Scourge Universe - Excel's Journey ~7

Part 7 ~ Payback

    Venom smiled, "What happened next? Did you ever run into the Chaotix Crew again? I'm sure Crator would have been determined to get you for out-shining him."
Excel chuckled, "Oh, you have no idea." Crusher smirked.
Vengeance looked excited, "Then tell us what happened next? What did Crator do?"
Scourge crossed his arms, "Yeah, and where does Crusher come into all this?"
Excel smirked, "And what makes you think he has anything to do with this story, Scourge?"
Scourge sighed, "How about the fact that we all know Crusher started working for you five years ago, about the time your story is taking place. At some point in this, you and Crusher cross paths. There isn't a doubt in my mind that he has to do with the Chaotix Crew. Don't try to deny it."
Excel smiled, "I wasn't going to."
Shock, who had made himself comfortable, grinned, "So Scourge is right."
Scourge crossed his arms behind his head as the room continued to slowly cool off now that the AC was fixed, "Of course I am."
Excel could see they were ready for more, so he smirked, "Well, if I had to think of the best place to pick up from, it would be about a week later. That's when things got a little more interesting for me. Not in a good way, I assure you."

    Bully sat in his chair, reading a newspaper, as bubbles rose from the pond next to him. Teddy watched the bubbles, a little worried, "Are you sure he's ok down there, pa?"
Bully smiled as he flipped the page, "I'm sure. It's only been thirty-seven seconds."
Adam, who had his feet in the water, looked as worried as his brother, "That's kinda long, isn't it?" They saw the bubbles slow.
Knocks continued to write in a notebook as he lounged under a tree nearby. He saw the slowing bubbles, but didn't look worried. He went back to writing.
Soon the bubbles stopped. Adam shifted where he sat, "Pa."
Bully still didn't look from his page, "He'll do it." Teddy and Adam watched the still water.
Suddenly, Excel's head burst from the water. He gasped for air, panting hard. Adam and Teddy sighed with relief. Excel sighed weakly and swam over.
Bully smiled as he closed his paper, "There. You see?" He stood up and gave Excel a hand out of the water. Excel laid on his back, still trying to slow his racing heart.
Teddy looked down at him, "You ok, kid?"
Excel sighed with a weak smile, "Sure. It was only three locks."
Adam smirked, "Only you can be so calm about such drastic tests, kid."
Excel sat up, "Well, if they're going to make me a great Bounty Hunter, than why not? I love a good challenge. I haven't had challenges this hard my entire life!"
Bully chuckled, "See, boys? This kid is gonna go far." Teddy and Adam nodded in agreement.
Excel blushed, looking away, "Well, I wouldn't say that. I doubt I'll ever be as incredible as you guys, but I'll certainly try."
Bully pat his back with a hearty laugh, "You're too humble, kid! You're special!" He snapped his fingers as an idea came to mind, "Hey, we should take you to meet Nilly!"
Excel looked up at Bully, "Nilly? Who's that?"

     About a half hour later, they stopped the horses outside of a tall brown building in a large town. Excel hopped off the horse, "So, who is Nilly again?"
Teddy chuckled, "You could say, she's pa's friend."
Excel was a little confused, "Could say? Is she or isn't she?" Adam and Teddy grinned.
Bully waved them off, "Ignore them, They don't know what they're talkin' about. Nilly is a very good friend of mine. I'd love for her to meet you." He led Excel to the front door and knocked. He removed his hat as the door was opened.
There stood a very busty, fabulous cream-colored bunny woman with short honey-brown hair and big brown eyes. She smiled at Bully, "Bully, darling! How wonderful of you to visit us!"
Bully kissed her hand, "How could I resist a chance to visit my most favorite woman in the world?" The woman giggled.
She then noticed Excel and her eyes sparkled, "And who is this fine young man?"
Excel gave a bow, "My name is Excel, ma'am. I'm Bully's apprentice."
The woman smiled big, "You don't say!" She took Excel's hand and hurried him inside, "Do come in and tell me more!" Excel was too surprised to do anything against her. Bully chuckled and he and the boys walked in after them.
She sat on a couch and had Excel sit next to her, "So, how did you come to be Bully's apprentice? You must tell me everything!"
Excel liked her enthusiasm, "Well, ok. We met a few months ago. It was during that heat wave when Bully's boys walked into the cave where I was already camped. They had decided..." And Excel told her everything that had happened since that day, from their meeting, to Shen's Challenge, to the trouble with the Chaotix Crew. Nilly was impressed by all of it.
Excel was kinda impressed himself. He'd come pretty far since leaving the clan. Where his path would take him, he didn't know, but he greatly looked forward to it.

