Disclaimer: Trueangel does not own Beyblade or Leon.
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Hoo boy... more plushies... I never seem to run out of them, do I? Well, this time it's Xaleon plushies! Put them close to your Phoenix plushies and they both blush... hehe. *hands out plushies*
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Platinum Rei: Ooh, first review! Well, you'll see where the story goes soon enough...
SoulSister: Oh, you flatter me. Well, it takes a little imagination and a LOT of planning... I think I've had ideas for Legend of Apocalypse flying around since the end of Angel and Devil.
Rumi-Chan: Bad, bad Rei! *whacks Rei on the head* Phoenix-chan is mine, mine mine MINE! Err, as in my character... oh well. You can relax, she isn't going to any nunnery, 'cos I say so. Well, enjoy this chapter!
Kitsune: You haven't read the two prequels to this fic, have you? You can find the links on my Bio page.
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Leon: Another chapter of the fic... more time with Phoenix-chan...
V.K.: Hey, don't be so bad to her. The reviewers like her.
Leon: I just want my A-chan... where is your yami anyway?
V.K.: I have no idea.
Leon: *sweatdrops* So who is doing this fic?
V.K.: Err...
Xan: I am!
V.K.: *sweatdrops* Where did you come from?
Xan: The last two fics, duh.
V.K.: No, I mean... argh, forget it.
Leon: *eyes Xan testily* *begins casting a spell*
Xan: Oh come on, Leon. I'm not that bad. I'll even bring back an old character!
Leon: Hmph. Yourself?
Xan: You'll see... well, let's get on with the fic!
Leon: Hey, that's A-chan's line! *tackles Xan*
V.K.: Uh... yeah. Get on with the fic. (thought)This is strangely familiar...
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Chapter 2 The Tournament Begins
"Man, there're so many people this year!"
Rei, Phoenix, Xaleon, and the remaining two members of the team Trinfinity stood at the grounds of the Japan Beyblade Tournament. The place was so packed, they didn't think they could take a step without bumping into someone.
"I'm sure glad we don't have to battle our way through all these people just to enter the top 16," shouted Phoenix such that her friends could hear her over the noise of people talking and beyblading.
"We don't?" asked a confused Xaleon. He had never been in a tournament before.
"Yeah. Trinfinity was second last year. The second, third and fourth of each year's tournament are automatically in the top 16 next year," explained Rei.
"So... what are we doing here, if we aren't battling?" asked Xaleon.
"Checking out the competition," said Rei. "Identify the tougher teams and prepare for them. Just because we're good doesn't mean we don't have work to do."
"Well, Xaleon, Val, Zee, why don't we go see how this year's teams are like?" asked Phoenix.
"Ok," said Val.
Val Kane, a 16 year-old boy, had golden hair and crimson eyes. He wore a plain, collarless black shirt that was ripped at the ends of the sleeves. Around his wrists werw white wrist cuffs that resembled those on formal shirts, except that they ended halfway between his wrists and elbows. Val wore simple navy jeans held up by a black belt, and a pair of black leather boots. However, the feature most of the beyblading world recognised was the flowing red cape secured by a golden round emblem with a "V" on it. Many of his fans affectionately called him 'Superman' because of it.
Zeta merely muttered an indistinct word - or it might have been a meaningless sound, nobody could tell - as he began walking into the crowd.
Zeta Zagan, or 'Zee' to his friends, and an enigmatic 'Z2' to the rest of the beyblading world, was the same age as Val, a 16 year-old male. Zeta looked a lot like his mother, but he had a pair of icy blue eyes - just like his father. Zeta had brown hair which ended halfway to his waist at the back, and his sideburns touched his shoulders. He wore a simple black robe with metallic grey lining at the edges, secured around his waist by a black belt. On his shoulders were a pair of shoulder guards, sewed to the cloth.
Rei watched as the 4 beybladers went off on their own to watch the competition. The tournament format had changed since he last beybladed. Now, each country held its own competition to choose teams to send to the World Tournament. There wasn't much inter-country travelling, like he and his teammates had done so many years ago. Rei looked at the countless young bladers gathered, each one of them aspiring to be crowned champion of Japan - and after that, champion of the world. Rei recalled the tournament that had brought the Bladebreakers together. At the request of Mr. Dickenson, he had come from China to enter the tournament, and before he knew it, the four of them - Tyson, Max, Kai and him - were a team. Rei briefly wondered how Mr. D was. He would have probably passed on by now, but Rei didn't know for sure.
