Even after ten minutes on the road, Ryuzio and Hitryel were still going east of Victor's Domain.
Ryuzio looked about in fascination as they passed the many buildings that were reaching for the stars above, lining the sides of the roads. A divider separated the two-lane road on which they were and the two-lane road to their left—the vehicles on which were going to the opposite direction.
"We'll soon be at the intersection," Hitryel said. "Even if the lights are red there, I won't stop. Is that good with you?"
"I don't care," Ryuzio said, shaking his head. "But where are we even going to?"
"Wavecrash Dojo," Hitryel said. "I know the two who run that place. In all of Sonas, that's the only place we can stay hidden until all this cools down."
"There's always the place you were already living in," Ryuzio said. "Why not stay there?"
Hitryel shook his head. "I've burdened Tryst enough."
Ryuzio took a moment to respond. "Okay."
They sped past a couple vehicles.
"What will you do after all this fades?" Hitryel asked.
"I'll buy a skyjet—"
The bike swerved a little before Hitryel balanced it again.
Ryuzio laughed. "You should've let me drive."
Hitryel focused on the road. "Did you just say…skyjet?"
"Uh-huh."
"Do you know how much that thing costs?"
Ryuzio nodded. "I've been saving up for one for the past 8 years. A Volant isn't a Volant without a skyjet, yeah?"
Hitryel sighed of relief. "Then it's all good."
"Say, Hit," Ryuzio said, smiling. "After we get a skyjet, where should we fly off to first?"
Hitryel let out a chuckle. "Assuming you do buy a skyjet and get the means to pilot it, I'd say we should fly straight to Nova Zephpolis."
"Oh, yeah," Ryuzio said, nodding to himself. "The last place under the Lower Skies."
"I'll be able to fight the strongest fighter in all of Nova Labyrinth there," Hitryel said. "And after I do so, we'll go the Higher Skies. There I'll find and defeat the strongest fighter of Ultima Labyrinth, becoming the greatest fighter alive."
Ryuzio smiled. "Awesome!"
"What exactly is your path?" Hitryel asked. "What is your next step?"
"Heh?" Ryuzio picked his nose with a pinky, brows furrowing. "I told you already. To become the Sky King."
Hitryel sighed. "Alright…" He looked ahead, and then glanced over his shoulder. "We're at the intersection. Only a couple minutes before we're at our destination."
Ryuzio looked ahead at the intersecting roads—the one they were on and the one to their left going onward, two different two-lane roads intersecting it—which seemed to form a plus shape. "Okay—" Ryuzio jerked forward, face smashing against Hitryel's back.
Hitryel's eyes widened as the truck from the inner lane of the road intersecting from the left swerved violently, turning sideways. It passed the road to their left, breaking the divider, completing a full rotation—maybe due to the driver trying to regain control—and sliding parallel at them—
Ryuzio fired up his Ether and pushed against Hitryel's back, but maybe he fired up his as well—resulting in Ryuzio going the opposite direction—
The truck crashed sideways against Hitryel's bike, sandwiching it between itself and a two-story building to the right. Ryuzio's feet hit the road, the vehicles behind him stopping due to the accident. Soon, chaos took form all around the road. Vehicles stopped. People screamed.
Ryuzio straightened up, facing the rear side of the big vehicle. He could not see past the vehicle, but he was sure that Hitryel was by the front end of the vehicle— alive and uninjured. He was Ryuzio's squadmate, after all.
Before he could try to doubly confirm it, however, the door on the back of the vehicle opened up. Ryuzio stopped in anticipation.
From inside the back of the truck, four figures emerged. To Ryuzio's surprise, he knew two of them.
"This is the boy," said the man with blond hair—one of the two men Ryuzio already knew, Codix. "This is the boy who…um…called the skyguards and ruined our plan…
"Lord Baru."
"That's right, Lord Baru" said the dark-skinned man—the second person Ryuzio recognized, Edden—from beside Codix as all of them got off the vehicle. "This is the boy who…uh…stole our gas bomb while we were…uh…looking away."
Ryuzio met the eyes of the man they were referring to as "Lord Baru." "So you're the '22 million guy,' yeah?" He fired up his Ether, flowing it upward to his arms, as he pointed at this Baru guy. "I won't ever forgive you for treating Ben badly!"
Baru stepped forward, hands in his pockets. He was taller than all of them, standing slightly taller than even Hitryel, and his skin tone was but a shade darker than Ryuzio's. He wore a black hat underneath the pulled over hood of a jacket that was so long that its end rested below his knees—the black color of which lightened to gray moving downward, providing a gradient, the inside of the jacket being of blue color—and had a flat white symbol depicting a fist engraved on a skull on the side of his left arm.
The only other person besides these three was a young woman with fair skin, who stood just a step behind Baru. She wore a short dark gray top—toned tummy exposed—beneath her unchained black jacket. Why did everyone like black jackets so much in Sonas? She wore a hat on her pink-haired head, covering her face with a black mask, leaving only her eyes and forehead exposed.
"Who the fluck is this Ben?" Baru asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Heh?" Ryuzio picked his nose with a pinky. "Oh, yeah… You two haven't met each other."
