Chapter Text
It's been so long since I didn’t work on this story! I was so super duper focused on You’re my Sunshine starring the space freak, Helios! I've developed so many personalities for this character I don’t know why but the least talked about character is suddenly my die hard love.
Without any further ado, here’s the latest chapter!
“Welcome back to Truth or Dare!” Angel greeted happily in front of the camera.
“Is there a reason as to why we moved locations?” Ryuga, being the manager of the asian fusion restaurant that had L-Drago as their logo, questioned in annoyance. He crossed his arms as if to prove his point.
“Oh yeah.” I stupidly realized, staring at the mirrored Bento Cafe logo illuminated halogen blue. Cars rushed past the glass windows, the sound of a city akin to New York. Live music from various high energy bars thumped outside, drowned by rushing nighttime traffic.
Seconds ago, we were in the Gainesville location where the author’s imagination told her that half of the MFB crew lived in Florida instead of Japan because she found that extremely fitting and fun. (I hope Takafumi Adachi approves of that as canon fact.)
“Bro, it's good to see you here!” It was Ryuto, the twin dragon bro of Ryuga’s, the legendary dragon treasure hunter. You see, he was supposed to be in the Newberry Bento location as opposed to his brother who took care of the Archer location. Needless to say, both dragon brothers were here for my show and that’s all that mattered.
“Thanks, Ryuto.” the dragon emperor muttered in an uncaring tone, irked at the sight of Angel’s road trip. Where was this Lynnhaven city located anyway? Kishatu wished he was back at home, at Mill Run, where he would scold at Gingka for throwing a surprise birthday party from his ringing Samsung Galaxy S3 (He proudly got that from a Goodwill and he doesn’t regret his purchase hence his theme song: Thrift Store by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.)
“Angel, can we explore downtown Orlando? I've been dying to see the waterfront shops beside Disney!” Madoka held up her empty shopping bags from the Trump Resort a few chapters ago.
“Yeah, they have this new soccer field that I really wanna try out by UCF (University of Central Florida)!” Gingka grinned in excitement.
“Just because the university has a golden Pegasus for their logo doesn’t mean you’ll get soccer time, Gingka.” I countered in sarcasm.
Gingka: Sad Okay meme.
Nile: Too noisy.
Yep, there’s Mr. Horuseus again. He stood close to Kyoya and Benkei who were currently in a game of rock paper scissors. What about Glock Paper Scissors? A wild idea slapped my mind as a grin stretched mischievously across my face.
“Don’t worry about our departure to Lynnhaven. For now, we're moving to another modern air studio next door, accompanied with snacks and beverages. Beware of their sky high prices. Vamos, Let’s go.” I whistled and snapped my fingers, bustling the MFB crew next door.
L2 Studios was a lavish building with a white washed interior, decorated with warm LED string lights, faux fur carpets as white as Ryuga’s spikes, and a bookshelf clustered with novels and binders. It felt simplistic yet surreal. Jet black studio chairs accompanied the MFB crew as they relaxed in comfort, waiting for my next direction.
“So what now Angel?” Yu curiously piped up. He sat next to Tsubasa who was reading a book as always.
“Oooh, free snacks? Cheetos for me! Ultra spicy hot chili flavored!” Masamune licked his lips as he grabbed a 30 ounce bag of Spicy Cheetos from the tray.
Ultra spicy hot chili flavoured.
Masamune, did you really say that in the anime?
Why not shorten your line to ‘Chili flavoured?’
He unintentionally got slapped by Bob, my production assistant. “Ow! What was that for?”
“I believe you have to pay for those, Masamune.” Gingka helpfully pointed out as he was also in the trance of grabbing a beverage.
“Ooooh, Cherry coke with Lime Mio? Count me in!” The Pegasus blader grabbed the sweetener and drizzled sucralose in the glass of cherry coke. The dark black liquid sizzled in response.
“Gingka, please don’t remind me of that 2010 Mio commercial where people danced around to the lyrics: That’s the way, uh huh uh huh, I like it uh huh uh huh!” I smirked as I radioed in for my other assistant.
