolded him.
"That must've hurt." Axl whispered to Alpheon.
"Ouch... What did you do that for!" StarZ asked rubbing his head.
"Took you long enough to come back." DMZ simply replied.
StarZ just glared at him before he started laughing.
"Welcome back." DMZ smirked.
"Thanks. It's nice to see you too." StarZ grinned.
"Okay... I'm lost..." Pallette said.
"I'm not." Star said getting up and walking towards StarZ. "Now I remember. You must be DMZ's childhood friend, am I right?"
StarZ looked at Star and grinned. "Yup. And you must be Star." He grinned. "DMZ told me about you."
"Same here." Star said as they shock hands. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." StarZ grinned before looking a the others. "Hey, DMZ, you've got a lot of new friends while I was gone."
"You can thank Star for that." Alpheon smiled.
"Jeez... Knock it off, Alpheon." Star giggled 'You're making me blush."
The group laughed at that before the school bang rang. "Dang... It's already over?" StarZ pouted.
"We can chat more after school's over." Star said.
"Okay." StarZ said.
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Later that day, the group and StarZ were hanging out outside the school building.
"So, you and DMZ lived next to each other and went to the same school?" Alia asked.
"Yup. We used to walk to school together and stuff when we were kids." DMZ replied. "Back then he was kinda a hyper kid sometimes, but he knew when to get serious. Now he's a whiney teenager but he is there to help when he is needed. "
"I'll take that as a compliment." StarZ chuckled. "You haven't changed much."
"So, StarZ, where have you been?" Zero asked.
"In Canada." StarZ replied. "I've got a letter saying that my parents could be alive and living there so I headed out to investigate. Luckily, the government paid the trip."
"Did you have any luck?" X asked.
"Nope." StarZ sighed. "The couple did survive the Hollow War, but their missing child is three years older than me."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Layer said.
"Nah, it's okay." StarZ shrugged. "I really didn't expect to find them anyway."
"Hey, StarZ, you know the whole gang?" Star asked trying to change the subject.
"Now that you mentioned it, not really." StarZ replied. "I just know DMZ, X and Alia."
"Well, if you're sticking with us, you'd better know at least our names." Zero said. "I'm Zero."
"You won last year's Martial Arts Championship, didn't you?" StarZ asked.
"That's right." Zero said. "You look pretty tough. We should spar some day."
"Sounds cool to me." StarZ said.
"Back on topic, these are Layer and Pallette." Star said pointing to the two girls.
"Hello, nice to meet you." Layer said. "I'm Layer."
"And I'm Pallette." Pallette said.
"Nice to meet you girls." StarZ said before glancing at Alpheon. "And you are..."
"Alpheon." The Black Ninja said. "Perhaps you've heard of me as the Black Ninja."
"Yeah, now I remember. I've heard about you." StarZ said. "You're a real ninja?"
"A Ninjitsu student." Alpheon replied. "You don't look surprised."
"Trust me, I don't get surprised so easily." StarZ said looking at Axl. "Who are you?"
"Name's Axl." Axl replied.
StarZ looked at Axl for a few seconds. He looked at X and Zero, then at Axl again before he burst into laughter.
"Hey, what's so funny?" Axl asked crossing his arms, rahter annoyed.
"Heh, I've just realized you're just a prototype!" StarZ said laughing.
The gang glanced at each other. "What's that supposed to mean!" Axl asked angry.
"Don't you get it? Just look at yourself." StarZ mocked. "Your clothes are like Zero's with a darker version of X's. You look like a prototype of them both!"
The group looked at the trio. StarZ did have a point. X and Zero glanced at each other and at Axl. "You know, you got a point there." X said with a chuckle. "Our clothes are a bit alike."
Axl, on the other hand, didn't find StarZ's joke funny at all. "Very funny..." He growled.
"Jeez, what's the matter? Can't take a joke?" StarZ asked.
"I can when the joke is funny." Axl said before smirking. "At least I don't look like a bishie. Unlike you."
StarZ narrowed his eyes. "What did you call me, you twerp!" He asked angry.
"Who ya calling twerp! As far as I'm concerned, you're only one year older than me, you punk!" Ask snapped.
"You... You're so dead!" StarZ yelled lunging at Axl who did the same.
Before the two teens could rip each other's throats apart, X and Zero grabbed them and pulled them away from each other.
"X! Let me go!" Axl yelled as he struggled to break free.
