In the middle of the day, back in New York City, the young blond, Mizuhara Max, emerged from an elevator door of a large, expensive apartment and found himself in a golden lobby full of other apartment residents. As he walked along the smooth, plated surface of the floor, he came to a large wall of mailboxes on his right. As he scanned the numbers matching an apartment room written on the small doors. "Yeah, that's it," he said once he spotted the number '1028.' He took a key and opened the mailbox to pull out a single envelope. As he looked over the top of it to find out the sender, he suspiciously raised an eyebrow. The sender was someone named 'Anonymous.' "I kinda figured that Dad wouldn't send me another letter after receiving plenty of them yesterday. But, this is…" Unable to resist, Max proceeded to pull open the envelope flap and took out the letter inside. He silently read it for a brief moment. And just when he finished reading, he gasped. "What!"

Beyblade Lunar Eclipse

Episode 2: "The Ones We Pursue"

Back under the night sky of Tokyo, inside the Kinomiya Dojo, Takao was resting on his bed peacefully while Hiromi sat next to him to keep watch on him. "I hope Grandpa Ryunossuke hurries up to fix him that treatment," she said. Meanwhile, Kyouju was on his laptop again, studying Dragoon Eclipse's sudden 'upgrade' from before. "I just can't believe that Luna was a Holy Beast that took on a human form," Kyouju said. "Their powers are indeed unparalleled."

"And you said that she fused with Takao's Holy Beast to give him more power?" Hiromi asked.

Kyouju looked over the winged, white dragon on Dragoon E's Bit Chip and looked back on its stats on the computer screen. In the bar chart, the red bars that analyze the Holy Beast's power were rising and falling erratically. "This new Seiryuu's power is quite unstable. So, I don't know whether this is a good thing or not. But, one thing's for sure: it took quite a lot out of Takao. He was already weakening before this happened, and now that it did, he's completely worn out. I doubt he'll be able to get back up until tomorrow."

"Takao," Hiromi murmured in worry.

As Takao stayed put and slept soundlessly, Hiromi and Kyouju exchanged one last conversation. "Once Grandpa comes back, we gotta get home. We'll both visit him first thing in the morning, okay?"

Hiromi replied, "Okay."


Deep in the rural area of Tokyo, there were hardly any people around walking past several small, two-story buildings. But, one small building was isolated all by itself along a road block. A single light was glowing from the window at the top. Through the window, the blinding light of a TV sat in a relatively clean bedroom as a lone, young man was resting on the small bed in front of it. Wearing just dark navy pants, a boy with spiky, grayish-blue hair peacefully slept. But, the peace was interrupted by a gruff voice yelling his name outside. "Hiwatari Kai! If you're in there, come out now!" Soon after hearing his name, he slowly revealed his steely, ruby-colored pupils with a faint hint of wonder.

A moment later, Kai now wore a light blue shirt once he was outside with a mysterious man who had a small black tuff over his head and wore nothing but black cloaks. "Hiwatari Kai?" he asked. The young man didn't reply, but he confirmed it with a clear nod of his head. The man in black continued, "So, according to the records, you're the holder of Suzaku, the Red Phoenix of the Flame. Am I correct?" Intrigued by this man's possible objective, Kai finally spoke. "And you are?"

"They call me…'Fox,'" he replied. "The underground hunter of the Siberian Army. I'd like to play a game with you."

Kai scoffed, "Aren't you a little old for that game?"

"Does it matter? All I want is a simple duel…with Suzaku as my well-earned prize. Bring any weapon you can carry to Mt. Fuji tomorrow at noon."

Then, the man known as Fox started to walk away. But, Kai's voice stopped him. "What makes you think I'm not prepared right now? After bringing me out here this late and challenging me, I think I deserve to finish it now." Fox stood there unmoving from his current spot. He was standing so still, not turning around. Then, with a quick swing, he turned around. But, Kai was ready and pulled out his black and red Grip Shooter and prepared to release his blue Beyblade. But, he stopped as soon as a golden ray shot past his left cheek, followed by an echo of a loud gunshot. To Kai's dismay, Fox's weapon…was a long and threatening rifle!

Kai was frozen before the barrel of the deadly gun Fox wielded, unable to move as he dropped his Grip Shooter to the ground. "You thought I was talking about those…Beybattles?" Fox grinned hideously. Quick to hide his fear, Kai regained his silent composure. "I should've known. You didn't look the part."

"I only care about retrieving Suzaku and receiving my pay for doing so. I'm prepared to gun down anyone to do so…even a kid like you."

"That suits me just fine," Kai replied coolly, two beads of sweat falling down his left side of his face. "You'll at least be known as a ruthless bastard."

"You better believe it. Besides, I may do you a favor by killing you."

