Chapter Text
Hi everyone, fans of Truth or Dare! I apologize if I didn't update this story for a long time. My original project, family, friends, and other things have been going through my everyday life.
Without further ado, I present to you my latest chapter! :)
“Hello everyone! Welcome back to Truth or Dare!” I greeted in excitement.
The whole MFB gang returned from Bento Cafe, feeling refreshed from the cringe inducing dares I intended them to do.
“Angel, you’re paying for that bill.” Ryuga sharply reminded me, gloating me with a glare.
“Sounds good to me!” I returned a bright smile.
I sincerely gave them a break from the show once and promised them to travel towards Lynnhaven Florida since the Truth or Dare building has moved. Kyoya and Benkei agreed to have a Beyblade battle again since the previous one last two chapters didn’t go well as planned.
“That’s it Kyoya! That’s mai man!” Benkei charged forward with full bull glory (lol, that rhymed!)
Nile: Too noisy (again)
Speaking of Nile, I set him on a chair facing a flat screen and forced him to watch the Sea Whales commercial, an Egyptian tuna food that had abnormally 3D rendered figures of belly dancing Luigi and Stuart (from Minions).
“Seriously?” Nile was not amused. “What in Horuseus did I watch?”
“To be fair, a cringey Egyptian tuna commercial with copyrighted characters since they felt too lazy to create their own characters.”
“Angel, I’m late for -” Before Gingka could mention his late soccer practice, Madoka asks Angel when the trip is scheduled. “So when’s that trip you were suggesting?”
Ignoring her, I fixed my eyes wistfully at the on screen video call.
“Hello from space and the Milky Way Galaxy.”
It was Helios, greeting us from the ISS, clad in a dark blue polo, coyote brown cargos, and jet black work boots while floating across the S0 Truss Segment, maintaining repairs to modular computers that occasionally beeped and hummed.
“Angel, do you have a crush on Helios?” Yu breaks the straw. My cheeks blush red in embarrassment, and confirm my hidden secret. “I um, I….”
“Say it, Angel!” Yu demanded in delight.
“I do have a crush on Helios.”
The whole MFB gang “Ohhhhs” in excitement like a classroom, as if I did something wrong.
Performing a smooth backwards somersault, Sun boy crosses his arms and gives me a blank look. “You seriously confessed that?”
I slowly nod in embarrassment, my heart heating up.
“Ever since we destroyed that meteor, since when did you start working for NASA?” Gingka questioned.
Helios bobbed an apple, allowing the fruit to drift upwards while he input modular commands through select computers, “Ever since I was little. I visited Florida with my grandfather Bakim. Fell in love with the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. I was in a lovestruck trance with the colossal rockets on display and massive launch pad movers. I got some souvenirs as well from the gift shop.”
The Sol Blaze blader / astronaut held up a blue NASA baseball cap, an Apollo 11 enamel pin, and a white astronaut print shirt when he was little.
“Is that where you parked Bakin’s space ark?” my eyes glittered up like sparklers through the night.
Helios fairly ignored my question.
“But what made you leave Lovushka in the first place?” Tsubasa wondered out loud.
“Good question. Aleksei allowed me to leave for the US when they needed another astronaut on the scene for their latest mission to fix and code several inputs to the Solar panels of the ISS. and the installation of the Mini Research Module 1. Lera and Nowaguma weren’t satisfied. They said that Russia needed another teammate for their space race. Now with the ISS built, the idea of countries racing against each other in space has died out.”
“So that you’ll stay here for the rest of your life?” Kyoya added.
Helios nodded, grabbing the apple and taking a bite. “Not exactly. Every mission requires our group to return to Earth.”
Yu brought up a more embarrassing question, “How do you go to the bathroom?”
Sun Boy rolled his eyes and sighed dejectedly. He grabbed the camera and swam through the ISS’ narrow corridors, facing a small rectangular hole that held a metallic square shaped toilet bolted on the floor. “Does that answer your question?”
“So when you go, everything is sucked out?”
“Apparently. There’s a vacuum hose that runs from the outhouse through the outer walls of the station. The solid remains are bagged up for disposal back on Earth.”
“Gross.” the MFB crew cringe in disgust. Yu, for some reason liked to discuss more third grade potty humor.
