"SO WHAT DO YA want me to do?" Elric asked.
"I just need you to talk to him," she answered. "Maybe you can convince him not to ride anymore."
Allison and Elric had ventured so far that she hadn't noticed they were in the city. Apologizing for having taken him this far out, he brushed it off and said, "I suppose I should tell ya we're bein' followed."
"What?!"
Swiftly turning around, she saw no one initially, so she squinted her eyes. Several paces behind them were Dyna Blade tracks. In a fit of rage, she screamed, demanding to know why Stephen had been following them.
When he emerged, Castiel, Maxwell, Kimberly, Victoria, and Mila were also present! Elric grinned, saying, "A bit rude for a kid your age to eavesdrop, don't ya think?"
The group approached them, questioning how they had been spotted so soon.
"Still…" Elric said. "That ain't no way for the next sky king to behave."
Hearing him refer to Stephen as the sky king greatly alarmed Allison. Stephen could tell what she was thinking. It had only been two months since he donned a pair of Dyna Blades, and already people were treating him as if he were famous. "Ya don't mind if now's a good time I talk to him about the past, do ya, Allison?"
Not many things could get past Stephen's keen senses. For instance, Elric referred to his roommate as "Allison" and not "Ally." Could the two really have been that close? The fact that he knew of his prestige in the Dyna Blade world only confirmed that he was a rider.
'So why is he in a wheelchair?'
"What is it that you're trying to tell me?" Stephen asked.
Elric looked toward Allison for confirmation. She was nervous, practically sweating. Whether she wanted him to reveal that much information or not, she had come here to find a way to get Stephen to quit riding Dyna Blades. So he smiled, turned back to Stephen, and said, "Noticed ya heard me call your sister Allison, huh? Ya should know that her real name's Orchid, the lord who directs the Evergreen Road!"
Many years ago.
High above a platform next to a power line was Allison. She was wearing a brown leather jacket while lying down. On her left foot was a long boot with Dyna Blade wheels attached to it, and on her right foot, she had a sprained ankle.
Rubbing it, she thought of how careless she was. Not from riding but from fighting.
Cling-clang.
A soda can rolled next to her. Looking up, she heard a boy say, "Use it like an ice pack for your swollen ankle!"
Standing on a rail line just slightly above her was a Korean boy who looked to be about her age. He donned a highlighted shirt that was black around the sleeves with the word "Prince" written in Korean on it. He also wore dark black pants with a pair of yellow-green headphones around his neck. That boy was Elric.
"What kind of joke are you pulling?" she asked.
"Just trying to help a pretty girl out," he said with a smile.
She couldn't help but notice the way he balanced himself with his Dyna Blades on the rail. Both his compliment and his skills caused her to blush.
"I… I'll pay for it!" she said. "Let me get my wallet—"
"Nah," he interrupted. "I saw that crazy battle, so count that as my admission fee, m'kay?"
Allison stopped looking for her wallet and turned quickly toward him. If he truly did see her fighting, that meant he could be another opponent.
"Was worth seeing the famous Orchid in battle," he remarked. "Tryin' my best not to be a fanboy over here, but dang, you looked good out there!"
This was their first meeting, and Elric was smooth with his approach.
"I… I'm still going to pay you back!" she insisted, blushing again. "Wait…! Tell me your name. I'll come after you and pay you back, you hear me?!"
Doing a one-wheel, one-eighty spin on the electrical line, Elric jumped off despite being two hundred feet above ground. The stunt captivated Allison because of how confident he looked, almost as if he had been riding Dyna Blades like that for a long time. Just that one meeting was all it took for her to want to see him again.
During that time, Runes had just been made public. People coveted those special skates when they heard about them, and a rider who wore one was none other than Allison.
"There's no escaping my vines once they catch you," she declared in the middle of a courtyard.
Five men wearing Dyna Blades were covered in blood, slowly falling to the ground. They had reluctantly tried to pursue Allison and her Runes after catching wind of her in the city. Accepting the challenge, she easily defeated all her competitors. Anyone who dared challenge her and her Floral Rune was always left tangled in blood.
As she turned around to grab her school backpack, she heard someone clapping behind her. Sitting on the edge of a rooftop nearby, a person said, "Right on your game!"
