SITTING ON A ROUNDTABLE outside in their high school courtyard were none other than Stephen, Kimberly, Castiel, Maxwell, Willis, and Nagini. The group had decided to hold a meeting regarding their newly formed team. Kimberly, however, wasn't part of this team. She was only present to make sure Nagini was kept in check.
"Then it's decided," Stephen said. "Our team can finally form."
Nagini was holding his arm, agreeing to the notion. He looked like a snake coiling with its mate. Kimberly glared at the two, annoyed that he was too close to Stephen. Willis, who had recently given his answer to join the team, was busy munching on chips to notice. As for Maxwell and Castiel, they were contemplating what their roles would be.
Between everyone here, they were the weakest link. Not only had they started riding Dyna Blades late, but they also didn't possess any notable skills that stuck out. So just who were Castiel and Maxwell?
As they considered their roles, reflections on their individual backgrounds began to emerge.
Castiel Case, known as "Cast" to some, had been second in command of Stephen's gang. In the past, he led his middle school track team to victory by completing the hundred-meter dash in nine-point-seventy-seven seconds flat. The time almost broke the world record. Because his school wasn't publicly known, his story didn't make the local news.
After that day, though he didn't become famous, many teachers and students praised his talents. All except Stephen. Annoyed that he wasn't receiving acknowledgment from someone Castiel believed to be a delinquent, he approached Stephen to ask what his problem was. "You think just 'cause you're gonna join a gang makes you cool?"
"Funny," Stephen replied. "I don't remember saying I was. How'd you know about that?"
"Oh, come on!" he yelled. "I saw you hanging out with them by the mall."
Tension rose in the classroom. Stephen remained calm and called Castiel out for only being angry because he wasn't impressed by his sprint time. Thinking he was only acting cool for everyone, Castiel challenged him to a race. The results ended with Stephen beating him by a large gap.
Castiel pleaded with him to join the track team. Smirking at the panting boy, a cloud passed by to overshadow his face. The sunlight was so bright that Castiel couldn't see anything but Stephen's smile. "How 'bout you join me instead and help me turn this city upside down?"
After that day, the two registered on the gang's roster together. Always interested to see what amazing feats Stephen would accomplish next, he spent three years by his side, showing him his utmost loyalty.
Maxwell Marriott, a tenth-grader at the time, began hearing of Stephen's and Castiel's rise to infamy. Being raised by a father who was a bodybuilder, the rumor that someone else was being called "the strongest kid in school" piqued his interest. He didn't believe it, so he sought to test Stephen's strength. At the moment he approached Stephen while he was in the middle of walking by, he grabbed onto his shoulder but immediately found himself on his back!
Maxwell laid there, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened. All he knew was that Stephen was clearly walking while talking with Castiel. But the moment he touched the smaller Stephen, he flipped so fast over his shoulder that he couldn't even see himself falling.
Confused, he sat up, only to see Stephen still in the middle of his conversation with Castiel. Running to the front of the two, he bowed his head and said in his loudest voice, "I'd like to become your bodyguard, boss!" Since that moment, he put it in his heart to join Stephen's side, no matter what the cost.
Stephen and Castiel looked at each other in confusion. It was clear they remembered Maxwell being flipped, but they were taken aback at how quickly he went from wishing for a brawl to instead joining their side. Fast forward a year later, and the trio has been inseparable ever since.
Now that their individual motivations were clear, they turned their attention back to the team structure and their new roles.
"First is Nagini," Stephen said at the table. "You'll be in charge of all offensive attacks, so I'm counting on you to obliterate the opposition."
"Roger!" he replied. "I'll kill 'em all!"
Ignoring that latter response, he moved onto Willis and said, "Brother Willy, you're our team's battalion. We're counting on you to charge headfirst into battle. Also, you're in charge of supplying us with food!"
"Sounds like the job for me!" he replied with a sandwich in his mouth.
"Cast and Max," Stephen said, pointing at the two. "I don't need to explain how great our teamwork has been over the years together. So, Cast, I'm placing you with Nagini while Max will be in charge of all defensive measures." Castiel freaked out upon noticing Nagini glaring at him with a sadistic smile.
With everyone's roles assigned, they all made an agreement to fight strong in every race. Kimberly smiled as she bore witness to what she believed to be the best team in all of the Dyna Blade world.
A few seconds later, Chappy landed on Stephen's shoulders. He smiled lightly and said, "That's right. I almost forgot about you, little guy. You wanna join the team too, huh? Well, where've ya been?"
