I'm back with a *rather short* chapter!
"So at least one of us needs to be with one member of the Seven today," Kelsea groaned. "We don't even know all the members of the Sacred Seven!"
"Actually," Dynamis murmured. "We do."
"We do?" Platina blinked.
"Ryuto and Kakeru, for certain," Dynamis said.
"Christina," Damian stated.
"Nero and Luke," Kelsea nodded.
"Nefertiti, for sure," Taylor yawned.
"And I suspect Kuro," Tsubasa spoke up. "Though, unlike with the other battles, I haven't seen the image of her ancestor. Have any of you?"
"The best way to see is during those ultimate moves, but Kuro's causes the surrounding area to go black..." Jack sighed, "Even with my keen eye for detail, I haven't noticed."
"So we have six out of seven, maybe all seven," Hunter mused. "How do we split it up?"
"I'll take Kakeru," Platina raised her hand, looking a little guilty. "It's... the least I can do."
"I can watch Nefertiti and Ryuto," Dynamis said.
"Ooh, I got Nero and Luke," Kelsea volunteered.
"I suppose I can watch Christina," Jack frowned.
"Just in case, I'll shadow Kuro," Tsubasa spoke up.
"Well now that we have our assignments," Taylor clapped his hands. "Let's go join the party."
"You spray me, you die,"
Ryuto stared at the back of his brother's head, before shrugging and squeezing the soda bottle down Ryuga's shirt.
"Ryuto!"
"Nice one, Ree!"
"Hagane!"
"Ahh!"
"I'm coming for you, Neffy!"
"Gotta catch me first, little bro!"
"Bao, don't you dare-"
"Gotcha sis!"
"Payback!"
"Hikaru, help!"
"Bit busy, Madoka! Sorry!"
"I trusted you!"
"Ya snooze you, ya lose, Wales!"
"I'm dead,"
"Oh, get up you dumb blonde,"
Ryo smiled, watching the young Bladers chase each other with soda bottles and water guns.
"At least this World Championships was normal enough," next to him, Blader DJ spoke up. "Can you imagine if another Ziggurat situation had gone on behind the scenes? The kids have been through enough in the last five years than any other self respecting Blader in their entire career."
Ryo chuckled, "Certainly, but they also pushed through each challenge."
"It's still nice ot see them have a chance to just be kids," Coach Steel commented. "Some of them have been through more than others."
"Like Ryo faking his death?" DJ coughed.
Ryo's amusement faded, and he turned to give his friend a look, "DJ-"
"Toby had cancer," Coach Steel replied.
"Steel don't-" Ryo started.
"Ah, Ryuga and Kyoya got manipulated by Doji,"
"Zeo and Toby were maniplated by Ziggurat,"
"Ryuto believed his brother to be dead,"
"Are you two done?" Ryo interrupted, slightly annoyed.
DJ laughed, "Sorry, Ryo."
Steel smirked, "We'll try to-"
The Dungeon Gym manager paused, squinting and tilting his head up to the sky as a shadow fell over the roof. The winds picked up, courtesy of the helicopter blades from the incoming aircraft.
"Now what?" DJ frowned, "Who is that and why wasn't I informed?"
As the helicopter landed, Ryo felt a sense of dread rise in his chest. The deja vu only grew stronger as the door opened, and a group of people stepped out.
"... I totally jinxed us, didn't I?" DJ muttered.
"Maybe not?" Steel didn't sound very confident.
All hope went up in flames when the final two men stepped from the helicopter.
"Aren't you supposed to be in jail?" Tyler growled, glaring at the two men.
Lucas stepped behind Wales, burying his head into his brother's back to avoid looking at Caspian McKandless.
"Our apologies for crashing your party-" Ziggurat began.
"Oh go to hell," Zeo spat, eyes narrowed. "What do any of you want?"
There was a dark chuckle, and Khione stepped forward. She smirked, "We just need to... tie up some loose ends. It'll be easier if you all... cooperate."
"What do you want?" Kyoya growled, stepping in front of a wide eyed Kakeru.
"I'm surprised none of you know why we're here," Caspian McKandless mused, eyes glittering. His eyes landed on someone in the back of the group, "You've become careless, Dynamis. Or are your powers failing you?"
"Dynamis?" Gingka frowned, "What's he talking about?"
"... another prophecy," Dynamis sighed. "The Sacred Seven, and the Mistress of the Night, Nyx."
"Another prophecy?" Ryuga sounded exasperated. "Didn't you think to say anything?!"
Dynamis looked away.
"You're not getting them," Hunter Hart spoke up. "Not to mention, it's already been proven you will lose to us."
"Do you even know who they are?" Thornella called, "Because we do!"
There was a long moment of silence.
"Yes," Taylor finally gritted out. "We do."
"You just haven't told them!" Belladonna giggled, "Oh, so that makes this so much more fun!"
"Who are they?" Nefertiti turned to Dynamis. When he didn't answer, she snapped, "Dynamis! Who. Are. They?"
"You, Kuro, Christina, Lucas, Nero, Ryuto, and Kakeru- Life, Death, Nature, Water, Fire, Air, and Earth. The Sacred Seven warriors prophesized to battle and defeat the element of Darkness, the goddess Nyx," Dynamis rattled off.
"Except I've already taken care of the Earth element," Khione sang, before her eyes darkened. "Though... if you're still standing... I guess I need to finish the job!"