"Sorry, but I can't do that." X said. "You know that you can't fight in school."
"Knock it off! Let me at him!" StarZ yelled at Zero who held him tightly.
Zero shook his head. "Man, you two are such a couple of babies." He sighed.
Alia and the others whatched the scene with a blank look on their faces.
"What was that all about?" Star asked.
"Well, since you're new, you probably don't know, but a bishie is a pretty guy." Alia explained.
"Pretty? Then why did StarZ get so pissed off?" Star asked.
"That's because bishie is pretty in a girly way." Alpheon replied. "That's enough to piss any guy off."
"I hate to interrupt, but a little help here would be appreciated." X said. He was having troubles holiding Axl down.
"Sorry, but this is outta my hands." DMZ shrugged looking at Alpheon. "Hey, Alpheon, who do you think will win this match?"
"Well, if StarZ's your friend, he must be really tough." Alpheon stated. "But Axl trains with Zero so he's pretty good too. That's a tough one."
"You boys are so immature." Layer said rolling her eyes.
"If you guys won't do something, I will." Star said walking towards the group. "X, Zero, let them go. I'll handle this."
Zero looked at Star. She winked at him telling him she had a plan. "Okay. They're all yours." Zero decided.
X and Zero let go of them and backed away.
"Thanks." Star said before glaring at Axl and StarZ. "Okay. You two asked for it."
Without warning, she grabbed them both by one ear and pulled them hard.
"YEOW! What gives!" StarZ yelled.
"That hurts! Cut it out!" Axl screamed.
Finally, Star let go. "I'm sorry, but if you two are gonna keep acting like babies, we'll have to treat you that way." She crossed her arms. "So, quit fooling around, will ya?"
Axl and StarZ rubbed their ears before glancing at each other. They growled at each other before turning away with their arms crossed.
X sighed. "You two are hopeless..."
"They're very alike, you know." Pallette said. "They're both short-tempered and childish."
"No way!" Axl and StarZ yelled in unison before looking at each other. "Hmpf." They looked away.
"I'm going home." Axl said picking his stuff. "Later."
He left.
"I'm outta here too." StarZ said as he started walking in the opposite direction. "See ya."
"That went rather well." DMZ said after StarZ left.
"You really think so?" Zero said with a sarcastic tone.
"What are we gonna do with them?" X sighed.
"There isn't much we can do right now. They'll have to settle their differences somehow." Alia said.
"Hopefully, they won't do that by beating each other senseless." Layer said.
The group glanced at each other. "We'd better keep them away from each other for a while." Pallette said.
"That won't be an easy task." Alpheon said.
Star sighed. "Let's try talking with them." She decided.
The group agreed and split up: X and Zero, along with Alia, Layer and Pallette, would check on Axl while Star, DMZ and Alpheon would talk with StarZ.
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Axl walked down the streets. He was pretty mad at StarZ.
"Axl?" X called as he and the others caught up with him. "Axl, wait up."
Axl stopped walking and sighed. "X, I don't need you to tell me how I messed up at school." He said. "I know it."
"That's not the point." X said. "You and StarZ have your differences. That's understantable, but you can't just leave things like that. It'll just make things worse. You have to settle this without fighting."
"We're not siding with anyone." Zero said with a stern look on his face. "You two started this so you'll have to fix it."
"Look, I didn't start a thing. He did." Axl said. "As long as that bishie stays away from me, I won't beat him up." With that, Axl entered his home.
"Man, why does he have to be so stubborn?" Zero asked.
"This will be harder than I thought." Alia sighed.
"Perhaps we should give him some time to calm down." Layer suggested.
"Hope the others got better luck." Pallette said.
Meanwhile...
"I know I didn't make a very good first impression, but there's no way I'm gonna apologise to that twerp!" StarZ told Star and the others as they walked home.
"StarZ, I'm not saying you have to apologise. I just think you two have to solve this without using violence." Star said. "You and Axl are my friends. I hate this tension between you two."
"Star, there won't be any tension if the prototype stays away from me and that's final!" StarZ said before walking into his building. "See ya."
Alpheon rolled his eyes. "He's definately your friend, DMZ." He said. "He's a stubborn as you."
"Nah, he can be way more stubborn when he wants to." DMZ shrugged. "Well, now what? Leave them be and see what happens?"
"It's not like we have another choice." Star sighed. "Remind me to keep him and Axl away from each other until they calm down."
