Okay! This has been a LONG time coming. I've been writing this and its sequel for almost the two full years I've been gone. So hopefully you all enjoy it! If not, well I enjoyed writing it, sooo…
Just kidding, enjoy!
~Silverleone
I was walking down the street, trying to understand the dreams I've been having the past few nights.
««{{Flashback}}»»
*Lion's roar* A forest green lion slammed into a wall, its eyes shut in pain as it crumpled to the floor. A voice echoed angrily around it.
"You lost AGAIN?!"
««{{Scene Change}}»»
The same lion was cowering into a corner, eyes filled with fear.
"I told you not to lose again! You know what happens when you lose!" The lion's eyes widened in fear, and it looked around. A flash of hope gleamed in its eyes when it saw me, and it lifted a paw. A dark figure stepped in between us.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
««{{Flashback}}»»
I shook my head as I passed by some new shops that I had never seen before, having moved in just last month. I saw a few of them were actually open, and I decided to see what they were.
*Ding ding ding* I stepped into the closest shop and looked around. A bunch of glass cases lined the floor. I peered into the closest one and saw a bunch of plastic things lining the shelves, labels near each unique one with a basket below them, holding identical pieces.
"What are these things?" I asked out loud, not expecting to get an answer.
"Those, my friend, are top-of-the-line. Pardon the pun." I turned to see an older man wiping his hands with a rag as he walked over.
"Top of the line what?" I said, missing the apparently obvious pun.
"Why, Beyblade parts of course!" The man spread his arms for emphasis. I just shook my head.
"Sorry, I've never heard of "Bey Blades" before." The man scratched his chin in thought.
"Hmm, I see. Come here, I can show you." He walked over to the counter and pulled out what looked like a toy top. I raised an eyebrow, half curious, half confused. "This is a standard issue: Counter Gasher 145 SF." He held it out and I took it, inspecting it. It appeared to have 5 parts, the widest of which being made of metal, while the rest were plastic.
"Counter, Gasher?"
"That's its name. You get it from this part, the Fusion Wheel, and then this part, the Energy Ring." I watched as he pointed to the metal part, and then the plastic part right above it. "The other two parts are called the Spin Track," He said, pointing to the plastic part right below the 'Fusion Wheel'. "And the Performance Tip." He pointed to the very bottom piece.
"O...kay.' I said, honestly trying to remember all of this information. "And...What, exactly, is the point of this?"
"Oh, that's a whole other story. You see, it all started..." A sense of dread washed over me.
'What have I gotten myself into...?'
««{{¤}}»»
*Ding ding ding*
"Thank you for all the information sir, it really helps!" I said as I stepped outside of the shop.
"Oh, but of course! I love telling a good tale. Come back any time!"
"Sure! Thank you again!" I waved as I walked off. I stepped around the first corner and slumped against the wall. "A full hour. My head." I rubbed my temples as I looked at my watch. "That guy sure knows a lot about Beyblades..." I pushed off the wall and started walking again, hoping to get to my destination and back before dark. "Beyblades huh..." I shook my head. "Maybe when I get a job. Not going to be spending money I don't have on toys I don't need." I kept walking, finally reaching the wharf where my original destination was. I heard a couple of shouts, and some metal banging together, followed by a small explosion. I ran toward the sounds to see if anyone was hurt, only to see two kids standing opposite of each other in a stare off.
"What the-"
*Ting smash* Something landed next to the kid closest to me, and out of all things it could be, it was a Beyblade.
"No! How could I lose?! I was this close!" I stared as he bent down and picked it up.
"Sorry Jack, but you just can't beat me! Not with my Capricorn!" The second kid noticed me staring. "Hey, do you want to battle too?" I was still trying to grasp what I just saw.
"Umm, no, I'm good."
"Oh come on, not even going to try after seeing me stomp my little brother into the ground?"
"Sorry, I just got here a month ago, and I don't have a top." The kid grit his teeth.
"Liar! You look more like a Blader than he does!" I held my hands up.
"Geez, calm down kid. Even if I wanted to, I don't have one."
"Then use his!" He pointed to his brother, Jack, who looked down at his Beyblade. I shook my head.
"I'm not going to take his toy, just calm down." Jack looked at me and held it out.
"Here, you can use it, just as long as you give it back." I hesitated, then took the top. Looking at it, it was yellow with two red swirls in it, a weird graffiti style word on the Face Bolt. "It's called Inferno Virgo."
"After the constellation?" He nodded, and handed me his launcher.
"Here, you'll need this." I fumbled to get "Virgo" on the launcher, grateful the guy had shown me how. I felt it click on and stood there awkwardly.
