Beyblade Metal Heroes Season 1: Darkness Transcends

by Infinity Wizard

"Darkness doesn't die. It just evolves." Nemesis fell two years ago. Now the WBBA has created the Legends Academy to train the next-gen of bladers. Enter: Max Smith. He's about to meet a world of chaos, order, magical powers and end of the world stakes. Looks like destiny has plans for this slacker and the academy. What the hell could go wrong? Besides everything I mean.

51. Chapter 50: Pull Back The Curtain

And here we go with the official 50th chapter of this story! It's been five whole years since this story began and we've reached chapter 50! What an achievement if I do say so myself even if this achievement was way overdue considering the long hiatus this story was on at one point. It seems unlikely I'll finish this by the end of the year too but we're getting there and progress is progress so… But I digress because it's time to dig further into the finale and see what's going to happen now that Max has become Azrael. But first, as always, the reviews for the last chapters must be responded to.

Silverish-WhiteOtter: Hey, long time no review! Good to hear you're still reading! My writing has definitely grown since Chapter 1. I now hate my old way of writing so bad that I can't even bring myself to read some of the older chapters. I have to skim read them otherwise I start to bang my head against my laptop lol. That being said, you can literally see my evolution as a writer if you read this story from start to finish so that's a positive. Yep, Mana's still here. To be honest, I can't quite remember why I made her become a more prominent character later on in the story anymore. But I enjoy writing her anyway so who really cares at this point? Those were decisions I made like two years ago now. I'm glad she's still around, and she'll have some stuff to do soon, don't you worry. Season 2 is in a…let's say interesting place right now. We'll talk more about that when we do reach the end of Season 1 though because we've still got a few chapters till then. This finale is long overdue!

Omega darkseid: You left three reviews so I'll respond to them all in one go. Firstly, glad you found the last chapter impressive. I always appreciate compliments. I'm also glad you enjoyed the violence; if that's the sort of thing you're into it then go ahead and enjoy it. And here's that update you were asking for. A nice big, juicy update too.

Once again, Happy 50th Chapter! I always said I'd finish this story and I'm happy to say we're edging closer and closer to finally keeping that promise. I'd like to say here's to another fifty chapters but this story definitely isn't going to have that many more so I won't say that. Anyway, let's move onto this Blaze-centric chapter. Also, this is by far the longest chapter of this story. There's a whole lot of stuff and character development jammed packed into this. Which is perhaps good since this is the 50th chapter of the story. Why not have it be great and full of stuff? That's also why this chapter took so long to put out because it was so long ultimately (over 20,000 words to be exact!). I really hope you all enjoy this whacky and twisty and heart wrenching 50th chapter. And remember to REVIEW as always or whatever if you feel like it or have something to say. Onwards we go now though!

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Chapter 50: Pull Back The Curtain

In the not too distant past

The girl brushed her hair to the usual right side of her face before stepping out into the sunlight. The main deck was packed with people her age, all happy and cheery. Already her peers were introducing themselves to one another, forging friendships and acquaintances. They were doing it so easily, without fear or hesitation.

She snorted quietly to herself. They were all a bunch of fools. Though, it was her generation, so she really shouldn't have been surprised. They were all so gullible, so willing to blindly place their faith in random strangers' hands. She knew from experience that people, especially teenagers, could be real assholes. So blindly making friends with just everyone you encountered would likely mean coming across people who were dickheads. Ignorance is bliss though isn't it? These kids really hadn't yet felt the bleakness of reality. Their naivety would be short-lived ultimately.

Perhaps that was just the way people were though. They liked to think the best of others and didn't ever consider the risks. It could be surprisingly easy to be an optimist. She did understand that friendship was a good thing of course. She simply detested the way people would often go about it is all. Friendship was supposed to be about trust, so blindly placing your trust in strangers really was more naivety than anything else. You're supposed to test the waters first, not blindly drink and hope you don't die. Friendship is for people who've earned your trust, not people who happen to be standing in close proximity to you.

She would not fall into the same trap as everyone else around here. She'd wait a few weeks or so maybe, examining her classmates and peers and from there she'd decide who was trustworthy and unlikely to stab her in the back at some point. Paranoia? Or maybe she was just being cautious. The world wasn't exactly a safe place after all.

Smiling stiffly to herself she began a slow walk around the deck and used her peripheral vision to get looks at those around her. She wasn't that impressed with what she saw. Not to say that there didn't seem to be a lot of good-natured people or anything, it was just that she knew to be weary of that kind too. People liked to put on masks to hide their true selves. This is why she'd wait a few weeks before making a move to integrate herself into a group. These people had every reason at this point to hide their true selves. She'd need to wait and evaluate these people over a larger period of time before making a decision and complete judgment of their character.

Ignoring some strange looks people were giving her she glided over to the railing to look out at the ocean. The waters were quite calm today, and the sun was just at the right height in the air so that the light reflected off of the water. It was a beautiful, peaceful sight. Just what she needed right now. Her searches like these could be exhausting sometimes. She hated having to be so weary of other people sometimes, but you could never be too careful. She often liked to quote Mark Hamill's Joker from Mask of the Phantasm on this subject.

"Can't be too careful with all those weirdoes around."

"Allow me to introduce myself," a voice called out. Looking down, the girl noticed a female standing at one side of an arena on the lower deck. Unlike the upper one, this one was much larger and had a number of bey stadiums installed in case students wanted to battle. Of course the Beyblade Legends Academy would accommodate their boat in such a way. There was always going to be a few schmucks whose soul purpose was to just bey battle. "I'm Sierra Crystals but my friends call me Era."

The girl couldn't help but chuckle a little at the nickname. Did her friends actually call her that? Or did she choose the nickname for herself and demand her friends call her that? Either way, she doubted anyone would actually refer to Sierra as 'Era' all year, even her schoolmates. Curious now though, she leaned up against the railing to get a better look down below. As it turned out, there was another girl standing at the side of the stadium with her arms crossed. She was to watch the battle apparently. There was also a boy facing down Sierra. A boy she recognized actually.

"Isn't that the weird kid from the dock?" she muttered to herself, recalling a strange boy she'd seen when they had all been waiting to board the ship. He had seemed hyperactive, was talking loudly to himself quite a bit and seemed oblivious to the stares and not so flattering reactions of those around him. He looked like a dumbass essentially. And an especially loud and annoying one too. Perhaps he'd at least prove to be a competent blader. Although the girl really wasn't getting her hopes up.

"…Thunder Angel, the ultimate attack type bey," she caught Sierra saying. She'd only been half paying attention to be honest. She didn't have that much interest in what was happening. But hey, a bey battle is a bey battle so why not enjoy some entertainment? That being said, she couldn't help but scrunch up her nose at the declaration Sierra had made. Typically arrogant people would declare their bey to be the 'ultimate' in some sort of way. It was essentially dick measuring but for beyblades. Sierra apparently felt that she needed to prove something to her opponent, which was amusing considering how oblivious he seemed. The boy's back was to her though, so she couldn't see any reaction he would have to Sierra beyond what he'd say.

"Sweet bey," the boy complimented with an almost annoying amount of enthusiasm. Guess he wasn't the type who cared when his opponent's flexed. "Well, my name is…."

"Uh, excuse me," the girl on the sidelines interrupted, literally raising her hand as if she were at school asking a question. "Aren't you going to introduce me Sierra?"

"Oh sorry," Sierra responded casually with a shrug. "This is Ninel Lucia Velasquez Bychkov, my friend."

The girl's ears perked up at this. Had the two become friends already? Had they met on the dock? Or had they been friends prior? After all, she specifically introduced Ninel as "her friend," so you'd assume they didn't just meet right? 'Cause otherwise, you're sort of jumping the gun a bit. The girl also couldn't also help but raise an eyebrow to the almost obnoxiously long name. Was it a dick move to judge someone just based off of their name? Yes. But she wasn't really judging the person, just the name itself. She always felt the concept of long names was gimmicky and eye rolling. This was a 'hate the system, not the player' scenario.

Returning her attention back to down below though, she watched in bemusement as the boy tried and failed to perfectly recite Ninel's entire name. It was hilarious the first three times. The next seven were just flat-out sad. Finally he seemed to give up, although his cheery and upbeat tone never left his voice. He was apparently one of those happy-go-lucky kids who'd never let their enthusiasm die for a second.

"Don't worry," Sierra mused, hand on her hip. "It took me some time to remember her name as well."

"Okay then," the boy declared as he pulled out his bey. "I'm Max Smith. My friends call me The Prince of Fire and this is my bey, Flame Swordsman."

"No fucking way," the girl whispered to herself as her grip tightened on the railing. She knew who The Prince of Fire was. She had never met him before, but she'd heard about him. Back in her hometown, she'd been the best. Her and Phoenix had destroyed any competition that had come her way. But there had always been a shadow, a shadow she'd been trapped in. Max Smith had risen to prominence before her, and thus his reputation therefore outpaced hers by far. It didn't help that they were both fire users, and thus, she often found herself being compared to him. How she loathed this blader she'd never even met. His reputation hung over her, and she often found her own achievements downplayed by others bringing his achievements up. They lied. Said she was simply trying to copy him. Trying to gain fame by being like him. It was all nonsense. And this supposedly great blader was…an obnoxious weirdo with so much cheeriness that it was sickening?

She didn't know whether to be angry or to laugh. This was the kid she was always unfavorably compared to? This was the so-called great Max Smith? She rubbed her eyes before refocusing her attention to the battle, which was now about to start. Maybe she was judging this kid too harshly? Maybe this was all just an act to fool people? That would make sense. He did this to lure his foes into a false sense of security perhaps? They'd assume he was just a silly kid when in fact he was a badass serious blader with limitless potential. If he turned out to be this super strong and down-to-earth blader, she might be able to handle the fact that his reputation had always unintentionally screwed hers over. Might being the key word here.

"Three!" cried Ninel.

"Two!" added Sierra.

"One!" finished Max.

"Let It Rip!"

"Watching a battle huh?" a voice from behind her said. A bit startled, she quickly whipped around to see a tall, thin boy behind her. His black hair was short at the back and spiked up at the front. He wore plain clothes; blue shirt, brown shorts. He seemed like the blandest guy you'd ever met.

"Sorry," he apologized quickly. "Didn't mean to startle you. I'm Trent."

He held out his hand to the girl, and she glanced at it wearily before accepting it. She did not return the greeting with her own name however. Trent noticed this after a moment or two and frowned but did not otherwise comment on it.

"Should be interesting hopefully," the boy commented as he leaned up against the railing next to the girl. "I've been itching for some entertainment around here. Do you know who's battling?"

Unlike Trent, who looked at her when he spoke, the girl kept her eyes locked on the battle. "The girl's name is Sierra. Boy's name is Max."

"Max huh? Like Max Smith," Trent gasped, holding a hand to his forehead. "Far out. I thought I recognized that kid. He has one heck of a reputation. It'll be interesting to see him battle in person."

The girl simply made a noise in the back of her throat in response. Trent again felt the awkwardness but did not speak up about it. The two watched the first exchange of moves, which was mostly composed of Flame Swordsman trying and failing to match Thunder Angel's raw attack power. As a result, Max's bey was mostly just getting thrown around the arena like a rag doll.

"Geezes…" the girl couldn't help but bite out as she shook her head. "Max fucking sucks. Like really sucks. I was expecting a bit more from such a so-called great blader. The best he can do is just…. declare attacks?"

"He's probably just feeling his opponent out," Trent replied with a shrug. "I doubt he'd have a reputation at all if he didn't have a sliver of battle intelligence or cunning. Just watch, he'll probably make a counterattack any second now."

As the boy predicted, Max did in fact mount a counterattack. His far swifter bey began dodging Angel's head-on strikes, quickly shifted behind it and then used its opponent's momentum against it to knock it away.

"See what I mean?" Trent said smugly, looking at the girl with raised eyebrows.

"You're going to break your arm jerking Max off as this point," was the rude remark he got in response. Trent seemed slightly off-put by the retort but quickly regained his composure. "He managed to nullify Sierra's first strategy, big whoop. The fact that it took him this long at all is in of itself a letdown."

"Ten bucks says Max wins the battle."

"I don't gamble if that's what you're asking. Geezes, we're only teenagers yet here you are encouraging underage gambling. There's some other kids down there watching too. Why don't you set up a betting system with them and rob the poor suckers of their cash? Would that make your day?"

