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Last time on Beyblade!
In a distant world, a girl named Bianca who had previously abandoned her own journey receives yet another vision of a spirit calling to her, asking if strength is what she truly desires.
Confiding in Pokémon Professor Juniper for her conflicted heart and these recent dreams, she discovers that at the point her dreams first started there have been reports of spacial distortions appearing in this universe. Needless to say, it doesn't take long for such a distortion to find her and reunite her with the figure within her dreams, taking her along with her two Pokémon Oshawott and Litwick to the world of Beys.
Finding herself in unfamiliar territory with her Bey Gladiator Virgo, Bianca starts exploring her surroundings, leading her to Metal Bey City and the sport of Beyblade, as well as a new companion in the form of apprentice mechanic Maru who introduces the concept and the basics of a launch to the girl. At first, she finds solace in the freedom of Virgo's spin and movements, only to suddenly become homesick and worried for those back home recalling she has no method of returning to Unova, let alone Nuvema Town, but things take a turn for the worst as Bladers nearby are attacked by Akuya and his gang who have now taken to smashing the Beys of their opponents to make their point and claim 'territory' for themselves.
Bianca snaps out of her conflicted emotions and manages to save one boy's Bey from Archer Gargoyle's heavy attack, much to Akuya's initial frustration of her interference. Deciding to stand up for the Bladers who had their Beys broken and shattered by Akuya, she challenges him to a battle with the only experience on hand being a launch which worries Maru who contacts Madoka, begging her to send help to back her up, knowing Akuya will play dirty sooner or later.
All eyes are now on Bianca who launches Gladiator Virgo into its first ever battle and if she isn't careful, it may easily become its very last as well!
Reforge 2: Reborn Spirit
Earlier...
It wasn't uncommon for numerous larger indoor Beyparks to be scattered across Metal Bey City, especially given how one alone could be easily crowded for high intensity matches or for groups taking taking turns to master the momentum and effect of a certain type of stadium that they generally housed. Needless to say, this was indeed one of those days for a usual group of spirited bladers who were recognized by all within the crowdstands. Many Beys were already present within the dish doing battle against one another, but three of them in particular were unique from the rest as evidenced by their usual style of fighting. Even if one could not distinguish the Warrior Wheels from one another whilst spinning at high speeds, their Element Wheels had colours of red, orange and yellow respectively and circular structures were present on either the Performance Tips or Spin Tracks of those Beys.
What made their performance most efficient against their opponents in this instance was the environment that they were performing at their best within and it was one that was constantly shifting with every second.. The Cyclone Beystadium was unique compared to other dishes that were used in the sport of Beyblade, that being that it was a stadium that was dependent on movement of Beys that were traversing its radius. Because of the constant rocking and rotation of the stadium, any Beys that traversed it would be affected by that movement in turn, making it as if they were spinning in zero gravity when the tilting reached certain peaks in the battle. Whilst many had launched their Beys from the side rails earlier, some in particular had chosen the raised platforms for better vantage points of their launches.
One of them had blue eyes and spiked black hair with an orange portion in the center making it resemble the core of a flame along. He wore a grey coloured shirt with a dark blue jacket on top with a similar orange pattern resembling the portion in his hair on either said along with brown fingerless gloves, a pair of dark red trousers with a belt attached up top and a pair of black shoes with a orange coloured portion at the tip of them. All eyes were on him in particular as his trusty Bey with the red coloured Element Wheel began spiralling across the arena at high speed, putting some of his opponents in his line of sight.
"Go hard, Samurai Ifrit! Send 'em flying!" he commanded with conviction as he thrust out an open hand forward.
Samurai Ifrit soared across the circular radius of the Cyclone Beystadium towards the opposing Beys in its line of sight and within the blink of an eye, it rammed itself into one, setting off a domino effect that sent each of the Beys that were in that line into one another, eventually being hurled from their impacts out of a pocket of the moving stadium. Within the outer bowl, all four opposing Beys that Zyro had set his sights on had landed and ceased spinning, eliminating their Bladers from the battle through a Stadium Out, much to their disappointment.
"Aw yeah! Looking good today Ifrit!" the owner of the victorious Bey called out happily "Let's keep it going!"
"Man, Zyro's really not letting up today," one of the remaining younger Bladers commented as he witnessed the aftermath of Samurai Ifrit's attack "He's gonna be a tough one to beat."
"Yeah," his teenage accomplice muttered "Still, Zyro may be strong, but he's far from unbeatable! Let's go for it!"
"Forgetting someone?"
Both Bladers blinked as they looked to the other side of the railings surrounding the outer dish, their attention brought to a teenage female who had sent out that question in response to their single focus on attacking Samurai Ifrit. She had bright brown eyes and short blonde hair much like Bianca's, but it was in a slightly darker shade with a small longer portion tailing out from behind. Her attire consisted of a green blouse and a black jacket with pink outer lining, followed by dark red shorts with a belt attached along with pink and purple single striped socks and black boots. Sporting a confident smile, her Bey which possessed the bright yellow Element Wheel suddenly moved towards the edge of the general radius of the Cyclone Beystadium and began circling around it at high speed.
"Let's go Thief Phoenix!" she cried out "Reel 'em in!"
Suddenly, the whole structure began to rotate much faster as Thief Phoenix's speed in the path it was creating continued to increase. This dragged Beys from most of the remaining Bladers including Samurai Ifrit itself towards the speeding Bey, which was enough to catch Zyro by surprise as he gritted his teeth at the sight.
"This again?!" he exclaimed "Ifrit, stand your ground! Don't let Ren catch you yet!"
As Samurai Ifrit focused most of its stamina into rushing back towards the center of the Cyclone Beystadium as fast as possible, the Beys caught in the pull of Phoenix's high speed circuling radius were far from as lucky. One by one, Ren had knocked each one into the rotating wall of the stadium or through a hole when it passed by, knocking it out of bounds from the battle or to the center where Zyro's Bey had to weave to avoid being hit by the flung opponents that had not been knocked out. Even for those that were still in the stadium knew it was only a temporary reprieve as Phoenix then broke from its course and suddenly charged. It headed straight towards Samurai Ifrit before it had a chance to recover from escaping the earlier high speed radius and began pushing it all the way from the center of the stadium to one corner.
