All right, Chapter 52. Edging even closer to the endgame now. Will have some big revelations in this chapter so I hope you are all excited. Not much to say in this particular author's note except that this chapter isn't as long as the last two. Oh, late happy April Fool's I guess too. I was a bit slack with this chapter, I know. I don't have an excuse to be honest either, especially since this chapter wasn't nearly as long as the last two. Oh well, here it is at least and it wasn't too late. Hope that's OK. Anyways, time for the review responses.
AKA99: No worries with not having left a review in a while. You review when you feel like you want to review, I can't make you do anything. Glad to hear you have been still reading though. Always happy to hear someone held out this long to see this thing through to the end. All good too about reviewing because this was a Simon focused chapter, I'd probably do the same it if was my OC XD. I'm also happy to hear you thought the characterization was on point and that the battle aspects were done well. I was a little nervous introducing a tone of backstory for Simon, since it was I essentially just extrapolating based on stuff you had told me about the character so I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed it. That honestly could have gone wrong in so many ways so I'm very happy to know you felt I did the character justice. Have I mentioned being happy in this response yet lol. As for what happens next on Max's journey, read on to find out!
TopGun1986: Not sure if you'll see this since you left a review on Chapter 8 but if you do eventually stumble across this, here's my response. You mentioned that the eyes on the image for this story almost look like Ryuga's. You're right, they kind of do. I can confirm however that this was entirely unintentional. It isn't going to turn out that Ryuga was secretly the key to this all along or something. I love the guy, but this isn't his story (or is it? XD). Sorry if you got your hopes up. Was purely a coincidence, no joke.
Now that that's all done and over with, it's time for the chapter. For anyone who doesn't know by the way, this chapter's title 'Don't Look Now' is a reference to the 1973 thriller film of the same name. It involves psychics and visions of the future, which fits this chapter considering it's centered on Kiara who just recently gained some abilities relating to foresight. Pretty interesting movie by the way. I recommend checking it out if you can, though be warned it's definitely not a movie for everyone. I wouldn't even say it's my kind of movie either. It definitely captured the feeling of getting lost in Venice though; I can speak from experience XD. Also, in light of the pandemic gripping the world right now, I'd like to just say: stay safe everyone. I'll be praying to God that we all get through this. Remember to wash your hands. Now, on to the chapter. Remember to REVIEW as always if you feel like it. Hopefully the teaser at the end of this chapter gets the blood pumping in your veins. Oh, one last thing! Happy 300,000+ words for this story! What a milestone!
Chapter 52: Don't Look Now
Ashes descended from the red sky. Kiara watched with concern as the sky rained with fire and brimstone. It was shockingly beautiful, especially with the way it blotted out the distorted blue sky from earlier. She hoped this was a good sign, a sign that someone on Team Nova Flare had successfully demolished another monolith. Still, the raging fire she had seen in the distance hadn't been exactly comforting. It was violent in a way she wasn't sure was capable of any of her allies. But if one of them achieved victory, then it would be worth it all in the end.
Kiara turned back to the path she was following, trying to sort through her feelings and emotions to mentally prepare herself for the battle to come. To put it simply, she was nervous. Though who wouldn't be in this scenario? Still, she was shaken like most by the sudden reappearance of Jaden Grace and then by the Reaper taking complete control of Max's body. She pushed the memory of Azrael laughing like a maniac out of her mind, instead focusing on potential strategies she could utilize in the upcoming battle.
Although she didn't realize it, Kiara was the only person in her group who had to walk to their battle alone. Blaze had been accompanied by Professor Viper before he revealed his double-agent status, Simon had his two spirit partners and Mana and Kenny had gone off together to support one another. The Solaria blader had no one to converse with as she walked to her battle; there was no one to comfort her other then the thoughts in her own head.
She shifted her focus suddenly, choosing to examine the pathway she walked on. It was fairly standard. Just a dirt clearing to show you the way through the long grass. It was too standard for her liking unfortunately. It was a shitty thing to focus on to try and distract herself. Much to her annoyance, her mind floated back to images of Jaden. Not Jaden doing anything evil or cruel mind you. No, instead she saw images of her arch nemesis at the mercy of Azrael. She could not get it out of her head. The sight of her most enduring foe looking terrified as she was utterly demolished by The Reaper. Jaden's defeat had shaken Kiara, because she knew how formidable Ms. Grace had been. So watching someone steamroll her was hardly uplifting.
Her heated rivalry with Jaden had occurred for so long that she realized that she probably hadn't ever expected it to really end. It felt like a TV show rivalry almost. One that just kept going and never seemed to have an end in sight. And yet, theirs had come to a sudden and sickening conclusion. And it hadn't even been in a clash between the two. Their epic rivalry didn't end in a blaze of glory as the two had one final, epic confrontation. No. A third-party arrived and simply killed one of them. Not just beat in a battle. Kill.
Azrael murdered Jaden in cold blood. He literally pulled her heart out and crushed it in his bare hand. The memory sent chills up the girl's spine. She always thought of Jaden as this near invincible villain. Like a cockroach, it always seemed like she'd survive anything and come back time and time again to antagonize you. So it was hard to swallow that someone as powerful and as wicked as her met such a pitiful and sudden end. She was killed by someone who was even more wicked and diabolical than her. Azrael had been right in regards to the irony of Jaden's death. For such a talker and schemer, it was poetic that she would die while barely able to put up a fight or even get a final word in.
Kiara didn't want to admit it but she was greatly terrified of Azrael. Jaden had haunted her for so long, so someone who could take her out with ease was big trouble. His absolute power frightened her, intimidated her. It was only made worse that this twisted figure wore the face of her potentially deceased friend. It made it hard to look at him. After all, it was the face of Max Smith just with black eyes. The voice was even similar. It was uncanny. But the things he said and the things he did made it clear that Azrael was not Max Smith. Although he apparently came from within Max, which was definitely its own can of worms to consider later.
'If there was a later,' she thought bitterly to herself. It was surprisingly hard to get the negativity out of her mind. It was like a fly, no matter how many times she tried to shoo it away it always flew back around to bug her.
Suddenly, Kiara stopped dead in her tracks. She rubbed her eyes to ensure she wasn't seeing things but she wasn't. There was a girl standing not too far in front of her with her back to her. She wasn't quite all there in the literal sense; her body was flickering like a distorted hologram of some sort. But that wasn't what caught Kiara off guard. No, it was the fact that the girl standing before her was her.
Except it wasn't. She immediately noted the slight change in clothing as well as this girl's hair being noticeably longer. As she turned to face her, she looked into her eyes. They were surprisingly not her own eyes. These eyes seemed old and tired; like they had seen things they could never forget.
The mysterious girl smiled sadly. "Hello Kiara," she said after a moment.
"Is this a trick?" Kiara snapped bitterly, taking a weary step back. She was so on edge right now and she knew better than to immediately assume she was safe at any given moment. The inevitable apocalypse tended to make one paranoid after all.
The mysterious girl seemed intrigued by Kiara's action and tilted her head. "You're afraid," she noted, her tone making it clear that it wasn't actually a question. "I remember."
Kiara, who had been slowly taking steps backwards stopped immediately at the words. That was when the pieces fell into place in her mind. The person before her wasn't some trick or illusion it seemed. It was her. She was experiencing a future vision of herself, similar to how she had used déjà vu to find Max and Fang underground. But things were different from last time. This wasn't a vision from the near future that looped back around to create a circle. This isn't what Professor Viper described at all. After all, this Kiara seemed older and looked different. Also, her visions never spoke before. What was going on?
"How is this happening?" Kiara demanded, eyes narrowed. "You better explain yourself quickly." Already she was slowly reaching for her bey and launcher, eyes always glancing to her sides in case someone attacked from the shadows.
"I apologize for my sudden appearance," the other girl said as she rubbed her arm. "I've never done this before," she admitted.
"Done what?" Kiara replied, deciding it was worth playing along and seeing where this all lead.
"Right now your powers of clairvoyance are allowing you to see and hear me and my powers are allowing me to transport my consciousness into the past so we can communicate," the other explained as she ran her hand through her hair. "It's vastly more complicated then that but you'll eventually understand much later."
"Understand what?" Kiara asked, slowly lowering her guard now.
"Your powers," the other continued. "Or rather our powers, which technically have multiple levels. In your current time, they're only in their infancy but they'll grow stronger as you get older. Eventually you'll be able to do what I'm doing right now."
"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Kiara returned. Though she was no longer reaching for her equipment, it was clear from her tone and decision to remain at a distance that she didn't quite fully believe what she was hearing. This could very well be some sort of trap intended to lure her into a false sense of security.