Trent was a little flustered now but bit his tongue; deciding that arguing with this girl wasn't worth the effort. Instead, he opted to glare at her for a bit before turning his attention back to the battle. The thing he hated the most of this though was the tone of the girl's insults. They were mostly said with indifference as opposed to biting malice. She sounded bored rather than purposefully antagonistic. That somehow made it worse in Trent's mind.

By this point, Sierra had executed a special move, showering the stadium with lightning, which not only damaged the arena, but also eventually struck and slowed Max's bey. The girl could see right away that this was over. Sierra smelt blood, and she was going in for the kill. Swordsman accidently rolled into one of the newly made cracks, trapping itself and leaving it as an easy target for Angel.

"Time to end this!" cried Sierra, dramatically holding her arm up in the air. Her bey began to spin around the arena, building up speed, momentum and power. This would be the killing blow. One direct attack from Thunder Angel would likely knock Swordsman out of the arena.

"You're about to lose that hypothetical ten dollars," the girl couldn't help but brag. Trent did not glance at her and instead chuckled to himself. His sudden confidence irked the girl even if she didn't outwardly show it.

"I think Max is about to win actually," Trent beamed. "Look, I can see Max is about to mount his next counterattack already. His bey is already catching fire."

The girl narrowed her eyes as she redirected her gaze to Flame Swordsman. To her surprise, Trent was correct as the bey was indeed lighting itself on fire. But to what end? How was this going to stop Sierra's attack?

"Special Move!" roared Max as a figure burst from his bey. "Flame Sword Slash!" The bey beast was a glorious Red Knight, armed with a deadly flaming sword. It swung its blade with precision, intercepting Angel and sending it flying to the other side of the arena with a crash.

"Wow!" Trent cheered, applauding lightly even. "What a move. Did you see that?" He nudged the person beside him for extra (annoying) effect. "That was incredible." The girl though was not impressed. Or if she was, she refused to show it.

"It's just a special move," she responded, trying to not let her annoyance seep into her voice. "You just saw Sierra pull one off." She paused for a moment. "Also, don't touch me again."

"Yeah, but he clearly outclassed her didn't he?" Trent came back with quickly. "And on its own, it's a pretty powerful move that could also be utilized in a variety of situations. That's the mark of a truly good special move. One that's useful for any number of scenarios. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Humph."

"Look at the battle though," Trent persisted, gesturing down. "The flames from that attack have now spread through the cracks and have trapped Angel. Max has completely turned the tables and Sierra's bey is now completely vulnerable to an attack."

The girl simply shrugged. "Lucky move."

"Go again!" declared Max, flinging his right arm out. He was really getting into the battle now. "Flame Sword Slash!"

The girl and Trent watched as an on-fire Flame Swordsman leapt though the wall of fire and came down upon Angel, sending sparks flying. Emerging from the embers on the battlefield too was the Red Knight. Raising its blade above its head, it brought it down on Angel with a crash, sending dust and debris everywhere.

As said dust settled, Thunder Angel came to a stop at Sierra's feet. The girl had to admit; she found something oddly satisfying with the shocked look on her face. She'd been arrogant at the start, so she was in a sense glad that she lost even though she'd also been rooting for Max to fail. It was both a win-win and lose-lose situation from the start. A Schrodinger's cat if you will. That was the correct use of the term right? The girl would have to look it up later to confirm.

Trent turned to the person beside him once more. "Thoughts on Max Smith now?"

"Still not impressed." Again, she did not turn to actually speak to the boy's face.

Tent looked at her for the longest time, a frown evident on his plain face. "Do you have a grudge against the guy or something?" he dared to ask.

"Do you always play twenty questions with strangers who you've just met?"

"I'm just trying to be nice," Trent groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It won't be any fun at this academy if you don't have any friends after all. Shouldn't you be trying to make some…. even just casual companions?"

"I'm picky about the people I hang with is all," was the vague response from the girl.

"And how do I stack up?" Trent asked cautiously, although his patience was really starting to wear thin now.

"Hmmmmm…. You failed with flying colours. Happy now?"

"If you don't want to be friends that's fine," Trent snapped. He'd finally had enough. "You could at least have the decency of looking me in the eye. That's how people talk you know? You're just being overtly dickish with what you're doing."

"You continue to speak as if I should care about anything you have to say," was the distant response he was given. The girl still did not meet his gaze and had returned to staring out at the ocean.

Trent looked at her angrily for a good long while before sighing and hanging his head. "I hope you enjoy coasting through life giving everyone the finger. It sounds nice and lonely. And good luck with your weird grudge or whatever against Max Smith. I hope he kicks your ass when you two battle at some point or another."

The girl finally turned to look at him, surprise evident in her eyes as if she hadn't seen him before. "Are you still here?"

"Enjoy your time at the academy being alone," Trent spat as he walked off. "I hope you find that happiness you're looking for buried deep inside yourself somewhere. Because if it's anywhere or with anyone else, you obviously won't find it with your methods."

The girl did not say anything as the boy vanished into the crowd. She kept staring straight ahead at the water. She kept her cool, and did not let the boy's words shake her. Any lingering thoughts of doubt she pushed down into the recesses of her mind. Instead she focused on Max, Ninel and Sierra as they walked off, all three laughing as if they'd been mates for years.

Blaze Markura put on what she felt was a convincing grin as Max Smith vanished from her sight. She refused to let her lip quiver. "The Prince of Fire huh?"

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The Present

Blaze Markura, Kiara Summers, Simon Nikso, Kenny Mojo and Mana Valkov stood in shock at the sight before them. Jaden Grace's dead body lay on the ground, broken and battered. There was a hole in her chest, where her heart should have been. Instead, it had been crushed in Max Smith's hand and then unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Max himself stood before them, cackling like a mad man with his eyes lacking all humanity. They were as black as night, an endless sea of nothing.

Of course, this wasn't really Max Smith. Not in a technical sense anyway. No, this was The Reaper, a dark fragment of Max's mind that had taken over his body. The real Max was apparently dead, killed during his bey battle with Jaden. In Max's final moments, The Reaper, or Azrael as he now called himself, assumed control of the boy's body just as his life faded away. With Max's mind technically dead, Azrael could control the body completely unopposed and utilize his full power.

Jaden Grace would be the first real victim of this madman.

"Why so glum friends?" Azrael taunted with a sadistic grin. "It's your old pal Max. Aren't you glad he's alive?" The boy's faux-sweet voice was absolutely sickening.

"You're not Max," Mana scowled, daring to take a step forward. "You said it yourself…you're The Reaper. Or Azrael of whatever the fuck you call yourself. All I know is that you're not Max. Not the real him anyway."

Azrael mockingly put on a fake frown, as if Mana's words had hurt him. "Mana…how could you say those things?" he muttered with artificial sadness. "Words do hurt you know? It really is me Max…I just happened to change my tune a bit." He suddenly dropped the act entirely and shifted back into psycho mode. "Murder is surprisingly fun. Ya'll should really try it sometime. It's great stress relief."

"Cut the act!" Simon snapped, fists clenched as he slowly approached Azrael. "Look, you've had your fun, but right now we don't have the time to deal with you. Give Max back. In case you didn't notice," he pointed to a monolith in the distance. "We're dealing with some end of the world shit right now. So can we solve you and Max's body feud another time?"

Azrael barked out a laugh and quickly stepped forward, catching Simon's wrist and twisting it. The blonde-haired boy screamed and fell to his knees, cuddling his injured left wrist. His friends all cringed but were ultimately too scared to rush over to help him.

"Max is gone Mr. Nikso," Azrael mused as he leaned down to look Simon in the face. The other boy kept his head down though. "You have to rip off that band aid now and move on to bigger and better things." He reached out and grabbed Simon's chin to force him to look up. All humor suddenly fell away from Azrael's face and was replaced with anger. "Look at yourself Simon," he grilled. "You're a fucking pussy. A wuss. You step forward and talk down to me and all it takes for me to break you is a little twist of the wrist. That's fucking pathetic. You're pathetic."

Simon could feel Azrael's frustration in his breathe as it bore down on his face. His eyes were tearing up in fear now, wondering if his life was suddenly about to be cut short just like Jaden's was. "You're just a little kid in his pajamas Simon," Azrael continued. "So know your place and back the fuck down."

He shoved Simon to the ground, who whimpered but dared not do anything or say anything else. The others gave him sympathetic looks but did not step near him lest they incur the wrath of Azrael. They were sure to keep a close eye on him, not trusting him to remain where he was anyway. To his credit though, he casually watched and waited with his hands folded behind his back for a moment.

"Max is dead," he said finally. "I can confirm. He has passed on to the next life. I'd like to say he's looking down at us with a smile but to be honest…I don't believe in heaven. So…obviously I'm not going to use that for a joke."

"I refuse to believe you," Kiara spoke out now. She was still using Blaze for support to stand though. "I don't think Max is gone. A part of him is still in there. I don't believe that you could be here if Max was completely gone."

Azrael titled his head at her. "You keep saying gone," he noted. "Not dead. I wonder why that is. After all, if you really don't think he's truly dead then you should be able to say it." He smiled. "So? Let's hear it Kiara. Tell us how Max isn't really dead. You've got to say it like you mean it. Tell us how Max isn't dead. D. E. A. D. Dead. Come on. I want to hear you say it. Man the fuck up and say it. Tell me that Max isn't dead!"

Kiara licked her lips. She wanted to prove this demon wrong and do what he said easily to fuck with him. She wanted the words to come out smoothly and confidently. But she couldn't fight back the doubt at the back of her mind. It was small, but just big enough to make her hesitate. Make her trip over her words.

"Max isn't dead," Blaze stated firmly for Kiara instead. All eyes turned to her, surprised. Well, everyone's except Azrael anyway. He instead rolled his eyes as hard as humanly possible and lightly applauded.

"Good for you Blazie," he mocked, eyes narrowed. "You mustered the courage to lie to yourself. That takes a lot of effort." Blaze wouldn't admit it, but the sarcastic words did hurt. But she had spoken up and wasn't going to back down now.

"Or maybe you're lying to yourself," she retorted, looking Azrael right in the eye with determination. "Maybe it's just in your best interests to pretend that Max is dead. Because if he resurfaces, then you go by-bye again."

"Urgh," Azrael groaned as he clutched his stomach, as if sick all of a sudden. "Your sentiment and undying love for a shit head is making me throw up in my mouth." He stood up straight again and put his hands on his hips, as if he was going to chastise everyone before him. "You know Blaze, out of everyone here, I didn't think you'd be the one to so strongly believe Max was still alive."

"Truth be told, I don't really hold your opinion on anything in that high regard," Blaze shot back quickly, as sarcastic as ever.

Azrael was undeterred and grinned playfully back at her. "Remember when you were just a stupid girl who came up with that convoluted plan to face Max by stealing someone else's bey?" Blaze's face darkened notably at the memory. Azrael noticed immediately and seized on this like a shark smelling blood. "Did I touch a nerve? What happened to the cold exterior you used to have? I always took you to be a lone wolf and yet…here you are in a pack…standing all afraid and wounded with the others."

He reached down and yanked Simon up by the collar and pushed him back. Mana and Kenny caught him before he could trip and fall but immediately stepped back as Azrael stormed forward. Kiara and Blaze similarly took some steps back as the demon masquerading as their friend approached.

"Friendship is just an excuse for weaklings to cling together and pretend they have strength," Azrael snarled, seemingly legit angry for a change. His frown was noticeable and the way he said friendship would incline one to believe he was disgusting with simply saying the word. Despite not being taller than anyone else there, it felt as if he were looking down on those before him.

"It's all just a lie. Something weak people do to hedge their bets. Everyone pretends as if they value bonds with other people but in reality, it's all just for self-satisfaction. People don't like to be alone; friendship is thus just an excuse to overcome that loneliness. Everyone does it and voilà; we're all just leaching off each other. It's not done out of kindness, but because we're programmed to do so. We feast off one another, and it's all done in service of yourself. Friendship in reality has nothing to do with what people believe it to mean. It's just coded language for being parasites to one another. It's a sickening phenomenon that the human race has convinced themselves is actually something positive. The world is built on lies. And despite what people will tell you, we prefer the comfort of lies to the harshness of reality. It's why we love to gloss over the horrors and atrocities of our past. Humanity always has been and always will be broken. It will never be right. And you can only start living once you accept that fact. Friendship is built on the lie that people want to help one another, when in reality; it's nothing of the sort. People use those around them as emotional support, those people being nothing more than tools for oneself to stand up right. Toxic or abusive relationships as we like to call them are actually just the same as any normal one. The difference is, the people behind them aren't fucking deluding themselves into believing what they're doing isn't an act of selfishness. It's friendship taken to its most extreme, where you use someone else close to you to get some form of satisfaction or validation. And when you do something for someone else, you expect them to treat you the same. It's a vicious, parasitical cycle that we've convinced ourselves is civilized and normal behavior. But if we remove our rose-tinted glasses, it becomes clear that it's just another example of how fucking monstrous mankind really is."

