Chapter 2: A Second Chance

Ranshiin opened his eyes slowly. His entire body greeted him with pain as he stared up at the moon shining far above him. He groaned quietly and pushed himself up with his tiny arms. He blinked and looked at his hands for a moment, realization hitting him suddenly. The black hamster growled and jumped around, shaking his fists up at the sky and cursing his ill luck; it must have all been a dream.

"...Then why did it feel so real?" He thought to himself, rubbing his chin.

It must have been real, he decided, because his body (although still in a weaker form) was healed almost entirely. He flapped his small wings to test them out, and realized they had changed from a deep ebony to a shining ivory color; the events of his dream had happened! He really wasn't as insane as he thought!

He looked up one last time at the sky and managed to crawl out of his crater. His intention was to get a look around and thus discover where he was. Windragons always had an acute sense of direction, usually after they got a feel of the breeze, a gift passed down from the great Tornado Dragon King himself.

Ranshiin came to the edge of the crater panting heavily and shaking as he pulled himself up. He collapsed on the edge, again cursing the Spiritual Legendz for not returning him to his rightful form-but he did not do it aloud, of course, for fear of offending them and being sent somewhere even more unpleasant. He coughed up some dust that had fallen into his mouth during his 60 yard climb across the desolation and stood on his toes, closing his eyes and feeling the wind.

"I'm...North. Very far North from New York City." He thought to himself. He again spread his tiny wings and took to the air with a groan, hoping they would be strong enough to assist him on his journey. He knew the only way to regain his form was to find Shu, his saga, gain his trust, and claim the power that was rightfully his; he had only to survive first.

--

Almost a week after the strange incident with the shooting star, Shu and his friends, Mac and Meg, walked towards the clock tower after a long week of school; it was Saturday, a day of freedom for children, and they were going to spend it by having a Legendz Club meeting. Shu shot ahead of the group on his scooter, the wind brushing his hair away from his face. He looked over his shoulder at the two other children running closely behind him, puffing and struggling to catch up. Mike "Mac" Mcfield suffered the worst of all: the slightly overweight 14 year old was red in the face from the mid-May heat, which was not aided by the tortuous exercise. He panted, lagging far behind the much more fit Meg Sprinkle.

"H-Hey, wait up guys!" He said with hands on knees.

Meg turned around and helped Mac up. "Shu! Slow down!" She ordered as she gave Mac a sip from her water bottle.

Shu stopped and made his scooter swirl around with a screech. He huffed at them and put a hand on his hip.

"You guys are slowpokes! C'mon, Dino's probably already there!" He complained, stamping a foot impatiently.

Meg huffed and glared at him. "Well he can wait! We've been running across the entire city all day because you decided to drag us around-"

A sudden yowling in a nearby alley way caught their attention and ended the argument. Shu tilted his head. Meg and Mac looked at each other, then at the alley. The yowling got louder and louder.

Shu shot towards the space with Meg and Mac following close behind. In the shade of the surrounding buildings, by some long-forgotten trashcans, a pack of cats were attacking a small creature. Shu squinted at it and its black markings. His eyes widened in shock.

"Waruccho?!" He said.

Meg tilted her head. "Who's Waruccho?"

Nezzucho poked his head out of the backpack with a series of small angry cries. He had been awoken by the sound of the yowling cats, and Shu's irritatingly loud voice didn't do much to lull him back to sleep. He looked up at his saga with clear annoyance.

"He wants to know what's going on, you know." Said Mac.

Shu pulled the hamster out of his bag and showed him the scene; already, the cats were closing in on the black hamster, swatting at him and sending him rolling and scrambling to regain his balance. Every time he tried to scramble away, a cat would swat at him and drag him back into the violent ring of claws and teeth. Nezzucho couldn't bear to watch any longer; one more swipe, and Waruchho was done for.

He quickly flew over and tried to divert the cats' attention. Shu saw what Nezzucho was thinking, and rushed forward on his scooter.

"Hey, cats! Pick on someone your own size!" He cried, kicking the cat nearest to the black hamster away.