"Because I remember this exact moment myself," the other responded with a sigh. "That's how I know you're afraid because I was afraid too. You're scared about everything. Most frighteningly though is that you miss Jaden."
Kiara's eyes widened and she nearly choked on her own saliva. "How did you…?"
"You miss her because you always knew what you were getting with her," the other elaborated, cutting her younger self off as she slowly began to pace forward. "You hated her, abhorred her. Yet your rivalry was also routine. It was safe to put it succinctly. You could comfortably deal with it. But now she's gone. She was struck down fast and efficiently by an even greater threat and that terrifies you. But you're also scared of your visions because you don't want to know the future and because you've heard Professor Viper's warnings."
Kiara bit the inside of her cheek and dropped her head. It was all true. Everything this person said had been exactly how she felt deep down. This wasn't some sort of trick, this was the real deal. She really was talking to her future self.
"Why are you here?" she eventually worked up the courage to ask.
The other rubbed her eyes as she finished approaching her younger self. Once again the tiredness seemed quite evident. She let out a long sigh before speaking. "I'm speaking with you to close the loop. My future self contacted me when I was your age, so now I must contact my past self to ensure the timeline remains intact. Understand?"
"So you've been through everything already then?" Kiara said quickly, eyes back up now, excitement and fear running through her veins simultaneously. "You can tell me if we win this? No, we must win because I get older and become you and then come back to talk to me. How does this all end? Is Max alive? Or is he dead?"
"Kiara stop," the other interrupted, holding up a hand. Kiara was taken aback by the firm tone her other self used but otherwise did what she was told. "Time doesn't work like that. Utilizing powers that manipulate time like this creates diverging timelines to avoid paradoxes or the timeline tearing itself apart. I'm you in a sense but I'm also not you. Now that I've come back, your timeline will be different."
"But if you're not really me," Kiara questioned. "Then why do you need to close the loop?"
"Because it's too late to fix things in my timeline," the other admitted with a defeated tone. "But it isn't too late for yours. Each subsequent Kiara has come back in an attempt to better the next diverging timeline. In the case things don't go right for yours, you will come back and try the same thing again. This loop will go on, slowly repairing the future until finally no more trips are required and then that Kiara will break the loop. I failed my mission. Now it's your turn."
Kiara couldn't widen her eyes even more if she tried. She was perfectly frozen to the spot at this point, unable to process much at all. There was a whirlwind of emotions inside her and she had no idea what to do with it or even what to say. The other didn't seem all that concerned and simply waited patiently, having expected this. Or perhaps she'd already lived through it? Time travel is confusing like that.
"Take some deep breaths," the other decided to say as her flickering hand was laid on her younger self's shoulder. Although she could not physically interact with the past, Kiara did feel a tingle in her arm from her touch. It was enough to snap her to her senses, and she did indeed began some controlled breathing to calm herself and clear her mind. "It's a lot to take in, I get that but it's important you calm down and pay attention so we can get this right."
Kiara rubbed her face for a bit before looking at her open hand. She stared at it intently as she focused her thoughts and feelings, ensuring to get them all under control. This was huge and she couldn't afford to make any mistakes. The future hanged in the balance and it was all riding on her shoulders. She balled up said fist before turning to her other with eyes of determination.
"Alright…I'm ready. Tell me everything."
Elsewhere-
"Where are we going exactly?" Max whined like a petulant child. He and the Boy in Black were currently walking down a street, a street from where Max lived. Not the real thing mind you but a recreation of it from Max's memories. Or was it his mind? It was pretty hard to tell. This shit stopped making sense a while ago. Either way, like the recreation of Max's house, so too was the neighborhood. It was all there; the houses, the gardens, the pond, and playground. It was just as he remembered it down to the specific details.
For Max, everything had seemed so easy back then. Sure, he'd heard stories of and seen footage of some of the legendary bey disasters over the years but he never thought he'd be placed in the center of one. As the two paced through the neighborhood, The Prince of Fire couldn't quite keep down his feelings of sadness. The longing for things to be simple and easy again. For beyblade to be about having fun again and not a means for wars to be waged.
"We've got to find a way out for you," the Boy in Black groaned out, clearly not at all amused by his companion's antics. His strict tone also helped to bring Max back to his senses. "We have to get you back in control of your body before things go wrong in the real world. Who knows how much time has passed since you've been gone and who knows what's happened since."
Max scratched his head. "I get it," he sighed. "But this feels so…weird? We have to get out of here but how are we supposed to even do that? And knowing my memories have been tampered and all that…it's just…so overwhelming ya know?"
Max couldn't see it, but the Boy in Black eyed him with sympathy for a moment. His glasses fortunately protected him from having to openly show his true feelings. Perhaps the person he was based on kept to himself, which would explain the accessory's presence. The less you could see of a person's face the harder it was to read them of course. "We'll figure it out. We just need to be observant and on our toes and think outside the box," he advised.
"Well I'm good at one of those things," Max deadpanned with his trademark goofy grin. "By the way, I think we need to give you a name?" he mused.
"You can't remember who I am," the Boy in Black rebuked with a roll of the eyes. "That's why I don't know who I am either. I'm just a remnant of your lost and/or altered memories."
"I know, I know," Max continued, undeterred, letting his usual cheeriness seep back into his persona. "But I can't bare the thought of referring to you as no one or something. Even if it's not your real name, we need to give you one while we're on this adventure together."
"Agree to disagree," was the blunt response.
"How about Bob?" Max asked, though his cheeky grin seemed to indicate that he had no intention of actually giving the Boy in Black a say in all of this. "It's short and sweet and gets right to the point. You seem like a Bob kind of guy too. I think it suits you perfectly."
"What the heck is a Bob kind of guy?" the Boy in Black quickly shot back, clearly not liking where this was going. He was even gritting his teeth now as the two continued to walk in a straight line, attempting to get somewhere.
"Well a you obviously," snorted Max as his grin somehow managed to widen. "Yeah…I reckon Bob suits you perfectly. I'm so happy this turned out well. Nice to have you onboard to help me Bob. I'm sure we'll be the best of friends."
Bob hit Max over the head with an open palm. "I am not answering to Bob," he snarled, clearly angered by this point even though he continued to walk. Max rubbed his head and laughed it off. "Pick any other name, I'm begging you."
"Sorry Bob but that's your name now," replied the Swordsman blader as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "You can't just change your name because you want to. You're just going to have to find a way to live with it. Don't worry though, I won't treat you any differently because of it."
"Stop!" Bob cried, flinging an arm out to stop his companion. Max looked at him, thinking he was just annoyed with the name thing before realizing this was something else. "Something's wrong. We're not getting anywhere. The neighborhood keeps shifting no matter how far or how straight we walk. Look around Max, we can still see your house."
"Damn…you're right," he groaned, spotting the structure behind his shoulder to the left. "Well this just blows. How are we going to get out of here if we can't just walk out of here? Or is there some kind of trick to it you reckon?"
"Considering The Reaper spoke to you right before you passed out, it's likely he's trapped you here and is currently in control of your body," Bob hypothesized as he folded his arms. "This is probably an illusion set up by him in case you regained consciousness. It's a barrier or a distraction to prevent you from retaking control of your body back from him."
"Damn Bob," Max couldn't help but comment, hands on his hips. "You're a lot smarter than I thought you were. Seriously, that was some brilliant deduction."
"Technically your deduction," Bob reminded him with a sigh. "I'm just a memory. I may act like how this person-"
"Bob!"
"-This person was supposed to act but ultimately, everything I know you know at least on a subconscious level of some sort." Bob looked down to his friend. "I guess you're smarter than you thought you were. Perhaps that says something about your work ethic more than anything."
"Man," the brunette commented. "Maybe I'm secretly a genius and that if I really applied myself I could be like the next Einstein or something?"
Bob smacked him over the head again. "Try to keep focus," he scolded. "Also, try not to break your arm jerking yourself off there. Now, we need to think of some sort of plan to get out of here."
"What about a bey battle?" Max suggested after a moment of thought. "Obviously walking out of here isn't an option but maybe if we tried fighting our way out we'd get somewhere."
"What are we supposed to be fighting against exactly?" Bob replied, raising a skeptical eyebrow. It was odd talking to him once you fully realized the fact he was just a part of your own mind. It was essentially just talking to yourself except yourself in this instance had its own unique personality.
"I'm imagining this place is like a canvas," Max explained as he gestured to their surroundings. "That's sort of what it was like when I faced Fang and she dragged her and myself into my head. It was like a void of some sort with walls. The memories were like glass. I'm thinking we're actually in a cage of some sort but it's designed so that we can't actually approach the walls. So if we launch our beys at our surroundings maybe we can pierce through the illusion and shatter the cage."
