So, as promised, here is the original RoN. There are a few major differences between the original and the rewrite, the main ones being chapter length and writing quality. This single post contains three chapters of the original, but is still only a little over my current normal chapter length of 3,000 words. I have not changed any of the original grammar from before, so it will not be up to my current writing standards, which have changed a whole lot since I started writing.
Running. That was what Zero had been doing for the past two years. Running from Nemesis's police. Running from the supposed fact that there was no hope. Running from those who wanted to take his bey away from him. It had been seven years since Nemesis took over, and there was no memory of the Legend Bladers, Nemesis had made sure of that. There were only the myths whispered around town by people too fearful of nemesis to say them out loud. Those forbidden myths were the only thing that gave people hope. Zero kept running, ducking into a small building and hiding until Nemesis's police gave up and went away. Zero fingered the piece of paper he had found. Well… it had found him, actually.
-Flashback-
Zero was running after having shouted to the people in the town square that there was hope for a future without Nemesis. He had already lost track of the police, but they would still be searching. He stopped running, ducking into an alley to catch his breath when suddenly, a piece of paper blew into his face.
-end flashback-
Zero unfolded the piece of paper and looked at it once again, trying to find the meaning of the few symbols written on it. First, a logo, the words of which said B-Pit. Second, a design not unlike the fabled symbol of Team GanGan Galaxy, only with the letters LB on it instead of a G. Zero had seen the symbol for GanGan Galaxy while hunting around the old Bey Stadium for something to eat or some new bey gear. Third, a strange design that he had never seen before, but was sure it was a bey's face bolt design of some sort. He fumbled around in his pockets for his bey and pulled it out. Someone, he didn't know who, had handed it to him seven years ago, only about a week since Nemesis had taken over. Zero might not have known the name of this mysterious cloaked blader, but, even though he was only seven at the time, he had never forgotten the words the stranger said to him. "You have to potential to defeat Nemesis, practice with this and become stronger, never forget the blader's spirit and never give up hope." with that, the blader had shoved him into an alley and run off, away from a squad of policemen that were after him. Zero had never found out what became of him, or if he had gotten away. Hearing more police outside, Zero frantically looked around for a place to hide. Spotting an old, dusty cabinet in the back of the room, her bolted over to it and climbed inside just as the police kicked the door down. Zero crawled back further into the cabinet. It was only a matter of time until he was caught, unless he could find some way to escape. He felt along the back of the cabinet, hoping to find a corner to hide behind or something. Instead, his fingers felt a small metal knob. Zero carefully turned around and shone a small, dim flashlight on it. It was barley visible, but it moved. Zero turned it, and instantly, silently a door opened in the back of the cabinet. Just before he crawled inside, Zero noticed a design on the door. It was the same design as the third one on his paper, the one he didn't know. Zero pushed the trapdoor shut just as the police shone their flashlights into the cabinet. He was safe.
-End chapter 1-
As Zero crawled through the narrow passageway, he wondered why he kept trying, why was he still trying to give people hope? Why wasn't he just submitting to Nemesis and admitting that there was no way out of his reign? He didn't know, but something inside him made him want to keep fighting, made him want to never give up on this one myth he always held on to, the one that nemesis had forbidden anyone to mention or even think about. Zero kept reminding people about it and for some reason Nemesis hated him for it. If it was only a myth, then why was Nemesis afraid that people would think about it? It wasn't like it could bite him if it was only a myth, and it wasn't likely that the only reason was that Nemesis didn't want people to think that there could be someone out there that could defeat him if it wasn't true. That could only mean…. Zero's thoughts were cut short as he bumped into something and fell back. A wall? Zero reached forwards and felt for it, but there was nothing there. Then, he heard it, the quiet sounds of someone breathing nearby, they sounded like they were panicking, whatever it was. "hello?" Zero whispered.
"who's there? I've got a- uh-a-a-rock here and I'm not afraid to use it" a voice replied through the darkness.
