Author's Note: Ahuauhha, hi, my name is Zuza and I'm a really really slow writer :3;; Actually I got lazy, half-finished this, then just wrote the final page or so yesterday :D;;
Oh, yes, and to Morgana: I couldn't really make sense of your description of Heart's Fear, so I improvised :D;; Hope that's alright.
WaterBlader: If I needed someone to be the fourth Nightshade you people would know ;D I'm not saying any more.
Smiley-Joe: Yeah, there'll be romance :X. Not gonna say with who though (though RhiaXsomeone will be obvious XD). Some of you ought to be able to guess what the couple will be though. Plus, it probably won't come in for a loooooong time :D;;
Disclaimer: Beyblade belongs to Aoki Takao. 'Cept the NightShades and their Bitbeasts belong to me and two friends and the OC's featured belong to the people listed in a previous chapter. Mmhmm.
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Deadly Nightshade
Chapter Eight
Palisade Guardians: Part 2
"Let's get this party started! Three! Two! One...!" The two Beyblades streaked into the stadium as the announcer screamed "LET IT RIP!" They were both black, and the only thing that distinguished them were the colored streaks that blurred around. Green for Athena, and gold, silver and dark blue for Celestial. Each circled around the dish in thin, oval spirals, dodging each other each time they neared.
Celestial stared at Athena, her eyes occasionally flickering to the circling Beyblades. Athena observed both views as well, but she looked from one to the other almost impatiently, as if expecting the taller girl to do make the first move. Seconds passed in this awkward silence. Ten, fifteen, twenty... The team mates on the benches stared at the two Bladers with slightly confused expressions. Athena stamped her foot on the concrete platform.
"For hell's sake! What kind of battle is this, the silence fight?" The attention was now on her. "Nocturna! Attack!" At once, the black-and-green Blade cut off the circling motion, zooming around and crashing head-on into its opponent, sending sparkling white sparks in all directions.
Her black hair shifting slightly, Celestial slowly turned her head to face Athena directly. "You want a battle? Fine, I'm afraid I just can't deny the one thing my opponent wants, that will result in her own loss." At this, Athena's left eye gave a twitch. "Awaken, Notath. And prepare for battle."
At the teen's command, the multi-streaked Blade released a thin strand of blackness into the air. The tendril twisted around, as if it were a thread in the wind, then expanded, quickly and silently, into a full-fledged beam of darkness. For a while nothing was visible, until four sets of navy claws appeared, as well as a pair of gold and silver angel wings. The wings flapped once and the dark beam dispersed, revealing a large black wolf, its teeth visible in a slight snarl. Nocturna backed away from the opposing Blade, then swiftly circled it, ready for any impending attacks.
"Alright. Might as well give these people what they came here for: an entertaining battle. Nocturna! Rise!" Athena's jacket swished as she thrust her fist into the air. Immeditely, the small black Beyblade released a thin swirl of green light from its Bitchip. The light flashed outwards in a flat circle, fading away like a ripple. The next second, a thick beam of white-green light was lighting up the surrounding area. The light cut itself off of the Beyblade, and became a swirling mass in the air.
The mass grouped together, and expanded, forming itself into the shape of a dark green panther. Nocturna's slitted green eyes were, like the other NightShades' Bitbeasts, shielded by a dark green cyber window. Her fluff-tipped and pointed ears faced forward, topping her long-furred head. She had saber tooth tiger-like fangs, the rest of her teeth were short. Her underbelly was a lighter shade of green, while her paws were covered with shaggy black gloves, and the back pair looked a little like bird feet. On her neck and waist hung beaded strings, and on the one around her neck hung a dream catcher. Hawk feathers hung from the catcher, and random other places over the panther's body.
A second after the panther appeared the large black wolf pounced on it. Both creatures were locked in a vicious fight of teeth and claws, appearing as a mere ball of fur, spitting, growling, yelping, above the Beyblade stadium. Beneath the violent fight the two black Beyblades were smashing and grinding against each other, barely moving back before they launched another assault. Golden sparks shot every-which-way, flying from the colliding Attack Rings.
