Me: I've wanted to write an adventure story for Metal Fight Beyblade for some time now, and here it is! Hyoma, Hikaru and Tsubasa are my three favourite characters so this story will feature them with a few appearances from Yu and prehaps Kenta and Sora.

Tsubasa: (dryly) Oh great!

Me: Oh come on! It won't be that bad!

Hikaru: Oh yeah? You've only got to read the first chapter title to know one of us is going to end up as a torture dummy!

Me: Stop complaining! Who's handling the disclaimer?

Hyoma: Sharkey52 doesn't own Metal Fight Beyblade, only her own OC.

Hikaru: Hyoma! That's not fair! I wanted to do the disclaimer!

Hyoma: Well don't bicker with the author and you'll get your chance!

Hikaru: ...

Me: Hey! No arguing! Anyway. One note. I'll be using mostly dub names, although one exception will be Earth Aquila. I apologise, but I cannot call it Earth Eagle, taking into consideration that this is my favourite bey.

Hyoma: I prefer Aquila.

Hikaru: Nah, I like Eagle better.

Hyoma: Why?

Hikaru: It's better.

Hyoma: In what way?

Hikaru: In everyway!

Tsubasa: Hey! This is my bey we're arguing about! Don't I get a say in the matter?

Hyoma and Hikaru: NO!

Me: Knock it off you guys! I said no arguing! Urgh...whilst I try and stop their bickering you read the story.

The Light and Darkness Chronicles

Chapter one - Nightmare

The nightmare begins like it always does. He's inside a cavern, lit only by candles and the blue-white glow of the ice behind him. He is smiling, feeling the power surge around him. The only speck of light inside him is the faint glow, soon to be extinguished, hiding at the back of his mind. All the rest was pure darkness. He felt glorious, powerful, feeling no remorse for the sadness he had brought or the lives he had destroyed.

All that was left were these three. He couldn't see their faces, but they were all about to launch beys. The three spinning tops, purple, red and blue, came speeding towards him. Their face bolts glowed and their spirits emerged. The one on the left was an eagle, purple and white in colour, king of the skies. On the right was just an enormous wave, powerful and surging with blue, ruler of the seas. In the middle though was a ram, a mixture of red and purple which made a deep clay colour; strong and proud, guardian of the earth. Earth, sea and sky were coming together, attempting to destroy him. Attempting to kill him.

His body shook and the light still plaguing him pulsed quickly in his mind in replacement of his missing heartbeat. What's this? Was he afraid? Afraid to die? Why should he be? His mind was telling him both to run and fight, two forces fighting each other so hard he felt like his entire skull may be torn apart by the confusion and pain.

'Fight! Fight!' A voice egged on 'The darkness is your friend! Use it against them! Fight! Fight!'

"NO!" He screamed, clutching his head and covering his ears, his short hair also caught in the death grip "I can't! I can't!" He almost fell to his knees, fighting to try and stay sane during the torture of an age-long battle trying rip his head apart from the inside out. Before him, the three spirits joined together, forming a giant swirl of white light. He had barely enough time to brace himself before it made impact. The splitting pain inside his head was joined by a second one, this time from his stomach. Although this pain seemed better than the first, it was still excruciating enough to make him give out an agonised scream. He was flung backwards into something cold, but he didn't fall down again. He felt said cold article creeping over his wrists and ankles, binding him, forcing him to become part of the wall.

'Ice' he thought, screwing his eyes shut 'No! Not ice! Anything but ice!' But his arms and legs were already frozen. The ice spread across his stomach and chest, crawling towards his neck, pinning him to the ice wall.

"Nooo-" his scream was cut off as the ice sealed his mouth shut. He had just enough time to register the numbness of his body and the feeling the light at the back of his mind had vanished before he lost consciousness.

"Hyoma! Wake up! Wake up Hyoma!" Hokuto pawed his friend helplessly for what must be the fifth time. The lilac-haired boy had his eyes squeezed shut, his head rolling back and forth across the pillow as he screamed something in his sleep Hokuto couldn't make out. The white dog, though he hated being referred to as that, tried once again to ease the boy's suffering. Hyoma was typical to fall at the hands of nightmares, ever since he was ten years old.