It was Elric. Reaching into her bag to pull out a dollar and twenty-five cents, Elric commented if he really looked that cheap. Allison urged that she pay him back for that cold soda he gave her a few days ago.
"I haven't even introduced myself yet," he said. "They call me Elric Bo Park. Ya don't have to say anything for me to know what you're thinkin.' Elric means 'king' in English. That's right! I'm royalty. Pretty cool, yeah?"
Allison heard him, but she was busy looking for the change in her pockets. Apparently, she had lost it and felt embarrassed because she couldn't pay him back.
"Sounds like it's supposed to be cool," she said. "Although it seems to describe you as factious…" Elric couldn't help but laugh as she emptied her pockets, unable to find the change.
After that exchange, the two would wind up crossing paths around Salt Lake City from time to time. But even then, she never saw him truly ride. Nor did she witness him battle on Dyna Blades. One night, the two began skating together in search of something. With the recent increase of Road Riders, she decided to reveal some vital information.
"I recently heard a team calling themselves the Lion's-something," she said. "Word on the streets is they got together and are showing up all over the city."
"They're not just a team," Elric corrected, racing across the top of a building with her. "They're tough Road Riders banded together to dominate Wheels War and act like peacekeepers over it."
Allison further added that the one leading Lion's Den was named "Zephyr." Elric chose not to comment on that part. Instead, he asked where they were headed. The two eventually stopped their journey near a seemingly abandoned construction site at the edge of the city.
Revealing that she was planning to take down all the members in Lion's Den, she figured Elric wouldn't mind helping out. She despised when people banded together to behave as if they were invulnerable. This was the reason she rode solo. With no stickers to declare war and no emblem to wager, she had made a name for herself by defeating every team she encountered.
Riding forward, Allison heard multiple Dyna Blade wheels revving together. Turning around to check that Elric was alright, a rider blew past her, leaving a trail of bubbles in their wake. Above her was someone's silhouette holding a giant flag with the Lion's Den logo on it. Her guard had been so relaxed that she hadn't noticed she had fallen into a trap.
"Be careful!" she screamed, glancing his way and noticing unidentifiable riders casually standing next to him. Each varied in size, and she couldn't tell what they looked like or what they wore due to the darkness. "What's going on?!"
"Not like I was keepin' this a secret from you or anythin'," Elric answered with a grin. "Lemme introduce myself properly this time."
As the moonlight illuminated the area, it allowed her to see four unique Road Riders next to Elric and another rider just slightly above him with the team's flag. The shadow covering half of Elric's face made him look imposing, along with his confident smile. "You're looking at the founder and leader of the Lion's Den: Elric 'Zephyr' Bo Park. Pleasure's all mine."
Elric took out a pair of fake wings and spread them out. He then chanted that he was truly the king of the sky, the sky king, "It's sky king Elric! Everybody knows that! Oh yeah!"
Caspian and a tall, skinny black man laughed while pointing at him, hurling gestures as if to call him a new type of dork. Meanwhile, a woman with reflective goggles and her hair tied in a bun threw confetti around for effect. The other members either shook their heads or clapped sarcastically at his childish antics.
When asked what this was all about, Elric revealed the truth to her. He had been tasked with finding an eighth member. Confused at first, Allison eventually got to meet everyone on their team. They were all more than just strong; they each wore unique gear that separated them from other riders, and after considerable thought, Allison accepted the offer to join their team.
Gregory Gunn (Caspian), the lord who commands the Flood Road.
Kobe Ventura (Nagini), the lord who controls the Venom Road.
Tesla Temple (Mecha), the lord who monitors the Artificer Road.
Zenith Poe (Lamp), the lord who conducts the Solar Road.
Titus Jensen (Clay), the lord who oversees the Terrain Road.
Cyrus Maximus (Sonic), the lord who governs the Acoustic Road.
Elric Bo Park (Zephyr), the lord who pilots the Gale Road.
And lastly, Allison Tennyson (Orchid), the lord who directs the Evergreen Road. Each of them bore a title; each one of them had unique appearances; and each one possessed their own Runes. With her acceptance and official embrace of her title, the strongest team in the world was formed: The Lion's Den!
Allison truly never desired to be a part of the team, nor did she have any desires for Wheels War competitions. But when Elric invited her, she couldn't refuse the idea of being highly recognized as a lord on the streets. The thought seemed interesting, yet her only true desire to join was to be with Elric.