"What now?!" gasped Zyro, having not seen this method from this fellow competitor before.
"That's it Phoenix! Keep him there!" Ren shouted in encouragement.
And then, it happened. Due to Phoenix's effort in trying to pin Ifrit in one direction from a head on clash, the Cyclone Beystadium suddenly tipped downwards sharply in that direction. Those Beys that had survived the earlier attack suddenly were dragged sharply in that direction, unable to keep their balance from the sudden change in direction and scraping down the tilted stadium on their metal wheels. Although the circular shapes on Ifrit and Phoenix's lower parts had given them just enough grip to stay in the Stadium, the rest ran out of stamina from the sharp decline and fell through a hold that passed by in mid rotation, eliminating them.
"Man, not bad Ren!" Zyro commented "Forcing me to the edge just to tilt the Cyclone Beystadium in one direction to knock out all those other Beys... that's pretty clever!"
"Yup! And now the real battle can begin now that everyone else is out of the way!" Ren replied with a confident smile.
"Everyone else you say. Is that so?"
Both Bladers blinked before looking over to the raised platform that was opposite the one that Samurai Ifrit's owner was standing on. He had beige coloured hair with jutting bangs either side and wore a blue pendant around his neck, a pale red jacket atop a white shirt in addition to some black trousers. His expression was calm with closed eyes as if he had been expecting a moment like this could happen in a battle with more than two Bladers or that someone like Ren would try to force the stadium downwards to eliminate everyone else other than herself and Zyro. Sensing the moment right, he opened his light green coloured eyes instantly and held out a hand outstretched in front of him.
"Go forth, Ninja Salamander!"
Before neither Ren nor Zyro could anticipate where Salamander had been the whole time in the chaos of the earlier eliminations, the Bey in question suddenly soared down the steep incline created by the angle of the Cyclone Beystadium and knocked itself into an unaware Phoenix that was still clashing with Ifrit. The impact was enough to dislodge Ren's Bey from the ground and send it flying over the rim of the stadium that curved inwards and outwards until it landed beside the Blader's feet, eventually coming to a stop much to her surprised shock.
"Agh, Shinobu!" she pouted, glancing to her eliminated Bey and picking it up "Why'd you have to do that?!"
"You let your guard down when attempting that tactic," Shinobu responded calmly as he watched the Cyclone Beystadium wobble back into its usual state "In focusing on forcing the Stadium in one direction to eliminate everyone else but Zyro, you didn't account for any Beys that would come in from above directly that would be right in Phoenix's path. Doing it that steeply will only invite all kinds of trouble to come when you least expect it."
"Yeah, but when you say it like that..." she muttered.
"Ah well, there'll always be the next battle Ren," said Zyro, trying to cheer her up "As long as our Bey Spirits are always ignited, we can come back from any defeat and bounce back stronger than ever!"
"Then you better not lose now!" Ren cheered with a reginited smile "Next time, I'll be the one to beat you for sure!"
"Mhm!" he replied before turning forwards to face his final opponent head on "Let's go Shinobu! Which one of us will it be today?! My Samurai Ifrit or your Ninja Salamander!"
"Bring it!" Shinobu replied "I won't let you claim victory that easily!"
As if in response to their heated rivalry, Salamander and Ifrit circled the center of the stadium for several moments before breaking off from their radius and charging into one another. They clashed head on with sparks flying from their Warrior Wheels, neither Bey willing to give an inch as their Shogun Faces shone fiery red colours from out of them and expanded into auras, revealing the spirits that these Beys held within. Ifrit was humanoid in stance and appearance, bearing fierce yellow eyes and horns of that colour whilst coated in bright red samurai themed armour and wielding a blade coated in flames, clashing against the weapon of its rival.
Salamander on the other hand wielded a pair of sai and seemed to be hunched over, despite having more of an animalistic appearance compared to its opponent. Like Ifrit however, flames seemed to make up the fierce aura of this spirit as its essence burned brightly, its weapons clashing with its opposer, both locked in battle to see who from amongst them and their Bladers would be the final victor in this earlier all out battle.
"Seriously...?! How could I have lost...!?"
After the chaos of the battle had concluded, Zyro still held a somewhat exasperated expression of disbelief following his now cemented recent defeat to his rival who had emerged as the surprise victor. Even Ren who had knew that her main rival and close friend had not been undefeatable before in battle previously was surprised at the outcome, but after careful thought, even she had some idea as to how the battle had turned in Salamander's favour. The three of them were sitting around in the lobby of what appeared to be a small shop, as evidenced by some of the Beys that were on display, after the earlier battle to recover their spent energy and waiting for something specific to pass by over the time they spent here.
"As far as I'm concerned, no error was made from you given the way the outcome came," Shinobu explained as he polished Salamander's Warrior Wheel with a thin white cloth "Ifrit used up too much stamina from its clash with Phoenix after it tilted the Cyclone Beystadium that far of an angle."
"Yeah, I was wondering why it was going slowly when it came to just me and you," Zyro replied, sighing once before smiling "But the next time, I'm going to get you one back for that Shinobu!"
"Point made actually. Maybe I should not make forceful tilting of that Stadium a common thing in battle royales if that's going to happen to me constantly," Ren interjected "Shame too, I was really looking forward to using that idea more often with the Spin Track's disc helping for grip."
The three of them then sat around and waited for another few minutes to pass in the lobby of the shop interior until...
"All finished Zyro."