“What’s it like to fart in space?”
The Sol Blaze blader stared at Tendo with blank silence. “Air is non-existent in space. I’m surprised if anyone, including me, farted on board the ISS. Several astronauts in the past have discussed this embarrassing topic I’d rather not dwell into. In simple terms, the stink stays with you around the airlocked corridors after a can of baked beans.”
"But seriously, Sun Boy. Have you done it?" I insisted with heated curiosity.
Helios sighed dejectedly, "I'm on a Keto diet so when I drink too much Celsius, yes, I feel so relieved when I let it all out in my wetsuit after several rounds of surfing."
"That explains why I kept teasing a little wind on your NASA ID card every night. Tee hee hee." I smirked immaturely.
Helios blankly recapitulated, "You did what with my ID?"
“So that's how the sun is made out of gas! I get it now!” Yu caterwauled in laughter.
Sun boy quickly dismissed Yu’s questions and continued to drift through the narrow corridors. He quietly greeted Skye Robinson, who was busy running slow motion across the treadmill while strapped to the walls.
“Say hello to my personal space.” Helios returned to his padded room: a claustrophobic area reminiscent the size of a closet. The walls held a vertically strapped sleeping bag, and several DELL laptops hooked up to the white padded walls and portable devices. A framed image of his grandfather Bakim and him was perched to the right of the display. His signature red bandanna waved slowly in response to the Zero Gravity, both his red anodized 3 segment launcher grip and Sol Blaze V145 AS strapped to the walls.
“What time is it there?” Gingka wondered out loud.
“There’s no time in space. We revolve around Earth 5 miles per second. That’s one spin around our planet Every 90 min.”
Ryuga hmphed, “So that means you can sleep and wake up whenever you want to?”
“Impossible. We follow a sleep schedule like on Earth but at a slower pace.”
Moments passed by as another crewmate, Ryan Faulkner, conversed with Helios regarding maintenance to the interior control locks and cargo tarps belonging to the MRM1. The Sol Blaze blader nodded in agreement and continued to glide through the corridors, turning around to face an experimental model, strapping himself in place.
“I wish I was in space right now.” Yu aimlessly said out of the blue.
“Remember your reaction in Those Lacking Spines, Blader Style?” Tsubasa briefly reminded him with a smirk.
“TSUBASA!” Yu yelled in fright, bearing the g’s rushing to his head, the gummi ship rocketing through the air towards Fandom Fight Beyblade, an alternate universe where selected bladers were infected and turned into semes. But that’s another story for another time.
“Oh yeah.” Yu remembered and shook himself, warding out the thought of his rocket launch fears.
“Any more questions?” Helios calmly asked, unbuckling himself while he grabbed a silver packet of rice and tuna from the food supply box and drifted towards the dehydration machine.
“I have a dare for you, Sun boy.”
The machine stopped churning, allowing the contents inside the pack to slowly swell up with water. Helios tried his best to ignore my question as he moved towards the grey table, opening the pack with a straw. From the look on his serious gaze, he just couldn't ignore the host. After stirring the food to resemble mushed oatmeal, Helios gave out a deflated sigh, “Anything but your garbage Flat Earth theories.”
“Oh, it's not about space.” I grinned from ear to ear. This did not convince Helios one bit. He carefully chewed, patiently waiting for my answer. “I dare you to come back to Earth this instantly. I and the MFB crew are going on a road trip to Lynnhaven!”
Helios wiped his hands and mouth with a napkin before blankly blinking at me. His reconsideration leveled my excitement. “Let me check in with the rest of the crew. Our flight from the ISS back to Earth is scheduled for tomorrow.”
I gasped like a gaping frog, “In School Suspension?”
“The International Space Station.” Helios flatly corrected me.
I fist pumped in glory. This has to be the best day of my life.
“Seriously?” Gingka followed my excitement. “Then we could have a Beyblade battle like we promised!”
“Just keep in mind that Sol Blaze is stronger than before. My little sun bey has also provided energy for the ISS. The rest of my crew and staff were in shock to discover Blaze’s unlimited solar energy the ISS could run on.”
“Yeah! That means the sun is pointless now!” Yu added with a grin.
