Legend of Apocalypse

Disclaimer: Trueangel does not own Beyblade or Leon.

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Gosh, I really should do something about this present-giving streak of mine... anyway, this time I've got chibi Tala plushies for all of you! *hands out plushies* Though Tala fans out there won't like what I'm gonna do with Tala... therefore I have to appease them with the plushies! Enjoy!

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SoulSister: Yup, Kai's back alright! *throws confetti* Kai's back, Kai's back, Kai's... uh, heh heh. Enjoy the chapter.

Rumi-Chan: Oh, Rei... everyone knows that Phoenix and Xaleon are supposed to be a pair. Anyway, if you're complaining about having to wade through thick-as-cream-soup plots, there's more... Tala. Heh. Oh well, better let you continue running from that axe...

chibi_kai_fan: Heh, glad you liked this fic. Do continue to enjoy it!

Shaka Dragomir Nocturnus: Gah. I've had experiences with higher-rated fics, and I'm not gonna put them on ff.net again. But yes, the rating isn't important. Most important is how good the story is, otherwise a NC17 fic would just be PWP, eh?

~~~

Leon: So, LoA enters its fourth chapter...

Trueangel: What's so significant about that?

Leon: Um, nothing much really...

V.K.: I know, why don't we recount the fourth chapters of the previous two stories?

Trueangel: Hmm, I wouldn't agree if I wasn't so bored... oh well. Anyone remembers the fourth chapter of Angel & Devil?

V.K.: That was before both of us.

Trueangel: Oh yeah... heh. That was when Mariah appeared... and screwed everything up.

Leon: Damn that bitch.

V.K.: Hey, she's a nekojin just like you.

Leon: Oh, in that case, umm... uh... what she did was very wrong.

Trueangel: -_-U Okaaay... Anyone remembers the fourth chapter of Crystallis?

V.K.: That was before the both of us as well.

Trueangel: Oh. In that case... that was the Kai v.s. Hui battle. And Kai used Xan's beyblade to win!

Leon: And don't forget the uber-kinky Kai/Rei lemon!

Trueangel: How did you know about that?!

Leon: You forget... I'm omniscient.

V.K.: Uh... right. Now we're at chapter four of LoA: the Ancient Beast...

Leon: So read and enjoy!

~~~

Chapter 4 The Ancient Beast

"Kai?!"

"I was wondering when you'd be back."

"Kai, wha... why... when... how did you return?"

"I created an empty body, a vessel, on Earth, like I created Phoenix. But for Phoenix, I placed a bit of each of our souls within her, whereas I just transferred my entire soul from my angel body into this one."

"Kai, is it... is it really you? After all these years... have you really returned?"

"Of course I have. I'm sorry for leaving-"

Kai was suddenly stopped as Rei had flung his arms around Kai's body in a tight embrace.

"Kai, I've missed you so much..."

"It's alright, love. I'm here now. I'm here for you."

"Wait... there's something I want to give you."

Rei walked over to his wardrobe and opened it. From inside, he took out a neatly folded scarf - Kai's scarf. He handed it over to Kai.

"You've kept my scarf after all these years..."

"I couldn't bear to throw it away."

"Thanks," said Kai, as he wrapped his scarf around his neck. "That reminds me, how's Max?"

"He's living in China with Hui now. The two of them obviously feel something for each other, but they refuse to admit it. Hui insists that he's taking care of Max only because he was partly responsible for Tyson's death, while Max refuses to forget Tyson."

"Oh well, at least he's fine..."

"Kai, why have you returned?"

"Volten's back again. This time, he's staging an all-out invasion of Heaven. Luckily, I don't think he's here on Earth yet."

"I don't understand. Why would you come here if you want to fight Volten?"

Kai told him about the legend he had read about in Heaven. He told Rei about the Creator and Destroyer. He told Rei about the gurads of Apocalypse. He told Rei everything - except for what he was suspecting.

"I see... but I don't get it. Am I supposed to be the Tiger Guard? What am I supposed to do? How do I fight Volten if I'm just a human?"

"There's only one person, or thing, who can answer your questions... even I am not sure myself."

"Who?"

"Just follow me. Hold my hand."

Rei gripped Kai's hand, but he didn't stop his questioning.

""Where are we going, Kai? Tell me something!"

"We are going," said Kai, taking a deep breath, "to Ancient Egypt."

+++

Val and Zeta were walking home together after their little 'celebration' of their victory in the tournament. However, the partying mood had more or less faded, and the both of them were quiet as they walked through the park on their way home. It was there that Val spotted the ice-cream stand at the opposite end of the fountain.

