Author's note: It is finally here, the long awaited final Shift to Gear Eight. What will come of the fights? In case you guys missed it, Gear One to Two has been rewritten and Gear three onwards edited.
Gear Eight, Shift Five: Entwined Fangs
Family, friendships, brotherhood and love. Their stories intertwined with a cruel twist of fate.
The first layer of her shield broke, shattering with a howl of wind. The fang that broke it disappeared along. Her leg slid back and she was unbalanced for a single second. But that was long enough for her second layer of shield to break. Only one left.
Lucia's second and third fang which forms a cross got absorbed by the fourth, creating one single power fang. Miu's leg began to shake, the pressure was overwhelming and she decided to risk it all on one single attack.
She swings her blocking leg back down, stomping her free leg at the same time, activating her Regalia. Once her blocking leg touched the ground, she sends her second leg thrusting into her own shield with a roundhouse kick, dispersing the last fang. Her AT roared louder and spun faster as it hits the frictionless platform and the shield exploded outward, firing a tunnel of wind at the Fang Queen.
Add-on offence, Pile Cannon
Lucia swings her leg again and cut through the wind like paper with another fang. Miu attempted to set up another shield but none appeared. She took a quick look down and noticed that her ATs had overheated and was smoking from the sides. Damn, I forgot I don't have a Tuner yet.
The fang smash into her and a dust kicked up. Lucia tried to look through the dust clouds as the sounds of running motor filled her ears. She decided against waiting and sends another fang in to finish off anything that was left.
A blur in space made her sidestep as a Magnum pierces through her fang, destroying it on the spot.
Tsubasa stood in front of an unconscious Miu who was being held by Shou. The magnum created by absorbing Lucia's own fang.
"Game over Lucia," Tsubasa said, voice stern. "You win."
"Come on!" She replied playfully. "The fun's just getting started!"
Tsubasa stepped forward. "If you want someone to fight, I'm ready to take you on."
XXX
They showered themselves in a barrage of fierce exchanges of attacks. He punched and she kicked. Arnold rushes in and tackled her by the waist. She returned with a knee to the face, forcing Arnold to let go. Phoenix readied another Backdraft cannon. Arnold did one of his own. The explosion was at range so both were not injured as badly as it could have been. They flew apart, creating a large distance between them.
He skidded off to a halt, his lips bleeding while the buildings around him continued to burn. This Phoenix was nothing like the one Arnold had gotten to know. She was stronger, faster and tens times deadlier. Her first attack confirms it where she immediately fired a fast, accurate and strong Helios Fang at him which he barely managed to dodge.
Not knowing how, he expected the next attack and ducked as Phoenix closed in within an instant and sends him a sharp kick with her left leg. Arnold stood up, grabbing Phoenix's leg above his right shoulder. Instead of falling over, Phoenix demonstrated flexibility equaling a gymnast, splitting her leg open to an arc. Arnold extends a punch with his left but stopped inches from her face as he could not reach.
A fiery dance surrounded by buildings aflame. Their eyes met. Hers, a furious flaming red and his, a calm sea blue. They stood like that for quite some time, seemingly mesmerized by each others presence. A screamed from the end of the alley snapped them awake. Arnold turned his head and Phoenix raised hers to look.
Two young boys, twins, stood in the middle of the road in shock. The two Storm Riders did not need the car's honk to tell them those kids were in danger.
Arnold automatically opened up his fist and felt Phoenix grabbing it. He pulled and launched her over his head, with her using the leg on his shoulder to catapult herself off.
Arnold turned and attempted to pull off a Nova Burst but realized he did not have the right condition to use it. Instead, he settled for the simpler Rocket Burst instead. Positioning himself in a crouching position like runners, he unleashes the massive friction of the Flame Road and burst off from the spot, leaving a trail of blue flames, a result of all his training.
He followed the orange flames left by Phoenix and both entered a slide once they reached the road, scooping the two boys up with one hand and narrowly avoiding the oncoming, out of control truck.
The blue and orange flames left behind entangled themselves. Arnold and Phoenix let the two boys run off and continued their stare down. Strangely, a smile spread across both their faces.
Both riders said simultaneously, "Jinx."
