Very hefty chapter ahead, it's like 10k words or smthn lol

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What happened...?

Lisa groaned, rubbing her temple as she kept her eyes shut. She could feel that she was lying on dry ground, and hot air was blowing against her skin. She pried her eyes open, only to shut it again once she was greeted by the glaring sun.

First thought: it's already noon?

Last she remembered was that it was still early morning, and the sun was definitely not at its peak at that time.

Second thought: did I fall asleep?

It'd make sense, but Lisa figured that wherever she was didn't feel anywhere comfortable for her to take a nap. As she sat up, the next thought processed in her mind.

Where the hell am I?

Now that she wasn't looking up, Lisa rubbed her eyes before blinking them open so she could finally make sense of where she actually was. What greeted her didn't startle her at first, but scanning the area further what let the panic finally find its way to her.

At first she thought she was at Sho's training ground, with the barren, dusty area reminding her of it. However, there was a lack of any man-made courses, and instead the area was flat and full of nothingness with large plateaus over in the distance instead of a faraway cityscape and foliage.

She was not where she thought she was.

Lisa stood up, groaning in annoyance when she noticed the dust that covered her jacket. Fully waking, the hash heat of the sun was beginning to feel piercing against her skin. She took off her windbreaker, shook it first and placed it over her head. While she moved around to find something to go to, she started to remember more and more of what happened prior.

A terrible start to her morning, a race, then a black fog...

...a black fog...?

"Now what was that all about...?" Lisa whispered to herself.

She didn't have to walk long though before she found a gigantic wall, and following it at a direction she found herself in front of a pair of wide wooden gates that seemed big enough to fit a truck through. Beside each door was an emblem with gold trim, a shark at the center with yellow angry eyes and toothed frown with abstract waves beneath it. Lisa found the coincidence amusing.

"Hello?"

Lisa knocked on the door, her other hand holding on the sleeves of her jacket to keep it on her head. She tried to tiptoe to peer through the slots of the gate, but was proven futile from how high up it was compared to her. A moment passed with no response before she went ahead and knocked on the door again.

"Ex-cuse meee—"

Wham!

Lisa shrieked when the ground suddenly shook beneath her, and a pair of shadows grew and loomed her from behind. She slowly turned around only to find two large men towering over her, both sporting fixed glares but most of their features shrouded by the sun. Oh god, this is terrifying. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she tried her best to keep standing straight despite a chill running down her spine.

"So... you guys run this place?" she asked with an attempt of a humorous tone. She wasn't met with a response.

"Guard the place? Own it?"

Still no reply.

"I'm pretty sure you two own this place, I mean it's a pretty interesting place, with all this, uh... open space! Yeah, pretty vast space of nothingness around here, sounds like an ideal... summer getaway house. Weather and all..."

Lisa tried to grin nonchalantly, but really she looked more like a nervous wreck doing so. She was about to go for another round of rambling when finally one of the men spoke up. "Do you ever shut up?" the one at Lisa's left growled.

"Only if you tell me where this is, big guy, then I'll be more than happy to get off both of your hairs... or lack thereof... y-you get the point."

Lisa cleared her throat, briefly glancing away as her fear was beginning to bubble into awkwardness. Didn't mean that the men stopped intimidating her though. "Clearly you're new here," the man on the right said with a deep chuckle. Lisa tried laughing along, but nothing more than a squeak came out of her mouth.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," she said. "But either way I would love to have some directions. Maybe the closest city?"

A tense moment of silence.

"This is the closest city, little girl."

"Oh, neat! Just through these doors? Thanks, I'll see myself out now—"

As Lisa tried to step close to the said gates the two men immediately stepped forward that made her halt. "Or not, or not!" she laughed breathlessly, throwing her hands up in surrender. "We can chat some more if that's what you both want." She tilted her head up some more to try and maintain eye contact. With her hands out front, her jacket had slipped off her head and fully revealing her face. The two men's stoic faces then shifted to that of shock, but Lisa hadn't noticed yet.

"Though from what I'm getting here I might be doing the bulk of the talking, but I don't mind, we can get to know each other. I mean, you two look like twins, and I happen to be a twin myself—"

"What's your name?"

Lisa blinked, taken aback by the non-rhetorical question that was now thrown at her. "My name?" she repeated as she pointed at herself, and the men gave a curt nod. She gave them a weird stare, slowly lowering her hands when the sudden shift of tone finally hit her. Truthfully, she was hesitant to give out her real name, but the two men's adamant looks somehow compelled her to give an honest answer.

"L...Lisa. Lisa Samejima."

"Samejima..!"

Almost immediately the men backed up, and even though they weren't even that close Lisa took a deep breath as if she'd been trapped in a suffocating closed space the entire time. "That's... that's the name, heh," she chuckled nervously, doing small jazz hands.

Now out of the two men's shadows, Lisa could see them better. Though her calling them twins was an assumption, their physique and outfits made it look like they actually were. Both wore black tank tops, black wristbands, and similar pants; one had green with pale yellow accents, and the other purple with lavender accents. Green Pants had a mohawk and his moustache pointed downwards, while Purple Pants's hair was at the upper edges of his head and his moustache pointed upwards.

"My name's Jo," Green Pants introduced.

"Ryu," Purple Pants followed. "We're the Sunset Brothers."

"Sweet!" Lisa replied.

She tried to grin at them, not knowing where the conversation would go, and her response only made it more awkward. Her eyes flitted between the Sunset Brothers and everywhere possible, waiting for the men to say something else. Thankfully, Jo saved her from painfully waiting any longer.

"You said you were a twin. Who are they?"

Whatever theory Lisa was trying to formulate was now thrown out the window by the new question. "It's... his name is Gabu," she answered hesitantly. The Brothers looked at each other for a while, as if having a mental conversation, and Lisa knew that expression: the twins before her had the same idea.

"You wait in that house while we make a call within the city. We'll direct you from there."

Jo pointed to the mentioned house behind him. It's a simple bungalow with a wooden table set at the porch area. Lisa eyed the house, then looked up at Jo with a raised brow.

"Thanks...?" she replied, her word drawn out.

So she was escorted to the outdoor table where she would sit and wait. Both brothers went in the house, and after a bit Ryu went back out with an older woman. "Ah, our guest for today," the older woman said with a small smile. Lisa bowed at her in respect.

"This is our mother, she'll keep you company until something else happens."

