Looking over the edge of the building, white hair fell gracefully around a petite face with high cheekbones that were covered with ivory skin that glowed under the moonlit night. The sound of Burnouts whispered in the night and crimson eyes moved wildly around, watching each flying spark that shot into the night air as riders tried to maintain riding upon the steel wall of the warehouse. A giggle sounded into the air - a sharp, high pitched frequency that made you want to cover your ears or claw at them to make the sound stop - and the group of riders looked up to see a tiny little girl with multiple chains hanging around her tiny form.

"Who the hell is that?" one of the female squad members called to her team.

"It can't be..." Another one trailed off turning his body away from the child; a shiver rolled through him and he began to ride away.

Like a breath of air on the wind, she was gone, suddenly appearing in front of him, her Burnouts silent. The other riders didn't move, nor did they breathe. Staggering backwards, the leader of the group stumbled and fell onto his butt, desperately trying to get away from the girl who had a look of murderous intent flashing in her eyes and a pointy-toothed smile that could make even the most demented of serial killers stop mid-stride. Cocking her head to the side, the strange child crouched down to look at him, her chains making small tinkling sounds as they hit the cement.

"You look frightened. Did something scare you?" her tone was genuinely concerned, but her bloody eyes held a indescribably, terrifying look. Holding his gaze she stepped forward, her dress wrinkling around her small frame. "Excuse me. I asked if something frightened you." Her tone faltered, anger piercing through. Shaking his head he tripped over the words as they came from his lips, his bronze hair blowing in the ominous wind.

"N-not at-at all." Forcing a smile onto his lips, he began to pick himself up and she grinned at him, her dagger-like teeth stunning him. Standing from her crouch, the team took in what appeared to be a white dress with chains wrapping around it, her arms at her sides. Looking closer, they could see spots of black against the white and looked at each other, puzzled. A sudden burst of laughter sounded from her mouth and she hunched forward, a crazed expression on her face. She licked her lips and looked down at her dress.

"You wonder what is on my dress?" They all stared at her, tensed to run at the slightest movement she made. Laughing a high-pitched sound that gave the whole team goose bumps, she looked up through the hair that had fallen in her face, the murderous glare more prominent than before.

She spoke slowly, but clearly. "My. Victims." Enunciating each word, she watched as their looks varied from horror to terror to disgust and began to dance through the crowd as blood began pouring onto the asphalt and the squad members screams filled the air.


"Ao, would you please stop pacing?" Naoki all but begged of the girl.

Jumping slightly at the sound of her comrade's voice Ao bit her bottom lip and sat in an hideously patterned blue and gray chair that gave off whiffs of urine and blood. Her knee bounced anxiously and Naoki sighed turning her attention back to the double doors that screamed agony – all that was needed was a neon on a sign flashing 'Death: Enter Here' – and Ao squirmed, looking away from them with wild eyes. Finally losing her patience, Naoki growled and flung a magazine at her. The bundle bounced off the back of the girl's head and Ao jumped to her feet in a panic.

"AO! Would you stop fidgeting?!" Naoki growled menacingly. "Maya is fine and Nori is better than fine! He's perfect, bubbly, magnificent! I don't give a damn which adjective you throw out to describe his stupendous attitude; he's okay and Maya is probably kicking the shut out of any doctor coming within ten feet of her with a syringe."

As if on cue, Maya burst through the doors, scowling. "There's no fucking way you are poking me with that!" Ao and Naoki exchanged bewildered expressions.

"But, Miss, if we don't inject it into your blood you will surely not like the outcome."

Scowling at the man – Niko – she stormed back across the room and poked him, hard, in the chest. "I don't care if I grow two extra legs and webbing in between my toes – there is NO way I'm letting you put the into my system…" She paused. "AGAIN!"

Naoki and Ao exchanged another quick glance and rose fluidly, gliding swiftly over to Maya with slow movements. Hearing the click, click of their Burnouts Maya turned and hurried over to them.