Pulling back, Fox put the gun away under his cloaks. "Your grandfather's doin' hard time, both of your parents are no longer in this world you and I live in…you're all alone. I imagine you must be tired of it all." Kai didn't reply, but his right eye briefly twitched. "But, if you can prove me wrong with that weak Beyblade of yours, perhaps you deserve to know what I'm all about." With that, Fox proceeded to walk away into the dusk of night as Kai watched him go. After he disappeared from his sight, Kai sighed as he knelt down to pick up his Grip Shooter and his Beyblade. This particular blade had three jagged, wing-like edges on the attack ring and a metallic blade base with an interchangeable blade tip. But, Kai was focused on the picture of a red phoenix with a white mane and a golden crown over its head. "Suzaku…"

Later, in an underground café underneath a bright restaurant building, darkness blanketed over this gothic background. There were pool tables used by few late adolescents that managed to stay out this late at night as soft, mellow music was heard all around. While others talked to each other as a group, Kai was at the bar table, alone. Now, over this light blue shirt, he wore a short dark violet jacket and a twin-tailed scarf hanging down behind him. The bartender was cleaning a glass with a wet rag while he examined his silent peer carefully. "You seem gloomier than usual," he said. "It's not like it matters, but anything you want to talk about?"

"Well," Kai began with a sigh. "I guess I've been thinking how I lived my life until now."

"I see. Just water tonight?"

"Yeah."

After the bartender went off, Kai sat up in his seat and stared up at the faint limelight above him. "When I think tomorrow's my last day of living," he thought, "it feels like I've been wasting time…doing what I do."

Then, one thought manifested itself into words. "Could my life have been any different?"

Then, a restrained laughter caught his attention. To his right, three seats down, there was a young, light-blue haired woman wearing emerald-colored pants and a blue tanktop. And much like Kai's blue shark fin-like stripes, two over each cheek, she had twin aquamarine stripes, two under each eye.

As this fetching lady continued softly laughed to herself, Kai turned towards her. "You wouldn't be laughing at me, would you?" he asked. The girl stopped laughing and waved at him. "Hey, sorry about that. I couldn't help overhearing what you were saying. Kinda reminds me of myself."

"Hmph. The last thing I need is pity from a woman," Kai scoffed while the bartender handed him his glass of water.

As he took a sip of his water, the girl walked to his side and sat in the seat beside him. "If you really think tomorrow's your last day of living, it wouldn't hurt to listen, would it? Hey, barkeep, how about some water for me, too?"

"As you wish," the bartender replied.

Disgruntled, Kai frowned at the girl beside him. "I guess I have no choice since you forced yourself on me. My name is Hiwatari Kai."

"Kai, huh?" the girl nodded. "As for me, the name's Kitsune. Nice to meet ya."

A glass of water was given to Kitsune, and as their greeting, she and Kai both clicked their glasses together in silence.

A while later, Kai and Kitsune exited the café together among other teenagers that were leaving. "Hmm. So, you live all by yourself, huh?" Kitsune said. "I suppose you've been working a lot."

"Yeah," Kai replied. "But, I don't know if it was all worth it now."

"You sound like a gun's been pointed at ya."

"Hm. Let's say that's really the case. What would you do?"

After the question, Kitsune stopped walking. Kai soon stopped and turned toward her, awaiting an answer. Finally, the girl spoke. "Yeah, sure. A few times."

"Yet you still live."

"I suppose it doesn't matter…but after all that's happened to me, I couldn't let myself fall to Hell so soon. The way I live…is how I pay my respects to the dead."

"'Pay your respects?'" Kai scoffed indifferently. "When you die, it's all over."

"You're right. And that's precisely why I still live…because it means too much to me."

Kai frowned thoughtfully. "I…I guess I don't feel giving up either."

"But, whatever the situation…"

As Kai stared after her, Kitsune's blue eyes gently shimmered as she spoke to him. "The weapon you use most…is the mightiest weapon you have. Never resort to your adversary's level." Kai didn't answer, but her words wrapped around his mind and inputted a possible decision for tomorrow.

Breaking the dark mood, Kitsune grinned and turned away from Kai. "Well, I better head back," she said.

"You're leaving now?"

"A woman needs her beauty sleep, after all."

Then, Kitsune began to walk off on her own. She waved once more and said, "Take care of yourself, Hiwatari Kai." As Kai continued to stare after her, the mysterious woman named Kitsune faded into the dark shadows…


The next day, back at the Kinomiya Dojo, Takao arose from his bed and stretched out his arms with a big yawn. "Is it morning already?" he wondered. The strangely energetic young man leapt out of bed and proceeded to get dressed from the green and blue pajamas he was currently wearing.

Outside, Takao was putting on his hat as he observed the new day with a big smile. He laughed, "Wow! I feel great today!" Then, he blinked with curiosity and scratched behind his head. "Hey, wait…" Finally, recollection of yesterday came flowing back into his mind. "Why do I feel so great anyway?" he wondered. "Yesterday really took a lot out of me. So, why…?"

"Takao!"

Takao stared toward the dojo's entrance and found both Hiromi and Kyouju gawking at him with wide eyes. "Oh, hi guys," Takao greeted.

"Don't 'hi' us!" Hiromi exclaimed. "What are you doing out of bed!"

