Free de La Hoya wasn't a good friend. He'd be the first person to tell you that. He was awkward and had a hard time understanding social cues some times.
But the rest of the Ultimo Seis were his friends. Well, he saw them as friends, anyways.
And because they were friends, he felt like he had a duty towards them.
He knew that that wasn't really Felicity who attended the Ultimo Seis competition the last two years. He just had a feeling. There was something off in her eyes. But then she reappeared six months ago with her unique confident light in her eyes, and he knew she was back and all was right.
But now... The imposter was back.
He was too scared to point it out or even confront her about it. He was a coward like that.
So, he just stood there as she plowed through the first two rounds, waiting to battle him.
He had looked forward to a match between the two of them, but not like this. This wasn't what he had been looking forward to. So, it was with a heavy heart, he got into position as there countdown began. But just as the two were about to launch their Beys into the stadium, Felicity's eyes cleared out, and that sharp gleam was back. A wave of fire flickered over her and pulled her hair loose. Despite knowing he was doomed, Free couldn't stop himself from grinning back.
"Let it rip!" He called out, and launched Fafnir into the stadium at the same time as Felicity.
Fafnir took the center effortlessly, and Falcon's vicious attacks towards it only served to add fuel to his fire.
Fafnir dealt quick counterattacks against her, twirling around in a delicate balance.
Falcon swerved in time to avoid a particularly devastating blow, before diving back in for a risky shot.
This went on for some time, and she put up an incredible fight, but eventually, Falcon ended up in pieces on the stadium.
Felicity grinned at him as she gathered up the pieces of her bey, "That was a good match, Free." She admitted, "Let's do it again some time."
And with that, she walked out, followed by the confused murmurings of the audience at her shift in demeanor.
Free grinned, too, "Yeah, let's." He called out.
Felicity was barely keeping herself together as she walked out of the stadium. Once she was out of the public's view, she immediately started running wildly, making a mad dash to her house. She needed to get out of here before her handler's got to her.
She scrambled around a corner, breathing heavily, looking for a way to get home. She ducked back down when her handler marched out, looking around frantically.
When she was sure he was out of sight, she started running again. From the corner of her eye, she caught a familiar looking duo, and stopped dead in her tracks.
"What are you doing?" Mirror Eye hissed, "He's gonna get you!"
Felicity winced at the volume, "They're my friends. They can help."
Mirror Eye grumbled, but she didn't argue when Felicity cautiously made her way over to Valt and Rantarou, "Hey guys." She greeted awkwardly.
Rantarou's jaw dropped, "F-Felicity?"
She raised an eyebrow, "I mean, last I checked, yeah."
Valt was still gaping, "Does that mean it worked?"
Felicity raised an eyebrow, "What worked?"
Valt grinned, "We destroyed your bey! That's what brought you back!"
Felicity blinked, "Uh, what? But I have Falcon right here?"
Valt grinned, "We switched it with one that looked exactly like yours!"
"No they didn't." Mirror Eye interjected, "I switched it back again. I'm not stupid."
Felicity coughed awkwardly, "It got switched out by the decoy. I have the real one right here."
The two faceplanted into the sidewalk, "You're kidding!"
"I'm not." Felicity shot down, looking around urgently, "But I'll fill you in on everything once we get off the streets. You know a place?"
Valt nodded, "BC Sol's headquarters aren't that far away! Come on!"
The two dashed off, and Felicity reluctantly followed suit, "Guys, I don't think that's a good idea." She pointed out, "BC Sol doesn't like me very much."
"Oh, don't worry." Valt reassured her as he rounded a corner, "We sorted out that mess."
"... That's convenient." She noted, but shrugged it off. Now wasn't the time to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The three dashed past the gates of the headquarters with no one even making a move to stop them.
Felicity slid to the ground, wheezing, "Wow, I don't remember the last time I ran that fast."
"Me... Too..." Rantarou mumbled from where he had fallen face first into the ground.
Valt grinned, "Now, tell us what the hell happened!"
Felicity sent him an incredulous look, "How... Are you not even winded? You couldn't even keep up with me at the Shakadera dojo!"
Valt grinned, "Well, that was a couple months ago! I've gotten way better at running now!"
Felicity smiled fondly, "Alright, so what do we do now?"
Rantarou nodded, "Right! Valt, you take her to Old Man Raul. I'll get Wakiya and Cuza."
Felicity blinked, "Granddad is here?"
Valt nodded, "Oh yeah. He's the one who helped us cook up this entire plan, after all."
Felicity broke into a jog, "Come on! I wanna see him!"
"Right. Follow me!" Valt directed, giving chase after her as Rantarou headed towards the dorms.