XXX
Shou carried Miu on her back, riding through the maze in a cruising speed. His hoody wrapped over her.
"Never thought I'd see the day when you'd carry me." Miu said softly, her strength gone from her battle.
Shou smiled equally softly. "You can't expect me to never return the favor now did you? Besides, things change."
"There's one thing that never changes though."
"And what's that?"
"You're grades."
Shou gave a small chuckle. "You can still joke at a time like this?"
"I'm not joking. You're grades really are terrible."
"Nerd"
"Humph, I need to come up with a nickname for you." Miu said. "Otherwise I'm gonna be called nerd for the rest of my life with no comeback."
XXX
Lucia and Tsubasa continued their intense stare down while her Tuner, a ruff white haired male in a mechanic suit was tending to her Regalia, switching between the tools under his sleeves with a sleigh of hand.
"You missed a spot Rune." Lucia said, not looking away.
"Don't tell me how to do my job." He replied annoyed.
"So you're her Tuner?" Tsubasa asked.
"Officially, yes. I'm the only one who can hear her sound. But that doesn't mean I like the way she works."
Tsubasa gave a sympathetic nod of agreement. "The rules of Tool Toul To are hard to break I guess."
"Not everyone can be like Akio and Shin." Rune continued without much emotion, putting up the finishing touches on the Regalia.
Tsubasa turns his attention back on Lucia. "Should we get started now? I'll go get my partner and you can get yours." She said cheerily.
"Don't need. We already know what you'll do with your partner."
Rune kept the rest of his tools that were lying around and stood up. "I'll be her partner than." He said and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Tsubasa asked.
"Forfeiting." Rune passed Tsubasa and answered. "I'll go get Shou so the three of you can have your fun."
Tsubasa turned and gave Lucia a quizzical look. "What can I say," Lucia said to her surprise. "he knows me well."
XXX
They continued their battle, riding on the wall and shooting through the flames, continuing to perform their dangerous Tango of Death.
"What was your name again boy?" Phoenix asked calmly, apparently not affected by the fact that the two were fighting in perpetual hell.
Arnold was able to keep his cool as well, though not to the level that Phoenix can where her emotions were hidden. He does have a small temper after all. "Wyndham, Arnold Wyndham."
"That's a nice name. Mine is Reyna-"
"-Cathmor, I know." Arnold finished for her. The name jammed something back into his head and he asked. "What's your relationship with Reagan?"
"He's my brother. What about you?" The way they spoke were like a friendly conversation, even while she dodges a punch from Arnold and countered with a kick of her own.
Arnold rode higher up to avoid the kick. "He's Phoenix to me." He let his gripped go and slide down the wall, delivered a failed uppercut, shot himself back up and onto the roof. Phoenix quickly followed.
"We better talk later. Any more of this and I might start getting distracted." Phoenix finished.
"Agreed." Arnold replied with a smile and sends a Helios Fang her way.
She got ready to dodge it but Arnold did something unexpected. He executed a Rocket Burst and dashed pass Phoenix, unleashing another Helios Fang. Phoenix sidestepped and the two fangs collide. The fire, now out of controlled, burst out from the side and created a huge wall of flames. From what he saw, Phoenix was engulfed in the second part of the attack. But Arnold knew that it will never be so easy and he got himself ready in case she burst out of the flames for an attack.
Hell's castle, Helios Fort!
Now, let's see if I can do that new trick I've been practicing. Wait a minute, what the hell is that?!
XXX
She cuddled herself tight in the white hoody, clenching her fist on the opposing sleeves. She was worried even though she knew she need not for that one legged rabbit was the best Storm Rider she has ever seen. Hmm…rabbit. I think that's what I'll call him from now on. After all, he is white with this thing on. Miu took a look at the hoody and held it even closer. The small television screen flickered and the battle between the three Kings was about to start.
XXX
"Do you want to change the battlefield boys?" Lucia asked seductively. "If so, I'll have to ask you two to step outside for a while.
Shou and Tsubasa gave a smile and the former said, "Why don't you just put it on spin?"
Lucia seems genuinely shocked. "Oh, you noticed?"
"Of course we noticed. We saw it in the Trick Pass. You sound proof the whole building so no one can hear it turn." Tsubasa replied.
