Sorry about the delay everybody. I've been busy as hell at school. Well, I made my first college exam and... I PASSED IT! I'm so happy so here's chapter 7 to celebrate! Have fun and review!
Chapter 7: Friend or Foe?
The gang was walking out of the school building after another regular day at school. They were going to meet up with Vee. After being 'adopted' by Star, the little kid used to wait for them either at the Green Light House or in front of the school building. Most people'd find weird a little boy hanging out with a group of teens, but X and his friends didn't seem to mind. They quickly found that Vee was a talkative and carefree kid that loved being among them, his friends.
Although part of the gang wouldn't admit, they all enjoyed the kid's company. The girls thought his spunky, yet childish, atitude was cute while the boys kinda liked how Vee admired and looked up to them.
As the group walked, Vee suddenly spotted them. "Star! Guys!" He squealed with a huge smile as he started running towards them.
"Hi, Vee." X smiled as the little kid hugged him. Another thing the gang quickly found about about Vee was that he loved hugging the people he liked. "How ya doing?"
"I'm great now!" Vee replied, hugging Star. "I was waiting for you guys."
"Well, we're here now. You wanna a ride?" Alpheon asked before picking Vee up and giving him a piggyback ride.
Vee laughed in delight as Alpheon carried him around. From the boys, X and Alpheon were the only ones that didn't hide how much they enjoyed Vee's company, much to the kid's happiness.
"Alpheon really likes Vee, huh?" Axl chuckled as the group watched the Black Ninja playing with Vee while they walked down the street.
"As much as Vee likes him, I guess." Rigel said.
"Who would've thought that the great Black Ninja could be as childish as the little squirt." Zero said while smirking.
"C'mon, Zero, don't tell me you wouldn't like to play with Vee like X and Alpheon do." Alia said glancing at him.
"Hmpf! I'm too old for these kids' games." Zero crossed his arms.
"Maybe, but you still find them amusing." Faust said earning a glare from Zero. "Er... Nevermind!"
Vega laughed. "Yeah. It's kinda funny seeing the Alpheon dude playing with Vee, but it'd be kinda embarassing playing too."
"It'd be kinda silly, you mean." Kazegama said.
"How come? You guys do silly things all the time." Layer stated.
"Hey, since when we're silly?" StarZ asked.
"I'm not." DMZ replied. "As for you, ever since I know you."
StarZ scowled at that while the others started laughing.
"Well, aren't you guys a happy bunch?" A voice out of nowhere mused.
The gang stopped and looked around. "Who said that?" Pallette asked.
"Up here." The voice replied as the group looked up. A guy around 18 with dark red eyes and short black hair stood on the top of a tree. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, a black leather jacket, black shorts, boots and a black and gray headband around his forehead. He was smilling casually as the group while shuffling a deck of cards.
"Who are you?" Star asked.
The teen leaped from his branch and landed in front of Star. "Precursor Shadow." He replied flashing a grin. "At your service."
"Precursor Shadow?" Vee asked before giggling. "That's a cool name."
P. Shadow glanced at Vee smirking. "Hhmm... What do we have here?" He mused taking a good look at the kid. "Hey there, kid."
"Hi! I'm Vee!" Vee said smiling. "Nice to meet ya, Precursor Shadow!"
P. Shadow chuckled. "What a kid." He said walking away. "Better keep an eye on him. Things matter when they're gone."
In a matter of seconds, he was outta sight. "What was that all about?" Axl asked. "Who was that guy, anyway?"
"Precursor Shadow, card player, gambler and a true enigma to boot." Zero replied. "He's at my, Layer and Kazegama's class. Other than that, who knows what's he all about."
"Talk about an enigma." StarZ said crossing his arms.
"Enigma? He seems to be a nice guy to me." Vee said. "He was pretty nice with me when we talked."
"Talked?" DMZ asked raising an eyebrown. "Since when you know him?"
"I meet him three days ago." Vee replied. "I was waiting for you guys when he walked up to me and started talking with me, but he walked away before I could ask him his name."
"That's pretty weird." Kazegama said. "I don't remember seeing that guy talking with anyone, let alone a kid like Vee."
"Maybe he doesn't make friends easily." Vee suggested.
"Maybe, but it's kinda hard to trust someone as mysterious as him." X said. "Perhaps we should be more cautious about him."
"I agree." Star said. "Vee, until we make sure we can trust Precursor Shadow, I don't want you to talk with him alone, okay?"
"Okay, Star. I promise." Vee said.
"Well, that settles it." Alpheon said. "Let's get going."
The group of friends walked away.
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The next day, at the cafeteria, X and his friends were talking about the mysterious guy, Precursor Shadow.
"So, what did you guys unconver?" Alpheon asked.
"According to some people from our classes, Precursor Shadow'd been watching us from afar eversince Vee started hanging out with us." Layer started.