Chappy's head moved toward Nagini. It was clear that he had been avoiding Stephen lately because of the boy's serpent-like nature. The group laughed as Maxwell pulled out his laptop. Opening the Wheels War forums, he placed the laptop in the center of the table to show everyone a recent video uploaded.
An image of a large, three-dimensional tower was seen. At the bottom of it were broken Dyna Blades, helmets, swords, emblems, and skeletons. Whether they were real or not, the graphics were impressive.
A commentator began to speak as the video played: "Proverbs 18:10: The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe. Though not God's tower, every Road leads to the Skytree Tower. There are eight lords of the eight Roads who ride eight Runes. Climbing over a multitude of enemies' corpses, passing through thousands of bloody tests… When all these things become one, the legendary 'sky king' shall be crowned."
Stephen continued to listen.
"Well then… Come forth, all ye Road Riders! The lords of Skytree Tower await those who will become the sky's next champion. For registration, please follow the voice instructions…"
After the video ended, Kimberly looked over to see Stephen in deep thought. If he asked her anything, she wouldn't know how to answer. Her worrisome thoughts eased when he instead looked toward Nagini. "You said you were lord of the Venom Road, right? I think it's time you tell us who these lords are and what kind of DBs they ride." Nagini, still holding onto Stephen's arm, began explaining what he could.
Years ago, before anyone at the table was even born, Dyna Blades still existed. Among the thousands of Dyna Blades released, there were a select few that were specially made. Known as "Runes," these idiosyncratic Dyna Blades were specially engineered to manipulate the various elements in the air. Only eight of them were known to have existed at the time.
Nagini personally didn't know who made them or where they came from. All he knew was that they were given to strong riders worthy of wearing them.
"What do you mean by worthy?" Willis questioned.
It was clear to Stephen why Willis, of all people, asked first. He had once had an unsettling encounter with Caspian, the lord of the Flood Road.
Deploying a Rune gives the rider's body a massive increase in their muscular, respiratory, skeletal, circulatory, and nervous systems! But because of the power generated, it puts a tremendous strain on the rider's heart. Only those who've perfected their body's physiology are capable of using their Runes to their maximum potential. But even then, Nagini testified that a lord could only use a Rune a limited number of times before both their bodies and the Rune gave out.
"So tell us about your Rune, how it functions, and your duties as a lord," Stephen said to Nagini.
"Oh, I don't have a Rune, and I'm not the current lord of the Venom Road."
"Eh!" everyone wondered.
Nagini revealed to them that although he boasted in their match about being a lord, it was out of pride. Regarding his Dyna Blades, he referred to them as a prototype model. What he rides is known as a "Subrune," a degraded, counterfeit copy of the original. What makes a Rune and a Subrune so different lies in their core.
The core of every Rune can be found inside the wheel. Each core is different. As mentioned earlier, Runes are capable of altering elements on an atomic level. Being that there are one hundred and eighteen elements known to science, each one of those protons, electrons, and neutrons can be amplified greatly enough to the point that Dyna Blades could even produce water.
"Then what happened to your Runes?" Castiel asked.
The topic caused him to squeeze Stephen's arms tighter. Kimberly tried to pull him off in frustration, but he wouldn't let go. It was clear to everyone that he didn't want to talk about it. That's when Stephen decided to leave the matter alone for now.
He got all the information he needed. Eight lords who wore eight Runes and ruled over the eight different Roads. It would have been good to know who the other seven were, but it didn't bother him. Stephen was willing to outrace anyone.
After their meeting, they all decided to take another road trip together back to Rock Springs. Clint, who had made a full recovery, contacted Stephen to give his thanks some time ago. To show his gratitude, he said he could visit his clothing shop and pick anything he'd like for free. It was a great opportunity to get matching uniforms for their team.
At his store, they all browsed separately for something stylish. Clint was surprised to see Nagini with them. Stephen had told Nagini to repent of his sin, and so he did. Seeing the deranged boy's sincerity, Clint made the right choice by forgiving him.
"There's nothing here in XXXL!" Willis announced, shuffling through the clothes rack. "No wonder nobody shops here."
"You wanna shop here? Lose some weight then!" Clint screamed.
Castiel and Maxwell were arguing about whether they should keep or change the colors for the sake of the team. On the other side of the store, Kimberly stretched out a shirt on Stephen's chest to see if it would make him look more handsome. Willis and Nagini, on the other hand, were trying to find something that fit them. Because of Nagini's small stature, he had to browse the kid's section.
Clint smiled at how such a dysfunctional group coexisted so peacefully.