Lisa dropped her jaw in surprise, and before she could even process anything else Ryu had gone back inside. The woman sat across the table, so Lisa had to quickly divert her attention to her. The young girl pursed her lips, fiddling with her hands for a second before she leaned forward and whispered.

"How did you raise your children to grow to the size of actual giants?"

Definitely not the expected first question, but the seriousness in Lisa's face made the woman chuckle in amusement. "I'm surprised at it myself," she admitted humorously. "Though, I'm sure there're more pressing questions running in your mind." Lisa didn't waste a second to ask.

"Yeah... where am I?"

And so for a few hours questions and answers were thrown back and forth between the two women. Within this time Lisa had to wrap her head around the jarring concept of this second world that was coincidentally named the X-Zone, Idaten Battles and what they were, how trading worked, and what X-City, the place behind the gates, were. At some point one of the Brothers had gone outside to serve them tea, which Lisa mentally described as amusing with how small the chinaware and tray looked in his hands.

Eventually, before the sun began to set, the Sunset Brothers came back outside. "There will be a trailer to pick you up in a few minutes and take you into the city," Jo said. Lisa hummed a thanks, but not before following it up with a question.

"Where am I being taken to, exactly?"

"The ruler of X-City. He's interested in meeting you."

"Huh?!"

The look on Lisa's face was a mix of bewilderment and disbelief. "You're joking," Lisa scoffed, hardly believing the two. She had a small staredown with the Brothers, however her smirk slowly disappeared when the two men's serious look never faltered.

Okay, so they actually mean it.

"So I just wait here?"

"Yes."

Lisa kept staring at them, but this time with contemplation. "Do you want to wait here with us?" she finally asked after the long pause. "You mother talks about the both of you fondly, so I'd love to get to know you more."

This definitely was enough to shock the Sunset Brothers. "You want to get to know us..?" Jo asked. Lisa nodded.

"I mean, you guys have been nothing but hospitable to me here, and I don't have much else going on right now."

...

"What do you even want to know about us?"

Lisa shrugged. "Whatever you guys want to tell me, I guess."

Jo and Ryu glanced at each other, almost seemingly having a mental conversation. It wasn't long though before they looked back to Lisa with an answer.

"We'd rather not."

At that the Brothers retreated back into the house. "I take back what I said about hospitability," Lisa huffed, cheeks puffed and arms crossed.

"Don't mind them, they haven't been met with kindness from a stranger for a while," the old lady spoke up.

Lisa scoffed. "If I'm your standard of kindness, then that's pretty sad," she blurted out offhandedly. She leaned back on her seat, her gaze wandering over to the wooden gates.

"I suppose I haven't told you how... harsh some bikers can be."

Somehow Lisa's first thought was Gabu; well, in her defense it was her main and admittedly only frame of reference for defining a "harsh biker". Nevertheless she took the woman's word for it, but at the same time remembered what Sho said before.

"My dad said there isn't a bad person who likes MTB!"

Lisa made a face at the memory. It was such an innocent comment to make that much she knew, but at the same time she didn't have the heart to convince him otherwise. Wait...

"Where are they...?"

"What was that, dear?"

Lisa furrowed her brows. "I wasn't alone when the black fog took me. I don't know where they are," she admitted thoughtfully, "or if they're here in the... X... Zone." She took a deep breath, sinking into her chair some more.

"If they were taken by the fog as well, then they could be somewhere around the peninsula. The X-Zone is a large place after all."

"Yeah..."

The rest of the time was met with silence, Lisa still trying to take everything in. On one hand she could go and worry about her friends and siblings, but on the other she didn't know how to go around the X-Zone, so chances are of her getting lost or worse was something she wouldn't take upon.

She didn't have much time to think more though since a few minutes later the gates slowly creaked open. She watched it fully open, revealing the long bridge behind and more importantly the bike-powered trailer that was exiting.

"So everything here really is MTB-powered?" Lisa whispered in amazement.

As the trailer moved closer to the house, Lisa could see the rider better. He was a young man with a large head of grey frizzled hair tied to a low ponytail and a dark green ninja outfit with dark grey accents and misty teal limb guards. Lisa immediately found him interesting; ninjas were something she only saw on television.

It made her wonder if the guy was the real deal.

Jo and Ryu went out again but this time they immediately went to greet the new arrival. Lisa followed them with her eyes, her curiosity piqued. She propped her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers, resting her cheek atop as she watched the men talk.

Unfortunately for her the conversation was too hushed for her to eavesdrop, and leaning any more forward would've made her too obvious she was listening in. She looked over to the old lady in front of her, who offered her a shrug when she caught her gaze.

The talk wasn't long though and the Sunset Brothers motioned the grey-haired man towards Lisa. The redhead straightened up immediately as they approached.

"This is her."

The shocked look on the newcomer's face was hardly concealed, and maybe if he was given a chance to double take he would've. He quickly looked to the twins, who merely gave him a synched nod. Lisa had been watching the whole interaction.

"What's up?" Lisa spoke up, subtly hoping to be clued in.

The ninja took a sharp breath to compose himself before fully facing her. "Koei the Ninja Rider. We received a call and I've been assigned to escort you into the city," he said monotonously. Lisa blinked, stunned, before she broke into a wide, excited grin that matched her eyes.

"Oh my gosh an actual ninja, that's so cool! I'm Lisa Samejima."

Lisa abruptly stood up and shot her hand forward. Koei leaned back slightly at the sudden movements, but was quick to catch himself and slowly yet hesitantly went to shake the girl's hand. Amber eyes looked up at him with a strange mix of elation and... determination? Determined for what?

"In any case, head to the back of the trailer. Just draw the curtains open if you prefer that. I'll be with you in a moment."

Lisa's excitement faded for a moment, replaced by a short-lived contemplative look. This immediately reminded Koei of the advice that was given to him before leaving.

"Be transparent with her at all times. You don't have to disclose all information, but with the ones you want or have to it has to be truthful."

Lisa tucked her hands in the pockets of her jacket, which she resorted to tying around her waist because it became very dusty. "I've been told I'm meeting the ruler of X-City, but where exactly am I gonna be taken inside the city?" she asked seriously. Koei nodded slightly, placing his hands on his hips.

"You'll be brought into the X-Tower, the heart of the city and where the ruler resides. He said he'd rather introduce himself to you in person."

"So what does he want with lil' old me, then?"

A brief pause.

"He never disclosed."

"Uh-huh..."

It was as if a wave of skepticism washed off her star-struck towards Koei completely. "I wish I could tell you, but this is all that was given to me," Koei admitted, "hence why I've given you the choice to keep the trailer curtains open. Should you feel unsafe or not trust me during the ride you have every capacity to dismount."