The night the Dark Nebula (Hokuto shivered at the thought of their name) had come to Koma Village and stolen Lightning L-Draco, they had also been thoughtful enough to burn down half the village. Lives were lost in that blaze, including that of Hyoma's parents. Hyoma's survival seemed like nothing short of a miracle to Hokuto. The lilac-haired boy had chosen that particular weekend to spend some time alone in the mountains. He returned a day later alive, but at what price. His home destroyed, his parents dead, his 'Uncle' Ryo missing also presumed dead and his childhood friend Ginga left on a journey with no clue of his destination. Hokuto was the only one he had left, except Aries of course. Those many times when Hyoma had crashed to his knees and broke down in tears, Hokuto had wanted to comfort the boy, tell him that Ryo was alive and Ginga would come back soon. But Hokuto was honest, and he couldn't say those things. Ryo had been in hiding and he had been just as worried for the sake of Ginga as Hyoma. Therefore for all those years, all those times he had watched Hyoma suffer, Hokuto had lived a lie. He wasn't the only one though. Aries had also been struggling to keep such secrets from its friend and master.

Last year though, things had changed for the better. Ryo had finally finished healing from his injuries and Hokuto had planned to tell Hyoma. But fate had other plans. That very day Ginga and his new party of friends came to Koma Village. Hokuto had snapped at Hyoma a bit, but he didn't blame the lilac-haired boy. It was just now he couldn't tell him the truth he rightfully deserved. But now destiny started working her magic. After Ginga and co. had left, Hyoma had become interested in something called a Survival Challenge, which Hokuto knew translated as 'Hiding-in-trees-and-bushes-until-only-a-few-bladers-are-left-standing'. But that hadn't been the end of it. Hyoma had barely got in the door before he had thrown 1000 100-miles-per-hour sentences at Hokuto that all seemed to include the words 'Battle Bladers', 'Lightning L-Draco' and 'Dark Nebula' in them. After Hokuto heard Ginga was involved, he knew there and then there wasn't a man or dog that could stop Hyoma. So he agreed the lilac-haired boy should go, so long as he worked on his own little mission to watch out for L-Draco and the Dark Nebula. Needless to say, Hyoma was more than happy with these terms. Hokuto wasn't 100% sure about what happened at Battle Bladers, other than the fact Hyoma lost in the first round, which genuinely surprised him. Plus Aries had gave him an earful about being nearly beaten to pieces by a snake bey or something. Anyhow, Hyoma soon returned reporting the world was safe and L-Draco, although still in Ryuga's hands, was near useless. Everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, and Hokuto thought everything might return to normal.

Ginga would return to Koma Village with his father, and Hyoma wouldn't have to be alone. But things didn't happen that way. In the months between Battler Bladers and the World Championships, Ginga didn't come near Koma Village, but lived in the basement at B-Pit in what could only be described as a heightened depression about losing Pegasus. No one had understood how close Ginga had come to the winged-horse bey in the short years they were together. And Ryo was now, for reasons Hokuto didn't understand, Director of the WBBA. Still, when Ginga returned to Koma Village on a search for a bey called Galaxy Pegasus, he started to worry. He knew Ginga wouldn't stay, not with the Championships coming up. But how would Hyoma react to losing his friend again? That time they said goodbye at the station, Hokuto was almost certain Hyoma would want to go too. But he didn't. He just stood here as the train pulled away with no attempt to follow. That was when Hokuto realised. Hyoma's life-long nightmare was over. He'd lost all he'd known in the first decade of his life, but he'd recovered something more.

"You and Aries" Hyoma had told him on more than occasion "This village, the mountains, the skies and the beys. Everything here, it's a part of me. My friend had moved on from this place; as have my family, only in a different direction." He smiled down at Hokuto "My old family. Now though, you guys are my new family."

Despite this, these nightmares continued. Nightmares like Hyoma had been there the night Koma Village had almost burnt to a crisp. Both dog and boy knew that it was possible he would never stop recover from those nightmares, but Hyoma had Hokuto and Aries, and they wouldn't ever leave him, no matter what the circumstances.