"And some people saw him talking with Vee three days ago like Vee told us." Alia added.
"From what we heard, he walked up to Vee and asked him what he was doing in front of the school." Pallette said. "And when Vee told him that he was waiting for us he asked him if he liked being with us. Then, he simply walked away after Vee said yes."
"Okay... That's pretty weird." Vega said.
"That guy's sudden interest on Vee worries me." X said crossing his arms. "I hope I'm wrong, but he could me trouble."
"I know. That's why I got this for Vee." Star said showing the gang a sky blue PET with a white v painted on it. "With this PET, we should be able to keep an eye on him. Pallette, could you and Rigel install a tracking device on it while I take Vee to the library after school?"
Pallette and Rigel nodded. "Sure thing, Star." Rigel replied as Star gave her Vee's PET. "That shouldn't take long."
"Thanks a lot, girls." Star smiled. "By the way, gang, could you guys keep that a secret? I wanna make a surprise for Vee."
"Sure, Star." Axl said.
"In the meantime, we'll try to figure out what that guy's up to." Zero said. "Got it?"
The others agreed.
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"Star? Where are we going?" Vee asked as he followed Star.
"To the library." Star replied. "I need some books for my homework. Once we're done, we'll meet up with the gang at the Green Light House."
"Okay!" Vee said holding Star's hand.
As they were talking, they were walking in front of a building site. Some workers were using a wrecking ball to demolish the old building. "Okay. Let's carry on." One of them said.
As the huge wrecking ball was being lifted, the workers, Vee and Star suddenly heard a loud snap! The steel cables holding the ball had broken and the giant ball was going to fall... On Star and Vee!
"Look out!" One of the workers yelled at Star and Vee.
Star looked up and gasped. "VEE! RUN!" She yelled tackling him out of the way, before she threw herself to the ground.
The next thing Star knew, she heard a loud crash and some wooden boards from a neaby fence fell on her. "V-Vee..." She whispered fainting.
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"Hey, she's waking up!!" Was the first thing Star heard when she regained consciouness. "Hey, you okay?"
Star opened her eyes. "I think so..." She said glancing at one of the workers who helped her up. Star glanced at herself: she had several scratces on her limbs and nasty wound on her head. "Close call..."
"Thank heavens you're safe." The other worker sighed in relief.
Star suddenly gasped. "Vee?! Vee, where are you?!" She yelled calling her little friend before turning to the two workers. "Please, where is my friend? Is he okay?"
The workers looked away. "That kid... He fell..." One of them said pointing towards a hole next to the wrecking ball. "Over there..."
"No..." Star whispered with some tears on her eyes.
"There seems to be an underground tunnel down there." One of the workers said glancing at the hole. "Can't see much though."
"An underground tunnel... That's it!" Star yelled running off.
"Wait! You're still injured!" The workers yelled.
Too late. Star was long gone. However, someone watched her leave.
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At the Green Light House, Rigel and Pallette finished working on Vee's PET. "All done!" Pallette said. "Vee should have no trouble using this PET."
"I'm sure he'll be glad with Star's gift." Rigel said.
"Speaking of them, shouldn't they be here by now?" Vega asked.
"They should show up anytime soon." Kazegama replied.
Suddenly, the door was burst open and an injured and bleeding Star ran into the place. "Guys..." She whispered. "Help..."
The gang gasped. "STAR?!" Her friends yelled. Quickly, Alpheon and DMZ grabbed her before she collapsed and helped her sit down.
"Star, you okay?" X asked worried. "What happened?"
Star just sobbed. "Vee... He... He..."
"Star, please, calm down!" Layer said. "Axl, get her a glass of water now!"
"I'm on it!" Axl said running off. A few seconds later, he returned with a glass of water and Mr. Signas. "I called Mr. Signas."
"Drink this, Star." Alpheon said giving her the glass of water.
Star drank a few gulps of water before sighing.
"Now, Star, what happened?" Mr. Signas gently asked.
"Vee and I were heading to the library... We were walking past a building site when the steel cables of a wrecking ball broke off." Star replied before taking a deep breath. "We were nearly crushed, but the ball's impact made a huge hole on the ground that leads to the City underground tunnels... Vee fell on it and he vanished..."
X and his friends exchanged shocked glances. That was serious.
"We gotta find him!" StarZ suddenly yelled.
"I agree, but how?" Faust asked. "Due the Hollow War, there are several tunnels all over the city! Vee could be anywhere!"
"Maybe I can help." Mr. Signas said. "Being a former soldier, I still have a map of all underground passageways of this city. I can upload the data into your PETs."
"Do it, Mr. Signas." Zero decided. "Once we get the data, we'll check out the neighborhood to find Vee."
Mr. Signas picked the gang's PETs and started working.
"Vee's my responsability..." Star said trying to get up.
