ON THE LOWEST LEVEL of the construction site, Nagini's teammate was seen walking among several hooded individuals. They were his subordinates, and one of them asked how the match was progressing.
"Not interested," he said. "It's not like anyone is going to lose their life over this, but my brother's probably beaten them close to death by now."
Coming out of a passageway, a helicopter was stationed in front of them. The propellers began spinning as the man said, "Time to serve justice, boys. Let's move out!"
Some years ago.
Nagini was seen laughing maniacally while Clint continued to hang by the edge of his ropes. Many people were terrified at the scene.
"I feel… like my heart's going to explode! Haha! I survived again today, risen to a new level! Ha-ha-ha! Comrades, teams, emblems? Those things are all trash on my Venom Road!"
Castiel and Maxwell whispered to one another that Nagini was clearly a psychopath. Willis overheard them and stated that he could understand how he felt. Pointing out the markings left behind by Nagini's hooks, he said, "See these marks imprinted on the metal? They can only be made by a Road Rider who practices their techniques with precision… Each rider has their techniques that accumulate over time, and when they stack together, they finally form their Road."
Taking a closer look at the markings, the two noticed they were all in the shape of a serpent's fangs. Looking up at Clint, they saw those same markings carved on his body.
"Even though leaving his road marks like that on people's bodies is a bit outrageous, technically his actions aren't any different from those of any other person."
Hearing Willis's statement made Nagini laugh. "You seem to know quite a lot. My actions from today will be recorded forever on this bastard's body. That is my Road; this is the Ven—"
Before Nagini could finish, he was given a dead-leg from behind, stopping him mid-sentence. He then fell on the edge, causing his ropes to unravel from Clint's body. From below, two members of the bulls' team and Kimberly stretched out a shirt and jacket tied together. Clint's body then landed right on the crudely made net, saving him from the fall.
When Nagini turned around to see who had snuck up on him, a shirtless Stephen was staring him down. But to Nagini, it felt like a large hawk had its wings out.
"You finally made it up the tree," Stephen said, grabbing Nagini's head and coming face-to-face with him. "You should go back down before you get hurt, little serpent."
"Che!"
Nagini was going to respond until Stephen noticed his eyes shift elsewhere. Turning around, he saw a man holding a gun to his head. It was Nagini's teammate.
"Don't shoot, Dante!" Nagini growled. "The bird's my prey!"
Dante eyed Stephen down, asking him why he was shirtless in front of a minor. He then insinuated that Stephen was a pervert. Not finding the joke remotely funny, Stephen remained staring at Dante, ignoring the fact that an armed weapon was inches from his face. A helicopter then ascended past the trio on the platform.
"Everyone take off your Dyna Blades!" Dante announced, pulling out a badge. "I'm Director Donatello Shafer from the Countermeasure to Reckless Use of Dyna Blade Footwear Police Department—and I'm placing all of you under arrest under Article Twelve, Section Four!"
Stephen had never heard of such a department. Rather, he had never imagined that authority figures would involve themselves in a Road Rider's affairs. It felt as if someone was pulling a prank on him, so he chuckled lightly.
"What're ya laughing at?" Dante asked.
Down below, Castiel screamed, "Your guns're fake! Cops don't dress up like goths!"
At that comment, Dante pointed his gun at Stephen's chest and shot him. Nagini hurled curse words at him for having done that. When the group below thought Stephen had been taken out by a police officer, they saw him rubbing his chest, yelling, "Why the heck did you open fire?!"
"Dang, kid!" Dante said, blowing out the smoke coming from the barrel. "Your skin is really resilient, even though they're only rubber bullets."
Formally known as the Countermeasure to Reckless Use of Dyna Blade Footwear Police Department, or "DBFPD," they enforce any crime related to the improper use of Dyna Blades. A law had been recently established two years ago to stop the alarming increase in crimes being committed with hacked Dyna Blades. The special unit in this department, led by Dante, had been formed to combat the Road Riders. They could be considered a Road Rider's fated enemies.
"Wah!" Maxwell jeered. "There's even a freaking helicopter they'd send after people our age?!"
"I said we were with the police, didn't I?" Dante responded.
Looking at Stephen, he noticed that the latter had turned his back to him. Down below was Willis, who had picked up his car and driven it all the way to the construction site. Clint was immediately placed in the back seat just as he regained consciousness. He was angered at the idea of Nagini selling them out to the police, especially when this was meant to be a regular match.
Nagini from above heard Clint call him a traitor and a disgrace to Road Riders everywhere. Policemen with riot shields and helmets suddenly began storming the area, causing many of the spectators to ride away on their Dyna Blades.
"Did you all forget?" Clint said. "This is our territory!"
At his word, an explosion occurred from within the construction site. Smoke covered a lot of the ground, obstructing many of the officers' views. The crane itself started shaking as if it was going to topple over at any minute. Nagini watched as Stephen jumped off, spreading his arms out with a grin on his face—all without any Dyna Blades on!
Before anyone knew it, Kimberly hurled his Dyna Blades at him.