"Hey, Zee, want some ice-cream?"

"Hn."

Val laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes. Wait here, I'll be back in a minute."

Val walked to the other end of the fountain as Zeta sat down on a bench. As he sat, he thought about the tournament, and how he had lost so easily to Aerial. But it was all in the past now. All he could do was train even harder. And then there was the battles with Sylphie. Even Phoenix, their skilled captain, could only draw with her, but the newcomer, Xaleon, defeated her without even calling out his bitbeast. It was as though Xaleon didn't regard Sylphie as powerful enough for him to call his bitbeast. And then, without his bitbeast, Xaleon had effortlessly thrashed Sylphie. Who was Xaleon, and why was he so powerful? Right now, Zeta could only guess.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes near him. Zeta stood up as the figure in the bushes stepped into the light of the lamps.

"Tala. What do you want?"

"Look, Zeta, that's no way to talk to your father."

"I have no father. My father left Mom even before I was born, and drove her to commit suicide when I was a child. I have just one parent: my mother Maia Zagan."

"I'm sorry about what happened to Maia."

"Don't deceive me with your false compassion. I've known who you were from the day Mom died - you're nothing but a heartless liar."

"But you cannot deny that half of you is me. Look, I come to ask you a favour."

"What do you want me to do? Steal? Cheat? Kill?"

"No, I want you to give up the championship to the Soulblades."

"Then I'm sorry, you have come to the wrong person. I'm in no position to do so."

"But you can persuade and influence Rei, I'm sure."

"Even if I had control over the team, I would never do so. Not for anyone, least of all you."

"If not for me, then at least for Sylphie. She is your former teammate. Surely you wouldn't want to see her disappointed?"

"Sylphie betrayed us. I do not regard her as my teammate."

"I see... very well. I will leave, if there is nothing I can say to change your mind. But remember, I will be back."

Tala disappeared back into the bushes just as Val came running back to Zeta, with an ice-cream cone in each hand.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody."

"Look, you can tell me-"

"Really, it's nobody."

Zeta took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"Come on, let's go home."

+++

On the other hand, Xaleon and Phoenix were still pretty much 'high' as they proceeded home - nto from drugs or alcohol, but merely from the sensation of winning.

Ever since Rei found out that Xaleon was an orphan, he had made Xaleon a permanent resident of their house. Of course, he knew that Phoenix and Xaleon were both responsible enough not to do anything stupid, so that put his mind at rest, though he did joke about it sometimes. Besides, Xaleon was grateful to Rei, and he wasn't about to betray his trust. But that didn't mean he and Phoenix couldn't be great friends - in fact, they were talking to each other right now as though they had known each other for a lifetime.

"I still can't believe how easily you beat Sylphie," said Phoenix, laughing.

"You should have seen the look on her face when her beyblade was sent right out of the dish."

"And the most amazing thing is, you didn't need to use your bitbeast at all to score that victory."

"Yeah... hey, PHoenix, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Why did Sylphie leave the team?"

"She couldn't stand losing to me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Sylphie had always wanted to be the captain. However, because I was a stronger blader than her, Rei kept me as captain. It culminated to a point where we had a match to decide who would be the captain. The loser would be forced to leave the team. I won, of course. But that was before Sylphie got her bitbeast."

"I see..."

"How about you? Tell me something about your past."

"I'm sorry, but I can't remember anything at all. My past is a blank to me."

"It must be really hard, not having a past."

"Perhaps, but I've learnt to live with it."

It was then that Phoenix and Xaleon found themselves at the door of their house. Xaleon pressed the doorbell, and they waited for a minute. There was no answer.

"Dad might have gone out or something... hold on, I've got a key..."

Finally, Phoenix found the keys in her back pocket, and unlocked the door. The two of them stepped in.

"That's strange. Dad never leaves the lights on."

"Maybe he forgot."

"Yeah... maybe. He's getting old."

Phoenix and Xaleon both laughed.

+++

"Kai, where are we?" asked Rei as he landed on soft golden sand.

"I told you, Ancient Egypt."

Rei looked around him, and instantly he was stunned by the magnificence of the place he was in. Towering pillars of sand supported a sand roof above him, and even on the pillars themselves were intricate carvings of heiroglyphs. The ground was made of sand. The walls were made of sand. Heck, the entire building was made of sand - fine golden sand that seemed to glitter in the sunlight that shone through a gap in the roof.

"Kai, what is this place?"

