I yawn and wake up, stretching as I look around, noticing that Dimzel isn’t at his computer. I then notice a strong, savory smell. My stomach grumbles and I get up, walking out of the backroom and into the main area of the shop. I see Dimzel wearing a cooking apron and making some breakfast on a portable cooker that he’s set up himself. “Hm? OH! MORNIN’!” Dimzel says, turning to face me. Dimzel lifts the pan and puts the food on a plate for me. “We’ve got a LOT of work to do, so eat up.” Dimzel says, happily. I stare at the plate of eggs, and take a fork and start eating. It’s good. “Do you… like… it?” Dimzel asks, nervously. “Hm? OH! Yeah, it’s great!” I say, smiling and Dimzel seems happy. Dimzel grabs his board and looks around, confused. “Where’s… your board?” Dimzel asks. I begin thinking back to the race. “Fffffffffuck…” I grumble, slamming my face into the table. “Glace…” Dimzel says, walking over. “WHERE… is… your… board?” Dimzel asks, leaning toward me, looking fearful. “It got destroyed when I saved Drifter-X.” I grumble, sitting upright. “GLACE! We don’t HAVE A REPLACEMENT!” Dimzel says, panicking. “I KNOW! I WASN’T THINKING! I JUST COULDN’T LET DRIFTER BE KILLED!” I shout, nervously. Suddenly, as we both panic, there’s a knock at the metal door into my hideout. Dimzel and I turn to face the door and Dimzel grabs DimRail Zeta. He walks to the door and slowly grabs it, swinging the door open and pointing DimRail Zeta at whoever’s there. Dimzel looks toward the entrance and sees someone standing there, wearing tech armor, holding two small cubes between his fingers. They don’t flinch at the sight of the sword. “Drifter?” Dimzel asks, turning off DimRail Zeta and lowering the blade. Drifter-X walks inside the building, looking around. He’s silent, soon turning to see me. Then, he grabs his helmet, grabbing a small knob on the helmet and turning it, making a static sound come out of the helmet. Drifter-X then sighs and stares down. He then looks up and breathes in. “Thank you…” He says, his voice sounding distorted, almost like he’s speaking through a voice regulator and a radio. “You are the reason I’m alive right now… if it weren’t for me, you would’ve had my second place position, and your board would still be functioning…” Drifter-X says, walking over to me and grabbing his phone. “Take out your phone.” Drifter-X says and, almost like a reflex, I grab my phone and he taps his against mine. A holo-screen pops up and a number appears on Drifter’s, it’s the money he earned from the race. The number decreases and adds to my account. Drifter’s number reaches 0 and he puts his phone in his pocket and nods. “Why would you… do that?” I ask, confused. “Oh! don’t worry, that’s a separate account, I have plenty of money, I just don’t think I deserved the prize money…” Drifter-X says, sighing. His head then perks up and he looks at me. “RIGHT! I have ONE more git for you…” Drifter-X says, tossing the two small cubes onto the counter. “Or… I guess TWO more gifts…” Drifter says, pressing a button and the cubes break. Suddenly two items pop out in their place, a new board, and a pair of hover-tech boots. “Those were cube containers, easy for storing big items in a small package. I tried to remake the design you had on your board on these, but I don’t know if it was perfect…” Drifter-X says, rubbing his neck. I admire the board, it’s fancy, a new model with frost patterns on it, and on the top of it it says: ‘Frosted Foe’ in hot pink text. It uses a mix of cyan, white, and hot pink coloring, like my old board. The Hover-Tech boots are one of the fancy models with small heels, and powerful thrusters. There’s also padding on the boots with gel padding on the bottom for easy sliding and stopping. “Woah, fancy, not even my boots have padding… not that I need it.” Dimzel says, looking at them. Drifter-X turns to face Dimzel, inspecting him. “You… you’re the machine that Delilah hates…” Drifter-X says. “She hates me, huh? Figures…” Dimzel sighs, looking away. “She’s not well…” Drifter-X adds, seeing the pain in Dimzel. “She’s not?” I ask, trying on the boots. “No, she isn’t… I used to work with her, we did work together, I knew she worked with PrimeCorp, but I never expected her to one day just… turn on me…” Drifter-X says, looking around. “One day she told me she loved me… next thing I know… She…” Drifter says, trying