“Well we still need the sun for seasonal purposes on earth. And its centerpoint for all of the other planets to orbit around.” Helios finished his dinner before floating towards his room for some relaxation. A fake sunflower was twirled between his fingers, his sapphire blue eyes staring contently at it.
“Hi Helios! Are you video chatting with your friends?” a portly chubby young lady with square framed glasses and a bright smile floated in, wide eyed at the screen. “Oh hi everyone! I’m Yureneva Brezenska, I’m part of Lovushka’s new astronaut from Russia. It's good to see you from space! We’ve been great friends and teammates aboard the ISS.”
“Hi Yureneva! It’s nice to meet you as well!” I greeted with a smile before whipping out a sly grin. “How did you guys shatter through the firmament?”
“The what?” Yureneva recapitulated, her scrutinized look on a gaffing Angel.
Helios rolled his eyes, briefly disgusted by the topic of Flat Earth. He leaned over to Yureneva’s shoulder and fiercely hissed, “Ignore it.”
I immediately felt like I was ignored in the friend zone.
“Mind me Yureneva, Angel over there has been bothering me with her ridiculous trashy Flat Earth conspiracies.” Helios interjected, smirking to prove his point. “I could list a few: She briefly believes that space does not exist. Both the Sun and the Moon revolve around Earth (Gingka: It’s true!), and that the Moon landings were fake.”
The portly lady scoffed in laughter whole heartedly, “I think I have to agree with you on those points, Helios. I think she needs to go back to class.”
Her laughter burned Angel’s interior anger.
The MFB crew immediately knew their spicy friction between the opposing views between a space freak and an enthusiastic non space meddler.
“One more thing, Angel.” Helios loomed closer to the camera, “Just to raise your high spirits, we have dispatched a small space probe to monitor the sun’s solar flares. I know what you're thinking by now: How the hell can you launch a piece of junk within the firmament’s glass dome?”
“Sun boy, that probe is just faked as a weather balloon with extra solar wings. The sun within the dome allows us to have reflective light beaming around the firmament, it’s not one huge beam of light traveling 93 million miles away. Get that chipped in your pea sized brain.” Angel smirked, placing her hands on her hips as if to show competition.
“Pea sized brain?” Helios quirked a silver eyebrow.
“To prove it: You called yourself a jerk.”
“Since when?” Helios growled, a surge of rage blending within his body.
“Proof: Beyblade Metal Masters DS.”
"Every place has its share of jerks, I guess. But when it comes to jerks, I'm the best there is!"
“I resent that.” Helios stated flatly.
Angel pouted with a frown.
Helios sighed, “I’ll reconsider your road trip. For now, we need to settle our course back on earth. One more thing, Angel. Thanks for your space theories since they’re not true, remember?”
The video clicked shut as Angel stood there in silence. The MFB crew expected the host’s hairs to stand up on end, hissing in steam. That troll face from the Sol Blaze blader really heightened her blend of anger and annoyance.
“What’s your ultimate issue with Helios?” Ryuga asked in curiosity.
I gave out a deflated sigh, “I just love to piss him off with my opposing Flat Earth facts or according to his words ‘Garbage Flat Earth theories.’ All in all, I’m going to continue to feed him with the truth until he accepts it.”
I crossed my arms and with a careless hmph.
“Then why don’t you dare him on a date?” Yu piped up, a grinning ear to ear. That melted my heart instantly.
“Yu Tendo? That’s a genius plan.”
I hitched a bus ride to KCS.
Graceful Herons soared over the blue-green everglades style lakes that succumbed to the plains of Kennedy Space Center. Several platform trucks transported a mighty space shuttle in regards to repairs. Ants of tiny people walked about, grazing near the studious complex: hundreds of attractions, space memorials, and gift shops to explore.
“Got it. Descending at 2,000 ft.” Helios’ voice crackled in through the intercom. I halted to find the flat screens by the visitor zone streaming the SSA2’s arrival on earth.
A quick glimpse of the HDG radar on the front nose cam displayed the shuttle’s current elevation from the runway along with coordinate numbers rapidly sliding up or down depending on the shuttle’s aerial turns on its delta wings.
“Welcome back to Earth, 136!”
The shuttle sped down the runway like an airliner. The parachute wiggled madly in the wind behind its orbiter thrusters, ejecting its brake as it slowly rolled to a halt.