"Star, stay still. Don't push yourself too hard." DMZ said. "Vee's a tough kid. He'll be okay. I'm positive on it."
"DMZ..." Star whispered.
"We'll find Vee, Star. He means a lot to everybody." X said.
Sighing, Star nodded. "Okay..." She said looking at a nearby window: the sky was becoming dark and cloudy. "Vee... Be safe..."
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Vee winced rubbing his head as he sat down. He had hit the ground pretty hard and gotten a few bruises in the process. "Man, that hurt..." He said looking around. "Star? Star! Star, where are you?!"
No answer. Vee closed his eyes and recalled how he had ended up there. After Star had pushed him, he saw a huge metal ball crashing just a few inches from her. It had fallen at the construction site's wooden fence making a few boards fall on her. Vee tried to help her, but the ground beneath him suddenly crumbled away and he fell...
"I've gotta get out of here and find Star." Vee whispered getting up. His body ached, but he didn't mind. He glanced at the nametag around his neck. "The gang's probably worried sick about me..."
Sighing, Vee glanced around the dark tunnel. "They told me about the underground tunnels and that one leads to the Green Light House..." He stated. "If I find the right tunnel, I should be able to get out of here... I hope."
Hesitating a bit, the little kid ventured deeper into the tunnel. Little did he know that someone was following him.
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"Okay. We got the maps." Zero said looking at his PET. "Let's roll."
"So, where do we start looking?" Axl asked. "After falling, Vee probably wandered off trying to find a way out."
"That's possible... We did tell him that there's a tunnel that leads back to this place." Alia stated.
"Either way, we should start at the place he was last seen at." Faust said. "From there we can spread out and search."
The others nodded in agreement when a thunder cracked.
"Just what we needed... A storm." DMZ said.
"Vee's afraid of the thunder..." Star whispered as Layer finished tending to her wounds. "He's probably scared and lonely..."
"We'll find him, Star." Layer said trying to confort her.
Star nodded. She took a deep breath and got up.
"Are you sure you wanna come along?" StarZ asked. "You got a lot of bruises."
"I'm fine, StarZ, I mean it." Star replied.
"Guess we won't change your mind, Star, but try taking it easy." X said. "Pushing yourself too hard won't help."
Star nodded.
"Well, let's rock!" Vega said.
"Mr. Signas, call us if Vee shows up." Alpheon said. "He's a smart kid so it's possible that he finds a way back."
Mr. Signas nodded. "Good luck kids."
X and his friends nodded and ran off.
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Vee explored the tunnel. Even though it had lights, he couldn't see much. "It's so creepy in here..." He whispered. "I wanna go home..."
Suddenly, he heard voices. "Okay, you knuckleheads, listen up!" One voice said. "This is our base now so we gotta keep meddlers out! Got that?"
"Yes, boss!" A group of voices replied in unison.
"Oh-uh... that doesn't sound good." Vee said. "I shouldn't do this, but... Aw, here goes!"
Following the voices, Vee found himself at the core of the underground tunnels. From that place, one could reach other tunnels and head to any other part of the city. "Whoa..." The little kid said in awe.
"What was that?" A voice asked.
Thinking fast, Vee hid behind a nearby pile of rocks. "Phew... Close one..." He thought. "If they catch me it won't be pretty."
Peeking from the pile of rocks, Vee found that the voices belonged to a group of five strong looking street punks.
"Probably a rat." The strongest punk, probably the leader, replied. "Time to plan our next move."
"A street gang..." Vee whispered as he heard them planning a bank robbery. "Star told me about that kind of people... They're bad and dangerous."
Slowly, the little kid backed away to run when a loud thunder suddenly echoed throughout the tunnels. "Yikes!" Vee yelled starled falling on his back.
The punks looked at him surprised. "Hey, what's that little shrimp doing here?" One of the punks asked.
"Err... Don't mind me." Vee quickly said trying to find a way out of that mess. "I'm just a lost little boy trying to find his way home!"
"Yeah, right." The leader mocked. "What do we look like? Stupid?"
"Look in the mirror and you'll know the answer." Vee thought. "It's true!" He said trying to sound convincing. "I just wanna go home..."
"Awww... The poor little boy wanna go home." One of the punks laughed. "I'm think I'm gonna cry!"
"Listen, you twerp, no one messes with us and gets away with it!" The leader cracked his knuckles. "And since you found our secret base, we can't let you leave this place."
The punks started walking towards Vee. "What do I do? What do I do now?!" He thought panicking. "Star... Guys... What should I do?"
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"Vee!" X called for the little boy as he, Star, DMZ and Alpheon searched at the building site area. "Vee, answer us!"
A few raindrops from the sky followed by lighting was his only answer. "The storm is quickly approaching..." Alpheon said before looking at the hole. "Yo, DMZ! Got anything?"