It was silent for a moment except for the heavy breathing of Azrael who had worked himself up during his big rant. No one dared to say anything, or perhaps they could not think of anything to say. Simon and Kiara had noticeably paled from the depressing speech, whereas Mana and Blaze remained neutral and stoic with their expressions. Kenny was the odd one out, having his head titled to the side as if trying to examine the figure before them.

"So where do you fit in in all of this?" Kiara finally asked, almost whispering. Her eyes never left Azrael as she spoke.

He turned to her, hands folded behind his back, putting on his trademark ugly grin again. "When the game is fucked, you don't play the game. I know how well and truly screwed all the rules and mechanics are. So I remove myself from the equation. I'm free."

"Free to kill and relish in violence you mean?" Blaze shot back. "You say friendship is parasitic and monstrous, but we just watched you torture and kill Jaden while laughing."

Azrael chuckled as he turned and walked over to where Jaden's corpse lay. He leaned down to examine it and rubbed his chin in a cartoonish and exaggerated manner. He used his fingers to create a square to look at the body through before taking a few steps back. He then surged forward and kicked the corpse's head like a soccer ball.

There was a loud snap as Jaden's head sailed through the air and came crashing down at the feet of Team Nova Flare and Mana.

Azrael gasped and clutched his head. "Oh no…what have I done?" he fake-panicked. "I killed a psychopathic girl who liked to torture people! I'm a monster! A monster I tell you!" His bizarrely British tone added to the over-all mocking nature of his act.

"Killing someone like Jaden doesn't suddenly make you a good person!" Blaze scowled angrily.

"Did I say I was morally righteous?" Azrael intoned calmly. "No. I love committing atrocities. But here's the thing, I'm not standing here claiming I'm a morally good person when I'm not. I love to kill. And make people suffer. I do whatever I please. I'm truly free. The one thing I have that you don't is self-awareness. I'm not pretending to be someone I'm not. Nor am I hiding behind coded language to pretend that I'm a good person. I'm a monster and I know it." He leaned forward dramatically. "So…what about you all? Anyone up for a confession? Tell me your sins," he mocked.

"Fuck you," was all Blaze had to say. Quick as flash though, Azrael was upon her, hand on her throat, lifting her into the air. Kiara, suddenly without her support, stumbled and fell as Blaze was thrown to the ground. She spluttered as Azrael knelt over her and grinned.

"You first then Blazie," he taunted, licking his lips. He snapped his left hand out, catching the redhead in the throat and pinning her down. He positioned his knee so that it was bearing down on her stomach, essentially trapping her on the ground. "So…. anything you want to tell good old Doc Azrael?"

She glared for a moment before spitting in his face. He casually wiped the saliva away with his free hand and then slapped her. He heard Kiara gasp from somewhere beside him but he ignored her. His attention fixed on Blaze; he used his free hand now to squish her cheeks, as if forcing her to pucker up. He leaned closer so that she could feel his breathe on her face.

"You disappoint me Blazie," he stated quietly. "You used to be somewhat admirable. Cold, calculating, quiet, paranoid…such a shame you grew a quote-on-quote healthy personality. What happened to you? You grew sociable…willing to exchange banter and snappy comments. What happened to the quiet girl who kept to herself? Who was distrustful of everyone around her? What happened to the real you?"

Blaze swallowed hard before responding. "I am the real me," she insisted. Her tone was brave, especially considering the position she was currently in. Azrael leaned harder on his knee as punishment for her insolence. She groaned in pain as it became a little harder to breathe.

"Oh Blaze," Azrael muttered sadly. "If only that were true. But you've fallen into the same trap as everyone else." He leaned closer; so close that Blaze feared he was going to kiss her for a moment. But his face kept going and stopped next to her ear so that he could whisper into it. "You've conformed. You've let your guard down. And when the chips are down, you'll live to regret it. Because when it matters, and the world is going to hell, it'll be every man for himself. And they will disappoint you, just as you always feared they would."

"…No," Blaze found the will to whisper back. It was tough even speaking with how Azrael's knee was planted in her stomach. "They're not like that…they have my trust and I have theirs."

"And yet, here we are," Azrael responded simply. "My hand on your throat. I could kill you right now you realize. And what are your friends doing? They're watching. They're scared. If they truly have your trust, they'd be trying to pry you out from underneath me. But instead they're watching. Because they're afraid of what will happen to themselves if they interfere. It's like I said…every man for himself."

As the demon's words pounded through her head, she suddenly found that she could breathe properly again. Azrael had stood up, but he still had his hand on her throat. Like a rag doll he threw her into the arms of Mana and Kenny, with all three falling to the ground from the impact. Azrael watched bemused, as they all slowly got to their feet and watched him apprehensively.

"So what happens now," Mana gritted out. "Another bullshit speech about how friendship sucks." She'd apparently regained enough courage to speak out, even after seeing what Azrael had done to Blaze.

Azrael lifted his chin. "I don't recall any of you actually disproving any points I made so I fail to see why I need to continue or elaborate."

"So if I take a bullet for someone out of friendship or love, how is that parasitic?" Mana snapped.

"Well, you're dead so you essentially just played yourself didn't you?" Azrael shrugged. "And you've probably caused the person you saved a lot of grief with your death. That's what happens. The parasitic cycle is so ingrained in humanity's culture and DNA that if you break it, you still lose. That's why you don't play the game. Because the moment you let life deal you a hand, you're fucked. So you do what I do. You say "fuck it," shoot the dealer and flip the table. Then you make off with the tokens to cash them in at a later date. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Any other questions about life?"

Mana backed down, and Blaze seemed to be in shock from when Azrael attacked her and thus, did not speak up again. Simon was too scared from when he had his wrist twisted earlier and Kenny seemed fine with remaining silent for this conversation. That left Kiara as the only one willing to talk.

"So, who's side are you on then?" she asked. By now, she had managed to stand by herself, even if she did seem a bit unstable and dizzy still. "Do you care what Zygor does? Or Nemesis' Heir? The end of the world is upon us." She gestured to the monoliths in the distance. "So…are you fighting with us to stop them or against us to let it all happen?"

Azrael stroked his non-existent beard. "Hmm…excellent question Ms. Summers." He began to pace, like a university professor. It was quite surreal really. "I do like chaos and people dying horribly while screaming…but…is this what I want? And besides…I do owe Zygor a beating for when he messed with me last time. Hmm…this is a tough choice." He paused and turned back to face everyone else. "I might need to think on this further and get back to you with my final decision."

Kiara's eyes widened in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"I think I'll leave you kids for now," Azrael chuckled lightly. "But I hope we all got something out of this nice discussion. If you come away from this with anything it should be this: Max is dead. And friendship is a lie. Once you accept those things, the truth, then you'll live a far more fulfilling life. Toodaloo!" He gave a small wave before his body gave off a blast of energy, and suddenly, everything was turning black.

Blaze grimaced slightly as the darkness swept over her. Her minor reaction seemed to be because her mind was elsewhere. Her hand was on her throat, where Azrael's fingers had left a bruise. But he had left his mark in more than a physical way. His words were currently digging into Blaze's mind, sinking deeper and deeper.

---

The Not Too Distant Past

Blaze's staring contest with the wall was going poorly. She had already lost thirty rounds against the stubborn grey thing. She was slowly growing to hate it. She never thought she'd have this much disdain for an inanimate object.

She had been unable to sleep and so had turned on the lights and begun staring at the wall. She was never one for sleep anyway and so wasn't too concerned about being tired for classes the next day. Her mind was preoccupied anyhow. With thoughts of Max Smith of all people.

Her encounter with him had been…interesting to say the least. For whatever reason, the redhead had felt compelled to orchestrate a convoluted plot to get to battle him. It involved stealing Kiara Summers' bey to gain his attention before challenging him. After seeing him battle Sierra, she was surprised to find him even more irritating in person. His joyous and oblivious nature was annoyingly sweet. She didn't like it. It felt too…impossible. It made it seem all like some stupid act.

She hated how she conducted herself too. For whatever reason, the idea of beating Max and proving all her detractors wrong had made her all jittery with excitement. Instead of calmly asking Max for a battle, she had come up with a scheme of all things as if she were a cartoon character and had even been dramatic for the sake of it. Her! Dramatic?

She was supposed to be calm, cool and collected. Never giving the opponent anything to work off of. Never giving them anything to read into. She was supposed to be blank like the wall before her – impossible to read.

But she hadn't done that. She had been too confident and too excited. She had even gotten overtly angry when Kiara insulted her appearance. Heck, she'd done exactly what Sierra had did earlier and introducer her bey and everything. It was all so pathetic and melodramatic in retrospective.

"I will burn you to ashes," she muttered before face-palming herself. "Who the hell says that? Who talks like that? Why did I say that to him?"

She turned around on the bed and collapsed face-first into her pillow. She hated herself right now. Not only had she been cocky like Sierra and lost, she'd also conducted herself so poorly. And she couldn't quite figure out why. It was so frustrating for her. She was usually good at keeping her composure and reading people.

And yet…Max Smith had defied both expectations. Blaze didn't know what to think of The Prince of Fire anymore and she didn't know why he made her act so out of character. What a conundrum this was.

---

Not Too Long Later

Blaze had found a nice lunch table in the cafeteria all to herself. It was in a corner, far away from anyone else. She liked it. It meant she could read her African history book in peace. No one to distract her or anything. All was well.

"Hello, hello. What's all this then?"

Then Max fucking Smith had to drop into the seat next to her with a tray packed full of food and ruin everything.

Blaze's right eye twitched but she managed to keep her composure this time. She ran her usual mind-calming exercises over and over, ensuring that she'd remain her usual indifferent self this time.

"Hello Mr. Smith," she said blandly, hoping her tone would scare him off or inform him that she wanted to be alone right now.

Max was far too oblivious to pick up on such subtly though. "Hey, we're close enough to be on a first name basis with each other I feel," he responded cheerfully as he began munching on his burger. Clearly he was not one for table manners, as he ate with his mouth open, letting crumbs fall all over the table. It was a little disgusting to be honest.

"Shouldn't you be sitting with your friends?" Blaze asked, still looking at her book.

"Aren't we friends?" Max asked, turning to her, bits of burger flying from his mouth. He talks with his mouth full too apparently.

"We hardly know each other," Blaze replied calmly, although she felt much different about this question on the inside. "We've only talked once and it wasn't exactly on good terms."

Max swallowed and considered this for a moment before shrugging. "True," he acknowledged. "But there's no bad blood between us or anything. And if you battle with someone, you're at the very least an acquaintance."

"Fine," Blaze accepted. "We're acquaintances. Shouldn't you be with your friends? Like Sierra and Ninel for example?"

Max shrugged again as he finished off his burger and began slurping up his soup. "They've been talking about a lot of girly stuff that I just can't get into at all unfortunately. Besides, I saw you sitting here all alone. Thought you might like some company."

"How thoughtful of you." It took all of Blaze's self control to not smirk a little when delivering that line monotonously. "But I'm fine sitting here by myself. I like the quiet."

Max stopped slurping his soup to look up at her again. "But…don't you get lonely? You're at a school full of wonderful people. Don't you want to spend time with them all? Get to know people?"

"Are they really all that wonderful?" Blaze deflected, eyes still trained on her book. "I saw you butting heads with Grace today in class during your battle with Morgan and Carlos. I also caught snippets of your confrontation with Jaden Grace. She especially didn't seem like a nice person to be around."

"A few bad apples doesn't spoil the whole batch," Max noted as he finished his soup off and began devouring his salad. This boy was a bottomless pit. "Grace specifically wasn't so bad either. She's a little stubborn but so are a lot of people. That doesn't necessarily make them bad people. Heck, Morgan and Carlos seem like pretty chill guys as well."

