Welcome, all, to my Beyblade story, Lion's Pride! It's been a while since I picked up writing again, but I recently rewatched most of the Beyblade original series, which inspired me to write this! I hope you enjoy it!
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They say home is where the start is. In my case, it is where I end this journey, only to start another. To be home again...I will be happy. I can finally breathe, relax.
I suppose I should tell them I'm on my way.
"Lee, look!"
An ecstatic Mariah darted into the room with a message in hand. She showed Lee the message with a wide grin on her face. "It's a letter from Damon!"
"Damon?" Lee was taken aback. "That's impossible!"
Damon Smith was a childhood friend of Lee and Mariah's. While he never truly acquainted himself with the rest of the White Tigers, Damon was always fond of the two of them, and grew especially close with Mariah over the years. The two were inseperable, and it was through Mariah that Damon developed a passion for Beyblading.
Damon, much like Ray, had left the confines of the village in the pursuit of knowledge. They say he left for some parts of Canada, but he never really explained where he was going. He hadn't messaged home in quite some time...and Lee was starting to get concerned about whether or not he was even alive.
"What...what does it say?" Lee inquired.
"I don't know, I haven't opened it." Mariah replied. She quickly ripped open the envelope containing the letter and began to read it aloud. "Dear Mariah..."
He looks over the mountains onto a beautiful sunset. All seems peaceful.
I hope you've been doing well. From the day I have embarked on this journey in pursuit of knowledge and training in my own Beyblading skills, I have learned much. But there has not been a day where my fond memories of home escape me. Every day, the knowledge that I will one day return home to have yourself and Lee welcome me with open arms grants me solace, and helps me sleep at night.
He is in a crowded city street. Horns are honking in the busy intersection as traffic congests. He looks to the full moon, and remembers the day he and his friends gazed upon the stars on a beautiful moonlight night.
With every passing day, I learn, I improve, and I struggle.
A fierce Beybattle between he and his opponent is being waged. Neither side giving an inch. He gives his all into his final attack. His Beyblade glows a fierce forest green, and his opponent is knocked out of the stadium. The surrounding crowd of bystanders cheers as he is declared victorious.
There have been...developments, so to speak. You of all people should understand.
A figure sits with him as he lays next to a beautiful oak tree in the field. He looks out onto the prairie.
But through all my accomplishments, my victories, and the fruits I have bore, there has been equal, if not greater suffering.
His blade slows to a crawl. He growls at the three figures who stand menacingly against him. He is knocked to the ground, and he is unable to get up. The rain soaks him as the figures draw towards him.
But I have endured through this; there is no journey without peaks and valleys.
He grins at the morning light as he looks out onto what appears to be an airport.
"That's why I'm writing this letter to let you know that I'm coming home!" She embraced Lee happily.
"Damon..." Lee said. "I can't believe it, he's finally coming home!"
Most people like to pass the time on an airplane by sleeping, watching a movie, or listening to music on an MP3 player. Instead, Damon decided to spend his time meditating on the plane with his Beyblade between his fingers. The blade was a dark green in color, and was firmly gripped around by his thumb and index fingers. He didn't move an inch the entire ride.
It was a far cry from the eager young boy who grew up in the small White Tiger village. Much like his friends, he was a fun-loving kid who loved to Beyblade. But he was not without his secrets, his skeletons. His past, who he was, and his journey would all come to haunt him soon enough.
"..."
He broke his concentration to check his peripherals. Nobody suspicious showed up, but a feeling of dread crept up his spine like a centipede. He couldn't shake the feeling like he was being watched, despite being at the very back of the plane, and sitting next to an overweight tourist who was fast asleep.
He shook off the thought of it and looked out the window. They were flying over China now, meaning his destination was close. He took a deep breath before resuming his meditations.
"...You promised me! You promised me this was all over!"
"...I suppose I lied to you, then."
No, it was the right choice. There was no way he could let them use the one he cared for the most against him.
"..."
He clenched his Beyblade. A response ripped through him like a dagger.
"!"
He looked down. His blade had fallen out of his hands. He reached down to pick it up, and looking at the bit, had a strange feeling it was calling out to him.
Damon's Bit Beast was the creature known as the Galadillo. He hadn't connected to it much, but something struck him there. It was as if Galadillo was trying to speak out to him.
"...What are you getting at?"
"Huh? Whatya mean I-?"
Not having realized he said that out loud, he looked over to the passenger next to him. Damon apparently woke him up.