Once he heard that voice confirming what he was waiting to hear, Zyro immediately jumped to his feet and zoomed across the room to the front counter excitedly, where his Samurai Ifrit appeared to have regained its shine following the earlier battle. Behind on the other side was a young woman with maroon coloured hair and blue eyes wearing a burnt yellow jacket atop a cream coloured shirt and a black skirt. She knew it wasn't uncommon to see excited Bladers come by that quickly when her work and speciality with a Bey was complete and she was always happy with the effort put into that.
"Thanks for that Madoka! I'd don't know where we'd be without you or the B-Pit to fix up our Beys," he said appreciatively.
"Any time Zyro. I'm just glad that you've always gone to the lengths you have to care for Samurai Ifrit as much as any Bey," Madoka replied "With the World Championships on approach soon, you'll need to look out for Ifrit as much as you need to yourself."
"Yup! Say, any idea where Maru is today?" asked Zyro "I haven't seen her since this morning."
"She said she was gonna do some field reports and data collection following the Synchrome system being steadily more accessible to the public," she answered "You might want to watch yourself when the qualifiers eventually come around or you'll have more than the Legend teams to worry about when the World Championships are here."
"Legends..."
He pondered on the thought, recalling something at the back of his mind on how the next World Championship tournament announced by the WBBA itself would be unique in pitting two teams from each country against each other in a new bid to claim "Number One", the ideal spot of all Bladers in where they wanted to be. One Legend Team comprised of mostly veteran Bladers from a prior generation with any others that interested them and one other team that would be comprised solely of Bladers that had emerged from the new generation that first made use of the Synchrome System along with any others that had acquired the system since its easier acquisition in the public after passing the qualifiers. Madoka noticed this and felt that the thought on the structure of the tournament and the teams that would be formed would not be what was on his mind.
"You're thinking about Gingka as well, aren't you?" she pondered.
"Yeah," Zyro replied quietly, holding up Samurai Ifrit and staring intensely at it, knowing the first time he received that Bey was from the Legendary Blader himself.
Memories of that time and the few times he had come across him in person since that day flooded his mind as the thought of the World Championships loomed over something that he said to him seven years ago, when the world almost came to an end at the hands of a single ancient Bey.
"Become stronger, so that one day you can become a Blader that surpasses even me."
'Gingka... I wonder if this Legends vs Next Generation aspect of the Championships is your test,' Zyro mentally wondered 'A test to see... if I can surpass you as I am now.'
"Ah, speaking of Maru."
Madoka's mention of the small apprentice mechanic brought him out of his thoughts as a holographic screen appeared on the counter between the two of them. Video feed then appeared to relay the call to her.
"Hello Maru," she greeted before noticing the concerned look on her face "What's wrong? You look worried."
"We got trouble!" Maru exclaimed on the call "You gotta send everyone here before that new Blader's Bey gets smashed by Akuya's lot!"
The mention of Akuya and his usual habits with his gang suddenly got Zyro's attention as did it also for Ren and Shinobu who ran up and joined him either side to see what the apprentice mechanic was relaying to Madoka.
"Akuya again? And he's challenging someone you just introduced to the sport?" she asked in concern.
"Just hurry Madoka!" Maru replied hastily, causing the trio at the front of the counter to narrow their eyes, knowing how brutal Akuya liked his battles to be in his favour "I don't know how long she could hold out with that much inexperience!"
"... I got it," said Madoka resolutely "I'll get in touch with Zyro and the others right away."
"Thanks chief, I'll keep you posted on the battle!"
And with that, the apprentice mechanic ended the video feed, getting Zyro to clench his teeth angrily.
"Man, that Akuya can be a real pain!" he exclaimed "It's one thing for him to always fight dirty with his crowd instead of a real battle, but to think he's taken to the now defunct DNA's tactics of smashing opponents' Beys to break their spirits and make his point clear...!"
"Then you'd better hurry and find him before things get ugly," said Madoka "I'd hate to think what he could do to Maru if he perceives her as getting in his way."
Without saying another word, Zyro, Shinobu and Ren immediately left the B-Pit shop, having seen from just enough of the video feed of the earlier call to know which standard Beypark that Maru and the new Blader she had mentioned were bound to be at. The chief mechanic could only let out a worried exhale before turning back to the holographic screen, knowing that her apprentice would be sending information about the battle and how it was going to transpire before the trio would eventually get there, knowing there was still quite some distance between the shop and the area in question. Soon, information about Akuya's Archer Gargoyle and the Bey that belonged to the new Blader displayed on the screen. But when her eyes looked to the parts list on Bey that belonged to Bianca...
"What?!" she gasped in surprise "But isn't Virgo...?!"
"Let it rip!"
Back at the park, both Gladiator Virgo and Archer Gargoyle had hit the surface of the dish after being launched and began circling its radius to pick up speed. As the crowd surrounding the area along with Oshawott, Litwick and Maru watched on in nervous anticipation, Bianca glanced down at Gladiator Virgo which until now had only gotten prior experience from a launch instead of any offensive movements in an actual battle. Akuya observed the movements of his opponent's Bey, the name of the Warrior Wheel and Shogun Face having struck a cord with him.
"Virgo huh? And here I thought all the original Beys' constellations disappeared from what I heard," he commented "Still, that will hardly make a difference nor a dent to my Archer Gargoyle's might!"
"We'll see about that! Let's go Gladiator Virgo!" Bianca cried out in response.
Her Bey soon began picking up speed and gaining on its opponent whose current path and movements had remained unchanging. She grew hopeful in the response to her command that Virgo was now charging forwards and was hopefully coming up to deal the first hit on Gargoyle and take the lead before it could do so to her. However...
"As if!" Akuya snarled "Hit back, GARGOYLE!"
Suddenly, Archer Gargoyle's trajectory immediately changed as it slowed its path dramatically before then boosting forwards and ramming itself into Gladiator Virgo, sending sparks flying from the collision. This continued for several seconds before Gargoyle tilted downwards to land another hit as the shorter Virgo Bey then was sent flying into the air, much to Bianca's shock.
"Oh no!" she gasped.