"How long do you think that'll take?" Alpheon asked.
"Two weeks." DMZ replied. "At least."
The trio sighed.
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Two weeks have passed and things hadn't changed much. There was still tension between Axl and StarZ . They'd ignore each other and, when they met by accident they'd exchange glares before heading into opposite directions.
The gang, particularly Star, was tired of the childish fight between the two.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm fed up with this." Star told the gang after school. Axl and StarZ had left. "If those two are too proud and stubborn to settle this, we'll have to take the matter into our own hands."
"The problem is: how are we gonna do that? We can't just let they beat each other up." Layer said.
"If they had something in common it could help us find a way to solve this." Alia said.
"Well, they're both short-tempered, stubborn, competitive and..." Pallette started.
"Wait. You said competitive?" Star asked.
"Yeah. Axl loves a good competition. Videogames are his favorites." X replied.
"Those are StarZ's favorites too." DMZ said. "He'd always try to beat me when we were kids."
"That gives me an idea." Star smirked. "And it's just crazy enough to work."
Alpheon raised and eyebrown. "What's on your mind?"
"You'll see." Star winked. "Get Axl and StarZ and meet me at the arcade in 20 minutes."
"The arcade?" Zero asked.
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing." Star said.
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At the arcade...
"A videogame contest?" Axl and StarZ asked.
"Yup. It's time for you to settle this. Fair an square." Star replied. "This way there won't be any complaints when someone loses."
Silence fell over them. Star was right. It was a crazy idea. "So, what's gonna be?" Star asked placing her hands on her hips. "Are you in ? Or are you afraid to find who's the best?"
"I'm afraid of nothing." Axl replied. "Count me in."
"I'm game too." StarZ said.
"Bingo! It worked." Star thought with a smirk. "Okay, choose a game to start with and let's get a move on."
While Axl and StarZ chose a game, Star turned to the others. "So far, so good." She said.
"I gotta hand it to you, Star." X said. "You came up with a creative solution for our problem."
"Well, games're the closest thing to a real fight." Star said. "And since those two like playing games, it's quite fitting they solve this by playing." She glanced at Axl and StarZ who stood next to a fliperama. "So, you two made up your mind?"
"Yeah." StarZ smirked glancing at Axl. "You're going down."
Axl smirked back at him. "Oh, yeah? We'll see about that."
Two hours later...
StarZ and Axl played almost every game in the arcade. The problem: they had ended up in a tie.
"Man, if I had known those two were such game freaks, I would've suggested something else..." Star sighed.
"C'mon, it can't be a tie." Axl said.
"Yeah. I won. I'm sure of it." StarZ said.
Axl glared at him. "No way!"
StarZ glared back at him. "Way!"
"I kept track of your scores." Alia said before they started another argument. "Axl won most times at the racing games while StarZ was better at the fighting games. In the end... We have a tie."
"Aw man... We're back to the starting point." Axl groaned sitting next to Zero. "Now what?"
"We need a tie-breaker." DMZ replied.
"How? The only games left are for babies." StarZ said. "No way I'm playing those."
"How about an endurance test?" Alpheon asked.
"Endurance test?" The others asked.
"The rules are simple: Axl and StarZ run across the city without stopping." Alpheon explained. "The first one to stop loses."
"I get it. The winner is not the fastest, but the one who can run for more time." Zero said.
"That's right." Alpheon said glancing at the two. "It's the ultimate test. Are you up for it?"
Axl and StarZ glanced at each other before clenching their fists. "Let's go."
The group walked out of the arcade. StarZ and Axl got ready.
"Okay, let's get this show on the road." Star said. "Ready... Set... GO!"
The two ran off leaving a small trail of dust behind.
"They're fast..." Layer said. "Shouldn't we follow them to keep them away from trouble?"
"That won't be necessary." Pallette replied. "Check the city map on your PETs."
The group did so. The saw eight spots together on the map while two were getting away from the main group.
"Hey, what are these?" Alpheon asked.
"Remember when I asked if I could borrow your PETs one week ago? I installed a tracking device on them." Pallette explained. "This way it's easier to get a hold of each other."
"Pallette, you're a techno whiz." X smiled. "We should be able to keep an eye on those two now."
"Speaking of which, they're already five blocks away from here." Alia said. "I wonder how long they'll keep running."
"Knowing Axl, I'd say until they both are exhausted or until one of them admits defeat." Zero said.