"An Egyptian monument dedicated to the cats. The Temple of the Sphinx. Unfortunately, it will be destroyed in a war about 800 years from now."

"Is this really Ancient Egypt?"

"Well, if it isn't, then it certainly looks frighteningly real."

"Sorry... I didn't know angels could do time travel."

"We normally can't. But I learnt this from my master. He can do other cool tricks as well, like slowing time, speeding up time, stoppiung time, and such."

"Your master?"

"The previous Phoenix Guard."

"Oh... what are we doing here anyway?"

Kai sighed exasperatedly.

"To find the only being that can tell you the part you have to play in fighting Volten. The Egyptians worshipped cats, and this was where Driger first appeared. As such, if you want any answers regarding Driger, this is the best place to look."

"Alright, so what are we looking for? A giant statue of Driger?"

"Actually, no. Interestingly enough, the Egyptians fashioned their symbol for Driger to look like an inverted triangular pyramid. And don't ask me why."

"So we're looking for a pyramid in the middle of Egypt... gee, how difficult can that be?"

"Pretty difficult. The Egyptians created hundreds of pyramid statues dedicated to all sorts of cats, and this is where they kept them. The one we're looking for has one round eye on one of its faces, and the bottom half is sectioned into three rows covered with heiroglyphs."

"Now you tell me. I guess we'd better start looking."

"Don't worry, we have a lot of time. It's a few millenia before we even meet Volten."

Kai and Rei both laughed at their jokes as they stepped out of the room they had landed in, into a gigantic and just as magnificient hallway. Luckily, it was empty, so there was nobody to freak out at the sight of them. Rei looked at the sides of the hallway. There were two rows of doors on either side, and above each door was a sign with some heiroglyphs on it. The whole setup looked eeriely like a...

"Kai, can you read heiroglyphs?"

"Well, I can roughly guess by looking at the pictures. Why?"

"This area looks like an archive or something. I think in each room is a shrine to one of the cats, and the sign on each door tells us which cat."

"Well, it seems like it... but the problem is that there are only domestic cats, cat-headed humans, and things like that. No tigers."

"That's what were here for. To search."

As Kai and Rei walked down the long hallway, Rei began to notice something suspicious. There was no one around, no one at all. Kai had said that the Egyptians worshipped cats, so the temple should have been full of pious worshippers. Rei decided to ask Kai about it.

"Kai, don't you find this place unusually empty?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah."

"This feels like a setup..."

"But that's impossible! No one knows we're here. Perhaps it's a special day. Maybe everyone's gathered in the temple of the eagle or something."

"Yeah... maybe."

Kai and Rei stopped as they had reached the end of the hallway. Before them was a door more beautiful than the rest, if it was possible, and above the door was a picture of a tiger-headed man.

"Is this the place?" asked Rei.

"I don't know. Let's go in."

Kai pushed open the doors and stepped in. The room was very large, but at the same time very empty. At the far end of the room was a pedestral, and on the pedestral was a pyramid that looked exactly like the one Kai had described.

"I think that's the one. Walk closer to it."

Rei took a step forward, and the pyramid started glowing white.

"Kai, what's happening?"

"Don't worry, it's okay. Go ahead, touch the pyramid."

Rei nodded at Kai, and walked closer to the pyramid. As he did so, the light grew brighter, to the point where Kai was blinded by the light. Nevertheless, Rei could see the pyramid clearly. Finally, he was standing before the pedestral. He closed his eyes, reached out with his right arm, and touched a tip of the pryamid, and instantly he felt the world around him changing...

Kai looked at the pyramid. The light had faded, and Rei was gone. Kai took a deep breath, and spoke to himself in a soft whisper.

"How I wish it wasn't you..."

+++

Rei opened his eyes, and found himself in a Japanese-styled dojo. There were no doors, but Rei could just break through the paper and wood panels anyway. On one of the walls hung a row of weapons, including everything from a spear to shuriken (throwing stars) to swords. Rei walked over to admire the weapons, but before he could reach the wall, he saw a figure materialize at the opposite end of the room.

Rei turned around and walked closer to have a closer look. When the light surrounding the figure faded, he could see the face of the person clearly. He was shocked to find that the person looked exactly like he did 14 years ago.

"Who... who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me, Rei? I am Driger."

"Then aren't you a bitbeast in the form of a white tiger? Why do you look exactly like my younger self?"

"Once I was your bitbeast. I served you, and in doing so I became like you and acquired your likeness. But 14 years ago, you stopped beyblading, and thus I stopped changing as well."

