At some point, Crow had stopped skating and disembarked his board. It was an attempt to drop out of the race and save himself. Regardless, he was encircled by the four remaining opposition, rivals who refused to complete the race without retribution.

Fray untied her ribbon, jostled her lengthy hair, then stormed to Crow. The girl grimaced and tapped her finger gun against his head, her grown, painted nails stabbing his skin.

Crow raised his arms in submission while he peered down at the hostile student with a sly smile. "Not to be rude," started Crow. "But don't you have a race to finish?"

The back of his legs was kicked, and he dropped to his knees. The gun followed him, and Fray stomped her foot on his thigh. "That's the problem with you Dragons. You think everything is a game."

Crow's red irises brightened. He cackled, grabbed her gun-posed hand, and pressed it harder against his skull. "Isn't it, though?"

"People are dead because of you!" Yelled another. They all appeared to have genuine beliefs in their comrade's loss. This was likely because of the constant exposure to the island's core concepts. Real pain, believable effects, and the rule that exiles students. In a sense, for some, failing Seasons University was equivalent to death.

Death of their dreams.

Truly indifferent to their sentiments, Crow disregarded his wardens and deliberately peeked around the map. "Hmmm," he sounded.

"Foolish of me to think you'd at least feel guilty about killing your allies," grumped Fray. "And to sit there grinning... You really are inhuman."

"Good riddance," she murmured, prepared to terminate him. Just as she began, Crow jumped and hollered like a scheming child. "Look over there?!"

"At least die with dignity," urged Mickey. It was some seconds later that they felt a low rumbling approach. Heads turned, and not to anyone's surprise, the same long-neck summon appeared.

Committed to killing Crow before the creature arrived, Fray activated her ability. He obviously didn't expect her to do so because he implored them to delay his execution. "A-arnt you gonna deal with that thing first?"

"It'll disappear once we get rid of the person controlling it," justified Fray. She continued with her enactment, or she tried, but one of her allies suddenly bucked and shoved her rearward.

Fray staggered backward, and a millisecond later, a silver, glowing disc slashed through the space and impaled the ground where she'd stood.

Crow recognized the circular weapon and giggled. "Jess, sweetie, you're alive?" He called out to the wild creature and was promptly met with a "Fuck you."

He angled his head in various postures and gazed dumbfounded at the extensive beast. Then in a dead-serious tone, he stated, "you've gotten taller."

"I'm back here, you prick." From behind the giraffe's legs emerged the girl with hoop earrings. She skated casually upright while gifting the middle finger to Crow.

Tony showed himself next, having much more to say. "Dick head, you tried to kill me! You said this race would be a 'formal initiation' to join your crew!"

Crow dusted his pants off, then applauded. "Yep, and you've passed; welcome to Graveyard Keepers."

Fray looked onward with bitterness. She'd been whipped with an inexplainable situation. Still, She calmly observed and fastened her hair once again in preparation to continue the race.

The student addressed as Mickey angrily lifted his boot, then stomped the silver, glowing disc, which shattered. "What the hell is going on," he grumbled.

Crow picked up his skateboard and cautiously began to retreat from the four surrounding him. "As prideful as you Lions are, you must be furious your tiny brains didn't see this coming."

"Maybe even desperate enough to let me escape your little cage in exchange for an explanation?"

When none of his wardens attacked, Crow took it as agreeance to his bargain. He palmed his face, which concealed the unadulterated ecstasy he expressed. He howled with laughter and gripped his gut while shuddering manically.

Everything about the scenario riddled him with delight, and his insane laughter demonstrated it.

"That STUPID fucking skill," he roared, wiping the tears of joy from his eyes. "This all happened because you people INSIST on relying on that GOD DAMN ability."

"Did you really think someone wouldn't figure it out?" Crow calmed himself a sliver and sighed. "My only remorse is that someone devised a better strategy than me. Turns out that using your teammates as bait isn't such a good idea. Go figure, right?"

"Stop with the theatrics," ordered Fray. "Hurry and tell us what we want to hear."

"Ah, there it is," smirked Crow. "That typical Lion composure. If the roles were reversed, I'd scream at the top of my lungs!"

"But, since we had a deal, I'll indulge you."

"I've recently learned your 'Strongest Link' skill also targets summons. Explains why you only skate at the rear; it's to ensure you only mark humans."

"But, you've let your emotions exploit you this race. You used that skill on your buddies summon to revoke our control. That's when I realized that the explosion amplifies to kill targets with more health."

"Every time it detonated, it hit a summon, which is why my team was knocked back but not killed."

Fray tilted her head to peer around him and observed the nearing squad. Then she motioned toward her team, who arranged to dash off upon notice.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"What you said isn't entirely true," she said, setting one foot on her board. "Harry's summon wasn't materialized the first time I used strongest link, so why did your first pawn have an irregular explosion. Are you saying he's a summon too?"

"Of course not," laughed Crow. "But, before the race, you observed that he also owned a summon."

Fray massaged her cranium and wearily exhaled. "The ugly bird."

Purple-tinted, black flames exploded from behind the long-necked creature, and Vin uncovered himself from behind the beast's legs. Panting heavily, sweating profusely, and scowling with unfriendly lavender eyes.

Irked, he pedaled faster, but Adele caught up and grabbed his wrist. "Stay behind the summon. If that snake bastard runs away, you'll be targeted."

Miyo tugged at its owner's shirt in agreement with what Adele said, and Vin bitterly compromised.

"So it was him all along," discerned Fray.