“Engaged and deployed parachute brake. Atlantis II has finally landed.” Yureneva brightly replied on the intercom. Service vehicles started surrounding the shuttle. I stared in awe as the STS 136 crew exited the shuttle and gave out a memorable speech during their expedition to the ISS in their short press conference.
They later entered the aerostream Astro van (aka the silver hippie camper van). and drove to the Neil Armstrong center. I followed them via bus ride.
While the rest of the crew pack up, I timidly follow Helios around like a lost puppy. His room resembled a 90’s vibe: Ivy patterned on the covers of a box bed, chestnut closet cabins, and an Orion CRT TV (oh what a pun) was perched on top of a wooden dresser. I watched him grab his jet black and cyber blue Dakine duffle bag filled with random space notes in a notebook, IPad and extra equipment.
“Is there a reason why you like me so much?” Helios quietly inquired, neatly packing up his things.
“Well, you’re kind of like the star of the show.” I reasoned as if dragging the word like a piece of gum.
“Go on.” Helios rolled his sapphire blue eyes, currently checking out of service at the front receptionist desk. The lady rewarded him with an STS 136 mission badge sticker.
“Thanks.” Helios nodded in gratitude.
“One for your girlfriend as well?” the lady goggled an inquisitive eye at Angel. I deadpanned in pure excitement.
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Helios flatly stated as he dismissed the building.
We both clamber in his super red 08 Toyota Solara convertible, the roof absent. I notice a Channel Islands Pro surfboard propped on the seats, an Ocean Tec wetsuit draped over the FCS Fusion II fins. A clear storage box held a cluster of wax containers, Sun Cure epoxy repair kits, and surf leashes propped on top of a spare StormBlade surfboard.
“Whoa, Helios, I didn’t know you surf! Have you ever tried surfing the sun’s solar prominences?”
The Sol Blaze blader chuckles, “I wish I could but I would need a surfboard akin to the Atlantis II’s heat shield to withstand the sun’s blistering heat.”
“I can’t wait to see you surf!” Angel’s eyes sparkled up like the beach waters of Cocoa.
Helios focused on his driving. The Solara whooshed past resort style condominiums. I then break the silence with a few space jokes.
“Hey Helios. Why didn’t the sun go to college?”
“Why?”
“Because it already had a million degrees!” I snickered in delight, hoping to see Helios hiccup again after a round of laughter. His focused gaze swept over a red light, his ears attentive for more corny jokes.
“Ok how bout this? When our solar system was formed, the sun was in charge. So the planets started a revolution!” I caterwauled in laughter.
“Funee.”
“What do you get if you send an anime fan to one of Saturn’s moons? Otaku on Titan!”
“Oh joy.”
I pinky promise with him that I won't discuss anything about Flat Earth. Instead, I show him an image of the cracked concrete zoomed in with a professional microscope. He grunts in confusion and questions me about the reason behind it. In reality, it was NASA’s black and white image depicting the sun’s solar flares. Another image got him to believe that I caught a bug on the lens under the canary yellow sky. In reality it was the SSA2 zipping across the sun’s solar prominence.
“So what da ya think?” Glimmering, I gave out a hopeful smile.
Helios’ fickle stare measured our silence. He then sighed and gave it in, “You’re breaking your pinky promise already?”
“How bout this? If you say yes, I’ll give you this free shirt for my gratitude,” I pulled out a black shirt that had an image of a soaring Turtle in space, with 4 elephants cradled on top of its shell. Topped on the grey giants was the perpendicular perimeter of Flat Earth.
‘Of course the Earth is Flat. How else would it stay on the Turtle?’
Helios stared at it blankly before sliding the driver’s window down, chucking my precious gift in someone’s garbage can.
I agaped in shock, speechless.
“I told you not to feed me with theoretical hoaxes. Honestly, it's starting to get me on my nerves.” Helios sighed dejectedly and rested his forehead miserably against the steering wheel.
Pretending not to be offended, I tried a different approach. I brought up one of the past shuttle missions on NASA’s youtube channel.
“Cool movie. Did these “astronauts” get Oscars for their performances?” I grinned exuberantly at the recorded footage of the STS 136 mission.