"who are you?" Zero asked.
"you- you're not with Nemesis, are you?" the voice replied. Whoever it was, they were scared.
"n-no" zero said. "my name is Zero Kurogane"
"Zero?" the voice said. "aren't you that kid who is always trying to give people hope by talking about you-know-what?"
"yes, I am" Zero replied, noting suddenly that he was talking to a girl. "who are you?"
A light turned on, and Zero found himself almost face-to-face with a young woman. "my name is Madoka Amano" she replied, holding up her lamp and getting up, only to be knocked down again by a blast from further down the tunnel. Madoka got up, shaky and wide-eyed. "they've found the tunnel!" she whispered, scared.
"come on then!" Zero replied, grabbing her hand and running in the opposite direction of the blast. They heard yelling behind them, and ran faster. Suddenly, they came to a dead end. "n-now what?" Madoka whispered. "this end was open seven years ago when Gingka escaped out of it!"
"G-Gingka?" zero said, shocked. "you mean he actually exists? Where is he?"
"now is not the time for that!" Madoka hissed. "we have to get out of here! Ill tell you the story later!"
"right" Zero said, thinking hard for possibilities of escape. "ahh, I've got nothing!"
"use your bey!" Madoka hissed, pointing at the small box by his side.
"my- ohhh! Great idea!" Zero replied, quickly getting Ifraid out and preparing his launcher. "Let it Rip!" Ifraid flew at the rock wall, but didn't put a scratch in it. Instead, it fell at Zero's feet, motionless. Zero picked it up. "now what?" he said, tearing up. Madoka screamed as Nemesis's police force rounded the corner and shone their powerful searchlights full on her and Zero.
"get them!" one of them yelled, obviously the leader. Zero and Madoka jumped aside as the police launched their beys, missing zero and Madoka, but, unfortunately for them, blasting the rock wall wide open. Madoka grabbed Zero's hand and pulled him outside and into the forest before he realized what was happening. They ran for a couple of miles before stopping. "I think we lost them" Madoka panted, seeming relieved to be out of the tunnel and away from danger-for now.
"you said you knew where Gingka was?" Zero said, out of breath.
"no, I said he escaped from Metal Bey City through that tunnel, it's the only way out other than flying, making it the only safe way out" Madoka replied. "I helped him escape, but after he left the tunnel, I never saw him again." she started crying, sitting on the ground, her skirt torn, her clothes dirty. Zero just sat there. "never saw him again? Never found out what became of him? does he even still exist?" he wondered. Looking off into the distance, he could just barely see the high wall around Metal Bey City, blocking everyone inside, and keeping potential threats out. They couldn't go back there, and he felt like he needed to protect this young woman who had lost all her friends and had been living in that tunnel for who knew how long, hiding, afraid every day that someone would find her and take her to Nemesis. Zero looked the other way, into the mountains, the tops of which were covered completely by the dark clouds that had enveloped the entire earth for as long as Zero could remember. When he looked back at Madoka, she had stopped crying and was also looking at the mountains.
"want to go there? We could hide for a while and find your friends, Nemesis would have a hard time finding us" Zero asked, uncertain whether or not he should speak.
Madoka stood up. "there should be a stream around here somewhere" she replied." we could at least wash off first."
"yeah, good idea." Zero said, standing up. "she probably knows this area a lot better than I do" he thought. "at least I can stay with her and offer some protection from Nemesis's forces" "so…. Are we going then?" he asked uncertainly.
"yeah, follow me" Madoka said.
"she seems a lot more confident now that we are away from the main danger" Zero thought.
After walking for a while, they came to a small pool with a cascading waterfall pouring into it. Madoka sat down, took off her shoes, and dipped her feet in, lost in memories of years ago.