"Nocturna!" Athena called up to her panther Bit, who smacked the opposing wolf away with a gloved paw and backed up, "Knock some sense into the mutt, FISSURE!" The feline bunched up it's rear leg muscles, launching itself into the air at Notath. Nocturna's flat skull rammed itself into the wolf's ribcage, knocking both animals into the air. Swiftly, her furry tail swishing behind her, the panther leaped above it's opponent, driving it's front claws into it's back, knocking it towards the ground. It landed with a crash, making deep cracks in the stadium floor. The crowd blocked their faces as they were hit with a wall of debris. Celestial remained immobile.
"It's not going to be so easy," she near-snarled. Slowly, she raised a hand, pointing directly at the feline enemy. "Notath...Dark's Hope." Gold and silver angel wings whipped upwards, scattering pieces of concrete. Notath rose slowly, shaking off the remaining chunks. It bared it's teeth, letting out a low growl that gradually rose in volume.
It's opponent just stood above it, staring down with her slitted green eyes. A sound like strong wind whistled throughout the stadium. The shadows all throughout the building rippled, and small streaks pulled away and gathered at Notath's feet. Nocturna's green eyes were watching the wolf's actions curiously. By now, the shadows had created a great field of blackness in the dish, which rippled with the slightest breeze. In a flash the attack was performed.
Athena's Beyblade was surrounded by a narrow column of shadow, and Notath had used the remainder to restrain Nocturna. Jagged claws spiraled up from the cracked floor and wrapped themselves around the panther's limbs, grabbing and pulling her fur.
"N...Nocturna!" Athena gaped at the scene above her. At Notath, risen and floating just above Nocturna, a sinister grin spread upon its face. A slight panicked intake of air came from the short teen as the claws and teeth of the great, black canine were driven into the fur-covered flesh of her Bitbeast. Celestial laughed coldly.
"You must be honored for your little kitten to be so...lovingly handled by my Bitbeast." Meanwhile Nocturna was screaming in some unbeknownst fashion, her vocal chords almost choked off by Notath. Down below, the shadow column had become a hemisphere, with thick spikes that grew from the thin shape, driving themselves into the Beyblade.
"You sarcastic bitch..." Athena was glaring at her much taller opponent, though still fully concentrating on what was happening above. Nocturna had stopped screaming, but was still caught up in Notath's grasp, and the claws of darkness were wrapping themselves tighter and tighter around her furry form.
The blue-eyed girl took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Then, swiftly she snapped open those crystal orbs, and whipped her arms above her, her hood easily sliding off of her coffee-colored hair. "Nocturna! Resist that damned creature! STONE TORNADO!"
Nocturna's weakened eye pulled itself open, the pupil adjusting to the light. With a valiant outburst of strength she managed to throw off the giant wolf, as well as the claws. The shadowed forms jerked off, floating away slightly before disintegrating, the spiked shadow trap over Athena's Beyblade also evaporated, leaving both Blade and Bit weakened, but still standing. Celestial but snorted quietly.
Semi-gracefully the dark green panther landed on the broken concrete, one of her legs almost giving out from injury. But she went on the offensive immediately, her claws flexing, then driving themselves into the already ruined floor. Like a wild animal she tore up chunks from the ground, as a great wind kicked up around the creature, forming a dusty tornado. The wind was by now so powerful that it picked the concrete slabs from the ground, whipping them around in the twister.
By the time the wind was well-fed with the debris, Nocturna had leapt up to Notath, only managing to grab its hind legs as it had begun to fly away from the storm. It let out a loud, pained howl as the panther's front claws dug into its ankles for grip. The feline had used that grip to push herself up and onto the wolf, resulting in much upset outcries from her opponent. The added weight of the large cat made it all the more difficult for the wolf to fly away, and the effort-filled movements of its gold and silver wings were all too tempting for Nocturna.
In one swift movement she shifted her weight, and dug her long teeth into one of Notath's wings. Bright red blood spurted up around the shining feathers, bubbling over the Panther's slightly squished snout. Notath's howl of pain must have been heard well outside the stadium. It's wings crumpled as it fell down towards the mostly-destroyed Beyblade stadium, where the tornado of stones had just now hit Celestial's Beyblade, and moved to cover her Bitbeast as well.