But lately, new nightmares had been taking place. Ones Hokuto couldn't understand. These showed no blazing houses or dying screams, only pain. Pain and darkness. It was these randomly chosen nights that Hyoma woke up screaming. These nights Hokuto knew no way to comfort his friend. Sure they had their arguments and spats, but he did care about the boy.

"Hyoma!" Hokuto nudged the screaming boy roughly "Wake up this instant! Hyoma!" But all that resulted in was Hyoma, still asleep, swatting him straight off the bed. He landed on the floor roughly and complaining loudly about it.

"What's going on?" The door banged open. Hokuto looked at the figure in the doorway. A boy, about 15 years old with ice-blue hair and golden-brown eyes. Panic was etched onto his slightly tanned face.

"Shouta!" Hokuto gasped "How did you...?" He didn't need to finish his question. The answer was obvious. Shouta's eyes were a duller gold than normal and the purple-black beneath them plainly said that only a few minutes ago, if that, he'd been asleep. His hair was full of static and standing up almost as gravity-defying as Ginga's and all he wore was a coat over his pyjamas which appeared to be blue. All added up: Shouta had heard the screams.

"Hyoma!" Shouta rushed to the side of the bed "Hyoma wake up!" Shouta grabbed Hyoma's wrists and tried to pin them to the bed "Come on, just wake up!" Shouta used his full strength by somewhat kneeling on top of Hyoma and holding him down. Shouta had always been the stronger of the two and his full strength had Hyoma successfully under control "Hyoma!" Finally some of it seemed to get through to the struggling boy as his movements stilled and a set of eyes slightly darker than his hair hazily opened.

"Shouta?" His voice was weak from screaming, but hearing the slightly younger boy's voice made Shouta sigh in relief.

"Hyoma" he sighed "You're awake." Hyoma gave a weak nod and Shouta climbed off him. The former sat up, clutching his stomach in pain. Shouta frowned, he hadn't knelt on him that hard, had he?

"It...it's happened again...didn't it?" Hyoma asked. Shouta nodded. There was a long silence between the two boys. Shouta wasn't sure when, but he looked up from the bed at Hyoma, and noticed silent tears running down his cheeks.

"Hyoma!" Shouta embraced the younger boy in a brotherly hug "Don't be that! This isn't your fault!" Hyoma drew back, plainly not convinced. Shouta sighed, he wished Hyoma wouldn't blame himself so much.

"You numbered those nightmares didn't you?" he asked, Hyoma nodded "Which one was this? First or second?"

"Second" answered Hyoma "I think." Shouta raised an eyebrow and wore a face that plainly said 'You think?'

"They're both similar, both involve three beys attacking me and being frozen whilst conscious" Hyoma explained "But the second one has a voice in it. It keeps telling me to fight back, something about darkness being a friend." Shouta squeezed Hyoma's hand, trying to send confidence through to him.

"I...I always feel alone" Hyoma explained further "It's fine at the beginning, I feel fine, happy even. But by the end, I'm alone. Alone and...I guess, slightly...afraid."

"You don't have to be afraid Hyoma" Shouta told him "Or alone. You have me. And Hokuto. And Aries. And Pavo." With this Shouta held up his bey which he kept in his coat pocket. It was a pretty yellow attack-type bey and on the face bolt was a white-outlined, black peacock looking over its shoulder. This was Shouta's bey: Light Pavo.

"Thank you Shouta" Hyoma managed a small smile. Shouta always found a way to cheer him up. It seemed near impossible it had only been a year since Shouta had first moved to Koma Village. He was Hyoma's next-door neighbour, or Ginga's actually since Hyoma was currently living in Ginga and Ryo's empty house, and was his closest, and only, friend in the village. Whenever he had a problem, Shouta always found a way to solve it, no matter how big the problem was. So naturally, when Hyoma started having these nightmares, Shouta was the one to try and help.

"Okay, now, you've gotta head back off to sleep" Shouta smiled "Ya hear me?"

"I-I don't know" Hyoma hung his head "I guess I'm still a little shook up." Shouta sighed.

"Fine" he sighed "I'll get a spare change of clothes and I'll crash here tonight." Hyoma's eyes widened with surprised "No ifs, ands or buts about it. Stay here, I'll be back." Shouta got up and left the one-room house. Hyoma smiled.

"Thank you Shouta" he smiled.