"Bianca, you gotta back in there or Virgo will fall into a Stadium Out!" Maru cried out.
"Do you really think I'll let her get off that easily?!" Akuya interjected with a sneer "Gargoyle, never let it up!"
Right as Virgo was about to land back in the stadium in its descent, Gargoyle suddenly moved swiftly into its shadow and intercepted the Bey in an instant, the force of its spin being able to send it back into the air again. Then it continued to do so again and again and again, much to the horror of everyone else, except for the members of the gang that belonged to Akuya who were enjoying the show that was unfolding in front of them.
"Man, that Semi-Flat Performance Tip on Archer Gargoyle can really be a pain, especially when it allows it to quickly jump from one spot to another to deal multiple attacks," Maru muttered as she took note of the part on her monitor "Bianca's gotta break that pattern right now... or Virgo could be the one breaking!"
Oshawott and Litwick who were standing beside her took note of her worried expression and tried relaying encouragement in their own tongue as best they could to Bianca. She acknowledged with a nod, but her thoughts were still shaky as Virgo was continuing to be bounced upwards again and again by Gargoyle's position changing every time it seemed like her Bey was going to land to resume the battle.
"There's gotta be a way out of this!" she muttered.
She watched Virgo falling down towards the ground with Gargoyle intercepting it only two seconds later. Before her frustration could overtake her thoughts, after looking closely at her opponent's movement and then processing it in her mind...
'That's it! That's my ticket back to the ground!'
As Virgo was tossed into the air once again, she waited with baited breath until Gargoyle could move into position. Seeing it as a sign of resignment from his perspective, Akuya could only deepen his sneer whilst everyone but his gang looked on in worry.
"No matter how much you struggle, you will not escape my air barrage!" he shouted with glee "Hit her again Gargoyle!"
Then, the moment Gargoyle began moving into position...
"NOW VIRGO! NOW!" Bianca cried out loudly.
Suddenly, Virgo picked up speed in its descent and right before its Warrior Wheel and Element Wheel could touch the stadium floor, the intercepting Gargoyle suddenly came into its path a second too late to keep up its combo and was struck on its edge as it was now pushed downwards at an angle.
"What?!" growled Akuya before glaring back to his opponent "Why you little...!"
The fall that Bianca had turned into Virgo's attack continued to push Gargoyle down on its side as far as possible until its Wheels hit the stadium itself and knocked it backwards, giving her Bey the opportunity to escape and land safely back on the ground. Due to the forced loss of balance Gargoyle briefly lost some of its spin whilst Virgo now continued to pick up speed, now setting up to be on the attack again.
"Let's try this again Virgo!" called Bianca "Hit Gargoyle with everything you've got!"
This time thanks to the effort in knocking her opponent off guard with the fall attack, Virgo had managed to pick up enough speed to circle around the stadium much faster and eventually rammed itself into a portion of Gargoyle where a purple coloured disc was visible on the teal coloured midsection of the Bey. Using that to its advantage, Virgo was able to catch Gargoyle off balance yet again and started pushing with all its might against the one part, pushing its opponent off balance and tilting it backwards as it continued to push it across the stadium width.
"Now what?!" Akuya exclaimed, this time in disbelief.
"What gives...?!" one of his gang members demanded.
"Why's Virgo somehow pushing back against him?!" another interjected.
Even Bianca herself mentally couldn't understand how she was managing to push back against Gargoyle that easily, having not much experience if at all as a new Blader and having not noticed the purple coloured disc that was attached to the midsection of her opponent's Bey. Whilst the rest of the crowd could only watch on in equal wonder including her two Pokémon, Maru having noticed the difference in height between the two Beys since the start of the match had suddenly figured it out.
"Now I see!" she exclaimed in realization, looking back at the monitor and observing the Spin Track part on Gargoyle named SA165 "Spin Track SA165 is unique for its ability to be customized in two modes. Because of the way the cone shaped disc on the Spin Track is currently angled and with the four points on both wheels of Virgo being much lower than Gargoyle's wheels... Bianca can deal fast hitting attacks at that area to knock Gargoyle off balance!"
"Thanks for the tip Maru!" Bianca called out to her, having overheard the observation "That's just what I'll need to have Virgo keep up the pressure!"
"Forget about the pressure Bianca!" the apprentice mechanic responded, briefly confusing her "If you can keep pushing Gargoyle as it is, the Spin Track will do little to grip the stadium and you can push him right into a Stadium Out!"
"Then that's just what I'll do then!" she replied with a regained smile, now setting her eyes directly on a surprised Akuya who growled that he was now about to lose due to the difference in height between their two Beys "Let's go Virgo! Don't stop pushing until he's all the way out!"
Virgo continued to push Gargoyle and then changed its path from going around the stadium radius to aim straight for the side where its Blader was standing, as if to deal both a Stadium Out and humiliate him by knocking it out in his direction at the same time. Gargoyle initially broke free when Virgo changed its course, but before it could regain its bearings and speed off, Bianca's Bey immediately charged back into Akuya's and pinned it once again, resuming its newly plotted course.
"Go on Bianca!" cried a spectator, that being the boy who she saved his Bey from Gargoyle earlier "You've almost got him!"
"Keep it up! Show him that even a newbie that beat his cheap tricks!" another called out.
As the crowd began erupting into cheers the closer Gargoyle came towards the edge of the stadium on its Blader's side, growls could only erupt from Akuya and his gang who glared towards Virgo and then the crowd and his opponent, but it did little to shake their spirits. As the cheers continued to erupt whilst Maru, Litwick and Oshawott looked on happily at their friend, Bianca having caught ear of the vocal cheers now that she was this close to a victory couldn't help but feel for the first time in her life that she had received this amount of personal support from a crowd of any size, let alone from one that was gathered here. It had almost made her forget about her earlier homesickness and was turning into the morale that she needed to keep on going and see this battle through to the end. Before it seemed like she and the others could celebrate...