-flashback-
Madoka and Kenta dipped their feet into the cool water. It felt good, lapping around their toes, cooling their feet, sore from walking. Benkei and Kyoya, nearby, were figuring out their next route. "come on guys, lets go!" Benkei called.
"aww, cant we have a few more minutes?" Kenta called back.
"yeah, just a few more? My feet still hurt!" Madoka replied.
"Bu-bu-bu-bull! We cant waste time here, and I'm not carrying more baggage!" he yelled, stamping the ground with his foot.
"what? Who are you calling baggage?" Madoka yelled.
"yeah, we have ears you know!" Kenta shouted.
"Bu-bu-bu-bull!" Benkei shouted, kicking a stick, which in turn flew and hit a beehive, angering the bees, who flew at Benkei. "bu-bu-bu-bees!" Benkei yelled, running away.
"that's what you get for bugging the bees!" Madoka and Kenta said, dancing. "ahh! Foot cramp!" they both fell over.
-end flashback-
"Madoka? Madoookaaaa?" Zero said, poking her arm.
"huh? Oh, sorry, I was just remembering something" Madoka said, getting up and putting her shoes back on. She had plunged her whole body under that waterfall, and was dripping wet, but her clothes would dry.
Zero was dripping wet as well, but he wondered why Madoka had gotten so lost in thought. Something great must have happened here, something she liked to remember. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.
"lets go then" she said, walking off towards the mountains in the distance, Zero following close behind.
-End chapter 2-
The next morning, Madoka woke up early, and soon woke up Zero as well. "look!" she whispered, pointing into the bushes.
"w-wha?" Zero said, still sleepy.
"look there!" Madoka said excitedly, still pointing. A bey was spinning in the bushes, like it was watching them. It had a tall gold colored spin track and performance tip, and was definitely not a synchrome like Zero's Ifraid. As the gold and silver colored bey began to emit its aura, Zero freaked out and went for his launcher, but Madoka grabbed his arm. "don't!" she said. "I recognize that bey! Its blader is a friend, one of the Legend Bladers!"
"it is? A-a legendary bey?" Zero whispered, staring at it.
"yes, I am." a voice said from the bushes.
"w-who's there?" Zero asked. Madoka hid behind him.
"just me" Sagittario replied, appearing out of thin air above its bey. "don't worry Madoka"
"h-how do you know my name?" Madoka asked the centaur archer.
"I should, you fixed me many times." Sagittario replied calmly. "but, who is that young blader you have brought with you to this sacred place?" he eyed Zero suspiciously.
"I-I'm Zero Kurogane" Zero replied.
Sagittario's eyes narrowed, looking at Zero. "and your bey?" he asked.
Zero held out Ifraid. "it's Samurai Ifraid" he said.
Sagittario uncrossed his arms. "very well, come with me then." he said, turning and offering his hand to Madoka.
"wait!" Zero called. Sagittario turned.
"what did you mean by 'sacred place?'" Zero asked. Madoka nodded in agreement, as if asking the same question.
"you are within two miles of Koma Village" Sagittario answered. "and that is where we are going, now follow me" with that, he disappeared into a shower of sparks, leaving only his bey behind for them to follow. As Zero and Madoka watched, the stamina-type zoomed off into the bushes. "follow me" they heard Sagittario's voice again. They glanced at each other, then followed the bey uncertainly. When they arrived at the gate to Koma Village, now in ruins, Sagittario suddenly turned, and took off into the forest. "it isn't safe in this clearing" he said, appearing once again in the bushes. "quick, climb on my back, I will take you to Kenta Yumiya, my blader, on his orders."
"Kenta…" Madoka breathed, and climbed trustingly onto Sagittario's back, not thinking for a moment that it should not be solid. Sagittario helped her up, then turned and extended his hand to Zero, who took it, and soon found himself riding the spirit of a legendary bey through the forest on his way to meet the Legend Blader who owned it.
"Sagittario?" Madoka said, the bey turned his head towards her slightly. "is Pegasus anywhere around here?" she asked. "I would like to see him and find out where Gingka is."
