"Oh my head...what 'appened?" Ryan sat up, holding his head. Our little gang looked over and I smiled.
"You mess with the Bull, you gets the horns." He tried to not laugh, but a small chuckle escaped when he retorted.
"Shut up."
"You passed out after bonding with Bull. I don't think you'll have any troubles now."
"So, what now?" He asked. I shrugged.
"Well, I guess we head back."
"Sounds good...but you might have to lead my horse, my body feels really tired."
"Heh heh, I think we can do that."
««{{¤}}»»
I jumped and stuck my leg in Freedom's Flight's stirrup, hauling myself up and into the saddle. I settled in and sighed, patting the large horse on the neck. He nickered and tossed his head.
"Glad to see you're ready. Everybody else ready to roll?" Everyone else nodded. Ryan handed me the reins to his horse.
"Now I am." I chuckled as I strapped it to my saddle horn. Gingka was shaking Hyoma's hand.
"It was great to see you guys again. I'll make sure to visit again soon!"
"Please do! We all miss you here."
"Will do. Hokaru, thank you for your help." Ryan jumped in.
"Yeah, thanks so much. I don't think Bull will go wild anymore."
"Of course. I'm always willing to help those in need."
"Alright! Let's go!" Gingka's horse reared back and took off running. Madoka took off after him, telling him to slow down for the rest of us. Ryan and I followed up with the rear, his horse, eager to run, but also knowing Ryan wasn't up to it, simply stayed next to Freedom at a calm walk. I settled back and watched as the sun began setting, probably another hour before it hit the horizon.
"Hey James?"
"Yeah?"
"What happens now?"
"...Well, that all depends on what you want to do."
"What do you mean?"
"Are you going to get stronger and work to the top like Gingka? Or are you going to do something else?"
"...I'll have to think about that..." I let him ponder the question for a moment before answering myself.
"I know exactly what I'm going to do."
"What's that?"
"Leone and I are going to fight every person in our way. Any time we fall, we're going to get back up and fight even harder. We won't stop until we surpass even Gingka himself."
"But Gingka is astronomically stronger than you! There's no way you can close that gap!"
"I'll find a way. There's something I have to tell you though."
"What's that?"
"Duck!" I whipped out my launcher and Bey, slapping them together and jerking the ripcord, twisting to throw Leone over Ryan's head as he ducked with a yelp. Leone crashed into the brush and a loud roar came from them. Something leaped from the brush and landed in between us and the other two. Leone dashed out of the brush and planted itself in between us and the figure. I pulled Freedom to a stop and stared as a mountain lion growled at us. "I knew the horses were nervous for a good reason!" Madoka and Gingka had turned at the roar, and Madoka nearly panicked.
"M-m-mountain lion!" Leone was moving back and forth, almost prowling. I glared at the lion.
"Get! Shoo!" I nudged Freedom and he stomped around a little, snorting. The cougar hissed in return, raising a paw. I nudged Freedom again and he reared up, kicking his front legs. The cougar hissed and backed up. "That's right! Go on! Get!" It hissed again and Freedom took a charging step. The cougar took off running when it saw the massive horse coming at it. "Yah! Get outta here!" I calmed down and patted Freedom on his neck. "Good boy Freedom." I checked the bush line but couldn't see anything. I held up my hand and Leone jumped into it. "Shall we continue?" Everyone agreed and we picked up our pace from a few minutes ago, wanting to leave that big cat behind.
««{{¤}}»»
"Whew, we're here!" I slowed Freedom to a slow walk. Marching him and Ryan's horse up to the stable, I swung my leg over the saddle and dropped down, bringing the reins over Freedom's head and tying them to a post. I patted Freedom on the neck. "You did a really good job back there Freedom."
"Well, he is one of the pack horses. Carrying you would be no problem." I turned to see Trevor walking over. "How was the ride?"
"Good. We ran into a cougar, but we were able to scare it off." His eyebrows raised up.
"No one was hurt, right?"
"We're good."
"Thank goodness." He pulled all of the horses into the barn. He dropped Freedom's reins who didn't move. I petted his neck as Trevor put up the other horses.
"Freedom was completely calm the entire time."
"Generally horses are jumpy and get scared easily when there is a predator around."
"Apparently he's got a spine of steel."
"That's good in those situations, sometimes not so much in others." Freedom nickered and looked like he was glaring at Trevor, who just laughed. "What's the matter? Don't like it when people call you out?" Freedom snorted and stomped a hoof. I chuckled and patted his shoulder.
"Well, we gotta go, it was good to meet you Trevor. Bye Freedom!" We all waved as we walked back to the train station.