to find the words. I notice a few tears dripping from under his helmet. “...She hates me…” Drifter says. He raises his helmet a bit, wiping away the tears before lowering his helmet again. “Sorry… I just… I KNOW that something happened to her… I just need to find out WHAT…” Drifter-X says, clenching his fist, tightly. “I have the same goal…” Dimzel explains. Dimzel grabs his board, attaching it to his back. “Okay, Glace, let’s get going.” Dimzel says, opening a portal. I grab my new boards and run over to him. “Where’re you two going?” Drifter asks, looking over. “We’re going to practice riding.” I say, looking back to him. “OH! Mind if I tag along?, offer some help?” Drifter-X asks, sounding somewhat hopeful. “Uhhh… sure, c’mon.” Dimzel says, nodding his head to the side. We three step through the portal and see the factory we trained in before. Dimzel and Drifter run and hop on their boards and ride down the hill, into the factory. I run forward and jump, expecting the boots to just activate, but they don’t. I land on the ground, looking around, confused. I jump again, but they still don’t activate. “C’mon, activate…” I grumble, stomping, not angrily, but trying to see if it activates them. I sit down and lift up one boot and look inside for the tag, seeing if it has instructions. “Okay, ‘step one: activate the boots’... YEAH! HOW DO I DO THAT!?” I shout, frustrated. I stand up and soon notice something… they aren’t charged. I sit down and let the sun shine on them so they can get some energy to start them up. “Why don’t they just make these things WITH energy? When they get energy they never run out, why not just START with energy- WOAH!” I shout as the boots suddenly activate and begin hovering. I laugh and stand up as they deactivate. I step back and then run forward, jumping up. Then they activate as I land, and I begin going at high speeds down the hill and into the factory. I begin to lose balance and struggle to keep it up. I think back on what Dimzel said. I have to move like I’m ice skating, I’ve done that before… back when ice skating was still a thing… once… when I was a child. I move side to side, swinging my arms to keep my balance up. I then come up on the hard turn that we saw before, last time we were here. I instinctively lift a foot up and try to push behind me, but nearly lose balance. I quickly move my foot back, remembering I’m not on a board. I think about how I’d drift, then I remember how to turn off a board, push down. I decide to test my theory and I push down with all my weight and my boots shut off. I quickly plant my feet down and slide on the ground, doing a sharp turn around the corner. I let off the weight and my boots turn back on and I launch forward, going through the tunnel. I sway side to side and ride on the walls and ceiling of the pipe, soon coming up on the exit. Meanwhile, Dimzel and Drifter are standing in the big room, standing, wondering where I went. “Where’s Glace?” Drifter asks. “I’m sure she’ll catch up.” Dimzel says. Suddenly I yell proudly, shooting out of the tunnel. “WOO HOO!!” I shout. “See, there she is.” Dimzel says, watching me blast past them. I launch up a ramp, going high up in the air, spinning and doing stunts. I then land back down on the ramp and push down, trying to stop. I then stop abruptly, and I fly forward, slamming into the wall. “Owwwwwww….” I moan painfully. Dimzel helps me up. “Yeah, boots are harder to control than a board.” Dimzel says, chuckling. “ARE YOU KIDDING! THAT WAS AWESOME, CONCUSSION BE DAMNED!” I shout, laughing happily, still pretty dizzy. “Are you okay, kid?” Drifter-X asks, walking over. “I’m fine.” I say, shaking my head and shaking off the impact. “And don’t call me ‘kid’.” I say, pointing at him. “WOOOO HOOOO!!!” A voice shouts and we turn to see someone riding their board on the ramps and bars. It’s Toxis. Toxis notices us while she’s in the air. “Glace…” Toxis says, not paying attention and suddenly slamming against the ground. “SHIT.” Drifter-X mumbles sharply, turning the knob on his helmet to shut off the voice. “TOXIS!” I shout, running over. I help her up and dust her off. “Are you okay?” I ask, nervously. “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’ve taken harder hits…. Wait…” Toxis says, realizing how weird the wording was. Toxis stares at me, her face red as Drifter and Dimzel