"GRR! I've had about enough of this sick display of happy-go-lucky smiles!" Akuya bellowed loudly before pointing directly at where Virgo and Gargoyle's position near his end of the stadium was "This is where it ends! Boys, come right out!"
"What?!" Bianca gasped, wondering what he meant by that.
Before she or anyone else had time to deduce what Akuya was referring to, five members of his gang shoved past the crowd violently and leapt into the air with their own launchers set.
"Let it rip!" they called out as their Beys soared into the stadium and set course for Virgo.
The five newly launched Beys appeared to be slightly different in appearance from the general setup of both Bianca and Akuya's Beys as they appeared to lack an Element Wheel. They suddenly charged towards the battling pair with the leading one ramming itself into Virgo, knocking it off its clash and freeing Archer Gargoyle from its path to a Stadium Out, allowing Akuya to return back into the battle. Before the girl could regain her composure from this underhanded attack, Virgo who had just landed back in the center of the stadium was attacked by Gargoyle that was leaning forwards enough to have its Warrior Wheel make contact without losing its balance from the tilt. The Bey was sent flying backwards, only for one of Akuya's gang members' Beys to intercept and knock it another way and then another and another, leaving Bianca helpless to command Virgo to get out of the way as it was knocked into Archer Gargoyle again.
"Virgo!" she cried out "Break free! Get out of there!"
"It's no use!" Akuya responded with his confidence restored "As a reminder that the future of Beyblade will belong to Akuya Onizaki, consider this one of my examples to anyone that tries to stand in the way of that ambition! Show yourself, Gargoyle!"
The Shogun Face on Archer Gargoyle suddenly lit up in a black coloured aura as the astral spirit it depicted rose from the Bey itself, depicting a dark grey gargoyle with large black wings and several shoulder armaments with arrows loaded inside of them. Whilst many knew of Akuya's love for brutal Beybattles and the notable power of the Attack Type Bey he possessed, very few had seen him go as far as to unleash the spirit and its power from within that same Bey unlike many others. Bianca despite panicking over her worry for Virgo's state could not help but admire the might and appearance of Gargoyle as it roared loudly and flexed its wings, with the shoulder mounted arrows taking aim at her Bey.
"Let this be a lesson to anyone that dares oppose the might of Akuya Onizaki, understand?!" the sinister Blader announced before bellowing out loud "Special Move! Black Arrow Blitz!"
"Special what?!" Bianca exclaimed in surprise.
Archer Gargoyle's spirit roared loudly before firing all of the arrows that were mounted on its armour and armaments as they soared into the air and began bearing down on the target. Everyone in the crowd panicked as they saw the projectiles beginning to come closer towards the stadium and Virgo whilst the members of Akuya's gang sneered in triumph as their Beys circuled the outer rim of the dish, waiting impatiently for the final blow to be dealt.
"Ah! I can't watch!" Maru winced as she closed her eyes whilst Oshawott and Litwick cried out for their friend, praying she'd be alright from the coming impact.
Virgo raced across the stadium dodging the blasts of many of the falling arrows as much as possible, but each one shook the dish violently as the Bey's spin began slowing down from each blast. Before it could attempt to escape one final one that had gone up to the clouds themselves and starting descending from them, Virgo was suddenly rammed into and pinned by all five Beys from the members of Akuya's gang that intruded on the battle. As the arrow descended ever closer from the sky, Bianca turned her worries away from that and stared towards Virgo in utter worry as she heard a grinding noise from that spot on the battlefield being made thanks to the five Beys that were pinning themselves right against it and then...
With a small click, Virgo's Warrior and Element Wheels suddenly cracked with a loud sound, much to Bianca's horror as she caught sight of it happening with her widened eyes despite the now damaged Bey still spinning.
"Virgo...!" she whimpered, mortified by the sight and how much Akuya and his thugs were enjoying it.
"Now... say farewell to your weak Bey once and for all!" he declared as the arrow was just about to make contact with the group of Beys in the center of the stadium.
The Beys that belonged to the group of Akuya's thugs retreated to the outer edge, having finished dealing enough damage as they saw it and wanted to stay clear of the full impact of the remainder of Gargoyle's special move, Virgo now cracked and dented continued to wobble as time seemed to slow down around the stadium. Bianca looked to the panicked crowd of Bladers who she took up the battle for to avenge their broken Beys, then to Maru and her two Pokémon that had been by her side until even now and finally to her damaged Bey that was now about to be dealt the final blow after a series of underhanded attacks in what was supposed to be a fair battle. She reached out for it, but she knew it would do little to save Virgo or her place in this fight as she closed her eyes.
'I'm so sorry, everyone. You guys... Virgo...' she sobbed in her thoughts 'Even after arriving here and taking up my hand at Beyblade for first time... I couldn't do anything... just like then.'
"LET IT RIP!"
Upon hearing an unfamiliar voice call out that phrase, she opened her eyes to see Samurai Ifrit launched into the stadium and begin circling the radius going faster and faster with every second. Before she could say anything or react to what she was witnessing, the Bey that had just entered the ring soared around the outer edge of the dish and rammed itself into each of the five Beys of Akuya's thugs and sent them all hurtling through the air into the path of the final arrow that was fired from Gargoyle's Special Move. When they all connected with it, just meters above the damaged Gladiator Virgo, the arrow exploded in a huge blast that forced everyone to shield their faces as those same five Beys were then thrown in all directions out of the center and on the ground outside the stadium, eliminating them instantly in a consecutive Stadium Out.
"What the?!" one of the thugs cried out.
"Who did that?!" another snarled.
Akuya upon seeing that his special move had been blocked by the intervention of Samurai Ifrit, a Bey that was more than familiar enough to him, angrily turned to the crowd to see that Zyro had launched his Bey to save Bianca's from being shattered with Shinobu and Ren tending to the Bladers that had their Beys damaged by the gang. Ifrit's user glared back at the sinister Blader with an equally angry expression, fuelled by the thought of what would have happened had he not arrived to find Maru in the nick of time and seeing all the damaged Beys from the other Bladers in the crowd that had been broken earlier.