"!4 years ago? Aren't we in Ancient Egypt?"

"Us bitbeasts are 4-dimensional creatures, which means we can travel through time just as easily as you can travel forward, backward, sideways, and up or down. Unfortunately, this affects our sense of time, so what happens thousands of years in the future would seem as though it happened 14 years ago to me."

"Alright, that's a bit beyond my understanding... anyway, I'm here because I have a few questions, and Kai told me that you can give me answers."

"I know. I have been waiting for you. Ask, and I will try my best to answer your questions."

"Ok... what is my role in the war against Volten?"

"This is no ordinary war. This is Apocalypse. And you, you are the Life-Bringer, the Tiger Guard. You will fight against Volten, but more important is your task to rebuild the world after the war is over."

"But I don't even know what to do! I don't even know where to begin."

"Do not worry, you will learn as you proceed. But then again, fate is as fluid as water."

"That means I might not be the Tiger Guard after all?"

Driger smiled.

"No matter how much you stir the surface of the water, the currents will not reach the deepest parts of the ocean."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, we will let fate decide for now. But meanwhile, I will have to test your worthiness."

"MY worthiness? To be the Tiger Guard? And what kind of test?"

"Your worthiness to receive a powerful weapon I have for you that will help you greatly in the fight against Volten. We shall have a duel. See those weapons on the wall? You can choose any of them."

Rei turned to look at the weapons. It wasn't long before his eyes fell on his weapon of choice. He walked over to the wall and picked it up.

"The flail? An interesting choice. The flail is one of the more difficult weapons to wield, especially since it has a higher tendency to hit yourself."

Rei shrugged.

"I guess it's because I grew up watching Bruce Lee's martial arts movies and all his neat flail moves."

"Perhaps. As for me, I will use my claws."

Driger clenched his fists in front of his body, and a pair of three claws, one set on each hand, burst out from between his knuckles. Immediately, Driger rushed at Rei, his claws ready to deliver a powerful blow.

+++

Kai stared at the glowing pryamid, a clear look of boredom on his face. Rei would be gone for a while. Kai reached into his pocket and took out a small portrait of Rei that he had drawn himself during his free time, while he was in Heaven. It was not an expertly drawn picture, but it was still passable, and it had kept Kai company during those long nights when his mind kept wandering back to his beloved Rei. Seldom did a night pass when Kai did not miss Rei. Kai didn't regret his decision to become an angel, but he couldn't help feeling guilty about leaving Rei. Well, he was back now. He'd let the future take care of itself. For now, he wanted to enjoy whatever time he had with Rei.

As Kai's eyes wandered to the door of the room, which they had left open, Kai saw a priest walking by in a hurry. Instantly, Kai noticed that the priest looked strangely familiar. No, it couldn't be... but Kai had to make sure. If it was who it suspected him to be, them Kai had to find out why he was here. Kai walked towards the door, but suddenly turned back as he remembered Rei. He looked at the pyramid as his mind fought with itself over whether to wait for Rei or to follow the priest.

"Rei'll be gone for a while," Kai finally said to himself, before running out of the room.

+++

Rei ducked barely in time, and Driger's claws dug into the wall. However, Driger quickly pulled his claw out and took another swipe at Rei. However, this time Rei was more prepared and knocked Driger's arm away with a swing of his flail.

"Your reaction speed is not bad, but you'll need more to defeat me!"

Driger attacked Rei with his other arm, which caught Rei by surprise, but he quickly sidestepped to avoid getting hit. Rei then tried to hit Driger with his flail, but the wildly swinging stick missed and Rei ended up smacking himself in the face.

"Told you the flail was a difficult weapon."

"Argh, what the heck."

Rei hurled his flail at Driger, causing Driger to duck to avoid it. Making use of that distraction, Rei sent a kick flying at Driger's chest, but Driger quickly caught Rei's foot and twisted it, sending Rei twirling to the ground. Driger stood above Rei, ready to pin him down with a claw, but Rei quickly rolled aside. He then jumped back onto his feet and punched Driger in the face. This time, the blow hit, and Driger was sent staggering backwards. Rei followed up with na kick that knocked Driger to the ground. However, before Rei could make use of his advantage, Driger had stood up again.

"You're getting better as you fight. Now, try a bit harder!"