Given the freedom of choice should've been comforting, but for some reason this only put Lisa even more on edge. It felt way too... curated for her. Either way, she felt like she was either going to go with them, or nowhere at all. And besides, if there was someone who could give a bigger picture of what's happening, it'd be the ruler of the capital.

"Alright, let's go then."

Lisa walked over to the trailer, taking a bit to observe it before she attempted to climb from the back. Alas, she didn't know how to unlatch the drop down so she was struggling to get herself up into the trailer. She didn't try for long though before she moved to the front, which she found significantly easier. Throughout it all, she was mumbling to herself and completely unaware of her audience.

"What do you think?" Jo asked Koei.

"It'd take a blind man to not tell them apart."

"Yet they act very differently."

"...For now."

Koei let out a breath through his nose. "I don't trust first impressions," he told them, "not when it comes to them."

Lisa pulled the final knot to keep all the trailer's curtains open. Now she could see the front and the back, and seeing it from the inside eased her worries a bit more. As she looked around the inside more, she could see the biking paraphernalia that hung around the trailer. From the corner of her eye she noticed Koei approaching from the front, so she turned around to face him fully.

"You ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Lisa gripped on the sleeves of her tied jacket as an assurance to herself. She watched everything that happened around her in silence; from the moment Koei mounted the bike to crossing the bridge to the point the Sunset family was no longer in view. So many thoughts and feelings plague her mind, and she could feel her heart hammer against her chest as they moved towards the unknown destination.

The silence within the trailer was agonizing, and Lisa rhythmically tapping her feet was no longer keeping her entertained. She blew out a heavy breath, squeezing her hands, before she finally decided to talk to Koei.

"What do you need?"

Lisa stopped. She was hardly even close to Koei before she was acknowledged. "I just wanted to chit-chat," she answered coolly. She walked closer to the front, giving her a better view of X-City. Tall concrete buildings towered over the smaller, colorful houses underneath them; it looked like a mixture of a cityscape and townhouse. The streets were bustling with people and merchants, some stalls and houses beginning to turn on their lights in response to the setting sun. Observing some more Lisa noticed how varied people looked and dressed; like the place was a melting pot.

"This place is cool, you live here?"

"Yes."

Koei looked at Lisa from the corner of his eyes. He could see the child-like wonder Lisa wore as she looked around, her open smile seemingly widening even more each passing second. She was excited with everything she saw.

"Ooh, are you gonna give me a tour around? It looks like there's so much going on around here all the time. The Sunset Brothers' mom said there're race tracks around here too, it makes sense if this is like the bike central of the world..."

Does she ever shut up? Koei thought, lips drawn flat.

He was expecting the girl to be at the least interrogating him for some more clarity about her situation, but instead she started rambling about whatever she found interesting that they passed by, and he was the unfortunate listener throughout it all.

He wasn't so sure if it was for the better or the worse.

"...and they got dagashiyas as well! I wonder if there's any sweets like the ones back home... hey, by any chance you know my brothers?"

"Your brothers?" Koei had just tuned back to Lisa.

"I suppose you haven't... I mean, if you saw one of them it isn't that hard to figure it out."

Lisa hummed thoughtfully, looking around in silence for a bit. It wasn't long until they were now in front of the tallest tower in the city. She saw it a while back ago, and she figured that if anything was considered to be the city's "heart" it would be either the tallest or largest building.

"This is the X-Tower. The ruler waits for you inside."

Lisa craned her neck to try to look at as much of the building as possible. The top of the tower was lined with brass strips, and on one side was a shark icon being painted on with a fancy black X-mark behind it.

"What's up with all the shark icons?"

Koei didn't answer at first, assuming it was a question Lisa asked to herself but when he turned to look at her she was looking back at him expectantly. He quickly averted his gaze. "It's the city's new mascot, is the best way I can describe it," he replied before looking forwards again. The gate, by then, began to open, and once it fully was he biked inside.

Contrast to the warm atmosphere of the outside, the interior of X-City felt cold. Blue walls and ceilings with metal pipes over head, the only contrasting color was the hazard lines painted at the edges of gate frames and elevators.

"This is the heart of X-City? It's so... dull," Lisa complained, pouting.

"Well, what were you expecting?"

"Ever seen what a royal castle looked like inside? Kinda like that. But this?"

Lisa gestured to their current surroundings. "Outside was much more livelier. This feels like a factory without its workers," she finished, but her own words only led her to another thought. "Say, where is everyone? I'd expect maybe a few guards or just about anyone but no one's here."

"They must be patrolling elsewhere."

"But not at the entrance? Isn't that dangerous?"

An amused look crossed Koei's face. "The doors are remote operated. Someone let us in," he answered. Lisa's lips formed an O once the girl understood. Though, what she didn't know was that Koei had been thinking the same thing about the people.

Usually there'd be a few members walking around the place, but now every hallway felt jarringly empty. It was... weird.

The rest of the trip didn't last long though and Koei stopped the vehicle by an elevator. He dismounted the bike and instructed Lisa to get down as well. "We go on foot from here, but don't worry we won't be walking for long."

They entered the elevator, and as it shut and began to move upwards Lisa was surprisingly quiet. She was at the front, so Koei couldn't see her thousand yard stare, but he did take notice of her silence.

"Why were you so surprised when you saw me earlier?"

Koei involuntarily scrunched his brows at the question. He glanced at the kid in front of him but quickly looked away the second he saw her turn to look at him. "I wasn't expecting to pick up a kid," he lied. Lisa narrowed her eyes at him, turning away again. She looked down and began picking at the dirt under her nails.

"I dunno. The Sunset Brothers had a change of attitude when they got a better look at my face," she said absentmindedly, "before that they didn't have much of an issue scaring me."

Koei kept silent, opting not to respond to Lisa's observation. "And you don't want to look at me, like at all," Lisa continued. She tilted her head sideways, humming lowly as she rubbed her fingers together. Her eyes trailed over to the elevator buttons, their destination still some ways up. Slowly her humming stopped, but her eyes remain fixed.

"What floor are we at now?"

"Give or take halfway there. This is a pretty fast—hey!"

Koei darted forward and grabbed Lisa by her wrists, but alas he reacted a little too late. The little girl had already pushed as many buttons as she could before their destined floor. "What was that for?!" He exclaimed, forcefully turning Lisa to face him. Based on the self-satisfied gin on her face, Lisa didn't regret what she did one bit.

