Summary: The second adventure. A shooting star falls on Earth—except it's not just a star. What follows is a quest for discovery, for some things are not always what they appear to be. 3rd person POV

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, Bakugan, or anything else of the sort.

When everything goes down with a bang. Anticlimactic epilogues too!

And then there was darkness. It spread from the top of the building until it stretched beyond the horizon, making even the blackest storm clouds in the sky seem bright in comparison. What was left of the dragon's white color shone like a beacon as it roared.

It was fortunate there was a vessel with powers such as these, Kaza's voice came from the dragon. But I don't think I require your services any longer, Cobrakus. Cobrakus lifted its head in shock.

But—The dragon flicked its tail, sending Reiji off the edge. Cobrakus let out a cry and dove down after him. Oh, no you don't! The dragon spread its wings and prepared to dive after it, eyes taking on a predatory gleam. It took off, but as soon as the dragon tried to dive it was thrown into a series of twitches, and was forced to glide back to the building. Its claws scrabbled a moment for grip on the edge as it pulled itself back up, and the dragon seemed to smirk at the loud crunch as Cobrakus hit the ground. Cobrakus… Silly, silly Cobrakus. A human should hold no power over you. It walked away from the edge of the building, not bothering to look down. There was no doubt in her mind that below lay the mangled body of the snake.

"How? Ren shouldn't—he can't be dead! I'm still…" Ryuga looked at his hands as though they would decay into bones in front of his eyes. Nubiasa finally looked up.

"Hatsubia has a rather interesting theory regarding this. Tell me, how did you get here from Gundalia?"

"I remember there was some sort of ripple in the air, and I just stepped through…" Ryuga trailed off.

"I believe that ripple may have been a rift in space-time. These notes have some speculation on the possibility, but to have proof of it… Hatsubia will be quite impressed. But what power could possibly cause…" Nubiasa returned to the notes, his expression beginning to look more and more confused. Another roar interrupted them, and then the darkness began to seep into the air, devouring the light. Atop the building, a faint voice rang out.

"Stop!" The dragon turned and regarded the tiny hooded figure. Rina trembled but did not make a move to run. "Can't you see it's killing her? I'll stop fighting, you can keep her alive and I'll control her for as long as you want… Just please…" She finally fell to her knees and her voice died to a whisper. "Take me instead…"

Tsk. It's too late for that now. The dragon bared her teeth in a smirk and whipped her tail in anticipation. This form has so much more to offer. So much power… Rina began to edge backwards towards the stairs, staying in a crouch, while Kaza snarled suddenly at her, easily crushing the exit stairway beneath one foot. Why would I condemn myself to be trapped, by the body and will of a child, for all eternity? Rina winced, and glanced over the edge, down at the writhing, glowing mass that was L-Drago. She squinted, but couldn't make out her friends in the dimming light. The dragon followed her gaze and began to stalk back and forth across the building, as though an empress examining her new conquest. Rina looked up at the sky, seeing only the ever-dimming light of a single star as it winked out of sight. She took a deep breath and gathered the edges of her cloak.

Now, where were we… Kaza turned back towards Rina only to find her gone. The dragon gave a small hiss in frustration and scanned the rooftop, but could only see blurred shadows. In the corner of its eye, there was a small flicker of movement. The dragon whipped its head toward the movement, but could still only see darkness. It narrowed its eyes and began to slowly creep forward, surprisingly silent. There, the faint outline of Rina's cloak became visible as the dragon moved closer, preparing to pounce.

Rina ran straight towards Kaza. The dragon reared back in surprise, then tried to swipe at her. Rina slammed her hand against the dragon's skin and it froze. For a moment, the dark markings entangling it seemed to retreat. The dragon trembled, forcing its claws away from Rina. No, what are you doing?! Kaza tried to cry out, but the dragon's voice only gave a choked whimper. There was a burst of light, and when it faded the darkness had vanished to reveal the night sky, twinkling with dozens of stars.

"Ah!" Nubiasa dropped his now glowing Bey in surprise and watched it skitter across the ground, its shape growing and changing into a huge familiar form. "Krakenoid? What—how…?" Krakenoid looked around, and then silently took off towards the dragon. "Where are you going?"

Madoka took out Scorpio to find the same effect, and quickly tossed it out of the arena as the creature appeared and scuttled off in the same direction as Krakenoid, towards the dragon. Kenta looked at his glowing Saggitario for a second before throwing it out of the arena, transforming in midair and landing as Centorrior, who galloped towards the building as well. Benkei also tossed Bull when it began to glow and expand, while Kyoya took out his Bey and looked at it, eyes shining with hope. Leone began to give out a soft glow that barely reached beyond Kyoya's hands. The glow was brighter for a second, and then it extinguished completely. Kyoya looked at Leone, only seeing Tigrerra's broken body again in those last moments they shared, and wept.