"Well, uh…"

After a short while, Takao explained everything to his bewildered friends. "So, you feel no stress or fatigue at all?" Kyouju asked.

"No," Takao answered.

"You don't even have any bruises left over from the fight last night?" Hiromi added.

"Not one. It's as if last night never happened at all."

Kyouju cleared his throat. "But, it did. Even your Holy Beast made a drastic change."

With that, Takao received his Dragoon E, and he examined his new white dragon's picture in the Bit Chip. "You're not kidding. I mean, he looks cool and everything, but how did this happen?"

"Luna submitted her very essence into Seiryuu, and that caused this peculiar evolution."

"So, Luna was a Holy Beast all this time. I had no idea Holy Beasts could do that."

"I'm pretty sure the ones we've seen couldn't. But, there had been sightings of strange, abnormal creatures around here. And that happened after the recent lunar eclipse."

"You think it's a coincidence?"

"I can't make that assumption just yet; right now, it's very possible. If only we knew the story behind it…"

Hiromi spoke up. "What about that 'Boss' character last night? He seems to know about them. And so did that soldier, Sgt. Mizuno."

Kyouju nodded, "Yes. There are two forces already at work here: one that seeks to capture the new Holy Beasts for some strange purpose and the other that seeks to destroy all Holy Beasts."

"Well, how about we find Boss?" Takao asked. "At least I know where he lives and where he hangs around."

"I don't know. He seemed pretty secretive about it."

Hiromi teased, "You just want to finish your battle with him."

"What's that!" Takao grunted.

"Anyway," Kyouju interrupted, "Boss is the only lead we have now, so I guess we might as well track him down."

"All right! Follow me, guys; I know exactly where to go!"

"Uh, hold on a second, Takao," Hiromi murmured, her eyes hidden under her bangs.

"What?"

POW! Once again, Hiromi punched Takao upside the head! "OW! What brought that on!"

Hiromi came at his face and screamed, "So, on the day of the lunar eclipse, the one that you're supposed to take me to, you stood me up so you'd have a Beybattle with Boss!"

Takao gulped, "Um…well…"

"Oh, I knew it! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

Then, Takao ran away in fright while the angry Hiromi chased him around the outside of the dojo. "AHHH!" Takao cried. "STOP CHASING ME, HIROMI! I JUST GOT ALL BETTER!"

"YOU'RE GONNA WISH YOU'D STAY IN BED!" Hiromi shouted back.

While that was going on, Kyouju weakly chuckled as he meekly waved at them, his weak attempt to make them stop.


On the borders of the city of Tokyo, atop a grassy hill, someone emerged from the tall trees. It was the young boy with the red hair, Sumeragi Daichi. With Tokyo right below him, he looked back and forth in wonder. "I hardly ever come to the city," he said to himself. "I hope I don't get lost." Then, he held up his right hand and observed a new Beyblade in his hand. It had a dominant purple scheme with yellow marks. The attack ring had four fin-like edges, and a secondary attack ring below it also had four, longer fin edges that emerged from in between the top edges. Also, it had a large blade base that seemed to be based on the form of a small rock…

The same Beyblade was held out before Daichi in the Elder's hand. "Whoa. Why are you giving me this?" Daichi asked.

The Elder replied, "It was your father's final Beyblade he designed before his untimely death. He wanted you to have it when you were ready. And I'm giving it to you now. This is Gaia Dragoon Earth."

"Gaia Dragoon…Earth?"

"Yes. Its special twin attack rings can grind apart any other Beyblade. And if it should hit the ground, it's able to break even the hardest of rocks."

"And this is…from my dad?"

Daichi slowly took the Beyblade out of the Elder's hands and thoughtfully stared at it. "Father…" he murmured. While he stared down the picture of a winged golden dragon with a white mane in the Bit Chip, he made a vow. "I'll dedicate this blade to you…as thanks for this gift. On your behalf, I'll become the Beyblade Champion of the World!"

…Daichi gripped Gaia Dragoon E tightly as he remembered his sworn vow. "I'll become the greatest in the world by defeating the strongest Beybladers around! I'll show everyone the true powers of Sumeragi Daichi-sama!" Then, with a great battle cry, Daichi ran down the hill towards Tokyo…until he tripped and rolled all the way down the hill with a loud cry for help…


Far to the west of Japan, there was a small village area along one of the prosperous mountain regions of China. Among the trees, there were clear pools filled up with raging waterfalls. With the sound of the serene falls around him, a young man stood under the water meditatively. He wore nothing but his black pants as the pounding water ran down his head and bare chest. His drenched black hair had a unique white band hanging from it that held the rest of his long hair inside as to not get in the way of his training. "I figured I'd find you here," a voice said to him. The young martial artist slowly opened his golden, cat-like eyes to spot another, much taller man before him. Wearing light green pants and a white Gi with orange markings and long flaps that hung between his legs in front and behind him, the black-haired adult with a small pair of glasses over his nose smiled at the young boy. "You don't need to push yourself, Rei," he said.