"I'm ready to check out." Glaring back at the man – he was 6'4" with a light build, sand colored hair and a 'you bitch' expression coloring his face – and strode towards the front desk, her long hair swaying just below her wait – there was no limp in her dignified walk.

"So how the hell do we spring you from this, er, asylum?" Naoki wrinkled her nose and stared up at Maya's livid face, watching it soften as she spoke.

"With mentality that none of us have, I would assume." They all sighed in unison and then burst into a roar of laughter.

"Hey, where's Inori? I thought he came to have his wound stitched up." Naoki – whose arm was linked with Maya's – shrugged and Maya repeated the gesture as they departed from the hospital.

As they neared the training area, Naoki paused and released herself from Maya.

"Ao." Ao looked up in response. Naoki spoke slowly, "Inori. Is. Dead."

Ao's eyes went wide and then slowly her expression changed to a black cloud of malice and fury as Naoki began laughing. "Holy shit! You should see your face. Ahahahaha!"

Maya stepped back three steps, away from Naoki and the death emanating from Ao. "Um, Naoki? You might want to run."

"Why, Maya?" She wiped her eyes and gasped as Ao's hands began to clamp around her throat. Slamming down hard on her heels she shot forward, like a rocket, away from Ao and her deadly hands.

"GET BACK HERE! I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!" Shouted Ao over the screeching of hers and Naoki's Burnouts.

"NOOOO," shrieked Naoki. "I'M TOO PRETTY TO DIE!"

"Careful Naoki. I think Ao is really contemplating your death this time -- whether it be burning you alive or burying you live, I'm unsure."

Naoki laughed.

A snarl ripped through the leader's throat and her leg flew through the air and collided with the back of Naoki's thigh that resulted in a sickening thud that echoed around them from the impact. A hiss sounded from between Naoki's clenched teeth and she returned the kick by thrusting the heel of her hand upwards into Ao's bottom jaw.

Maya watched with lazy eyes.

At least they're training some.

Her eyes strained to see the movements that were followed by nauseating thuds and crunches. Ao pulled her wrists free from the manacles created by Naoki's hands and elbowed Naoki in the throat and spun her arm reverse clockwise, forcing Naoki onto her knees, her feet still pushed her forward. Panting heavily, she hooked an arm around Ao's ankle and pulled. Her left Burnout lost its grip and the right one followed, not too seconds after. Unable to push her feet against the brick, she curled into a ball and spun to face down, rather than the impact hitting her back.

Maya watched without being able to do anything. Naoki was unconscious at the foot of the wall, blood dripping from many places on her face and arms - clothing obscured the rest.

Ao waited for the collision with the rain-wettened cement, but only felt the air soften from the thrashing to a light, upward draft.

Uncovering her eyes she saw a shadowed face looking down at her with eyes like ice - though it made her blood run hot in her adrenaline filled veins. Unable to look away, she studied the features of the dark face.

The eyes stood out against pale skin, thought it was hard to tell with no illumination falling on it. The cheekbones were high and the chin was thin and slightly pointed - a female face. Black hair fell in ripples around the feminine face. Finally the stranger's feet touched the ground and Ao blinked, watching Maya jog up to them with bewildered eyes.

The unfamiliar girl flashed a brilliant smile at them and Ao tried to smile back, her lips pulling taught in a grimace; A bell laugh, sounded from her savior.

"Thanks," Ao whispered, unable to find her voice fully - it cracked in peculiar places. Clearing her throat she tried again, not trusting her voice fully yet, but was cut off.

"Don't thank me. I paid you back for watching the show," she smiled. "Is she going to be okay?" The girl, looking down upon Maya and Ao with icy eyes, gestured to Naoki, who was just beginning to stir.

"Yeah. She'll be fine. Maybe she broke a rib, but that's all. The clash was softer that it looked," Maya answered.

Naoki looked up then, giving a half-hearted wave. "She'll be more annoying than ever, now that Ao kicked her ass." From the wave Naoki let her fingers and thumb fold in so that only her middle one stood. "See?"

