Hospital doors burst open from the rushing nurses. Seven surround the unconscious Delle, who groans in her sleep. "What's her temperature?" A doctor asks. "115!" The woman's eyes show disbelief. "That's impossible!" she says, "Check it again!" "116 now!" Ellia and Bron follow closely behind, but are forced to stop by two nurses. "I'm sorry, but you can't come back here." Ellia ignores them and attempts to push through, but Bron pulls her back. "Let me see her!" she shouts. "Ellia, control yourself! There's nothing you can do!"
Finally Ellia stops resisting and drops to the floor in tears. Further down the hallway, Gren and Komo come running over. "What happened!?" they both ask. "An explosion," replies Bron with his hand on Ellia's back, "Delle's got an extremely high temperature and they've taken her back to find out what's wrong." Anger begins to enter Gren. "Who did it!?" "No, kid. You're not going after them. We'll do it together, but not right now." Komo, usually on the side of aggression, grabs her shorter friend's arm and says, "He's right. We need to be here for Delle now." The frustrated Gren pulls his hand away and sighs. "Ok."
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CLANG! Dusty kicked open the rusted door of the abandoned garage, followed by Pamda and Vik. No heating system caused everyone to shiver and see their breath, even in the front lobby. The outlaw sat on the freshly installed couch with his arms crossed, and Pamda couldn't keep herself from cuddling next to him. "Dusty, you know I hate to see you like this. Are you mad at me?" "No, I'm mad at that idiot over there!" he shouted back, pointing at Vik, "Why on Earth, did you make us wait at that station!? We lost all our payload! Almost our lives! That was gonna be our big ticket to forming the Zion Outlaws!" The teen didn't yell back, just sat on the floor against the garage wall.
Victor stared at the tiles. His mind focused on the civilians around the gas station. Innocent people, harmed or even worse because of the crime he committed. "What am I doing?" he quietly asked himself in a cloud of breath, "I was gonna be the next best Symbiolic...Now I'm doing petty crimes in a gang and putting people's lives at risk, for what? Who am I?" Dusty shook his head and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "That's easy. You're a criminal. Have been ever since you joined the Black Nest, and always will be." Victor pondered his partner's words. Is that who I am? A criminal?
CLANG! The sound from the rusty door alerted all. Vik rushed into the garage area and primed his gauntlet. Dusty drew his guns, and Pamda twirled her bamboo. Several seconds passed without a sign of entry, leaving the gang unnerved. Finally the door slowly crept open with a metal groan. Outside the abandoned garage, stood a tall woman in armor. "You two know her?" asked Vik. "No...I don't know him either." Dusty pointed to the garage doors, where a giant man could be seen through the only uncovered window.
Not enough time was allowed to fully observe his size, as items on the stolen shelves and desks began to rattle. Lamps, bottles and more fell, and the gang felt a tremendous weight forcing them down. One of the automotive lifts holding up a van hits the floor with a heavy impact. Each gang member fought it on their knees, then on all fours, then flat against the tile floor. A skinny girl in a dress with glowing, pink eyes twirled on the tips of her toes and pointed her staff downwards. "What is this!?" Vik shouted, but neither guest answered.
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The backside of the hospital was shaded by the towering building. Gren sat alone, perched on a basketball goal and lost in deep thought. A thumping sound caught his attention, and he turned to see Komo dribbling the ball against the pavement. "What are you doing up there?" "Go away," he quietly replied. Komo's eyes narrowed, and she threw the striped ball at her friend. The hit sends it bouncing upwards and Gren downwards. He catches himself on the rim and hangs underneath. "You really thought that was gonna get me d-" THUMP! The ball falls straight through the net and onto the boy's head.
Gren hits the ground on his rear, rubbing his head. "Ow." "We need to talk," said Komo, offering her hand to help him up. "I don't wanna." Tired of waiting, Komo grabs her friend's arm and stands him up by force. "You've been acting like a butt more and more lately. What's wrong?" The questions cause Gren to turn away. "It's nothing. I'm just...stressed." "About what?" "Everything! Ok!?"
The upset boy picks up the basketball and shoves it towards his friend. With quick reactions, Komo catches it and sends it back. "Tell me about it." Gren receives the ball. "Percy's been gone for six months, and I promised him I'd be the next best Symbiolic." He throws it to Komo. "And you're doing great. He would be proud." Passes it to Gren. "It's not just fighting though. Percy was a leader. He always pushed us to be better. If I want to be the best, I have to be like him."
Komo catches the thrown ball and holds it under her right arm. "That's the problem, Gren. You're not Percy, and you never will be." "But I don't know anything else!" Gren shouts back more emotionally, "I grew up worshiping him! All I ever thought about was being like him! Now he's gone and...and-" "And what?" Komo interrupts. "I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM!!" The sad boy looks down at the ground, unable to produce tears for some reason. "I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this, and I know I'm helping people...but it's like I can't think about anything else but Percy when I'm doing it. I just feel like I'm a lesser version of him."
Komo drops the ball on the pavement, causing it to bounce three times. "You're not Percy 2.0. You're my friend." With her large arms, Komo pulls Gren close for a warm hug. The boy who once stood up to her shoulders, now surpassed them by nearly two inches. "Delle and Ellia are your friends too," she said softly in his ear, "And if you're struggling with something, we wanna help you...Like you helped me."
After a few seconds of warm embrace, Komo releases her friend and smiles. "You don't have to go through this alone, ya shrimp." "Yeah, sorry. I'll try and be better about that." Gren picks up the orange ball from the concrete and shoots from a great distance. SWOOSH! "Nice," says Komo, "Delle's been put in a room. Doctors don't know what's wrong yet, but she's stable...for now." "Then let's go," Gren replies.
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