"I tend not to judge people on a surface level," was Blaze's cryptic and simple response. "People aren't always what they seem…. especially on the surface."

"That is true," Max pondered as he began using his plastic fork to pick at his teeth. "But that's sort of the fun with socializing. You don't know who someone is really until you give them a chance. No one is who they are on a surface level sense. Even the most bold and shameless people."

Blaze paused her reading and thought for a moment before putting her book down and turning to the boy beside her for the first time. "So you're saying you too aren't what you appear to be on a surface level sense?"

Max casually shrugged (again) as he continued to waffle down his salad at a frightening speed. "I guess it'd apply just as much to me as anyone."

"So who are you really then?" Blaze pushed. She still maintained her bored tone and inflection however.

"If you're willing to be my friend," Max offered his hand. "Maybe you'll find out. That's the best part about friendship. You get to learn who people really are as you spend time with them."

Blaze looked at Max's hand for the longest time before turning away and picking up her book. "Perhaps another time," she said. The decision had been harder then she thought it would be. She could see the frown that had formed on the brunette's face out of the corner of her eye too. "I appreciate the offer. But…I don't think I'm quite ready for friendship yet."

The rejection of his offer seemed to legitimately put a dent in Max's good mood. Blaze was secretly feeling quite guilty now, partially because she'd yet to see Max upset like this and she had been the first to cause it to happen.

"Hey, how come you only have a single apple on your tray?" he asked suddenly. Blaze was legitimately caught off guard by the sudden shift in the conversation and briefly glanced away from her book to look at the red apple in front of her.

"I wasn't that hungry," Blaze replied before resuming reading. Again.

"But it's lunch," Max insisted. "Lunch!" he said louder when Blaze didn't respond the first time. "Heck, you haven't even taken a bite yet. I know most people don't eat as much as me but…come on!" He was waving his arms in the air now like this was a crisis. "Food is important. You should at the very least be eating the apple currently. You have to eat something at each meal during the day. You know, health and all that."

"I guess I really aren't that hungry then," was Blaze's reply.

Max began looking back and forth between Blaze and her tray with the apple for a good twenty seconds before lifting his own tray and swapping it with hers. Blaze lowered her book and blinked a few times in surprise.

"Did I miss something?"

"I call it Musical Trays," Max grinned cheekily. "Trademark," he added quickly. "You swap trays with someone to see what other people like to eat. So now you have a bit more variety to choose from." He began gesturing to the remaining food on his old tray as if he were hosting a cooking show. "Firstly we have some tasty fried chicken. Then over here we a bowl of fried rice. And lastly, we have a delicious chocolate cupcake. So, what'll it be first?"

"I did say I wasn't hungry right?" Blaze intoned.

Max smirked. "Was that a semi-snarky reply? Is Blaze coming out of her shell a little to engage in some banter with me?"

"No." Blaze however, was cursing in her head because she knew the Prince of Fire was correct. He had caught her. She was annoyed, because she shouldn't have let such a comment slip! How was he breaking through her blank canvas like this? And so easily too? It was frustrating her beyond belief. Also, how the hell did someone like Max even exist! This had to all be an act right? Right?

"Judges Verdict: Rejected," Max called out, laughing. "Sorry, but the rules of the game dictate that you at least try each food on the tray in front of you. I'll start." He snatched up the apple that now belonged to him, threw it into the air, caught it and then took a nice big bite out of it. "Your turn Blaze."

"I don't feel like playing."

"Come on Blaze," Max insisted as he picked up a piece of chicken and began waving it near Blaze's face. "You've got to work with me here. Like Grace did today. She was reluctant too but you saw how it all turned out."

""I guess I'm just not in the mood."

Max sighed in defeat as he put the chicken down and took another bite out of the apple. "Is this all because I beat you in the battle?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"What makes you think it's about that?" was the response after a beat.

"Well when I zoned out while you were talking to me before our battle, I vaguely recall you saying something about people comparing you to me and it negatively affected you in some way," Max explained. "You seemed like you really wanted to beat me to and that didn't happen in the end." He laughed awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess what I'm saying is…is there some bad blood between us? Are you still resentful about the comparison?"

Blaze was legitimately caught off guard by the question. Because she was shocked to realize that she didn't feel any animosity towards him anymore because of that reason. Her annoyance with Max had been for other things. Rather how he'd made her act so differently than usual. She was sore about the defeat too, but she wasn't exactly holding a grudge over it like she thought she would.

"No, there isn't any bad blood between us Max," she clarified. "I assure you." She was no longer attempting to read her book amidst the conversation, but kept holding it up to create the illusion. Max didn't catch on to the fact that she had stopped turning pages.

The Swordsman blader managed a smile as he took yet another bite out of the apple. "That's good to know. Because I wouldn't want something like that coming between our friendship."

"I thought you said we were acquaintances?" Blaze asked.

"But we've been having this entire back and forth," Max returned with another apple bite. He continued speaking as he munched on the fruit. "This isn't a very general conversation. It's quite specific. Only friends do this. That's the funny thing about friendship. It's not really a dictionary definition type of thing. It's quite…what's the word…malleable? Yeah, malleable. It's not a one-size-fits-all type thing. It varies here and there and you can't quite pin it down into exact words. That's what's so special about the concept. Friendship comes in all shapes and sizes."

Max swung his arm over so that it was around Blaze's neck. He pulled her in close and lifted up his phone for a selfie. "Smile!" he cheered as he took the picture. Blaze had been too surprised and confused, and thus, had dropped her book and was making an O sound with her mouth when the flash went off. It was a pretty bizarre photo but in a cute sort of way.

Max let out a yawn as he stood up and stretched dramatically. "Well, I think I'm going to head off to my next class early. After being late to the first one, the last thing I need is another hypothetical detention. See you around Blaze. As I said last time, I look forward to our next battle." He turned to leave before looking back over his shoulder and adding. "And by the way, I prefer snarky, attitude you from when we first met. But that's just my opinion."

He left the half-eaten apple in front of her as he took off down the nearest corridor to his next class. Unfortunately, the boy had walked in the opposite direction of where he needed to go. That kid would certainty lose his head if it wasn't attached to his body.

Blaze meanwhile was studying the apple intently. She had completely forgotten about her book at this point, which was lying on the table, opened to a random page. She reached out towards the piece of fruit, hesitant to touch it though as if it would bite her. She couldn't help but pick it up ultimately and then take a bite herself. That's when she noticed that Max had used the pieces of chicken on her tray to spell out FRIEND. The redhead couldn't help but laugh as she took another bite of the apple.

'Goddammit,' she thought to herself. 'That kind is something else. I hate him and yet…I also like the bastard too.'

Blaze Markaru let out uncharacteristic smile as she finished the apple and then tried all the food on her tray that Max Smith had left her. She wouldn't admit it out loud to anyone, but her talk with Max might have been the best conversation she'd ever had with anyone that wasn't family.

Life never ceases to amaze.

---

The Present Again

"Well, this is just fantastic," Blaze heard Simon curse as she came to. All five of them were lying on the ground and Azrael was nowhere to be seen. Blaze's hand instinctively went to her throat as she slowly sat up. The bruise was still fresh. She could feel it. It made her skin crawl.

"Where did that piece of shit go?" Mana hissed as she used a nearby tree as support to pull herself up.

"I'm guessing he's gone," replied Kiara as she too slowly managed to get to her feet. She was rubbing her head though, apparently still a bit dazed from earlier.

"So…I guess that means…Max really is gone then?" Kenny spoke for the first time in a while. Everyone turned to look at him grimly, but otherwise did not say anything in response.

"Like we're going to believe anything a guy called The Reaper says," Mana finally mustered the courage to say. "He's a psycho so of course the first thing he thinks of to do is psyche us out. Gaslight us. Typical psychopath thing to do."

"Are you certain of that?" the bey mechanic replied as he turned to face her. He removed his glasses to rub his eyes momentarily. "Because…as bad as it sounds…there is some logic to what he says. We are what brought Max back the last time…so why would it be different now? We all saw him collapse to the ground… perhaps its for the best if we at least entertain the idea that…"

"That what?" Mana growled at him, fists bunched up. "Go on…say it!"

Kenny sighed as he looked away from her. "We have to at least entertain the idea that Max really may be dead."

THWACK!

Kenny stumbled back in shock, grasping his red-hot cheek in pain. Mana's knuckle was already bruising from the punch, and her eyes were wet with tears. Before anyone could interfere, she moved in on Kenny again, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him up against the nearest tree.

"You fucking take that back you little shit!" she screamed at the boy.

"Whoa, Mana, calm down," Simon attempted to calm as her as he approached but she glared at him and he winced with fear and backed off.

"You're Max's friend!" Mana spat, turning back to Kenny. "And you're so ready to believe that he's dead on the word of a fucking murderer! Are you hearing yourself right now!"

Kenny seemed mightily uncomfortable but otherwise did not fight against Mana. He lowered his head so that he wouldn't have to look her in the eyes. "Remember when we talked earlier in the night? How I asked you if you wished you'd taken the blue pill…well…this is what happens when you take the red pill. There's no going back…you have to accept reality for what it is…and if Max really is dead…we have to be willing to accept that too…I don't like it…but…in such a grave situation…we have to at least be ready for the possibility that he is gone…"

Mana's grip on Kenny's shirt loosened as he spoke, till finally she had let go all together and fallen to her knees. Her face was buried in her hands as she cried. Others around her were finally feeling the full effects of the revelation. Azrael saying Max was dead was different to one of there own saying it. Before it was easy to deny, but now…they couldn't hold back their anguish. Simon was swearing profusely as he lightly punched the ground with his good hand. Kiara had leaned against a tree to silently cry to herself and Kenny had closed his eyes to pray in his head. Pray that Maxwell Smith was in a better place now.

The only one with dry eyes was Blaze. Her face had become an expressionless mask devoid of any emotion. Her mouth was in a hard, firm line and her hand continued to massage the bruise on her throat. She had switched back to her old persona, the blank canvas. She ran her exercises through her head, ensuring to bottle up and hide all her feelings of sorrow. She would not cry. Not this time.

"It's time to move," she said after a beat. Everyone's weary eyes turned to her. "Max is dead…we can't change that. Even if he's alive…we have no idea where Azrael is right now and none of us I think are in the right headspace to take him on and try and get Max back…but we still have Zygor to face. Those monoliths aren't going away by themselves. We have a job to do. We have to finish the job and shut them down or whatever. With or without Max's help."

"Can we really do this though?" Simon muttered through his sobbing. "Max…he was the heart and soul of this group…and things have never been this serious before…how are we supposed to fight in our current state…we just lost a dear friend…"

"We fight today and mourn tomorrow," was Blaze's monotone yet firm response. The others were a little stunned actually, because she'd never spoken like this to them before. It was as if someone had flicked a switch and her emotion had left her body. "This is war…and we're soldiers on the battlefield. We mourn the dead when the sun rises and victory belongs to us. Until then, we say our prayers, reload our guns, and jump back into the trenches. People are counting on us. The world is counting on us. This isn't the time to sit here feeling sorry for ourselves."

"What do you think we should do then?" Kiara questioned. She had been the first to understand the merit to her teammate's words and toughen up a little. "We're a man down…perhaps our strongest man. How do you think we should proceed from here?"

Blaze looked to the nearest monolith in the distance. "We split up. There are four monoliths. We each go to one of them and find some way to shut it down. That's the only solution. We let nothing stand in our way. The world is depending on us. So we can't hold back no matter what obstacles lie before us."

"There's only three of us without Max," Kiara noted. Blaze's eyes immediately moved to Mana though. The girl was still on her knees and had her face covered with her hands. She didn't appear to be crying anymore though.

"Fuck, no way," Simon swore as he turned to Blaze. "She…she's not in as deep as the rest of us. She shouldn't be going in Max's place. She's been through enough shit as is. We can't put such a burden on her. We can't expect someone to step into Max's shoes. Not like this." He began to cry again. "We've lost one friend tonight already…we're not sending another to their grave."

"She's right," Mana interrupted. She slowly removed her hands from her face and stood up. She wiped her tears away and looked up the night sky. "Max is gone…someone needs to fight in his place. You're right Simon…I'm not in as deep as you guys. Or at least I wasn't until tonight. But now…I've seen too much. And fuck it…Max…that idiot…he'd want us to keep going. He'd want me to keep going. The world is fucking ending…I have to step up. There is no choice…the world is counting on us. On me. I have to do this."