Khione's movements blurred, but the roar of a Bey spirit was unmistakable. Nightmare appeared in the air, her form darkening the sky. Red eyes glowed as she raced towards a frozen Kakeru Tategami.
Khione howled with insane laughter, "If even one perishes... the entire group falls! Prepare to meet your demise, Earth warrior!"
"Fernis, Shadowclaw Defense!"
"Furie! Ring of Fire!"
The screech of Furie, accentuated by the howl of Fernis, split the air. Flames surrounded the two beings of darkness as Fernis blocked Nightmare's attack.
"What good is darkness when there's just light?" Nero called, eyes flashing murderously, "Think you can stand the heat, Khi-Khi?"
"Ooh, the Fire warrior! I bet you'll give me a good fight!" Khione grinned, maniacally, and then turned to the rest of her group, "Don't just stand there! Attack!"
Chaos erupted as explosions shook the building, the sky filling with blinding bursts of light.
"Orion!"
"Virgo!"
"Striker!"
Chris, Masamune, and Tyler raced down the street, trying to disappear from one Argo Garcia's line of sight.
"You can't run from me!" The eldest Garcia taunted.
"Masamune, field report!" Tyler snapped at his cousin, as the group came to a standstill in an intersection.
"Argo Garica, twenty one. Bey: Ray Gill. Argo uses underhanded tactics to secure wins, works best in stand alone battles. Ray Gill is an attack type with an RSF performance tip," Masamune called.
"Uh huh," Tyler nodded. "Fights dirty huh? Wonder what happens when his opponent fights back?"
"Ray Gill!"
"Time to find out!" Chris shouted.
Tyler's eyes landed ont he purple Bey as it slammed into a parked car. Said vehichle flew through the air, heading for the trio's own Beys.
"Ah! Dude!" Masamune yelped.
"Shadow Virgo!" Tyler spread his stance, green eyes glittering, "Reverse Abyss!"
A large black void erupted from Virgo, growing in size. To everyone's awe, the car fell through, vanishing into nothingness.
"Tch, so you can-" Argo cut off with a shout as a black hole opened over Ray Gil. A moment later, the car crashed hood first on top of Argo's Bey, "What?!"
"Whoo!" Masamune cheered.
"Nice one!" Chris grinned.
"Get wrecked, Argo," Tyler smirked, catching his Bey. He turned to the other two, "Let's get back to HQ. Something tells me there's more trouble here than we're seeing."
Ian and Christina stared each other down. The wind whipped around them as they balanced on the roof of a building.
"I'm not fighting you," Ian finally said.
"What?" Christina frowned.
"I'm letting you go,"
"Why?"
Ian shrugged, "Argo's a fool, and I'd rather not see a repeat of Nemesis."
Christina stared, "But-"
"Yeah. I know. Once a bad guy, always a bad guy," Ian smirked. "But what about Chris? Or the Beylin Fist?"
"... Touche," Christina relaxed her stance. "Now what?"
"I've been working with Jack and Damian- you need to get to the airport. There's a plane scheduled to leave in a few hours, with the rest of the Seven and your guardians. Before you ask, yes, they knew an attack was going to happen today, and they prepared accordingly. You guys got three months until Nyx is supposed to rise at full power, and you need to train. The catch is that you gotta go off the grid so Caspian and Khione can't track you," Ian spoke, calm and steady as the emotions warred arcross Christina's expression.
After a moment, she nodded, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She hesitated for for a few seconds, before she threw it down on the ground. It shattered on impact.
Christina looked up at Ian with a dry smile.
"It's a good thing I know how to do just that then,"
Ryuto, Gingka, and Kakeru came to a stop in the middle of the park, chests heaving as they caught their breath.
"I... think we lost her," Gingka panted.
"Think again boys," Pyra chirped as she popped up behind Ryuto.
Ryuto yelped and fell over to the ground.
"Wait!" Pyra waved her hands frantically, "I don't wanna fight!"
"Then why chase us?!" Ryuto yelled.
"I needed to get you and Kakeru away from my sisters... and your friends... and family... but that didn't work out," Pyra eyed Gingka.
"I can be pretty persistent," Gingka drawled, dryly. "What do you want?"
"You two need to get to the airport. There's a plane, waiting to take you to Australia. The rest of the Seven and the Guardians are going to be there too," Pyra explained. "You need to train so that you're ready for when Nyx wakes up."
"Why should we trust you?" Kakeru rasped, trembling.
A phone beeped. Pyra pulled her's from her pocket.
"Christina is already en route... so are Nefertiti and Dynamis," Pyra reported.
"Neffy," Kakeru murmured, eyes distant.
"But what about Kyoya and Ryuga?" Ryuto asked.
"I'll handle them," Gingka said. "I won't say I know where you are... rather, Pyra split us up and I lost track."
"You'd do that?" Ryuto blinked.
"Risks have gotta be taken," Gingka shrugged.
"Alright," Ryuto nodded. "We'll go."
"Lose your phones- you can't let Khione or my sisters know where you are," Pyra warned.
"Going ghost, huh?" Ryuto laughed softly, "Alright. Manageable."
"Pyra... what about you?" Kakeru asked.
"Well..." Pyra grinned, sharply, "A girl's gotta keep up appearances."
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and will be kind enough to leave a review!