Stephen then grabbed the tied laces of his skates while in the air before flipping himself to catch a cable that snapped off the crane. Swinging until he was closer to the ground, he let go and rolled safely to the floor. In the middle of strapping on his Dyna Blades, he looked up to give a smirk directly at Nagini.
Whatever was occurring in the boy's head, Nagini simply stood there, watching as Stephen and his group departed. The many police officers on foot weren't able to catch up. Dante noticed him spacing out but ignored him. Rather than remind him the crane was collapsing, he lifted his jeans to reveal two Dyna Blade wheels attached to a mechanical holster by his ankle.
The wheels on each ankle made a clanking noise as they extended out and touched the platform. Dante then drove forward, leaping off the crane to land safely on the ground.
"Sir," an officer said, approaching him. "Should we pursue?"
"After them!" Dante commanded.
Several of the officers who heard the order activated their hidden Dyna Blades. Stephen's group—consisting of Willis in the driver's seat, Kimberly in the passenger's seat, Clint lying in the back with his two teammates, and Castiel, Maxwell, and Stephen himself—all rode their Dyna Blades outside. Stephen looked behind him to notice that Dante and his gang of police officers were giving chase. Because of how fast they were all moving, Dante couldn't get a proper aim to fire his gun.
"They had DBs hidden in the foot of their pants!" Castiel screamed.
"Yeah, and they're closing in on us!" Maxwell added.
Stephen looked behind him again, only to see what looked like a giant white mamba about to devour the policemen. The overwhelming feeling caused Dante to turn around.
"I won't let you have my prey!" Nagini hissed.
The speed he displayed was beyond incredible. Slithering past all of the policemen, his hooks tripped them as he accelerated forward. Even Stephen was impressed.
"Dang, he's good," Willis commented, swerving around the debris.
Although Dante referred to Nagini as his brother and seemed to be working under the same organization, that didn't mean they were in league with one another. Dante and his men toppled one by one, rolling on the ground. Able to recover on his knees, Dante pulled out his gun and aimed it at Nagini. Without knowing a hook was attached to it, the gun was easily yanked away from his hand.
"Like you always said," Nagini hissed, looking back. "I'm like those bastard Road Riders, only an eyesore piece of trash."
The moment Stephen looked back, Nagini planted his razor-sharp wheels right in his face. His peers all panicked as Willis pulled the emergency brakes. Stephen had just barely managed to recover with the t-stop technique. Nagini laughed, "Hey, king of trash, let's play a little!"
Looking at Nagini with cold eyes, Stephen spat blood from his mouth. There was also blood running down his face from the kick. Nagini laughed even more, taunting him to show Stephen what he was capable of.
Suddenly, something overwhelmed Nagini's senses. He began frantically looking around, wondering who was making him feel so tense. Stephen was astonished, wondering why he was acting this way. Little did he know, Kimberly's eyes were piercing through Nagini. Her homicidal aura leaked out after seeing someone hurt Stephen. It was so potent that Nagini's instincts were physically telling him to run.
Suddenly, he was lifted up from the ground by Stephen. It was like an adult picking up a child by the arms.
"Ya know," Stephen said. "You're not so crazy for a small role player."
"Eh…?"
Nagini was trying to slither away, but Stephen held his entire body under his arm as he jumped toward a pole. Grinding up, Maxwell and Castiel chased after him, wondering where he was going. Nagini continued to struggle but was unable to break free. And since he was in an awkward position, he didn't have any momentum to use his ropes.
"Quit squirming and lemme show ya something already," Stephen said, grinding higher and higher. "Don't stop, Max and Cast!"
The two boys increased their speed. When Nagini looked to see that Stephen was also accelerating, he started panicking. They were on the highest level of an unfinished building, and in front of them, there were no walls.
At the edge of the platform, they all jumped off, screaming in excitement. They were at least two hundred feet above the ground, not performing a single trick. Nagini made a face as if he were going to die. He screamed, stating that they were the crazy ones.
Stephen finally let him go, saying, "Friends, emblems, Roads, you're the only one hung up on that."
Nagini was lost for words. He looked over to Maxwell and Castiel to notice how joyful they were. He was positive that those two were beginner riders based on their posture. So why weren't they surprised even after Stephen told them not to stop?
"Lighten up," Stephen said. "Given the way you are, of course you wouldn't be excited."
"Huh?"
"What I think about snakes is that they shy away underground to hide their true feelings. It never dreams of flying; it hardly knows other animals could do it if it hasn't lived long enough. But you know the first thing birds and snakes look at when they hatch?"
Stephen grabbed Nagini's arm to help spread them out. Nagini's eyes couldn't leave Stephen's for a second. He was too deep in thought about Stephen's question. Suddenly, he understood the answer when he saw that Stephen was looking up at the sky. "Just let yourself have fun!"
Nagini looked up and was mesmerized by how close he was to the clouds. They weren't really that close, but it was the first time he felt like he could touch them. Stephen looked over to notice him smiling. Deep down in his heart, Stephen knew that he had finally understood things.
Just as Nagini looked back at him, he returned the smile. Stephen then looked forward, but felt Nagini's hand move his face back to him. From below, Kimberly noticed the four were about to fall into a lake. Then something caught her attention.
Nagini brought Stephen's face close to him and kissed him on the lips!