"That's actually a good idea," Bob complimented. "However, you'll have to do it yourself. It appears the real me isn't or wasn't a blader or otherwise you don't recall what bey I had at all." He gestured to his lack of bey gear as proof. Max frowned, especially since this meant only he could fight if some actual threat showed up.
"Better get behind me then in case a big baddie shows up when I try this," he cautioned. "Unfortunately your lack of a bey makes you a target."
Bob shrugged. "Fair enough," he remarked as Max took out Swordsman and his launcher.
"Here goes nothing," he declared as he pulled the ripcord out, sending Swordsman flying. "Let It Rip!"
His bey smashed into an invisible wall and it shattered like glass, the pieces flying through the air. Immediately the whole place shuddered like there was a small earthquake erupting. The two boys stumbled and fell to the ground as the axis of the void shifted and contorted.
"I think you made it angry," Bob couldn't help but comment as the world was tipped to its side and the two went tumbling along the asphalt.
"The monkey bars!" Max called out as they slid towards the playground, which was doing just fine during all of this thanks to being bolted down to the ground. "Grab hold as we slide past!" Bob nodded in understanding and they braced themselves before jumping, successfully latching onto the worn green bars of equipment to hold themselves in place.
"What about Flame Swordsman?" Bob questioned suddenly and Max yelped as he desperately began looking around for his bey.
"It's over there," he called out, seeing the red spinning top trying to remain on balance as it slowly was pushed towards the nearby pond via gravity. "Return!" he shouted as he flung out his right arm after ensuring he was tightly holding onto the monkey bars with his left. Swordsman leapt up and flew through the air into the boy's open palm, safe at last.
"I was honestly expecting more of a physical threat then literal earthquake and gravity manipulating," Bob complained as he adjusted his sunglasses.
"That could still happen," Max replied. "This might just be stage one or something in terms of defense mechanisms. Who knows what we might have to face when we're in a void of my mind."
Bob went to respond when he paused suddenly and looked to the shattered wall. Max noticed the peculiar look on his face and spoke out. "Is everything OK Ben?" he asked with concern evident in his voice.
"There's a train coming," Bob muttered quietly in fear before turning to Max and shouting. "There's a train coming!"
The sound of a train horn blared as the steaming engine came thundering through the gap in the void, shattering the remains of the wall in the process. Unlike everything else that seemed bound to the bizarre laws of gravity, the train operated on its own rules. It didn't even need tracks or to be on the ground. It was flying all on its own! The two screamed as it surged towards them, apparently intent on running them over to eliminate them. For a moment, the headlight of the vehicle seemed to hypnotize Max, making him freeze in place. The sound of the horn blaring even turned to that of a blood-curdling scream. It took Bob shouting the boy's name to snap him out of it and make him act.
"Goddammit!" Max cursed as he used his legs to push off from the monkey bars and quickly managed to attach Swordsman to his launcher. "Let It Rip!" he yelled, though he was aware that he was also already falling now that gravity had taken a hold of his body and he was no longer holding on to anything bolted down.
"Brave but stupid!" Bob lashed out bitterly even as he reached out with his long right arm and managed to snag a grip on Max's ankle, quickly swinging him back towards the monkey bars so that he wouldn't fall to his death. Max was legit surprised by the save. When he had jumped he'd done it on instinct, not considering the fact that he'd likely injure himself in a fall. Bob was faster than he had anticipated, but was grateful nonetheless for the save. He didn't however notice the concerned look his friend was giving him. After all, the brunette had frozen up rather suddenly at the sight of the train for some unknown reason. But now was not the time for such questions.
"Flame Sword Slash!" Max bellowed out as the blazing Red Knight emerged and drew his magnificent sword. With one foul swoop the blade came down and sliced the train in half. What was less encouraging was that the train didn't stop simply because it had been bisected. Rather, the train acted as if it was alive and didn't need to be whole to function. The two pieces broke off and began circling around for another attempt at a hit and run.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Bob snapped at nobody in particular. "Is this going to be like a Hydra where no matter how many times you cut it up it just keeps coming back?"
"In that case," Max surmised, already coming up with a new strategy. "Let's not go with the obvious approach. Run them down Swordsman and use a slam attack!"
It was quite bizarre to watch the Red Knight put his sword away and instead charge with his shoulder out in front, intending to barrel right through the trains in a head-on clash of strength. To Max's credit, it seemed to work, one half of the train shuddered from the assault, windows breaking on impact. It was flung far away but kept moving regardless.
"These things can't be killed!" Bob bit out as he furiously analyzed the situation. "This is bad Max, really bad! These trains are like an animal except without the flesh and blood. Unless you're carrying a disintegrator gun on you I'm not quite sure how we're going to get out of this! They keep moving regardless of any damage we inflict!"
"I could try melting them!" Max shouted back, though it was clear even he wasn't convinced by such a plan. "If Swordsman uses his sword and raises the temperature of the fire enough! Maybe we can…"
"Do you understand how hot it'd have to be to melt the trains?" Bob snapped back at him, flustered. "You'd have to start fires of a temperature around 650 degrees Celsius! And I'm pretty sure we'd be fried or at the very least injured just by being close to such a fire without any protection!"
Max bit his lip and shouted at the sky. "Damn," he cursed out. "If only I had my Order powers. I could generate a shield or something or blast them with some Order energy!"
"Wait," Bob balked, snapping his gaze towards the brunette. "Your Order abilities aren't working? Since when? And why would you not share such important information until right before we might die?"
"I didn't want to think about it too much," Max responded sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Besides, wouldn't be too much point to linger on it right?"
Bob noticeably hesitated, which Max didn't like one bit. "Max… have you tried reaching out with your powers at all? Not using it per say but just being able to sense if it was there? Like, when Jaden had you chained up you couldn't use your powers but you could still feel it right?"
"I…" Max's mouth was suddenly incredibly dry and he could feel his throat close up on him. The revelation hit hard, like a punch to the gut. He couldn't feel his powers anymore. The crest scar was still there on the back of his hand but he knew he could no longer sense or feel the power churning through his veins. It wasn't that he couldn't access his Order powers currently. The real issue was that they weren't there anymore full stop. "Fuck…no…."
Bob watched as the brunette began to tear up, desperately trying to come up with some words to comfort the other boy. But he couldn't think of anything. Perhaps since he was technically a part of Max's mind, this meant the boy himself didn't know what to think.
"We'll discuss this later!" Bob finally found the courage to say. "But right now we should focus on what's happening in front of us! We got two killer trains flying right towards us! We need a plan!"
Max wiped his tears away with his sleeve and bit the inside of his cheek to snap himself back into action. He did as Bob said; he put the implications of losing his Order powers out of his mind for now. He needed to focus. Bob was relying on him to get the both of them out of this sticky situation in one piece.
"OK…" Max muttered as he tried to psyche himself up and get in the zone. "Let's deter the trains for a bit!" He flung his arm out before commanding, "Hit 'em with Flame Spiral Swordsman!"
The Red Knight drew his blade as it covered itself with beautiful crimson flames. The Knight proceeded to aim his weapon as if it was a gun, and a torrent of flames blasted from it and slammed into the oncoming train. It was blasted back from the impact but was otherwise not too damaged overall. The second train almost blindsided the Knight, be he jumped out of the way just in time before knocking the vehicle back with another blast of Flame Spiral.
"OK," Max panted in relief. "I brought us a little time! Here's the plan! We jump onto my Knight's back and let him take us outside of whatever this zone is!"
"Sure…why not?" Bob returned with, clearly not too confident with the plan but also aware that this was the best chance the two probably had. They'd already eliminated melting the trains earlier and they lacked any efficient way of damaging them beyond repair. So running seemed like a good idea as any.
"One the count of three!" Max declared as the Red Knight moved towards them. Already the train carriages had recovered and were now moving in for another attack. "One! Two! Three!"
Max leapt onto the Knight's back whilst Bob was unfortunately forced to grab hold of the large bey beast's leg. Still, it did its job since a bey beast didn't technically exist within a plane and therefore wasn't necessarily bound by the laws of gravity. This effectively meant the Red Knight could fly. The three flew along as the trains zeroed in on them as if desperate to catch them before they escaped through the smashed wall. They were like predators, honing in on their prey.
"Hang on!" Bob panicked suddenly. "The trains came from beyond the wall right? What's going to stop them from just falling us through?"