“That was my jam!” Gingka protested in return as he scrambled over to retrieve his Cherry coke Lime Mio from my other production assistant, Sierra.
“Anyway, Angel. Now that we're in this lame studio. What’s our plan?” Ryuga, as slightly annoyed as ever, twitched in discomfort.
“Now that we're here, I have some dares written down on my list but before that. I have a surprise guest.” I grabbed my phone and dialed 911.
“911. What’s the address of your emergency?” the god awful boring female dispatcher answered like a McDonald’s Drive Thru receptionist.
“[BEEP - REDACTED ADDRESS]. I want someone trespassed from L2 Studios.”
“Alright, can you describe the person for me? Male, Female? What’s his / her race?”
The MFB crew cringed in fear.
Gingka hid behind the plant pot. Masamune was held in Bob’s arms, clinging for dear life. Ryuga hid in another room together with Ryuto, playing a game of Duck Duck Dragon. Yu gripped Tsubasa, trembling in fear. Benkei hugged Kyoya as if he was getting mauled away by a bunch of lions.
Nile: Too noisy.
Dispatching police on the scene, a silver Ford Explorer Police Interceptor cruiser with deep blue decals pulls up beside the curb.
Wee ooo! A siren pierces once in the air as the light bar flickers red and blue. The whole MFB crew gets confused and shocked towards our surprise guest. He presents his CBPD badge and LEOSA card, decked in his police duty gear. A Glock 23 handgun (or the famed Austrian pistol), an Axon Taser 10, a Smith & Wesson baton, and a NAR (North American Rescue) Combat Application Tourniquet were strapped to his Safariland PatrolTek duty belt. An Axon Body 4 camera centered his chest, the lights flickering steadily red to signal its current recording mode.
“Helios…… You’re a police officer!?” Gingka agape at his sudden appearance.
“Since when did you start working for law enforcement?” Tsubasa added in surprise.
“Thank gods he’s now a believer in Flat Earth!” I joked sincerely.
“Should I remind you of those scrapped space ideas for this T&D chapter? I’m thankful that you made me switch careers.” Helios scantily gave me the side eye. He shifted positions, his black boots thumped twice against the wooden acadia floor. “I’m on the Officer Exchange Program with the Orlando Police Department. I originally work for the Cocoa Beach Police Department hence the shuttle insignia on my shoulder patch.”
Indeed there was Atlantis II, the famed dual finned space shuttle that paraded on two missions. Helios and his STS 136 crew utilized Atlantis II as the workhorse for their missions to the ISS. Until it was retired for good at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Pasadena, CA.
“Whoa that’s so cool!” Yu bellowed in pure amazement.
“He has a shiny gun!” yelped Gingka from behind the plant pot.
“Calm down, Gingka. You’re not under gunpoint. Otherwise I’d call a 10-33 by now.” Helios pulled the redhead out of the pot. Soil dusted from Gingka’s flaming spikes, as the Pegasus blader stood up with a goofy smile.
“Wait, you have to go by 10:33 pm?” Kenta questioned innocently.
Helios sighed, correcting the younger one, “No. It’s a police code for an emergency while on duty. 10 - 4 is affirmative to the current situation. It’s a substitute for ok.”
Everyone ‘oooohhhhed’ in wonder as if they were in a classroom.
“Plus I also want to mention how the MFB Sol Blaze movie didn’t deserve an english dub since Takafumi himself knew that it had a shitty plot. (Code word: I think.)” Helios pulled out his handcuffs, the metallic object clinking in response. “Now, someone’s trespassing here. Who’s that?”
“It’s me, sun boy!” I enthusiastically held out my hands behind my back. “I dare you to stay in your uniform for the rest of the chapter!”
Helios briefly ignored my request and scanned the MFB crew. His prior investigation was obstructed by Yu who attempted to grab the Sol Blaze officer’s taser.