DMZ leapt out of the hole. "There's no way to tell for sure which way Vee went after falling." He said frowning. "The tunnel goes on for miles in both ways."
"Now I know..." Star whispered. "Things matter when they're gone..."
"That's what that guy, Precursor Shadow, told us yesterday." X said. "It's almost like he knew that this could happen."
"I can't confirm that theory, but now that you mentioned that guy..." DMZ started digging one of his pockets. "I found this down there."
DMZ showed them a card. "A jack of spades?" Alpheon asked. "I wonder how that got here..."
"Wait a minute." Star picked the card and turned it around. "I've seen this card before... Now I remember! It's one of Precursor Shadow's cards!"
"Huh? How do you know?" Alpheon asked.
"He was shuffling a deck of cards when we met him, remember?" Star explained. "I noticed the cards' back."
DMZ crossed his arms. "You guys think..."
"Let's not jump ahead on conclusions." X decided. "It could be just a coincidence. Everyone is innocent until is proven otherwise."
"Maybe, but it does sound odd..." Alpheon said. "Better check with the others, they could've found something else."
X nodded and picked up his PET. "This is X calling the gang." He said. "Everyone, how is it going?"
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Alia was the first one to reply. "Alia here. I don't think Vee's headed towards the east side of the city." She said. "So far, Rigel, Kazegama, Layer, Pallette and myself haven't found any sign of him."
"Have you guys seen Precursor Shadow?" Star asked.
The group exchanged confused glances. "Well, not really." Rigel replied. "Why do you ask?"
"We found one of his cards on the hole where Vee fell." Alpheon replied. "It could be just just a coincidence, but..."
"Hey, something just hit me." Kazegama said. "That guy usually hangs out at the Green Light house after school, but today he never showed up."
"Yeah, now that you mentioned it, you're right." Layer said.
"Hhmmm... Another coincidence?" Pallette asked.
"Maybe. Maybe not." DMZ replied. "Right now that's not the point."
"Roger. Keep looking guys." X said. "Hey, Zero, can you hear me?"
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"Loud and clear, buddy." Zero replied as he, Axl, StarZ, Vega and Faust ventured inside a tunnel. "We were hearing the hole thing. That's why we were silent."
"Man... Vee's probably scared and I can't really blame him." Vega said. "This place creeps me out."
"I find it rather frighting as well." Faust said. "What should we do if we find Precursor Shadow?"
"First, try asking him if he knows Vee's whereabouts." Star replied. "He seems to be the kind of guy that knows more than he's telling."
"And what if he doesn't tell us a thing?" Axl asked.
"Then we'll have to make him talk." StarZ replied.
"Easy, guys." X told them. "So far we can't tell for sure if he has something to do with this whole story."
"Got it, X." Zero said. "We'll be on the look out for anything strange. If we find Vee, we'll call you guys."
"Good luck, guys." Star said. "Be careful."
The group hang up. "Dang... I sure hope Vee's okay..." StarZ sighed. "I... I kinda miss him..."
"I miss him too." Axl frowned. "He's spunky and childish... And he always manages to make us laugh with his antics."
"Look, Vee may be a kid, but he's pretty tough for his size." Zero said. "He spent more than a month on the streets before Star found him. He can take care of himself for a while so get moving."
Zero started walking faster. "Gee, Zero does have a point." Vega whispered to the others. "But I'm worried about the little dude."
"So am I, my friend." Faust whispered back. "Even though Zero does not admit, he seems to be worried about Vee as well."
Axl and StarZ nodded in agreement and the four started walking faster.
In the lead, Zero kept walking trying to sound and look calm. He told his friends that Vee would be okay, but in his heart he wasn't that sure. "Vee, where are you?" He thought.
A sudden scream not only snapped Zero out of his thought, but it starled the others as well. "What was that?" Vega asked.
"It sounded like a child's scream." Faust replied before freezing.
The five friends gasped. "VEE!" They yelled in unison.
"He's in trouble! Let's go!" Zero said as the group ran off.
"Hang in there, Vee!" StarZ yelled. "We're coming!"
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A few minutes earlier...
"Hold still, you little brat!" A punk yelled as he tried to punch Vee.
Vee backed away as he dodged the punk's blows. "I can't dodge that punk forever." Vee thought worried. "What do I do?"
"You're mine, twerp!" A second punk yelled lunging at Vee while holding a bar.
Thinking fast, Vee ducked, allowing both punks to crash at each other and knocking them down. "Sorry, but that serves you both right." Vee said looking at the fallen punks.
"No kid fools my buddies and gets away with it!" Another punk yelled lunging at Vee.
Vee sighed. "Man, you guys are so hopeless." He whispered as he picked the nearby iron bar and he used it to to make the punk trip up and fall face first on the ground. "Say, could we stop this now?" Vee asked rubbing the back of his head. "This is kinda annoying."