"Zyro Kurogane...!" Akuya growled, clenching his teeth wildly "You dare to intervene in my kind of battle again?!"
"Listen here Akuya!" Zyro responded "No matter how many times you refuse to get the message through your thick skull, we will never stand for underhanded Beybattles around here! That isn't a Bey Spirit that is welcome here or in Beyblade at all!"
Upon realizing that Virgo had not been thrown out of the Stadium or completely destroyed by Gargoyle's special move despite the damage the Bey sustained, Bianca looked to Zyro realizing that the Bey that had entered to save hers from shattering had belonged to him. Breaking from his stare at Akuya for a moment, he then ran over to her side of the stadium edge.
"Hey, you okay there?!" he asked as he stopped by her.
"Yeah... I think so," she replied, seeing that Virgo despite spinning slowly was otherwise not out of stamina yet "Thanks for the save."
"Don't mention it," said Zyro, smiling back "I'm just glad it looks like we got here in time. You can leave the rest to me, I'll use Ifrit's power to get your Bey out and back to you."
"Okay then," Bianca nodded, deciding that continuing the battle in Virgo's current state would only worsen it more than it was already looking.
Samurai Ifrit then slowed down as it came back to the center of the stadium and gently knocked itself into Virgo with enough force to send it out of the stadium without damaging it further, allowing Bianca to catch the Bey before it could land on the ground with her hands. Although it still pained her to see the cracked Warrior Wheel in such a state, she was otherwise grateful to Zyro that she was able to retrieve it without further harm. She decided to rejoin Maru and her two Pokémon whilst leaving the rest of the battle to the Blader that saved Virgo from further harm, as then looked to Archer Gargoyle with the intent to finish this battle as quickly as possible.
"Go now Samurai Ifrit!" he yelled as Samurai Ifrit then sped back up and began spinning back to full power as it circled the radius of the stadium and got closer to Archer Gargoyle.
"Smash it Gargoyle!" Akuya responded with great fury as Gargoyle charged across the stadium and soon reached within striking distance of Samurai Ifrit.
The two Beys clashed against one another fiercely with neither willing to budge an inch as both Zyro and his opponent yelled out with great might, neither of them wanting to lose this battle that had gone through so many twists and turns since the very start. Eventually, the clash ended as the force of their strikes sent both of their Beys backwards from one another before they started circling the stadium again.
"This is for all Bladers that fight with everything they've got and in a fair clash of Bey Spirits!" Zyro cried out "Go Ifrit! Special Move! Burning Uppercut!"
As the Bey reached its peak speed and closed in on Archer Gargoyle, the Shogun Face flashed a bright red before the spirit of Samurai Ifrit roared from within and rose out in its fiery glory. Bianca who had handed her damaged Gladiator Virgo to Maru watched in awe as the warrior spirit of Zyro's Bey made itself visible to all watching the battle, amazed that something like that could exist within a Bey at all. Having now seen that and Gargoyle's own form earlier when it unleashed its own Special Move, she could only ponder, could something like that be within her own Bey.
"RAGH! Strike back Gargoyle!" Akuya snarled as Gargoyle's spirit emerged from his own Bey's Shogun Face to battle Ifrit head on.
As the two Beys were about to collide, Gargoyle attempted to swoop down and strike its opponent with its clawed feet, but Ifrit roared in response and raised its lower stance along with its fiery sword almost instantly, striking back and knocking Gargoyle backwards, right as the Bey itself was sent flying from the attack created by Zyro's Special Move and out of the stadium instantly. Akuya's eyes widened in utter disbelief that he had been defeated by Zyro yet again, setting back his plans to claim Beyblade's future as his own as well as territory to expand that idea.
"I... Impossible!" he snarled as he picked Gargoyle's Bey up before glaring at Zyro who simply held out his hand and allowed Samurai Ifirt to spin freely into it "How could my Gargoyle lose to Ifrit AGAIN?!"
Seeing their leader defeated, the five Bladers from his gang that intruded on the battle leapt back to the remaining members, planning to make a hasty retreat from this setback. Before he gave the order to do so, he ignored Zyro in front of him and glanced towards Bianca who could only stare back at him.
"Listen you, I don't know how you acquired a Synchrome System Bey for a constellation that disappeared girl, but consider yourself lucky you had Zyro to let you back yourself out like a coward!" he snapped "The next time we strike for our territory bids, you and the others won't be so lucky!"
"Coward?!" Maru interjected followed by Oshawott making angry noises towards Akuya "Bianca may be inexperienced, but she played that battle fairly right until you decided to have your pals intrude when she could've won there!"
With nothing further to say back to the apprentice mechanic or the sea otter Pokémon, Akuya simply turned around and took his leave along with his gang members, leaving everyone else with the impression that despite this loss that would not take well, he would return to make another bid at his ambition and would use every trick in the book if possible to achieve those ends. When they had left the park, Zyro returned to join the group and came beside Maru as they watched Akuya disappear into the distance, both of them certain it wouldn't be too long before he could try again and thankful that a new Blader's Bey had not had the misfortune of being shattered beyond repair in its first battle, despite underhanded it became later on.
"Amazing as always Zyro," the apprentice mechanic said gratefully "Thanks for showing up when you did or Bianca's Bey could've ended up a lot worse than it did."
"Bianca is it? I'm Zyro," he greeted as he turned around to face Bianca herself "No one should have to see their Bey go through something like that, even for a first battle."
"It's no problem, thanks again for saving it," she replied, feeling a little better after the battle that had transpired "Nice to meet you Zyro."
At this moment, sounds from both Oshawott and Litwick caught the Blader's attention as he saw both Pokémon greeting him with warm smiles. Zyro was intially confused from their strange appearance and moreso was when he noticed the flame atop Litwick's head, but once Maru silently indicated that the Ghost type was not in any mortal danger from this, he soon found himself intrigued by the pair.
