DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN METAL FIGHT BEYBLADE.

DAMN IT! I keep on seeing mistakes here, and I keep having to correct them and add on some more details. When I'm done with this story, I'm redoing it.

Please excuse Ryuga's language. He gets scared.

Ryuga: I do not!

Me: Yes, you do.


The white-and-red-haired teen glanced over to the other side of the clearing at Kyoya, who was staring at the rising sun. Although it was still quite dark, the other group members were already packing up the things needed for the long journey ahead of them. Everyone had pitched in to hunt and gather food, and skin the game to gain materials for Madoka to be able to make bags to carry their supplies.

He did one last inventory scan, making sure that he had a lot of flint, beeswax, extra provisions, a full waterskin with no leaks, and the rope. Well, forget the rope—Gingka was carrying that. The redhead had kept shifting and breathing quite loudly the previous night, so he had received several glares—mainly from Kyoya, who had been lying next to him. Finally, the green-haired teen just got up and moved to the other side of the clearing—a smart move on Kyoya's part.

"We're almost ready to go." Ryuga felt a familiarly small hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up at Kenta, whose large brown eyes were dominated with one emotion—worry.

"Yeah."

The boy smiled, but Ryuga knew that it was fake. "I never thought I'd leave this place." He stared at the knife in his hands, slipped it into its worn brown leather scabbard, and tied it to his belt. "Ensis, and now this camp. So many memories. Mostly bad memories, but still memories."

Kenta was just a child.

Ryuga patted his companion's head and picked up his bow from where it lay next to him.

Both of them stood and made their way towards Madoka. The brunette was carefully placing bundles of dried food into a large sack. She handed it to Benkei—who beamed eagerly and peered into the food container—and added, "Try not to eat anything yet."

The large teen flashed her a sheepish grin and slung the bag over his shoulder. He was holding a chunk of rabbit jerky and had already bitten off half of it. "The key word is 'try,'" he informed her.

"Benkei!" Madoka turned to Ryuga and Kenta. "I'm so nervous," she told them, biting her lip. "I barely slept last night."

"Me too," Kenta said.

Ryuga drew one of his beloved arrows from his quiver and ran a finger along its smooth wooden shaft, examining the tiny scratches that peppered the surface here and there. He gently placed his finger onto the arrowhead's sharp tip. "Why do I feel like we're walking into our graves?"

Benkei glared at him. "Are you always this pessimistic?"

"Um, where have you been for the last two weeks, Benkei?" Madoka scoffed, rolling her eyes. "This is Ryuga we're talking about."

"Oh, right."

"All set?" Gingka asked them. Kyoya and Hikaru were fidgeting beside him—all three seemed impatient to embark on the very journey that may get them killed.

"We go east, right?" Kyoya asked Hikaru. He looked like he was going to go nuts if they didn't get moving. "Mm-hm," the blue-haired girl said. "We just need to follow the path that leads to Goren, but if we get lost, we go in the direction of the rising sun."

Ryuga looked around, and for the very first time, noticed how many of them there were, and how scared everyone else looked. Out of the seven, he, Kyoya, and Kenta—no matter how wimpy the boy looked—were the only ones who knew how to take care of themselves. He wondered how many of them were going to make it to Goren alive—if any of them survive at all.

The entire group was silent, as if each member was thinking the same thing. Then, as if by silent communication, they trudged into the woods. Ryuga made sure that both of his quivers were secured on his back, and that he could reach his arrows easily.

They tramped through the forest for several minutes. The vegetation began to look singed until the group was walking beneath the blackened skeletons that used to be majestic trees. Kenta, Madoka, Hikaru, and Benkei had to be helped over the enormous tree trunks that had fallen in Fortissimus' rampage. The ground had been turned into fine gray ash. Every now and then, someone's foot would get lodged in a crevice or a bone. Gingka had it worse—he had fallen into a shallow crater that was probably made by a boulder, or a giant fist.