"her" Sagittario corrected. "Pegasus is a girl, and I do not know where she is. Neither does Gingka, I believe. You are familiar with the fact that Pegasus dropped him off at the B-Pit and he escaped from there, correct?"
Madoka nodded.
"Pegasus dropped him off and then disappeared, neither me nor Kenta has seen her or Gingka since"
Madoka gasped. "so he…"
Sagittario nodded. "may or may not still be free from Nemesis. Kenta may have a clue on where he is, but he will tell you himself."
By now, they had reached the old, cracked Green Hades stadium, the very one where Gingka had defeated Hyoma when they had first come to Koma Village, nine years ago. Sagittario, despite the fact that there was a clearing, galloped straight into the middle of it- and fell right through. Madoka and Zero screamed as they fell, Sagittario had gone back into his bey, leaving them to fall alongside him. Madoka squeezed her eyes closed, waiting for impact, but felt herself fall into someone's arms instead. When she opened them, she was looking right into the eyes of a familiar green-haired blader.
"Kenta" Madoka gasped.
Kenta set her down carefully. Madoka gave her friend a big hug, crying she said "I thought I would never see any of you guys again!"
Kenta hugged her back. "I know Madoka" he said, letting go of her.
She wiped tears from her eyes. "you grew a lot since the last time I saw you, to be able to catch me while I was falling!" she exclaimed, standing back to look at him.
"I know" he said laughing. "you might want to say a word to your friend there though, he doesn't seem to notice that he has stopped falling."
Madoka turned, then laughed. Zero was lying on the ground, eyes squeezed tight shut, still yelling. Yuki was standing next to him, trying to figure out what to do about it.
"I caught him, but he doesn't seem to have noticed it yet" said a bewildered Yuki.
Madoka ran and hugged Yuki as well, then poked Zero's stomach. "Zero, we aren't falling anymore" she said.
Zero stopped screaming and opened his eyes to find himself in a dark tunnel lit by torches. He sat up. "where are we?" he yelled.
Kenta clapped a hand over Zero's mouth. "shh! We cant yell down here! Its ok if you are falling, but please keep it down so Nemesis doesn't find us!" He hissed, then let Zero go.
Zero scuttled to hide behind Madoka. "w-who is that?" he asked in a whisper.
Madoka laughed. "Zero, meet Kenta. Kenta, Zero!"
"you're Kenta?" Zero asked. Kenta nodded as Sagittario appeared out of thin air behind him.
"Yuki, where is Anubis?" Madoka asked.
"I think he is off in Egypt somewhere "Yuki replied. "it made more sense for him to hide there, as he is an Egyptian god. He's probably in a temple over there if you want to go look for him I know that all the Legend Bladers have clues to the locations of other Legend Bladers, but we won't tell just anyone"
"oh, that reminds me Kenta " Madoka said, turning to her friend. "Sagittario said that you might have a clue to where Gingka is?"
"I do, but I don't know for sure" Kenta replied. "let's talk about it after dinner ok?"
Zero's ears perked up at the word "dinner" he jumped up. "dinner? Where? Is it soon?" he asked.
Kenta laughed. "I think Hyoma is cooking it right now" he said, leading the way.
Yuki followed behind the talking, laughing group, deep in thought, his eyes unnaturally glowing blue.
-in some temple in Egypt-
This temple was in ruins, but it still held one thing that attracted this strange creature. Most people saw it as a plaque on a wall, or maybe a weird design on a road sign or on the ground. Whatever it was, it didn't want to be seen. As it floated cautiously towards the large statue of Anubis, it looked left and right before suddenly disappearing in a flash of bright light and re-appearing as a humanoid figure. Tapping the toe of the statue, a fuchsia streak of hair burst into pink flame. One thing that few would notice about this statue, was that its eyes actually glowed blue. Nemesis's agents had been here years ago, looking for the bey, Mercury Anubis by name, who was rumored to have appeared here after fleeing with its blader from Nemesis.