"The first option sounds more likely to me." Star said. "That could take a while."
The others agreed.
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Axl and StarZ kept running. Like the others expected, none of them was willing to admit defeat.
"Better give up while you can, prototype." StarZ teased.
"Yeah, right." Axl said with a sarcastic tone. "Why don't you spare yourself of the humiliation and give up?"
"No way! I'm just getting started!" StarZ said.
"Really? So am I!" Axl said.
They started running faster.
Three hours later...
The sun was setting and the first stars could be seen in the sky. Axl and StarZ were tired, yet they refused to stop.
"Say... you're not bad after all." StarZ smirked.
"You've seen nothing yet." Axl smirked back at him.
A loud and sudden explosion starled the two teens. "Whoa! What was that?" Axl asked before they saw several smoke clouds. "Hey, take a look at that."
"Dang... where there's smoke there's fire." StarZ said looking at Axl. "Truce?"
"Truce." Axl replied. "Let's go check it out."
Running towards the explosion, both teens frozed when they saw a small building on fire!
"Man, that's bad!" Axl said before something caught his atention. "What's this smell?"
"Gas leaking." StarZ replied pointing to a telephone pole. "There are some eletric cables cut off. Their sparks must've started fire."
"Axl? StarZ?" X called on Axl's PET. "Why did you two stop? What's going on?"
"We got a problem here!" Axl replied. "There's a building on fire! If we don't do something, the whole neighborhood might burn down!"
"What! Where are you?" X asked worried.
"Third street. On the east side of the city." StarZ replied. "Some cables were cut. We can't call the fire brigade from here."
"HHHEEEEELLLLLPPPP!" A young voice suddenly cried.
Axl and StarZ looked up. A four-year-old girl was as the top window! She looked scared and she was crying. "Pwease! Help!" She yelled waving her arms.
"There's someone in there!" Axl yelled. "We gotta help her!"
"Don't. It's too dangerous!" X yelled. "The others called the fire brigade. Help's on its way!"
"They won't make it time... We can't just stand here!" StarZ said.
"Wait!" X said.
"I'm sorry, X... But we have to do this." Axl said hanging up. He glanced at StarZ. "C'mon!"
They ran up to the door and kicked it open. Withoug wasting time, they made their way to the top floor while avoiding flames and falling debris.
"Help!" They heard the little girl crying.
"It's coming from there!" StarZ pointed to a door.
They tried to open it, but the door wouldn't budge. "Shoot! It's stuck!" Axl growled.
"We'll have to bring it down." StarZ said. "On three. One... Two..."
"THREE!" They both rammed the door. Their combined strengh was enough to unlock the door. Once inside, they started looking for the little girl.
"Kid? Kid, where are you?" Axl asked.
A sob was his only answer. The girl stood next to the window while holding a teddy bear. Axl and StarZ walked up to her.
"Who... Who are you?" The little girl said. "I'm scared... I wanna my mommy and daddy."
"It's okay." StarZ said. "We're here to help. What's your name?"
"Elysia." She replied.
"Elysia, we're gonna get you out of here and go look for your parents, okay?" Axl said.
"Okay!" Elysia said as StarZ picked her up.
They heard a bang. "This place will crash at any moment." StarZ said. "Let's go."
They started running back. Axl on the lead with StarZ close behind.
As they ran towards the exit, part of the ceiling started crumbling. StarZ looked up and gasped: it was going to colapse on his and Axl's heads!
"Look out!" StarZ yelled grabbing Axl by his shirt. He jumped back pulling Axl as well. Just in time. The ceiling colapsed, falling a few inches away from they.
Axl rubbed his head before glancing at StarZ. "You... You saved me..."
StarZ checked on Elysia. She was okay. "Yeah. Yeah... Let's chat later." He said getting up. "Let's get out of here before we end up as a couple of marshmellows."
Axl nodded and got up. They resumed running as fast as they could.
"C'mon! We're almost there!" Axl said as they arrived on the second floor.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them gave away, making StarZ fall.
"StarZ!" Axl yelled looking inside the hole. StarZ managed to grab the edge with one arm while holding Elysia with the other.
"StarZ, grab on!"Axl yelled holding out his hand. "I'll pull you out."
"Forget it! There isn't time!" StarZ said trying to lift Elysia. "Get her out of here!"
"You crazy! No way I'm leaving you behind!" Axl said.