Nocturna's feline movements allowed her to remain outside the great storm, unaffected by what she had created. The great spiral of wind had expanded, though just to one side. It was but a foot from Celestial's face. And Athena was having a nice time of snickering to herself at the lovely change of pace for her. The tall, black-haired girl still didn't flinch though, and it was this that bothered her.
Notath was being pummeled by the rubble, should she not be completely pissed off? And then it happened. The twister moved a tad close to the teen, and a chunk of the debris swung around through the wind, smacking Celestial in the side of the face.
Toni Hikaru shot out of her seat, running towards her teammate, "You dirty cheat! Cele! Are you okay?"
The now bent girl stuck out an arm, and firmly told Toni Hikaru to leave her be. "It's nothing, Tone. I'm fine. But this little bite off isn't anymore." She dropped her hand, her thin, sharp red nails glinting in the stadium lights. A rather thick trickle of blood had already proceeded to leak down her chin, adding to her already eerie appearance. Athena stopped laughing to herself, and frowned at her opponent. "This is it Athena. You. Are. Screwed." Celestial's black pupils quickly locked onto Athena's crystal blue eyes, seemingly sending some horrible shockwaves which carried the death message. "Notath!" She spit out a the pool of blood that collected in her mouth, "Destroy that tornado and the creature that created it! HEART'S FEAR!"
More shadows collected from the surroundings, but this time there was at least ten times more than when Notath performed its Dark's Hope attack. The darkness swelled like an ocean, and slunk under the two Beyblades, and rose like a tsunami behind the rubble-filled tornado. There was a shape at the tip of the wave, the front half of a giant sinister wolf. The wave's crest rose over the raging wind, and back over to Nocturna, where more demonic shadow claws shot out, grasping the panther.
The wave continued, turning full-circle now and meeting itself at its tail. Notath was somehow standing strong within the wind, and unlike Nocturna who writhed under the claws, remained completely still as the sides of the shadowed circle closed on each other, blocking the view entirely.
"What the...what the HELL is this Celestial? Nocturna!" Athena had her hands clenched in tight fists, watching the darkness that covered the stadium in front of her like a horrible miasma. "Nocturna, break out of there!"
"Oh but she can't..." Celestial had a cold, menacing smirk drawn up on her face. And behind her, Toni Hikaru had a satisfied smile. All too satisfied. Small wolf spirits, formed from the shadows, circled the mist. They made no sound, but it was obvious by the way they glared at Athena that they would tear her apart if she so much as tried to penetrate the shadows. And soon enough, proof that there was still life within that haze rose up. Nocturna's eerie screams were once more heard.
There must have been more of those spirits within there, as well as Notath. Athena's eyes glassed over and she fell to her knees, practically feeling the small, needle-like teeth of those creatures on her skin. She was resisting the pain she felt from her Bitbeast as best she could, but it was almost no use, as the feeling of multiple injuries overwhelmed her.
Tani was now the one to tentatively climb the stairs to her teammate. "Athena..." Her friend wouldn't respond. Her ears were filled with the screams of her Bitbeast and the maniacal laughter of her opponent. The girl's tanned skin was turning red all on its own in places, reacting to the supernatural pain.
"Athena! Forfeit the match! Just do it! If you won't then Nocturna...Then Nocturna will be torn apart by that horrible monster!" If Tani dared cross the yellow line painted on the ground then she would risk throwing the match away without Athena's permission. Which was bad enough.
"You might as well listen to your teammate Athena! There's no way Nocturna will be able to tolerate it. And, oh listen, she's quieting down already..." And it was true, the once loud and protesting cries had lowered in intensity and volume to some horrible cat-like moan.
"Athena please..." But an odd feeling of closure fell, as the black and green Beyblade wobbled out of the fog just enough so it could be seen as it slowed to a stop, it's tattered and torn attack ring barely glossy in the arena lights.
It took a while for the announcer to regain his composure. "Ahh...then...that's it for the third round! Winner is Celestial Magi! The Palisade Guardians and the NightShades are now TIED for the game!" The crowd erupted into cheers which soon died, for the mist hadn't fallen and Nocturna was still moaning from within the spirit-guarded haze.