"Wow, you two are smart. Why didn't you tell your teammates then?" She asked, directing her question more towards Lucia.
"I like to surprise."
Lucia gave a sinister smile and drew a circle in the air. All was silent for a minute and a rumbling sound signals the battle has began. The room began to tilt and all three of them rushed out of the maze. By the time they reached the spiral, the wall had become the ground. They managed to get beside the air vent they passed by earlier, kicked it open and jumped in.
Instead of an air duct, the trio was in a dark, dimly lid square room. A giant mechanical axle turned overhead, connected to large gears all round the room. They were in the very room which turns the entire building. None of them look surprise for they already knew what to expect. They hopped over the gears and an oddly placed door on the floor and jumped through a large hole opposite the vent. With skills, they grabbed onto the ceiling of the hotel lobby which was now the wall and slide down, landing on the empty wall of the lobby.
"Three minutes before this place goes one eighty." Lucia explained quickly.
"Let's do this then." Shou said and charged in quick with a Cartridge Slide.
Lucia jumped and dodged the attack skillfully, only to encounter Tsubasa with a dropkick. She places her ATs onto his and kicked herself away before the attack connected. She turns in mid air and regains her balance as Shou did a spin to handstand before recovering with his back facing her, releasing a Spirale Air and ending it with a back flip, kicking the projectile towards the Fang Queen. She sidesteps and releases two consecutive Fangs in a cross.
Gigaer Cross
The two Kings absorbed the Fangs with their Regalia. "Go for it Shotgun!" Shou called out Tsubasa's nickname.
"Ha! Haven't heard you call me that for a long time." He fired off a Magnum and Shou used the stored up Fang in his Regalia to instantaneously boost his speed, catching up to the Magnum and kicking it a second time.
Tag team, Calling Shotgun
Lucia again dodged the fast bullet which ricochets off the floor where she stood a second ago, headed upwards and shattered the metal elevator door like it was paper. Damn it! Guess I underestimated them.
The three paused and Shou went up to give Tsubasa a high five. "You the man! Tsubasa 'Shotgun' Tadashi!" Damn, I forgot how catchy that was." Shou yelled out happily.
XXX
Phoenix looked like a real phoenix, flying high in the sky with a long line of flames at her heels. The Helios Fort which Arnold has created now follows her ATs in an obedient line, like a giant caterpillar stuck on a shoe. She did a front flip and the flames encircled her like a wheel, ending with a downward kick which sends the flame crashing into Arnold.
It was a direct hit and Arnold, taken by surprise was caught in the flames. Not sure if it was an act of desperation or pure instinct, he gathered and released a burst of air, dispersing a good radius of fire around him. He was now slightly burned, the skin on his left cheek and right arm was overly red and his outfit slightly charred.
Arnold was shocked. The Helios Fort was one of the most unpredictable flame tricks he knew and Phoenix took control of the fire so simply. But before he asks how she did it, the reply was already given.
"My Air Trecks can control fire. Don't ask me how since I'm not the one who made it." She replied. She sounded bored. "The guy who gave it to me said something about chemical changes that attract fire. Personally, I don't give a damn. As I long as I can use it, I don't really care."
It was true. If the pair of ATs was Arnold's, he would probably give no shit as to how it worked as well, as long as he knows how to use it that is.
"Actually," Phoenix continued. The voice snapped Arnold out of his thoughts. "I didn't intend on using this but you gave so much in your run that it be a shame not to let you see this." She raised her head and gave the boy a beautiful smile. "Thank you for not holding back."
"Humph." Arnold lowered his head, smiling himself as well. He held back the blood that was trying to come out from his throat and replied, "Don't mention it."
They both placed their right foot forward and pushed off, charging straight at each other while leaving only trails of flames behind. He sidestepped right and gave a left hook. She duck down and gave a right knee.
The knee connected and Arnold swerved one eighty from the impact. He rubbed the spot where she hit him. It was a little sore, nothing he can't handle. But a few more dozens of those and he'll end up sprawled dead on the ground. He couldn't beat her at speed. All he had was sheer strength but he needed some distance to execute his more powerful attacks.