"Professionalism?" Max replied with a nervous grin. "Good sportsmanship?" He couldn't see it because of their differing vantage points, but Bob was glaring daggers at the boy, furious that this plan might just end up with them dead anyway.
"They trains are catching up to us!" Bob warned suddenly, and Max gasped as he looked over his shoulder to confirm this. He then panicked when he realized the second train was coming at them from the other side.
"Flame Sword Slash Swordsman!" Max cried quickly, and the Knight successfully managed to slash at the first oncoming train with a quick turn around. Both Max and Bob yelped in shock as they desperately tried to hold on for dear life. They had the exact same reactions when the Knight quickly spun around to counter the second train. Unfortunately, he didn't turn fast enough and was thus forced to hold his sword up like a shield against the oncoming freight train.
"Fucking hell!" Bob cursed as the three were pushed back from the impact and the two barely held their grips during all of this. "Do something quick Max! The stupid thing is pushing us away from the wall! We can't afford to let this turn into a dragged out battle!"
"Do you trust me?" replied Max.
"No," was Bob's pretty harsh response. Ouch.
"Well you're definitely not gonna like this then!" Max pressed on anyways. "Might want to close your eyes and mouth! And your nostrils!"
Bob's eyes widened with panic. "What?"
"Special Move!" The Prince of Fire roared. "Flame Burst!" The moment his words escaped his mouth he shut his eyes tight and turned his head away. Flames exploded from the Knight's sword, creating an inferno-like shockwave that blasted back the train with a boom. Unfortunately, being in such close proximity meant ash and fire also hit the two human boys on the Knight's back. They screamed in pain as their flesh was singed from the backlash of the attack.
"Swordsman…" Max grit out, eyes still clamped firmly shut. "Get us out…now. Do it! NOW!" he roared like a lion and his bey beast responded, rushing forward before either train could circle back around for another assault. The demonic vehicles tried to catch up but it was too late. They cleared the wall and entered the black void beyond it.
"Max…" Bob's voice made the brunette open his eyes and he immediately saw the problem that no doubt had the other boy scared stiff. "The void is disintegrating us…"
The Red Knight seemed to feel the affects worse than them and he exploded into a shower of pixels as if he were a hologram. The two boys continued to float forward, (Newton's First Law of Motion apparently functioning even within this bizarre place) but their bodies were slowly crumbling into nothing.
"Mr. Bob…" Max couldn't help but joke darkly as they ceased to exist. "I don't feel so good…" How could he not make such a reference when this was the second time it had happened to him today? At least they escaped the trains so…winning?
-Elsewhere
Athena was bored. She was never one for patience. Time was limited; precious even, so she abhorred wasting it like it was infinite and limitless. She had always believed that every second should count, that's why she had never over-slept a day in her life. Far too many people for her liking were so content with just casually going about life, not caring whether it was worthwhile or not. People were satisfied with being normal or not mattering. That was the problem with the world.
Athena had always worked hard in her life. She wasn't like all the worthless scum out there who wasted away the lives they had by doing nothing. Her research and hard work had led her to the position she was in now, a disciple of Zygor and The Dark Lord – Nemesis' Heir. After Battle Bladers, she realized that there must be more to the children's spinning top game then meets the eye. She fully thrust herself into beyblade research and analysis after the Spiral Force incident and met Hermes along the way. He had been in it for different reasons, among them glory and fame. Athena cared nothing for such values. Changing the world for the better was her primary concern. Either way, Hermes proved useful as her surrogate brother of sorts. Though his motivations were less pure, he was a hard worker and the two worked their way up to the top of the food chain.
Now she stood waiting. Nemesis' Heir would soon awaken and she would help usher in a new world order. The Dark Lord would tear down the structures of the modern world and build a utopia in its place. People would die yes. Much innocent blood would be shed but the world would be all the better for it. You couldn't change the world without tearing the old obsolete one down. A foundation had to be built on something after all.
She was however a little miffed. She was aware the other two monoliths had crumbled; meaning both Professor Viper and Hermes had lost and was therefore almost certainty dead. Viper she could care else about, he had joined their ranks quite late in the game and to be truthful she never fully trusted the snake. But Hermes…she hated how much her chest ached right now. He had been a prick at times yes and arrogant and superficial but he was the closest thing she had to a friend. He could keep up with her and knew how to calm her. He was one of a kind and now he was…gone. He wouldn't get to see the brave new world that would soon arise. It brought a tear to her eye.
"Do not worry brother," she muttered to herself. "I will avenge your death. I will finish…what you started." Once she was done defeating the opponent who would no doubt eventually show to face her she'd go after the brat who had killed Hermes. She would capture them and then torture them as retribution. Usually she did not like to drag things out, but this time it would be worth it. She wanted to hear the screams for many moons to satisfy her lust for vengeance.
Finally someone emerged from the trees. It was a girl. A girl with black hair with red highlights with dark make-up on. Athena recognized her as Kiara Summers, the other one besides Max who had Order powers of her own. This would be interesting.
"Welcome Ms. Summers," Athena greeted with a bow before pulling off her hood. "How nice of you to finally join me. I absolutely detest just waiting around."
"Are we going to do this or what?" Kiara shot back, eyes already narrowed. Athena noticed that she already had her launcher and bey out though she hadn't connected the latter to the former as of yet.
"Straight to the point and direct," Athena clucked her lips together. "I like that in a person. Aren't you at all intimidated by the battle before you though?" she prodded as she spread her arms wide. "Consider the stakes, consider the consequences should you lose."
"Are we here to talk or battle?" Kiara responded with calmly as her hands tensed.
"Perhaps the word I should have been using was impatient," Athena mused to herself with a little chuckle. "Allow me to explain the rules before you die. Beys are a clashing of souls. That energy is quite efficient. Once we battle, the monolith will activate and begin sucking souls from the island to feed the Dark Lord. Defeat me, the monument falls. Lose and you die. How does that sound? Any questions?" She grinned as she left her sentence hanging.
"I already know everything that I need to know," Kiara replied with a twitch of her eye. "Let's get this over with." She attached Solaria and got into position, waiting for her opponent to do the same.
'She's very eager,' Athena thought, a tad concerned for the first time. 'Does she know something I do not? She seems dreadfully calm too despite her position. Is she just hiding her nervousness? Surely if she was truly scared she wouldn't be so eager though.'
"Well," Kiara called out, interrupting the woman's thoughts. "Are we actually going to do this or what?"
"My, my," cackled Athena as she pulled out her bey. "Aren't we confident. I'm going to enjoy making you scream."
"Talk is cheap," Kiara shot back. "Let's just do this already." She seemed tired. Athena could see it in her eyes. It wasn't a look of exhaustion though it was more so a look of resignation…as if she knew something was amiss. The apostle put the thought out of her head for the moment. Whatever was on this girl's mind wouldn't matter in a few minutes. She'd be dead after all so problem solved.
"Three!" cried Kiara.
"Two!" added Athena.
"One!" they finished together.
"Let It Rip!"
As Chaos Spinstress and Flame Solaria spun into the stadium, Kiara's mind was elsewhere. She remembered who Athena was. Max had told them all about her and Hermes ages ago back when the tournament was still in its early stages. The two had ambushed him and forced him into a battle. He barely escaped with his life but also gained his Order Crest in the process. This Athena had the power of chaos and thus, was not to be underestimated. Luckily she had her ace in the hole…
"So you've chosen to launch your bey in its left rotation," Athena noted, interrupting the other girl's train of thought. "What are you scheming? Or do you simply think a bey spinning in the opposite direction is enough to throw me off?"
"They're not exactly common," Kiara responded with a shrug. It was true. Not too long ago it was only L-Drago that spun in the opposite direction. Eventually Gravity Destroyer showed up as the first dual rotating bey and from there it become a bit more common. Because of the rarity of these beys, it was often difficult to train against and for inexperienced bladers they were often caught off guard when facing one.
Athena gave a nasty little smile. "I'm not some amateur you realize?" she teased. "We've been watching you all year. The tournament was just a jumping off point for our plan and during that time we got to see how the strongest of you kids battled. I've been aware of all your abilities for some time."
"So you've been watching us then huh…" Kiara noted to herself. "Bit creepy when you say it out loud but sure. What else would villains do?"
Athena laughed. "Oh, you children and your black and white view of morality," she cackled. "You're still far too young to understand the complex nature of the world and the systems we live in."
"Oh god," Kiara interrupted with a groan. "You're not seriously going to attempt to justify brainwashing children for some sort of greater good are you?" Her tone came across more as resignation than annoyance oddly enough. "Just save it," she continued, eyes downcast. "I don't give a shit what you have to say and I'm not in the mood for you to spout off for a bit about your personal ideology which won't change my mind at all."