Ao chuckled. "Yeah. That's our girl."

"Who are you?" Maya has now shifted her questioning gaze to the stranger.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Cold Fire - Rin."

Ao nodded. "I'm Wolf Scar leader of the Starburn Elements. My birth given name is Ao. This is Dark Detainment - Maya. Over there is Water Skimmer - Naoki."

Rin smirked. "I know who you are. All along the East Side you're famous. Your whole team, not just the main squad - which is you three. Do you even know how many people represent Starburn Elements?"

"Sixty-two?" Maya laughed at her joking question, but Rin simply shook her head.

"Ha! That would hardly even make up the Western Area of the East Side. If you count all over - North, East, South, and West - you'd have well over 2,000 people representing your squad."

"HOLY SHIT! I knew we were well known, but I hadn't realized that so many people had begun representing us in battles!"

Rin nodded, grinning from ear to ears. "And," she interrupted Maya's fantasies of a "mega squad", "I've brought you paper work about all your members and representatives."

Ao's eyebrows shot up and her eyes finally took in the large black bag that was partially obscured from sight by Cold Fire's back.

"Holy shit! That thing is going to eat us!" Maya gasped, hiding behind Ao.

Rin sighed and placed the bag of papers on the cement, being careful to set it on a dry spot. "It's a lot, but it shouldn't take you more than three days, if not four."

"Three days?! We need to train! We'll lose if we don't and then we'll lose our territory and our members. And - and- "

"Hush, Maya!" Ao commanded in an authoritative voice. "We do need to train so how about a compromise? After our match at Roaring Winds we'll fill out everything - no matter the time limit and the carpel tunnel inducing work." Turning, she motioned to Naoki to come to them. "When she was near enough she spoke, "Naoki, I need you to take Maya home so she can rest - she's the walking dead right now, and we need her to be at full strength for tomorrow's training session with Yumi."

Naoki nodded and bowed at the waist, "Yes, Leader. Come, Maya." Maya began following Naoki out of the training area at a very slow pace.

When out of ear-shot of Ao, Maya leaned on Naoki and muttered in her ear, "What crawled up your ass and made you so submissive?" By this point, Maya was questioning Naoki's sanity.

"Nothin. C'mon. You need to sleep."

Maya grunted in response.

Ao watched the two until they disappeared from sight and turned back to Rin.

"You really care for them a lot, don't you?" asked Rin.

"Of course, but that's not the issue as of late. Now, down to business. Who sent you?" Ao's eyes became icy as she spoke.

"Pardon?"

"Who sent you here?"

"No one sent me. I came of my own accord. I-I wanted to meet you." The girl looked away, a slight pink flushing across her ivory skin.

Ao sighed and sat on the curb, stretching out her long legs to there full length and stretching her arms out in front of her. "Sorry. There's been a lot going on, so I was merely wondering if maybe you had been sent by Inori or Roaring Winds." She paused, thinking intently for a brief moment. "Cold Fire, eh? How'd you pick that up? I know I've heard it somewhere. In the North if I recall correctly."

Sitting beside Ao, she laughed, nodding her head in slow, deliberate movements. "Yes, I'm originally from the Northern Squad - the Silencing Queens. When I first joined I was a rookie that new everything about Burnouts and Air Treks as well. Ringo was my idol back then - I wanted to be just like her. I knew everything about Air Treks and Burnouts - from which pair went the fastest and which pair caused the most damage when doing physical battles - and that was why I was accepted into the Queens' group, but I had never ridden them in my life." She paused to curl her arms around her knees and pull them to her chest. "I was technical and relied on numbers, but that didn't help me when I first started riding. My first pair of Burnouts were Maladroits- one of the best types out there - and when I finally mastered my own technique I found that when I rode them they gave off blue sparks and after riding were cold to the touch - so cold they gave you 1st and 2nd degree burns, depending on how long you had been riding. They reminded me of dry ice. When I battled, I left my enemies in a cold fire and then they erupted into blue flames after I crashed - my Burnouts I mean."