"You are such a noob! You have no idea what you are doing!" The older brother laughed. I wanted to scowl, but I held myself back, deciding him wanting to get a rise out of me wasn't worth it.
"How do I do this?" I asked the younger brother. He showed me how to launch and what to say, and I held up the launcher. The older brother raised his launcher eagerly.
"Finally! 3!"
"Hmph, 2."
"1! Let It Rip!" We pulled on the rip cords, and I expected the Beyblades to just drop straight down and sit there. But the kid pointed at me. "Capricorn! Smash him to pieces!" I cocked an eyebrow but nearly jumped out of my skin when his Beyblade actually moved on its own, spinning forwards at a rapid pace.
"Quick, tell Virgo to move!" My head snapped around, probably giving me whiplash.
"What?!"
*Clash* Virgo was launched backwards by Capricorn and landed awkwardly before balancing upright.
"Quick, counter attack, don't let him get you again!" I looked at Jack in shock.
"Counter attack? I thought we just watched them spin! I didn't know they could move!" The older brother laughed again.
"No you idiot! You attack until there's nothing left! Like this!" Capricorn rushed forward again, and I panicked, calling out.
"Move!" I honestly didn't expect anything to happen, but Virgo leaned to the side, barely avoiding the attack.
"Hey! Get back here!" Capricorn rushed around, trying to hit Virgo again. I decided to panic later and focus on this battle that had somehow ensued.
"So Jack, this thing will listen to me?"
"Yeah, it will!" I nodded, focusing on Virgo.
"Alright, you want to play? Let's play." I waited till the last second, then called out, "Dodge again!" Virgo almost seemed to dance around Capricorn and an idea sparked. "Wait a minute... Virgo, get ready... Dodge, and then attack!" Virgo leaned to the side, twisting around and hit Capricorn from behind, sending sparks flying.
*Ting* Capricorn landed on its performance tip after being knocked away.
"What?! How did you do that?!" I smiled, happy that I seemed to catch on to this game rather quickly.
"Let's just say, "It's elementary, my dear Watson.""
*Crickets*
"Seriously? Neither of you? Ugh, fine, I'll save my humor for someone who'll get it. Attack!" Virgo dashed forward and smacked into Capricorn again. A shower of sparks followed, and the older brother grit his teeth.
"I'm not going to lose! Capricorn, go!" It spun around after regaining its balance and dashed at Virgo.
"Virgo, run!" Virgo took off in the opposite direction, keeping its distance.
"Get back here!" Capricorn followed quickly, somehow catching up.
"What? How is he moving faster-wait."
'Speed and power equals...Attack Type. Duh! That means Virgo must not be one. But what Type is he? That could change up my strategy.' I looked over at Jack.
"What type is Virgo?"
"Huh? Oh! It's a Stamina Type! It is Inferno Virgo 145 S."
"Stamina...okay, that changes things up a bit." I looked up to see Capricorn quickly gaining on Virgo. "And what is Capricorn?"
"Its build is Dark Capricorn 125 F. It's an Attack Type." My mind went back to the triangular type chart the man had shown me.
"So it's no wonder you keep losing, Attack Types have an advantage over Stamina Types."
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" The other brother shouted
*Smash boom*
"Virgo!" Jack and I both called as it was sent flying. It hit the ground hard and wobbled before steadying. "It won't be able to take many more hits, it doesn't have any defense! Back off Damian!"
"Nu-uh! I'm going to beat Virgo twice in a row!" I mumbled in thought.
"Alright...if I remember right, Attack Types have the lowest stamina out of all of them, meaning they wear out the fastest. If I can hold Capricorn off for long enough, its energy will be too low to win." I stood up straighter, hoping my strategy would work. "Alright Virgo, go!" Virgo rushed right for Capricorn.
"Don't you get it? In a match of pure power, Capricorn is second to none! Go!" Capricorn put on a burst of speed, dust kicking up from its performance tip.
"Wait...wait...wait... Now! Lean around it!" Virgo straightened up and tilted to the right, Capricorn shooting right past him. "Yes!"
"What?! Get back here!" Capricorn tried again, but Virgo just spun out of the way. "Hold still you!" Again, and again, and again, Capricorn rushed, and every time Virgo dodged. Capricorn stopped to recenter itself. "Attack again! Hit it this time!" Capricorn tilted forward, but its speed was slightly slower than before.
'Yes! It's losing energy, my plan worked!'
"Now Virgo!" Virgo dodged one more time and rushed after it. Capricorn was headed full tilt towards a wall and Virgo was right behind it.
"Oh no! Capricorn stop!" Capricorn leaned back, trying to stop.