Tani stared in shock. "You idiot! Drop the attack! You've won already! You have no right to continue torturing them like this!"
Celestial turned her evil gaze at the black-and-purple haired girl. "Well that's too bad. Though her fighting was rather alright, that wretched attack of hers nearly broke my jawbone. So I figured I'd teach her a lesson."
"You bitch..." Tani glared at the taller girl. Her teammates were apprehensively tossing up the suggestion that she cease the attack. Athena was still entranced, and visibly in pain from the repercussions of what was happening with Nocturna. And Tani's pleading wasn't getting anywhere.
She stopped speaking when a semi-crushed pop can flew by her head and hit Athena's. Tani turned around to see Rhia, who had rather obviously been the one to lob the aluminum object at her teammate. But it had worked. Athena's eyes had returned to focus and realized what was going on with one glance at her immobile Beyblade.
The anger was almost as visible as the pain over her body. She stood, shaking and wincing slightly at the ongoing results of her Bitbeast's torture. But hearing Nocturna's moan of pain once more was enough to clear her head of ache, and fill it with pure pissed-off-ness. With a surprisingly small amount of steps she cleared the area around the dish and was directly in front of Celestial. And soon enough, her fist made contact with the underside of her face.
Celestial's head snapped back and she stumbled. The sudden lapse in concentration caught Notath's attention and it ceased the attack. The mist swirled around and disintegrated, the wolf spirits leaping into the ground and becoming plain shadows once more. Nocturna's crumpled form was still there, almost too weak to return to its safe haven within its Beyblade. Her fur was soaked with feline blood, the lot of it clumped together in large areas. The black gloves over her feet were much more tattered than they should have been, and the dark green visor over her eyes had a disgusting crack in it. The kind that car windshields get when they're shot.
Athena caught a glimpse of all this before Nocturna returned to her Beyblade, and before she received a swift kick in the stomach from one of Celestial's long legs. Now Athena was once more on the floor, clutching her stomach. Celestial was about to have another go at her but both Toni Hikaru and Kathy had leapt up to restrain her. The shorter girl stumbled as she rose up, and seeing Celestial in such an easy position to hit, decided to do so. But her fist was caught by a hand paler than hers.
Tani had her arms wrapped around the short girl's waist, and Rhia was holding her arms back, dragging the injured teen back to their side.
"Thank God you didn't decide to do that before the battle was over, or we would've had our asses disqualified." The captain mumbled into Athena's ear, and let go of one of her arms to hand over the ruined Nocturna.
"I don't care. Did you see what that stupid bitch did to Nocturna? She could have died in there!" Athena wrenched herself from the grasp of her teammates and sat down on the bench.
"Yeah, I don't know how satanic you'd have to be to pull something like that..."
The announcer snapped out of the shock that hit him and the speakers crackled to life. "Uhh...There will be a thirty-minute intermission while we clean up this place! The Palisade Guardians and the NightShades are to return for their tie-breaking match between Kailie Roshi and Tani Yamaka!"
At this Tani looked up at the man with the microphone, "Oh no...why me?"
Rhia weakly looked from her crushed teammate to her other one, "Why else but the fact that you're the only one of us that had the flat-out win. It's logical..."
Tani just nodded. "Hope it won't be as painful as what just happened appeared to be..."
"Let's get out of here." Rhia changed the subject. She now stood between the two. "Get something to eat...we can leave Athena in the E.R."
"What? There's no way you're leaving me in that creepy white building!" Athena protested and stood quickly, but winced visibly from the pain. "I'm...I'm okay." But she was clutching her thigh, where blood had suddenly appeared, soaking through the fabric.
Rhia wearily looked over at the shorter girl. "Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England. Come on." She slipped an arm under the one of Athena, and signaled Tani to help. The two teens carried their teammate to the hotel's emergency room.
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"I don't know about this Rhia...Athena and Celestial's battle really freaked me out." Tani had barely touched the glass of pineapple juice in front of her.
The red-banged girl, who seemed to have absorbed an apathetic persona over the past hour or so, lolled her head away from her marmalade and cream cheese sandwich to look at the other girl. "Come on Ton. You're better than that. Did that Kailie girl LOOK dangerous and crazy to you?"