Rei stood around for a while before deciding to go search for Xaleon. He wanted to speak with that boy. Rei was intrigued by Xaleon. He had never met a nekojin other than the White Tigers, and he hoped Xaleon would have some idea as to the origins of the nekojins. Were they an entirely new species, never before seen on the face of the Earth? Were they a race of humans, like blacks and whites and Asians? Or were they products of genetic mutation, like in the X-men movie he'd seen with Kai...
=Flashback=
Kai and Rei walked out of the theater, having just watched X2. They were chattering excitedly about the movie.
"So? How did you like it?" asked Rei.
"It was wonderful. I'm really glad I came out with you today," answered Kai.
"It was a pity Jean had to die in the end though..."
"Well, at least she died for her friends."
=End Flashback=
Distracted by his thoughts, Rei didn't notice where he was walking and collided with a man with sandy-brown hair.
"I'm sorry," Rei mumbled.
"Rei?"
Rei took a closer look at the person he'd bumped into.
"Chief?"
It was Kenny all right. Rei was sure. For one, he no longer was certain who had bumped into who, since Kenny's long bangs still covered his eyes.
"Chief, what have you been doing these years? I haven't seen you since after the tournament."
"I run a beyblade shop. Since I've got someone else to stnad in for me today, I thought I'd come down to see how the tournaments are like now."
"Oh... I'm the coach of my daughter's team. They're taking part."
"You have a daughter?"
"Adopted," Rei explained quickly.
"Well, do come to my shop one day. I'll be more than happy to help fix your team's beyblades. Here's my shop address."
Kenny scribbled his shop's address on a scrap of paper and handed it to Rei.
"Thanks. Well, see you around!"
"Yeah, see you soon."
Rei watched as Kenny walked back into the crowd, then went off to continue searching for Xaleon.
Xaleon winded through the sea of countless beyblade dishes where young beybladers battled, as he glanced at their games. He hadn't spotted anyone powerful enough to interest him yet. Most of the entrants were amateur beybladers hoping to luck out and win the tournament. Well, they'd need more than luck. They'd need real skill, and a lot of it, if they were going to get anywhere near the top positions.
Xaleon finally stopped in front of a battle that looked mildly interesting. The two beybladers showed slightly more promise than the rest of them, at any rate.
"Red Scorpion, close in for an attack!"
"Jupiter, evade!"
A red beyblade, which Xaleon believed to be Red Scorpion, headed towards the other black beyblade, but the one named Jupiter was too fast to be caught.
"Jupiter, c-"
The beyblader suddenly stopped as a third grey beyblade flew into the dish. Xaleon looked at the source of that interruption. He saw a girl with raven hair that reached her shoulders and pale blue eyes, wearing a black biker's helmet. She wore a black leather jacket whose sleeves reached her wrists. Underneath that was a plain white shirt. On her hands were a pair of black biker's gloves. She wore black leather pants, and a pair of black boots with many silver buckles that looked more decorative than practical. From the way her beyblade was moving, Xaleon could tell this girl was far more skilled than anyone else he had met here. The grey beyblade swiftly knocked the other two beyblades out of the dish in succession, then flew back into its owner's hands.
"Why don't you just give up? There's no way you're gonna win with your current skills," said the new girl with a voice so deep it would have put many basses to shame.
"Hey, stop it!" Xaleon found him shouting, much to the surprise of everyone around, most of all himself. "Just because they're less skilled doesn't give you a right to bully them like that. Why don't you pick on someone your own skill?"
"Like who; you, kitty boy?"
"I'm ready to take you on anyday, anytime."
"Xaleon, Sylphie, stop it!"
Xaleon turned around. Phoenix was running towards them, slightly out of breath.
"Oh. it's you, Phoenix. Who is this, your boyfriend?" the girl called Sylphie teased.
"It's none of your business," replied Phoenix tersely.
"Well, I'll let him off for now. But someday we'll meet in the dish, Xaleon."
Xaleon watched as Sylphie walked away, before turning to talk to Phoenix.
"Who is she?"
"She used to be a teammate. She left on her own before you joined. She might be a bully, but she's a really good beyblader. You don't want to cross her path."
"But I can't help but feel what she said is true, that we're gonna battle someday."
"Yeah... so do I," said Phoenix worriedly.