Without much choice left, he gave a quick retreat. Phoenix gave chase, executed a Rocket Burst and appeared in front of him in an instance and fired a horizontal Helios Fang.
I knew it!
Arnold jumped. He had once or twice ridden on a normal Leviathan Fang before but has never tried riding a Helios before. It was hot, really hot. He rode the fang backwards, all the while facing Phoenix. When he was on the opposite rooftop, he kicked away from the fang as it exploded. He rode the blast and flew even further off, ending up three rooftops away. It was enough distance for him.
Phoenix came over, but stopped one roof away and readied herself for an attack. She took a quick breath but realized something was wrong. She could not breathe. She shifted in her position and managed to catch a large lung full of air before she found herself out of oxygen again. Something's wrong.
As a rider of the Flame Road, she instantly noticed the strange level of heat coming from her opponents ATs. He was shifting his heels up and down, controlling the amount of friction heat while standing on the spot. She could not figure out what he was doing and continued to stay on the alert.
"I could have used my own Helios Fang but since you offered yours, I just could not resist the offer." Arnold voice echoed; his eyes closed as he concentrates to 'feel' the wind. "I haven't mastered this to the level Hyde has so I guess he deserves some credit for getting that far. Ah, this should do it." He opened his eyes again.
Phoenix found another pocket of air and took another big breath and then it came to her. Her palm could feel a faint breeze and so could her face. But that was the problem. Only those two areas had wind. And for him to mention Hyde's ability means that he must be toying with the density of air as well to have achieved such effects. But that's impossible! I thought he was of the Flame Road? Unless…
She looked up and found Arnold smiling. "I guess you figured it out." He replied to her shock. If I miss this, it's over.
His ATs roared and flames burst forth. The fire shot through the oxygen filled passage Arnold had created for them, a dozens of twisting and twirling flaming snakes shot in Phoenix's direction.
Wings and Flames combine, Apollo's Sun Flare!
Phoenix snapped awake and dodged one of the flaming snakes. She felt the breeze on her left hand and jumped away, narrowly missing one that came from behind. She took a quick glance at Arnold. He was having a tough time controlling the direction of the flames and this could be as much of an opportunity for her as much as a danger.
She rushes in, sliding to avoid another flame path. Using her acrobatic skills, she twist, turned and flipped her way through. Somehow, despite all her skills, the left of her skirt got burned off and her ponytail came undone, letting her hair rage naturally with the wind. Her special ATs were unable to attract the flames as there was no oxygen to burn in her surrounding.
Arnold shot a new Sun Flare directly at her when she neared but she managed to jump high over it.
With defeat close, Arnold unleashed his last resort and relinquished his hold on the surrounding air. The oxygen burst inwards and the fire paths exploded violently like a chain of gas pipes being blown up.
The final Sun Flare backfired on Arnold as it connected to Phoenix's ATs. His opponent silhouetted against a background of fireworks, Arnold watches with a strange sense of respect as his opponent delivered the flaming whip to his battered body. The impact of the whip, the heat of the flames and the force of the kick was overwhelming, much worst than what his girl back home could do and as he fell back, he gazed up at the smoke filled blue sky and soon blacked out.
XXX
The lobby was now right side up again and the Riders raced to and fro. Lucia fired a Fang at the crescent reception desk and as soon as the fang hit the marble, it exploded at an angle, unleashing a powerful gust which held her opponents on the spot. She charged in during this opening and successfully delivered a kick to Tsubasa's gut, sending him flying into a pillar.
Shou came in with a right hook but was easily avoided. Lucia grabbed him by the shoulder, rotated on her ATs and threw him through the now opened elevator door as the room began tilting at a forty five degrees angle. She followed swiftly after, sending another Gigaer cross through.
In the metal room, Shou held onto the parallel rails to avoid being slammed into the hard material but met face to face with the two fangs. Unable to dodge or absorb, he took the full blow and was knocked into the metal floor anyways.
He saw Lucia coming down at him and quickly recovered with a back flip, releasing a Spirale. Shou then jump onto his Spirale, executing his own style of Nova Burst and in a way, teleported to the opposite of the room.
