WALKING HOME IN THE night together were Stephen and Kimberly. The entire group wanted to go spend the night to commemorate the victory, but his body was exhausted, and he wasn't in the mood. Respecting his wishes, they all departed for their own abodes. Due to how intensely he had raced at the school earlier, his Dyna Blades came apart. The wheels were still intact, but the main body was dismantled. Willis, who had earned his loyalty, offered to help him fix it but was denied. Because of his plan to sell his rightfully earned Dyna Blade parts, Stephen wasn't going to put Willis's family in financial turmoil.
"What's got you so down, Steph?" Kimberly asked.
"Hmm… Oh, sorry. Hadn't noticed I was giving off those vibes."
She adjusted her glasses, smirking at him. She then called him out on how jealous he looked when he saw her arrive with Caspian.
"Don't worry about him," she said. "He's always trying to invite me for a midnight stroll, but I always deny him."
Hearing that, Stephen felt a little relieved. Though that wasn't the thing that was truly bothering him.
"Caspian gave you a lot of compliments, you know. Like how flawless your techniques were."
Kimberly continued to reveal that the lord of the Flood Roads praised his vertical leap. He also enjoyed the various strategies Stephen used during the race. Then he commended him for how skillful he was for an F-ranked rider. There were other Road Riders who used the same moves as he did, but whenever Stephen did them, it always looked as if he were flying.
"He thought you were gonna lose when Willis did that crazy spin up the wall. I told him not to underestimate you; otherwise, when he least expects it, you'll soar past him." She then laughed, adding, "You should have seen the look he gave me after I said that. It's like he saw your shadow behind him or something."
Stephen smiled upon knowing that she had defended him. Castiel and Maxwell had informed him that she had even shed tears after he won. That alone was enough to make him feel special.
The two eventually made it home. Walking inside, the moment he turned the corner, Victoria performed a hi-jump kick to send him against the wall.
"I told you the next one's not gonna be slow, you idiot bird-brain! And you tore up our DBs again in another stupid race!"
Victoria didn't bother waiting for his response. So she picked him up by the waist and holstered him over her shoulder to deliver a Samoan driver. Kimberly panicked when she thought he was down for the count. Yet he quickly planted both his feet on the ground to stop his fall.
"How'd you even know a thing like that?" he asked in an awkward position.
Mila, who was in the room, informed him they had watched the race live over the internet. In a soft voice, she said, "Someone streamed it on the Wheels War forums."
After calming Victoria down, the group went to the living room to watch. Apparently, someone had set up multiple cameras around the school. It couldn't have been Willis because he wasn't the tech-savvy type. So Stephen guessed it was one of those hundreds of riders he saw.
"I hope you don't punish me again for having won another battle," he said.
"That's not the point," Victoria commented. "Don't forget you're riding around like a madman using our DBs, putting other people's parts in them!"
Victoria was right. The reason the Dyna Blades fell apart so quickly was because he was using incompatible gear. It was no different than using glue to keep a Toyota Camry together with Honda parts.
"Ya know, brother Steph, I'm really great at tuning," Mila charmingly said. "I'm the team's second best at it!"
It was quite surprising to hear that. Having grown up creating stuffed animals from scratch, she was talented at repairing, fine-tuning, and assembling Dyna Blades.
Stephen got up from the living room and decided he was going to go to bed instead. They asked him what was wrong. Victoria even assured him that he wasn't going to be punished. All he said was that he was worn out and wasn't in the mood.
Entering his room, he placed his Dyna Blades on the floor. He felt troubled for having once again broken them. The worst part was that all four wheels were damaged. That meant that Maxwell and Castiel couldn't ride. Disappointed that he needed to come up with a new plan to fix the situation, he jumped into bed. Lying down right next to him on the other side of his bed was Skyler.
"What the heck?!" Stephen screamed, jumping out of bed. He almost tripped and fell at her sudden appearance. Hearing Kimberly ask what the problem was, he quickly went to his door.
"Why did you lock your door?!" Kimberly asked, trying to open it.
"It's nothing!" he said. "Don't open the door!"
Skyler sat upright on his bed, saying, "Long time no see, Stephy."
"Skyler!" he whispered. "What're ya doing in my room?"
She giggled, stating that she hadn't talked to him in a while, so she came to surprise him.
"Do you feel a little better now after seeing a cute girl on your bed?" she asked in a seductive tone.
"Keep it down or they'll hear you!"
Stephen was so busy trying to keep his door shut in case one of his roommates kicked it down. He hadn't even noticed Skyler get up from his bed to appear right behind him.
"I'll tell you the reason why you're not happy, although you won," she said.
Stephen slowly turned to face her and said, "I already know. All those cool tricks I'm able to do, it just feels like DBs are being used for the wrong reasons."
Skyler got closer to him, saying, "Stephy, that's proof enough that you're searching for your Road."
That word, "Road." When he heard it, the image of Caspian popped into his head.
"But hey," she said. "Remember this: Whatever Road you use to reach the top, there'll be more intense races waiting for you. Because that's the fate of those who wish to become the sky king."