"Well...not dangerous...maybe crazy." Tani's plum-colored eyes moved from her drink to the floor-to-ceiling window beside them. "Great...the sky's clouding over. Gonna rain again..."
Rhia swallowed the last bite of her sandwich. "That's good...I like the rain." The bicolor-haired girl looked over at her teammate.
"I don't...gets everything wet. Nasty stuff, that rain..."
Her captain pulled her arm-warmers up again. They had begun to droop. She slid her chair back and stood. "Come on. Match starts in five."
Tani frowned at the window for a second longer, then rose from the table as well. "Agh..."
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Tani climbed her way up the stairs and stopped with a little shock as to how quickly the Beyblade dish had been repaired. Her eyes traveled the perimeter of the arena and stopped when she noticed her opponent was already standing in front of her. One of her red sneakered feet was slowly tapping at the ground, making her loose jeans sway a little. The black haired girl cleared her throat and waved nervously.
'Ikira's already gotten herself hurt in the last battle...I hope she'll be okay for another one...' But regardless of Tani's worried thoughts, her purple Beyblade gave a reassuring glint of light. She looked up again to see the slightly shorter girl looking at her with her one visible, green eye. Then the announcer's voice rose over the noise.
"Alright everyone, this match will be the tiebreaker! Determining whether it will be the Palisade Guardians or the NightShades who advance into the next round! The tie breaking match will be between Kailie Roshi of the Palisade Guardians, and Tani Yamaka of the NightShades!" The crowd burst into cheering, ready to see the two girls go at it.
Kailie quickly adjusted the brown headband that covered one of her eyes, then lifted her already loaded grey launcher. Tani pulled out Ikira's Blade and fitted it into her launcher.
"Are we ready? THREE! TWO! ONE!" Both girls pulled back their arms. "LET IT RIIIIP!" The two Beyblades shot into the stadium, purple and green. Ikira spun in small circles in the center of the dish, but her opponent wasn't one for a slow start.
"Chaos! Quick, let's take her out early! WIND WAVE!" The pale green Beyblade circled around and smashed into Ikira, then circled and smashed again with high speed. Bright sparks shot up at each collision.
"Hang in there Ikira...I know you're hurt, but just hold on..." Tani muttered under her breath. Kailie was chuckling to herself.
"We're gonna end this before you even have a chance!" A white light was slowly rising from the center of her Beyblade, even as it smashed and smashed into Ikira. Neither blade seeming to falter. The light shot upwards, as the blade temporarily backed off.
Thick white smoke formed within the pillar, and took on shape. A gigantic tiger leaped forward, roaring with all its might. This, was Chaos...a great wild cat with black armored claws. She glared down at Tani, and then at her Beyblade, and crouched...ready to pounce.
'I have no choice. If I don't summon Ikira now we're both screwed,' Tani panicked slightly, worried about Ikira's condition, "Ikira! Awaken!" With an outburst of black shadows, Ikira's winged form rose from the violet Beyblade.
Tani gasped lightly. The wing membranes were almost completely healed, as was the rest of her. Apparently Bitbeasts healed at incredible rates. Now with a new burst of confidence, Tani commanded a counter attack. "Ikira! DEVIL'S CLAW!"
Chaos sprung, pouncing towards the canine demon which was streaking forward with claws at the ready. They hit in midair, teeth meeting neck and claws meeting gut. Both were like a ball of fur, biting and clawing in midair. The poison buildup on Ikira's claws wasn't penetrating the thick skin of the feline.
"Chaos, this isn't the time to play! Finish her!" The tiger smacked Ikira with a giant paw, temporarily detaching her. This distraction was enough to give Chaos the time needed to smash the demon downwards a few meters. "Now!" Kailie yelled up towards her Bitbeast, "JUMP ABOVE THE WORLD...!" With another great roar, Chaos leaped upwards, then came flying down towards Ikira, claws outstretched.
The two collided once more, but the downwards force of the attack pushed the black canine down onto the ground, pounding her into the dish. Both Beyblades mimicked the moves, with the green Blade pile driving into the center of the purple one.
