I don't own Hot Wheels Battle Force 5. That belongs to Mattel and Nerd Corps Entertainment.


At a mansion with five floors, the cars pulled into a parking lot, the sun setting up ahead of them. A few other cars were parked ahead of them, indicating that the party had not yet started. Each person got out or off of their vehicles clad in formal attire: while the men wore tuxedos with ties matching the primary colors of their Shocksuits, Agura wore the green ball gown she bought at the shop with pearl earrings and a necklace adorning her.

"Right this way, chaps," Stanford offered, and they went up to the house, where they were greeted by a young man with black hair and brown eyes serving as a butler. It took all of Vert's restraint not to blush when he saw him.

They were soon led inside and into the dance hall, a large room mostly empty with a beautifully tiled floor, a chandelier hanging above them, and large windows, some of them leading to balconies.

"It's the perfect place for a romantic moment, wouldn't you agree?" the butler asked.

'And I think I've got an idea...' Agura noted.


The guests arrived when the sun fully set and the ball was in full swing. People glided across the dance floor, the sounds of an orchestra providing the appropriate music. It was initially Vert trying to teach Tezz how to ballroom dance, with an occasional flirty glance from the two every now and then. Agura quickly traded partners with him out of jealousy and surprise.

"Men are supposed to dance with women," she told him in a whisper. He quickly switched partners back to Tezz.

The two were soon trading off Vert, an unseen, subtle dance-off going on. It wasn't until Vert and Agura danced away did the competition end, everything going as planned for her.


"Agura, where are we going?" Vert asked while the two of them went to a private room.

"Someplace where I'm sure you'll like what you'll see," she answered, heading outside to a balcony that displayed a good view of the lot below them.

And indeed, he liked what he saw: a starless night and a clear blue moon ('According to Tezz, the next one is years away!' he noted, so he considered himself lucky) in the sky, and a crisp breeze in the air that wasn't too cold. "This...this is beautiful, Agura!" he noted in surprise.

But his joy quickly changed to fear when she got a little too close. "And it's about to be even more beautiful than that..." she told him, leaning in close while puckering her lips.

He didn't know what happened next, but his mind took over.

"Agura, don't," Vert said, trying to sound as stern as he possibly could without showing too much fear.

She stopped right where she was and moved back. Whatever he had to say, it seemed important. He took a deep breath. If he was going to take A.J.'s advice, he had to be as composed as humanly possible.

"I do not love you," he told him, shocking her. "I am not in love with you. You're just a friend to me, a trusted ally in our mission to save the Multiverse. I'm actually afraid of women."

"What do you mean?" Agura asked.

"My freezing up when you touched me was not me being childish," he clarified. "It was a reminder of a time when someone who was female tormented me when I was younger. The events have since scarred me into fearing the opposite gender."

"Ironic thing is...I'm bisexual," Vert said, not caring if her shock was putting her on the verge of erupting into an upset mess. "But when people saw us together, they began to think we were a couple. You admitted you loved me that time. I had to lie to appease the masses. That proved to be the biggest mistake of my life."

"But...b-b-but you said you were bisexual!" a dumbfounded Agura pointed out. "Shouldn't you be able to conquer this fear with the help of a woman to love?"

"This runs too deep for me to be attracted to women," he admitted bluntly, and all the color drained from her face.

"I'm sorry for lying to you all those months," he apologized, looking down with regret. Both on his actions back then and all the times he had to keep his true status a secret from her. "But I'm sure you'll find someone who'd be a real boyfriend to you."

Agura was still in shock while he watched him leave the balcony and go back inside. When she heard the engine of the Saber run and the car leave, it was the end of the lie that was her love life.