"I dunno, I got bored," she giggled.

She shrugged unapologetically. Koei groaned in annoyance, running a hand over his face at the thought of what he was going to go through for the rest of the elevator ride. Despite his irritation, he didn't do much about it though and decided to wait out the agony of stopping at almost every floor from that point on. He did, however, move Lisa opposite from the buttons, and thankfully for him she didn't contest.

He wasn't aware of what else she had in store, though.

After about four or five stops, Lisa began rocking her feet to let herself sway back and forth. She looked over her shoulder to check on Koei, who had an evidently displeased frown as he stared ahead. She quietly snorted at this before looking back and watch the elevator doors. After the doors opened just two stops later, Lisa spoke up again.

"Who's that guy behind you?"

"What?" Koei did a once over behind him. "There's no..."

It happened so quickly.

It was only for a second, but the moment Koei turned back front, Lisa was gone from her spot. Immediately he looked ahead, and sure enough the missing girl was running away. "Hey!" he shouted angrily. Lisa glanced over, the same grin as earlier plastered on her face.

Koei was about to go after her, but before he could get out the elevator door was nearly closed shut. He frantically pressed the open button to keep it open, but once more he was a second short and the button didn't register. Strings of curses strung out of his mouth, growling as he was forced to wait for the next floor.

Meanwhile, Lisa was laughing at the successful escape. She didn't linger for much though and began jogging around the area for ways to get to the next floor. There weren't any signs, so her best bet were finding staircases or a different elevator. She roamed the floor for her objective, and she noticed that there was absolutely no one in that floor. Good for her, but it still rang warning bells in her head.

Thankfully it didn't take her long to find what seemed to be the fire exit. She smiled to herself, pushing the door open to find a the staircase she was looking for...

...but also someone else.

"There you are."

Lisa shrieked, nearly tripping over herself as she turned for a sprint before she was lunged at.

"Get over here!" Koei yelled.

And so the chase began. Lisa was making a mix of giggling and panicked noises as she ran, finding as many obstacles in her route as possible. Desks, chairs, pillars; anything really to change turns.

Predictably though, Koei was agile and kept up with Lisa without an issue. He was a little surprised though that Lisa was still able to maintain enough distance between them to keep him for reaching her.

Lisa hurried up a set of metal stairs, glancing back for the first time the entire chase. She wore a smirk, and seeing it only infuriated Koei further. She got up the top, only to find herself at a dead-end walkway overlooking the lower ground.

"Wh-what's the point of that stairs?!" she exclaimed.

Footsteps approached her from behind, so Lisa turned around to find Koei meeting her at the top of the flight. She shuffled backwards a bit, a her smirk turned into a nervous smile as she raised her hands in surrender.

"I take it you weren't happy with that," she chuckled.

"Don't make this difficult for the both of us."

With every step Koei took forward Lisa made two back, though the walkway was not endless and in just a few seconds she was nearly pinned to the wall. Seconds of tense silence followed, with neither making another move. Lisa's eyes flicked towards the railings, but quickly looked back at Koei.

"My orders are to bring you unharmed, don't make me have to use force."

Lisa waved one of her hands in place, bobbing her head as if she was contemplating. "Yeah, umm, about that..." she trailed off. Koei raised a brow at her. She was cornered, what else did she have up her sleeves?

Apparently, something.

In a flash, Lisa jumped towards the bottom of the railing. In one quick motion she grabbed at the lowest bar and pulled herself through the gap. Koei lunged in an attempt to catch her, but she was successful in dropping down.

However the fall was far from graceful. Lisa tried to crouch as she landed on her feet, wincing as the sting of the impact ran up to her shins. She stood up with a grunt, almost tripping once again as she began to run despite the pain.

She's out of her mind, Koei sighed mentally.

Lisa didn't try to look back this time, instead focused on retracing her steps as fast as possible. It wasn't hard to do so though, as she made quite a mess in her wake earlier ago. Soon she found the doors to the staircase earlier, so she pushed it open and hurried in. She didn't take the time to check for any locks on the door though and instead continued running up the stairs to wherever it may take her.

It only took seconds before she heard the door slam open underneath her. She resisted her urge to peer down and kept running, hoping that Koei would pick the way down since he didn't see her. She didn't pay mind to how cold the place was suddenly getting and how the air seemed to thin at the same pace, chalking it up to her breathing becoming shallower.

Oh, how wrong she was.

If the change of atmosphere wasn't alarming enough, the sound of whooshing wind was. It was a closed space, there shouldn't be any wind getting in. She finally looked down, but before she could even process anything a powerful gust of wind blew upwards and knocked her off the edge. Fortunately Lisa was at a landing when she looked and didn't end up tumbling.

Lisa groaned and looked up, eyes widening at the sight before her. A tornado, yes, a tornado had made its way up in between the gaps of the stairs and was now spinning right in front of Lisa. Lisa scrambled backwards, her back hitting the corner of the wall as an attempt to try and get away from the tornado. The overhead lamps were swinging wildly, and the thin air was making it harder to breathe than it already was.

The tornado dissipated though not long after, and as it faded out Koei appeared from inside it. Koei landed on the railing crouched, and the look on his face clearly spoke that he was done with shenanigans. His glare was fixated on Lisa, who gulped nervously.

"Please don't hurt me," Lisa squeaked.

"As I've said before, my orders are to escort you safely," Koei hissed, "though you're making it difficult by hurting yourself doing this."

Koei then sighed deeply, slumping his shoulders. He dropped from the railing to the same level as Lisa and sat down in one swift movement. "Why did you run?" he asked seriously. Lisa stared at him for a bit, her scared expression slowly fading.

"You're not mad?"

"I very much am, but showing that isn't going to make talking to you any easier."

Lisa gave a slow nod, understanding. She wouldn't admit, but she was frozen in fear. She just witnessed this man practically ride a tornado to catch up to her in a second's worth, running didn't seem like the best option anymore.

"I'll ask again, why did you run?"

"I don't trust you."

A pregnant pause hung in the air. Of course. Koei took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he exhaled. He was trying to soothe his anger. "I shouldn't have expected an easy mission considering the precautions given to me," he mumbled, "but one thing I stay firm in the instructions given is getting you there. However, try anything else and I can't guarantee you unharmed."

"You're threatening a kid..."

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't so difficult. Now get up."

Lisa complied this time around, silently following Koei up the stairs so that they could wait for an elevator in the next floor. The rest of the way was peaceful, much to Koei's relief.