««{{The Next Day}}»»
"Hey Ryan, you want to battle?"
"I don't know Gingka, I'm not anywhere close to your strength."
"It'll be fine, come on, I'm itching to battle someone!" I placed my hand on Ryan's shoulder.
"What do you say to a two on one? Ryan and I verses you?" Gingka looked like he was about to explode in happiness.
"YeeeeES! Let's go! I want to battle right now!" He ran out of Madoka's shop, Ryan and I jogging after him.
"He is getting really pumped. What's our strategy?"
"You have the attack power, so I'll keep Leone in Defense mode. I'll take the hits while you attack from behind."
"And what if he uses one of those Special Moves?"
"Hmm. Let's just hope he doesn't. I don't have a counter for that."
"Same." We soon jogged into the local Bey Park and saw Gingka standing on the far side of the stadium.
"Come on you two! Let's get this started!"
"Alright Gingka, calm down." Ryan and I loaded up, standing across from Gingka.
"Finally! 3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"Let It Rip!" The three Beys landed and circled around.
"Alright! Go Pegasus!" Cosmic Pegasus dashed around, pouring on the speed to chase Leone and Bull.
"Leone, down to center!"
"Bull, follow it!" Leone settled in the middle while Bull calmly circled around it.
"Get them Pegasus!" The Bey dashed after them, hurtling down the stadium slope.
"Bull dodge!" Bull tilted to the side as Pegasus zoomed past.
"Leone, defend!" Leone pushed forward, slamming into Pegasus.
"Bull, now!" Bull came around and slammed into Pegasus from the side, attacking it on two fronts. An explosion rang out as the energy grew to be too much. Pegasus landed on one side of the stadium while Leone and Bull landed opposite.
"Go Pegasus!" It dashed around. "Upper Mode!" I heard a click as it changed modes.
"Leone, move!" Leone dashed out of the way, but Pegasus went right past it, slamming into Bull and sending it flying.
"Bull!" It landed inside the stadium, but barely. "Go! Return fire!" Bull dashed around and smashed into Pegasus, releasing a barrage of attacks that knocked it off balance.
"Leone, now!" Leone dashed forward, matching Bull's attacks with a smash attack.
"Pegasus! Get out of there!" It knocked the two Beys back and dashed a small distance away, catching its balance. It dashed around the stadium, gaining speed. "Pegasus, Barrage Mode!" I heard a click and it sped up even more, slamming into Leone and releasing a load of tiny attacks.
"Gah! Leone! Defensive stance!" Leone leaned away from Pegasus, exposing its Spin Track. Pegasus was smacked away by the blades, sending it skidding right towards Bull.
"Gotcha now! Go!" Bull slammed into Pegasus, an explosion rocking the stadium. I took a step back.
"Geez, that was strong!"
"Yeah it was, go again!" Bull landed and dashed forward again.
"No way we'll lose to that! Go Pegasus!" Cosmic Pegasus dashed around the stadium, blue energy gathering around it. It circled again and again, each time going faster. Leone moved down to the center, calmly waiting for orders. "Come on Pegasus! Faster! You can go even faster!" Pegasus almost seemed to ignite the stadium, leaving a trail of flames.
"Leone, charge up!" Leone started to gather wind around it, only for it to get pulled away. "What?"
"Special Move! Pegasus, Storm Bringer!" Pegasus released a final burst of speed, the flames erupting towards the sky.
"Gah! Leone!"
"Bull no!" Pegasus shredded across the stadium, slamming into both Beys and taking them out without pause. I watched Leone fly sky-high and stepped back to catch it.
"Leone, I got you!" I caught it in my outstretched hand, checking it quickly for any damage. I sighed when it only had a small bit of dust on it and looked up to see Ryan and Gingka walking over. "Okay Gingka, what happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"Leone couldn't gather any wind when you were doing that."
"A vacuum." We turned and saw Madoka walking up, tapping on her computer.
"A vacuum? What do you mean?" She turned the screen to us, showing a reenactment of Pegasus' attack.
"Pegasus moved so quickly, it created a vacuum in the stadium. It sucked all of the air out, so Leone couldn't gather any."
"Wait, Pegasus was moving that fast?! How is that possible?"
"It's hard to explain-"
"Pegasus is the fastest Bey around, nobody matches its speed." Gingka waved a hand like it was nothing. I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to get an answer out of him.
"Okay, guess I'll take it."
"Hey Gingka, do you think Bull and I could do that?" Gingka shrugged.
"I donno. But the Storm Bringer is our Special Move. There was one Blader who tried to copy my Starblast Attack, but he couldn't do it. A Special Move is unique to the Bey and Blader."