The two teens walked briskly through the corridors, Valt taking the lead for this one.
They stopped outside a door labeled, 'BeyTrainer office' and she hesitated, "He works here?"
Valt nodded, "Yeah. He's the best! He missed you, you know?"
Felicity bit her lip, "Yeah. I know. I just-" and she impulsively throws the door open.
Inside, Granddad turned around from a project of some kind, and his mouth fell open, "Felicity." He whispered.
"Granddad." She greeted, teary eyed.
He smiled ruefully and opened his arms for a hug.
Felicity ran forward and buried her head in his shoulder, sobbing.
Granddad huffed out a laugh as he patted her back, "There you go, kiddo. Let it all out. It'll be alright now."
Felicity sniffled and pulled away from him, "Th-thanks." She wiped her eyes.
Granddad chuckled, "No problem, kiddo."
The moment was broken by a squeal, "Oh my god, you're Felicity Comas!"
Felicity turned to look at the short boy with black hair and blue and yellow clothes. Her eyes lit up in recognition, "Oh my god, you're Cuza Ackerman! Your balance and technique? Legendary."
Cuza rubbed his neck bashfully, "You're one to talk! You're practically hailed as a BeyTrainer prodigy!"
Felicity was about to respond with another reassurance to Cuza's own greatness when Wakiya groaned, "Just accept the compliment and move on!"
That seemed to snap Cuza out of his starstruck daze. He worriedly took in Felicity's puffy eyes, "Are you alright?"
Felicity grinned tightly, "Yeah. I'm just... Happy to be back."
He smiled, "So that's good to know. I didn't want to have messed things up for everyone."
Felicity rolled her eyes, "You're lucky I could fix my own problems, or else you all would have been royally screwed."
Cuza snorted at that, at least.
"Wonder where the raven boy is?" Mirror Eye chimed in.
"What do you mean?" Felicity asked her mentally
"I mean that there where five of these idiots when I fought them. Everyone's here except that emo kid."
Daigo. She was talking about Daigo.
"Hey guys, where's Daigo?" Felicity asked.
Valt scratched his cheek, "He was busy with his club. You know he's the captain of AS Gallus now?"
Felicity grinned, "I'm so proud of him! I'm gonna go call him."
Granddad handed her a tablet, "Here. It's got his number saved."
Felicity grinned and swiped through the contacts before getting him on a video call.
Daigo picked up almost immediately, before doing a double take when he saw her, "F-Felicity! How are you here?"
Felicity grinned, "Surprise! I just snapped out of it!"
Daigo nodded, "Yeah, yeah you did."
Felicity pouted playfully, "You know, I'm kinda disappointed that you didn't show up to help with my rescue mission. But I get it, you're a captain now! Good for you!"
Daigo nodded nervously, "Thanks. Is that... The rest of the club behind you?"
Felicity nodded, "Yeah, why?"
Daigo shook his head, "It's nothing. Everything's fine. I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, alright?"
Felicity nodded eagerly, "Yeah, see you then!"
The screen went black and Daigo sighed, looking up from the tablet to peer at Shu, who was still unconscious. To be honest, it had barely been thirty minutes since he collapsed, so that wasn't completely fair on him.
After Red Eye had fallen like a marionette cut from it's strings, Daigo and Lui had stared at him in shocked silence.
"... What happened to him?" Lui eventually asked, still rooted to the spot.
"I have no idea." Daigo very truthfully replied. He rolled the boy over with his foot, looking at the shatter marks that had vanished from his face, "Actually, I might have an idea."
"So what is it?" Lui asked.
Daigo glanced at him, "I didn't know you cared." He said shortly, the image of Spain's best blader's eyes being hit by her own bey still playing behind his eyes.
Lui rolled his eyes, "Look, I'm a dick at times, I know, but this crazy version of Shu just freaking fainted!"
Daigo's heart stopped, "You know it's Shu?" He found himself asking.
Lui rolled his eyes, "Obviously. It's not hard to figure out."
Daigo eyed him suspiciously, "And what're you going to do with that information?"
Lui held up his hands, "Is this about the Alexa girl? I got her medical treatment, alright? She's fine. Probably no lasting damage. My parents sent to a psychiatrist after that. Worked things out. And maybe I went too far. But give me this chance to make amends, alright?"
Without his manic expression, Lui looked really... Normal. Small. Like any other boy.
Daigo sighed, and glared at him, regretting what he was about to say, "You grab the arms. I'll take the legs. You know anywhere we can stay?"
Lui nodded, "I'm staying at a motel not far from here. Follow me."
And that was how they ended up here, with who he hoped was now Shu Kurenai, passed out on the bed.