"Hey Phoenix, why did you bail me out just now?"
"I didn't want you to get into trouble. Aren't we teammates?"
"No, I'm serious. Do you... do you have a crush on me?"
"I..."
"Hey, Xaleon!"
Phoenix turned around. It was Rei. Inwardly, she cursed her dad for his 'wonderful' timing, not knowing Xaleon was thinking the exact same thing.
"Oh Phoenix, you're here as well."
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Phoenix almost shrieked.
"What, am I not supposed to be here?"
"Err... no, it's just that... I wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Well, I just wanted to talk to Xaleon about something. You can continue watching the battles, I'm not stopping you."
"Well, see you later, Phoenix," said Xaleon.
Rei and Xaleon both looked as Phoenix disappeared into the crowd.
"So, sir, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"I told you, you can just call me Rei. I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about nekojins."
"I don't know... there are many myths floating about, but half of them aren't even close."
"So, which do you believe?"
"Well, there's one which says..."
"Boy, that was some tournament! There were so many people!" exclaimed Phoenix.
The four beybladers and Rei had returned to Phoenix's house after a morning at the tournament. That place also served as their training grounds.
"So, did you see anyone we should be wary of?" asked Rei.
"No," replied Val.
Under his breath, Zeta muttered "amateurs".
"Well, I did run into someone..." Xaleon began.
"We saw Sylphie," said Phoenix.
"Hmm, Sylphie... well, we have to watch out for her team. And then there's the third and fourth team of last year. The thing about auto-qualification is that we don't get to see their new tricks beforehand," said Rei.
"Sylphie, eh? Can't wait to kick her ass," said Zeta.
"Better not get overconfident," warned Rei. "Zeta, I want you to have a battle with Val. Let's see what areas the two of you are weak in."
"Alright, but I won't go easy on you just because it's a practice battle, Zee."
"Good, 'cos you can't afford to."
Rei and Phoenix smiled as the entire group walked out to the beyblade dish, with Zeta and Val in the lead. Despite their constant verbal sparring, and no matter how much they denied it, everyone (except Xaleon) knew exactly how strong the friendship between the two of them were. It was because each of them saw the other as an equal. Rei was far above them in terms of skill, and moreover, his age, generation, and status as coach placed him as a senior in the team. Phoenix too was above their skill, as she had proved on many occasions, even if only by a bit. She was also a girl, and the coach's daughter and the team leader at that. Nobody wanted to mess with her. Yes, they were friends with her, but only at the minimum level needed for the team to function well; nothing more. And Xaleon was a newcomer. Neither of them were too enthusiastic about newbies. Perhaps given some time, they might accept Xaleon as something more than a team member, but for now, he was in another world to them.
Zeta and Val took their positions at opposite ends of the dish as the other three stood to one side, watching the battle. Phoenix began the countdown.
"Ready, you two? 3, 2, 1, LET IT RIP!"
Zeta's metallic grey beyblade and Val's flaming red one both flew into the dish. Val's beyblade immediately headed for Zeta's, but the grey blade gracefully pushed the red whir aside without budging.
"Zeta's defence is amazing! It fended off that attack without breaking a sweat," commented Xaleon.
"Yes. The wide blades of the attack ring, together with the slightly slower but more powerful spin, allows it to push attacks away," replied Rei.
Meanwhile, Val was preparing another attack. His red blade tilted to one side, headed towards Zeta's beyblade, and tried to flip it over. The grey beyblade wobbled for a while, but soon regained it's stability.
"Val isn't too bad himself," said Xaleon.
"Yeah, his blade has an extremely powerful upper attack, which tries to lift opponents' blades. You've noticed the extra-flat base? It makes the blade lower so that it's easier to use its upper attack. Also, the wings of Val's blade are shaped to push air upwards, further increasing the power of its attack," explained Phoenix.
In the dish, Zeta was preparing to launch an attack of his own.
"Drike, show him your Drike Cannon!"
The grey blade became a blur as it moved towards Val's red beyblade. However, it moved rather slowly, and looked more like a line slowly extending outwards.
"Drike is too slow! Why doesn't Val interrupt its attack?" asked Xaleon.
"Oh no, Drike is moving way faster than you think," replied Phoenix with a smile. "Drike is actually moving slightly away, then returns to its original position, moves a bit further, returns, and moves again, repeating this until it hits the target."
"It moves that fast? Then why doesn't it attack at one shot?"