Merlix stood before the limp body of the gigantic snake and stopped, looking back at Ryutaro. He approached the snake, seeing an equally lifeless body carefully supported by its coils. As he neared the body, almost touching Cobrakus itself, the snake's eyes focused on him, suddenly vicious. It gave out a garbled hiss and weakly moved, trying to hide Reiji from sight. Don't… Ryutaro looked at the broken beast. Cobrakus's body lay in odd, sharp angles, and what movement it could still make was small and excruciating. Don't hurt Reiji… Merlix stood a fair distance away, watching. Ryutaro could see Reiji stir and attempt to stand, and could see him stumble from a sudden frailty. Ryutaro spoke,

"I will do everything I can to help him." At this simple declaration Cobrakus let out a ragged breath and its eyes misted over, the light of all the stars in the sky reflected in them.

L-Drago howled, the smoky purple outline dissipating from its body. It shed the glow that had painted it in a strange ethereal light, solidifying into night-black scales and purple spikes, each of its three heads sporting fangs worthy of a Hydra. Ryuga faltered, trying to maintain control over the beast. After a few swipes for what seemed its own amusement, it relented and sat back on its haunches, heads waving on shorter necks attached to a bulky body. Wings fanned out behind it, but it made no attempt to use them. Ryuga looked over towards the dragon, surrounded by other creatures drawing closer by the minute. L-Drago growled, restless, and above them lightning flashed from cloud to cloud as the thunder echoed its growl.

Rina backed away from the dragon as it unfroze, the predatory look returning to its eyes. The stars began to hide again behind the darkness and the creatures looked as though they too might vanish, until Rina concentrated, drawing strength from within herself to fuel the glow. But the dragon ignored them still, choosing instead to stalk towards Rina as she stumbled.

You naughty little thing, pulling a trick like that… Kaza practically purred. Rina fell, feeling something grab her from behind. It's going to be so fun to make you scream… Rina cried out softly as the cradle became jagged claws, but the pain was growing dim. She concentrated on three waving heads and the lightning above that was as bright as stars.

I'll never see Tsubi again, will I? Rina numbly thought to herself. I'll never see any of them again… L-Drago's scales rippled with the electricity now running across them. Ryuga could hear its wish, and looking at the figure on the roof in the dragon's hand, her cloak burnt and torn yet it clung to her like a shroud, the claws digging into her skin. He saw, and heard, and reluctantly, he nodded to L-Drago. The lightning was building, leaping back and forth, closer and closer. Rina closed her eyes and could feel herself drift away.

She heard Kaza scream and saw the lightning as it crossed the boundary between her and the sky. Then, atop the tower, and all around it, there was only light.

I could feel myself flying again. I left that life behind, as I traveled further on in that one flash of lightning. In that second I could feel through the numbness the electricity, and that was the feeling of liberation to me.

I was free again.

But that was not the end of this story. Not completely. From the reaches of the darkness between there came an echo, the story of another lost soul that had moved on only a small time before. It told the story of that world's aftermath. The day after both Kaza and Rina ceased to exist there.

"This is indeed a fascinating find. An Alpha Hydranoid, gifted with some exceptional power over human minds…" Tsubasa trailed off, the words and excitement continued inside his mind. Nubiasa nodded, impassive. "I must have some conversation, though, with this Ryuga you met. I mean, the chance to meet someone from the past, and he was somehow able to rein in this Hydranoid's power…" Tsubasa scribbled notes on a datapad. Finally, the two stopped at the arena, easily seeing the visible marks of L-Drago's presence. Ryuga was waiting there, along with Gingka, Benkei, and Kyoya.

"I guess this is it for all of us, huh?" Gingka asked. Nubiasa nodded.

"Hatsubia and I will be returning to Neathia to present our findings. Ryuga shall be accompanying us. An unauthorized Gundalian on Earth is frowned upon by our governments, and I am sure that he wishes to familiarize himself with the future." Gingka frowned.

"And of course, there are still so many things we don't know…" Tsubasa glanced at his hand, tracing over the four burns that formed the circle of Aquila's Earth wheel.

"What about you, Kyoya? Are you going back with them?" Kyoya shook his head and took another step closer to Benkei.

"I think we'll be staying here for a while longer." Tsubasa glanced over the group.

"Where's Rina?"

Silence.

No one had been able to reopen the stairway to the top of the tower, but even from a distance anyone could see it had become a charred crater. Tsubasa looked to the sky, and swore that in the distance, a dragon, with gossamer wings and glowing like the brightest of stars, flew on.