After seemingly repeating hallways they found themselves in a large room with a set of stairs that led to a platform, and another platform far up that seemed to have no way there. A large monitor was lit up at the back, and at the sides, illuminating the room in a bluish glow. The two walked the stairs, Lisa flinching when it suddenly started to move upwards. She flailed her arms for a bit to avoid falling while Koei simply watched.

Once the escalator reached the top, Koei was the first to get off. "We're here," he announced, stepping to the side. Lisa walked a little forward, and she didn't have to look around much before she saw familiar faces in front of her.

"Guys...?"

"Lisa?!"

"Guys!"

Lisa squealed in delight, throwing her arms forward. In a blink of an eye she was smushed into a hug by four people; the Four Kings, to be exact.

"You're here!"

"We were so worried!"

"What happened to you?!"

"We didn't know if we'd see you!"

"I could say the same!" Lisa laughed.

She continued giggling amidst her friends' cries of worry and relief. "What are you guys doing here? I was told I'd be meeting the ruler of X-City," she said laughing. This immediately halted the sentimental scene.

"You weren't told?" Kyoishi was the first to ask.

"Told what?"

Lisa was let go, and she looked at the Four Kings in confusion. She heard footsteps ahead, and looking at the direction she saw someone walk out from the shadows. Her eyes grew wide, jaw dropping.

"So it really was you."

"Elder brother!"

Taiga smiled, opening his arms as his younger sister ran up to him for an embrace. He hugged her tightly, letting out a sigh of relief. Lisa was the first to pull away after a bit. "I'm a little lost, what are you all doing here?" she asked. "Are you guys working for the ruler or something?"

"Or something," a different voice repeated.

There was a hiss of air above, and looking up Lisa saw that a circular floor detached from the platform above. Everyone watched it descend, and as soon as it was low enough Lisa was quick to recognize the person that stood at the center of it. Donned in a sleeveless yellow coat with orange faux fur lining on the sleeves, black accents and black straps at the front, orange undershirt with ripped collar, the person had purple triangles painted under his eye and on the inner corners of his eyebrows, with a purple star on one of his upper arms.

"Gabu..! Actually with how we last met I'm not that happy to see you."

A snort emitted from someone in the room, but no one was quick to admit. Gabu felt his eyebrow twitch at the comment, but wave a dismissive hand at it as he stepped off the platform. "Good to finally see you in the X-Zone, sister. We were wondering when you'd show up." He turned his head to Koei as he placed a hand on Lisa's shoulder. "I take it she wasn't much trouble, Koei?"

"Oh yeah, I ran away from him," Lisa admitted bluntly.

"Really?" Gabu smirked, curious.

"Regardless," Koei interrupted before the topic continued, "she arrived here unscathed. I expect you honor our agreement."

"Yes, yes. Kiyoshi will handle that transaction with you. You're dismissed."

Gabu snapped his fingers, and Kiyoshi saluted in response before instructing Koei to follow him. Koei gave a quick bow at Gabu, very briefly glancing at Lisa before he turned and followed Kiyoshi down the escalator. Lisa watched them leave, raising an eyebrow at what transpired.

"Koei answers to you?"

"Of course, I'm the ruler after all."

Lisa blinked, staring at her twin blankly for a few beats before she broke into a guffaw. "Yeah right!" she wheezed, almost doubling over with laughter. Gabu wore an unamused look, the Four Kings watched in awkward silence, and Taiga snickered quietly at everyone's reactions.

They let Lisa laugh some more until the girl was starting to tear up. "Whoo, that's a good one," she sighed breathlessly, wiping the corners of her eyes. She patted Gabu's hand that was still on her shoulder, as if it was assurance. Gabu pulled

"I'm serious."

"Snrrk, yeah. In your dreams."

Lisa took a deep breath as she stood straight again.

"So, where's the actual ruler of X-City?" she asked, looking around.

"I am the ruler of X-City."

"Yeah, yeah. It's only funny the first time."

"Lisa..."

Taiga placed a hand at Lisa's back. "It's true," he said seriously, and at that Lisa's grin dropped.

"For real?"

"Yes, for real."

Lisa put her hands up, lightly pushing away whoever was in contact with her and within her vicinity. She took a couple steps back, squeezing her eyes shut as she pressed her lips together.

"Look, I'm still processing everything else so I don't want to be thinking about anything that isn't true."

She pressed the palms of her hands together and then pointed at Shark Tooth. "Is Gabu really the currently ruler of X-City?" She was greeted with a series of 'yes'es, so she slowly put her pressed hands up to her lips and inhaled deeply.

"HOW?!"

It was Gabu's turn to have a laugh. "Th-there's no real way that an entire city, the supposed capital of the world no less, allowed a kid to run the place, right?! Right?!" Lisa was desperately looking around for confirmation, sending her twin even more into hysterics. Taiga sighed, and he figured it was time to move the topic along.

"It's getting late, how about we talk about this while the Four Kings prepare dinner?"

Taiga ushered his younger siblings towards the dining area, Lisa still babbling about her disbelief while Gabu was nearly losing his breath at his twin. The Four (well, at the moment three) Kings followed suit, diverging paths to head to the kitchen.

"God, I haven't laughed like this in a while!"

"Stop laughing!"

"Then stop talking!"

"I need clarifications!"

"Okay, let's sit down now."

Gabu sat at the end of the table, Lisa on his left and Taiga on the right. By then the twins had calmed down, Lisa pouting at her laughing brother. "You done?" Lisa grumbled, arms crossed while she glared at Gabu. The male redhead sighed, wiping a tear out of his eye.

"I wish I was faking that, whoo."

Gabu sighed again, leaning back on his seat with a satisfied smile. "But yes, to answer your question, this world adheres to my ideals clearly," he began. Lisa furrowed her brows, so Gabu continued.

"Strongest takes it all, need I say more? Shark Tooth is in control, thanks to me."

"So what? The whole city just let you be... mayor of the whole town?"

"King, more like."

Gabu rested his cheek on his hand propped on the chair. "Lovely, isn't it? I'm the most powerful biker, so we can do whatever we want. Knowing you, you'd love it here, too." Lisa pursed her lips. "No way you just took over in less than a day," she said thoughtfully.

"A day? Lis, we've been here for months now!"

"Hold up, months?! Last I saw everyone was just hours ago!"

The brothers gave each other knowing looks. "That proves it then. Time here in the X-Zone runs very differently from ours," Taiga said, a hand under his chin, "and for some reason drops MTB riders in varying locations."