"Mana…" Kiara said quietly. "You do realize though…this might be more serious than anything else that's happened this year…we might not just be talking about souls. You might be putting your actual life on the line…and we can't force you to do that." She swallowed hard before continuing. "Mana…it's your choice and it might seem like this isn't actually a decision but…no one is going to judge you for backing out…we're all only kids…we shouldn't be dealing with something like this…You especially out of all of us shouldn't have to…if you want to walk away now…you can. We'll find some way to finish this on our own."

"Be quick though," Blaze spoke up, still as monotone as before. "The clock is ticking and time is running out. It's now or never."

Mana stared at the stars in the dark sky for a moment before finally looking at Blaze. She wiped her fresh tears away again and nodded. "I…I'm going. I'm going to help you guys end this all. I believe…no…I know it's what Max would want. You might see it as a burden and…maybe it is…but I think Max would want me to step up and take his place."

"Welcome to Team Nova Flare then," Kenny stated with an outstretched hand. He apparently held no animosity towards her from when she punched him earlier. The Fox blader mustered a small smile as she took the boy's hand and shook it.

"Then it's done," Blaze said. "We break off from here and each find a monolith. Meet back at the Summer Dorm when this is all done and over with."

"I'll go with Mana," Kenny said. "I know I'm just the team's mechanic…and I'm pretty useless in a battle…so maybe I could just run and take cover during all of this…but I want to help anyway I can. I'll make sure she has someone watching her back…someone cheering her on from the sidelines…" He turned to the girl herself now. "And someone there to take a bullet for you if need be."

Mana once again managed a smile. "Thanks Kenny."

The mechanic matched her smile and nodded. "Whatever it takes." A movie quote. Something Max would have said. Mana saw the line for what it was. Invoking his memory to make her feel a little better.

"Then let's move out," Blaze commanded and the five walked off in different directions. "Good luck everyone…may luck be on our side tonight."

"In case it all goes to hell," Kiara shouted back to the others. "It was a pleasure knowing and fighting with each of you."

Blaze looked over her shoulder as first Simon and then Kiara vanished into the night. She could see Mana and Kenny moving a lot more slowly. She saw a hesitant Kenny take Mana's hand in his own, like he had done earlier in the night in the infirmary. This seemed to calm the girl and the two then took off together to confront their fate.

Blaze silently prayed that today would not be her last day on earth. She glanced dup at the monolith in the distance. She did not feel fear as she trudged towards it. No…her fear had died with her dear friend. All that was left was nothing.

The canvas was blank again.

---

In The Not Too Distant Past (Once Again)

Team Nova Flare had just defeated Team Frostbite in the first round of The Battle of the Dorms tournament. It had been an intense first match as well. Max had defeated Mana in round one, only for Winta to even the score by defeating Blaze in round two. Simon and Ninel had then drawn in round three, thus facilitating the need for a tiebreaker round. In a tag team match, Max and Kiara had defeated Ninel and Winta to secure the victory for their team.

Currently on a ten minute break before the next batch of battles started though, one member of Team Nova Flare wasn't celebrating their victory. Blaze Markura had snuck off when she thought no one was watching to get some space.

Ducking into an abandoned corridor close to the stadium, she leaned against the wall and let out a sigh. She was angry with herself. Angry that she had lost and in front of the whole school too. It was because of her failure that the rest of the team had been under intense pressure to finish the match off. Not counting Simon's draw, she had been the only member of her team to lose a battle.

"Fuck!" she cursed as she slammed her hand against the wall. Leaning down, she let her hair fall over her face.

"I prefer to hit punching bags because they tend to hurt less but if walls work for you then go for it."

Blaze gasped and looked up to see Max standing at the end of the hall with his hands in his pockets.

"What are you doing here Max?" Blaze asked as she turned away from him. "You should be celebrating with the others before the next match starts."

"Well…I was doing that," The Prince of Fire responded as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But then I noticed you weren't there. You should be with the others celebrating too. Not here in a dark hallway all alone. What's this all about?"

"It's nothing Max," Blaze lied. "I'll be fine…just needed some air is all. I'll join you guys in a few minutes."

"I think I'd rather keep you company to be honest," was Max's cheesy response as he approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He spun the redhead around to see a frown on her face. "Why so glum?"

Blaze groaned as she lightly swatted Max's hand away. "I'm just…frustrated with myself," she admitted. "I was the only one of us who lost today. I put the whole team in jeopardy because of it."

"Not everyone wins 100% of the time though," Max noted as he itched his head. "Even Gingka Hagane has reportedly lost a match here and there. Besides, this whole tournament is for fun. Nothing's really on the line. Unless you placed bets in that underground student betting thing I've been hearing rumors about."

Blaze managed a chuckle. "Gambling isn't really my thing. And I wouldn't sink so low as to bet on myself either. That's really scummy."

"So what's the problem then?" Max asked again. "What's troubling you?"

"My fear of crowds really hurt me today in battle," Blaze replied after a moment. She couldn't look her teammate in the eye as she admitted this all though. "I know I have it bad and all…and I even kind of got over it in the end but…. it really burns me up that something like that can hinder me so much. I'm supposed to be above stuff like that and…well…I obviously wasn't. You saw how it affected my battling. Everyone did."

Max raised an eyebrow. "We all have fears though," he explained soothingly. "That's nothing to be ashamed off. No one's perfect. Heck, I'm far from perfect."

"Oh yeah? What flaws do you have?"

"Have you seen me at school work?" Max snorted with a goofy grin. "I sleep in all the time. Am late to classes. Have a terrible sense of direction. Have a short attention span especially when it comes to learning stuff like math or history. Also, people keep telling me that I creep them out so there's probably some sort of problem I have related to that too."

"Your point?" Blaze responded, skeptical.

"My point is," Max mused as he took Blaze by the shoulders and turned her around so that she was facing him. "We live in an imperfect world with imperfect people. Being imperfect is the fun of being human. If we were completely perfect and flawless and 100% logical we'd essentially just be machines. 'I'm only human' is a saying for a reason. Yeah, your fear of crowds did screw you up today. But it's just a silly bey battle. The important thing is that you got over your fear. That's far more valuable than you winning a silly spinning top game. You shouldn't be ashamed by your mistakes. The whole point of them is that you get to learn and be a better person tomorrow. I know this isn't grand philosophy or anything but…you shouldn't be ashamed of who you are and the mistakes you make. That's the point of growing up and being a person. Remember…the greatest teacher, failure is."

Blaze laughed. "And you ruined the moment with a blatant pop-culture reference."

"You're just jealous that I'm so quirky," Max shot back as he folded his arms.

"Quirky isn't the word I'd use but sure," Blaze replied with a mocking roll of her eyes.

"That's what I like to see," Max said as he clicked his fingers. "A nice big smile. I got you to laugh and smile."

Blaze attempted to switch into her usual monotone-mode but found that she couldn't. In fact, her attempt to hide her smile only made her snicker.

"I got you good Blazie," Max taunted childishly as he grabbed his teammate, got her in a headlock and then rubbed her head with his knuckle.

"Let go off me before I hit you in your special place," Blaze threatened whilst giggling like a schoolgirl. She never though she'd find Max's lightheartedness so intoxicating.

"I'm too quirky for you to do that," the Swordsman blader retorted as he let the redhead go. "Also, it's nice to see you all bright and hot-headed again. I was really missing that Blaze."

"So you really do prefer Little Ms. Personality to the monotone me?" Blaze couldn't help but ask.

"I do," Max replied with a grin. "And it's not that one is necessarily worse than the other or anything but…being alive is all about letting your feelings and emotions run wild I feel. So I just don't see the point of bottling it all up. That's why I'm always so eager to meet new people and see new places. The whole world is out there and it's ours for the taking. Why wouldn't you want to give it all a shot?"

"You can be surprisingly inspiring when you want to be," Blaze couldn't help but comment.

Max shrugged. "Like I said…quirky. Everyone has their charms. By the way…did you do something with your hair?"

I usually brush it to the right side of my face," the Phoenix blader explained as she ran a hand through her red hair. "But today…I decided to be bold I guess and brush it to the left side."

Max smiled. "I like it. Maybe you should have it that way more often."

"Maybe I will," Blaze replied.

"I think we should head back now," Max stated as he turned to look down the way they'd come. "The next round will probably start soon and we want good seats to see all the action."

"Let's go then," Blaze grinned as she brushed past her teammate. The two briskly walked back to the stadium, grinning from ear to ear. She had never smiled more than she did that day.

It's unfortunate the optimism of those days was doomed to never last.

---

The Present

Blaze was currently moving at a jogging pace. Just enough so that she was going places at more than a typical walking speed but not enough that she'd exhaust her energy. She'd ultimately need to be as fresh and lively for what may lie ahead. She was still running her old mental exercises through her head too, working to continuously repress her feelings and emotions. They would not help her here. She needed to be firm and prepared to do whatever it took. There could be no distractions.

"Blaze, what are you doing here?"

The redhead in question came to a sudden stop and put her fists up, ready for a fight. The person she saw emerging from the trees however was Professor Viper. He still seemed unwell, and had his arm in a sling still and all.

"I'm going to that monolith to shut it down before it does some serious damage," Blaze explained quickly but blankly. "Why are you here Professor? When we returned to the infirmary and found you gone, we feared Zygor might have come for you."

"I feared the same thing," Viper admitted as he slowly limped over to his student. "That's why I left when I did. I didn't want to endanger you all if someone did come to silence me. I would have explained my reasoning to Kenny but I feared he would be unwilling to let me leave. I thus had to make my escape in secret and without telling anyone why."

"You are here for the monolith as well then?" Blaze questioned.

"Yes," Viper responded as he turned to look at the structure. "I wasn't entirely privy to Zygor's full plans, but I do recall hearing snippets of information about these. The monoliths signal that Nemesis' Heir has almost awakened and they'll suck the energy from the island in order to fuel the ritual."

"Then we better get moving," Blaze intoned as she began to walk. "I assume you are going to help me."

"I will do what I can," Viper replied. "My current condition means I will likely be able to do little but…I'm here so I might as well help out as best as I can."

"Thank you again for saving me from that falling pillar," Blaze remarked, although it had no emotion to it unlike the last time she had spoken to the professor about it.

"As stated before, I was just doing my job." Viper was now limping along slightly behind her. "When you have a job…you do what you must in order to fulfill it. That is why you are here. As bizarre as it sounds, destiny has decided that the fate of the world will be placed in the hands of school children."

"Fate truly is a funny thing," was Blaze's natural-toned response. She was focusing less on the conversation with her professor and more on her surroundings. Her eyes were constantly glancing around, looking at every shadow and anything that moved. She was weary of traps on the ground or simply enemies lying in wait for her. But as the two inched closer and closer to the monolith, nor obstacle or enemy ever came to meet them.

"I really should apologize to you Professor," Blaze said after a few minutes of silence. "I was always suspicious of you. Judging you and even complaining and insisting you weren't trustworthy to the others behind your back."

"I forgive you," Viper's voice said from behind her. "Considering who you are and the environment you were in I don't blame you for being skeptical of my intentions. I would have done the same in your shoes. Our world is full of imitators and people can be quite easily fooled these days. Remaining on your toes and on the look out is what's needed."

"We're here," Blaze interrupted as they came to a stop in front of the large monolith. The dark structure stretched up into the sky, as if it were reaching to the heavens. It even crackled lightly with green energy. A Chaos Crest was engraved into it.

"So what to do now?" Blaze pondered.

"Not letting your foe take your back would have been a good start," Viper cackled. Before Blaze could turn around, she was hit in the back with a blast of energy and crumbled to the ground. She groaned in pain and watched as Viper held out his hand with a glowing green Chaos Crest. He laughed to himself as his wounds were magically healed and he ripped his sling off.

Blaze cursed in her hand, furious at herself. She had been right all along! Viper was a double agent. A sleeper agent in fact. He had faked being their alley all along so that he could worm his way in, learn all their plans and then stab them in the back when the time came. Her teammates had all ignored her; all rolled their eyes at her. But she had been right! Viper should never have been trusted. She should never have let her guard down. And now…now she was at this madman's mercy.

"You really did pose a challenge to me Ms. Markura," Viper snorted as he strolled over to his student and stood over her. "I knew you suspected me all along. I knew you were bitching about me behind my back. That's why I took a hit for you. Because I needed you to accept me with welcome arms at last so that I could finally fulfill the final part of my job."

