Thanks to my reviewers for your support throughout this story. It really means a lot to me!
After a third successful night of hunting shades in Tokyo, Gingka and the others were having a morning of goofing off for once. Yuki was using his antigravity to walk upside down on tree limbs as Tsubasa and Gingka flew around in circles above the camper, the latter occasionally putting on bursts of speed just for the fun of it. Yu copied their actions on the ground, running around the camper in circles.
"Tsubasi! Tsubasi!" he shouted, waving his arms in the air. "Take me flying with you!"
Tsubasa smiled. He definitely had a soft spot for the former Libra blader and descended, landing next to the blond boy. Yu held out his arms and Tsubasa scooped him up and off they went. "Whoo hoo!" shrieked Yu as he looked down at Yuki and Madoka, who was off of work for some reason or another; Yu couldn't really recall why.
Gingka grinned when he saw the two having fun doing something other than training with their powers or fighting shades for once. This also gave him an idea. He poured on some speed, swooping down low, picking up Madoka, and flew up again as she squeaked in surprise.
"Gingka! What are you doing?" she shrieked, clinging tightly to his shoulders so she would not fall.
"Madoka," Gingka began in his speech voice. Madoka would recognize that particular tone anywhere. "You work hard all the time just so the rest of us are able to train at night. This is my way to give you something in return."
Madoka smiled at this and enjoyed the scenery as they passed through the sky. It was true. She had worked hard to give everyone a good life in this new world. Without beys for her to repair or a computer to analyze with, she felt lost and helpless when it came to the fight against the shades of Nemesis.
Nearby, Yu and Tsubasa were soaring high as well. Yuki was now perched at the top of a tree, and Kenta was…
"Where is Kenta?" Madoka asked. Why wasn't he out having fun with the rest of them? It wasn't like he had a job to go to like Hikaru.
"Good question. I haven't seen him at all this morning. He was gone when I woke up." Gingka glanced around looking for him. When he didn't immediately spot Kenta, he decided to fly out a little further and keep looking. Madoka acted as his second set of eyes, and together they soon found him in a barren region to the west of their campsite. Gingka descended and let Madoka down gently.
"What's up Kenta?" the former Pegasus blader asked as Kenta's whirls of flame died away.
"Practicing," was the only reply he got. Kenta squeezed his eyes shut and went through a sequence of punches and kicks, flames dancing everywhere around him. At the end, he stopped and let out a breath, his power leaving him. "Is there a problem Gingka? Am I needed?"
"No," Gingka replied slowly. "The rest of us are having some fun back at camp if you want to join in."
Kenta's eyes flashed. "I need to practice." He closed his eyes again, this time straining and straining. His face flushed red and his whole body burst into flame involuntarily. Thankfully his power didn't burn either Kenta or his clothing, but Gingka and Madoka had to take a step backward.
"Kenta! Stop!" Gingka yelled, but the boy continued.
"Is he hurting himself?" Madoka asked Gingka worriedly, clutching his arm as the two gazed at the blazing inferno which was Kenta.
"No, but he is certainly straining himself beyond what he would face in a battle. It can't be good for him," said Gingka.
Kenta relaxed and fell to the ground in exhaustion. "Kenta!" Gingka and Madoka rushed to their friend and lifted his head up. "It's no good. I can't find it," he said as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
"Find what?" Madoka asked him.
"My second power."
Gingka opened his mouth to reply to reply when he was interrupted by a voice from above. "Gingka! Madoka! Kenta!" Tsubasa floated down to them. "Kyoya and Nile have returned with Wang Hu Zhong, Beylin Fist and Toby and Zeo."
"All of them?" Gingka was surprised by the mention of the last two. "I guess we should head back then." He picked up Madoka and flew off at superspeed. They made it back to the camper in seconds. Tsubasa and Kenta arrived a minute later.
Nile was sitting on the ground looking exhausted. Wang Hu Zhong wasn't looking well either, but Bao seemed to be all right. "Wait, where's everyone else?" Gingka asked, confused.
"Out looking for more campers or an RV," Bao told him. Dashan nodded tiredly. The trip across the ocean had been long and hard with Kyoya and Nile already fatigued from their first trip. Mei-Mei, Chao Xin and Chi-yun had fallen asleep and it was just early afternoon. Gingka wanted to chat with Dashan and the others, but they didn't seem in the mood, so he restrained himself.
About an hour later, Kyoya, Aguma, Toby and Zeo returned. Kyoya and Aguma were carrying another camper while Toby and Zeo somehow levitated an RV mobile home. As soon as they set their finds down in the clearing, Yu bounded over. "Toby! Zeo! How did you lift that huge RV?"
Toby smiled tiredly. "I have telekinesis while Zeo has magnetic powers. So we combined them to bring over the RV."
"So cool!" Yu proclaimed. "I have supersonic energy as my power," he told them proudly. "What else does your group have?"
Your group. Toby and Zeo shared a look, both thinking about the same person. "Well, Bao has superspeed, Dashan can melt the earth to lava and control it, Mei-Mei can control water, Chao Xin is an enchanter of sorts, Chi-yun can change sizes, and Aguma has earth powers and also superstrength."
Yuki, who had been listening in, said "I see. The army of good continues to grow. Another Legendary Blader has joined our ranks. Now we only need Dynamis, Tithi and King to complete the ranks of the Solar System Legendary Bladers and Chris for the last seasonal position. Then we can create Zeus' Barrier and end Nemesis and the evildoers for good."
Zeo raised an eyebrow. "That's a whole lot of people to still find."
"The stars will come into alignment and it will happen," Yuki insisted.