arrive. Dimzel’s montior glows with a pulsing heart shape as he whistles. “Ahhhh young love.” Dimzel teases. I turn around and grumble. “Shut up, Dimzel, I’m 25!” I grumble. “And I’M 135, what’s your point?” Dimzel laughs. “Wait, wouldn’t that mean… How old is Delilah?” I ask, confused. “142. She was 12 when I was shut down, and I was 5 when I was shut down” Dimzel chuckles. Toxis looks at Drifter-X, confused. “Why is he here?” Toxis asks. “He’s helping us practice.” Dimzel says, shrugging, his monitor turning back into the eyes. “Well… can I join?” Toxis asks, smiling. “Aren’t you, like, a pro?” I ask, confused. “Me?!” Toxis asks, turning red. “No no, not at all, I’m flattered that you think so, but no, I’m… actually kind of shitty at this…” Toxis says, rubbing her neck, her face still red. “Well, c’mon, let’s get started.” Dimzel says, walking away. I follow him and Drifter and Toxis follows me. We practice starting for a while, Drifter setting up an electric starting line barrier so we can practice running at the right time. Toxis and I soon practice riding, and I switch from my board and my boots. Soon Toxis stops and sits down on her board, grabbing a lunchbox and grabbing a sandwich and about to bite into it. My stomach begins to rumble and Toxis stops, looking over at me. “Here.” She says, smiling and handing me her sandwich. “Hm? No no no, you don’t gotta-” I say, but Toxis cuts me off, handing me the sandwich. “Take it, eat, I wouldn’t feel good eating a sandwich while you starve.” Toxis says, smiling warmly. I bite into the sandwich and smile at her. “Thank you…” I say, smiling warmly. “Of course, Glace…” Toxis says, her face red. Drifter-X grabs Dimzel’s board and inspects it. “HEY!” Dimzel shouts, while Drifter silently inspects the board. Drifter-X turns the knob on his helmet, probably to talk to Dimzel about his boards being covered in rust. “So… this is a fancy board and boots, did you use your prize money to get them?” Toxis asks, looking at my board as we sit on our own boards. “Hm? Oh, Drifter got them for me, I guess it was an apology for my board blowing up, though he doesn’t need to apologize, I chose to help him, but I still appreciate the help.” I say, trying to make it sound like I’m interpreting his actions, instead of him speaking. I bite into the sandwich, it’s very good. “This is the second time you’ve gotten me food, you’re very generous, aren’t you?” I say, looking over at Toxis. “OH! Umm… not really… I usually hold my money close to me in case I need it… I don’t know what’s gotten into me recently…” Toxis says nervously, her face red. “Well I appreciate the help, Toxis, you’re a great friend.” I say, smiling warmly. Toxis stares at me blankly before noticing something. “OH! Umm…” Toxis says, rolling down her sleeve and wiping a smudge off my face. “There.” She says, chuckling. The light shines into the factory through the glass windows on the ceiling, moss and plant life covers some parts of the rusted building. “I, Um… I saw you and Dimzel… yesterday…” Toxis says nervously. “What do you mean?” I ask, finishing off the sandwich. “After you both left I saw you both going to the underside of the city, so I decided to follow you two for a bit… It started raining, and I saw you both jumping and dancing around, it was sweet…” Toxis says, smiling softly. “I-I-I didn’t follow after that, I-I swear!” Toxis says, nervously. “Heh heh, I was just in a good mood then… I had food in my stomach and money in my account… I was happy… and that’s thanks to you… a lot of it is thanks to you…” I explain, hugging Toxis. Toxis hugs me back, and soon we split up. We turn around and see Drifter-X cleaning off Dimzel’s board, cleaning the dust and rust off it. Toxis gets up and grabs her board. “I should get back to practicing now, heh…” Toxis chuckles, walking forward. She then stops and nervously turns to face me. “You… You have a pretty laugh… by the way…” Toxis says, walking away again. My face feels warm, I realize I’m blushing and I clear my throat and stand up, getting back to practice. I ride through the tunnels of the factory, going all around it, going up ramps, and twirling around in the tunnels on my board. I ride, until suddenly, something latches onto my board and shuts it off, causing me to fall. I fall to the ground, sliding as my board slides over to me. I grab my board, standing up weakly