"I...I apologize, sir." he quickly said.
"Eh, it's nobideal." the man muttered before settling back into his sleep.
He was a ball of nerves and he knew it. Everything was putting him on edge. He was getting out of the hell he'd wrapped himself up in. Everything about that facility, that Beyblade, that man, was behind him. Yet everytime he reminded himself of that, that face, with that naive little smile, pierced through his concentration. He couldn't shake it, couldn't help but regret that perhaps he'd made a mistake. Every second he spent thinking about it made his blood boil. Had he really done the right thing, leaving them all behind? Perhaps he should have just stayed in the village. Then none of this ever would have-
"Passengers, we will be landing in 5 minutes. Please secure your seatbelts for descent." a voice rang out.
Shaking his head, he fastened his seatbelt and let the whir of the engines drown out his thoughts. He thought only of returning to Mariah, and seeing Lee again, and that put a smile on his face.
A few seats ahead, a figure was staring at Damon. He grinned as he fastened his seatbelt.
"Damon!"
She ran up to him and gave him a huge hug. Damon smiled meekly and let out a soft chuckle.
"It's...good to see you, Mariah. It's been...too long." Damon said.
"...Damon."
"Lee..."
Damon and Lee stared at each other for a couple seconds before giving each other a firm handshake.
"I'm glad you're back, my friend." Lee said.
"I'm...glad to be back, Lee." Damon replied.
"So, how was your trip? Did you meet any new people? What Beyblading skills did you learn?" Mariah began the rapid-fire inquiry. "Did you see us compete at the Chinese World Qualifiers? Knowing you, I bet you had front-row seats to the whole thing, didn't you?"
"...Mariah..."
"?"
Lee and Mariah both stopped and noticed tears flowing down Damon's face.
"Damon..."
Both of them reached to comfort him, but Damon wrapped his arms around Mariah and buried his face in her shoulder.
"Damon, it's okay..." Mariah said.
"..." Lee was at a loss for words. He expected Damon to celebrate his homecoming, not mourn it.
The three journeyed home, but as much as Mariah asked, Damon would not budge an inch, remaining silent in response to every question he was asked. Lee didn't know what to do; he never knew Damon to be the silent type. Something was up, and he was going to figure out what.
When the three arrived at Damon's house, Damon said nothing as he moved to enter his house. Lee, however, interrupted him.
"Damon." Lee said.
Damon turned to Lee with a listless look in his eyes.
"Lee, listen..." Damon began.
"No, Damon." Lee interrupted him. "Something's up. You've changed."
"..." Damon clenched his fist.
"What happened to the Damon we grew up with?" he yelled. "You used to be so happy all the time! Now you go halfway across the world and come back a shell of the man you used to be! What the hell happened to you?"
"...It's...a long story, Lee. Right now isn't a good time." Damon said.
"But Damon!" Lee persisted. "I thought we were good friends! I want to help you, but I can't do that if you won't tell me what's wrong!"
"Listen, Lee." Damon said. "I want to tell you what's wrong, but I need time to-"
"Damon!"
"!"
The three darted their eyes over to Damon's rooftop, where a shadowy figure stood. None of them could recognize the figure, but when he jumped down from the roof, Damon recognized him.
"Andrew." Damon grunted. "Aren't you tired of chasing me around?"
"Never! Hunting chumps like you is what makes my job fun!" The man, identified as Andrew, withdrew a shooter.
"You followed me all the way to China just to Beybattle me?" Damon whined, drawing out his shooter as well.
"You make it sound so simple, as always." Andrew sneered. "Let's go, right now!"
"Damon, who is this guy?" Lee asked.
"Lee. Long story." Damon exclaimed. "I'll tell you when I'm finished mopping the floor wi-"
"COME ON!" Andrew roared, letting it rip and releasing his Beyblade to battle.
"!" Damon sprung into action, releasing his Beyblade as well.
The two beelined for each other, colliding instantly and ricocheting off each other. The two recovered and then went in for again, but Damon feinted the attack.
"You won't best me!" Andrew declared.
"Are you sure?" Damon asked calmly. "It wouldn't be the first time you've claimed that."
"Rrr..." he growled. "Let's go, Shiraptor!"
His Beyblade glowed a fierce yellow color, and a large bird-like Bit Beast emerged from it.
"Whoa...!" Lee exclaimed.
"His Bit Beast is gigantic!" Mariah yelled. "Be careful, Damon!"