“If you think they are actors, please tell me what you think happens when people want to become astronauts? At what point are they being told that it's not real?”
“Go on, Sun Boy. After all, Yu dared us to be on a date together.”
Helios suggested inviting the MFB crew to Cocoa Beach.
“Stay here and don’t say anything stupid.” Helios ordered, heading into the beach house to change into his wetsuit. I patiently waited while staring at his sleek cyber blue and lunar green StormBlade deck propped against the canary yellow panels of the house. When the door opened, I immediately whipped up a goofy grin, “Just in time!”
I drag Sun boy to the beach booth themed truth machine (again). Helios blankly stared at me, a slow aggravated spirit burning within him.
“Please do not tell me it's going to be Flat Earth related.”
“Oh, sun boy! I promise you it's going to be based on your next faviourite hobby! Now that we are in the beach themed truth machine, I want to know, how in the world did you become an avid surfer?”
“I started taking interest in surfing when I watched some random people ripping across the waves during Dawn Patrol. -”
“Paw Patrol?”
“That’s when I vowed to learn all of the fundamentals and tricks in surfing for fun. I bought my first board - a Channel Islands Dumpster Diver - and started to shred across the waves. Honestly, it's something I’d rather do if I were not in the ISS now.”
“Encountered any sharks?”
“That battle with Ryutaro at the lighthouse?”
“No, not that - well kind of.”
“One of the sharks in New Myrtle Beach damaged my board in half. And no I did not take revenge against it with Sol Blaze. Before you know it, I might turn water into blazing fire thanks to Blaze Execution.”
“Helios, you’ve been spared from the truth detector!”
“Thank Sol Blaze, I can rip curl across the currents now.” Helios grabbed his surfboard and jogged across the shoreline before plunging across the deep waters, propped across the board.
“Whoo! Who’s ready for the beach!?” Gingka and the gang jumped up just like in Metal Fight Beyblade vs the Sun: Sol Blaze, the Scorching Hot Invader against the sun’s glistening rays in the sky.
“Nuh - ah - ah! You guys aren’t going anywhere.” I sincerely halted both Gingka and Kyoya. Sarcasm dipped off of my careless voice.
“What now?” the Leone blader infuriated, balling his fists.
“I dare the both of you to create the most footprints in sand for a mile straight.” I finished with a smirk.
“No way in Leone’s hell I’m doing that!” Kyoya yelled in return, feeling flabbergasted.
I remind them with an article: “According to data gathered in a 2019 scientific study, it takes the average person 15-22 minutes to walk one mile.”
Gingka and Kyoya anime falls, grumbles darkly, and begins to walk across the beach strip in boredom.
Ryuga spikes Zeo and Masamune in volleyball, leaving Hailey Fox to hysterically laugh at the scene.
Staring at sun boy again, I wickedly smiled and yelled for his attention. “Helios! I dare you to search for Sol Blaze hidden deep within the depths of the ocean! That’s approximately 50 meters away from the shoreline!”
I was surprised to see him chuckle, accepting the challenge.
“Anything but your space junk theories.” Lying down on his surfboard, he paddled forward against the low tumbling waves, the force of the water chuning in speed. Gaining traction, Helios stands up, maintaining his balance. Shredding and weaving through the canopy of the wave, the silver haired blader / surfer performs an Air 360. Landing perfectly without a wipe out, Helios simply calls out Sol Blaze while barrel riding through a wave.
Steam hisses from the surface of the water, a bright orange glow burning within the shallow sea floor. Helios leaps into the water, plunging beneath the surface. His StormBlade deck yanks with him thanks to the ankle strapped leash and he quickly retrieves his Beyblade without little to no difficulties.
“Damn it! I completely forgot he could do that!” I curse out loud in realization.
Helios pops out of the water, shaking his head vigorously like a dog. Spitting out salt water, the blader gives out a thumbs up before paddling up to shore.
“I found it. Are you happy?” Helios remarked, grabbing a beach towel to tousle his hair dry.
I whisper a secret task to a stranger’s 4 year old son. The little boy naughtily spreads sunscreen over Madoka’s back. The Beymechanic mutters in delight, mindful of Gingka, Ryuga, or Helios helping her out.