“Whoa, that yellow water gun looks so cool!” Yu piped up in excitement, attempting to pike away Helios’ taser. The Sol Blaze officer gave him a hard look.
“This is a taser that delivers over 50,000 volts of static. Trust me, you don’t want to be drive stunned by this ‘water gun.’” Helios affirmatively sheathed his taser back in its plastic Black Hawk holster. “Now then, I can’t waste my time any longer.”
His Motorola radio channeled, emitting a loud static voice, “752, we need you on scene of a domestic violence. The suspect is male, with a built figure, red flannel jacket, dark jeans, and white sneakers.”
He picked up his shoulder wrapped radio receiver, pressing a button in response. A light beep rang through the air, “10 - 4. Currently in 10 - 2 with trespassing.”
“Anytime now.” I smirked with a playful warning, arms still stretched out.
Helios sighed, slapping on a pair of cuffs around my arms. I fist pumped.
“Now that’s done with.” I clutched Helios’ shoulders, steering him towards the Truth machine. It was a proper modern booth with silver painted walls, book nerd decoration planters on shelf, and the warm LED ceiling lights. “I need to question your career in the police force.”
“Fabulous. This is indeed my third time here.” Helios crossed his arms, clicking his pen slightly impatiently.
“What’s Angel’s obsession over Helios?” Gingka wondered out of the blue.
Madoka shrugged, “She really likes him a lot.”
Yu piped up out of nowhere, “I dared them to go on a date. Call me the fancy matchmaker!”
He then barreled over in laughter, Tsubasa emitting a sad sigh.
Door closed, I smirked with a notepad in hand, “So, Helios, how did you join the police force?”
“Buddy of mine on the beach while teaching Krista how to surf. Yuval Skandera introduced me to the police force and that’s how I ended up arresting suspects.”
“Were there any misconducts you did during your patrol?”
“Several times. My first misconduct on a deaf crackhead turned out to be a federal misdemeanour. I had to hide my bodycam and taser away from CBPD and the Sunfoot cult since it held powers according to another Atlantian prophecy. Jailed in Brevard County for up to 3 weeks then placed on administrative leave. My NASA supervisor, Oscar Franco, was kind enough to allow me to join their police force, that’s how I ended up temporarily patrolling Kennedy Space Center. I then re joined CBPD, where I was accepted into the OEP (Officer Exchange Program). The PDs in both Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin were so kind to me. ”
“Damn. That’s one hell of a news flash. What’s your favorite arrest?”
“Lots. Bakim was my hot headed target since he and the Sunfoot cult were radically twisted to blow up the world with Asteroid Adonis. Genociding the population to rebuild Atlantis is more than a felony or misdemeanor crime. It’s a terrorist act to America and the rest of the whole world. Which is why I became a sworn police officer for CBPD. We chased him across Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle runway, performed a PIT maneuver, and tackled him with our tasers. Sentenced and confined 20 years in prison without probation or parole. Pleaded to Nolo contondre, the judge ruled out the request and found them guilty on over 20 charges.”
“That’s one hell of a crime. I’m glad you did the opposite of your grandfather’s silly hollow plans.” I opened the door to see the bladers hanging out like normal. Was there even an explanation? I don’t think so.
“Whoa, Helios. Did you really arrest Bakim like that? That’s totally awesome!” Gingka bellowed in awe.
“Yes, I did. I’m 5 years into the police force. Arresting and detaining people is a piece of cake to my resume.” Helios spun one of the handcuffs on his index finger. The sight of the shiny tool gave me a snarky idea.
“A cluster of dares are being thrown your way.” I scribbled them down on my notepad, hoping to see if no one was peeking. “Helios? Arrest Gingka for trespassing."
“What? I thought it was your idiotic wish to get arrested!” Gingka countered in a hot headed return. His cheeks flared red while donning a silly growl. (Masamune could do better than that.)
Masamune: Thanks, Angel.
“Nope. Oh wait! Just for the kicks, let’s add Kyoya in there as well!” I carelessly blinked a couple of times to show my sarcasm. A wicked idea indeed.