"Hmph." Damon grunted, unimpressed.
"Black Gale attack!"
Andrew's Beyblade conjured a gigantic black tornado that sped towards Damon's blade.
"Now, Galadillo!" Damon roared.
Damon's Beyblade glowed a deep green color, and from it an armadillo with a steel-spiked shell emerged.
"Wrecking Ball Offense attack!"
His Beyblade sped towards the wall of the entrance to his home, then rode the wall.
"Now!"
Damon's blade jumped from the wall right into the vortex of Andrew's Black Gale attack.
"Oh, no!" Mariah yelled.
"What is he thinking?" Lee added.
However, rather than being jostled around by the fierce winds Shiraptor was conjuring, Galadillo dove straight down into Andrew's blade. As the two collided, Andrew's blade was sent flying, the storm subsided, and Andrew's blade slowly stopped spinning, while Damon's was still going strong.
"Darn you!" He withdrew his blade and ran off. "The Gallant Thorns aren't through with you yet, Damon!"
Damon drew his blade back to his hand. He'd never seen Galadillo pull off that attack so perfectly! That technique took almost his entire journey to perfect, and even then, during his battle with Jacob he-
"Damon, that was awesome!" Lee exclaimed.
"Yeah, you sure showed him!" Mariah said.
"Uhh...yeah, I guess you're right." Damon said. A smile finally formed on his face.
"Now that's the Damon I know!" Lee said, wrapping his arm around Damon's shoulder.
"Heh." Damon chuckled. "Thanks, Lee."
"No problem, dude."
"Damon..." Mariah began. "Just who was that guy, though?"
"Mariah, I don't...want to explain right now."
"..." Mariah and Lee both remained silent.
"Look, I know you guys must have a lot of questions, but I need time!" Damon said. "I want to tell you, and I will, but this isn't the time or place! Besides, I want to tell all of you guys what happened. Where's Ray, anyway?"
"That's...another long story." Lee said.
"So, I'll tell you what." Mariah began. "If you tell us what happened on your trip, we'll tell you what happened with Ray."
"..." Damon initially said nothing before speaking up. "Can we meet up tomorrow? It's too late out to tell you both now."
"I understand. Let's meet tomorrow morning at your place. That sound good?" Lee asked.
"Indeed, sounds good to me."
"Great!" Mariah exclaimed. "Then we'll see you tomorrow, Damon!"
"Take care, Damon." Lee said.
"You, too, Lee." Damon replied.
The two began walking off, but Mariah turned around and returned to Damon.
"Damon..." Mariah said. "You're okay, right?"
"Of course, Mariah." Damon replied. "There's a lot to talk about, though."
"So I guess we'll have to have one of our one-on-one sessions again." she replied, ever so coy.
"I suppose so, m'dear." Damon laughed. "It'll be just like old times. I certainly miss those days."
Mariah chuckled. "I'm really glad to have you back, Damon. You and I...have a lot of catching up to do." She winked at him.
"Oh, stop." he persisted. "If you keep talking like that, you're going to give Lee the wrong idea!"
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!" she retorted.
"Sh-shut up!" Damon flustered. "How dare you bring up ancient history like that!"
She chuckled before running over to Lee to return to him. "Good-bye, Damon!"
"H-hey!" Damon exclaimed, but it was too late; the two were gone.
"So..." He looked at Galadillo. "I guess it's good to be home..."
"You mean you failed?"
Andrew quivered in front of the figure before him; two other figures stood off to the side. One of them spoke up.
"Hardly a surprise, given how bad he is."
"Shut up, Cal!" Andrew retorted.
"Both of you, stop it." the figure in front of Andrew interrupted. "Andrew, you may very well have compromised the mission! I know you and Damon have history, but you have to understand that this operation must be discreet! If we, the Gallant Thorns, are to retrieve what is rightfully ours, we must make sure that we catch Damon off-guard!"
"I...I understand. I'm sorry..." Andrew said silently.
"Sorry won't cut it, Andrew!" the man spoke up. "We're on his turf now. He's resourceful enough as is without his friends helping him out."
"..." One of the other figures let out a sigh.
"But don't worry. We've tracked him down, and he'll never escape us. And soon enough, when he least expects it, the Gallant Thorns will have what rightfully belongs to us!"
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So, we've learned that Damon is a character with quite the dark past, and a number of people who want something from him. What's in store for him, and for the rest of the White Tigers? Subscribe to the story to find out what happens next!