The boy answered, "I suppose you're right, Master Shishin. Besides…"

The young apprentice, Kon Rei, pulled out from under the water and stared at his master. Then, a sudden rumbling sound was heard to break their silence! Rei grinned and scratched behind his head. "…I'm kinda hungry!"

Shishin cleared his throat. "Ahem. Yes."

Later, inside a large house atop a mountaintop, Rei sat before a boiling pot of soup, a basket of oranges, and baked fish on sticks, slurping his lips impatiently. He clapped his hands together and properly bowed before it. "Thank you for the food!" he cheered. After giving his blessing, Rei proceeded to scarf down a single orange as he was scooping soul into a smaller bowl with a large spoon. After the second orange, he pounded over his chest to help him swallow it whole. Then, he picked up his bowl of soup and drank the whole thing down in one helping! Then, he picked up a fish on a stick and took a clean bite of half of it. And after the next bite, he picked up a large jug full of water that was sitting beside him and drank some of it to wash it all down. Then, he began to repeat everything from top to bottom once again.

On the other side of the pot of soup, Shishin was elegantly taking his time as he ate and drank in moderation. As he was eating fish, he spoke to his pupil. "Rei, how long has it been? Since you've trained under me, that is?"

Briefly taking a break from his feast, Rei answered, "A year."

"Yes, that's right. You first came here after losing the Beyblade Tournament in the semifinals last year. You were so upset at yourself."

"Yeah, but that one guy I fought was really tough. He even defeated Kinomiya Takao, so I guess I wasn't as strong as I thought back then."

"Do you think you're able to match his skills now?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure. He's had plenty of time to get better himself."

"For some reason, I'm not so sure."

"Why?"

"Well…"

Suddenly, a whistling sound was heard outside. Interrupted from his trail of thought, Shishin stood up. "Excuse me. A letter's here." Then, he walked through the curtain door while Rei watched him go in wonder. After a short moment, Shishin walked back inside with a single envelope in hand. As he examined the sender of this letter, his steely crimson eyes gleamed through his glasses. "This is…"

"What is it, Master?" Rei wondered.

"Don't worry about it. Just finish your feast."

Then, Shishin went back outside to read his letter in peace. Rei continued to watch him in suspicion and worry. "Master?"


Back in Tokyo, Japan, Takao, Hiromi, and Kyouju walked together across the crowded sidewalk of the city. "We still don't know if Boss will tell us anything," Kyouju said.

"Don't worry about it," Takao replied. "If he doesn't, I challenge him to a battle for some information."

"I knew you wanted to fight him again," Hiromi murmured.

"Anyway, let's check the park first. He usually blades over there."

While Hiromi continued walking off, someone reached out at her skirt and tightly pulled it and snapped it. "Ow!" Hiromi angrily turned around with overexaggerated eyes of anger and screamed, "YOU PERV!" Then, she calmed down as soon as she recognized the one who snapped her skirt. Takao and Kyouju turned around and gasped at who they saw. It was the young blond, Mizuhara Max!

Max waved to the others and spoke in his English tongue. "HEY, GUYS!"

"Max!" Kyouju exclaimed.

"So, you're back in town, huh?" Takao greeted. "Just what are you doing here?"

"Besides snapping girls' skirts?" Hiromi hissed.

"Aw, I couldn't help it; sorry 'bout that," Max grinned.

Then, Max reached in his pocket and pulled out the letter he received in New York City. "Actually, some guy here who goes by 'Anonymous' gave me this letter and a plane ticket, telling me to come back in Japan…and bring Genbu with me."

Kyouju gasped, "You mean someone's after your Holy Beast, too! Well, I guess that makes sense."

"Do you guys have any idea what's going on?"

Takao replied, "Not quite, but we're going to find a guy who might know. Wanna come with us?"

"Sure thing. He might be the guy who gave me this letter."

"All right, let's go."

After Max joined their group, Takao and everyone made their way to the park in search of Boss.

After a while, everyone made to the park and walked along the granite pathway as they looked around. But, they seemed to be the only ones in the park, as Hiromi observed. "There's hardly anyone around. Are you sure Boss could be here this time around?"

"If he's not here, we'll try his house," Takao said. "But, he's hardly even there around this time. The park is the best bet we got."

"So, you're looking for Boss, the current Beyblade Champion, huh?" Max replied with a coy smile. "I'm guessing you want a rematch, then."

"You're just as bad as Hiromi!" Takao fussed. "I have more reason than that!"

"Hey, I, for one, would like to see him in action again. He put on quite a show in last year's final round."

"Hmph. He's not that great."

A voice called out. "Hold it!"

Suddenly, Takao, Max, and the others stopped in their tracks to spot someone to their left. Standing in the left fork of the park's pathway, the young, red-haired boy, Daichi, was found panting in exhaustion. "Hey, c…can you tell me where I am?" Everyone stared at this boy with wide eyes, all caught off guard by such a painfully obvious question. "Uh, the park?" Takao murmured.