    That night, Nilly had let them stay at her home. Excel even met Nilly's little girl, a baby not even a full year old. Her name was Anti-Cream, but her name should have been Anti-sweet, because she had to be the meanest little thing Excel had ever seen. A mean face, a pet chao that kept trying to bite Excel, and even continued to try to grab sharp objects.
Though, it was that night while everyone slept that a figure slipped into the house. Excel was asleep on the couch while Bully slept in an arm chair and the boys shared the guest room. The figure was large, but moved pretty quietly. They made not a single sound as they moved over Excel. Excel slept soundly under the blanket Nilly had given him.
The figure pulled out a knife and raised it over Excel, then brought it down. Though, he was surprised to hear a squeak instead of screams of pain. He pulled off the blanket to find stuffed animals, including one with a large chameleon head that smiled up at the attacker.
Suddenly, someone landed on his back and got a bag over his head. The figure tried to get it off, but Excel was fairly used to this technique by now. He ducked from his hands and held tight to the bag, which made it very hard to breathe.
Then something smashed against his head, knocking him out. He collapsed and Excel pulled off the bag. He stood up next to Bully, who held a large skillet in one hand. Excel crossed his arms as he got a good look at the figure, "Now who wants to bet this is a gift from Crator?" The attacker was a croc.
Bully sighed, "I feared this would happen. Crator knows you're alive, and he wants your head."
Excel shrugged, "No surprise. I'd want my head too if I got away that easily from my best tricks."
Bully looked serious, "We need to be careful, kid. He's bound to keep sending more and more after you. How did this one even know we were here? He must be tailing us or something."
Excel shook his head, "Impossible, I would have sensed it. I think this guy is just good at what he does."
Suddenly, something burst, creating a lot of thick smoke. Excel and Bully coughed and choked on the heavy smoke. Excel easily recognized it as smoke bombs. Before he could do anything, hands grabbed him from behind, covering his mouth, and pulled him away.
Once the smoke cleared, both the croc and Excel were gone. Bully yelled, "Boys! Up now! We need to go, now!!"

    Excel struggled against the croc as the croc ran through the allies of town. Excel was bound in rope, a bandanna over his mouth, and was held under the croc's one arm as he made his escape. Excel was incredibly ticked with himself for getting caught so easily. Though, he was never any good with tricks like smoke bombs. No one in the clan was. Another weak point for the chameleon ninjas.
Excel continued to cut the ropes with his ninja knife. Of course, the croc didn't notice once as he hurried out of town. Excel could see this croc was a little too sure of himself. He was sure he was right about the croc being good at what he did, which was obviously kidnapping and assassination.
Excel got through the rope and stabbed the knife into the croc's side, causing him to drop Excel. Excel got to his feet and faced his kidnapper, "You really shouldn't underestimate me."
The croc pulled out the knife, looking furious. Excel smirked, "Don't you think you should deliver me to Crator before you consider this job finished?"
The croc growled and came at Excel. Excel easily fought him off. He pulled several tricks he knew, and a few new ones Bully taught him. The croc only became angrier and angrier as he fought.
He even managed to swing his fist into Excel, which was exceptionally powerful. Excel was knocked back several feet. Excel got to his feet, his side in a great dea of pain from the impact, "You're pretty strong, huh?"
Then the croc pulled out another smoke bomb and was about to throw it down, but Excel threw his ninja star, causing it to pop in the croc's hand. That not only hurt his hand, but also left him in a choking haze. Excel chuckled, "Strong, but not all that smart."
He grabbed the rope he was tied in and started tying up the croc. The croc kept trying to hit him, but Excel was much more agile and quick, so he didn't have too much trouble. The croc gasped as Excel pulled the rope tight and caused him to fall on his face. He was tied up good.
Excel stood over his head with a grin, "Got'cha." The croc was furious and spoke in a Downunda accent, "How!? How on Anti-Mobius did you manage to beat me!? No one's ever beat me!! Crusher Croc cannot be beaten by a kid!!"
Excel smirked, "And yet, you did get beaten by a kid." He groaned as he held his side, "Even with your fancy strength, you still couldn't beat me." He smiled, "Afraid you'll have to do a lot better than that to catch me, Crusher."
Just than, Bully and the boys rode over. Bully jumped off his horse and hugged Excel, "Thank goodness you're still in one piece, kid!"
Excel smiled, "I'm fine, Bully."
Adam sighed, "You can never stay out of trouble, can you, kid?"
Excel chuckled, "Well, what fun would my life be if everything wasn't dangerous and full of trouble?"
Teddy gasped, "What the!? Where'd he go!?" They looked to see Crusher was gone.
Excel sighed, "We'll see him again, I'm sure. He doesn't take failure well and Crator will except nothing less than success."
Bully looked serious, "Then we'd better make sure he doesn't get this close again."
Excel sighed, "There's no need to make a big deal out of this, Bully."
Bully shook his head, "This is a big deal, kid. I'm not having him hurt you. We're gonna keep a close eye on you. He will not..."
Excel cut in, "I'm your apprentice, Bully, not your son. You're not protecting me from danger, you're teaching me to face those dangers and succeed. You're training me, not raising me." He smiled, "I appreciate it, but you've got to put a little more faith in me."
Bully sighed, "I guess I'm over doing it, huh?"
Excel smiled, "A little, yes. I beat Crusher this time, didn't I? I did it on my own, using everything you taught me. Next time will be no different, so long as you continue to teach me, not hide me from it."
Bully chuckled and pat Excel's head, "Yeah, I suppose you're right." He grinned, "Then I guess I'd better kick your training into high gear. Time for the real tests, kid. Then, when that big lug, or the rest of that crazy croc gang, shows up, you'll take every last one of them down."
Excel was excited, but kept it under control, "Bring it on."