Lucia unleashed the most powerful Fang she could which cut through the two pipes like wet paper. Shou shot a Spirale at the Fang but he could not gather enough momentum to launch a strong one due to using the Nova Burst. Just before the Spirale reached its target, Tsubasa came down from the submarine manhole on the ceiling and down the pole. He slingshot himself off and sends himself kicking into the Spirale, executing a Reverse Calling Shotgun.
The two attacks dispersed each other and the wind knocked all three of them back. In under thirty seconds, they had left the place a mess with many of the items in the room and the room before broken, cracked and disintegrated like the elevator door.
"I've had about enough of you two and your dancing around." Lucia said loudly, none of her usual calm was presence. She swings her legs back and her Regalia clicks into action. Which made everyone watching realized that all the while, she had been fighting without activating the Regalia; which means…
"We're screwed." Tsubasa said.
She sends her leg down and connected with another kick, unleashing a Gigaer Cross two times larger and more powerful than the ones before.
Without any place left to run, the two decided to do the unthinkable; charge straight into the thing.
Ramming into the fang at full speed, the two got the wind knocked out of them. But it was necessary. The fang slammed them into the metal sliding door which turned out to be much weaker than it seems. It gave way easily and they fell through a wall of dried paint, putting them back in the labyrinth near Miu and Amaya's starting point.
"Thank god for slipstream." Shou let out in a grunt of pain.
"You said it." Tsubasa agreed in a coarse voice.
XXX
"I suppose you want an explanation don't you?" Shin said reluctantly to all the staring faces which in this case include, Amaya, Daichi, Jason, Conon and the rest of the Steppers. Miu was the only one still focusing on the match. Shin gave a loud sigh and gave Akio a nudge. "It's your turn. I did the last one."
Akio caught the piercing glares off all those around him and he can tell Ine was trying hard to hold back a laugh. "Alright, I'll talk." He finally spoke. "The Bullet Road that Tsubasa runs on and which builds the foundation of the Cyclone Road of Shou uses two things. One, the ricochet effect where leftover momentum is redirected to reduce the speed lost during turning. Did you guys get that?"
Everyone nodded.
"Good." Akio said before continuing his explanation. "Then there's the slipstream concept. A bullet is made in such a way so it reduces air resistance. In their case, the rider places themselves in a position that dramatically reduce air resistance and that's why those two are so bloody fast."
"But it's not as easy as it looks." Shin interrupted as a mischievous look flash across everybody's face, indicating that they wanted to try it out.
"That's right." Akio retook the conversation. "The one thing about having so little air resistance is that you have near zero support meaning it's extremely hard to control your riding in that stat and if you fall at that speed, well, let's just say you won't be able to look yourself in the mirror after that."
The slipstream reduced the impact of the fangs and their push against the attack helped reduced the impact of their crash. Though it seemed stupid, it was perhaps the only way at the time. Miu's attention was still on the screen, eyeing the magnificent display of skills. Though I've only known them in the AT world for a short time, those two idiots, have shown me that ATs can be so much more than just meet the eyes.
The screen flickered as the two partners stood. Tsubasa unzipped his jacket and threw it aside. I'll get it back later. He was wearing a white shirt, a Yin and Yang contrast to Shou's black. The two angle and devil of war stood side by side in the rubble.
"Let's do this." They two said in unison.
The battle was about to be decided.
XXX
They have raced through the labyrinth while being chased by Lucia and ended up back into the gear room. The rooms had stopped turning under Lucia's command. Tsubasa was kicked and slammed into the last remaining door in the floor and Lucia followed suit, chased by Shou.
The last room was the most empty one of the four with virtually nothing inside it except for the four walls, floor and ceiling.
Tsubasa nearly met his end when he nearly landed on his head. After recovery, he had to quickly roll out of the way of Lucia's fierce kick from above. The latter again having to dodge Shou's own falling attack. They backed themselves into opposite ends.
Another intense stare down ensued. It was a miracle that none of their eyes popped out after all the staring they did that day.
"I hate to drag this." Lucia said fiercely, her Regalia and herself were almost at the limits.
"Likewise." Shou replied, aware that the Twin Cores were reaching their limits as well.
Tsubasa took a step forward. "Let's settle this bitch."