as I wince in pain. I then hear something clattering in the dark and I turn to see someone watching me. “About time we get to talk… girl to girl…” Delilah says, walking out from the dark. I try to jump onto my board to ride off, but as I do the thing that attached to my board lights up, shutting it off again. “You’re not going… ANYwhere…” Delilah says, laughing. I’m alone, no powers, no weapons, I’m on my own. “Nice board, I was wondering how you planned to stay in the race after that stunt you pulled.” Delilah laughs, softly. “Listen, no need to be afraid, I just… wanna talk…” Delilah says, walking over to me and wrapping her arm around my neck, like we’re best buds. I push away from her. “Hands off me.” I bark at her. Delilah sighs. “Listen, I just wanna help, Drifter, Dimzel… you can’t trust em’.” Delilah says. “Something’s wrong with you, and we’re going to figure out WHAT.” I say, sternly. “NOTHING’S wrong with me, BELIEVE me, You’re my… great… Half sister? I dunno, but we’re kinda related.” Delilah says, sounding desperate, yet kind. “We’re family, that’s the point…. Dimzel KILLED my father, and Drifter is a TRAITOR, PrimeCorp HELPED me, PrimeCorp’s done NOTHING wrong.” Delilah says, trying to convince me. “PRIMECORP’S INNOCENT!? NO! THEY ARE NOT INNOCENT! THEY KILLED MY MOTHER UNDER BASELESS CLAIMS!” I shout, my voice echoing in the factory. Delilah groans. “You don’t HONESTLY believe she was INNOCENT do you? PrimeCorp stops CRIME, they don’t KILL people!” Delilah says, turning around. I notice a small red dot pulsing in her hair. “What’s… that? In your head?” I ask, it’s barely visible in her pitch black hair. “What are you talking about?” Delilah asks, turning around to face me, a strange expression on her face. “Listen… girlie…” Delilah says, walking toward me. “I am trying to help you….” Delilah says, her fingers curling over my shoulder. “So take my advice, and leave those two behind.” Delilah says, a confident, and malicious grin on her face. Then someone dashes through the tunnel and launches out at high speeds. I turn to see someone on their board, jumping up and kicking their feet forward. Their board and feet slam into Delilah, drop kicking her away. The person lands down and slides to a stop, it’s Toxis. “Don’t you DARE touch her!” Toxis shouts, panting as acidic sweat drips on the ground around her. Toxis jumps off her board and walks over to me as Delilah struggles to get back up. “Are you… okay?” She asks, helping me up. “I’m fine, she fucked with my board.” I say, gesturing toward the puck on the bottom of my board. “Oh of COURSE, Ms. FUCK UP arrives to SAVE THE DAY AGAIN!” Delilah says, grabbing her nose and yanking it back into place. She then grabs her dislocated arm and yanks it back into place. “COMING IN WITH ANOTHER DROP KICK! YOU TWO ARE MADE FOR EACH OTHER!” Delilah shouts, furiously. “TWO FUCK UPS IN A CITY OF OPPORTUNITY, CHOOSING TO REMAIN FAILURES!” Delilah shouts, spitting a tooth out. “If you honestly think that this city gives people like us a chance… you’re poorly mistaken.” Toxis says, her black hair all messy and all over the place, her thick green highlights covered in dust. Toxis tosses her board down, hopping on it, and grabbing my board. “OH! So you’re just gonna leave your little GIRLFRIEND behind?” Delilah asks, her hair messy as she seems smug. “I have faith that she can handle herself.” Toxis says, smugly, and that’s when Delilah notices my boots. “God dammit…” Delilah grumbles as we both dash off. As we ride, Toxis rubs some of her saliva on the puck, tearing off the stuff that keeps it stuck on. It pops off and we eventually reach Dimzel and Drifter again. “Where’ve YOU two been?” Dimzel asks, walking over. “Delilah’s here.” I say, sliding to a stop. “Of course she is.” Dimzel grumbles. Drifter-X stares down at the tunnel before suddenly jumping on his board and dashing toward the tunnel. “DRIFTER!” Dimzel shouts. I follow after him. “WHERE’RE YOU GOING!? WE JUST GOT OUT OF THERE!” Toxis shouts. I follow Drifter through the tunnel, and when we exit into the opening that Delilah was in, we see that she’s gone. Drifter stands there, looking around. “She must’ve fled after we left.” I say, looking around. Drifter then grabs his helmet and silently stomps around, his yelling muffled under his helmet. He swings his body, slamming his feet down while punching