"Anubis, any word?" the strange humanoid creature whispered. There was no reply from the statue-for a moment, then the whole thing seemed to catch fire, glowing an unnatural blue color, it shrank until it was closer to the same size as the humanoid the creature had become.
"only a contact from Yuki" Anubis replied, his bey spinning at his feet.
"what did he say?" the other asked.
"not really your business, is it Orion?" the dog-headed bey said. "what brings you here? Shouldn't you be out gathering supplies and protecting your blader?"
"I saw your eyes glowing, you know that is a signal to me" Orion replied. "I was wondering if you were speaking with Pegasus."
Anubis sighed and sat down on the ground. "no, no word yet. I have been sending the cloud patterns to her every day like she wanted me to, but I haven't heard a word back from her yet."
"well, guess ill go gather more supplies" Orion said, turning to leave and returning to its beast form.
"good luck Orion, be safe" Anubis said, getting up and returning to what everyone in the area thought it was- a mere 200-foot tall statue of the Egyptian god Anubis. As Orion left, the roar of a lion sounded across the desert.
-back in Metal Bey City-
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST THEM" Nemesis roared at the squad of police he had sent out to investigate the old B-Pit after they had reported losing track of the trouble maker Zero Kurogane in that area. The squad cowered, Nemesis roared again, transforming into the feather-winged dragon form it had used to defeat the Legend Blader Gingka Hagani. Nemesis roared again. "I WANT THEM FOUND! DO NOT RETURN UNTIL YOU HAVE INVESTIGATED EVERY INCH OF JAPAN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" the squad of police nodded and fled from his presence.
"Lord Nemesis sir?" a young girl, Pegi Bikuban by name, said uncertainly, trying to attract his attention.
"WHAT IS IT SECRETARY?" Nemesis said, in a voice slightly less than his usual roar reserved for speaking to his squads.
"squad number 2987 has reported in from the ruined village my lord, they said they think they spotted the bey Flash Sagittario headed northwest towards the mountain" she reported quickly with a deep curtsy. "squad number 2343, stationed in the Sahara desert, has reported seeing a road sign change appearance as they passed by it a couple of times" another curtsy. "and squad number 9174, stationed somewhere else in the Sahara has reported seeing a very strange creature of large size, which they say was roaring, bleating like a goat, and hissing all at the same time, as well as blowing fire. They also say that they refuse to go any closer to that mountain where they saw the creature." another curtsy.
"HMMM… HAVE SQUAD 2987 PURSUE FLASH SAGITTARIO UNTIL THEY CATCH IT, TELL SQUAD 2343 KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THAT ROAD SIGN AND REPORT BACK IMMEDIATLEY IF IT CHANGES AGAIN, AND CALL SQUAD 9174 BACK FOR BEING CHICKEN HEADS, SEND OUT SQUAD 2359 OUT IN THEIR PLACE" Nemesis replied. "SQUAD 9174 WILL BE PUNISHED FOR BEING CHICKEN HEADS…." he trailed off as Pegi left the room, plotting the punishment for the doomed squad.