Athena huffed to herself. "Well I can see someone is in a bad mood," she commented. "But I admire your spunk and your willingness to speak your mind. I like that in a person, someone who is willing to do what they want. Someone who isn't content with what they have and is always willing to push for the next level. Honestly I see a little bit of myself in you."
Kiara made a gag face. "Could you possible get more cliché?" she scolded. "Are we here to battle or listen to you prattle on?"
"Not much of a talker then I see," Athena replied casually, not at all deterred by the sharp tone of her opponent. If anything she looked amused, apparently enjoying the back and fourth banter. "But if it's a battle you want then you may have your wish."
"You first," Kiara offered, obviously baiting her foe with a challenging look in her eye.
Athena closed her eyes. "Of course. You must have some master plan I assume. That's fine. I'll just work around you. But first…let's make sure everything is in place for the ritual!" She flung her hand into the air and the wind picked up. Kiara held at an arm as she was buffeted by the sudden tempest and watched as the Monolith began to shake and radiate pink energy. A large Chaos Crest etched into it lit up, and the sky began to churn and swirl around it. Kiara seemed cautious but not overtly frightened, having already seen this happen from afar earlier on two occasions.
"Let this round of terror begin," hissed Athena as her bey shot forward. "Smash attack!" Her bey glowed pink as it crashed into Solaria, with the opposing bey immediately trying to push back instead of running away. Sparks flew as Spinstress slowly began to push Solaria towards the edge of the arena, Kiara watching on, apparently unconcerned at the moment.
'Just hold on tight for me Solaria,' she thought to herself as she kept her eyes peeled on the battle, seemingly ignoring Athena herself.
"What will you do now I wonder?" the apostle mused loudly, obviously wishing to get Kiara talking again. "I assume you have some sort of trick up your sleeve after all. So will you counter with some sort of special move or some kind of maneuver?"
Kiara had to stop herself from rolling her eyes, no wanting to give her opponent any more reasons to open her big trap. "I don't need some big strategy to overcome such a simple brute force attack," she stated firmly. "Solaria has enough power to push back all on her own! Show them your power!"
Coinciding with Kiara flinging her right arm out, Solaria began to glow red and it was slowly but surely pushing Spinstress back now. Now pink and red sparks were flying as the two beys tried to gain an upper hand against the other. Solaria successfully pushed its foe back to the center of the arena but couldn't do any more than that, with Spinstress holding its ground to prevent its opponent from attempting to push it out as it had tried only minutes ago.
"So the first round is a stalemate it appears," Athena couldn't help but state the obvious, still trying to get into Kiara's head. "What say I take the initiative since you seem so set on simply matching my power."
"You do whatever you want," Kiara retorted with a snort. "I'm not your mother. If I was you would have turned out better."
"Very well then," Athena replied curtly. "If you're going to be a smartass about it then I see no need to hold back." She flung her arms out suddenly, and the wind seemed to pick up as if by magic. "Special Move! Spinstress Fortress of Webs!"
A blast of lightning from the sky struck Spinstress, the shockwave knocking Solaria away in the process. Athena laughed as energy surged from her bey, slowly forming a large spider web around the stadium, encompassing it with a thick, shinny substance. Solaria's balance began to crumble, unable to properly spin on the webbing, which now covered every surface.
"In this domain," taunted Athena. "I reign supreme and so does my bey. "Do you know the legend of Arachne?" she asked.
"I'm pretty sure you're going to tell me either way so if you want to talk just talk," Kiara drawled at her, looking almost bored. "At least give me some sort of respect by not phrasing statements as questions."
"Temper, temper," teased Athena with her sickening smile as she began to talk as her foe so wished. "Arachne is the world's first spider. When she was still human, she believed her weaving skills to surpass even that of the Gods. Challenging Athena, her work both mocked the Gods and even surpassed Athena's own weaving. Angered, Athena destroyed her work and struck her three times. Arachne was left so terrified and ashamed that she hung herself. Athena then cast a spell on the girl, transforming her into a spider, allowing her to live once more but forever condemned."
"Is there a point to all of this?" Kiara forced herself to ask if only to satisfy the villain's speech and story.
"It is a tale of the dangers of mortals attempting to place themselves on the same pedestal as gods," Athena explained. "You shall suffer the same price as Arachne should you attempt to stand in my way. There's a reason I took the name of Athena in the first place."
"Really?" Kiara snorted, sarcasm dripping from her words. "And here I was thinking that was your birth name."
"In this domain you will find nothing you seek. Not victory, nor hope, nor salvation. In this domain lies only chaos and ruin. This will be your final resting place," Athena taunted. "Although only for your soul. Just as Athena ensured Arachne could live a cursed existence, I too shall offer you the same pity. I will reanimate your corpse as a mindless being, cursed to forever wander the earth."
"Wow," Kiara groaned, clearly sick of all the theatrics and threats. "It sounds like you had that whole speech planned out. I wonder how many weeks you spent on writing it? I hope all those college literature courses were worth it."
Athena's right eye twitched with annoyance. She just couldn't work it out. Even if the stupid girl wasn't willing to play along she still should have at least been scared. Her life was on the line and she was facing an opponent who she'd never even seen before. She was at a disadvantage and yet seemed bored by the whole ordeal, as if it wasn't worth her time.
'Surely this couldn't all be an act?' Athena thought to herself. 'No one has that good of a poker face, not someone this young anyway. It's as if she knows something that I don't. But that can't be. Maybe she really is just that stupid.'
"Roar Solaria!" cried Kiara, fling her arm out. Athena was pulled from her thoughts as a lioness emerged into the field and began clawing at the webbing with her paws. It seemed to work at tearing through the main surface line of webbing, only for the beast's legs to get tangled in the secondary layer.
Athena shook her head in mock disappointment. "Did you really think such a half-baked tactic would work? I already told you that this is my domain. Your beast may be the king of the jungle, but here, I rule with absolute power. And I will show you that power now. Special Move! Web of Chaos!"
Spinstress glowed pink as a beautiful woman burst forth from the top of the bey, wearing a red garment and headdress. Clutched in the Goddess' hand was a long golden scepter with a ruby on the end of it. Her very being seemed to radiate light, and Kiara was forced to take a step back and look away to avoid the blinding light of it all. Unfortunately while she was distracted she seemingly failed to notice the Goddess firing a beam of energy from her scepter into the lioness. The beast roared as the webbing around her began to shift and move on its own until it had fully captured her. Kiara finally took notice but said and did nothing as the magic webbing began to cocoon her bey beast until a thick coating was holding her completely in place.
"All your de-clawed cat needs now is a bow on top," Athena taunted as she picked at some dirt under her nails. "I was expecting you to put up some kind of actual struggle their but it appears you want to make this easy for me?" She titled her head suddenly. "Or…perhaps that really is your goal. Have you cracked at last Miss Summers? Have you decided to give in to despair and thus are intending to hand me the victory that will seal the fate of your world?"
"Don't get to over-confident," Kiara shot back with a dangerous look in her eye. "Hubris can be a very dangerous thing. Even for so-called Gods." Athena did not look impressed and merely glared back. "Here I come! Heat things up Solaria with Firestorm Fury!"
Although trapped in a cocoon of webbing, the lioness still could move her face and let out a mighty roar before her body began to glow red. From there, flames erupted all around her, catching the cocoon on fire.
"What do you think you're doing?" Athena questioned with narrowed eyes. "Your fire will simply burn the cocoon with your own bey beast in there. And even if you think the flames will spread to the rest of my domain…then you're wrong! Protect your sacred space Spinstress!"
The Goddess glowed pink as she held up her scepter and it generated a shield around the captured lioness, preventing the fire from spreading to the entire stadium and trapping the beast within the inferno of its own creation.
"This begs the question Miss Summers…what will you do now? Lie down and die or fight back? You've been doing very little thus far and I want to know why. At the very least, if you do intent do die you could at least hurry up the process by giving up completely."
Kiara grinned. "You really are that arrogant huh?" The tone she used made it seem more like a statement, and her inflection made it seem like it wasn't even directed at Athena oddly enough. "It's time to show you my power! Special Move Solaria! Flame Claw Slash!"
Athena's eyes widened. "Hang on a second…"
The webbing that cocooned Solaria was suddenly slashed apart as if by a knife, and the lioness roared as her respective bey burst through the flames and crashed into the dome generated by Spinstress. Sparks flew through the air as the bey impacted, and soon the dome began to crack under the pressure until it crumbled away.