"Oh," Daichi sighed. "What's a park?"

Upon that question, everyone face-faulted onto the ground!

Moments later, on a bench nearby where they were, Daichi took a moment to rest himself and regain his strength. "So, you're not from around here, huh?" Max said.

"No. I came from a village out of the deep forests outside this city," Daichi replied.

"If you didn't know where to go, why'd you come here? Don't you have a map?" Takao said.

"Yeah. A map would be nice about now."

Takao slapped his forehead in frustration. "I can't believe this kid."

"That's pretty foolish, coming in a place you know nothing about without a map," Hiromi added.

"I don't need you to tell me that, ya old hag," Daichi grunted.

In an instant, Hiromi grabbed the young boy by his collar and angrily and violently shook him. "WHAT DID YOU SAY!" she cried.

Kyouju gulped, "Now…let him go. He just regained his strength."

Briefly dazed after Hiromi's anger attack, he blinked and noticed a white and blue Grip Shooter hanging from Takao's belt at his left side. He pulled away from the distracted Hiromi and pointed at the shooter frantically. "Hey, are you a Beyblader!"

"Well, yeah," Takao replied smugly. "Since you've been out in the wild, I guess it's no surprise that you don't know me. I happen to be Kinomiya Takao, the Beyblade Champion of the World!"

"Former champion, you mean," Max murmured.

"Shut it! He doesn't have to know that!"

Daichi replied, "Beyblade Champion of the World, huh? Then..."

With that, Daichi dramatically spun around to pull out his gray ax-like Grip Shooter from his small pouch hanging behind him and fiercely attached his Gaia Dragoon E to it, holding his shooter directly at Takao. "I challenge you!" he declared.

"What!" Takao exclaimed. "Hey, wait a second! Who are you to come challenge me right after we wasted time to help you out!"

"He's right," Kyouju nodded. "We don't have time for this."

"Chickening out, huh? Yeah, you oughta be scared of me and my Gaia Dragoon Earth."

Everyone gasped upon hearing that incredulous revelation. They were all shocked to know there was another Dragoon!

"Gaia…Dragoon?"

Daichi nodded to confirm his claim. "Yeah, are you guys deaf or something?"

Takao exclaimed, "You're lying! I have the only Dragoon in the entire world!"

"How dare you say that to me!" Daichi shouted back. "This Gaia Dragoon was a gift from my dad! And I won't let you insult him!"

Then, the small boy grinned and chuckled to himself. "Besides, what if your Dragoon is a fake?"

"What did you say!" Takao exclaimed. "All right then, I guess gotta show you the power of the real Dragoon!"

"Takao, what are you doing? We gotta get going!" Kyouju pouted.

"Too late, Kyouju! I'm forced to put this kid in his place! Come on then!"

Daichi laughed, "That's more like it. Let's see if you're any match for Sumeragi Daichi-sama!"

With that, Takao pulled his Grip Shooter out from his side sheath and loaded his blue ripcord into it. Then, he pulled out his Dragoon E from his jacket's left pocket and locked it in place in the shooter. The two bladers counted down. "Three…two…one…GO! SHOOT!" With that, Takao and Daichi pulled their cords and released their Beyblades into battle.

Dragoon E was the first to go on the offensive and committed to a great dash at Daichi's blade. "Go, Dragoon!" Takao cried. Then, at the last moment, Gaia Dragoon E went at Dragoon E and instantly cut right through the silver Beyblade in a clean slash! Takao gasped, "What th…!"

"Heh. You're not so tough," Daichi grinned. "If you can't stand my Earth Buster attack ring, you don't stand a chance!"

As they battled, Kyouju was already working on his laptop while Hiromi and Max both looked over his shoulder to watch. "So, what do you make of this kid, Kyouju?" Max wondered.

"I just took a picture of his Gaia Dragoon. Take a look at his parts!"

"Whoa! His attack ring…there's like eight edges on it!"

"Yeah. And that's not all."

Back to the battle, when the two blades came to ahead in crescent curves, Dragoon E managed to reach under the purple blade and sent it upwards. "That's it!" Takao grinned.

"Not so fast, buddy!" Daichi exclaimed. "Drop, Gaia Dragoon!"

Gaia Dragoon E quickly fell back on the ground and crashed over it upon impact, its instant shockwave pushing Dragoon E away. Takao was bewildered of his opponent's display of power. Daichi's blade had left a fairly deep crater in the ground! Kyouju continued his observation, "His blade base is like a giant rock. If you get caught under that, your Beyblade could be crushed instantly!"

"Incredible!" Max awed.

Daichi was in awe at his Beyblade's strength. "Wow," he thought. "It's just like the Elder said."

"Ha!" Daichi laughed out loud. "My Gaia Dragoon is the greatest Beyblade in the world!"

Suddenly, Gaia Dragoon E turned around and ran towards a tree nearby. Then, it ran up its trunk until it reached one branch. It leapt off and quickly headed down towards Dragoon E. "Look out, Dragoon!" Takao cried. Dragoon E barely managed to dodge its opponent's attack and left it to crash and break the ground once again. After Dragoon E came to a halt, Takao grinned, "Don't think I won't fall for the same trick twice."