    Vengeance sighed, "So that's how you and Crusher met."
Shock chuckled, "Crusher tried to kill you when you first met?"
Excel smiled, "Not just once. Multiple times. He was really out to get me. About... maybe fifteen times he tried to kill me over the next few months."
Scourge smirked, "Must have sucked getting beat so many times, huh, big guy?" Crusher shrugged, not at all bothered about remembering his many failures.
Venom smiled, "So, how did Crusher go from being your hated enemy to one of your closest friends?"
Excel thought about it, "That's a good question." He turned to Crusher, "About when did you start having a change of heart towards me, Crusher? I know at some point you started to admire me instead of despise me. When was that?"
Crusher smirked, "Not sure myself. All I remember is that I started givin' it more thought. You really... impressed me with some of your skills. Then there was that time you saved my life."
Scourge sighed, "Figured something like that would be in there."
Excel smiled, "Oh yes. One of the times he tried to kill me, he got stuck in some quicksand, so I helped him out." He sighed, "Though, he repaid me ten times over when he saved my life a few months later."
Vengeance smiled, "What happened?"
Excel thought about it, "Let me see. It was the summer of the next year, making it shortly after my first anniversary with the gang. The Chaotix Crew had really given themselves a name by then, causing a great deal of distress for everyone they involved themselves with. As for Crusher, he still tried to get rid of me, no matter how he had come to admire me."
He smiled thoughtfully as he thought about it, "As for me, I was at my best. No one could doubt that I had greatly improved in my skills and abilities. Everyone knew that Bully had to be very proud, and he was."
He sighed, "Though, the greater I became, the more I was hated by a certain group of people. The very people who should have been happy for me, and they hated me the most." He looked cold as he remembered, "And that summer, they made it known."


     Excel grinned as he fought Bully and his boys in the middle of town square. Nilly watched with everyone else on the sidelines. Excel fought skillfully, not once breaking a sweat or faltering. Bully and the boys hammered at him, but it wasn't going to slow Excel down.
Excel pulled of a trick, causing them to ram into each other and land in a pile. Excel held the two swords to them with a sly grin, "You lose. Again." Everyone cheered.
Bully pulled himself to his feet, "You, kid, are a true prodigy." He grabbed Excel in one arm, pulling him close, "You make me so proud! You're a true bounty hunter!"
Excel smiled, "I'm glad I could live up to your expectations, Bully."
Teddy sighed, "Dang. Soon there'll be nothing left to teach the kid."
Adam nodded, "Then he'll have to decide whether to stay or go." Knocks nodded.
Excel was thoughtful. He did remember that. Once Bully finished teaching him everything, he would choose either to stay with them, or start a new journey of his own with what all he learned. Though, how could he leave after everything Bully had done for him, or after everything the four of them had been through with him.
Bully smiled, "Now let's not get ahead of ourselves here, boys. There's still a few more little things I can teach the kid, so he's not going anywhere just yet." He winked at Excel, "Right, kid? You don't mind hanging around with us a little while longer, do you?"
Excel managed a smile, "Of course not."
Though, the question refused to leave Excel's mind. Stay or go? He knew Bully would be excepting of either choice, just as he promised, but Excel hated to ignore everything he'd done for him.
What would he choose?

     Excel continued to think of the answer to his question that night as everyone slept in Bully's house. He even had his own room, which Bully had built for him when winter finally arrived. He didn't like Excel not having a proper place to sleep.
Excel watched the ceiling as his mind thought over things. If he stayed, he could help Bully and the boys continue being one of the greatest Bounty Hunting Gangs in the world. Or, he could go create a destiny all his own. Maybe he could go become the greatest ninja in the world. Maybe even start his own clan. That would certainly show his clan up. The idea put a smile on Excel's face.
Excel sighed and closed his eyes, "Perhaps I will go. I could learn every fighting technique, every warrior code, everything that I can learn and become the greatest fighter in the world. Then, I'll start my own clan and prove just how small and pathetic the Falling Star Clan really is. The whole world would know my name."
What he didn't see was Bully outside his room. Bully was a little sad to hear Excel might leave, but he smiled. The kid had a dream, and that was important for someone with so much potential. He certainly didn't have that when he'd found the kid, so Bully felt happy for him. He certainly had the skill and heart to go far.
Back in the room, Excel sighed, "I guess I know my answer now." He smiled, "Who knows? Maybe I'll train someone like Bully trained me. No matter how great I become, I swear at this moment that I will never forget him and everything he's done for me." Bully walked on to his room, both very happy and quite sad at the same time.
Excel relaxed, starting to doze, "One day."
Suddenly, something covered his mouth. Before he could fight against the mystery person, he became incredibly weak and tired. He immediately recognized the smell in the rag and was out before he could have another thought.