"Too late! Go!" Virgo pulled out all the stops as it slammed into a skidding Capricorn. Sparks went flying as their Fusion Wheels grinded against each other. Capricorn was trying to push back, but both its and Virgo's inertia kept it moving. Virgo pushed as hard as it could, slamming Capricorn into the wall.
"Capricorn get out of there! Don't let a Stamina Type beat you!" Capricorn tried to move, but the two points of contact on its Fusion Wheel weakened it too much, slowing its spin drastically.
*Boom* An explosion rang out and I covered my face as gravel went flying. Curious to know what had happened, I looked over to where the two tops had been, only to see one of them wobbling like crazy. I feared for a second that it was Virgo, that it had wasted too much energy, but I felt something inside me grow when I realized it was Capricorn. I wasn't sure what the feeling was, but I knew I liked it.
Virgo pulled out of the cloud of smoke, rushing over to Capricorn and smashing into it, throwing it into the wall for one final hit. Capricorn landed on its Fusion Wheel and stopped moving. Virgo spun over to us and circled around the younger brother and I a couple of times. It then slowed to a stop in front of us, wobbling from all of its expended energy.
"Virgo... You did it Virgo! You won!" Jack cheered, literally jumping with joy. He bent down and picked up Virgo, stopping it with his hand. He turned to me and held it up for me to see. "And it wasn't just you Virgo, he helped!" Maybe it was just the light, but I could have sworn I saw Virgo glimmer. I smiled at the boy.
"It was no problem, while it wasn't what I expected, it was fun."
"I'll work really hard, and become a really good Blader, just like you!" I scratched the back of my head, not really sure how to react.
"Umm, well, I'm not quite sure I'm THAT good... That was only my first battle. I was just trying to figure things out." I remembered a question I wanted to ask them. "Oh yeah, this has been bugging me since we started. How, in the world, do these things move on their own?" Both brothers looked at me weirdly. Damian spoke up.
"Umm... What are you talking about?"
"How can Beyblades move on command? It's not logical, it doesn't make sense." They both just shrugged.
"We don't know. They just, do." I scratched my head in confusion.
"That's...never mind." I shook my head. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a female voice right behind me.
"Excuse me, but did you say that was your first battle?"
"AH!" I jumped and spun to see a young shorter brown haired girl standing behind me. I took a step back to gain some personal space.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just heard a battle and got curious!" She took a step back as well, obviously embarrassed that she scared me. "My name is Madoka, I run a Beyblade repair shop down town called the B-Pit." She held out a gloved hand and I shook it.
"James. I just moved in last month. And yes, that was my first battle."
"Very impressive, I'll admit! Especially considering that Beyblade wasn't yours!" I snapped a finger, getting an idea.
"You seem to know a lot about Beyblades." She nodded, smiling.
"It's my life's work! I love it!"
"Okay, then maybe you could tell me why they can move on command...?" Her face dropped, probably hoping for a more technical question, if the goggles and laptop were anything to go by.
"Oh. Well, to be honest, I have my own Beyblade, but I don't really use it. I'm more of a sidelines kind of girl. I've done research on the subject, but there is some sort of wall I keep hitting." As she was talking she opened her laptop and was typing one handed, opening different windows at a near impossible pace. She stopped at one, her eyes scanning over it for a minute before nodding. "Here, this is all the research I could find on the subject." I took the laptop she was holding and read through the first few lines. A single term stood out to me.
"Bey Spirit? What's that?" She nodded.
"Yes, that. From what I could gather, apparently Beyblades are inhabited by something called a "Bey Spirit". I'm not exactly sure what it is." I scratched my cheek as I thought it over.
"So...basically, these Beyblades are haunted."
"Well...yeah, that's...one way to put it." She tilted her head, trying to not think about it too hard.
"So, where do they come from?" Madoka took back the laptop and started flicking through pages.
"No one knows. See, Beyblades have existed since ancient times. There is no real solid evidence of where they came from." As she spoke, she showed me some images of some old paintings. Different scenes depicting what looked like battles with tops. "See? They have just always, existed." I nodded.
"I see..." I looked over to see the setting sun glowing orange. "Ah shoot! I gotta go!" I turned to the two brothers, who had been standing there the whole time. "Thanks so much for letting me battle, maybe I'll see you guys again!" I fist bumped both of them.
"Yeah, it was awesome, even if I lost! That hasn't happened too often."
"Yeah! And you can use Virgo anytime!" I nodded and turned to Madoka, reaching into my coat's inner pocket. I held out a card.
"It's got my number on it, feel free to give me a call. I'm intrigued." She took it and looked it over, nodding.
"Sure, and here is my card. It's got my shop address on it so come by anytime!" I took it and slipped it into my pocket.
"Thanks! I might stop by soon. See y'all later!"
"Bye!" I waved as I took off at a steady jog.