"Don't be an idiot!" StarZ yelled. His hand was slipping. "C'mon!"
"No!" Axl yelled. "You might be a pain in the butt, but... if something happens to you... I'll never forgive myself!"
"Axl..." StarZ said surprised.
StarZ's hand slipped, but Axl managed to grab his wrist just in time. Using all his strength, he pulled StarZ and Elysia out.
"Phew... Close one." Axl smirked as he got up. "Everyone okay?"
"I guess... Elysia?" StarZ glanced at the little girl who nodded. "Axl... I..."
"Later, buddy." Axl smirked as he helped StarZ up. "Let's get out of here."
StarZ nodded and they resumed running.
Outside...
The fire brigade had arrived and the firemen were trying to control the flames when X and the others arrived.
"Back up! Back up!" One of the firemen said. "This area is dangerous."
"Wait! Our friends are in there!" Alia said.
"We've got the situation under control." The fireman said before he realized a young couple was trying to enter the building. "Stop! You can't go in there!"
"My daughter's in there!" The woman said.
"You must let me pass!" The man said.
"Hey!" Another fireman yelled. "There's someone coming out of the building!"
Everyone watched as Axl and StarZ emmerged from the flames carrying Elysia with them.
"Elysia!" Her parents cried running towards the two teens.
"StarZ! Axl!" X yelled as he and the others ran towards them.
Once Axl and StarZ were away from the flames, the latter gave Elysia to her parents before they both sank to their knees trying to catch their breath.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Elysia squealed as her parents hugged her crying.
"You're okay..." Her mother sobbed.
"Thank heavens..." Her father said looking at Axl and StarZ. "Thank you... both of you. I can't thank you enough for saving the most precious thing in my life..."
"You're welcome, mister." Axl said as he and StarZ got up. "We're sorry about your home though."
"Don't worry. We can replace our home, but not the live of a loved one." Elysia's mom said looking at her. "Right, Elysia?"
"Mommy, I wanna thank them too!" Elysia said before her father brought her closer to both boys. "Thank you!" Elysia giggled before hugging StarZ and Axl and kissing them both on their cheeks.
StarZ and Axl smiled a bit when they were hugged by Star and Pallette. "You're okay!" They said in unison.
Axl and StarZ blushed at being hugged, but no one seemed to noticed since their faces were a bit red due the heat.
"I'm glad yo see you too, Pallette, but I'd like to breathe a bit now." Axl joked.
"S..Star... could... you let... go?" StarZ stuttered.
The girls let go of them and helped them up. The others glanced at them. Axl and StarZ had ashes all over their clothes and faces and some scratches. "You two okay?" Layer asked.
"Yeah. Just out of breath." Axl replied earning a few glares from X and Zero. "Uh-oh..."
"I guess we're in trouble." StarZ said rubbing the back of his head while laughing nervously.
"Not really. You two are heroes!" Star said.
"Stupid and reckless heroes, but heroes nonetheless." Zero added.
"True, your actions were reckless but brave as well. You saved a life." X said.
"All's well when it ends well, I guess." Alpheon said.
"You got that right." StarZ smirked looking at Axl. "You know, you're not bad... for a prototype."
"Really?" Axl smirked back at him. "You're not bad either... For a bishie, that is."
They started glaring at each other. The gang sighed. "Here we go again." DMZ rolled his eyes.
When the gang thought another fight was going to start, Axl and StarZ burst into laughter. That caught the gang off-guard. "They're... laughing together?" Pallette asked.
"ALL RIGHT!" Axl and StarZ said in unison before high-fiving.
"Meh, how do you like that?" DMZ grinned.
"They used to hate each other..." Layer started.
"And now they get along just fine." Zero concluded. "For now at least."
"They're different and alike at the same time." Alia said.
"Helping people in need is their common ground." Star said. "They argue and fight a lot, but they respect and admire each other even if they don't admit it."
"It's kinda love-and-hate relationship, I guess." X said.
"As long as they don't beat each other up it's fine with me." Alpheon shrugged.
The others nodded looking at the duo. They were saying good bye to Elysia and her parents.
"C'mon, guys." Zero called. "Time to go home."
Axl and StarZ nodded and the gang headed home.
StarZ and Axl had created a solid friendship, despite their differences. It was safe to assume they'd fight over something in the future, but that would only make their friendship stronger.
There you have it. I love how this one came out.