"I've watched all your matches!" shouted Athena in protest, her calm visage crumbling. "You don't have a move like that! That was more akin to…oh no." It had hit her. The technique of utilizing a lot of power at a very specific point for an attack was akin to how Max and Flame Swordsman battled. Even the name made sense! Swordsman's classic move was the 'Flame Sword Slash' and Solaria had used 'Flame Claw Slash.' Although Swordsman's fusion wheel is a special edition of the typical Flame one, it still had its similarities, which is how Kiara had managed to replicate the same sort of attacks Swordsman was capable of with her own bey.
"Well…isn't that inconvenient," Athena cursed to herself. "But it changes little overall. Unless you really want to try and burn down my domain that is." Just like that, her ego was once again back at full strength.
"Considering you want to tear down this world," Kiara replied. "Perhaps it's poetic that I'm about to tear yours down instead! Special Move again Solaria! Firestorm Fury!"
"Full me once shame on me!" Athena shot back as she flung her arms out. "Full me twice, shame on you! Counter attack Spinstress! Special Move! Chaos Scepter Blast!"
Before Solaria could unleash another blast of flames to swallow up the stadium of webs, the Goddess held up her weapon and unleashed a blast of ruby energy that smashed into the opposing bey, creating a shockwave that knocked Kiara off her feet. She cried out in shock and then pain as her back cracked against the solid ground. She sat up with a groan and coughed, a bit of blood leaking out onto her hand. As the red substance caught her eye, she froze in place.
Athena noticed her reaction immediately. "Remember Miss Summers," she mocked. "This isn't just a battle for your soul. If you lose you will die here. You've seemed quite calm thus far for god only knows why. But now that this has happened, I wonder if the urge to survive will bring something out. I want to see the ferocity, the desire to live."
"You'll get no satisfaction from me," Kiara shot back with a scowl as she wiped her mouth and slowly stood back up, though her legs were noticeably a bit shaky from the blast and impact still. "You can hit me as many times as you want, but I'll keep getting back up. And you can insist I'll snap or go crazy, but I won't. Because believe it or not, I know something you don't. And that terrifies you, because as much as you want it to be, you're not fully in control of the situation here. You want to control me too, but you can't, and that terrifies you."
Athena closed her eyes and cackled. "Slow and painful death it is then," she gloated as her lip curled up.
"Thanks for proving my point," Kiara smugly remarked as she pointed to the sky. "Now roar your heart out Solaria!"
The Lioness roared at the twisted, pink night sky before a torrent of flames burst from her body and was sent hurtling towards the red Goddess. Athena to her credit seemed quite confident still and flung her right arm out.
"Chaos Shield!" she called out and the Goddess generated a dome of ruby energy around herself, causing the flames to bounce off and strike the nearby surroundings, which was unfortunately filled with lots of trees. The woods crackled and burned as they caught fire before starting to collapse and fall apart. "Now Chaos Shockwave!"
The dome transformed into a blast of energy that struck the lioness, with the shockwave shattering the ground at Kiara's feet, sending debris flying into the air. The raven-haired girl cried out as she quickly covered her face and head with her arms, but was still buffeted heavily by flying debris and recoil. She was knocked to the ground with a groan as the destruction finally settled.
"I see you're getting nice and acquainted with the ground," Athena called out to her. "Which is a good thing too since you'll be a meter deep in it soon enough. A shallow grave I know but I'm sure it's what your friends would have wanted."
"Does your lord require you to say a specific minimum amount of words per minute or something," Kiara snarled as she slowly got back up once again, though her arms were noticeably cut, bruised and bleeding. "Read the fine print next time when you sign a contract with the devil. There's always some bullshit catch."
"Good to see your enjoying your last few moments on this earth," Athena deflected quickly. "I'd definitely savour those words if I were you. But now it's time for some more punishment. Attack again Spinstress!"
The ruby scepter lit up before sending out a blast towards the lioness yet again, with the nimble beast leaping to the side to avoid it. The blast kept going however and struck the ground near Kiara. Athena giggled to herself like a schoolgirl while Kiara winced from the blast. The Goddess followed this up with another blast, which the lioness again successfully dodged, though this meant the blast struck the ground near Kiara again.
"As you can see," Athena spat. "Your dodging strategy isn't very viable unless you want to get severely injured before the battle is even over? Your choice though. Now again, Chaos Scepter Blast!"
"Solaria Firestorm Fury!" countered Kiara suddenly as her lioness roared just as the Goddess fired off another energy blast. The flames intercepted the ruby beam of energy and exploded out, covering the area in smoke and ash. "Now, Flame Claw Slash!"
"What?" Athena scowled as she desperately tried to see through the thick smoke. She jumped back and gasped when the lioness came barreling through with its fiery claws out, striking the Goddess over the chest. The apostle screamed in pain as she felt invisible claws bare down into her own chest, staining her clothing with blood. She stumbled back and gripped her chest in pain, unintentionally drenching her hands scarlet in the process. "You little shit…"
"What's the matter?" Kiara snarled back. "I thought that this was your domain! I thought you were in control!"
"Web of Chaos!" declared Athena as she pointed at Solaria with her bloodied hands, anger simmering from her. The Goddess pushed the lioness off of herself before firing a strand of webbing from her finger, with the said strand wrapping itself around the creature's neck. "You're mine now!"
Before Kiara could react, the lioness was thrown into the air as the Goddess used the strand of webbing to throw and spin the beast around like a ragdoll. After picking up speed she at last let the strand go, allowing the lioness to plummet into the center of the stadium with a thundering crash. Kiara bit her tongue to stop herself from screaming, her bones shaking as she felt the pain her bey beast felt. She briefly fell to one knee but pushed through the pain and managed to stand up pretty quickly afterwards.
"That was just the first real taste of pain!" Athena hissed like a snake. "Strike again with Web of Chaos Spinstress!" Just like last time, a web sprung from the Goddess' fingertips and caught the lioness around the throat, only this time the strand tightened. The Goddess leapt into the air and landed where the beast stood before using one leg to push down on the creature's belly, pinning it to the ground. She then began to tug on the web, tightening the thread around the lioness' throat. Kiara herself grabbed at her own throat as she felt her air flow constrict suddenly.
"How does that feel?" Athena proclaimed with a malicious grin. "How does it feel to know you're so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things? How does it feel to realize you truly are powerless? Ultimately just a puppet to be played with and then discarded like trash?"
"You should perhaps look at your own strings first," Kiara coughed back at her even as she fell to her knees, still gripping her throat in pain.
"Do you feel that?" Athena snapped, clearly angered by the girl's words and refusal to show fear. She held out a hand and slowly closed it into a fist, mimicking how her bey beast pulled tighter on her web to tighten the hold on the lioness. "That's the feeling of the noose tightening. Can you see the darkness seeping into the corners of your vision? That's death approaching. I don't even need to beat your bey to defeat you. No…your pitiful mortal body will crumble to dust long before then."
"You're…not…a…god…yet…" Kiara croaked back at her between the breaths she wasn't really taking in. Still she refused to look away in fear or cry. Her eyes were brim with fire, with fight. And that pissed Athena off to no end.
"It is inevitable!" the disciple shouted in defiance.
"…Fire…Storm…Fury…" Kiara whispered through her dry heaving as her lioness roared, and a blast of fire caught the Goddess directly in the face. The bey beast was too close to dodge, and so as she screamed, so too did her master. Athena's hands went to her face as she felt the flames on her beautiful skin. She could feel the heat even as her face was burned and scorched by invisible flames. In the chaos she had forgotten the web strand around the lioness neck, and the beast was able to stand up at last and was poised to strike.
"Flame Claw Slash again!" Kiara commanded as she took in a nice breathe of fresh air. Athena was still too distracted to notice what was happening, and therefore was caught completely by surprise when she felt a claw mark scrape across her chest yet again. She screamed as her Goddess shattered into fragments and Solaria smashed into her bey, cracking the fusion wheel slightly in the process.
'This can't be happening?' Athena fumed in her mind as she tried to regain her composure and push through the pain. 'I'm supposed to be the one in control here and yet she's managed to parry all of my attacks. I knew she was good but she shouldn't be this good. It's as if she knew exactly what I was planning to do or something. But that's impossible!'
"Well?" Kiara called out to her, pulling the older lady from her thoughts. "What are you going to do now?"
"You want to push me then?" Athena snarled as she lowered her head. "Fine. I'll play by your rules." She ignited her Chaos Crest and it glowed pink, coating her whole body in the same colour aura. She cried out in pain as the ancient energy flowed through her veins, causing her veins to literally pop out as a result. Her eyes turned pink and her posture notably shifted, with her hunching over as if carrying a weight on her shoulders. And yet still Kiara did not look scared or taken aback. "Look what you've done now Miss Summers," the apostle threatened.