"That's okay. Third time's the charm," Daichi replied.

"What?"

Suddenly, light pierced straight through the tree Daichi climbed earlier! Then, it completely split in two and one halve of the tree came crashing down on Dragoon E!

Max and the others gasped after witnessing Daichi's surprise attack and found no trace of Dragoon E underneath the fallen tree. Daichi grinned, "So much for the Beyblade Champion of the World. I expected much more."

"Then, prepare yourself," Takao softly replied.

"Huh?"

A sudden burst of wind energy erupted from under the tree and jettisoned it high into the air! And there was Dragoon E, still spinning as if nothing happened. Daichi was in awe while the tree fell hard into a bench in the background behind him, instantly breaking it cleanly in half. "Daichi, right?" Takao smiled. "Well, prepare yourself, 'cause a storm's coming!" Dragoon E went at Gaia Dragoon E with a small aura of wind surrounding it. Gaia Dragoon managed to dodge the quick attack, but the windy aura pushed against it and shoved it away into a nearby tree, cutting straight through it. After the tree fell over, Dragoon E jumped on it and leapt again to gain higher altitude in the air. Daichi gasped, "Oh no!"

"This is it!" Takao exclaimed.

With that, the aura of wind grew larger around Dragoon as it flew down towards its opponent. It looked like the battle was over…

…Suddenly, a familiar black Beyblade flew at Dragoon E and tackled it, canceling out its attack! Takao gasped and watched as his Beyblade crashed before him and stopped spinning. Then, an orange blade dropped down and crushed Gaia Dragoon E, sending it flying back into Daichi's palm! The two boys, along with Max, Kyouju, and Hiromi, gasped once they spotted the ones who interrupted the match. It was the current Beyblade Champ, Boss, and with him was the red-haired kid who defeated Max, Alex!

"Boss!" Takao exclaimed.

Boss and Alex stood side by side as Max and the others came to Takao's side. Max gasped, "Alex! What are you doing here!"

Alex replied coyly, "Max, you're here! So, you got my…invitation?"

"So, it was you who gave me that letter."

"So, this Alex character's a friend of yours?" Takao asked Boss.

Boss replied, "Yes, he is. An old teammate of mine."

Angry, Daichi cried out, "Hey! How dare you punks interrupt my Beybattle!"

"We had to make you guys stop. If it were to continue, a lot more than a few trees would be destroyed by Takao's Beyblade."

"What do you mean?" Takao wondered. "Do you perhaps know something about what happened to my Holy Beast?"

"Forget it. It doesn't matter now. You just need to know that, as long as you have that beast, you will cause nothing but destruction. And because of that, the Siberian Army will be after it. They must not have it!"

"The Siberian Army?" Hiromi repeated.

Kyouju thought to himself. "So, that's where that man, Sgt. Mizuno, came from."

"You always have to ham it up, don't ya, BOSS man?" Alex shrugged. "Anyway, we basically can't let them have the Holy Beasts. And destroying them is the only way to protect them."

"But, Holy Beasts are living creatures, too!" Max exclaimed. "The ones we all have are our partners! You would really sacrifice them for protection?"

"I don't expect any of you to understand," Boss said. "But, I'm doing what I'm doing to protect these innocent creatures from any evil. If you continue to stand in my way, then I'll take your partner by force."

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Takao replied.

Alex looked toward Max curiously. "I suppose you feel the same way, huh, Max?"
"Takao is my greatest rival," Max replied with a small grin. "I plan to defeat him first before I call myself the best Beyblader in the world. But, when you threaten to take my Genbu like this, I'll gladly join him to prove to you that we can protect all Holy Beasts."

"Max," Takao awed. "All right, then let's do it…together!"

With that, Max pulled out his green Custom Grip shooter and red ripcord from under his jacket. Next, he revealed his Draciel Endless and secured it into his shooter, holding it before him. Takao picked up his Dragoon E, reattached it to his shooter, and stood by Max as they both were ready to release their Beyblades. Then, suddenly, Daichi ran to Takao's side with his gear and took it upon himself to join the battle. Takao scowled, "What are you doing, kid!"

"I'll get you later!" Daichi replied. "Right now, I wanna make them both pay for screwing up our match!"

"Whatever. Just stay out of my way."

Alex chuckled as he playfully tugged his hat downward. "Three-on-two, huh? That's not very fair."

"It's fine," Boss whispered to him. "The kid has a Holy Beast as well. This way, we'll kill three birds with two stones."

"I don't think that analogy's exactly right," Alex replied, "but didn't you want to avoid provoking Takao's evolved Holy Beast?"

"We'll just have to finish it quickly now, won't we?"

"You always wanna do it the hard way. All right…"

Finally, Boss and Alex simultaneously twirled around their Grip Shooters in their left hands and grasped it in coordination as they hooked their Beyblades into them. Hiromi looked on as Kyouju prepared to study the five Beyblades simultaneously on his laptop. "Three…two…one…"

All five bladers declared the match and began the battle. "GO! SHOOT!"