Tani growled lightly, "Ikira! Come on! We can do this! BLACK FIRE!" Small flames began to form in the back of Ikira's throat. The weight of the tiger was crushing her, making it more difficult to power up for an attack. But the demon rapidly twisted her neck around, to face the feline, and opened her jaws for the attack. A giant beam of twisted black fire shot forward, hitting the tiger in the face.
Chaos roared loudly, and Kailie's hand shot to her face, where a burn had begun to form.
"Ow! Damnit, that kills! What the hell are you trying to do, kill me?" Kailie protested.
"I'm trying to beat you and not let my team down. And though it was your team mate, not you, who harmed Nocturna in such an inhumane manner, I will beat you into the ground for it." The giant tiger had now been pushed off of Ikira, who was able to get back on her feet.
"Now that just doesn't sound fair, does it?" Kailie frowned and ran a hand through her spiked hair. Her movement stopped suddenly, though, and she smiled and looked at Tani. "Well, if that's how you want to do it, fine. No mercy." Her Bitbeast leapt backwards, and coiled, ready to strike. Kailie preceeded the command with a few martial arts moves. "CHAOS!" Chaos' final attack, which shared her own name.
Energy seemed to come to life around the giant tiger, seething around her furry form. Then, within a second, it sprung upwards and outwards like a hurricane, blowing every-which-way and tearing up the dish.
"Ikira!" Tani stared, wide-eyed at the ground covering attack that threatened to lunge forwards any second. "Stop that thing with Devil's Claw! And this time, make sure it HURTS!"
Chaos leaped forwards, the hurricane well ahead of her. It dawned on Ikira, tearing her flesh with invisible blades. The canine demon howled in pain, but continued pumping all the poison in her body over to her claws. The slashing and tearing appeared almost intolerable, as Bitbeast blood was being flung everywhere. Tani, too, was finding it difficult to remain on her feet. Long, but not terribly deep cuts were drawing themselves out all over her skin - in unison with Ikira.
The giant tiger roared loudly, her enormous form heading straight for the canine. Ikira took the split second of time to thrust her clawed, poison-laced hand forwards. There was no time to react. Chaos had the disadvantage of gravity, which carried her through her leap and straight into the claws, which had now stopped her movements and were deep into her throat.
Kailie was on her knees, coughing up blood. Kathy and Toni Hikaru had both run up to her, but were forced to stop and not cross the painted yellow line.
"Ah, Kailie! Kailie are you okay?" Kathy was calling out to her team mate.
The red head nodded slightly, but sat herself down from the dizziness.
Tani had covered her eyes. As much as this match meant to her, she couldn't watch her own Bitbeast's arm covered to the shoulder with another Bitbeast, however big it was.
Chaos lit up and slunk back into its Bitchip. One of the blades on Ikira's attack ring had caught the pale green Beyblade while it was on a tilt, and had nearly torn off the chip. Ikira slowly pulled her arm back, then retreated as well, and let herself stop spinning.
"And...AND THE NIGHTSHADES HAVE TAKEN THE WIN!" The announcer yelled into his microphone. Quickly, the crowd had brought itself into loud, constant cheers, for both teams. "Another spectacular round in the tournament! What other action packed battles can we expect? Please, stick around, for there'll be more coming up soon!"
The two remaining NightShades walked down over to the Palisade Guardian's side. Rhia held out a hand to Toni Hikaru, who accepted it and shook.
"That was a good match, Rhia. Congradulations."
"I don't quite understand your concept of 'good', but, thanks."
Tani and Rhia shook the other team member's hands, until it came for Tani to shake with Celestial. The taller girl just had her hand held out impatiently, but the plum-eyed girl smacked her hand away, glaring at her with glazed eyes. Celestial didn't respond much, just stared.
Rhia took Tani by the hand and began to lead her out of the stadium. "Come on Ton. Let's go see how Athena's doing, then we can rest up for whenever we'll be up next."
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Wow. I AM sorry for taking so bloody long with this ; Blasted Beyblade writing moods are so hard to come by nowadays...
It'll be good to start off a new round again ; Now, to figure out how to write myself out of the hole I've written myself into... (not happy with plot points I'd written about in past chapters)