"Still, I don't believe Shark Tooth's ruling X-City."

"Really now?"

"Really now."

Gabu huffed, closing his eyes. "Think about it, if I was lying why would us, the core team, be the only ones in the main room?" he asked rhetorically. "And if I was wrong about how the world works, shouldn't it be that there would be people actively trying to stop me?"

The look on Lisa's face spoke skeptical, but in it was some belief. "I suppose. People outside didn't look distressed," the girl spoke up. "It's just a funny thing to think about that they'd let a 10-year old run the place."

"That's a fair observation," Taiga agreed, "but it is what it is. We even have a decent following of particularly powerful bikers, and Gabu isn't the only one benefitting from this."

"That's what I was worried about!"

"You think so little of me, truly I'm wounded." Clear sarcasm on the second part.

Lisa rolled her eyes before she mirrored Gabu's position, unknowingly. "What about the ten emblems part?" she asked. She could smell the cooking food from the other room, and consequently felt her stomach growl because of it.

"Why the need to? That's only for those who wants to go home."

"What...?"

Taiga leaned back and crossed his arms. "You sound so shocked," he stated plainly. "Why go back? There's not much to go back home for any of us, anyways."

A heavy weight laid itself in the atmosphere. No one verbally agreed; they didn't need to, and if they did it just made it a more harder pill to swallow than it already is. Lisa looked down, pressing her lips to her closed hand as she let the silence drone on. The only noise was the bustling happening in the kitchen about a room away.

"Give this place some chance, I think you'd enjoy it here as much as we do," Taiga suggested. "I mean, you have a fairly good impression of X-City already."

Lisa smiled softly. "That's true... well, aside from a small few. Actually..."

She sat up, opting to put her elbows on the table this time to put her hands under her chin. "I'm curious. I've heard of Idaten Battles, but how do they actually work?" she asked. "I'm pretty sure it's more than just race someone to get their emblems."

Gabu slowly smirked, internally glad that the topic shifted into something more of his interest. "How about you try it for yourself?" Lisa cocked her head at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Simple, I challenge you to an Idaten Battle."

"What?! No, that's unfair. I don't even have my MTB with me!"

"We'll iron out the details tomorrow. It'll be a friendly race, no conditions set."

"Including the very crucial detail where I don't have my MTB?"

"Yes, just trust me and Tai."

Lisa had her face scrunched up, clearly hesitating. "Fine," she finally agreed. Normally it'd take her much more details and persuasion to be convinced, but the thought of getting to experience an Idaten Battle excited her. Finally, she'd get to see for herself why MTBs were so highly thought of in the X-Zone.

There was clattering of plates from the kitchen, and then not long after multiple pairs of shuffling feet. All three perked as the sound neared. Lisa grinned widely, knowing she only had one meal today.

Dinner with Shark Tooth was lively, basically everyone catching Lisa up some more about X-City and what had happened to them. At some point earlier ago Kiyoshi joined the rest of the Four Kings in the kitchen, confirming that he had paid Koei the promised sum once they were done cooking.

Afterwards Lisa was brought to the sleeping quarters, where everyone had rooms of their own. Of course she was given her own, which was adjacent to her brothers'. Inside was fairly well-furnished, and the full-sized bed almost felt tempting for the girl to just jump into right then and there.

"You're tired, we'll continue catching you up tomorrow morning," Taiga said, almost as if he read Lisa's mind.

"Yeah," Lisa yawned.

She took a stretch, bidding her brothers goodnight before she closed the door. She stood in place for a bit, feeling the exhaustion slowly creep over as she let her mind stay blank for a moment. She looked down at herself, mentally noting that she needed to take a bath first.

Wait, she thought, I don't have a change of clothes.

She groaned, not liking the idea of going to sleep filthy, but without clean clothes she'd rather do so compared to having to change back to her same clothes after a wash. Solving that internal conflict, she kicked her shoes off before heading over to the bed and finally let herself flop onto it.

Oh, wow. This is so soft.

Despite how comfortable the mattress was, or how the weighted blanket made her sleepier, Lisa couldn't sleep a wink. Sure, she was tired by all means but her mind wouldn't let her drift off. Too many things to think about, and with the silence around her she couldn't help but worry about tomorrow.

Lisa tossed and turned in an attempt to sleep, alas she couldn't. Defeated, she threw the blanket off and groaned. Staring at the ceiling, she couldn't tell how much time passed since she lied down, but screw it.

She got up and headed out (stopping for a second to consider putting back on her shoes but she opted not to) to go to Taiga's room. She wasn't sure whose door was which between the two that was pointed out earlier, so she hoped it was the closest to her. She gently knocked on the door.

"You awake?"

Lisa waited for an answer, or any sound of confirmation from the other side of the door. Hearing none, it would've made sense for someone to assume that the owner of the room was asleep, but this was Lisa and this was her brother; knocking was formalities, if the door wasn't locked she was going in anyways.

Twisting the doorknob proved that the door was indeed unlocked. Lisa carefully opened the door, keeping it from creaking and letting the light pour in the dark room so fast. She peered in, calling, "Taiga?" She could just make out an object being tossed up and down from the bed.

"Wrong brother."

"Eh, good enough. I'm coming in."

Gabu stopped tossing the object he had, slowly sitting up while Lisa made her way to him. Without needing to ask, he pulled up his cover and Lisa took space beside him. Normally he'd have to shuffle to make room for his sibling, but now his bed was fairly large so he didn't need to. Lisa grabbed a spare pillow, burying her face in it as she lied on her stomach.

"You're still up."

"No, really?"

Gabu glared at Lisa for her sarcastic remark. "I can still kick you out of my room," he threatened. Lisa scoffed, moving her head to give him a single eye glare before moving back. "I can't sleep," she admitted, "I'm tired but I can't fall asleep. I don't know why."

Gabu frowned. Oh great, emotional troubles.

"You... want to talk about it?"

"No, you suck at that. I'm now just here for company."

Gabu mentally shrugged; he preferred that anyways. He lied back down, setting the item, which was a rounded table decor, back on the nightstand where he found it. Somehow the company made the silence of the night much bearable to be in; much more tranquil, for the both of them.

"Why are you up, Gabu?"

"Eh, just thinking."

Lisa chuckled to herself, a quip she thought of staying in her mind because she knew that Gabu was serious about kicking her out if she pissed him off too much. "Same," she instead opted to reply. The two remained in relative silence, feeling the other shuffle every once a while as they attempted to fall asleep. It was working, at least for one of them.