“Mmmm, keep doing that Gingka. It feels so nice. - wait. You’re not Gingka!”
Screams of fear tear through the beach strip, startled seagulls flocking away while chorusing in unison.
Reminding me of Madoka’s scream, I found Nile by the cabanas, building an Egyptian pyramid out of sand.
“Since Kyoya screamed “There’s a fire in the mall!” last time, I want Nile to alert everyone on the beach, screaming, ‘There’s a shark in the water!’” I eyed the Horuseus blader with a playful smirk.
“Are you serious?” Nile gave me the eye of Ankh. A deadly dumbfounded stare.
According to the Cocoa Beach website, there literally weren't any sharks present in the lapping waters. Everybody on the beach just had a normal happy day like usual. From kids yelling in joy to adults taking a stroll across the strip or spiking volleyballs across the net.
“Hell yes, I’m serious. Now go out there and show some glorious screams!” I forcefully push him forward with a lifeguard megaphone and whistle. Ditch the whistle, that tool is not loud enough for a huge beach.
Nile cleared his throat and raised the megaphone to his mouth, “EVERYONE! THERE’S A SHARK IN THE WATER!”
IGNORED
“The hell?”
“Last time I checked, there’s barely any sharks!”
“That kid’s lost his mind!”
Flames burned in Nile’s emerald eyes. Aggressively throwing the megaphone and whistle against the sand, he glared deathly daggers at Angel before stomping away in search of Kyoya.
Benkei was fitted with a tube, swimming through the water like a 5 year old. Beside him was Tsubasa relaxing lazily on a blue and orange rectangular floater.
“Oi! Benkei!” I hollered over to him. The bull blader floated like a buoy, expecting a seagull or two to land on his head. “I dare you to drink a 100 ml of seawater before you!”
“What the bull?” Startled in shock, Benkei gulped nervously and scooped a handful of ocean water. It was kind of a muddy dark color, filled with who knows what’s leeching through the liquid? Seaweed? Live bacteria? Tiny miniscule creatures from the palenthogic age? Sighing, Hanawa accepted the challenge. “For Kyoya and Bull!”
With a smooth scoop, he brought his cupped hand over his mouth, chuggin down the seawater. His brown pupils dilated as he began to lurch forward, an accidental intake of the salty water. Gasping for air, Benkei used Tsubasa’s hair to wipe off the remaining salty residue.
“Hey, what was that for!?” The Eagle blader retaliated in seconds.
“Talk to Angel. She’s the one getting salty here!”
Before Tsubasa could sit up, a wave lurched his floatie forward, effectively colliding into Helios and his surfboard. The GoPro mount on the Sol Blaze blader’s forehead was worth the replay.
“Everyone! Hit Like and Subscribe for this gnarly accident!” I yelled through the megaphone across the beach strip. Immediately, everyone tuned into their respective smartphones, laughing in delight at the video of Helios tumbling over Tsubasa during a wipeout.
“Thanks so much for that Angel.” Rising out of the water like a seabog monster was Tsubasa, pissed off while drenched from head to toe. Helios did not care about being wet. He was wearing a wetsuit after all.
“You look like a scared Eagle who’s afraid of his own fish.” Ryuga commented with a playful smirk, a laugh aroused him and his brother, Ryuto.
“Good one, bro.” Ryuto followed after, mounted on his motorized beach bike. Well it was an average hot rod motorcycle fitted with huge fat tires that could easily tread on sand.
The two Kishatu brothers took the bike for a spin, speeding down the strip while noting not to knock over bystanders like a bowling pin.
“Chao Xin!” I yelled over to the Virgo blader who was busy setting up his Pioneer turntable for the EDM beach party booth. Dressed in a tank top with TRIPP shorts and sandals, the brown haired Virgo freak caught my attention.
“Yeah Angel?” he responded while hooking in Audio cables to a network of tripod mounted speakers scattered across the venue.
I double took at the theme of the EDM party. A massive statue of Horus himself posed behind Chao-Xin, wings spread, its majestic falcon head staring fiercely down at the empty plot of sand.
Damn, Nile would be jealous of this.
“Damn, I’m already jealous of this.” Nile deadpanned in awe at his Beyblade before him.