Lucia showed no emotions to the insult and instead, swung her right leg up like before. "Die!" She swings it back down and kicks a right to left diagonal fang, connected with another diagonal right to left fang with her left.
Shou yelled out a war cry and rushed forward, did a back flip to release a Spirale. While upside-down, he switch the pivot point from his torso to his shoulder with immense effort from years of training and his body flipped back up faster than usual. At an angle of around forty five degrees, he switched the pivot again, this time to his waist and sends a powerful kick into the Spirale before landing with a handstand to recovery.
Lucia charged forward and while at high speed, did a back flip of her own but her wheels were still touching the ground, the friction from the 0-100-0 acceleration created two more horizontal Fangs which fires off and lodges itself in the centre of the first cross.
Hex Fang
The combination Fang meets the Spirale midair and the two Infinite Atmospheres begins their final push.
Tsubasa stood back with his eyes close, deep in thoughts and memories. Suzuki, Takuma, this is for you. His eyes burst open and he bends down and rushes forward in the most dangerous position of the Bullet Road where there is absolutely no wind resistance and no support except for your own skills.He did a powerful Recoil brake and sends all the momentum into his right leg. The force sends his Regalia rising up faster than the eyes could see and the Magnum bullet spun violently on the ground upon release.
For the wind.
"VORTEX-" he sends the leg down with great force. "BREAKER!"
The supercharged Magnum Air jet straight into Shou's Spirale. The Spirale Air practically exploded and the force was so great that all four of the Hex's Fang disappeared.
The wind produced was almost like a typhoon but the two partners stood their ground, even as a roaring black hole-like vortex began to form from the Spirale with the Magnum rooted in the centre. The wind must have been stronger on Lucia's side as she was practically struggling for her life against the oncoming wind.
"Hey Shou." Tsubasa's voice was soft over the wind but for some strange reason, it sounded loud and clear.
"Yeah Tsubasa?"
"I got over it."
At those words, the Magnum fired from the vortex, there was a loud blast and the Magnum disappeared. A hole appeared in Lucia's stomach. The vortex gave one mighty siphon and fired a burst of wind which threw Lucia into the wall where she slumped down unconscious, but for Tsubasa, he wished she was dead.
Damn…it. I really…underestimated…those two.
XXX
Phoenix closed the door behind her of the five room apartment uptown. She slumped down into the couch beside the black hair male.
"You're early." The man's voice was gentle but full of sarcasm.
Phoenix gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I had to bring Hyde back. After what that Arnold kid did to him, he was knocked out cold. Not to mention Lucia was so badly wounded they had to send her to the ICU."
"Arnold?" He stared at her with his blue eyes, completely ignoring the latter part of her sentence. So he's finally here. He moved his hand from her knee up to her thigh and under the burned skirt. He closes in and kisses her on the lips. "Things just got really interesting for us."
XXX
Spitfire carried Arnold through the door of Shou's house and was reunited with Ine and the Duals who had returned hours ago, leaving the Steppers to settle the cleanup at the battle site and in a few days, their new AT parts would arrive as their prize for victory. He settled the injured boy into the sofa and sat beside him while Amaya rushed off to get the first aid kit.
"Damn, that girl hits hard." Arnold groaned.
"I don't know what you're complaining about." Shou said, sitting beside Miu across him. "I'd like to get hit by a girl like that. Or hit on for that matter. She's hot. OUCH!" He felt Miu feet on his paralyzed foot and with no muscles, pulling it away was not an option and he instead struggled with it.
"I don't know about that man." Arnold said as Amaya came in with the first air kit. "I doubt I'll like her even if she's my mother."
"I think she's a bitch." Spitfire said, pouting like a little child.
Ine smiled. "That's because you lost to her."
"Yeah, lighten up hothead. OW!" Miu had increase the pressure on his leg and it was starting to go numb.
"You should really shut up now." She said menacingly.
Akio, Shin and Daichi stood at one corner, intrigue by this strange gathering. Amaya started putting some burn cream on Arnold's wound.
She finished up with one shoulder and moved on to the next. "Wow, she must have really done you some damage. Your skin is totally red. And apparently, so is your hair."
"Because that's my shoulder you idiot." Spitfire let out.