"Wow, you little guys look cool," he said, shaking hands and paws with both creatures "Are they yours Bianca?"
"Yeah, they're my two Pokémon from back home," she replied as she knelt down to reassure them that she was alright now "Although most people don't seem to know what they or Pokémon around here... at all even."
When Bianca had trailed off on her words thinking about where she was and how far away she seemed to be from Unova, Zyro looked down to Maru, having noticed the two Pokémon around her when he arrived to launch Ifrit into the battle to save Virgo and thinking she might have an answer.
"What seems to be her deal?" he whispered to her "I've never seen these Pokémon or whatever she calls them around before."
"She said she seems to come from a place called the Unova Region, but I've never heard of it before," the apprentice mechanic whispered back "When she was thinking about it during her practice launch, she seemed to zone out, as if she doesn't even know how to get back home. It's almost like she's sad to be in a place she doesn't know where they... belong."
Thinking about how unique both Oshawott and Litwick looked to him compared to any other animal or living creature in the world he's always known and on what Maru had just said, Zyro couldn't help but wonder where the two of them along with Bianca came from if they had unique looking creatures like them and if Beyblade was perhaps a foreign concept until now for the girl that faced Akuya in her first battle. At that moment, the crowd watching the battle along with Ren and Shinobu came to see the trio with the boy whose Bey had been saved from Gargoyle by Virgo coming in front of the group.
"Thanks Zyro, you really took it to Akuya and his mean gang!" he said appreciatively "You too Bianca, for saving my Bey from getting smashed."
"Er... it's nothing honestly," Bianca replied meekly, glancing to Zyro beside her "He's the one you should be thanking for taking it to that creep."
"Nah, you deserve some credit for it too Bianca," Maru interjected "If Akuya hadn't played dirty there, the low ground clearance from Gladiator Virgo would've definitely pushed Gargoyle all the way across for a Stadium Out."
"Wait, did you say Virgo?" Shinobu asked in surprise "As in the same Virgo of the constellation that existed within the previous Hybrid Wheel System of Beyblades years ago?"
"I guess..." Bianca said, recalling the beginning and end of the battle from comments Akuya had made about her Bey "That jerk said something about my being having a constellation or something... but he also said something about it disappearing."
"Whoa, so that'd make your Bey one a kind in the Synchrome System," Ren interjected with interest as she and Shinobu came to meet her directly "Sounds cool when you think about it. My name's Ren Kurenai."
"Shinobu Hiryuin," the boy beside her greeted.
"Bianca... it's nice to meet you all," she replied gratefully with her two Pokémon joining in "I guess when it comes to this... Beyblade stuff, you guys really know it all."
She then took out her damaged Gladiator Virgo and showed it to the group, all of them now seeing how much pain that Akuya's Archer Gargoyle and the combined attack of his thugs' five Beys had done to it. All were shocked by the cracks that had been created by the impacts of those heavy attacks and harboured some rage towards the gang for inflicting that much torture on what could be considered the very soul of a Blader.
"I don't suppose you guys know what to do when stuff like this happens... right?" she asked nervously.
"Don't worry Bianca, we can drop by the B-Pit to meet up with the chief to get Virgo and the smashed Beys of everyone else here fixed up in no time," Maru answered happily "Trust me when I say she's an expert in what she does."
"Thanks Maru," Bianca replied appreciatively as she looked to Zyro, Ren and Shinobu who kindly nodded in agreement to show her the way there.
By the time they had reached the B-Pit and everyone had submitted their damaged Beys to Madoka, it was sunset by the time she had gotten to work in starting up her repairs. As the time went by, Bianca sat with Zyro, Ren and Shinobu in the lobby, getting to know the three Bladers better as they did with her as well as Oshawott and Litwick in turn. Wanting to know more about them first, the girl asked to see their own Beys out of curiosity to see what they were like and were kind enough to oblige. Bianca looked over Samurai Ifrit, Thief Phoenix and Ninja Salamander, expressing interest in their appearances as well as the parts that they were using. In turn, she explained what her role was back in Unova as Professor Juniper's assistant and the two Pokémon she had, as well as a somewhat basic explanation of the relationship between humans and Pokémon and their primary sight of battle.
When asked about her battling experience by an interested Zyro, Bianca grew apprehensive, knowing the details that she would have to bring up in regards to how short her prior journey in Unova had ended up being. Shinobu after previously having doubt on what she was talking about with the only evidence of such being the unique items in her bag as well as her two Pokémon who currently were playing with Ren, sensed Bianca's discomfort and changed the subject to ask about her prior purpose as an assistant to a researcher. She in turn explained that even with a basic understanding to Pokémon from a researcher's perspective, there would always be mysteries from legends to the bonds between human and that a part of that did earn some captivation in wanting to learn all about it, just as she now wanted to learn everything there was to Beyblade following her limited experience since arriving in Metal Bey City.
"Wow, so I guess when you think about it, I guess where we come from isn't so different after all," Zyro commented "Sure our ways of battling may be different, yours being these... Pokémon and ours with Beys, it sounds like the idea of bonds is similar in its own right."
"Focusing on the types of Pokémon you want to capture and train with for battle, finding your own speciality in them," Bianca replied "I guess it's not so different from customizing a Bey to the best of its abilities."
By the time their conversation had concluded, the damaged Beys from the kids that were in the park that day were all fixed by Madoka who handed them back to the group who thanked her and left for the evening. She then picked up Gladiator Virgo from her queue rack and observed the damage from the cracks in the Warrior Wheel, having never seen any this deep before. Looking to all other angles of the Bey, her expression grew grim as she saw the cracks weren't just up top, they had gone all the way through the Warrior Wheel as well as the Element Wheel entirely and painted a somewhat frightening image in her head. Deciding it would be better to explain it, she calmed down and looked to the lobby.
"Bianca, I've taken a look at Gladiator Virgo and from what I can see... it does not look good," she said.