Blaze licked her lips. She tasted blood. "When you said you do whatever it takes to do your job…" she managed to grit out with her bland tone still mostly intact. "You didn't mean putting yourself before the students. You meant being willing to injure yourself to fool me."

"I pride myself on my dedication." Viper's lip curled as he titled his head. "Your paranoia was quite an annoyance for me to be honest. I had to constantly be on my best behavior or else the others might have started listening to you. It's a shame I'm such a good actor then."

"You helped us though," Blaze couldn't help but bring up. "There were things you told us or aided us with that couldn't have all been apart of Zygor's plan."

Viper narrowed his eyes at the girl and folded his hands in front of him. "Sharp and as aware as ever I see." He reached down and grabbed the redhead by the collar so that he could drag her along the ground. "However, I don't wish to bore you with all the details and intricacies of my job description. After all, in due time, you won't be around to ponder it."

"You're going to kill me then?" Blaze questioned, trying her best not to seem uncomfortable even as she was dragged over dirt and sticks and rocks. "You've stabbed me in the back, and now you're going to twist the knife further in to finish me."

"Good analogy," Viper grinned, not even looking down at her anymore. "Let's go with that. Although, I'm not going to kill you without a fight if that's what you're thinking."

Blaze chose to remain silent now, willing to let Viper do the talking as she tried to think of a way to escape. She was desperately trying to get feeling back in her arms or legs but it was hopeless. The energy blast she'd been shot with had numbed everything bar her face. She was completely at this traitor's mercy.

"You see," Viper began to explain as he dropped Blaze at the base of the monolith. "These structures are sort of like lightning rods. They adsorb energy, which feeds into the Earth and feeds Nemesis' Heir. But there's something just as valuable as souls." He leaned down to look at Blaze. "Do you want a guess as to what that is?"

"Bey Battles?"

"Full marks Ms. Markura," was the sarcastic, smug response from the professor as he stood back up again. "Bey Battles in their truest and purest form are the clashing of souls. And that energy is just as valuable for these monoliths. It's exactly what the ritual needs to be completed." He walked over to the structure and rubbed his hand over it before looking over his shoulder at Blaze. "And you are the perfect final piece for this all to function."

Blaze glared at him. "Why should I battle if it's only going to help you?"

"Because if you win, the structure will collapse," Viper explained as he calmly strutted back over to his captive. "The monolith is in a sense wired to my Chaos Crest. If I am defeated, the whole system here goes down with me. If you want to stop me and all of this, you have to beat me. This is the Beyblade Legends Academy after all. It wouldn't be right would it if this wasn't settled this way." He spread his arms out like a magician. "So what do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Blaze closed her eyes. "Deal."

As if by magic, the redhead could suddenly move her body again. She quickly got up just as the ground began to rumble. Running back from the monolith, she watched as a bey stadium rose out of the ground. The monolith seemed to glow now and Viper was cackling lightly to himself as the sky above them began to swirl and distort.

"Let the games begin," hissed Viper, like a snake. He swiftly pulled out his launcher and connected his bey in one fluid motion.

"No fear," Blaze whispered to herself as she took a deep breath before slowly pulling out her own launcher and then Phoenix. She glanced at the bey in her hand for a moment, letting its beauty sink in. "Don't let me down old friend," she muttered so that her opponent could not hear.

"What's the matter Blaze?" Viper called out to her. "Why are you taking so long?" His mocking grin gave her the chills. "Are you perhaps…afraid?"

Blaze's hand clenched her bey harder. She otherwise did not react. She whispered "no fear" to herself once again as she attached Phoenix and nodded to her opponent, indicating that she was ready to begin.

"Three!" cried Viper.

"Two!" added Blaze.

"One!" they shouted together.

"Let It Rip!"

Dark Serpent and Armour Phoenix leapt from their respective launchers and crashed into the stadium. Unlike the start of a usual fiery battle though, both beys choose to not immediately engage one another.

"Center defense Phoenix," Blaze ordered calmly as her left-rotating bey shifted to the center of the arena, taking a solid defense stance.

"Ah yes," Viper mused as he stroked his moustache. "Your usual defensive tactic. Spin to the center of the arena and remain on the defensive for a time until the opponent either tires themselves out or creates an opening for a counterattack. How pathetically predictable of you. Surely you don't expect this plan to work against me? The fate of the world is at stake and you come at me with your default strategy used against anyone." The girl in question gave no reaction. The professor seemed fine with this though and kept prodding. "And here I thought you might have some respect for me as a blader. Even just a little bit. Or have you frozen up in terror and reverted to a safe tactic in a panic? Is that what happened Blaze, hmm?"

"Think whatever you like," Blaze responded blandly. Her face had tightened back into the emotionless mask. "It matters little in the end."

"If you say so," noted Viper with a shrug. "I shall make the first move then! Serpent: strike her down!"

The dark bey, which had been circling Phoenix like a predator for a while now suddenly shot forward and smacked into its foe. Phoenix sailed off the side but quickly regained its balance and shifted back to the center of the arena.

"Any reaction now Ms. Markura?" Viper sneered at her. Still the redhead refused to even flinch. "Very well then. Serpent: Barrage Attack!"

Serpent once again began circling Phoenix, only now the bey was dishing out small strikes every few seconds to inflict damage over time against its opponent. Blaze still refused to give any new orders though and was content with watching the battle play out.

"I think it's about time we really start battling," noted Viper as he folded his arms. "We really need to get this ritual going after all. Serpent: Special Move! Poison Fang Crunch!"

A dark green snake emerged onto the field and hissed, its long tongue flicking in and out. The spirit was huge, appearing to be an anaconda of some sort. It barred its fangs before sinking them into Phoenix, sending the bey flying into the side of the stadium with a crash.

Blaze sucked in breath quickly as she felt the pain her bey did. Magic that felt like knives in her back left blood leaking down her clothing and she feel to one knee, panting heavily.

There was a creepy glint in the professor's eye now. "There's that reaction I was looking for. Hard to pretend to not care when you've been stabbed in the back…again I might add. How poetic."

"Are you done?" Blaze asked quietly as she slowly stood back up although her balance was a bit off.

"Oh…I'm far from done," Viper cackled as he held up his hand with his crest. "I've only just begun."

A blast of green light burst from the top of the monolith and struck the swirling sky, causing green lightning to flash all across the night. The ground began to rumble and shake if suddenly completely structurally unsound and Blaze watched with morbid fascination as souls began to fly from all directions and enter the monolith.

"Not only does the clashing of souls act as great fuel," Viper boasted. "It also allows the monolith to steal souls without the need for conflict. The longer this battle goes on, the more innocent souls the monolith drinks up." He licked his lips creepily and lowered his glasses so that he could look Blaze right in the eye. "So…tell me what you're going to do now Ms. Markura."

"Phoenix," was the calm response he got. Said bey emerged from a smoking crater and began spinning around the arena to gain some momentum. Unfortunately, it was streaking crazily all over the place instead of moving in a smooth circle. Blaze narrowed her eyes in confusion only slightly.

"I can tell you're confused even with that silly vacant expression on your face," Viper taunted as he cracked his knuckles. "Serpent has a very special ability you see. Every time it comes into contact with a foe it injects just the slightest bit of poison thus rendering your bey more likely to lose balance as the battle progresses. It's kind of like being drunk. First Phoenix will just be a little tipsy before ultimately spinning out of control once the poison fully takes over. The clock is ticking further and further towards your defeat."

"Could you be anymore cliché?" Blaze asked, sounding bored as she picked a hair off of her shirt.

Viper merely grinned back at her, undeterred. "Hide behind your mask all you want, we both know it's just an act. You've been far too flamboyant all year for anyone to believe that it was all an act. No…you were always like this and just too scared to let it out. What happened this year exactly that made you change?"

Blaze felt a chill go up her spine but she ignored it and instead commanded, "Charge Phoenix."

Her bey managed to regain some semblance of control over itself and smashed into Serpent from a specific angle, with its wing-like fusion wheel dishing some damage. Serpent was pushed back but otherwise seemed mostly unfazed by the attack.

"Special Move," Blaze added as she pointed at her bey. "Fire Tornado."

Phoenix's speed picked up and soon, flames were swirling around it. From this, the flames expanded and grew larger and higher to eventually form a magnificent flaming tornado. It split off from Phoenix and began chasing Serpent around the large stadium. Fortunately for Viper, his bey was fast and able to maneuver out of the way quickly to avoid taking any serious damage from the flaming spiral.

"Getting a little aggressive now are we?" spat Viper confidently as he adjusted his glasses. "What happened to your defensive strategy? Or did my comments from before shake you a little and made you jump the gun?" The redhead didn't respond, only staring blankly back at him. "Yes…I think I may be correct. Why did you suddenly change your tune?"

"Are we taking or battling?" Blaze questioned with a fake yawn.

"Why not both?" Viper shot back, his grin somehow getting wider. It was truly unsettling. "I've read your report. You were a quiet student prior to coming to this academy. You had few friends and mostly kept to yourself. Concerns of anorexia and insomnia from a young age. Some disturbing drawings made in art class. You have quite the history don't you Ms. Markura?"

"So you've read my report," Blaze sniffed out with a shrug. "What is this supposed to prove exactly? Because you have a general report of me you can…what? Figure me out? Psychoanalyze me?"

"Maybe I just find individuals fascinating," retorted Viper with a snort. "And you are truly fascinating. You kept away from everyone. Never spoke out in class. Stayed out of trouble but was never also doing well enough to be showered with praise. You were the perfect average student, down to completely vanishing into the masses." He ran his hand through his spiky hair and laughed. "Well…there were one or two known instances of outbursts which lead to a fight or some sort. So, clearly there was always something bubbling under the surface." By this point Blaze couldn't help but lower her head just a little bit so that her hair fell over her face. "So, tell me Blaze…why the sudden change? Or perhaps more accurately…why were you hiding until this year?"

"I have nothing to say to you."

"This could very well be your last day alive, are you sure you don't want to confess anything?"

"Not to someone like you."

Viper smiled nonetheless. "I guess I'll have to take a stab at it myself."

"You have to stop monologuing first," advised Blaze as her fire tornado finally caught up to Serpent and slammed into it. The bey was lost in the swirling vortex momentarily before emerging all burnt and covered in soot.

Viper lightly applauded. "Yes, very impressive," he drawled. "Still nothing against my Dark Serpent. Dark Spiral Attack!" he cried.

Because Armour Phoenix was a left-rotating bey, it meant the tornado it created also spun in that direction. So when Dark Serpent began emitting a low frequency blast of dark energy spinning to the right, it slowly dissipated the flaming tornado until it crumbled apart.

"Now then," the professor continued. "Where were we? Ah, yes! Your sudden change of attitude as a result of attending the academy. I talked to your teachers you know. Asking them about their opinion of you. They all took notice of your sudden changes as if you flicked a switch."

"You keep insisting my change is meaningful in some way," Blaze interrupted. "But what do you hope to accomplish exactly? That this will be sufficient enough to distract me so that you can win?"

"Perhaps there is no grand strategy," Viper replied as he folded his hands again. "I just think it's fascinating getting into the head of one of my opponents. Humans really are fascinating after all."

"So you just feel like talking while battling essentially?" asked Blaze.

"Why of course," was Viper's smooth yet eerie response. "You don't really think I'd resort to something as underhanded as mental warfare to defeat you do you?"

"The thought has occurred to me."

"You can rest assure then that I have no ill intent when I discuss your history," Viper mused. "I just find battles themselves can get a little dull sometimes and talking really does liven things up a bit. So tell me? Why did you change all of a sudden? Or do you really want me to have to fill in the blanks for you?"

"If you know then why do you need me to say anything?" Blaze shot back. She didn't like this game at all. So far, the battle had been mostly fought with words instead of beys. It was obvious Viper was hoping to get into her head and mess with her that way, but so far he had been bizarrely coy about it. It wasn't what she was expecting at all. She assumed he'd try and be subtle and gaslight her or go full steam ahead. But instead he'd settled for halfway between subtle and extreme. This particular decision made the Phoenix blader uneasy.

"Think of me sort of as a psychologist or a psychiatrist or whichever you prefer," stated Viper as he adjusted his jacket. "I might be able to determine things about you, but you can't make progress unless you are willing to say them yourself. I could say them out loud but until you are willing to admit it, nothing will change."