Toby shrugged and went to help put blankets and pillows in the two new additions to the clearing. Then he and the others that had newly arrived from China hit the sack. It had been a long time since they had slept last in comfort.
Gingka, Tsubasa, Yu, Madoka, Yuki and Kenta stayed out in the clearing, chatting amongst themselves and filling Hikaru in on the newcomers when she arrived back from work. There would be an abbreviated shade hunt that night, but none of the new arrivals joined in. Neither did Kyoya or Nile. They were all fast asleep.
xXxXx
Julian sat in his new wheelchair, staring into space. A plate of food lay untouched in front of him. Sophie and Wales, on the sofa next to him, were speaking quietly. Klaus was in the gym lifting, along with King and Masamune. Since he had received the news about his legs, Julian had fallen into a deep depression. He hid the horrible burns with a blanket across his lap at all times, trying to forget but being unable to. His loss to Damian the second time haunted him more than having his fortune taken away after being defeated by him in the Beyblade World Championships. Sophie and Wales had been trying to distract him from his injuries, but it didn't help. He was Julian Konzern: destined to be at the top of everything. He needed to be whole in order to rule the world after the defeat of Nemesis!
Klaus on the other hand, was hard at work lifting several hundred pounds of weights in the gym. Masamune and King were both struggling with 120 pounds. "Eer!" Masamune grunted. "Must. Beat. King!"
"I did it!" King dropped the bar. "I'm the King of the weight room!"
By this time, both were sweaty and sore. "I could really go for a swim," King commented as they left Klaus to keep lifting on his own.
"Let's go then!" Masamune sprinted off to the indoor pool they had found the other day. It had a glass ceiling and glass walls, so during the day it got real hot inside.
King met Masamune at the pool a few minutes later, wearing black and red swim trunks while his friend wore black and green. They had raided some of the many drawers and closets in the mansion to find them. After a swimming race (which Masamune cheated in by using his superspeed to kick really fast), a breath holding contest and some other random competitions, the two lay out towels on the hot tiles and looked up at the now dark sky through the glass roof.
"It's weird not seeing Mars up there anymore," King commented.
"It's weird not to see Monoceros as well," Masamune added. "But look at the few constellations that can still be seen. Like there! That's Cassiopea!"
King smiled. "You know the story behind that one?"
"No."
"Well, I grew up in a small Greek village and history was important to my family. I remember going out with my mother and father when I was still very small and learning the shapes and the stories behind them. But that was a long time ago. After my parents' deaths, I discovered beyblade and gained strength until the village leaders took it away because I was too strong. And well, you know the rest."
"Yeah, but I still don't know the story, King." As usual, King had rambled on without answering the point of Masamune's 'no.'"
"Oh right! King exclaimed happily, warming to the topic. "The story of Cassiopeia goes like this: She was the wife of King Cepheus of Ethiopia and was very beautiful but also vain. One day while she combed her long hair, she dared to claim that her beauty exceeded that of the Nereids."
"What's a Nereid?" Masamune interrupted.
"A Nereid is a sea nymph. Now let me continue the story. Well, word got back to the Nereids about this boast, and you can imagine they were none too happy. So they complained to Poseidon, the god of the seas. Poseidon listened to their plea and sent a monster named Cetus to ravage the coast of King Cepheus' lands."
"Wait, Cetus like the beys of Sophie and Wales?"
"Yep," King replied. Then he continued. "In order to appease the monster, Cepheus and Cassiopeia chained their daughter Andromeda to a rock, meaning to sacrifice her, but Andromeda ended up being saved by the hero Perseus before she was eaten."
Masamune sat there silently for a long minute. Then he began clapping. "Good story!"
"And you know, Perseus is Julian's Destroyer's constellation," King told him. "Perseus is the one who killed Medusa."
"Oh," was all the former Striker blader said. "So what's the Greek story behind my Striker?"
King scratched his head. "Well, Monoceros actually isn't a Greek constellation. It's between Hydra and Oriion, but since it's a modern figure, there are no legends associated with it whatsoever."
Masamune openly wilted with disappointment. There was a long silence as the two kept looking up at the mostly blank sky. After a long time, he spoke. "Know any other stories, King?"
The former Variares blader gazed up before spotting a constellation whose story he knew. "Well, Draco the great dragon was said to have battled the gods of Olympus for ten years before being defeated by Minerva, or as she was known to the Greeks, Athena."
Masamune blinked. Ten years sure was a long battle! Then he blinked again. "Wait, where do you see Draco?"
"Right up there," King said, pointing. Then he gasped. "Right up there!"
"We have to tell Julian and the others right now!" Masamune stood.
"Oh no you don't." King grabbed his arm before he could rush off at superspeed. "I want to be there too when you tell them!"
Together the two friends ran down the halls of Konzern's villa, not caring about only being in their swim trunks as they burst into the parlor where Julian, Sophie, Wales and even Klaus sat.
"Guys! Guess what we just saw!" Masamune babbled on, answering his own question. "Draco! We saw the constellation Draco!"
Sophie looked at them sharply. How dare they make such a joke when Julian was depressed enough as he was. "Don't be a fool. Draco disappeared the instant Ldrago Destructor disintegrated, isn't that right?"
King nodded. He had been there, after all. "No joke though. It's seriously out there. Come see for yourselves."
The group made their way over to the pool's glass ceiling, with Klaus pushing Julian's wheelchair along. Sure enough, King and Masamune weren't lying. Draco was shining brightly in the sky.
"It's like the stars were dark and now their light and power has returned," Julian said quietly.
"Is this the sign, Julian?" Wales asked his leader.
Julian looked interested in something for the first time in a while. "Yes. Time to initiate Project Galahad."