Song Of Hope: I know I shouldn't start another story, and I could've swore that I promised in one of my other ones not to start another story again, but I feel that I have to say this. OC's are practically taking over the fandom. Every time I go to the site, I see stories requesting OC's, with OC's, revolving completely around the OC's instead of the main characters! I'm ashamed to say I've been doing this too. I won't discontinue any of those stories, where I have done that but I'm just going to write more stories without OC's, because I've gone too far, like others. OC's are great, but when the fandom starts revolving around the OC's and their love interests only, and starts disregarding other characters, then it's going too far. I hope no one who has OC's will be mad at me for this, and don't discontinue your stories, but keep this in mind when you start a new story. Let the OC be involved, but don't have it revolve around them. I know one of my earliest stories was like this, but I know now that I shouldn't have done that.

On a different note, still OC's related, but still different, I have an Ask Blog on Tumblr, called Ask Song Of Hope's OCs, but I need an artist to draw the photosets for me, because I can't download any software, scan any pictures because our scanner doesn't work, or all around use it, so anyone who wants to is welcome to be my artist, after I see some pictures of course to determine if the art style will work. R&R

It's been two months since it happened. It started with people getting really sick, with people getting something that seemed like flu. Then, many of them started collapsing, falling into comas. Their hearts started slowing down very fast, and then their breathing became extremely shallow. After a while, they stopped breathing. Many of them rose up again after being brought down to the morgues. In there, they started attacking the people who had brought them, or, if they rose up quickly enough, their own family that was grieving their deaths while still at their bedside. They had no emotional response; no sign of intelligence, all they seemed to know was hunt and kill.

This was the start of the Zombie Apocalypse.

There's been speculation of how this happened, but no one knows for sure. All they know is that it started in multiple places, and it's hard to determine which place is the source. Some say it came with the birds, others say it came with the fish, but all I know is that the world is no longer how it used to be.

My name is Madoka Amano, and this is how I survived. Actually, this is how a group of us survived, so it really isn't my story. In fact, some parts I got from others. I won't start at the very beginning, because no one knows exactly how this started, but I'll start close to it.

A Long Time Ago

I was working at my dad's store, the B-Pit, when a very sick looking person walked in. He was a kid with blue hair and brown eyes, and I knew him.

"Hey Akira, what's wrong?" He came up to the counter and put his Bey on it.

"I need some repairs done for my Bey." He wasn't usually without Osamu or Takashi, so I asked him.

"Hey, where are Osamu and Takashi? You usually hang out with them all the time."

"They weren't feeling too well. A guy sneezed on us earlier, and after a while, we felt sick too. We washed our hands, but it must've gotten on our faces and we didn't notice, because none of us were feeling very well. They both headed home." I grabbed a latex glove from behind the counter (I've seen Beys in some pretty gross conditions before and have learned to be extra cautious, such as when they come in after a bully throws them into a sewer line) and put my hand on his forehead after putting it on. Through the latex, I could feel the incredible amount of heat coming from him.

"You should too. You have a fever." I took my hand off. "It's probably that new flu virus that's going around." I gave him a wink and a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, I'll fix up your Bey. Just go home and get some rest." He nodded.

"Okay Madoka, see you later." He turned around and left. I knew that sometimes, people leave viruses on things they touched, so I went and grabbed some cleaner to clean off the door so that other customers wouldn't get sick and so that I wouldn't get sick. After doing that I cleaned off where he had put his Bey, using gloves to hold it, and then put it back down on another glove.

"Should I clean it first, or fix it? I don't want to get anything on my equipment, but I always save the cleaning for last. I guess I'll just have to make an exception." So, holding it with another glove, I carried it downstairs to the cleaning station, which didn't just clean dirt. It also had some disinfectant as well, just incase there was something like bugs in them that could carry bacteria or viruses, which has happened before.

After doing that, I carefully fixed the Bey. All together, I had been doing this for a few hours, maybe about 5 hours, before someone ran into the store. I lifted up my goggles and looked towards the stairs.

"Coming!" I took off my apron and walked up the stairs. A very fear filled Kenta stood there. For a reason I didn't know at that time, he was locking the door. "Hey Kenta, what's up?"

"We've gotta hide!" I looked confused.

"What? Hide? Why?" He kept looking out the window, seeming to be terrified of something.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I folded my arms over my chest.

"A few years ago, I wouldn't have believed that there was an ancient, evil god that thrived on darkness that wanted to take over the world lived in a Bey and that a rag tag team of Bladers was the only thing stopping him."

"You'll never believe me. This is far weirder than Nemesis, and much more dangerous." I raised an eyebrow.

"Kenta, are you feeling okay? Are you sure you don't have that same sickness that Akira has?" He looked terrified.

"Akira was in here?" She nodded.

"Yeah. He looked really sick. He brought his Bey and asked me to do some repairs. I sent him home because he looked so sick. I think he has that new flu virus." Kenta couldn't believe it.

"Akira? No, no, no, no, no! What about Osamu and Takashi?"

"He said that they all had it. Why?" He walked straight up to me.

"Did he touch you, like your arm, your hand, anything?" I couldn't figure out what Kenta was getting at.