"By moving this way, Drike can quickly respond if the target moves, the attack is more difficult to be interrupted, and Drike can build up momentum to execute a more powerful attack."
At the same time, Drike had smashed into its opponent, sending the red blade skidding accross the dish. However, Val's beyblade bounced off a wall and flew back at Drike, this time causing the grey blade to move backwards slightly.
"Why isn't Val using any special attacks?" asked Xaleon.
"Val can only use his attacks if his bit beast is present, and he's biding his time right now," replied Rei.
"But he'll lose if he doesn't do anything!"
"Not necessarily. Val's endurance is good enough such that he can try to wait out a match, if needed. Moreover, Drike's slower spin speed means it has less endurance."
"Both of their beyblades actually require immense skill to work properly," added Phoenix. "For Val, he has to choose the exact time to call out his beast. If he calls it too soon, the opponent will have enough time to react causing his attacks to backfire, but if he calls it too late then it won't help at all. As for Zee, he has to give his blade the most powerful spin without compensating too much speed. Too little power weakens his defence abilities, but too little speed damages his endurance instead."
"I didn't know it was that delicate..."
"Welcome to the world of the pros, buddy."
A bead of sweat formed on Val's forehead as he concentrated on the battle and trying to slowly wear down Drike. However, Zeta remained as calm as ever.
"If that's all you've got, Val, then you're going down! Drike Cannon attack!"
"Alright, now's the time! Volcos, emerge and use your Cross Fire!"
A red beam shot out of Val's beylade, and his bitbeast appeared. It looked like a cross between a dragon and a snake, with a long scaly body. It wore a golden helmet with a horn at the back. The beast had a pair of scythe-shaped arms without hands, and a pair of wings with deadly claws. The feathers of the wings seemed as though they were made out of ruby, just like the spikes at the ends of its two tails. Volcos had no legs, and instead hovered in the air as it let out a menacing roar.
Volcos moved its two arms into an x-shaped cross as it turned to face Drike. The arms glowed bright red, and a beam of energy flew at the grey beyblade, meeting it head-on. Zeta's beyblade was sent flying into the opposite wall.
"Drike, you come out as well!"
Zeta's Drike emerged in a burst of white light, but it was unlike anything Xaleon had ever seen. It's entire body was metallic, and the beast was possibly robotic. There was a grey sphere in the centre, and in the middle of the sphere was a lens glassy black in color, possibly the being's eye. Around the lens was a thin ring of navy blue metal. Surrounding the sphere were three disembodied arms, scythe-like ending in deadly sharp tips. It turned to 'look' at Volcos eeriely.
"Volcos, use your Rising Tempest!"
The dragon/serpent circled around the metal eye with an increasing speed, until it was but a blur. Underneath the eye appeared a black portal. Hungry flames reached out of the hole, and seemed to be trying to engulf Drike. However, Zeta remained unfazed, and the black hole soon closed, but not before weakening Drike significantly.
"Drike, use your Drike Cannon again!"
"Volcos, counter with Cross Fire!"
The two bitbeasts took up positions at opposite ends of the dish. Drike's 'eye' glowed white and fired a powerful blast at Volcos. At the same time, the other bitbeast let loose its energy beam. The two attacks collided in the middle of the dish, creating an explosion. The force sent both beyblades flying back into their owner's hands at the same time.
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Trueangel: I'm back with another chapter of-
Leon: *shrieks* A-CHAN!!!
Xan: Uh-oh.
Trueangel: What happened here?
V.K.: Um, Xan was writing in your stead.
Trueangel: He WHAT?! *starts reading fic*
Leon: Hoo boy, here we go... 3, 2, 1-
Trueangel: XAN! What the hell did you bring Kenny back for?! Kenny was supposed to have been abandoned after A&D! Kenny... oh wait. I need Kenny for this fic.
Xan: Heh. Knew I could do it.
Trueangel: *grudgingly* And I see you've been following my character guides for Val and Zee.
Xan: Well, aren't you gonna thank me?
Trueangel: Thank you?! DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH THE KEYBOARD AGAIN!!!
Xan: Hey, that's not nice! *tackles Trueangel*
Leon: NO ONE TACKLES A-CHAN AND LIVES TO REGRET IT! *tackles Xan*
V.K.: *mega-sweatdrops* Oh well... do review. Now, let me join in the fun... *tackles the ball of tackling people*