"Interesting," Blaze said. "Let me get back to you on that while Phoenix attacks."

Her bey lurched forward and honed in on Serpent, but at the last second Phoenix began to lose balance and Serpent was able to shift out of the way and land a quick counterattack.

"Eager to get back to the battle are we?" Viper cackled. "Is the conversation about your past and change…uncomfortable for you perhaps?"

"Actually you told me the longer this battle goes on the more it benefits you," was Blaze's calm response. "So simply mincing words doesn't advantage me at all. Phoenix, attack again."

The fire bey shot forward but once again, Serpent's poison caused it to lose balance just enough for the attack to fail and be dodged. Again, the dark bey took this opening to also land a quick counter blow against its opponent.

"You are quite right about your current situation Ms. Markura," Viper taunted. "Unfortunately, I have no desire for this battle to be fast paced. In fact, I'd much prefer if we truly did delve into your psyche for a bit."

"You can't make me talk," Blaze responded with.

"Oh…but you misunderstand," hissed Viper, threateningly. "You don't get a choice or a say in this. Special Move: Mind Crush!"

Dark Serpent's bey beast burst into the field and slithered over to Blaze. Before she could react, she was staring into its dark eyes and was hypnotized by it.

"That's it Blaze," Viper grinned in victory. "With this special move, I'll transport our battle to an entirely new arena - the landscape of your very mind. Let's see you keep that expressionless look on your face through this."

Blaze was unable to move as the anaconda slowly slithered forward and opened its mouth. Before she knew it, it had devoured her whole in one bite. What she wasn't expecting was the pain that shot through her head. She screamed as the world around her contorted and blurred. The sky was no longer there, neither was the ground. The colours that swirled around her weren't quite right either. It was like she was having a bad trip. Well, what she assumed was a bad trip; she had never done drugs after all.

"Fuck!" screamed Blaze as she crashed down into a void. Surprisingly, the fall didn't hurt her at all. In fact, she couldn't feel the wounds in her back now. The blood had also vanished from her clothing. She slowly stood up and examined herself. What was weird was that she was fine. But she also couldn't exactly feel her arms of legs. But she could still move them. It was surreal.

"Tick, tock, Blaze," echoed out the taunting voice of Viper. The redhead spun around and gasped as an old grandfather clock rose out of the void. Only problem was, it wasn't a normal sized one. It was huge! She saw the clock face as it rose up and then followed it as it shot up out of the ground and towered over her. Although there was no sun, the structure seemed to cast a pitch-black shadow over her.

"Doesn't this seem familiar Blaze?" Viper's voice taunted from the unknown. "You standing in the shadow of something…or someone far greater than yourself?"

"What is this?" snapped Blaze impatiently to the void. She quickly covered her mouth, flustered that she'd lost her temper so easily.

"Don't bother trying to hide your emotions and feelings anymore Blaze," Viper's voice laughed. "We're in your mind. I know your deepest and darkest desires. Everything is in the light here. Speaking of…let's get back to your inferiority complex in the face of Max."

The clock tower transformed in a heartbeat, and suddenly a large version of Max Smith was towering over Blaze. But this wasn't the usual Max. His hair was sharp and pointy like a cartoon character and his eerie grin with razor sharp teeth stretched wider than his actual face. His hands were bony with long nails and his eyes glowed red.

"How amusing," cackled Viper, annoyingly. "As much as you've grown to love the boy as a friend…deep down you still resent him!"

"No!" Blaze shouted in defiance at the monster before her.

"Liar!" Viper's words literally sliced into Blaze's thigh. His words had materialized into floating letters, which had flown through the air and swiped at her. She was so caught off-guard at seeing the floating word of LIAR that she didn't even scream at the pain.

"Admit it Blaze! Even after all this time, you resent being in his shadow! This monster before you is of your own design! Because deep down there's resentment there! You resent him not just because he beat you, but because he's everything you want to be. Is that why you have this silly 'I don't care' act? Because then you don't have to try and be a good person?"

"Shut up!" Blaze roared at the towering figure before her, who reacted by raising his foot and stomping down on her. Miraculously, she wasn't crushed but instead when crashing through the floor as if it were made of glass. She cried out as she fell into the darkness and then landed on a mirror.

Blaze groaned as she turned over and slowly stood up. She looked around in concern for a moment before mirrors shot up all around her, leaving her trapped.

"Just take a good look at yourself," Viper taunted. Blaze meanwhile had gone into panic mode, and had curled up into the fetal position and squeezed her eyes shut. "I know you can't resist taking a peek because you already know what you'll see. You'll see who the true monster is! Deep down you resent one of your closest friends…and for what? Because he's kind? Loyal? Optimistic?"

As Viper's words continued to crush her, the reflections of Blaze started to reach out and strike her in different ways. Some would slap, others punch, and some would kick.

"You know that you're nothing! That you'll never be anything! And you hate Max Smith for that! You blame it on him! Because he's a constant reminder of your failings as a human being! It's time to wake up!"

Viper's voice was no longer his own. It was morphing, getting louder and more monstrous and distorted. Similarly, the void around Blaze was changing to match. Its more rainbow surrealist look was fading into one of darkness with lightning and thunder. Where red spilled all over the place like blood or lava and the ground seemed unstable and shaky.

"WAKE UP BLAZE!"

Unable to resist, she finally opened her eyes just a tad and screamed in horror as she saw her reflection. She really did see a monster. All of imaginary Max's cartoonish features had been passed along to Blaze's reflection, who looked more like a witch now than anything. As the redhead slowly crawled backwards to get away, the witch stepped out of the mirror and slowly walked towards her like a zombie.

"This is you Blaze! There's no denying it! This is your deepest fear! This is how you secretly view yourself! A cackling old witch with no friends! Doomed to be unloved in this cruel and bleak world!"

"No!" Blaze roared in protest, digging her nails into her head and screaming. "Get out of my head! Get out!"

"Make me!" retorted Viper loudly as his arm materialized before her and grabbed her by the throat. She coughed and gasped as the hand on her throat literally transformed into a vice and tightened, severing her head from her spine. It fell to the ground and was immediately swept up by Viper. He took her by the hair and then rolled her like a bowling ball, with her head crashing through a set of doors.

As the dust settled from the impact, Blaze was whole again. She felt her body over before getting up and bolting. She was determined to get away, to find some way to escape but Viper's laughter followed her wherever she went.

"You can't run and you can't hide!" hissed the professor's voice. "Remember, we are inside your mind! You can't run from the truth that you've already decided on! Your book has already been written Blaze! I'm just reciting the text. Now sit down and LISTEN!"

Blaze was forced to slide to a stop as the ground up ahead of her began to crack and break open. A blast of fire exploded from the new hole in the ground and out climbed The Red Knight. He drew his flaming sword and charged at Blaze, who quickly ducked down and moved to run. But the Knight was far faster and more gymnastic than anyone would expect, and he perfectly leapt over his victim to get back in front of her.

"Is this a bad memory for you? The Red Knight did crush your Phoenix in battle did he not? Is that why you're so fearful of the bey spirit? Or it is just symbolic of Max's superiority over you? What's interesting is that you started being different after the loss...you tried to be more you but you isn't good either way is it?"

The Red Knight slashed with his sword and Blaze was split into two. She barely felt the wound though, and instead could only focus on her blood as it splattered all over the place and kept going. Her blood flow was never-ending and it began to fill the room till she was drowning in it.

"Well, well…about to suffocate in your own blood. Sucked down and lost in your own being. This seems very poetic. My advice Blaze…take a deep breath!"

She did as she was told, and soon found herself underwater. The blood didn't seem so thick all of a sudden and now just seemed like water tinted red. That being said, she dared not swallow any either way. She attempted to swim but eventually found her being pulled downwards. Looking down, she saw that there was a hole in the floor, and it was sucking everything in at a rapid pace. Her attempt to swim against the current failed, and she was eventually sucked into the hole and forced through a tube.

"Fuck!" she shouted with relief as she was finally blasted out of a pipe and down onto solid ground. She coughed out some red water (which thankfully did taste like water and not blood) before slowly getting to her knees, dazed from the prior experience. Her clothing and hair was somehow miraculously not wet at all, which only made things even more surreal. In fact, Blaze felt like she was ready to throw up. The void was causing her nothing but confusion and exhaustion.

"So Blaze," Viper mused, materializing on the other side of the void from her. "Are you ready to admit the truth or did I have to keep do the talking for the both of us?"

"You do like the sound of your own voice," Blaze sniped back at him.

"Big words for someone on her knees," returned Viper with a tilt of his head. "We are in your world and yet…you've been completely destroyed by me in this mind game of sorts. Why is that?"

"Because you're a fucking psychopath with magical powers?" grumbled Blaze with the roll of her eyes.

"It's because you know I'm right," the Serpent blader mused with delight. "You're in panic mode. Trying to go into denial and its letting me completely obliterate you." He began to walk forward, growing progressively larger as he did so. "Even now you're afraid and that fear only makes me stronger." By the time he had closed the distance between himself and Blaze, he was as tall as a tower and loomed over his foe.

"Stay back…"

"You're afraid because Max is everything you aren't," Viper continued as his shadow engulfed Blaze like the clock tower did before. "You hated him precisely because you recognized how good of a person he was. That's why you changed. You wanted to be a better person. And you secretly resented him because you knew you could never hope to live up to his example. You hate quiet, cold you because you know it's an excuse to never try and be good. And you hate real you because it's not good enough. In other words…you knew you'd forever be in his shadow. Left to the crawl through the darkness…searching…grasping…desperately to find the light at the end of the tunnel that isn't there."

"No…you…you're lying…" Blaze managed to grit out but her words lacked conviction. In fact, tears were starting to well up in her eyes. She didn't notice the black tendrils that were wrapping around her wrists and ankles.

"The funny thing is Blaze…for as much as you admired him you took your friendship with him for granted."

Blaze looked up in horror. "No…never…not that…I wouldn't…."

"But you did!" screamed Viper, and suddenly his large form was replaced with a courtroom. Blaze was strapped to an electric chair and the jury was filled with people from Blaze's life. Team Nova Flare…her teachers…her peers…even her family. They all looked at her with scorn, with anger! They jeered at her, swore at her. Blaze felt her heart begin to crack.

"I must simply object," Viper went on as he presided over the proceedings dressed in full judge garb and even wielded a mallet. His grin was completely despicable and dripped with malice. He was enjoying this way too much. "Blazie dear…you cannot deny the charges. Think about how you carried yourself. How you treated the boy!"

"I…well…"

Viper burst into maniacal laughter as he slammed his mallet down. "You can't even defend yourself can you? But still…this is no Kangaroo Court! We shall follow procedure! I call upon the first witness to testify! Kiara Summers!"

Blaze squirmed in her seat as she watched her teammate rise from the jury and walk over to the witness stand. A copy of Viper, dressed in his usual garb magically appeared to question the fake Kiara.

"How did you first meet the accused?" he asked as he leaned up against a chair.

"That little bitch stole my bey!" Kiara snarled, looking Blaze dead in the eye as she insulted her. "All as apart of some idiotic ploy to get Max's attention so she could battle him. She could have just fucking asked like a normal person but nooooo…. that's too conventional and practical for Blaze so she instead opts to be a piece of shit."

Blaze lowered her head and cursed silently to herself. She desperately tried to break free of her bonds but it was no use. They were done tight and there was nothing within reach that she could use to break herself free. She just wanted all this to end. She didn't want to bear any more of this torture. But the proceedings kept going against her wishes.

"No further questions your honour," Lawyer-Viper continued. "We now call Simon Nikso to the stand."

Blaze watched out of the corner of her eye as Simon replaced Kiara in a heartbeat. He looked at her with scorn and shook his head. He began talking without being prompted. "Blaze was a very bad friend to Max. She would always be insulting him, trying to put him down. She made snarky comments often, usually at the Max's expense and sometimes even ours. She dragged us all down with her. She couldn't feel good about herself as a person so she felt the only solution was to make everyone else seem bad too. If everyone's a piece of shit then one never has to question themselves do they?" He spat out the last words to ensure Blaze understood the implications.

"Anything further you'd like to add Mr. Viper?" Judge Viper spoke up as he tapped his fingers together.