"Why does it matter?"

"Because you could be sick too!" I saw the concern in Kenta's eyes and sighed.

"Nothing short of his Bey and the door, which I cleaned because I don't want other people getting sick." He nodded.

"That's good. And what about his Bey? Did you touch it?"

"Not with my bare skin. I grabbed a couple of latex gloves and used that to take it to the cleaning station. I didn't actually touch it until it was all cleaned off." He sighed in relief.

"That's good." He looked me straight in the eyes. "Madoka, Akira was sick, but not in the way you think." I was very confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw on the news that people were being attacked. But, the thing is, the dead were attacking these people. After they had died from what everybody thinks is a new strain of flu, they rose up again and attacked whoever was in sight. If those people managed to survive, then they went through the same thing." My eyes widened.

"Kenta, you make this sound like-"

"We're in the middle of a Zombie Apocalypse." I shook my head.

"No, that's completely unscientific! Zombies can't exist, because the people die! They can't just come back to life because their cells don't work anymore! Their brains don't function, and their heats don't beat! They can't even move! How can there be a Zombie Apocalypse?!"

"Madoka, I just saw a zombie! After I saw that news report, I thought it was lying, but then I saw someone walking towards me. They were pale, with blood on their mouth, and walking weirdly. As soon as it saw me, it started chasing after me! It was making inhuman sounds! After I realized what it was, I ran like crazy, until it fell and split its head open on a rail! It had black mush, not blood!" I couldn't believe it. I shook my head.

"No, that can't be true! Akira told me that Osamu and Takashi had the same virus after some guy sneezed on them! This can't be what's happening!"

"I don't want to believe it either!" He started tearing up. "You think I want to believe any of this? I don't want to find out that my friends have turned into zombies! I don't want to lose them!" He grabbed his head, shaking it back and forth. "I can't lose my friends! I can't, I can't, I can't!" He collapsed in a pile crying. My eyes softened as I took him up in my arms.

"Don't worry. Everything's gonna be alright. I'm sure it was just your imagination. They're all fine, they'll get better, and you can have amazing Bey battles with them."

"But that's a lie. It's not gonna be alright. They're gone, and I'll never see them again!" There was a bang on the door.
"Madoka!" We both looked at the door. There stood Ginga, freaking out. I stood up.

"Hold on." I unlocked the door and let him in. Like Kenta, he locked the door again.

"There are zombies everywhere! I was being chased by a couple of them!" I shook my head.

"No, that can't be! I didn't believe it when Kenta said it," I looked back at him. He was still crying himself over his loss of Osamu, Takashi, and Akira, "but I didn't believe it. Now you're telling me too?" He nodded.

"It's insane!" I took out my laptop and opened it up.

"This can't be true! Zombies can't exist! It's too unscientific!" I looked up some news broadcasts and found one.

"Citizens of Japan, and anyone else who might be watching, this is an emergency broadcast. This new virus that was originally thought to be some sort of flu is really a zombie virus! For your own safety, stay away from anyone who has been exhibiting flu like symptoms. These could be possible victims. No one knows how the first victims got this virus, but it's been found that they have R0 of 5, which means they infect that many people before they become zombies."

I closed out of it.

"No, this can't be happening!" I used my laptop to contact team Wang Hu Zhong while Ginga kept crying to comfort Kenta without bursting into tears himself. Da Xiang was up on the screen.

"Madoka? What's up?"

"Da Xiang, are there any reports of zombie attacks in China?" He looked confused.

"Zombies? What are you talking about?" A voice came from off screen.

"SEAL THE TEMPLE!" Da Xiang looked off towards the left.

"Chao Xin, what are you doing?"

"I was on a date when I was suddenly attacked by something! It bit the girl I was with, and then I realized that it was a zombie! It ate my date before I could do anything, so I had no choice but to run! Multiple ones were chasing me! I had to cut the ropes on the bridge connecting the mountain to the cliffs, but if one of them finds one of the foot routes, then we're totally screwed!"

"I understand." He looked back at me. "It looks like we are having our own situation. What's going on there?"

"It seems that Kenta, Ginga, and I are perfectly fine." Chao Xin came towards the screen.

"Do any of them have bite marks?" I looked over towards the two.

"Did either of you get bitten?" Ginga looked over at me.

"No, I didn't." He turned to face the small boy crying. "Kenta?" He shook his head.

"No, I didn't." I looked back at the screen.

"None of us were bit." Chao Xin sighed in relief.

"That's good." His face became more serious. "Make sure that anyone who decides to join your guys isn't bitten. If they are, then they're infected." I nodded.

"I understand how the virus works. I've read enough books. Don't worry, we'll stay safe." Da Xiang nodded.

"Stock up on your food, as well as other supplies like batteries. We have a farm portion of the temple, and we do raise animals, so we'll be perfectly able to sustain ourselves."

"Well, we don't have that at the B-Pit." Da Xiang looked concerned.

"Where are you at the B-Pit?"

"At the front. Why?"

"Get to somewhere else! The entire front is made of glass, which means they can see you! You'll be killed! They may be dead, but zombies are incredibly strong." I turned to face Ginga and Kenta. Kenta had fallen asleep from crying.