Skyler's tone was sweet. She wrapped her arms around his neck, asking him to join her team. She smelled like roses, and her touch was warm.
That's when the door behind him crashed open!
In a cascade of events, everything changed in an instant.
Half an hour later. Lights on the television screen flashed. The sound of button-mashing intensely was heard. Kimberly watched as Victoria and Skyler competed in a video game called "Jet Set Radio: Future." It was a racing game, and they were both tied for first place.
"Take this!" Victoria screamed.
"Crap!" Skyler said. "I didn't think you were this good. Haha!"
Earlier, after Kimberly kicked the door down, the entire floor of the apartment became chaotic. Stephen tried to explain things, but no one was buying it. He had no other choice but to leave and go for a walk so as not to anger Kimberly any further. To make sure he wasn't going to get into any more trouble, Victoria had Mila go with him.
"How do you boost jump?" Skyler asked.
The two were so entranced by the game that they had completely forgotten the events earlier. Kimberly herself was steaming as she spectated. When Skyler felt her raging presence behind her, she turned to wink. Panicking, Kimberly ran towards the window to make sure Stephen was alright.
Relieved to see him in the center of the apartment complex with Mila, she let out a sigh of relief. The game eventually ended. Since Stephen and Mila hadn't come home yet, Skyler took the chance to speak with Kimberly alone in her bedroom.
"I wanna ask you something," she said. "What is Stephy to you?"
Kimberly's cheeks flushed red. She didn't expect Skyler, of all people, to ask her that.
"I'm serious about him," Skyler said. "If you don't want him, then give him to me."
"You're not serious about him! Your goal's only to collect him."
Skyler grinned. Walking toward Kimberly, she held her chin, saying, "Sooner or later, tens of hundreds of Road Riders will challenge him. The top-ranked ones, too." Skyler then got close to her face to ask, "Do you think he'll be able to win at the level he's at now?"
In the midst of all the turmoil, the rivalry between the two girls began to intensify.
On the day Stephen challenged the Rottweilers, Victoria, Kimberly, and Skyler were having a conversation while spectating. During that time, Skyler was questioned about why she had been targeting him. Her response was that she was merely helping him learn to fly better.
"All he can do is flap his tiny wings," Skyler said at the time. "All I'm doing is showing him the way."
She then went on an excerpt about how Stephen was her little bird. She enjoyed watching birds soar from her chest, adoring every moment they flapped their wings to reach high. Asking politely for the two sisters to leave them be, she received an unexpected slap from Kimberly.
"Steph's not your pet! He could fly on his own from the start!"
In the aftermath of that confrontation, the tension remained thick in the air.
Now, in present time, Skyler was grinning at her.
"He absolutely needs a partner to support him as he grows," she said.
"Are you suggesting that that's you?" Kimberly asked.
"Haha. If it wasn't me, then we wouldn't be having this conversation."
The two stared at each other for a moment. Both girls understood the other's motives.
"Eight lords to form the legendary team, Lion's Den… If only you, Kimberly Tennyson, weren't their legitimate leader!"
Kimberly ended their conversation there. Skyler walked out, only to see Victoria leaning against the wall. Both girls grinned at each other as Victoria asked her if they were enemies.
"Who knows?" she answered. "But I can say that we aren't for now. Haha! It's all up to Stephy, after all."
Before fully departing, Skyler had made one thing clear to Kimberly during their talk: if Stephen continued to stay with the Tennyson sisters, someone would eventually come to tear his wings off. Should that day ever come, he would inevitably join her side.
The next morning, Stephen, Victoria, Kimberly, and Mila were all sitting down, eating breakfast together. Stephen was trying to fix his broken Dyna Blades at the table. When suddenly, Victoria dropkicked him. He thought she wasn't going to attack while she was eating.
Sadly for him, she was able to do both at the same time.
"What's your problem, ya crazy tomboy?!" he asked, holding his bloody nose.
"Crazy?" she retorted. "Who told you ya could repair your DBs at the table?!"
The two then got into a scuffle. Kimberly asked Stephen if he was going to finish his hardboiled eggs as Victoria put him into a submission hold. Without his consent, she gladly took one off his plate. Mila then ran into her room to present him with something she designed to help with his repairs.
With one push off the ground, he managed to get Victoria off him. Walking toward Mila, he asked to see them. In a charming tone, she said, "Here it is, big brother Steph!"
In front of Stephen's face was a pair of pink flip-flops with two wheels and a motor attached at the bottom. Painted on the upper vamp was a kid's drawing of a blue bird. He brought them to the corner with a straight face. He then grabbed a bat and swung violently, breaking the design.
"Ah!" Mila screamed. "What's brother Steph doing?!"
"Testing the durability," he said, taking another swing.
In truth, the design was really a controlled toy motorcycle super glued with the slippers on top. Victoria put her plate down to grab the toy's remote control. Pressing a button, one of the slippers raced across the living room. She was surprised that it was still running.
Kimberly then got up to stretch, stating that it was time for them to go to school. Despite Skyler's arrival last night, things at home still hadn't changed.