"Yeah…you really look like a God now don't you," Kiara spat back at her. "Have you tried looking in a mirror? You just don't seem as pretty as the real Athena ya know?"
"Laugh while you can!" Athena cowed at her as she balled up her fists. "Because with this power, I'm going to tear you limb from limb!" She could feel the energy flowing through her, and like a big rush of adrenaline it was psyching her up, her tempter included. The last time she had tried this was when Hermes had done it against Max Smith and he had lost control of his power as a result. She was forced to use her own to balance it out before it hurt him. She was doing what he did right now, but she had now had a lot of practice with her power, and was thus certain she could control it.
"To be fair gods are known for their tempers so maybe you do have the right idea," Kiara pondered as she mockingly stroked her chin in thought.
Athena roared with fury as she flung her arms wide. "Special Move Spinstress! Chaos Scepter Blast!"
The Goddess reappeared, but just like her master, her form had been affected by the higher powers of the Chaos Crest. Her body had become more noticeably muscular and her face now had large demonic eyes with a big jaw with razor sharp teeth and a long lizard-like tongue to boot. She held up her scepter, but unlike before, the blast was not narrow but rather large to cover a wider area. The lioness could not dodge this time and took the full brunt of the attack, shattering instantly.
"Fuck!" Kiara cursed as she stumbled back in pain, feeling the energy ripple against her chest. She dug her nails into her palms to try and distract herself from the invisible damage inflicted upon her body and it appeared to mostly do the job.
"Now annihilate her Chaos Spinstress!" bellowed Athena. Her bey beast continued to fire blast of ruby energy at the stadium, now attempting to hit Solaria directly. The bey did an admirable job dodging, though the attacks continued to rip up pieces of the stadium and fling them into the air. Kiara herself was forced to dodge as some of the debris flew her way. "You can't run forever girly!"
"That's why I have a special move!" retorted Kiara. "Solaria Firelight Wall!" A wall of fire manifested itself around the red bey, and it deflected the incoming energy blast right back at its source.
Athena licked her lips. "I was waiting for that!" she declared. "Counter Move: Chaos Mirror!" Right before the beam could impact, a mirror with a ruby frame appeared in front of the Goddess like a shield and absorbed the attack. "Allow me to explain! This move allows me to absorb an energy-based attack and then convert that power into energy for my Spinstress! I knew you'd use that special move eventually and now it'll be your undoing."
"I'm starting to think you actually intend on talking me to death to be honest," was all Kiara decided to say in response. Her calm reaction only worked to make Athena angrier.
"Crush her Spinstress!" the older lady roared with fury. Her bey glowed pink, having been charged up with power before running at Solaria and slamming into it. It was clear already who was superior in this battle. Spinstress attacks were easily overwhelming Solaria, and slowly but steadily the flaming bey was knocked back towards the edge of the stadium just like at the start of the match.
"Now what Miss Summers?"
"Special Move!" Kiara cried. "Flame Barrier!" A dome of red appeared around her bey, successfully managing to block an attack from the powered-up chaos bey too. Athena seethed with rage for a moment before calling another attack.
"No matter! I'll break through that pitiful shield! Destroy her Spinstress!"
Her bey took a moment to boost its speed by circling the stadium once before charging headfirst into the shield generated by Solaria. Sparks went flying as the chaos bey attempted to drill through the dome with tis fusion wheel, eventually succeeding and shattering the defense like glass. Unfortunately for Athena, as this happened, another crack on her bey appeared.
"Now Solaria!" Kiara piped up, punching the air in front of her. "Counterattack with Firestorm Fury!"
Before Athena had a chance to counter, a wave of flames buffeted her bey, knocking it back and causing it to lose its balance as well. Taking advantage of the situation, Solaria moved in and began a barrage of attacks, assaulting the opposing the opposing bey so often that it couldn't find the time to regain its balance at all.
"Now get ready for another taste of Flame Claw Slash!" Kiara cried as her bey focused its power in one precise point and struck Spinstress hard, adding another large crack to the already damaged bey's fusion wheel and energy ring.
"You little runt!" Athena screamed in frustration, reading to pull at her own hair. Her temper was wildly swinging out of control now, in part thanks to her using so much Chaos power.
"You've already lost Athena," declared Kiara. "Look at yourself, you've lost complete control of the situation and even your own temper. You even allowed your domain to be destroyed and torn apart during this battle. You said I wouldn't be able to tear it down but look around you." What she said was true. Most of the spider-web environment had either been burnt away from fire attacks or destroyed by Spinstress herself with energy blasts. The ongoing battle had worn away most of the cobwebs now, leaving only a partially destroyed stadium in its wake.
"If you really want to push me!" Athena roared. "Then I'll give you your wish and make you bow before me at last! Chaos Move!" She threw her arms into the air as a blast of pink energy erupted from her bey. "Spinstress! Storm of Chaos!"
The beam seemed to only agitate the already distorted night sky, with pink lightning now flashing and thunder roaring. The wind picked up, and Kiara held up her arms to block the raging tempest. Athena cackled like a witch as the beam transformed into a tornado composed of chaos energy, which began to swirl around the stadium and suck in and subsequently destroy everything in its path.
"You're dead now Kiara Summers! D.E.A.D. DEAD!"
"No Athena," Kiara shot back, yelling against the wind without a trace of fear in her eyes. "I've just the beginning for me." She held up her hand and it glowed orange as her Order Crest lit up. "Special Move! Flame Claw Slash!"
Solaria began to circle the stadium, building up not only power and speed but also Order energy. The bey glowed orange as it shot towards the destructive tornado, intending to face it head on.
"Is this a suicide move?" Athena questioned with narrowed eyes.
"It's actually my ace up the sleeve!" replied Kiara as she glowed red with aura. "With the added boost of Order energy, the Flame Claw Slash will allow me to break a hole in your tornado and from there I'll have to perfect vantage point to win!"
True to her word, the focused power allowed Solaria to slice through the powerful construct and enter the eye of the storm. It charged towards Chaos Spinstress, but Athena's eyes only lit up with triumph instead of dread.
"Finish her now Spinstress!" she declared. "Knock her into the sky with Chaos Scepter Blast!"
Just as Solaria came into contact with the opponent, the chaos bey let loose a shockwave of pink energy, which caused the order bey to be flung high into the air.
"It's over!" cheered Athena. "I WIN!"
"You were dead from the beginning!" Kiara shot back, still standing tall and unafraid. That was when Athena noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was just for a moment, but it looked like a person. It was like a ghost or something. But someone or some thing had been by Kiara's side for a moment. Except it looked like her but somehow was different. What was going on?
"Your defeat was pre-written!"
"What are you talking about? I just won!"
"Look up!" Kiara returned and her opponent did just that, gasping in shock as she saw a flash up in the sky. "But that's…"
"Pegasus' technique," the raven-head finished for her. "I studied Gingka Hagane and his Galaxy Pegasus' moves while watching all of the World Championship. And just like I was able to mimic Max's Swordsman's Flame Sword Slash, I can also mimic Pegasus' Star Booster Attack!"
"No! This can't be! I'm vulnerable to an aerial assault!"
"Seal her fate Solaria!" bellowed Kiara, arm in the air. "Special Move! Solaria Flare Booster Attack!"
Solaria turned scorching hot as it wrapped itself in flames, appearing almost like a solar flare if anything. The golden lioness appeared as well, letting out a triumphant roar as she sped towards the ground to destroy her opponent. Athena could only wail in horror as the mighty blast from above tore apart her chaos twister and then struck her bey with a mighty boom, decimating the stadium. She heard her bey crack and split into pieces before being blasted back into the monolith with a sickening crunch.
"That… is destiny fulfilled," said Kiara to herself sadly as her bey returned to her. She waited for the dust to settle before trying to spot the broken and defeated form of her opponent, who was now lying face-first into the dirt, weak and helpless. Already the older woman could feel the toll on her body, not to mention the burden she'd face for using so much Chaos energy and losing. Her lips were suddenly so dry and every movement seemed to hurt.
"You knew…" she croaked out, barely managing to raise her head to look at the girl across the ruins. "You somehow knew….like you could see the future…you knew exactly what I was going to do…and so was ready to counter it…that's why you weren't intimidated or concerned…you knew you were going to win…but how…?"
Kiara looked away from her and lowered her head. "Your time is up Athena," was all she said.