Ao looked at her feet and noticed that she wasn't wearing Burnouts. "Have you given it up?"

Rin nodded, "I'm not allowed to fly anymore - as Simca would say, 'You've broken your wings; the sky is no longer yours until you can find the one who will heal you.'"

"You know Simca?"

The girl turned her face towards Ao, grinning, "She was the leader of the Silencing Queens."

Ao chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "But you told us you were a lone rider and yet you can no longer ride?"

"I am a broken rider looking for her healer, to put it in words that can be partially understood."

Nodding, she replied simply, "I see."

Rin looked up at the dark sky and mumbled almost inaudibly, "Do you really?"

The silence became deafening at the two sat side by side on the concrete without saying a word. Ao surveyed her surroundings, the imitation arena that Maya had built to resemble Roaring Winds' arena.

The tall, square buildings were mainly metal with hardly any windows and most only had one door to be seen from the front. The street was two-laned with slim sidewalks bordering each side. Lifting her eyes, she could see the risen hill that Naoki had crashed on and studied it. Looking at it from below, she could see slight waves in the asphalt that made for a difficult ascent, but was inconspicuous in the long run. Every turn on the hill had to be taken with caution, Ao realized, as the corners were subtle yet sharp.

"Well, you should probably go check on your friends and to your wounds - the blood is dry and crusty now." Rin lifted her hand in front of Ao's face, and moved her hair away from her forehead to examine the cuts on her forehead where the blood was drying.

Ao froze instantly at the touch and Rin pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted. The corners of her lips turned down slightly.

"Sorry," Ao murmured, looking at her feet. She shifted uncomfortably and began to stand, the awkward silence penetrating her calm. "You're right; I should be getting back. Where are you staying tonight?"

Rin stood as well and replied smoothly, "I'm not particularly sure. A hotel, I guess."

Ao hesitated before making her offer, "Would you like to stay with us for the night, at least until we can figure something out? We don't have much room, but it should be better than some dusty, old hotel." Smiling, the girl stood by Ao and nodded.

"If it's alright with you, I will."

Ao nodded in response.

Without thinking twice, Rin linked her arm through Ao's and laced her fingers through the leader's. Ao blushed, but did not object to the warm touch.


***


When the two arrived at the two story apartment, Rin was supporting most of Ao's body with one arm around her waist. Opening the door with one hand, she dragged Ao's body across the threshhold and shut it behind her when the two were inside.

"Which way to your room, Ms. Leader?" Rin asked with a light smile.

Ao nodded to the hallway, her eyes halfway closed. "Down the hall - second door from the bathroom; you'll know it when you see it," the girl replied with a thick, sleepy voice.

Without another word, Rin let go of Ao and dropped to her knees, swiftly catching the leader on her back. Rising again, she quickly made the short trek down the dark hallway to the door she had been told was Ao's.

"Yep, it's definantly hers," she murmured to herself. The door was plain black with simple silver writing etched into the steel. There were few words: 'Caution - Wolf Scar at Work; Door is closed when dangerous to enter.'

Placing her hand on the handle, she turned it and pushed the door - which was cold to the touch when she shouldered past it - inward; the room made Rin gasp in utter astonishment.

Shelves of Burnouts and parts took up nearly every inch of space on the two walls that didn't have a large desk and her bed taking up the space. A glass box was screwed to the wall above her bed that held their emblem - a strange-looking bunny with an eyepatch covering one eye and an 'X' for the other eye. The lips of the bunny were curved up into a viscious smile, the canine pointed and sharp as well as colored a bright green - green being Ao's favorite color, it made sense - while the ears were orange and purple.

Parts of Burnouts and AirTreks littered the floor, shelves and the metal desk that took up the southern wall, which was opposite of Ao's one-person bed. The eastern wall held parts for Air Treks - wheels, bases, blue prints, everything one could need to build an intricate AT - while the western wall was mainly set up for Burnouts.

