CHAPTER 9: Crossed Lines

Gren laid awake in his comfy bed. Many thoughts circled in his mind like vultures, never able to focus on one without the presence of the wake. What did Percy mean by 'difficult things'? Why is he so hard on us during training? What did he say to Komo outside? Trying to think of a logical answer to one question just brought up more theories for the others, so Gren placed his hands over his face and sighed. "Maybe I should ask her about it?" he whispered. The boy stood up from his bed and put on a t-shirt and shorts. Slowly opening the door, he peeked into the living room once more, but found something strange. Komo was gone.

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Street lights turned red, allowing the hooded girl with a shield on her back to walk across. Looking back she saw her mentor's house, still with no lights on, then stepped into an alley. From her front pockets she pulled out her phone, but a noise to her left caught her attention. "Who's there!?" she demanded, grabbing the shield off her back. THUD! A dark figure jumped out from the shadows and shoved her to the wet concrete.

Komo shook her head in frustration. Further down the dark alley, she spotted two more shady figures. A yellow glow shone from a crystal, revealing the lower half of Victor's face. "Don't you know it's dangerous to walk alone at night? Especially without your little boyfriend to protect you." No words came out of Komo's mouth, only grunts as she got up to fight.

A few blocks down, Gren frequently turned his head in every direction. The storm clouds made the city's streets darker than usual, and every shadow at first glance looked like a monster. "K-Komo? Are you out here?" A car drove by with glowing, blue rims, though one was out. The brief amount of safety felt from the light vanished, and Gren's eyes failed to adjust to the darkness.

"GRAH!!" The scream shook the boy to his core, yet sounded familiar. "Komo?" He began to run, gradually hearing her grunts louder and louder. His feet slid on the wet sidewalk, and Gren found himself staring down a dark alley with a single source of light. Victor and his two goons stood around a fallen Komo, lit by his glowing crystal gauntlet. "Ah, there he is."

"Komo!?" Gren shouts, "What have you jerks done to her!?" Victor places his gauntlet against a light pole. Electricity scales upwards, causing the bulb to turn on and illuminate the alley. "What? This? This is how she would've been if you didn't jump in front of her and cost me the win." The angry teen steps away from the pole and closer to his rival, causing the light to blink off and on. "Because of your interference I lost my apprenticeship! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get that!?" Victor grabs Gren by the shirt and shouts, "I was destined to be the best Symbiolic, better than Percy ever was! And you took that from me! My parents think I'm a disgrace now!...So I'm gonna teach you a lesson."

Gren's tired body is shoved in a puddle. Komo tries to get back up, but is forced down by Victor's goons. "Grab your shuriken," the sniper commands, but Gren seems unwilling to fight. "No." "Grab it!" "No! I won't fight you! This is stupid!" The anger in Victor's face turns into an arrogant grin. "Alright then..." His gauntlet aims down at Komo's head and begins to charge up. "...Fight me! Or she fries!" Victor's goons look at each other, then at him with concern. Gren's eyes show dread, and he realizes he has no choice.

The reluctant boy pulls the shuriken from his back and taps his watch. "There, I sent you a challenge." "No," Victor replies in a cold tone, "I want you to really feel this." Everyone else looks shocked and disturbed, even the goons. "Vik...this isn't what we agreed to." "Shut up! Keep her down while I beat this loser!" Victor turns and fires his gauntlet at his opponent. Gren's reflexes save him from being zapped, then he rushes forward. A swift knee hits the sniper's stomach, but the attack is weak. "That's it!?" Victor's knuckles meet Gren's face, causing him to tumble over.

"Gren!" Komo struggles as hard as she can, but is too exhausted to break free. Unable to do anything, she watches as Victor pulls back on his gauntlet's priming handle and grabs the light pole. The crystals draw all power from the light, causing the bulb to shatter. Darkness fills the alley, except for where Victor stands. "Crystal Surge!" The bolt fires at Gren, who holds his shuriken in front of him and yells, "Shuriken Wave!" Water from the puddle surrounds the entire blade just in time.

Gren slides across the wet concrete as the beam of light clashes against his weapon. Victor doesn't let up, and forcefully steps forward. The ninja boy's arms feel like they're on fire, yet he holds his shuriken in place. Finally the beam stops, and Gren relaxes for a second, but it was far from over. Victor's gauntlet lights up again, sending a bolt of lightning to the puddle in front of him. Gren's entire body seizes up. The feeling was ten times as strong as it was in the Symulation.

After a few seconds of electrocution, Gren collapses on the ground, his body smoking in small pool. Skin around his left eye was already starting to bruise from the punch he took eariler. Consciousness flees and returns, but he holds on and forces himself up. Seeing his pathetic opponent trying to rise again, Victor steps on his back. A light rain begins to fall as he taunts, "Well, at least you're not crying. Now here's what you're gonna do. Go back to Percy, tell him you've changed your mind and that you're going home. You're not gonna tell him about me, so make sure you find a good excuse. Understand?"

Gren's eyelids drift downwards, and Victor doesn't like it. He picks up the boy and shoves him against the alley wall. "WAKE UP!! I asked you a question, now answer! You hear me!?" "He can't hear you..." a voice from across the street answers for him.  Falling rain grows more intense, and Victor turns to see who spoke. A strike of natural lightning lights half of Percy, fully armored with his mask and blade. "...But I can." The swordsman's voice sounds distorted with static under his mask. Small, green eyes stare through the dark of the night, sending chills down every teen's spine.

Thunder rolls, and the atmosphere changes. Victor, once full of arrogance, now nervous with a hint of anger. The soaked teen drops Gren and yells, "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PICK ME!! NOT THIS LOSER WHO CAN'T EVEN FIGHT!!" "I heard that the first time," Percy replies, "In fact, I heard everything you said. How you were the better fighter. That your life is ruined because of what Gren did." The masked swordsman begins to lightly chuckle, causing Victor to get angry again. "What? What's so funny!?" Percy's laugh had grown louder and louder, the sound of it like a hand radio's speaker. "You said you were destined to become better than me." The laughter returns, then serious. "Let's test that theory."

Percy's hand slowly reaches up for the blade at his side, causing intense fear to enter Victor. "W-w-wait! Aren't you going to start a Symulation!?" "What was the other thing you said? Oh yeah...I'm gonna teach you a lesson." The goons holding Komo down run away in panic, allowing her to crawl over to Gren. Another strike of lightning reflects on the side of Percy's mask, and the countdown begins with thunder. "3..." "No! Please!" "2..." "STOP!!" "1..." "STAY BACK!!" Victor charges up his gauntlet and fires lightning from the twin points, but instead of going straight, the electricity travels across his rain-soaked body.

Light from the self inflicted shock reflects on Percy's katana and armor as he slowly walks across the street. Victor's gauntlet runs out of juice, and he drops to his knees with smoke spewing from his body. The blunt end of Percy's blade lifts up the teen's chin to look him in the eye. "I'd say you've learned your lesson. Now get out of here," his static voice demands. Victor stumbles a bit, then runs for his life in tears. Komo holds Gren up from the concrete, his black-eye fully formed at this point. "Ugh...Percy?...When did you..." "Hey, take it easy, kid. I'm taking you back home." Percy lifts the boy from Komo's arms, and they all make their way through the stormy night.

TO BE CONTINUED...