"Huh. So Bull and I have to come up with our own?"
"Yup!"
"How do we do that?"
"Find a point when your spirits are connected, and go with your gut." He held up a fist enthusiastically. Ryan just tilted his head slightly.
"E'kay?" He walked over to the stadium and loaded Bull onto the launcher. He closed his eyes and took a slow breath. I walked over to the side of the stadium to watch. His brow furrowed a little, and he tensed up a little. Red energy appeared around him, giving him a haunting glow. His eyes opened. "Let It Rip!" Bull landed in the stadium and dashed around. "Come on Bull, we have to make our own Special Move!" Bull ran faster, glowing with a hot energy. "Come on, we have more!" His Blader's Spirit grew hotter for a minute, only for it to vaporize in an instant. He dropped to his knees and I hopped up, concerned.
"Ryan?" He looked up as I placed a hand on his shoulder. He was sweating slightly.
"Eh heh. Guess I'm not good enough for that right now..." I helped him to his feet.
"You also just battled Gingka, however short of a battle it was. We'll try tomorrow."
"Yeah. I just wonder what it'll be." We headed out to our apartment, wishing Gingka a good night. It had been a long few days, and I was ready for a long night of sleep.
««{{Dream}}»»
"Hey Leone." I scratched his ears as he pressed into my chest, purring. He took a few steps away, looking at me over his shoulder. "What's up bud?" He gestured with his head and I followed. I blinked when a shooting star passed over our heads, only for another to follow shortly. Three more shot passed, followed by dozens more. "What the!" My whole world was lit white as the shooting star filled my vision. I closed my eyes to block out some of the light, waiting for it to die down. Soon it did so, and when I opened my eyes, I gasped. I was no longer in a void, but in an open grassy plain. Leone walked up to me, pressing into my arm. I scratched his mane as I looked around, only to gasp when I saw we weren't alone. Strewn about the field were more glowing creatures of all shapes and sizes. There were a few centaurs of different colors, a couple of eagles flying high above us, and one or two other lions lazing about. Leone grumbled.
"Where are we bud? What is this place?" He turned and crouched, presenting his back to me. I hesitated, but swung my leg over, straddling his back. He started off at a gentle trot. I was looking around, admiring this place. Leone moved into the forest, easily maneuvering through the trees. I saw a few more creatures randomly moving through the forest, one or two goats, even a glimpse of what I thought was a unicorn. The trees opened up into a small clearing, and Leone crouched down. I slid off his back and looked around.
"What are we doing here Leone?" He turned and looked at the far side of the clearing. A bright blue Pegasus stepped through the trees, its wings fluttering slightly. It nickered and walked over to me, pushing into my chest without hesitation. "Oof. Who are you?" It snorted as it looked into my eyes. "Cosmic Pegasus?" It neighed and shook out its mane, fluttering its wings a little. I smiled. "Well this is unexpected. You are gorgeous." It nickered and turned sideways, lowering its wing a little. Leone nudged me forward. "Wait. You want me to get on?" They both made sounds of confirmation and Pegasus dropped down to its front knees. I stepped forward and placed my hands on its back, carefully swinging my leg over it. I straddled it and held onto its mane as it stood up. Leone roared and turned, walking back the way we came, Pegasus following. I ducked under branches until we got to the large plain. Pegasus snorted and spread its wings, shaking them out.
Leone stepped back and Pegasus started out at a trot, then a canter. Soon it was sprinting, flapping its wings as it ran up a hill. It reached the top and leaped, flapping hard as we took off. I held onto its mane tightly as we flew high into the sky. It looped around a few times before shooting higher, flapping hard. My whole world grew darker as we started to leave the atmosphere, but I wasn't feeling any loss of air. Pegasus neighed and flapped as hard as it could, its body surrounded by a streak of energy as it rocketed through space. Looking ahead I could see a massive galaxy looming over us. Pegasus flew around it, star dust shifting with every flap of its wings. I reached my hand out, it felt like it was soft sand running through my fingers. I grabbed a handful of it, when Pegasus snorted and shot back towards our take off spot, once again rocketing through space. I ducked down as heat began to build around us. Soon it pulled back, slowing down and landing on the ground at a run. It ran over to Leone, who was standing in the same place it was when we left. Pegasus snorted and dropped it its knees, allowing me to slide off of its back.