Driger sent both his fists flying at Rei, but Rei managed deflect one and evade the other. However, what Rei missed was Driger's upward jab with his knee, which hit Rei's stomach and knocked him backwards. Driger then sent his foot at Rei's chest, but Rei copied Driger's earlier move, sending Driger to the ground. With a backflip, Driger was on his feet once more. Driger then catapulted himself into the air, before coming down with his claw ready to strike Rei. Rei bent backward to avoid the blow, but ended up falling on his back. Quickly, Rei grabbed onto one of Driger's legs in midair with his own legs, and sent Driger falling to the ground. This time, Rei was ready to take advantage of the situation. He rolled over to beside Driger and clutched Driger's throat with his hand.

"Good. You have won. I concede."

Rei released his grip on Driger. Almost immediately, Driger jumped onto his feet and sent a punch at Rei. Rei was taken aback at the sudden assault, but responded just in time with a kick that sent Driger back to the floor.

"What did you do that for?" asked Rei.

"Unfortunately, not all opponents fight honourably," replied Driger as he stood up. "That is why you must be alert at all times, even when the battle seems over."

"I see."

"Well, I believe I should give you this."

A small glowing light appeared in front of Driger. Driger caught it with his hand, and when the light faded, Rei saw that it was a bit chip.

"Go on, take it."

Rei took the bit chip from Driger. Instantly he felt a burning sensation on his right arm under his sleeve. When he lifted his sleeve, he saw a symbol that looked like the letter 'n' burnt onto his skin like a tattoo. However, the two ends of the symbol curved together before curving away again to each form a near-complete circle.

"What is this?"

"This is the bit beast Leo. It's power depends on your courage in battle. The symbol on your arm marks you as the owner of Leo, and it will only respond to you unless you give it away, in which case the tattoo will disappear."

"I see."

"Even if you want to use your Driger bitbeast, you can use the Leo bitbeast to boost your Driger. The attack of Leo can also be combined with Driger's to form a new, more powerful attack."

"Is there anything else?"

"That's about it. It's time for you to return. Close your eyes."

Rei closed his eyes, and once more he felt the world around him changing again...

+++

Kai followed the priest through a long path of hallways and corridors, and he was turning here and there so much that he was afraid he was gonna loser his way back. Nevertheless, now that he was here, he had to follow the priest. He had to know.

Suddenly, the priest turned around a corner. Kai hurried forward, but when he turned, the priest was gone. Luckily, he had left the door of the room he had entered open. Kai walked in. Inside, he saw the priest standing in front of a pedestral, with his back torned to Kai. However, Kai could clearly recognise the priest. His suspicions were confirmed.

"Volten?"

The priest turned around. It was Volten all right.

"Kai? What are you doing here?"

"What I am doing here is none of your business. More importantly, what evil scheme are you up to now?"

"I won't interfere in your business if you don't interfere in mine."

Volten reached behind him and picked up a small object on the pedestral, too small for Kai to see clearly. However, Kai did notice a faint glowing on Volten's right arm under his sleeve, which quickly faded.

"What's that?"

Volten didn't reply. Instead, he smirked, and soon vanished.

"Volten!"

Shaking his head, Kai walked up to the pedestral. Carved into the sand was a symbol that looked like the letter 'm', excemt that at the end there was a curve out and upwards forming a semi-circle. Kai mentally noted the symbol.

+++

Rei opened his eyes, and found himself back in the sand room. However, Kai was gone. But before Rei could ponder too much on that, the pryamid representing Driger glowed faintly. Rei turned around to look at the pyramid as it shrunk, and finally fell onto the pedestral. It was a bit chip, with the picture of the pyramid on it. Rei picked it up before going out of the room to look for Kai.

+++

Kai ran back to the room Rei was in, praying that he could find the room, and praying that Rei would still be there. Distracted by his own thoughts, Kai turned around a corner and-

BANG!

Kai massaged his hurting forehead, and looked up at the person he had knocked into.

"Rei?"

"Kai? Where did you go?"

"I saw Volten."

"Volten? What's he doing here?"

"I don't know. He was after something in this temple. I noticed a symbol in the room containing the item, but I don't know what it means."

"What's that devil up to know?"

"How about you, Rei? What did Driger tell you?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to find out what Volten's up to and stop him."

"But how? I don't even know what that symbol means."

"I think I know someone who can help."

"Who?"

"The Chief."

~~~

Leon: Ooh, Volten is back!

Trueangel: Yup, our unkillable, un-get-rid-of-able devil is back.

V.K.: Time travel?! This sounds so... platitudinous.

Trueangel: Do you even know what 'platitudinous' means?

Leon: I know! It means-

Trueangel & V.K.: Shut up.

Leon: Meep! O_O

V.K.: Good. Oh well... review.