As if on cue, Helios cuffed both Gingka and Kyoya together. The whole MFB crew burst into laughter.
“I’m never challenging you to a Beyblade battle ever again.” The green haired Leone blader huffed with crossed arms. The sudden jerky movement caused Gingka to crash to the ground with a yelp.
A blonde haired American boy walked past the studio, halting beside the windows. He curiously opened the steel glass door, stepping in with a confused gaze.
“Wait. Chris?” Gingka held his mouth agape.
“Why are you handcuffed to Kyoya?” the blonde Orion blader questioned, raising a puzzled blonde brow.
“Angel forced Helios over here to arrest me for tresspassing!” Gingka squirmed like a worm, attempting to break the handcuff. Kyoya stood still as a rock, his muscular wrist not giving a F*ck.
“In that case, I demand a battle against anyone who is stronger than that Legendary Winter Blader.” Upon cue, Chris pulled out his launcher grip designed to look like a gun. His beyblade Phantom Orion B:D was attached to the prongs.
“Drop the gun now.” Helios immediately pulled out his Glock handgun and fiercely pointed at Chris with a serious gaze.
“Chill out, officer. You do know by now that my gun is just a beyblade launcher?” Chris solely reasoned, tightening his grip.
Helios immediately radioed in, “10 - 33. I need back up units to L2 Studios. Suspect is armed with a gun.”
“10 - 4. Sending additional units to the scene.” the dispatcher responded.
“Whoa, a gun battle. Now this is what I call a shootout!” Yu bellowed in excitement, munching on a bucket of popcorn. Tsubasa sighed.
“Chris, just do what he says!” Gingka pleaded.
“Mag dump him!” I snarky ordered with a playful smirk.
The blonde Orion blader gave in. He pulled the trigger to his launcher grip gun. “Let it Rip!”
Phantom Orion sped across the floor like a speeding projectile. Helios quickly countered in return, firing three shots. The bullets whizzed past the beyblade and caught Chris instead in a flurry of blows. One to the chest, one on the leg, and the last bullet close to his shoulder. Chris released a small scream, dropping to the floor. His frantic cries turned into slow painful moans. A pool of blood surrounded his chest and lower waist.
This proves that bullets are more lethal and faster than beyblades. OOHHHHHHH!!!!
“You shot Chris! How dare you!” Gingka yelled towards Helios. The silver haired officer ignored the surrounding commotion.
“10 - 2. Suspect is wounded from 3 GSWs (Gun Shot Wounds). Currently treating his wounds.” Helios, accompanied by two other Orlando police officers kneeled down beside Chris. They applied a chest seal and a tourniquet around his leg.
“Not on my watch, bucko.” Lying down on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the studio was Tobio, a Springfield Kuna sniper rifle in hand. His red eye scepter digitally mapped out his target. “That’s it, just a little closer. And bingo. *!*”
“Air units reporting another male on the rooftop building. We successfully sniped him down.” A jet black helicopter hovered over Tobio’s body. Turns out the SWAT were here to halt the crazy chain reaction. Never bring a finger gun to a gunfight.
Yu was correct. This is actually entertaining as hell!
The last suspect to be apprehended by police and SWAT was a man in western clothing.
“Not without me, you don’t.” Django charged through the entrance of L2 studios, a cowboy revolver in hand. Helios and the remaining officers fired a cluster of shots at him. In proper police terms, they mag dumped him to the ground.
“10 - 2, third male on scene with GSWs.” Helios reported the scenario. His Glock handgun dropped the empty magazine, replacing another spare mag while cocking the lockback barrel in one snap.
Paramedics rushed in and transported Chris and Django on electric cot stretchers. They both looked deranged and pale from the sudden wounds, like they were famished from war. Loaded and secured in the back, the ambulance cried in Sirens as it screeched off towards the Orlando Regional Medical Center.
“Thanks for back up, you two.” Helios dismissed the other officers on scene. They each gave a wave and a fist bump before leaving.