Ryuga felt a pang in his heart for what has become of his old hunting grounds—the hunting grounds that he used to share with his father.

Hikaru screamed as she crashed into something, and Kyoya wrapped his arms around her to pull her away from it. Ryuga stepped closer, eyes widening as he recognized the slightly charred body of a human being, dangling from the boughs of a dead tree by a tangle of ropes. He heard the others scampering away.

I think I've seen this guy somewhere before... The realization settled, and Ryuga took a step back, recognizing the stringy hair and rugged appearance, and the dragon tooth on a leather cord around his neck. Kyoya appeared beside him and jerked his head at the rotting body of a goblin in the dead human's hands. "He went down fighting."

Ryuga tried to ignore the lump in his throat as he turned away, feeling a mixture of sadness and anger. "His duty was to make sure that the people got out safely."

"He was arrogant," Kyoya said. "But he didn't back down, and I respect him for that. The army found the safe place anyway."

"I thought he'd make it out."

"What's happened happened, Ryuga. Nothing can change that, so there's no use crying over it."

Ryuga snorted. "I'm not crying over it—I just said that I thought he'd make it out."

Small footsteps pounded towards them, cracking branches and bones. "I wonder how many others surv—" Kenta froze at the sight. "Is that...?" He looked close to tears. Ryuga grabbed the boy's head and steered him away. "We need to build a memorial for him, or something!" Kenta begged. His voice had gotten louder, as if his sanity had just snapped and he had just realized how many had died. "We can't just leave him there! Why did we leave everyone else there? Why didn't we bury them?"

"We can't, Kenta," Kyoya said. "All we could do is avenge them."

He turned away. Ryuga stared at Ayumu's corpse. "I'll avenge you, Ayumu."

"Who was that?" Benkei asked as the three rejoined the group.

Kyoya's eyes turned sad. "Ayumu."

No one spoke after that, and they continued to trudge forward, feet slower and heavier. Ryuga found himself stumbling over his own two feet every once in a while. Although he hated Ayumu, the older man had certain qualities he admired—bravery, wits, and the ability to shove a pound of pork into his mouth by dislocating his jaw. Ayumu's brother was killed in the war, so they had more in common than Ryuga had thought. He was going to miss fighting with his teacher.

As the sky started to turn from dark blue to the pink, purple, and white that is dawn, they never stopped. Ryuga could almost see the grim determination that the others possessed. The trees of the forest started to thin out, and they stepped onto the dirt road, which—much to Kyoya's obvious distaste—was vandalized. Of course.

And to make matters worse, the signs that directed travelers to their destinations had been torn down at the crossroads.

"This is horrible!" Gingka exclaimed, staring at what lay in front of them. "The Arcus Road was Ensis' pride and joy—it took years to build it!"

"I know," Madoka said. "It's practically an artifact—it's been around longer than my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather!" Ryuga remembered the road's former glory—a quarter of a mile wide, paved with stones of all colors—black, gray, white, pink, blue, purple, red, green, orange, yellow... with different shines and tones... it was like a rainbow, and travelers marveled at it. Some of the stones had been imported from Gaelleon's neighboring country, Vienedour.

Now, Ensis' Arcus Road was destroyed.

"Which one leads to Goren?" Ryuga could tell by the tone of his voice that Kyoya was about to crack. The younger teen's eyes were darting around once again, and his breathing had quickened.

Hikaru pointed to the road at their far left. "That—"

Suddenly, an almost-deafening screech pierced the air as something large swooped down from the brightening sky like an arrow, jaws open and revealing rows of sharp teeth. Ryuga felt the beast's foul breath on his back as the snout of winged snake crashed into the road, sending chunks of debris flying. He barely managed to dodge it, landing on all fours on the ground before he got up and ran for his life. The ground shook as the rest of the gigantic reptile's body landed. The furious monster spat, getting rid of the soil and stones that had gotten into its mouth, then whipped around and took to the skies once more.