"Oh, my god..." Her sentence trailed off as she lay Ao on the bed and went to examine the desk further, her eyes shining with delight and excitement, and a peculiar curiosity. She picked up several parts that she couldn't identify and set them back down, frustrated by her inability to put names to them. Everntually, she strode over to the door, and with a quick, pained glance back at Ao, exited the room with lithe steps.

Her hands reached her bag - which had been layed by the door when they had first entered the apartement - before she had stopped moving, which nearly catapulted her into the couch the bag had been set by. Dropping to her knees, she dug through the large duffelbag and found the headset she had been searching for.

Placing it on her head, she turned a small knob on the side of it and spoke softly into the mouthpiece. "I'm in. Wolf Scar is currently asleep and the others I have not seen since the fight on Aimes Hill. You can send her in about two hours. By then I will have gotten everything prepared. Yukino Ourna, 2A36B, ready and in position."

A windchime voice sounded through the earpiece. "Do not stand in my way, Cold fire, or I will obliterate you as well as the them." A chill ran down Rin's spine as a cold laugh followed.

"Understood, Leader." Her voice was a tortured sound.

"How many times must I tell you to call me your Queen?"

"I apologize, my Queen. It will not happen again."

"Good girl. Now, hurry and set up before I arrive or you will suffer the same fate as those mongrels, and you wouldn't want that to happen, would you, Yukino, my sweet?" The voice was dark and taunting with a dark edge to it that Yukino - Rin - knew all too well.

"No, my Queen, I would not." The line cut off and Yukino fell forward, her hands shaking as tremors rolled down her spine.

Once the trembling subsided, she pulled at her sleeves being sure they covered her arms, and rose. I'm doing this all for you, Rima. Tears ran down her cheeks, without her knowledge, as she set to work on changing the locks.

Minutes passed, and she struggled to keep the noise muffled and quiet. It was only thirty minutes later when she finished with the locks and began to rig the lights.

Another twenty minutes passed before she checked the clock. Finishing the rest of what was needed with the lights, the girl sat back and pulled on a pair of thick gloves that were specially designed for what she was about to do.

Standing, she crossed the room with a few quick steps and ran her hand across the wall, across the sliding glass door and onto the floor in front of it. Slipping off the gloves, she folded them inside out and set them on the couch while she dug through the bag. Blindly, she ran her hand across the bottom of it until her fingers ran over a small metal object that fit easily in her hand.

Pulling it out, she examined the small piece of steel. Her thoughts went backwards to what the item expert had taught her when she had first joined the Queens.

"This item is the Lightning Bug. Now, don't be intimidated by the name – it doesn't really produce lightning; it simply converts electricity into a tamable form. Using these gloves-"she held up a pair of bright yellow and black gloves, "-you create a route for the stream of electricity to follow until it hits something and then releases all the electricity that was running through the veins you created with the gloves." The auburn-haired woman was handling the gloves by the wrist cuffs and folded them inside out before touching any other part of it. "These are not fashion accessories – you must not touch the finger tips or the electricity current will become a part of your blood," Holding up the bug, she continued," And once you activate this, anything you have touched with the gloves will be electrocuted. Basically, you touch the fingertips and activate this sucker, then your blood evaporates. Please, use them for protection only.

Yukino's hands trembled as she stuck the Lightning Bug against the wall where it would be easily seen and easy to activate.

I have betrayed them. I have betrayed myself. And most importantly, I have lost my wings. As her thoughts faded, she watched a bird on the balcony – an ivory-white raven – look at her with eyes that resembled burning embers and ascended into the sky. Sliding the door open with her boot, she stepped out onto the balcony. Yukino clasped her milk-white hands together and looked up at the night sky, which was dotted with shining stars, and felt tears budding at the corner of her eyes.

"I want to be free, Rima. Be my wings. Help me fly."


End of Chapter 2

Please look forward to reading Chapter 3: Broken