“Chao-Xin, where did you get that Horuseus from?” I agape at the empty sections of its wings, soon to be pulsing to life with its feathers in sync with its energetic beats.
“Oh I’m playing out Armin Van Buren’s Tommorowland playlist! I got so inspired by the Horus statue from the 2024 Crystal Garden concert. It was so cold up in the snowy mountains, but I had a hell of a lot of fun!” Chao Xin activated the falcon’s massive wings, sparking with luminescent feathers.
The electronic beats tore across the strip, magnetically attracting young people to the event. Chao - Xin was pleased.
“Lucky, anyway I have a mission for you.”
“Spit it.”
“Dare you to kiss someone with sunglasses on.”
The only person wearing sunglasses was Dashan who was lounging on a beach chair, scrolling through his I-Phone 13. A wicked smile stretched across my face.
“On it!” Chao - Xin dashed off of the platform venue and approached the Zurafa blader in excitement.
“If you have anything valuable to inform me, please do tell me or I’m kicking you out.” Dashan looked at his phone for the upteenth time. Out of nowhere, Chao - Xin leans in and plops him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks for that compliment.” Dashan glared daggers at his lanky teammate.
Evening fell over the beach like a starry night. A frdgid cool breeze sliced through the crowd, stimulating their energy over the blistering heat. It felt humid, a perfect blend of warm and cool swirled around the event.
Chao - Xin hurriedly returned to the EDM booth, tweaking knobs and buttons on his turntable. A blend of digital purple and neon blue spotlights danced across the uplifting crowd, roaring in delight.
“Raise your hands Cocoa Beach and to my Metal Fight Beyblade friends!” Chao - Xin screamed in excitement. The crowd went nuts.
“I did not sign up for this.” Dashan muttered in disgust, dragging his beach chair 15 meters away from the roaring crowd.
“Whoo! You go there Chao Xin!” Gingka yelled in exuberance, bouncing a beach ball across the crowd.
“To Dungeon Gym!” Masamune, King, Toby, and Zeo cheered as they downed their non alcoholic Caprinha in LED shot glasses.
Wow, I didn’t even have to order them with dares since they were already rocking it!
Yu gave a stranger a hug.
King performed a spinning breakdance before finishing off with a handstand.
I took a selfie with the STS 136 crew including Helios who was now in his orange swim trunks flecked with solar flare designs.
Ryuga waved one of his spare trunks decorated with tribal dragons in the air. The fangirls screamed harder and fainted.
Mia gave Reiji a piggyback ride, splashing him into the makeshift inflatable pool.
A chorus of laughter aroused the whole crowd.
Fireworks launched off behind the Horus statue, its wings pulsing in beat to the energetic music.
I faced the camera with a goofy smile, “That’s it for Truth or Dare! Stay tuned for our exciting Floridian Road trip next chapter!”
Holy moly! I finally come back to Truth or Dare after a million years! Kidding. It's been a few months. Anyway, I want to point out a few inspirations and key references in this story:
The Sea Whales commercial I forced Nile to watch can be found on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7uefHeW_lI
The STS 136 space shuttle mission is a fictional mission based off of the real 134 and 135 missions with NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis.
I illustrated the mission badge on my DeviantArt!
https://www.deviantart.com/falco276/art/Space-Shuttle-Atlantis-II-STS-136-mission-badge-1044753394
Ever since I saw the MFB Sol Blaze movie in Switzerland, my love for Helios and his Sol Blaze elevated. Feel free to comment about my opposite space and Flat Earth beliefs.
Helios' hobby with surfing was inspired by a dutch MFB fanfiction. The idea of him adoring Celsius energy drinks came out my mind when I saw someone drinking it at a movie shoot. It's a true fact. Energy Drinks can cause bloating here and there. Talk about Sun Boy's accidental rip as his embarrassing moment in my other MFB fanfic, The Blader Life.
One of the space jokes has an Attack on Titan reference. Levi and Sasha fan here!
Last but not least the Horus statue and the EDM party’s playlist is based off the Armin Van Buren Tommorowland 2024 concert at the Crystal Gardens. The video can be found on his Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taSEw9tExgI&ab_channel=ArminvanBuuren
Once again, thanks for over 2,000 hits on this story!
Falco276 out! :)