"so far so good" Pegi thought, sitting back down at her desk at the front of Nemesis's palace. He had hired her to report on the progress of the squads and keep them organized, from squad 1000 to squad 9999. She was also to answer any calls to the palace and "welcome" any visitors, keep the prisoners organized in their cells, select where to place the new ones once they were caught, and basically maintain anything around the world that may require Nemesis's attention. She had no security cameras on her desk, as she was supposed to watch the security guards themselves. Nemesis trusted her to keep all this in order, thinking she was an exceptionally smart human being, he had hired her instead of millions of others he could have picked. She smiled at that thought. This post had its advantages, that was for sure. She was literally the only one other than Rago, who was mostly plotting stuff in his room anyway, who could safely approach Nemesis without having to worry about being yelled at. Suddenly, a light on the control board next to her computer blinked on. She sighed and pressed the button. "yes, lord Rago?" she said, straightening her blouse. "yes sir, I will be right there" she released the button and stepped into the nearby elevator, heading to Rago's room at his command. When that blader called, there was no denying him. Even Nemesis had to obey him, although he usually agreed with Nemesis's decisions. Rago wasn't the only blader she would answer to though, there was one other that she would answer the call of. As she stepped into Rago's room, red hair shining, white blouse perfectly straight, notebook in hand, she forced herself to manage her calm. Nemesis, being a bey, usually didn't care at all whether her blouse was straight or not, in fact, the force of his power, his voice, usually knocked it crooked anyway. But Rago was a different matter. He would yell at her if everything wasn't perfect. She stood against the door and waited for him to acknowledge her before stepping over to him.
"I need a record of all the squads that have been punished by Nemesis within the past month and what happened to them, what punishment they received and why" he said quickly. "understood?"
Pegi nodded.
"Then you may leave, I want that information by tonight, understand?" he said, opening the door and indicating that she was to leave.
Pegi nodded again and stepped out of the room with a curtsy. Back at her desk a few minutes later, her fingers flew over the keys, gathering the requested information.
"squad 2128, forgot to close the front door after they entered the building, punished by being forced to hang upside-down from the balcony for a full week without doing anything else, no talking or anything.
Squad 2348,neglected to catch Zero Kurogane, made to go out and stay out until they do…..the list went on and on, over 200 squads that month had been punished, mostly for small things, like forgetting to put Rago's leftover sausage on the top shelf of the fridge, putting it on the bottom shelf instead….. Tripping over Nemesis's tail(which he had actually swept under them all as they were leaving his presence) their punishment for that had been they had to jump off the wall into the forest outside, only half of the squad had survived as a result. Nemesis was definitely one for carrying out unusual punishments, that was for sure. A couple of hours later, Pegi finally had the amount of information it would have taken a normal human five weeks to collect. Pegi smiled as the squad that had been hanging over her shoulders the whole time commented on her very bad typing skills and extreme slowness. ahh, squad 2984, punished for getting Rago's cereal with milk that was one degree colder than he wanted it, punishment: they have to hang around me all day and put up with my speed, while continually making remarks about my slow speed and messy typing that doesn't exist" she thought with a smile, turning around and tripping the squad leader with a low spiral kick, which no human should be able to do without years of practice. She then walked off to Rago's quarters, stepping in exactly on time, not one second early, not one second late, having waited a full hour after completing her assignment, having way too much fun tripping squad 2984. As she stepped into Rago's office with the data, he turned, seemingly surprised that she had finished right on time.
"you have the data I requested?" he said. She held it out to him and he took it. "excellent" he said, obviously very pleased.
-at the base of squad 9174 in the sahara-
"we are in trouble" the squad leader reported. "Nemesis has called us chicken heads and requestes us back at base immediately. They are sending another squad to take our place" the rest of his squad seemed very afraid at this disturbing news. They would be the sixth squad sent out that had been called chicken heads by Nemesis and called back, never to be heard from again. They were the first to actually report back what they had seen however, so maybe there was some hope.
-flashback-
The squad was all in place around Mist Mountain, investigating a rumor Nemesis had heard of a Legend Blader somewhere on it. Their hopes were high. if they could catch the blader who was supposed to be here, they would all get promotions as well as easier missions. Suddenly, they heard something like a goat ahead. Followed by roaring, hissing, and more bleating. Then, they saw it, the fabled Chimera. Sure, they could only see two of its heads, but they could hear the third one loud and clear. They were about to run, but held their ground, until a burst of flame came from the two heads visible, and a third burst from behind them. They all panicked and ran, even the squad leader, who was supposed to be the bravest.
-end flashback-