the wall. Muffled under his helmet there’s the sound of him shouting profanities, until the quakes from punching shakes the knob on his helmet. “-THER FUCKER!” Drifter shouts, swinging one final punch, his voice just not kicking in. I cautiously approach him and put my hand on his shoulder. He turns around quickly, panting heavily. “It’s… okay, she’s hurt a lot of us.” I say, trying to…. relate? Comfort? I don’t know… trying to do ANYthing. “That;s not it…” Drifter says, tears dripping from under his helmet before stomping away a bit. “I just want… CLOSURE, COMFORT... SOMETHING… ANYTHING… JUST… I want her to CONFIRM… if she loves me, if she HATES me, if she EVER EVEN CARED ABOUT ME…” Drifter says, sounding frantic. “If… Those COUNTLESS nights, spent helping each other on JOBS, working with each other, meant ANYthing to her… if… all those sweet words… were just that…” Drifter says, looking at his hands. He then grabs his helmet and twists it, taking it off his head, not facing me. He puts it under his arm, his hair spiky. “...Just words…” Drifter says, sadly, his voice no longer distorted. He turns slightly to face me, I can see one side of his face, he looks… sad. A tear coming down from his red, blood shot eyes, and drifting down his shadowy bags under his eyes. He has a black, X shaped scar on his cheek. “Do you know what the worst part is?” Drifter asks, turning around to face me, fully. “I…” Drifter says, looking down, and looking around. “...I still love her… a lot… she nestled her way into an opening in my heart, left hollow from countless betrayals, shaped it to be a better fit for her than it already was…” Drifter explains. “Told me all those sweet things, promised me she’d… she’d never hurt me like I had been before…“ Drifter explains, his hand on his face, his eye staring through the gaps between his fingers. “...I guess she kept her promise… She didn’t hurt me like anyone had before…” Drifter says, sighing, his hand planting against his chest. “She… She hurt me worse… she hurt me so… SO much worse… and I still love her…” Drifter explains. He then zips over to me, faster than I could even see, planting his hands on my shoulders, a sad, forced smile on his face. “It’s PATHETIC, isn’t it? I’m PATHETIC! Go on, SAY it, CALL ME WEAK, PATHETIC, I KNOW I AM! Just SAY it!” Drifter says. He’s in a panic. I don’t call him pathetic, I hug him… tightly. He seems… caught off guard by my kindness, almost… melting. “You’re not pathetic, I know how it feels… I… had someone too… a very nice girl, I loved her a lot… she promised never to leave… then she joined the PrimeCorps… and pretended like everything was fine… I told her that I hate them… not her… but I couldn’t be with her anymore… and I wouldn’t get in her way…” I explain, calmly. “She said she hated me… and that I was an evil person for condemning her for this… it hurt but… not as much as her siding with the people who killed my mother..” I explain, tears in my eyes. Drifter begins to cry, and he hugs me. “You’re not pathetic… I still care about her… I understand how it feels…” I say, as Drifter just… sobs… thanking me. Soon Drifter suddenly stops, stepping back and putting his helmet on quickly and turning the knob to disable his voice. I am confused, but then turn around and see Toxis standing there. “Toxis?” I ask, reaching out, she seems shocked. “Is… this a bad time?” Toxis asks, awkwardly. Drifter grabs the knob and turns it, his audio returning. “YOU saw nothing, understood?” Drifter says, sternly. “Saw what?” Toxis asks, and Drifter grabs his board, walking past her, patting her head, and messing up her hair. “Atta girl.” Drifter says before turning the knob again and riding off. “Are you…?” Toxis asks, walking over to me. “I’m… I’m fine…” I say, clearing my throat. Toxis walks over, seemingly like she’s about to hug me, but her acid and drool start dripping and she awkwardly backs away, snapping her fingers, clapping her hands once, swinging her arms and nodding. “Right… yeah, ummm… T-talk to you… later…” Toxis says, awkwardly, before riding away. I stand there and stare at the wall Drifter punched, it’s covered in dents from his fists. What have I gotten myself into? As I walk away I feel something drip onto my shoulder. I look up and see a giant X painted onto the wall with black paint.

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