"You brat!" berated Athena as she somehow managed to shakily get to one knee. "At least look me in the eye… as I die! Give me that much …at least!" Her breathing was fast and she seemed to be struggling to formulate her sentences. But her anger seemed to be pushing her to continue. "You've condemned me…so at least…dignify that by looking at me…"
"I've said all I need to," Kiara replied coldly as she did indeed finally look at her foe. "But know that I did not condemn you. You did this to yourself when you choose the path you did. You killed yourself. Not me. And now your time is up. You make a deal with the devil, and the devil eventually collects. He's knocking on your door right now."
Athena gasped as she heard the first crack. She looked over her shoulder and screamed as the monolith began to collapse. She desperately tried to properly stand so she could at least try and limp away, but she simply couldn't muster the strength. She cursed angrily as she settled for crawling, actually managing to dodge some falling debris as a result. But then she paused, mouth gaping open in shock as she saw Kiara watching her. The girl wasn't just observing though, she had her bey ready to launch. And it was in that moment Athena realized that she was just one piece in a larger machine. Kiara didn't just want her dead. She needed her to be dead. She hadn't just somehow known all of her moves and knew what the outcome of the battle was. No, she had been on a mission to end her. And it all had gone according to that little brat's plan.
"Burn in hell Kiara Summers," Athena managed to whisper before Solaria slammed into her chest, sending her flying back as a result. She could do nothing as the monolith collapsed onto her, sending her to the next world once and for all. Her last thoughts were prays that Kiara would burn in hell, and regret for failing to see the new world that might have been.
Kiara waited till all the destruction was over and everything had gone silent again. She winced at her wounds and felt a wave of fatigue come over her. She been prepared for the damage she'd need to take, but now that it was all over, she felt like she'd been hit by a train. Finally when the dust had mostly settled she began to wander through the wreckage and debris until she came upon some parts of the destroyed monolith coated in Athena's fresh blood. Shedding a tear, the teenager sorted through the available pile before settling on a small piece. It felt bizarre in her hands. It repulsed her, but she needed it. It had to be done. She was also struggling not to vomit, having just pushed a person into harm's way to ensure their demise. But again, there was no other way so she stored those horrid feelings away into the darkest corners of her mind. Somehow she felt this would come back to bite her. Somehow she knew willingly committing second-degree murder would have its consequences down the line. But there was nothing to be done now.
"You did good kid," the older Kiara said to her younger self.
Kiara gulped as her grip on the stone piece in her hand tightened. "Do you think it'll work this time? Because…it can't have all been for nothing. I don't think I could live with that." She waited for a response, but there wasn't one. She looked up to her older self who was now looking to the stars with a sad smile.
"Good luck Kiara," she finally said before turning to face her again. "And remember if ever doubtful…. there is no other way. This is the only way."
Kiara watched as her future self vanished into nothing. And the girl could only stand there in the ruins all alone and cry to herself, wondering if she could live as a murderer and do what was necessary to save the future. No matter the cost.
-Elsewhere
"What a pity," Zygor scoffed with his hands behind his back as he sensed the fall of another monolith. Viper, Hermes and now Athena had all lost. Just as always they proved to be nothing but dead weight, unable to keep up with his demands and do what needed to be done. "Always have to do everything myself," he snarled. He had grown tired of his underlings failing him long ago.
"Well, well," chuckled a voice from behind. Zygor turned, genuinely startled to see Professor Heckler of all people standing before him in the clearing. He was shockingly casual with his mannerisms and demeanor too, not at all blown away by either the dark monolith or the presence of Zygor himself. "Isn't this nice and gloomy? I love the theatrics you've got going on here," he taunted lightly. "Bit gothic for my taste's but… you do you."
"How did you get here Professor Heckler?" Zygor demanded, surprised that one of the school's staff dared to confront him. If anything, Heckler's soul should have been stolen by now simply on odds alone. There were only so many people on the island and the three destroyed monoliths had still sucked up a lot of souls before crumbling. "You ought to be careful," he threatened. "I don't think you quite know what you've stumbled into."
Heckler threw back his head and laughed. "Oh you always did crack me up?" Zygor took note that the professor had said always but decided not to comment on this immediately. "Nice to see you're in good health." He placed a hand on his hip and placed the other on his chin. "I'm liking the back suit and cape, it suits you. Not sure about the mask but I suppose if you're going to play the villain then you might as well look the part. It's definitely blunt to the point of ridiculousness but it does do the job so who am I to complain?"
Something clicked for the masked man. "You were the one hacking the system weren't you?" he accused, letting some energy on his Chaos Crest crackle threateningly. "What were you doing looking through those files? Shouldn't you be protecting the students during a time like this or trying to calm down the pandemonium? What's your game?"
Heckler grinned as he shoved his hands in his pockets, seemingly enjoying the discussion. "I'm just a simple man on a mission is all," he evaded with a shrug. "I've just come here to say hello is all and check up on you."
"You know who I am?" Zygor asked quietly after a pause, trying to hide how flustered he was currently. This was not how he had expected this to go at all.
"Finally caught on I see," Heckler snorted, clearly not at all intimidated by the figure before him despite the obvious energy radiating from the man's Chaos Crest. If anything, he seemed to be getting a kick out of riling the man up. "You're pretty clever you know, I'll give you that. Brilliant in some aspects too I'll admit. But like most people you lack in some key areas. But that's beside the point of course. I've known about you and your little club from the very beginning. I've always known. We've always known."
Zygor was thankful he had a mask on to hide the shock on his face. He didn't understand this. It wasn't adding up. How could a simple mathematics professor know who he was? How was he here? And why did he seem completely calm and not at all frightened? And who was the 'we' that this man was obviously with? He was heavily implying he was with a group of some sort and they all apparently knew about this? Zygor needed answers, and so he decided to play along and thus removed his mask from his face and let it fall to the ground with a clang.
Heckler once again grinned as he finally came face to face with the mastermind behind everything. Any sane person would have been terrified and shocked, any sane person would have ran but Heckler didn't. He had been two whole steps ahead of everyone the entire year and no one knew it. He was the best at his job after all. That's why they hired him in the first place. He did what needed to be done.
"How have you been doing all these years…Dr. Ziggurat?" Heckler mocked with a dark laugh as lightning flashed in the sky. The doctor in question did not look amused.
To Be Continued: Next Time – Transcendence
The pieces finally fall into place as the ritual to resurrect Nemesis' Heir reaches its final stage! Zygor has been revealed to be Dr. Ziggurat, the mastermind behind HD Academy, Team Star Breaker and the Spiral Force! Once again intending to inflict his will on others, he's only one victory away from bringing about an age of darkness! Mana is seemingly all that stands in his way when Azrael finally makes his play to take everyone down. As Max races to find a way back to the land of the living, he'll be pushed to the limit to save himself and the world before it's too late. It's a three-way battle between Ziggurat, Mana and Azrael to decide the fate of the world and only one can be the victor as the first year at the academy draws closer to its conclusion…
So…yeah…Zygor was Dr. Ziggurat all along! What a twist eh? Honestly, I had Zygor planned to be Dr. Ziggurat for so long and it feels great to finally reveal that. We'll delve into the implications a lot more next chapter but I thought I'd leave you all with this cliffhanger. I should confirm too, this isn't a trick of some sort. Zygor is the real genuine Dr. Ziggurat from Metal Masters (or Metal Fight Beyblade Explosion if you watched the Japanese version). Exact same dude who was behind HD Academy, Team Starbreaker and The Spiral Force. It's not a trick or a fake-out if that's what you're thinking. So hope that shocker knocked your socks off. I know a while back (like four years ago back) someone guessed Zygor might be Doji, and good guess and close to whomever that was. Let's be honest though, it'd be too easy if it was just Doji again. Reason I went with Dr. Ziggurat is that I think there's actually a lot of potential to his character and the bizarre uncertainty of his fate left the door open for me to do something with him. Like, the last we see of him is Zeo knocking him out in Hades City. Was he arrested? Did he escape? Did he die off-screen? We never found out. Until now that is. Get ready for all your answers to be explained next chapter. Overall though, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter to be honest. I think everything works bar the Kiara/Athena stuff, mostly because it's actually a lot of set-up still for future stuff, which was pretty obvious considering the role future Kiara played in this chapter. As a result however, it feels notably more hollow than say last chapter's stuff with Simon or Blaze's chapter. Though I do think it legitimately gets better as the battle goes on so there's that. Nothing much to be done now though. At the very least, hopefully the next two chapters will live up to their hype.
So REVIEW if you want as always and I'll see you all probably in a month for the penultimate chapter! That's right, only two chapters to go and then the epilogue! Our journey nears its end. Stay safe, wash your hands, keep your distance and see you all next time. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