"I'll show you annoying!" The fourth punk roared charging at Vee while holding another iron bar. A bigger one.
"Whoah!" Vee yelled starled as he quickly brought up his iron bar to protect himself from the blow.
"Once I'm done with you, my friends will have a lot of fun with you." The punk sneered while he kept striking harder and harder at Vee. "You're toast, squirt!"
"Only my friends can call me squirt!" Vee said blocking a hard blow. The punk tried to break through the kid's defenses, but Vee wasn't going to give up. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Your time's up!" Vee smirked as he stepped to side.
The punk lost his balance before he crashed into the wall. "Ouch... That must've hurt." Vee winced as he saw the punk falling out cold before glancing at the leader. "Well, that's that."
"Gotta admit, kid, you got guts." The head punk said. "I've got an offer for you: join my group and you'll be my right-hand man... Er... I mean kid. I could use someone talented like you."
Vee shook his head. "Sorry, but no thanks." He said. "I already have a gang and they might be looking for me by now."
The head honcho's eyes widened in surprise. "You're saying you're the leader of your very own street gang?!"
"Huh? No!" Vee replied. "The gang I have is Star and all my friends from her school. After their classes are over, we hang out and have a lot of fun together."
"You're telling me you'd rather hang out with a bunch of goody-goody teens rather than working for one of the most feared street gang in the entire Hollow City?!" The punk said furious.
"Basically, yeah." Vee said with a shrug. "No offense, but I'm not a street punk like you."
"That's it!" The leader roared lunging at Vee. "You had your chance and you wasted it, kid! Now you're gonna get it."
"Here we go again..." Vee thought with a sigh as he held up the bar to protect himself again.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice yelling. "Hang in there, Vee!" It yelled. "We're coming!"
Vee blinked surprised. "StarZ?" He thought dropping his guard for only a few seconds.
The punk smirked. "Now you're mine!"
Before Vee could react. The punk punched him on the gut, knocking the air out of him. Smiling evily, the punk grabbed Vee by the collar of his jacket and lifted him up. "Who's the street scum now?" He mocked before throwing Vee into a wall.
"Ugh..." Vee groaned as he slowly slid down. The impact with the wall had hit some of his previous wounds and he couldn't think straight.
"Well, you ain't as tough as I thought." The punk mused as he picked the iron bar before walking towards little tyke. "Too bad, kid. You'd have made a good gang member."
Vee growled trying to move, but his body was numb from the injuries and his fear. "Star... Guys... Help..."
The leader raised the bar above his head. "Say good night!" He said as the bar quickly descended.
Scared, Vee closed his eyes. Suddenly, a flying object was shot out of nowhere and hit the punk's wrist. "Argh!" He yelped as he dropped the bar. "Who threw that?!"
Vee slowly opened his eyes and saw what was thrown at the punk lying next to him. "A card?" He whispered.
"Actually, that's an Ace of Spades." Precursor Shadow replied walking out of a tunnel. "Anyway, it gets the job done."
Vee looked up surprised. "You?"
"So, your friend's come to your rescue?" The punk mocked. "Well, I can handle him with no trouble."
P. Shadow just chuckled. "Heh, you street scum are all the same." He crossed his arms. "All talk, no action. Typical."
"Let's see if your cockiness lasts after I'm done beating you up!" The punk lunged at Precursor Shadow with his fists clenched.
"Hmpf. You got a lot to learn." P. Shadow smirked. With a somersault, he jumped over the punk who quickly turned around and tried to punch him several times, but the mysterious teen easily dodged all the blows.
"Argh! Hold still!" The leader growled throwing one more punch.
P. Shadow grabbed his arm. "Basic combat rule: know your opponent." He said as the punk tried to break free. "If your goons can't beat a little kid, then you can't beat me."
With that, Precursor Shadow threw the punk over his shoulder making him hit the ground with a loud thud. "You..." He mumbled as he blacked out.
"Don't mess with the best." P. Shadow smirked as he dusted off his jacket before looking at Vee who was trying to get up. "I told those guys to keep an eye on the kid. Perhaps I'm giving them too much credit."
Vee watched as Precursor Shadow walked towards him. Then, everything went black.
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Finally, Zero and the boys arrived at the tunnel's core, only to find five beaten up punks. "What happened here?" Axl asked.
"Looks like it was a tough battle." Vega stated.
"Vee!! Vee, where are you?!" StarZ yelled. "It's me, StarZ! Answer me!"
A soft groan was their only answer. The head punk was waking up. "Man, talk about the devil's luck." He groaned as he got up unaware of Zero and the others' presence. "Just when I thought I had found the perfect base, a little brat finds us and beats up four of my best men! And when I was almost done teaching that rascal a lesson someone had to knock me out!"