The other cats scattered, deciding it was not worth a fight for a battered up furball anyway. Shu panted and gently squatted in front of Nezzucho, who was gently shaking Waruchho with a worried expression. Shu reached down and picked them both up, then turned to his friends with his find.

Mac blinked at it. "Hey, that hamster looks like Ranshiin-Sama, you know?"

"It is Ranshiin!" Meg cried, jumping away. Shu scoffed at her reaction.

"Wow. Really? Are you seriously scared of a hamster?"

Meg growled. "I'm not scared of a hamster! I'm scared of what that hamster is! Remember what he did to us?!"

Shu paused for a moment. He thought back on everything Ranshiin had done, and how much damage he had caused, some of which was irreversible; because of Ranshiin, the Sagas could never separate from their Legendz; because of Ranshiin, the kids had nearly lost their lives, their homes, and their families; because of Ranshiin, the world was almost destroyed.

But then Ranshiin had helped save it. He willingly sacrificed himself for Halca and her mother, and the world as well. Also because of him the Sagas met their Legendz and became lifelong friends. Shu looked at the small hamster breathing shallowly in his hands, cut and scratched from many claws, and worn by a long journey; how far had he traveled to get here? Had he been looking for them?

Shu turned to Meg and Mac. "Call Garrion and Zuou. They might be able to help."

Meg and Mac compiled, and in no time a large griffin and a smaller yeti like creature were standing in front of Shu. The griffin was first to catch wind of what was going on. She narrowed her eyes at the black hamster.

"What is this?" She said demandingly, her tone filled with anger as she recalled the damage Ranshiin had caused.

"Poor thing," Zuou said, much more emphatically, and gently poked Waruchho with a finger. The hamster groaned and flinched away, and Nezzucho started in a round of curses at the yeti.

"He says be more careful, you know," said Mac.

Zuou quickly drew back his finger, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be," Meg snapped, "he deserves it."

Garrion nodded in agreement. "He has much to atone for."

Shu held Waruchho close to his chest. "What is wrong with you guys? He needs our help!"

"What is wrong with you?" Meg retorted, "He tried to kill our families!"

"And he also helped us save the world!" Shu shot back.

"After he tried to destroy it!"

The two bickered like this for awhile, almost like a married couple; watching it, but being unable to interfere, made it rather awkward for those watching. Garrion had to clear her throat seventeen times before the two would even look in her direction.

She coughed lightly and looked down at the hamsters. Nezzucho was still trying to wake Waruchho. She looked at Shu.

"Do you really want to help him?" She asked, locking eyes with him to let him understand how serious this was.

Shu nodded. "Yes. I think he at least deserves a chance. Right Nezzucho?"

The white hamster paused and nodded hesitantly. Garrion sighed and turned at Zuou.

"Take them to Duck Duck Toys and obtain a talispod for Ranshiin."

Mac tilted his head. "Why can't Shu use Shiron's talispod?"

"He can," said Garrion, turning to Mac. "But it was damaged, wasn't it, Kaze no Saga?" The Griffin had an almost accusatory tone in her voice as she glanced at Shu.

Shu looked away, a blush making it's way across his face before he coughed awkwardly and hopped up into Zuou's arms, pulling Meg with him.

"Uh...Yeah...We need to hurry, then. Meg and I will get the talispod fixed for Waruchho while you guys stay here and tell Dino and G.W. Nicole what happened."

"Wait, what?- Hold ooooooooooon!" Meg screamed as Zuou sped off.

Faster than she could react, they were already at the warehouse where Dino and Shu's fathers were sure to be. Meg sat on Zuou's shoulder, blinking in shock, before Shu pulled her into the building.

"Wait outside, Zuou!" Meg called over her shoulder, just barely gathering her wits as she disappeared into the large building.

Inside, their were people everywhere working on various toys; some were assembling parts, some were working at 3D printers, some were helping to load shipments of toys into trucks to be delivered to toy stores across the state. Shu looked around for a familiar face as he squeezed Meg's hand, making her blush slightly.

"Can I help you kids?" Came a sweet voice from behind them.

The kids spun around and nearly screamed as they saw a purple-haired woman wearing a green and yellow apron with two ducks printed on the front. She smiled at them.

"I see you remember me." She giggled almost darkly.