“That was totally NOT awesome.” Gingka commented with a slight frown.
“I agree with Gingka. That looked like a movie in real life!” Masamune hooted in agreement.
“Is it common in the police force to go all guns ablaze?” Ryuga questioned with a bitter smudge.
“Yes. It’s a safety tactic in the police world to shoot civilians or criminals armed with a gun, any knife, or anything that harms us or the community if they don’t comply with our orders. I've seen some people with joke weapons such as razor blades, baseball bats, a butter knife, and a toy sword.” Helios sheathed his Glock back in its clicking holster.
“Domestic Altercation on a highway car crash off of I4 Express near Eatonville.” the Motorola radio randomly chimed. Helios turned the knob, lowering the volume and ignoring the emergency scene.
“What’s next on the list Angel?” Benkei kindly asked while stuffing Brachs Peppermint candies into his mouth. I peered through the windows, traffic returning normally after a 1 hour shut down by SWAT officials.
“It looks like we’re going to stop by at the Sheraton Hotel 7 min away from this place.” Angel brightly announced, lowering her notebook. She then goggled an eye at the MFB crew, who were already packing up and ready to go.
They clamboured into their respective cars while Helios led me to the back of his patrol car. He opened the door and ordered me to sit in the back. It was like sitting on hard plastic. No really, the Setina seats were actually hard plastic. Its reinforced smooth vinyl and kevlar / durable polyester blend gave my butt a hard time. It kinda hurt a bit. Thanks to additional gaps in the back padding, my handcuffed arms explored the empty space.
Getting handcuffed was a piece of cake to me. I deeply wondered how Gingka and Kyoya were doing.
“Just follow my arm movements on the steering wheel, ok Kyoya?” Gingka plainly announced. His right wrist was handcuffed to Kyoya’s left wrist.
The Leone blader hmphed, “As long as we’re not in a wreck. I see no problem at all.”
Oh there was an issue alright.
They struggled. 5 minutes into the drive and the silver Lexus IS250 swayed from side to side. Helios immediately deployed the lights and sirens from his patrol car.
I had a better idea, “Helios? PIT Gingka and Kyoya.”
Helios sighed, “As you wish.”
The Ford Explorer Police Interceptor SUV roared furiously, speeding past traffic. I held my heart in my hands. It felt like a high adrenaline coaster ride. The Axon Fleet 3 IR dash cam recorded the cruiser’s first point of view as its Setina push bars bumped into the poor Lexus, sending the silver sedan spinning across South Orange Avenue.
A few civilian cars dodged the impact as the IS250 rattled to a halt. A canary yellow Nissan X-Terra followed after, slowly rolling to a halt.
Madoka leaped out, “Gingka! Kyoya! Are you ok?”
Thankfully they were unscathed.
“Blame Gingka for his irregular driving strokes!” Kyoya grumbled.
“Hey, it was Angel’s idea for Helios to ram into me!” Gingka protested in return.
“That was a dare, Gingka.” I smirked through the open window of the cruiser, blowing a lip fart.
Helios sighed, chugging on Celsius. He expelled a loud burp at mach 4. He radioed in, “Performed a PIT maneuver against a silver Lexus. Suspect is innocent and unarmed.”
“Whoo, now that’s done with, let’s hit the road!” I ordered as Helios slid first in line, all of the other cars respectively following him. It was a quiet ride. I stared at the backside of Helios’ head through the plexiglass partition, a special wall that divides the officer and suspect from raising any violent altercations. Welcome to my House by Nu Breed and Jesse Howard pulsed through the rattling partition.
“Helios, since when did you start listening to redneck country rap?” I meekly questioned with intrigue.
“That one Police Activity video where Maricopa officers from California apprehended and shot a muscular guy during a domestic altercation.” the silver haired officer responded.
“Seems a bit ludicrous but catchy.” I shook my head to the beat. Helios had a whole playlist from this artist. It felt fitting since he wore a red bandanna around his neck. (That really made him look country indeed.)