"Just my closing statement your honour," grinned Lawyer-Viper with a wink. He began to pace back and forth at the front of the courtroom. "It is obvious that Blaze Markura is guilty. The evidence provided clearly shows that although she did enjoy having Maxwell Smith as a friend, that she also resented him. She was petty, and derided him simply to inflate her own fragile ego." He was talking directly to the jury now, who got angrier and angrier as he talked more. "She is nothing more than a parasite! An insecure little girl with an inferiority complex who fed on the goodwill of an innocent boy who deserved far better from his friend! She hid herself away from the world! And what does she do to the first person who made her feel like she didn't have to hide? She treated him like nothing! Secretly loathed him for simply being a good person! All out of jealousy!" He turned to where Blaze sat, crying. "And now Max is dead. And you'll never be able to make it up to him. Never get to even say that you're sorry. I rest my case your honour."

"Does the accused wish to defend herself?" Judge-Viper asked suddenly. After a few seconds of crying and spluttering from Blaze he proceeded. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

Kenny Mojo of all people stood up. "Your honour, we here find the defendant…GUILTY!"

For Blaze it was as if someone was twisting a knife into her stomach. Kenny's words seemed to repeat themselves over and over and she could do nothing but cry and struggle fruitlessly against her bonds.

"I hereby charge Blaze Markura…with death," Viper cackled. By now, the rest of the court had vanished and only he as the judge remained. He slammed his mallet down and the cap of the electric chair came down on Blaze's head. "Any last words?"

"…Max…wherever you are…I'm so…sorry…so…sorry…for everything…"

"It's too bad." Viper whipped his head back and laughed. "Like I said, with Max dead now there's really nothing you can do. He's gone and he's never going to hear your apology. That's the thing about having regrets like this…you can never pay them off and find freedom. They're like chains and you're forever bound by them now. Bound by your sins!"

"Don't cry Blaze," a soft voice said suddenly as a tear was wiped away for the redhead. She looked up and gasped because standing before her was Max Smith. Unlike before, this Max looked like himself too. Down to his eyes of hope and his kind smile. "This isn't over yet."

"Max…how…how are you here?" Blaze asked through her tears.

"It's not me really," Max answered honestly with a nervous shrug. "I'm your conscience…you personified it as Max because…well…to you…he was the best example of a good, moral person. You wanted to be as good as him so bad so you associated the part of your brain that's all about being good with him. That's how you get me."

Blaze looked down again in despair. "So Max really…really is…"

"Dead," Max finished for her sadly. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I know I'm not really him…but that doesn't mean I can't help. That doesn't mean you can't get out of this. This electric chair doesn't have to be the end of you. You can break free from Viper's spell and beat him. I know you can."

"No Max," Blaze remarked with a dark laugh full of tears. "I've never done anything right in my life. And when I finally got something good…I fucked it up. I took it all for granted. Treated you all like shit…I treated you…no! I treated Max like nothing. I loved him and hated him at the same time and now he's gone forever and I can't even apologize to him. I can't even beg him for forgiveness."

"No Blaze!" Max snapped, shaking the redhead by the shoulders. "Don't talk like that! You're letting Viper into your head! This is what he wants!"

"No…it's what I think. He's right…all he's doing is showing me everything I've been too afraid to admit to myself. I'm a horrible person who's been tricking themselves into thinking they're good. And now…I'm sitting in the throne I deserve."

Max was in tears now by this point as he began desperately trying to break the binds over Blaze's hands and feet. "I'm not letting you die like this! Friends don't give up on one another! Max wouldn't want you to quit! Remember that Blaze? He's counting on you! The school is courting on you! The world is counting on you!" She ignored his pleas. "I'm counting on you!"

Blaze looked up at him and sniffled. She was no longer crying. Her face had shifted into one of grim acceptance. "You said it yourself…. you're not Max. You're just the best part of me trying and failing to convince myself I'm worthy to be a person. The reason you're failing to convince me is because I already know how this plays out. Because this is all in my head."

Max fell to his knees and slammed his fists angrily against the floor. He yelled and screamed and cried but Blaze did not react. She simply looked at the boy before her with sadness. She was taking it all in. His appearance, his movements, his voice, his inflections. She wanted to remember Max in her final moments. This copy before her was imperfect. It wasn't the real Max Smith. Yet she couldn't help but take it all in as if it was. This was him from her memory after all, so it was still special in a way. It was a poor substitute for a goodbye nonetheless but it was better than nothing.

"Thank you conscience," she offered. "For trying. I know you mean well. Or…is it perhaps we?" She managed a light chuckle. "Gosh…this whole thing is so confusing isn't it? Max would love something like this. It's right up his ally." She moved her arm, one of which was suddenly free so that she could calm the boy before her. The fake Max immediately settled down at her touch. She caressed his cheek, as if he were a child and she smiled.

"Blaze…what are you…?"

"Shush," Blaze said quietly. "Let me have this moment. Let me have this one moment of happiness." She shed a single tear. "I know it's not real but I want it to feel as authentic as possible. I want to feel the sun. Smell the grass. Feel the air. I want to feel the warmth in Max's cheek. Please…just let me have this one moment…let me smile…just one last time."

Max was weeping quietly now as he gave into her wish. She could feel the tears rolling onto her hand and she relished the feeling of how it almost felt real. Max soon took her hand in his own and they sat there for what felt like a millennium in silence. It was peaceful. It was quiet. It was nice. It was…happy. She didn't want the moment to end. But nothing lasts forever.

"I loved Max," Blaze said finally as she closed her eyes. "He was my best friend. He didn't deserve me. But I was what he got. If he's somehow listening…I hope he knows that I'm sorry. Sorry for everything." She opened her eyes up and looked at the fake Max before her. "And thank you…for helping me to have this moment. For giving me this goodbye."

Blaze knew the chair would go off only when she was ready. Viper could not pull the switch because it was ultimately her mind. She could also see him again. He'd vanished when Max had shown up, leaving her to wonder when he'd returned. Or perhaps he never really left to begin with. It hardly mattered now. He stood off to the side, cloaked in a black robe with a scythe. He was the Grim Reaper coming to take her in this scenario. But she wasn't afraid. Not anymore. She'd gladly accept her one-way ticket to hell.

"Tick, tock," Viper stated, repeating himself from earlier. Blaze now knew exactly what he meant.

"One last thing Blaze," Max interrupted as he stood up and wiped his tears away. "I know I'm not the real Max so I can't really speak for him…but…I think he'd be happy with the choice you make either way. He'd just want you to be happy." He smiled before turning and slowly walking away. Just before he faded into nothing, he looked over his shoulder and added, "I think he'd also appreciate what you did with your hair."

Blaze's eyes widened as he vanished into the void. There was only herself and Viper now. Using her still free right hand, she slowly reached up in confusion to check her hair. It was brushed to the left side. The side she usually didn't brush it to. Her hand twitched.

"Dammit Max…" she groaned under her breathe as she flicked the switch. Instead of a blast of electricity though, there was a blast of flames. Blaze was unharmed though, and she roared as they expanded outwards and caught Viper by surprise. He screamed in agony as he was burned to ashes and crumbled to nothing.

The fire didn't stop there though. It spread to the whole void, incinerating everything in its path until the void began to crack and fall apart. And soon...there was nothing.

"NOOOOOO!" Viper roared as he clutched his head in pain. He stumbled back into the monolith, screaming incessantly. Blood leaked from his nose and mouth and his clothing was scorched and charred.

Blaze panted heavily as she fell to her knees, quickly realizing that she was sweating profusely. She wiped her forehead and slowly stood up to face her opponent. There was still a battle to be won after all.

"It's over Viper," she snarled as she clenched her fist. "Your strategy failed."

"It's…not possible!" he snapped as he threw his glasses off, letting them break on the hard ground. "Your fear and insecurities were supposed to collapse in on themselves! You were supposed to give up!" By now, the professor looked like a raving lunatic. His hair was disheveled; his eyes open wide, and his body language violent and chaotic. "Why do you continue to fight even in the face of everything wrong you've done?"

"Because I still have one last job," Blaze bit out. "It's not much…but I owe him at least that much," she explained before pointing to the monolith. "That thing is going down and you're going with it."

"I'll just beat you the usual way then!" barked Viper, flinging his arm out dramatically. "After everything I've done; for Zygor, for you kids, nothing will stand in my way of completing my final objective! To clip the wings of the Phoenix! Go, Dark Serpent! Dark Move: Fang Fury Blast!"

The anaconda emerged onto the field as green lightning flashed in the sky. It charged dark energy in its mouth before directing it like a canon towards Armour Phoenix. Blaze looked calm in the face of apparent defeat. She could let the attack hit and rest. But this wasn't the day for that unfortunately.

Instead she said, "Immortal Flame."

Blaze caught on fire before her bey did. Like in her mind, the flames spread from her to her bey, and then to her Phoenix bey beats as it emerged and let out a proud battle cry. The flames completely held back Serpent's attack much to Viper's confusion before expanding and covering the entire stadium.

The professor took a step back in fear and held up a hand to shield himself from the heat. "This can't be…" he stuttered. "…How could a dark move be repelled so easily?"

The flaming bird flew into the sky and then exploded into a brilliant bright red light. This light completely dispelled the green swirling sky, turning it red and even disrupting the souls that were floating towards the monolith.

"Burn in hell Professor Viper," was all Blaze said as the light fell to the arena and exploded again, engulfing the professor and his bey in flames.

"I was to clip the wings of the Phoenix though!" protested Viper as he screamed in pain, feeling his flesh be melted from his bones. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. He had been sent here for a very specific reason. He had joined Zygor and done his biding. He had gained the Chaos crest. He had helped the children progress and then betrayed them just as he was told. Blaze was the final task. He was supposed to break her and then kill her. What had happened?

And as Serpent was destroyed and the monolith behind him began to collapse, Viper finally had clarity. He had clipped the Phoenix's wings. He could see the redhead through the inferno, staring at him with dead eyes. Like a soulless being. Like a ghost. He had done exactly what he'd been ordered to do. He had wrongly assumed that also meant killing Blaze. No…his goal was to destroy Blaze as a person…to turn her into something beyond human…and he succeeded. Her current power was proof of that. His mission had always seemed a bit strange, and now he knew why. He was expendable.

"I'm the loose-end…" Viper whimpered in his final moments. "Forgive me God…forgive-"

He didn't get to finish his pray as his body was crushed under the weight of the monolith that had finished falling over. Just like that, the first disciple of Nemesis' Heir was dead. And the loose end had been all tied up. Too bad no one present knew what that meant.

Blaze silently recalled Phoenix before sitting down and crossing her legs. She watched as the night sky returned to normal without saying a single word. She didn't know what to do now. What to with herself, or her life, or with anything. Still holding her bey, she slowly lied down so that she could look at the stars for a little bit. She brushed her hair to left side of her face.

She shed one more tear as she lied there. "Goddammit Max…" she repeated over and over.

---

To Be Continued: Next Time – The Brave and the Bold

So…this was an interesting chapter. Hope 22,000 words wasn't too much for you all! I spoil you rotten don't I? But now I definitely want to give some thoughts on the chapter myself. The big one is obviously how this is a very Blaze-centric chapter. And this is because I've become a lot more interested in character work. That's something this story really sort of skims over for most of it and now in it's final chapters I want to make up for that. The main supporting characters especially don't get much in terms of character stuff so here's me trying to rectify that as much as possible. I'm quite happy for doing it too because I think this might be one of the best chapters of this story. Which is funny because there isn't that much actual Beyblade in it lol. The flashbacks especially are interesting because I'm essentially retconning Blaze as a character. This is actually to reconcile how I interpreted her and how her personality was originally described to me. In a sense though, I'm proud of the fact that it ultimately let me do some good character development for her. Hopefully no one was too pissed that the battle ended up being more of a psychological dream then an actual bey battle. But I'm trying to broaden my horizons a bit here, which is why I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try something like that. But anyways…Viper is dead. Blaze is broken…maybe permanently but there's still three more monoliths to destroy. Simon is next up to battle against Hermes. There's your sneak-peak.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this mega chapter to celebrate the 50th chapter of this story! Also, I do have the rough outline for the final chapters. There will almost certainly be four proper chapters and an epilogue. There you go. Once again, thank you all for reading and be sure to post any thoughts you have in the comments. PLEASE REVIEW and all that. Hope you all enjoyed this super long chapter and I hope to see you next time.

Also, disclaimer: The view on friendship by Azrael is not my own view on frienship. That character is a psycho and definitely does not reflect my own personal views. Just wanted to make that clear.