Gabu glanced at his side, where Lisa was still lying on her stomach but was now snoring softly. He sighed deeply, looking up and letting his head sink into the pillow. He wouldn't admit out loud, but he was relived beyond words when it was reported that Lisa was found near the gates. After figuring out that essentially any MTB riders from Earth were being transported to the X-Zone, they were expecting at least one of them to be her, but after months of no reports he and Taiga began to worry.

Thankfully they didn't have to worry any more. Their sister was here.

==========

When morning came and Lisa's door was found ajar, Taiga knew where he needed to check. He carefully made his way into Gabu's room, and upon going in sure enough his younger siblings were in there sleeping soundly.

Lisa was on her stomach, hands tucked under her pillow, while Gabu was sprawled across the bed and a hand smacked on the back of his sister's head. It's most likely that the latter was the one that kicked the blanket off of them in his sleep, but it seemed that it wasn't much of a hindrance to their sleep.

The scene made Taiga chuckle in amusement. It was familiar to him, and it often happened when one had a bad dream or day, or simply wanted to be in the presence of the other. Sometimes, it ended with the three of them cramped in a single bed. None of them minded though, it was comforting knowing they weren't ever alone.

Taiga walked closer, but in just a few steps Lisa was awoken by him. The girl blinked awake, turning her head to the direction of the sound. "Morning," she yawned. Taiga waved at her before sitting at the foot of the bed. Lisa sat up and stretched.

"Sometimes I forget you're a light sleeper."

"Not the best thing when you and Gabu have your awfully loud game nights on Saturdays with the boys."

Taiga laughed quietly in reply. He looked over to Gabu, Lisa mirroring his movement.

"Should we wake him up?"

"Maybe make breakfast first. Want to help?"

"Yeah."

==========

Breakfast was significantly quieter but still definitely chatty. Everyone had just woken up, and by everyone it meant Gabu as he was the last one up. No one minded though that he didn't help with making breakfast: if one were to rank Shark Tooth when it came to cooking the twins were at the bottom of the list, but Lisa was second last by a large margin compared to Gabu, who had set something (and someone) on fire in the kitchen once or twice.

What was interesting though was after breakfast. Leaving the cleanup to the Four Kings, Gabu and Taiga brought Lisa to show her something. They entered a garage room, with the door still shut.

"Now behold," Gabu announced.

Lisa watched curiously as the door slowly opened up, and halfway through she could already see three MTBs inside, set up in a line. She only recognized one of them, the black one that belonged to Taiga. The other two was new to her: the rightmost one in dark red and maroon, and the middle one with two tones of grey and silver stripes.

She wasn't quite sure if it was just herself, but Lisa felt a powerful surge of energy emitting from the MTBs. It was equal parts interesting and terrifying, sensing that kind of power from something she'd known her whole life. She didn't even realize she was holding her breath in shock and awe until her brothers snapped her out of it.

"Wonderful, isn't it?"

Gabu put an arm over Lisa. "The most powerful MTBs in the world, and it's ours," he bragged, motioning to the said bikes in front of them. Lisa blinked, giving him a double take as the words sunk in.

"Ours?"

"Yes. Come here."

Gabu, with his arm still slung over Lisa's shoulders, brought Lisa closer to the MTBs with Taiga beside them. Up close she saw that the two new ones had names on their emblem, and Lisa assumed that it would be on the bike's frame as well.

"Bloody Fang" read the maroon bike.

"Shadow Angel" on the grey one.

How fitting for the both.

"Do I get dibs?"

"No, the middle one's yours."

"How come Tai doesn't get a new one, too?"

"I'm content with the state of my MTB, I didn't see the need to find a better one."

Lisa looked at him, unconvinced. "Regardless, we agreed that Shadow Angel would be yours should we find you here," Gabu jumped in, veering the topic away from Taiga. He moved Lisa in front of the mentioned bike, where Lisa got a better look at the emblem:

A gold emblem.

Lisa stared at the MTB before reaching out to grab one of the handles. She fiddled with her grip, mentally noting how it felt so comfortable for her to hold. It was odd, comparing it to how she experienced using her old one just yesterday. A large grin creeped on her face.

"Ooh, I can't wait to test this bad girl out."

"See? I told you she'd like it."

Taiga rolled his eyes at Gabu's gloating, but he had a smirk regardless. "I take it you're now ready for a race, then?" he asked, putting his arm on Lisa's head. Lisa pretended to think, but the huge excited look on her face and the lack of negative response to Taiga's action were giving away her answer.

"Well, now that I have this? Why not?"

==========

In the outskirts of X-City, the Samejima siblings and Four Kings stood atop a small hill. In front of them was a trail that led into a forest, and at the starting point were two Driver Launchers that was explained to Lisa was a starting boost used for most, if not all Idaten Battles. She wouldn't believe the crazy speed she was told it'd give though.

"Here." Taiga walked to Lisa with a gray full face helmet in hand.

Lisa took the helmet and gave it a whole look around. It was a far lighter shade than her MTB, had yellow tinted visor glasses and black accent stripes at the sides. "It may not look like much, but that's a Dash Set," Taiga explained. Lisa looked at him, lips pursed to one side as she spun the helmet in her hands once.

"I was going to be sarcastic about safety gears, but now I genuinely have to ask what's this I'm holding now."

"Putting a Dash Set on gives you a full body gear."

Lisa narrowed her eyes at her older brother. "Between this and the 100kmph Driver Launcher I'd rather believe the second," she quipped. She gave the helmet another look around, checking if there was anything else inside that would supplement Taiga's claims. There was none.

"Really wish there's logical explanation for me to give you about it, but there isn't. It just... does. I mean, look at Gabu."

The mentioned boy tossed his lavender helmet, catching it with one hand and then putting it on. Instantly static and smoke covered him, and just as quickly they dissipated. Now in place was someone in a full biker suit the same color as the helmet, with black guards, gloves, and shoes. Lisa gawked in disbelief, eyes wide as saucers.

"H-huh..?! What?!"

"Showoff."

"You set it up, Tai, I don't wanna hear it."

Gabu walked to the two. "Now put the helmet on, I wanna race," he said. Lisa kept glancing between him and her Dash Set. She turned the helmet to put it on, but she immediately retracted an inch into moving it to her face. This caused Gabu to groan frustratedly.

"Put it on already."

"Give me a moment!"

"It's just a helmet!"

"Can you blame me for being untrusting?!"

"Do it before I shove it on your head myself."