The group exchanged glances. Zero walked up to the punk. "You're saying you hurt a kid just because you found your base by accident?!"
The punk turned around. "Yeah, so wha...?!" He gasped as Zero grabbed him by the collar of the shirt.
"You made a big mistake." Zero hissed. "That kid's one of my friends and NO ONE hurts my friends and gets away with it!" Without warning, Zero punched the punk so hard ont the jaw he was sent flying into the oppositive wall.
"Whoa..." The others said in awe. Zero was generally a cool headed guy, but now he looked really pissed off.
Zero rubbed his fist. "That scum won't bother anyone else for a long time." He said as he glared at the unconcious punk.
"So, what should we do now?" Faust asked.
"That punk said that Vee beat four of his best men before he fought him." StarZ stated. "And he also said that someone knocked him out before he could finish the job."
"So, whoever did that saverd the little dude?" Vega asked.
"Seems like it." Axl replied before he spotted something on the ground. "Huh? Guys, check this out!"
Axl showed them what he had found. "An Ace of Spades?" StarZ asked. "Wait a minute... This is from..."
"Precursor Shadow!" The group sai in unison.
"He saved Vee? Whoa, didn't see that coming." Vega said.
"Indeed. There's more about that fellow than meets the eye I believe." Faust said. "But, where is he right now?"
"I don't know about that, but if we find him, we'll find Vee too." Zero decided. "Let's go see the others. Star needs to know this."
The others nodded and the group walked away.
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A throobing headache woke Vee up. "Ow... My head..." He whispered opening his eyes. "Huh? Where am I?"
Looking around, Vee found himself resting on a park bench. Someone had bandaged his left arm and there was a bandaid on his right cheek. "What happened? How did I get here?" He asked himself as he sat down.
"About time you woke up, kid." P. Shadow said walking up to him.
"Precursor Shadow?" Vee cocked his head confused. "You saved me?"
P. Shadow didn't reply. Instead he gave Vee a small bottle of water. "Drink this." He said before checking Vee's arm. "Hm, you're pretty tough, kid. Your arm'll be fine in a few days."
Vee was thirsty so he drank the whole bottle in a few gulps. "Thank you..." He said smiling a bit. "For the water... and for helping me."
Precursor Shadow just smirked at the little kid patting his head.
Vee giggled a bit when a cold wind started blowing and a few raindrops started falling from the sky. "A storm's coming." He said wrapping his arms around himself. "It's cold..."
Precursor Shadow took off his jacket and covered Vee with it. "Use this." He said. "Last thing you need is to catch a cold."
"Thanks." Vee smiled. "Say, why is a cool guy like you always alone?"
"Let's just say I'm not a big fan of crowds." P. Shadow replied. "Besides, who would want to hang out with a shady guy like me?"
"I would." Vee answered. "If you were a bad person, why would you help me?"
"Just felt like it." P. Shadow replied with a shrug.
"That answers my question. You're a good person." Vee giggled before he felt some raindrops falling on his head. "Oh-uh... It's raining..." He wrapped his arms around his legs and closed his eyes. In a few seconds, he dozed off.
"Guess he had a rough day." Precursor Shadow said as the rain was falling harder. "There's only one thing to do."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Things looked quite gloomy at the Green Light House. Part of the gang was gathered trying to figure out what to do. Night had fallen and the rain had become a downpour.
"We searched the whole city and we got nothing." Pallette said. "Shouldn't we call the police for help?"
"They only consider a person missing after that that person is not seen for 24 hours." Alia replied. "And even if we called them, they would only start searcking for Vee in the morning."
"Vee..." Star whispered looking out the window. Some tears were forming in her eyes.
DMZ walked up to her and embraced her. "It'll be okay, Star." He whispered softly. "Zero and the others probably found him."
Suddenly, the door opened. Everybody looked up and gasped surprised to see Precursor Shadow walking into the place without his jacker, all soaked up and carrying something on his back. "Yo, kids." He smirked at them.
"You! What are you doing here?" X asked.
"Hey, this is a teens hang out, right?" Precursor Shadow said with a nonchalant tone. "Besides, I was looking for you."
Precursor Shadow walked up to a nearby table and placed what he was carrying on the chair next to it. Everybody gasped: it was Vee! The little kid was all soaked, wrapped in P. Shadow's jacket and sleeping soundly. They could see some bandages on the kids' arm too.
"Vee!" Star nearly yelled, half relieved, half surprised to see the little kid.
Star's voice awoke Vee from his slumber. With a yawn, he got off the chair and looked around. When he spotted Star, he smiled with a few tears on his eyes. "Star!" He squealed throwing himself into her arms.
Smiling, Star embraced the little kid. Tears of joy and relief ran down her face. "Vee, I'm so glad you're safe." She whispered.