"We have to get to the back of the store! There's no windows there, they won't see us!" Ginga nodded as he picked up Kenta and carried him to the back. I carried my laptop with me. "What are you guys going to do now?"

"As Chao Xin suggests, we'll seal the temple. We'll feed the students we have here, and if any survivors come our way, we'll take them in. Beylin Temple as a variety of different weapons. It was thought at one time that if you could battle while being attacked that you could be stronger, but we now know that it does not do anything but it helps concentration, although it is too dangerous. We have kept the weapons, and we'll use those to protect ourselves." I nodded.

"That's good. We don't have any weapons here, but maybe I can make some."

"If you have any wood, you should try and make a bow and some arrows. They may be inaccurate, but with enough training, they can be deadly weapons that you can use to kill them, as well as weapons that have retrievable ammo." I nodded.

"Good to know."

"I need to announce this to the rest of the temple. Many of them many try and leave to get to their families, but I'll try and keep them calm. Good-bye for now." He signed out. I contacted Team Lovushka next. Aleksei answered.

"Madoka, have you seen what's been going on?!" I nodded.

"That's what I'm calling about."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the B-Pit and in the back so they won't see me." He shook his head.

"That's no good! You'll be trapped. You have to get out of there, get to somewhere safer! Traveling is better than staying stationary unless you're under the right conditions."

"Where are you?"

"We're still at the space program center here in Russia. We'll be fine, because the doors in are all reinforced steel, not to mention our lock down has covered all windows. We have a generator as well as solar panels to keep us up and going, and we have enough freeze dried food to last us the next 30 years, as well as an air filtration system that uses some trees on the top of the building plus a filter to create an environment we can breathe in for over 100 years. We'll be perfectly fine, because we're under the right conditions. Since there's also multiple people here, we'll be able to sty sane. Even now, Lera and Nowaguma are working on ways to keep us sane. There's helping create complex programs for entertainment." I nodded.

"I wish we had somewhere like that here."

"The WBBA Headquarters in Japan should be safe enough, assuming no one there is infected. Even so, the security team should be able to take care of anyone who would try to come in that's infected or a full on zombie. If you can contact Mr. Hagane, I'm sure he'll be able to organize a way to get you there." I nodded.

"Alright then. I'll contact them now."

"Good luck." He disappeared off my screen. Heading Aleksei's warning, I contacted the WBBA headquarters here in Japan. Ryusei and Hikaru both appeared on the screen.

"Madoka, are you safe?" I nodded.

"We're at the B-Pit right now. We'll be alright for the time being." He suddenly looked even more concerned.

"We?" I nodded.

"Ginga and Kenta are here with me as well." Hikaru started tapping on a pad.

"I'm sending directions to one of the automated helicopters to come to your location and get you. We have others on the search to retrieve others who are not infected, as well as some smaller AI machines to retrieve food that's non-perishable, as well as other supplies such as batteries and weapons for our emergency supplies. Get to the roof where it can pick you up, as well as make sure no zombies can follow you." I nodded. I turned to Ginga, who was behind me.

"Did you hear any of that?" He nodded.

"Yeah." I turned back to my laptop.

"We'll be at the top in a little bit." Ryusei nodded.

"Make sure my son is safe." I nodded.

"Don't worry, I will." The screen went blank. Ginga seemed mad at that.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" I smiled.

"Nothing Ginga, he's just worried about you. How's Kenta doing?" He looked down at the boy in his arms.

"He's still sleeping, but otherwise, he's fine." I nodded.

"Good. I'm gonna grab some stuff." I started walking out, but Ginga blocked my way.

"Madoka, we don't have time for you to pack a suit case."

"I'm just gonna shove my stuff into my old back-pack! You really think I'm gonna wear the same thing every day?!"

"Oh, okay." He got out of my way.

"There's a staircase to get directly to the roof behind the third door on your right. Take Kenta and get up there. It's a direct path, so I'll go a different way to get stuff." I started heading to the front so I could get to the stairs, but outside the front window was a horde of zombies. I backed up and pressed my back against the wall so they wouldn't see me. Luckily, they didn't. I couldn't imagine how there could be so many already until I realized that the thought that it was a new type of flu had been going on for a while. After they passed by, I ran so I could get up the stairs before any more zombies came by and saw me.

I know that I said that I was just grabbing some clothes, but I also knew that there wasn't much food, so I went to the kitchen and grabbed one of the reusable grocery bags (the durable ones with the solid plastic handles, rather than the flimsy ones) and shoved it full with non-perishable foods like cereal, canned foods, and dried stuff. I also grabbed some stuff out of the "junk" drawer, such as extra batteries, a couple of flashlights, and a box of matches.

After I did that, I did what I had originally intended to and went to my room to grab some clothes. I also grabbed my hygiene stuff too (I had absolutely no intention of going through this whole thing without brushing my teeth or at least washing my hair, even if I would have to do it far less often). But when I looked out the window, I couldn't help but scream.

Song Of Hope: Well, here's chapter 1 of this. I promise that I won't copy from the other Zombie Apocalypse stories already on here. R&R