"Try it and I'll shove it up your—"

Taiga broke the twin's argument by swiftly and wordlessly yanking the unworn Dash Set and putting it on his sister. Lisa yelped as the item was forcefully placed on her head, the flash and smoke going unnoticed in her panic.

...

Silence. Lisa was frozen for a few seconds, like a cat that was put into a harness. She slowly looked over her gloved hands, flexing them as she made a feel for the suit that she was now magically wearing. Seeing that she was fine, she turned to Taiga and delivered a quick punch to his arm.

"Ow! You're welcome."

Lisa rolled her eyes before walking to the Driver Launcher where her new MTB was, Gabu doing the same for Bloody Fang. She mounted her MTB, ready to start the race. She looked over to Gabu, who was also looking back at her. The Four Kings manned the levers of the Launchers, and Lisa watched from the corner of her eyes as the indicators' lights started lighting up one by one from the bottom up.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

The countdown started, but just as it hit one, Gabu spoke up again.

"Try not to get whiplash."

"What—?"

"Idaten GO!"

Both of them blasted off. Being the first timer, Lisa launched gracelessly, nearly tumbling over as she tried to keep balance. She made series of noises that matched her experience; screaming at first, then grunting as she tried to rebalance, then finally a rapid breathing to ground herself as she adjusted to the speed.

"Not bad!" Gabu laughed.

After fully adjusting, Lisa was able to catch up to Gabu fairly quick just before they plunged into the forest. Gabu wasn't surprised at all with this, he knew his sister enough that she was capable of dealing of whatever setbacks during the race, but he decided against pulling dirtier tricks on her.

Maybe in a future race.

The forest trail led to a long series of hairpin curves, something Lisa scowled at. She was by no means a novice biker, but zigzag tracks was something she was weak at. Hops, pumps, slopes, give her that and she could take it, but quick sharp turns, especially in succession, was what hindered her from moving to something as complex as trial courses.

"Aw, come on!" she whined.

Even if they used the same technique, Gabu was more confident in his movements hence earning him a bigger gap in his lead. Lisa growled, trying her best to follow the trails. She tried to stay close to the inner curves, but she couldn't turn fast enough to achieve that.

Though, as soon as that part of the trail was over Lisa didn't hesitate to pedal faster and catch up, diving downhill in a pace she wouldn't have imagined herself doing, but somehow she biked with relative ease despite the speed. Could it be because of the bike or the X-Zone? She didn't know, and at the moment it didn't matter to her because right now what she wanted was to win the race.

The downhill path ended and it was now a level dirt road, with the occasional natural obstacles like boulders, trunks, and potentially deep puddles. Lisa managed to catch up, now side to side with her twin. Gabu hummed, impressed.

"You're learning fast."

"Oh please, I'm not starting from scratch."

"But it feels different, no?"

"Yeah. It's... easier? I dunno."

Lisa shrugged, keeping her eyes ahead to avoid tripping. She didn't slow down though, still aware that this was still a race. "Well, don't get ahead of yourself because you haven't seen the best of it yet," Gabu warned. Lisa scoffed, a subtle sign of challenge.

"Really now? Go ahead then, show me what you got, brother!"

"Gladly."

Despite the ominous tone Lisa wasn't at all intimidated by it as she was used to Gabu playing threat. She was met with confusion though when she watched him leap up into the air despite no obstacles ahead, but that confusion quickly morphed into shock when for some reason Gabu was enveloped in a ball of pinkish-red glow. The energy earlier upon seeing the MTBs for the first time was felt again, but somehow this time it felt more powerful... terrifying.

"Bloody Impact!"

In a split second, the ball of energy shrunk then burst into an explosion as soon as Gabu landed. Powerful gusts of wind picked up dust, and before Lisa could event comprehend what happened she was thrown off by the blow and sending her and Shadow Angel flying.

Unfortunately her landing wasn't the best, tumbling through the rough terrain for a hot second before hitting her head and shoulder against a tree and falling at the base of it.

Lisa moaned in pain, her ears ringing both from the impact and the explosion. She tried to get up with her forearms, but her hit shoulder stung in pain caused her to stay down. She couldn't process any sound around her, the ringing in her ears still too much. Looking around didn't do much either, as hitting her head made her see double.

All that she saw was a blur of pale color coming closer, and as she reached out to it suddenly it all went black.

==========

Posted: February 04, 2024

Okay let me nerd out a bit about the emblem design

I wanted the design to feel canon to the show, so I looked at the other MTBs with names, see their designs, and I noticed that they could be separated into three categories:

1. Earth Bikes — Flame Kaiser, Neptune, Thunder Emperor, Bloody Fang, and Taiga's MTB. Their common design is that they only have 2 colors, the main color and the font/design color. At most they use gradient, i.e. Bloody Fang's backdrop. These are the simplest designs out of the 3

2. X-Zone Bikes — Hammerhead and Aeroscissors. These 2 bikes have more stylized backdrops, most notable in Aeroscissors, and bears 3 colors instead of just 2.

3. Imperial Bikes — Imperial X, Imperial Tiger, and Imperial Dragon. Has the most complicated backdrops and always has a metallic shade. This emblem design always has red eyes of the represented creature and the 2-letter abbreviation of said creature behind the word "Imperial", except for X. Interestingly the only design type to use Capitalization instead of ALL CAPS

So it would stand to reason that Lisa would have an Earth Bike emblem design. Since she's a twin, obviously I wanted it to be similar to Bloody Fang so that became my main point of reference, but I also want to pay homage to Taiga since his emblem has a pretty cool design too, lots of broken, sharp lines in contrast to Bloody Fang's 3 whole shapes

I also wanted the design to display angel wings, like how Bloody Fang's is shaped like a predator's jaw. So I looked up for angel wings silhouettes that I can break down into shapes.

At first I put the wings through the name, which all bikes except Aeroscissors has a fairly simple font, as I wanted something to be happening on top like Bloody Fang, but it looked too weird so I opted to put a halo instead.

The halo went thru like 3 iterations. First was the typical halo, but it looked too 3D for a flat style. Then was a spiked halo, but finally I chose the double ring. The halo also looks like it connects to the triangle at the center, like a guard of a dagger

Overall, I wanted Shadow Angel's emblem to be similar yet different from Bloody Fang. The shapes are more rounded and smooth, but still has a bit of an edge to it. The chosen font (Boston Angel) is not in bold, and finally the backdrop's gradient is opposite (the darker color starts at the bottom instead of the top)