Vee suddenly noticed Star's wounds and frowned. "Forgive me..." He whispered earning confused looks from the gang. "You got hurt because of me and I made you and the others worry... For that I'm sorry."
Star just smiled tenderly at Vee before hugging him again. "It's all right." She said softly. "You're safe. That's what it matters."
X and the others smiled at the scene. Precursor Shadow just grinned before heading towards the door.
"Hey! Stop right where you are!" Alpheon said.
"That's right. You owe us some explanations." DMZ added.
"Explanations?" P. Shadow asked without turning around.
"Don't play dumb with us!" Kazegama said clenching his fists. "We know that you've been watching Vee from afar for a while and we found one of your cards where he vanished! Just what are you up to?"
"What am I up to? Nothing." P. Shadow turned around with a shrug. "About watching the kid, it's kinda unusual seeing a group like you watching over and some of you even playing with him, so you'd probabably worried if he vanished."
"So that's why you said things mattered when they were gone." Layer stated.
"That still doesn't explain what Vee was doing with you." X said.
"After falling into that tunnel, Vee was ambushed by five punks." Zero said as he and the others walked into the place. "Even though Vee managed to beat for of them, the head honcho had him cornered. He would've been in a mess if Percursor Shadow hadn't showed up."
Everybody was surprised by that. "It's true." Vee said as Star put him down. "He also bandaged my arm and brought me here." He added pointing to his arm. "But how do you know that, Zero?"
Zero showed the gang P. Shadow's card. "We found this while exploring the tunnels to find you." He replied.
"We also found the beaten up punks and the leader told us the whole thing." Axl added. "That is, until Zero knocked him out."
"We would've arrived sooner, but the storm kinda slowed us down." Vega said.
Silence. "Well, guess you have your answers." Precursor Shadow said walking towards the door. "Ciao."
"Wait." Star said placing a hand on his shoulder. "Precursor Shadow... I... We were wrong about you and for that I apologize. You saved Vee and took care of him and I'm really grateful for that." She took a short breath. "I know this may sound kinda awkward, but wouldn't you like to be our friends and hang out with us?"
"I'm no fan of crowds, kid, but..." P. Shadow smirked. "Who knows? That could be interesting. I'll think about it."
Star and Vee smiled. Precursor Shadow grinned at them and left.
"Well, what do you know? Guess one can't judge a book by its cover." Rigel said. "At least evertyhing's okay now."
"There's just one thing left to do." Zero said looking at Vee.
The little tyke gulped. "Oh-uh... Am I in trouble?"
"Well, that depends." Alpheon replied. "You've gotten yourself in quite a lot of trouble today, Vee. I might as well have to keep an eye on you from now on."
"But that'll take away most of your free time!" Vee said upset.
"I'm just kidding, Vee. Relax." Alpheon chuckled ruffling Vee's hair.
"One thing I didn't understand." Faust said. "How did Vee manage to topple four strong punks all by himself?"
"Well, I learned a few things by mimicking you guys when you sparred." Vee replied. "But I also always knew how to fight a bit before I met you."
"So, someone taught you how to fight?" StarZ asked.
"Maybe..." Vee replied. "I can't remember much."
"Well, with a bit of practice, you can do better." Zero said . "We'll need to work on that."
"We?" Vee asked confused.
"That's right. Starting tomorrow, I'm gonna train you after school." Zero said before looking at Star. "That is, if Star agrees."
Star just shook her head looking amused. "Even if I said no, you would do it anyway, Zero." She chuckled. "Well, that'd be a good way to keep Vee outta too much trouble when we're not around." She glanced at DMZ and the others. "That okay with you boys?"
"Well, Zero was the one who volunteered to train him..." StarZ said rubbing the back of his head before smirking. "But, what the heck, I guess I could teach him a thing or two."
"Hhmm... I know a few ninjitsu moves that Vee could learn with no problem." Alpheon said. "This could be interesting."
"Hey, I know a few tricks too!" Vega said. "The little dude will love it!"
"Well, if you guys are really gonna teach him something, then let someone older and more experienced lend a hand." Kazegama said.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistence as well." Faust said.
"Hey, don't forget about us! Zero trained me and X, but that doesn't mean we don't know a few secrets too." Axl said while X nodded.
"Wow... This is so gonna be cool!" Vee said before looking at DMZ. "What about you, DMZ?"
Everybody looked at DMZ who crossed his arms. "Meh, if things are really gonna be that way... Then I guess it's up to me to teach the squirt how to fight for real." He decided.
"Awesome!" Vee squealed.
X couldn't help but laughing. "This is kinda funny." He chuckled. "Yesterday, all of you guys said it would be either silly or embarassing to play with Vee and now here you are all willing to train him."
The boys glanced at each other while the girls giggled. "I didn't know you guys liked Vee so much." Rigel said. "That's so sweet."