With all five blades released, Dragoon, Draciel, and Gaia Dragoon went at their opponents in a straight line. "Let me pull up first!" Max declared. With that, Draciel E pulled up in front and went at the two opposing chargers. Alex grinned and silently allowed his Red Salamander Atlas to come at Draciel E. As the massive green giant came at the thin orange Beyblade, it looked like Draciel would easily crush it! But, a sudden beam of red light struck! Alex was behind Max with an extended right arm, and Max was in shock as the red beam passed straight through him. Red Salamander A veered to the left as Draciel E was sent into midair, stunned from the sudden attack. Distracted by Max's failed attack, both Takao and Daichi weren't prepared when Boss ordered his Absolute Kerberous to veer to the right, dashing clean through both Dragoon and Gaia Dragoon with little effort! The boys gasped as their blades landed on the ground, barely keeping their wounded balance.

After that first opening attack, Hiromi was left in confusion. "Hey, Kyouju, what just happened?"

Kyouju replied, "Max had the right idea to come out first with a defensive attack, so Takao and Daichi would have an opportunity to attack. But, Alex saw it coming and commanded his blade to run underneath Draciel Endless to send it into the air, leaving Takao and Daichi no time to call back their charge."

As the trio stopped to regain their bearings, Boss and Alex's blades circled around to reunite and spin alongside each other. Max made an observation. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought. It seems like they bladed together before. That puts us in a real disadvantage."

"Come on, Max! We know how both our moves work, right?" Takao exclaimed. "We can work together just as well as they can! All we need to worry about is the monkey boy here."

Daichi growled, "Hey! Why are you leaving me out of your praises!"

"Well, can you learn to work with us?"

"What do ya think I've been doin' since this match started!"

"Then, let's get 'em, Daichi!"

"All right!"

Dragoon and Gaia Dragoon then took off into battle once more. But, instead of Absolute Kerberous, they both tackled into Red Salamander A! The two blades shoved and smashed into the orange blade while it tried to keep up the defense. "Oh boy!" Alex gulped.

"Don't worry. I'm coming," Boss replied.

But, as the dog of Hell, Absolute Kerberous, went to help his ally, the giant Black Turtle of Water, Genbu, suddenly appeared in his way! Draciel E blocked Absolute Kerberous' way to get to Red Salamander A and guarded it from each direction it tried to take. Kyouju nodded, "I get it. They realize that Boss and Alex work well as a team, so they separated them."

"Nice going, boys!" Hiromi cheered.

As Dragoon and Gaia Dragoon kept pushing, Alex grunted in intimidation. "Not a bad counterassault, I'll give you that much. But…!" Upon that exertion of stamina, Red Salamander A suddenly stopped in place and managed to subdue its opponents' doubled attack power. "What!" Takao and Daichi exclaimed.

"Things are about to heat up from here on out!" Alex declared.

Next, Red Salamander A began to summon a fiery aura around itself, and the flames suddenly burst into a giant firewall, easily slamming both Dragoon and Gaia Dragoon away! Takao grunted, "Oh man!"

"That's some powerful defense there!" Daichi awed.

Meanwhile, Absolute Kerberous danced around Draciel E as they clashed together. Then, as Draciel E went at it, it went straight through the afterimages Absolute Kerberous suddenly left behind! Boss quickly slid across the ground and spun around on his left hand, directing a fierce sweep kick! Reacting to Boss' movement, Absolute Kerberous spun around and smashed into Draciel E hard, sending it flying into yet another nearby tree and cutting it down. Hit hard from the great blow, Max was pushed off his feet, and he flew back onto the ground. After rebounding with their own counterattack, Boss and Alex reunited, once again gaining the lead over their opponents.

Takao and Daichi both grunted in frustration while Max got back on his feet. Kyouju began to sweat as he looked at the statistics. "Unbelievable power. They're too strong," he murmured.

Boss scoffed, "Why don't you give up now? Anymore and we'll eventually break your blades."

Daichi panted wearily, "Heh! I'm…not finished yet."

"Me neither," Takao added. "We can't afford to lose to you."

"Not with our Holy Beasts on the line," Max agreed.

Alex shrugged, "Stubborn to the very end. Kinda reminds me of ourselves sometimes."

"You had your chance," Boss sighed. "Let's end this, Alex."

Absolute Kerberous and Red Salamander Atlas charged together, and they both passed straight through Gaia Dragoon E and threw high into the air. Daichi gasped, "Gaia Dragoon!"

"They sent that blade way higher than I did, even if I had a partner!" Takao gasped.

"Now, for you, Max!" Alex declared.