"What the fluck are you talking about, boy?" Baru said, stopping about five meters away from him. "Do you not know who you're speaking to?"
"You're Baru, yeah?" Ryuzio said, then looked to the man's right. "Wait! I have something to ask you!" He pointed at Codix. "Why do you have that guy in your squad?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Baru asked without glancing over his shoulder.
"He has your left hand!" Ryuzio accused. "He told me inside the Skybridge, before I knocked them both out!"
Baru rolled his head sideways. "Is what this boy claiming true, Codix, Edden?"
"O-Of course not, Lord Baru," Edden said, gulping. "Don't believe this crazy boy's words. Didn't you see how he mentioned a name you don't even recognize?"
"Y-Yeah, right," Codix added, not meeting their squad captain's eyes. "Would you not recognize the name of your own subordinate?"
Baru turned his torso to them. "The boy never said this 'Ben' was my subordinate. Are you hiding something from me, Codix?"
"N-No, Lord Baru," Codix said, backing away. "Why would I do such a thing—?"
Baru threw his jacket inside the truck from which they emerged as he walked toward Codix. The young woman shook her head as Edden's face reflected the horror of the face of the man Baru was walking toward. Codix gulped—
Baru's left fist inflated like a balloon, before he slammed it onto Codix's head, smashing him down. "Then why are you backing away from me?" His fist returned to its regular size as he turned to the young woman, Edden looking even more scared. "Heal him."
The young woman glared at Baru from the corner of her eyes as she turned to the injured man. She reached for something above her hips with her right hand, hidden beneath her jacket. Within moments, a glowing pink "plus sign" appeared on Codix's forehead, shedding sparkling glitter, before Codix's skin itself started glowing with a soft pink hue.
Ryuzio eyed in fascination at Codix getting off the ground, Edden helping him to it. The blond man leaned on his squadmate, putting a hand on his head as he climbed onto his feet, no sign of any previous damage present anywhere on his body. Something similar like this had happened to Benji as well. What was going on? Some people of Sonas could "heal" others entirely…?
"Awesome!" Ryuzio said, locking eyes with the pink-haired girl. "Yo!"
"Eh?" she said, confused.
"Join my squad!"
She blinked her wide eyes, as if utterly baffled. "H-Hm?"
Codix and Edden hid beside the side of the vehicle.
"This kid's bad spit crazy!"
"I don't want any part of this."
Baru turned to Ryuzio once again. "You think you can mess with my squad, boy?" he said, expression darkening. "You've earned what's coming to you. For all you've done…you've earned my payback!" He pointed above Ryuzio's eyes. "But before that…
"Where'd you find that headband, boy?"
###
Hitryel dusted off his shoulders as he walked to the phone booth by the vehicle crashing. He heard the driver of the truck getting off. He inserted a coin into the audiophone on the wall, dialing a hotline.
The driver approached him from behind his back, a flicking sound accompanying his steps. The air suddenly had a hint of smoke blended into it.
"Who you calling?"
Finally they picked the call.
"Hello?" the person on the other side of the call said to Hitryel. "This is the District One Hospital, what's your emergency?"
"There's a guy beaten badly in the first intersection to the east of Victor's Domain," Hitryel replied. "He needs immediate attention, so quickly send in an ambulance."
"It's that severe!" she said from the other side in a panicking tone. "We'll send immediate help. Thanks for informing us."
Hitryel hung up, turning around.
The truck driver who'd crashed his massive vehicle against Hitryel's bike rubbed the burning tip of his thick smokestick on his tongue, putting out the flame. "This lil stunt of yours," he said, crushing the smokestick beneath his boot. "Was it a threat?"
Hitryel raised his chin at the heavily built man with brown hair and tan skin, who wore a dark green top and some loose trousers. "A measure."
The driver raised an eyebrow, standing tall with pocketed hands, looking down on Hitryel from two more heads up. "For who?"
Hitrye's Ether boiled, crashing like a wave all across his body. "For the smoking bastard who wrecked my bike!"
"Oh?" said the driver. "So the champ has finally gotten over his head, it seems." With that, he blasted his own Ether, a purple aura forming around his body, hands still pocketed. "You haven't seen nothing, champ. If I was fighting in that cage, I'd be only killing men for money." He took his hands out, outstretching his arms to the sides. "Look around, champ. No cage, no lights, no cheers. Just a dark world where fists shine. You think you're ready for this? You think you can take me on?
"I'm Payback Davith, the right-hand man of Lord Baru, and the co-captain of Payback Volants. You think your fists can reach me—?"
Hitryel rammed his right fist into the man's stomach, making him gasp for air. "I was born with both hands clenched!" To Hitryel's surprise, the man did not go down. Instead, he retaliated with a straight right of his own.
Hitryel jumped back, escaping the reach of the burly man. "You're not half bad," he said, slightly amused.
The driver—Davith—ripped apart his top, exposing his bulging muscles. "Congrats, champ," he said with a grin. "You've earned my payback." He lowered his shoulders, putting his fists up high. "You're dying today."
Hitryel shook his head, unimpressed. "You can only try."
Davith opened his grinning mouth, some thick purple gas spewing out of it. "You don't know what I can do, champ!"