"Of course we remember you!" Meg snapped, "You chased us all around New York city trying to steal Shu's talispod!"

The woman waved off the accusation.

"Water under the bridge," she said. She took out a whistle from a pocket in her apron and blew on it, which summoned two men dressed in dark suits. They saluted her like trained soldiers.

"J1 and J2 reporting for duty, Ms. Bunny!" They said simultaneously.

She pointed at the two kids. "See to it that these children get help."

They saluted again and bent to be level with the two teens. "What do you kids need?" Asked the taller of the two men in a gentle tone.

Shu held Waruchho and Nezzucho close. "We're looking for Mr. Matsutani."

The two men nodded and took Shu and Meg to an office away from the noise of the machinery and the people. On the outside of the polished wooden door was a sign reading: 'Executive's Office'. J1 and J2 dropped the kids off with a sucker for each of them. Meg blinked at the bubblegum flavored candy and then at the backs of the leaving men.

"We're not kids!" She cried into the corridor after them, although the two seemed to take no notice. Shu tapped her shoulder and tossed his head at the door.

"At least we got free candy, right?" he said as he opened the door for them.

Inside, two men stood behind a desk, pointing out areas in a blueprint and discussing errors and what to keep in the overall design. They heard the door open and looked up in Shu's direction. One of them, a man who appeared to be an older copy of Shu, smiled and adjusted his glasses.

"Hey Shu, Meg, what brings you here?" He asked.

Shu glanced at the blueprint, which appeared to hold a design for an action figure based off of Dandy the Crocodile. "Sorry for interrupting, dad, but I need this talispod fixed for this Legendz."

He gently laid Waruccho and Nezzucho on the table with the damaged talispod. The other man leaned forward. He was practically an older version of Dino, with darker hair and a mustache.

"What happened to him?" He asked, gently rubbing Waruccho's head with a finger. The hamster groaned again in response.

"He was attacked by cats," Said Meg.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Mr. Matsutani asked Shu.

Shu rubbed the back of his head, casting a weary glance at Meg. "Uh...you could...say that." he said.

Mr. Sparks smiled. "Wait here, then." He disappeared into a back room, and soon returned with the talispod, as good as new. "I had some talispod parts left over from my bootlegging days. This is one should be all fixed up." He placed it in Shu's hands.

Shu looked at it and smiled. "This is perfect! Thank you! Ranshiin, come back!"

The black hamster became a small whirlwind that was sucked into the device. A gleaming blue crystal, similar to Shiron's, now stood in the center of the talispod. Shu squinted at the small sliver figure inside: Ranshiin, poised as if in deep thought, but it had an almost malicious air behind it. Shu nodded and smiled.

"This is great! Thanks, Mr. Sparks, thanks, Dad." He hugged his father, then he and Meg started to head out the door.

Meg watched the talispod anxiously. "...So when are you going to reborn him?" she asked.

Shu patted Nezzucho's head and gazed at the crystal. "When we get back to the clubhouse. I want to make sure everyone is there so we can help Waruccho settle down."

Meg blinked. "Settle down?! Are you saying you're going to let him join our club?"

Even Nezzucho seemed opposed to this. He jumped up and down on his saga's shoulder and squeaked profoundly. Shu just waved it off.

"I mean, he did save the earth and Halca's mom...so he can't be that bad, right?"

Meg facepalmed in frustration. How could he be so stupid and naive and trusting? She grabbed Shu's arm just before he opened the door to the exit. He blinked at her angry glare, clearly too dumb too even understand why she would be mad. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling a headache coming on.

"Listen, Shu...I can get why you would think Ranshiin deserves a second chance, but…" she sighed again, realizing that there was no arguing with him: once he had his mind made, there was no changing it.

"...Be careful, alright?"

Shu nodded. "Alright, I will." He opened the door and the two blinked, trying to get used to the dazzling sunlight after having spent a small eternity in the dark warehouse. Meg watched Shu as they made their way over to Zuou.

"Be careful, Shu," she thought, then glared at Ranshiin's crystal with malice. "Because if he even steps a centimeter out of line...he can spend the rest of eternity as a crystal."