Sitting high atop the construction site in the middle of the day, Allison and Elric conversed with one another. She found herself captivated by his ambitions.
"The reason I put this team together," he explained, "is 'cause I got big plans; a dream!" With his youthful appearance and bright smile, Allison adored spending time with him. They often rode together, feeling that things were right as long as he was close by.
"And this plan's not just for me. It's for all Road Riders! Haha!"
She admired his speeches and willingness to help other riders in the future. Even though he acted a bit childish around the other lords, his way of speaking was enough to sway their hearts.
"In order to make that dream real, I need everyone in Lion's Den to act as guardians over Skytree Tower. And then we can unite our strengths to help keep order."
When he asked if he could count on her, she responded definitively. Using the money she owed him as an excuse, Elric had completely forgotten about the matter. But since she was so insistent, he devised a way she could repay him. Asking her to close her eyes, he kissed her, and she fell in love with him.
Some time later, a civil war erupted within Lion's Den. Allison hadn't been aware of what sparked it or who was at fault. All she knew was that when she arrived at the construction site, Caspian, Nagini, Clay, and Elric had all been defeated in battle. Blood was everywhere; destruction was left and right; and worst of all, both of Elric's legs were broken, and the wheels to his Runes had been confiscated. "E… Elric!" she screamed.
"Heh-heh… It was a really long way down," he said, lying on the floor, barely conscious. Though he attempted to maintain that bright smile around her, his eyes were filled with tears. "Heh… At this rate, we'll never fly together again."
Allison had never cried so hard in her life before. The sight of her lover's crippled wings was too much. Together, they had drenched their wings in the blood of their enemies. But after that day, the weight finally broke their wings.
Elric was eventually taken to the hospital, where doctors told him he would never walk again. The news was heartbreaking.
"Elric, please take this—"
"You can have it," Elric interrupted, his back turned to her while bound to a wheelchair. "Do whatever you want."
"N… No, you can't just… This is the one thing you can't let go of."
Allison pleaded with him, stating that he put all his heart into the team he built. The last thing she wanted was for him to throw it away.
"My heart?" he said, turning around. "You think my heart's in that thing?"
There was a stern look on his face. In a rude tone, he questioned whether Allison even knew him like that. "Get this straight, alright? I only asked you to join my team as Orchid 'cause I needed your Runes for my own purposes. That's all, y'hear?!"
Elric grew angrier, saying, "You're pretty obnoxious as a girl; and yeah, we hooked up once or twice, but don't be thinkin' you're my—"
Slap!
Elric's headphones flew off his head. Allison hadn't meant to slap him; her heart was already aching so much that she couldn't contain her emotions any longer. There was no apology from Elric as he picked them back up.
"My heart got wrecked like my fake wings," he said, turning away. "We're through, so go find a real sky king."
Allison tried to stop him as he walked away, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Deep down, she believed that his "wings" couldn't be mended. To her, she felt like nothing but a burden. Looking at the Lion's Den emblem that she had pleaded for him to take, her tears fell onto it. This was the same day she had quit riding Dyna Blades altogether.
At the park, it was already nighttime, and the group had finished listening to Elric and Allison share their story. Stephen considered the many things he had heard. The idea that his roommates were part of a legendary team, the fact that lords and Runes waged war against one another, and Elric's quest to become the sky king—they all sunk in.
"It's because I quit riding that I lived to talk about it with you all," Allison said.
"But Ally," Kimberly urged. "Steph already knows what it feels like to fly. Keeping him away will be too dangerous."
Both Victoria and Mila agreed. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come here with him to try and convince Allison. Maxwell and Castiel were more interested in how a beautiful woman like her could fall for a stud like Elric. The only person who remained quiet throughout their story was Stephen.
"Now you understand," Allison said, approaching him.
She further explained that he could honestly pursue anything he dreamed of except riding Dyna Blades. Regardless of what it was, she'd support it. Soccer, basketball—he was athletic and smart enough to excel in whichever sport he chose. More importantly, he would be safe.
"So you're going to quit riding Dyna Blades for me, right?" she asked.
Stephen looked at her as if she were crazy and replied, "Not even close!"