Growing worried at what had just been said, Bianca got up and walked to the counter followed by her Pokémon and the Bladers that she had befriended.
"Is the damage that bad?" she asked nervously.
"Well, I can say that it isn't beyond repair which is a good thing," Madoka explained "But from the cracks that I've seen all the way through both wheels... if Zyro hadn't arrived to intervene in that underhanded battle... they could have come apart on another heavy smash attack."
"No way..." Bianca breathed in horror, memories of the intrusion flooding her head again, playing out the scenario as the mechanic had described "If Samurai Ifrit hadn't jumped in, Virgo would've..."
"It would have come apart completely," Shinobu concluded "The force of those five Beys and Gargoyle's special move would have made the damage impossible to fix without outright new parts."
"Exactly Shinobu," the mechanic replied, having known Salamander's Blader to hit the nail on the head "I can do the repair work needed to seal the cracks and ensure that they're properly welded, but I can't guarantee that it will be battle ready by tomorrow with the preparations needed."
Bianca nodded in understanding and smiled appreciatively, feeling thankful in one way or another that Virgo was going to be alright and fully repaired at one point or another from all the damage that Akuya and his gang had inflicted upon it. Hearing a loud yawn beside her, she could see Zyro was getting tired from the late evening and the hard fought battles at the same time during the day.
"With Virgo now in good hands, I'd say it's time to for me to crash for the night and save my strength for tomorrow's training," he said "Man, getting that riled up just from the thought of Akuya can take it out of you."
"Umm..."
Zyro blinked for a moment as he and the others looked to Bianca who was trying to say something upon noticing the evening sunlight fade over the distance and realizing that she had another predicament on hand after being abruptly brought to the hill outside of Metal Bey City.
"Bianca, are you saying that because of how you got here... you don't have a place to stay for the night?" asked Ren.
"Well... I did used to carry a sleeping bag with me when I was going around Unova for a bit... but I left that in my bedroom before I even got to this city," she replied. feeling a little embarrassed from not considering that when she recalled her situation on arriving in this world "So... yeah."
"Don't worry, I can help with that," Madoka interjected with an understanding smile "I have a couch in the basement of the B-Pit that you can use as a makeshift bed. I found it handy if I found myself overworking myself late into the night, but you're welcome to help yourself until we figure out a way to help you back to this... Unova."
"Oh, thank you Madoka!" Bianca replied, getting appreciative cheers from her Pokémon as well "Man, I really owe guys one every time I'm ending up in one of these messes today."
"Hey, it wouldn't be right to leave a new Blader to get to grasp with the basics of Beyblade blindly on their own, right?" said Zyro "We may become rivals on the battleground, but we also look out for each other and that's the real spirit of the sport. This won't be any different."
"Then I'll guess I'll see you guys around tomorrow then," she said "Even if Virgo can't be used, I'd like to what you guys can do."
"Yup! Wait until you see what my Phoenix can do!" Ren interjected "Have a good evening Bianca."
And so it was arranged. When the late night fell and Zyro, Ren and Shinobu left the B-Pit to turn in, Madoka helped show Bianca and her two Pokémon the way to the basement down a small spiral staircase. All around, the girl could see pictures and shelves of books dedicated to the sport of Beyblade itself as well as numerous pieces of maintenance equipment and a workbench, impressing her on how dedicated the mechanic was to her craft. After looking to her left and seeing a cabinet full of spare parts as well as others for reference, she felt a wave of familiarity wash over her. It almost felt like being back in Professor Juniper's lab with all the research notes and reference books organized and on hand for work.
After feeling herself get distracted from the thought for a bit, she quickly decided to catch up with Madoka who showed her the couch she could use and managed to bring out a large blanket.
"I know this might not be much, but hopefully it should be much better than sleeping on the floor or even outside," the mechanic said kindly "If you ever want to pass the time, you can read one of my reference books. That'll provide you with a list of parts in circulation by the WBBA and what type combinations they work best in for a Bey."
"Thanks for the tip Madoka, that'll definitely help out," said Bianca before yawning from exhaustion "Phew. It really has been a long day..."
"That I can imagine," replied Madoka "If that's all, I'll see you here in the morning and start work on Virgo's repairs."
"No problem. See you tomorrow."
And with that, the mechanic and owner of the B-Pit closed up shop and switched out the lights before leaving for home for the evening. Bianca hadn't been entirely wrong from her earlier comment as it was truly a long and rather strange day at the same time. Being thrust into a world of Beys where Pokémon were considered a foreign or unfamiliar concept, Unova seemingly being far out of reach for whatever reason and the battle she fought to try and stop Akuya's rampage before having to be saved by Zyro and Samurai Ifrit. Even with all of that behind her with no further harm done, it all seemed like what would be deemed as a crazy dream, not far from the previous ten that she had every night before coming here.
As she tucked herself in beneath the blanket on the couch for the night with Oshawott and Litwick sleeping on the top of the backrest, she couldn't help but wonder for a brief moment how Juniper and her parents were bound to be taking her sudden disappearance. Whilst she was sure they were all worried about her absence and bound to be looking for a way to bring her back home, when her thoughts turned to her father who she felt was bound to now have a reason to be a little more overprotective than usual when this was all over, she shook her head to dispel any negativity of such thoughts. Looking up to her sleeping Pokémon at the very top of the couch's backrest, she smiled warmly to remind herself that she wasn't truly alone without familiar faces and family upon entering Metal Bey City and after glancing to Gladiator Virgo that was resting on Madoka's workbench awaiting its eventual repairs, she finally felt content with herself for the first time all day.
And with such happy thoughts on her mind, wondering what her next day in the world of Beys would bring her, she drifted happily to sleep.
Bey of the Chapter:
Archer Gargoyle SA165WSF (Attack)
Shogun Face: Gargoyle
Warrior Wheel: Gargoyle
Element Wheel: Archer
Spin Track: Switch Attack 165
Peformance Tip: Wide Semi-Flat