"That was incredible! Thank you Pegasus!" It snorted again and shook itself out. Leone moaned and nudged my clenched hand. "Oh, I hope you don't mind Pegasus, I was curious." I opened my hand to reveal a small pile of stardust that sparkled brightly. Pegasus bumped my shoulder, showing me it was fine. Leone reached over and sniffed at the powder, letting out a huge sneeze when some went up his nose. I laughed at him. Pegasus nudged my hand closer to Leone, who blinked. Pegasus pawed at the ground a couple of times, and Leone's eyes went wide. He reached forward and stuck his tongue out, licking up most of the powder. His eyes flashed purple and he threw his head back, letting out a massive roar as his energy shot upwards. I was pushed back, feeling the pressure.
"What is this?!" Leone roared again, his power increasing even more. "Aaaah! Leone!" The light blinded me, my whole world disappearing for a moment. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. The landscape was gone. But instead of a black void, my world was white. I heard a roar and saw Leone charging up to me, skidding to a stop right in front of me. He was a lot bigger than before. Now his back stood about shoulder height. He had a purple chain wrapped around his neck and each of his paws. A single metal plate sat in the center on his chest, looking like purple armor with green highlights. "Leone?! Is that you?!" He roared and tackled me, completely burying me in his mane as he wrapped his front legs around me, rolling onto his back.
"Mmph! Leone!" I pushed myself up, laying on his chest. He nuzzled me, a loud purr erupting from his throat. I hugged his neck, his fur completely hiding me. "How did you get so big?!"
"Star dust." My head snapped up at the familiar voice and looked over, seeing Majesty floating over to us.
"What are you doing here?" She grunted.
"Still as rude as ever."
"Answer the question."
"I'm here to see Leone's slight improvement."
"Slight? He's massive."
"Maybe in size. Power, that's a different story." She flew around us slowly as Leone stood up and glared at her. I squinted my eyes, keeping myself turning to face her.
"Don't even think about it."
"See, I would watch your tone in here boy."
"Getting brave your highness?"
"I should be asking you that." She stopped and curled up in midair. "After all, this is no longer your dream world." She opened her mouth and shot a fireball at us. Leone's chains wrapped around my waist and pulled me close as he returned fire. Purple and orange fireballs collided midair, an explosion rocking the world. Leone roared defiantly at her. "Think that was power? That was just a taste."
"Stop it! Leave us alone!" I pulled myself free from Leone's grasp and stepped forward. "Why did you come back?"
"To prove a point." She shot another fireball at me, and I held up my hand. The marking glowed brightly as the fire hit it, stopping it in its tracks. "Not going to work." She said tauntingly. The fireball exploded, knocking me backwards. I slammed into Leone, knocking us both off our feet. I struggled to stand up.
"Okay, that hurt."
"Leone may have gained more power, but it does not have a Star Fragment. Not like me!" Hot streams of fire exploded from the ground as she roared, one of them right next to me, knocking me off my feet.
"AH!" I hit the ground, rolling. Leone roared and ran over, nudging me. "Okay. That, REALLY hurt." I pushed myself to my feet, leaning against Leone for support. "I'm getting really sick of you using us for your amusement."
"What can I say, I'm bored." I scowled.
"You know what Majesty? We may not be as strong as you, but don't think we will go down without a fight. We are tired of you using us! And this ends tonight!"
"We will see. Rah!" Majesty rushed forward, and Leone and I leapt to the side. I turned and faced her, only to hit the deck when her tail lashed out, almost taking my head with it.
"Yikes!" I scrambled to my feet, dashing over to Leone. Majesty turned around and roared, shooting a fireball at us. I held up my hand and Leone stood behind me, bracing both of us. The fireball slammed into my outstretched hand, and I felt both of us skid backwards a ways. I pushed against the fireball, making it stop. I gritted my teeth and grabbed it with both hands. "I. Will not. Be your TOY!" I drew my arms back as far as I could, bringing the fireball above my head. I took a step, throwing the fireball with everything I had. Majesty glared at it.
"You think using my power against me will help?!" Another fireball collided with the returned one, a massive explosion rocking our world. Leone and I took a few steps backwards. "I don't know how you did that, but it was meaningless." I held my hand out to my side, the symbol flashing.
"Well, let's just say it was a gift from a very dear friend."
"It will do you no good to fight!" She flew through the cloud of smoke, diving at us. Leone and I leapt in opposite directions. Majesty pulled up, twisting around and slammed into Leone, knocking him away.
"Leone!" I ran forward, helping him to his feet. "Alright, we need to end this. Somehow." Leone roared and I felt a click in my mind, power flooding through me. Flames enveloped both of us as we roared to the sky. I felt something on my left hand as the symbol on it glowed and saw purple armor with green highlights forming around me. A sword appeared in front of me, and I grinned and grasped it. It was the perfect weight. I looked over the edge of the blade at Majesty as a helmet formed around my head. "Time to skin a dragon."