Ryuga rolled out of the way just as the snake's tail felled several burnt trees, one of which landed on the exact same spot he had been crouching on.

"Ryuga!" Madoka screamed shrilly. Ryuga spotted her, Kyoya, Benkei, Kenta, and Hikaru across the road. They were barely visible, but he could make out the distinguishing colors of their clothes and hair. Where's Kenta?

And he saw him. The green-haired boy was sprawled on the road a few yards away from the other side of the road, barely hidden behind a slab of white rock. He was clutching his ankle, his face contorted in pain.

Ryuga was poised to run for his young companion when the snake's enormous feathered wings cast a dark shadow over the ruins of the road. Heart frantically pounding in his chest, he prepared to shoot an arrow, taking comfort in the soundless click of the nock securing itself onto the nocking point.

He drew back the firm bowstring and slowed his breathing.

Release...

As soon as the shrill screech erupted from the winged snake's throat, Ryuga knew that he had hurt it. Kyoya was already picking up Kenta and was gesturing for... what was he trying to...?

"RUN!" Kyoya finally yelled.

The beast had recovered from the arrow and turned towards the source of the projectile.

Aw, shit.

Ryuga started running. He quickly nocked another arrow and shot it skywards, not even bothering to aim. Then, he felt something clamp onto his cloak, and his feet were lifted off the ground. Curses flew out of his mouth like a raging river.

I'm going to fucking die, I'm going to fucking die, I'm going to fucking die... FUCK!

He was not about to die on the first day of traveling!

He twisted his body around, grabbed the scales on the snake's upper jaw with one hand, and unfastened his cloak with the other. He grabbed his dagger from its sheath on his hip and plunged it repeatedly into a chink in the snake's scales, drawing black blood.

Suddenly, he was falling...

Down... down... down...

And into the blackened tangle of tree branches. Which gave way and dropped him on the ground. Which hurt, badly.

Aw, shit...


"Ow... my back..." Suddenly, his eyes flew open to find Hikaru staring into his face. "Are you alright?" she blurted out. Ryuga took several labored breaths and prodded his chest, wincing at the spongy areas that signaled broken ribs. He was covered with a cloak, and he felt the icy cold feeling of the healing herbs on his injuries. His body was burning, covered in scratches and bruises.

"... No..."

"That snake's gone. You've been out for a while."

Out? But... I... I thought... It didn't feel like... He tried to sit up, but his body protested, and he had to lie back down. "How... how long? Where are we?"

"A couple of days. We're still next to the Arcus Road."

"W-What?" His eyes flew open. "We have to keep going!"

Kyoya's voice cut him off. "You and Kenta are injured. You have to recover."

"But... but..."

"Rest..." Hikaru murmured, gently placing a hand on his forehead.

He sighed and closed his eyes, letting the blanket of sleep engulf his consciousness.


I just want to let azure blue espeon know that yes, Nile, Tsubasa, and Yu play big parts in this story, and I'm really excited to write about them. I won't give away too much, but Tsubasa's one of the most important characters. Tee-hee...

Tsubasa: What are you up to?

Me: Nothin'.

Tsubasa: You're not gonna kill me, are you?

Me: No! Then I'd feel bad! And I'd have a bunch of anger-crazed fans on my tail. No, I only kill my OCs, which makes me sad because I grow attached to every single one of them.

Tsubasa: What about Dan and Reiki?

Me: I never confirmed that they died.

Tsubasa: So you're just concerned about your reputation.

Me: Who wouldn't be?

Tsubasa: Ryuga.

Me: YOU SHUT UP OR I WILL MURDER YOU!

Team Wang Hu Zhong, Team Excalibur, Team Starbreakers, and Team Garcias will be included too, as well as a lot of other major characters. I'm trying to squeeze in most of the characters in this story because I'm tired of leaving them out of my other Fanfics, and I feel so bad! DX