Everyone laughed at Amaya's expenses but she was always a good sport so she laughed with them.
"What happened to your match anyway Spit?" Akio asked suddenly.
The atmosphere tensed up and the laughter died almost immediately. All except for Shou who continued to struggle. His personality gave him an attitude of not having a care in the world when out of an AT battle.
Spitfire opens his mouth to speak but closed it again. He took a deep breath and said, "She used my Infinite Atmosphere against me."
"That's not possible. Without the Regalia, the Infinite Flame cannot work." Shin explained.
"But it happened. I don't know how but it did." He looked up at each and everyone in the room saves for Ine. "You guys have a tough battle on your hand."
"But why us?" Daichi finally spoke.
The Flame King smiled. "You'll find out when the time comes in the meantime, you guys mi-" He was cut of by a yell.
"That's it woman!" Shou exclaimed suddenly. "Are you gonna take your feet off or not?"
"Why don't you make me?" Miu replied defiantly.
And just like that, the most surprising thing of the day happened. Whether it was planned or not did not matter. Shou had leaned in and kissed the girl, making her stop her attack, leaving everyone in the room with their mouth hanging except for Arnold.
"Humph, about time." Arnold murmured to himself.
Author's end note: Hope everyone enjoyed that. I can't believe it has been a year since I started this. I'll be taking my break from writing now. Hopefully, I will be back in December after exams.
Tricks
Pile Cannon: Adding another layer of shield into the Guard Axis overloads the shield which explodes outwards like firing a cannon.
Rocket Burst: A high level technique where riders position themselves in a crouching start position. The fast friction of the wheels and the ground starts to burst and upon release, the friction burst gives the rider an instant acceleration boost.
Helios Fort: When two Helios Fang crashes into each other in the exact same opposite direction, the two fangs explode like a Kraken Jaw and the fire surrounding the fangs gets pushed outwards, creating a flaming wall.
Gigaer Cross: A horizontal Fang followed by a vertical Fang.
Calling Shotgun: Shou catches up to one of Tsubasa's Magnum and delivers a kick to double the Magnum power and speed.
Apollo's Sun Flare: By using heat from the friction of the wheel to change density and wind manipulation, Arnold can control the path oxygen takes within an area. Once the paths are set, he puts his ATs into overdrive and they burst into flames with the same concept of a flashover. They fire then follow the designated oxygen path which can be controlled though it requires a large amount of concentration to adjust the density accordingly.
Reverse Calling Shotgun: Same as the first except Tsubasa is the one doing the kicking and Shou's Spirale is the bullet.
Hex Fang: After delivering two cross Fangs, the rider rushes forward and does a back flip while remaining in contact with the ground to create enough friction. And when the flip is executes, two horizontal Fang is shot into the first cross, creating a hex shape and focusing the Fang's power on the centre.
Vortex Breaker: A Magnum is fired directly into a Spirale Air. The unstable air molecule in the Spirale explodes outwards and creates a vortex, sucking up everything from the attacking side and releasing it against the opponent. A supercharged Magnum will retain its form and partially plug the vortex. Once the siphoning reaches a certain level, the vortex will no longer hold and it will fire the Magnum with a force hundred times the normal and faster than the speed of sound.
Team: Stormers
Status: Disbanded
Member count: 5 (Formerly seven)
Tsubasa Tadashi (Leader): A King-Class Storm Rider who seems to have a tragic past with Shou. He is more emotionally unstable than his friend but even so, have complete control of his run while he rides, showing his skills to set aside his emotions for battle. He also holds the title of Gun King.
Shin Toma: A friend of Akio and the second in command of the Stormers. He was the one who set up the match against the Star Trekkers.
Nobu Daiki: A Storm Rider who specializes in enclosed area. He rides the same Road as Daichi. He is currently dating Nanami.
Nanami Hiroko: An amateur rider with incredible physical strength. Have a fear of heights. She is currently dating Nobu.
Nika Ayesha: A cocky rider who got knocked out during the Stormers-Star Trekkers fight because of her ego. Her true ability has not been shown but could very well live up to her tale.
Suzuki (Deceased): One of the two Stormers who were killed by Lucia.
Takuma (Deceased): One of the two Stormers who were killed by Lucia.