Crow shrugged gaily. "He's a stray I picked up an hour ago, so don't ask me how he does it."

"A phoenix, huh," said Mickey, their team's central defense. When he spoke, the other members glanced at him curiously.

"In multiple cultures, a red phoenix symbolizes rebirth. A new beginning." A fantastic lesson, but it was irrelevant to their issue. Another racer clicked their tongue and blurted, "Well, that one is not red, so what does a black phoenix symbolize?"

Mickey drew an invisible 'X' shape around his heart while offering his guess. "Not rebirth, but Ressurection."

Fray turned her back to the incoming group, then jerked forward on her skateboard. "They've caught up; let's go," she instructed.

"Once we recover, kill the owner of that bird first. It's probably an Epic or Legendary grade summon."

With the race resumed, Crow returned to his group and suggested they bottle up their frustrations until after the race. After everything they'd suffered through, no one was keen on losing.

Crow felt inclined to complain about the late entrance even after being saved. Tony snitched and blamed Vin, who was fast but lacked long-distance stamina.

But, after being thrown to the wolves, no one was willing to skate ahead of the giraffe. So, they all rode at Vin's sluggish pace until they eventually caught up with the leading group. Which, would have been impossible if the Lions didn't stop to host an execution.

Crow also hid behind the creature, so he had no room to nitpick. Instead, he devised a new scheme. With the finish line less than 400 yards away, they acted.

By they, I mean the only person capable of negating Frays one-hit-kill.

Vin coughed and labored to catch his breath. Leaving a trail of salty sweat behind him. He uttered a simple command for the stolen summon to run, and it darted freely down the cobblestone road.

Next, Crow conjured a beastly construct claw. He half-assed wished Vin good luck, then pushed his back and fired him ahead.

Fray withheld from blasting the charging creature, and instead, Mickey called forth his 'heavens gate.' It flickered gold in the unlit sky, then barreled down toward the earth. Not for defensive purposes, but it crashed on top of the shadowy beast and crushed it.

With it pinned, Vin passed by and became his team's lead. Which meant Fray's ability would mark only him.

The Lions were sure they saw past the Dragon's last-ditch effort, but her 'strongest link' still didn't target Vin.

"Sorry buddy," he weakly muttered, riding only inches behind Miyo, who was overlayed with a crosshair. The phoenix twirled, then dashed directly for the Lions team. It arrived quickly but didn't attack; it only hovered over their group with its mark.

Held captive by her own ability, Fray couldn't pull the trigger without blowing themselves up as well. And, since their team was comprised of supporters, no one could destroy the summon.

Vin approached on willpower alone. Driven far past his limit, his heart hammered at the cage that kept it. Feeling in his legs was being relinquished by the second, and his vision began to transition to spotted blackness.

Still, he pressed forward. The thought of his detached family kindled the blaze that warmed his body. He also thought it'd be embarrassing to be in such a sorry state if they happened to see the footage one day.

"This isn't me," he thought. "I'm stronger."

The momentum from Crow's push arranged Vin right behind the Lions, who were kept at bay thanks to Miyo.

"I got this; you guys go ahead," advised one of the students. They peeked back to survey Vin's position, then braked with their arm held out like a clothesline.

A nasty cough forced Vin's depleted body out of sync, and he staggered on his longboard just before the man attacked. Even on the verge of collapse, he glared menacingly at his aggressor. "I'm a Dance; we don't lose."

His thoughts reminded him of a crucial moment. One that began his love for skating. Like most of his memories before his coma, it involved his dad.

[[

Who knew how many times he'd looted trophies from junior tournaments. Stealing first place time after time, just to stand on the winner podium with lifeless eyes and an obsessive father.

At age eight, he understood his mother's affection and that she loved both of her children. Every morning he'd tell her he loved her and kiss her cheek before heading off to grade school.

He wept joyfully when she and Macy cooked lasagna to celebrate his birthday. Told them goodnight before bed and finished any chores they asked of them; it was love.

For some reason, all the pleasant memories he had of them had rushed him as he stood on the winner stage. Meanwhile, his father ranted.

Blabbering about how his Jr was a prodigy and flexing his perfect record of 52 wins and 0 losses. "The Dance's, a family of winners," he would say smugly. Vin felt the contrived adoration the man feigned for the audience to be sicking.

"Mhm!" The man continued. "Name a more remarkable family! I'll wait!"

That day, Vin had enough. He dropped his trophy, curled his undeveloped hands, then irately turned toward his husky father.

He had to slant his head steeply to meet the man's face, but we would erupt and scream his woes once he did.

"I'm still w-waiting!" Gavin stammered. His brown skin had become slightly warmer, and his bottom lip shivered.

Vin, who'd cocked his fist back, glimpsed his selfish father's face. It was contorted because he tried to speak while withholding sobs. Vin's face widened, and he gawked at the man whose eyes were slightly damp.

"N-No father will ever-" Gavin wavered, sniffled, then shook his head to acquit his tearful delight. "No father, will ever be as proud as me."

He knelled down, clasped Vin's small head in between his large hands, then thumped his forehead against his own. "Thank you for being my son," he whispered.

Taken aback, Vin loosened his fist and pushed against his father. "H-hey, people are watching," he growled.

That was one of the first times Vin felt any reward from skating. No medal, trophy, or empty glory compared to his father's heartfelt praise.

]]

Vin believed he stopped being a part of his father's honorable 'Dance Family' once he lost his first race and fell into a coma. His remedy was to blow up and become an even bigger superstar than his old man.

To do that, he needed to win. Again and again, until there were no more challenges to conquer.