"Gimme a break." Zero said crossing his arms. "There's a big difference between playing with and training someone. Vee needs to learn how to take care of himself. We'll not be always around when he gets in trouble you know."
"I got your point, Zero, but I'm still happy about you guys training me." Vee said before hugginh the teen. "Thank you!"
That caught Zero and the others off guard. Sure, they knew Vee loved hugging his friends, but around most of the boys, specially Zero who he looked up and respected a lot, he'd be usually shy.
"Huh? Sorry!" Vee said as he suddenly realised what he was doing. He was about to let go when he felt an arm around his shoulders. He looked up and he was surprised to see Zero smiling at him. "Zero?"
"Well, you had a rough day so I guess you deserve a break." Zero said. "But I'm warning ya, I'm not a nice teacher."
Vee just smiled nodding. "Right. I'll do my best."
Axl placed his hands behing his head smirking. "Hey, Zero, didn't know you were that good with kids."
Zero smirked back at him. "I have practice. After all, I've been putting up with you and X for years." He said. "You two always had a knack for trouble and I was usually the one who had to get you out of it."
"Hey, that's not true!" X and Axl said in unison before glancing at each other. "Huh? What gives?"
Everybody started laughing. Axl and X soon joined them. After what had happene, a good laughter was all they needed.
From afar, Mr. Signas smiled at the group of teens. "Looks like X and his friends learned two important lessons today: never take things for granted for they may not be always there and never judge someone before knowing both sides of the story." He thought glancing out at the window. "Maybe they weren't the only ones that learned something important today."
Precursor Shadow stood in front of the windown. He had watched the whole thing. With a grin, he left. "Being part of a gang..." He whispered before smirking. "This may not be a bad idea after all..."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Next day, Star was waiting for someone in front of her school. "He should show up anytime soon." She said to herself. "I think."
"Yo." P. Shadow said as he walked up to her. "What's up?"
"I... I was waiting for you." Star replied handing him a plastic bag. "This belongs to you and I wanna return it."
P. Shadow glanced at the item. "My jacket, huh?" He said before wearing it. "Thanks."
"It was the least I could do after everything you did for Vee." Star smiled before she heard the school bell ringing. "Well, gotta go."
Star was about to walk away when P. Shadow tapped her shoulder. "Hey..." He started. "About yesterday..."
"You don't have to answer." Star winked at him. "If you wanna hang out with me and my friends, you know where to find us."
With that she left. Precursor Shadow just smirked before digging up his pockets. "Huh? What is this?" He asked pulling two pieces of paper of one of them. One was drawing of himself shuffling a deck of cards while the other was a small note.
Here's a small token of my appreciation for saving me. You're a great guy and I hope we become friends. Vee.
"What a kid." P. Shadow smirked as he put the papers back on his pocket and left.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
After school, at the Green Light House, Zero was training Vee.
"Okay, Vee, show me what you got!" Zero said.
Vee clenched his fists. "Okay, you asked for it!" He said as he ran up to Zero and tried to punch him.
"Nice speed. Pretty good moves too." Zero said as he easily dodged Vee's punches before he tried to knock the kid down with a low kick.
Vee did a back flip to dodge, but as he was landing on his feet, he lost his balance and fell on his back on the training mattress. "Ow... That didn't go as I expected." He said.
"Nice reflexes, but you gotta work on your balance." Zero said helping Vee up.
"I guess so..." Vee rubbed the back of his head smiling a bit.
The gang glanced at them smiling. "Vee's having a lot of fun, huh?" Star asked.
"Yeah, but I think Zero's having even more fun." Pallette giggled.
"Hey, Star, what about that guy, Precursor Shadow?" X asked.
"I gave him his jacket back, but don't ask me if he'll show up." Star replied with a shrug. "That guy's so unpredicable."
As if on a cue, P. Shadow walked into the Green Light House. "I'll take you were talking about me." He said.
"Hey, PS!" Axl grinned. "Glad you could join us."
P. Shadow glanced at Axl smirking. "Keep the nicknames to yourself, kid." He said. "The name's Precursor Shadow and don't you forget it."
Then, Precursor Shadow sat on a nearby table and started playing with his cards.
"Jeez... What's with that guy?" StarZ asked crossing his arms.
"That's the way he is, I guess." Star replied. "He doesn't talk much and we never know when he'll show up, but he'll be always there for us when we need him. That's what I believe."
The group nodded in agreement. Vee, who saw everything from afar, smiled at Precursor Shadow who smirked at him.
Precursor Shadow could be a cocky and mysterious guy, but now the gang believed he was a good person. Even though his attitude was unpredicable, they say him as their friend and, maybe, he felt the same way towards them.
A/N: PS is character of a friend of mine based on an official Megaman character you guys should find very familiar. Hope you had fun. More things soon to come!