A set of Smith & Wesson AR - 15 rifles hung from the Setina T Rail mount beside me. He must have been a firearm enthusiast since he owned a small collection of pistols and rifles at home.
Everything was according to plan. I and the MFB crew meet up at the Sheraton Hotel where we perform more dares. Right? Nope. Unfortunately, a desert rock metallic 2008 Honda Pilot overtook the line and claimed himself as leader. We followed Nile across South Orange Avenue, making a left turn down Pine Street, passing by the US District Court.
We eventually halted at a cream colored building with a green rooftop, its paint chipping in different directions.
“Mass Jeed Al Hack?” Gingka pronounced it in a goofy way.
“Masjid Al - Haqq. Angel, I need to stop by for Friday's prayer.” Nile informed as he and Demure respectfully slipped off their shoes before entering the building.
I forgot that Nile and Demure were muslim since that Truth machine interview two chapters ago. Since I and the rest of the MFB crew were foreign to this religion, we decided to slip off our shoes and follow them into the prayer hall.
It was like any other prayer room, a large glossy carpet patterned with individual decorative squares floored the expansive room. A special pedestal and bookshelf holding a cluster of Qurans were perched to the front, a framed panel of God in Arabic hovered above.
We carefully watched Nile and Demure recite their prayers in Arabic, their eyes closed while palms held out. A wild idea strode across my mind.
“Kyoya, poke them in the butts while they bow down.” I cautiously whispered to his ear. Tategami nodded.
Unfazed, Nile and Demure bowed down child pose style on the prayer carpet. That was until they felt something poking in their butts.
“Bismillah! Alright, who did that!?” Nile whipped around with a furious gaze.
“Angel.” Everybody pointed towards me.
“What? How could you possibly accuse me of doing this?” I countered with sarcasm.
“Arent you the host of the Truth or Dare show? You decide on who gets to be in the Truth machine or perform dares given by our audience.”
“Oh they kinda died out.” I carelessly stared at my digital purple nails.
“You know? That’s disrespectful during our prayers to Allah and Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him). Skedaddle to the game room or cafe. We’re busy here.” Nile mumbled something to Demure in Arabic before grabbing a Quran off of the shelf. They quietly read through, treating the session as if it was study time.
I lean down towards Nile and assure him, “Don’t worry, we’re one jamat. Insh’allah.”
I left the Egyptian bladers alone as the rest of the crew explored the islamic center, scrambling for the game room while Helios as a police guard kept watch at the front door.
Yu and Kenta were at the hockey table, while Masamune and Gingka were challenging each other to silly childish one on one competitions: Bubble wrap popping, Recorder showdown, Handstands, Holding their breath, etc. (If you know that episode reference, comment below with a Truth or Dare request.) Tsubasa stood by the arcade, casually scoring high on Tetris.
That was until a large hole blew through the wall and both Pegasus and Leone zig zagged across the hallway floor.
“Until next time! Angel out!” I smiled into the camera. I then rub my forehead, clearly distressed, “Oh damn, Nile and the other officials are gonna kill me.”
A/N: Chris really wields a gun launcher from the MFB manga, I’m not kidding! Go check out Takafumi Adachi’s Patreon post where he literally made a drawing of Chris launching Orion with his gun launcher. I believe it's modeled after a Glock 23 (listed under his Trivia section on the MFB Wiki).
And yes, I made Nile a muslim. He’s from Egypt, so his family’s modern side of religion is Islam. It’s fitting so I hope I didn’t get anything wrong about the Islamic faith or traditions. I’m not muslim, I’m Christian, but I respect all religions. :)
In addition to the religion in MFB, Takafumi Adachi included Christianity in Beyblade Metal Fusion. (I’m serious on this one) Doji lectures a brief history behind Beyblades used in ancient times. An image of Moses from the biblical book of Exodus can be seen departing the Red Sea with a Beyblade. (I find that hilarious af today.) More info on this topic can be found on the MFB Wiki page.
Until the next chapter!
Falco276 out!