A small red ball of energy appeared inside Alex's open hands. Then, after a brief moment, it ignited into a huge flame! Alex grasped it and twirled around once with it before directing his fiery palm before him. "Bomb Flare!" The flame shot from Alex's hand and flew at its target as a fiery snake-like Holy Beast, the actual Red Salamander, twirled around it with bared fangs. The burning Beyblade went after Draciel E and threatened to finish it off. But, Max prepared a counter move. "Oh no, you don't!"

In desperation, Max threw himself backward over a raging blue ocean. After he retracted his arms and legs to his upper body, geysers of water shot from the ocean and twirled around his person. With Genbu roaring behind him, Max threw his arms and legs outward and cried, "Endless Reflect!" The water from the geysers came together at one point and surrounded Max to form a large blue bubble shield. Finally, it expanded outwards to grow even bigger!

Red Salamander A crashed into the shield and was gradually pushed back as it grew, canceling out its attack. "What!" Alex gasped.

"Alex!" Boss stared in disbelief.

"I told you," Daichi said with a sly grin, "I'm not finished yet!"

From high in the air, Gaia Dragoon E came plummeting down towards Absolute Kerberous, completely recovered from the last attack.

With his Holy Beast, Gaia Dragoon, behind him, Daichi roared as a large golden aura erupted around him, raising several rocks from the ground and to the sky. Then, he leapt into the air using his Gaia Dragoon as his wings while his power transferred into one spot, his right fist. "Earth Quake!" Then, he quickly landed on the ground and ran his fist into the ground the moment Gaia Dragoon Earth impacted the ground, creating a large quake oriented of pure lightning and rock energy!

The shockwave from the massive quake Daichi created disturbed Absolute Kerberous' balance on the ground and soon propelled it into the air. While the dark blade flew into the air, Daichi looked up at it with a satisfied grin. "That's what you get," he chuckled.

"You still haven't defeated me, kid," Boss replied.

"You forgot about me already?" Takao suddenly cried out.

"Oh no!"

Boss looked up and found that Dragoon E had climbed up another tree and leapt off a branch to be right above Absolute Kerberous as it was coming right at it. "Now's a good time as any to test out Seiryuu's new power," Takao thought. "I hope it doesn't go out of control."

Opposite from each other, the moon began to overlap with the bright sun. Before it came to be a full eclipse, Takao flew before it as a transparent image of large white wings appeared across his back. As those wings folded inward to guard him, he soon disappeared completely after the eclipse was complete. Four white feathers elegantly blew past in silence. "Eclipse Hurricane!" Then, from the darkness, a random storm of great wind energy erupted as a roaring white dragon with four massive wings flew through the middle of it with a powerful battle cry!

Due to an unpredictable attack from the darkness of the eclipse, Absolute Kerberous was unable to avoid the wave of wind energy and got itself caught in it. Still retaining his wings, Takao flew downward and threw his right first forward. "GO!" With that, Dragoon E reappeared and rode the windy current to fly down at Absolute Kerberous, threatening to tackle it hard onto the ground below! Seeing that he was about to lose, Boss tightly closed his right fist and looked up with a glare of rage as great violet energy exploded around his body! "ABSOLUTE KERBEROUS!" Boss' Beyblade began to glow with intense dark power, and this very power began to pollute the white energy around it. The three heads of the demonic dog, Kerberous, roared fiercely as the white Seiryuu came at it in a great clash. Upon impact of both Beyblades, a huge burst of light carpeted the entire battleground…

…As the light quickly dissipated, Dragoon E and Absolute Kerberous both landed on the ground together, both forced into another stalemate. And nearby, Draciel and Gaia Dragoon spun before Red Salamander A defiantly, awaiting their next move. Kyouju was speechless for a moment, along with Hiromi. "This is unbelievable. They're completely even. And Takao seems to have his new powers under control." Takao took his right fist into his left palm and cracked his knuckles with a big grin. "Not bad," he replied.

"I guess you lacked the proper motivation when I defeated you before," Boss laughed. "Maybe I haven't exactly defeated you yet."

"Ready for round two?"

"Of course. Ready, Alex?"

Alex nodded silently with his trademark grin. Daichi and Max also got ready to resume their Beybattle…


Outside the border of Tokyo, the youth named Kai stood before the panorama of Mt. Fuji far in the distance. That was where his pursuer told him to meet at precisely noon. He held his right hand and stared thoughtfully at his Beyblade as Kitsune's thoughts repeated through his mind. "The weapon you use most…is the mightiest weapon you have. Never resort to your adversary's level."

"If we both want to live," Kai murmured, "we mustn't fail, even if we have to fight dirty, Dranzer Eternal."

With that, Kai pocketed his blade and marched on to make his way to Mt. Fuji…and face his upcoming life-or-death struggle…


NEXT TIME…

Takao: Kai…

Kai: Kinomiya…we meet again. Forget it; I can't join your team.

Takao: But, Kai! We're both fighting for the same reasons!

Kai: Don't be a fool. I'm fighting…only to see that girl again. This…Kitsune…

Takao: But, even Rei refuses to join us! We need both of your help to prove our Holy Beasts' right to live!

"Saint Generations A"

Rei: I promised…not to tell…anyone.