And now, the thrilling conclusion to my story The Roadrunner!
It's not actually that thrilling. Maybe it's a bit thrilling. But thanks for reading, and I really hope you liked my story! :)
"Well look who it is, Miss Always Running Away." Rika's face lit up as Zeo appeared on the screen. The four friends and Ryuga were speeding away on the boat.
"Zeo!" she exclaimed happily. "Hi!"
"You're alive!" Zeo grinned. "What's happening?"
"We're going to save Ryuga!" Rika gestured to her friends. "That's pretty much it."
"Ryuga?" Zeo raised an eyebrow. "What has he ever done for you guys?"
"Besides saving the world a couple times now?" she remarked. "Not much, I suppose."
"You got me there," Zeo laughed. "Well, wish we could be there, but our hands are tied right now with the tournament going on. But we'll catch up as soon as possible, I promise. Stay safe, alright?"
"Don't worry about me," she told him. "I've got Natsumi, and Tsubasa, and Ryuto, and…I can take care of myself."
"It appears so," Zeo nodded. "Well, we're all rooting for you over here."
"I'm rooting for you guys too!" she replied. "Win it big down there, okay?"
"You've got it!" The screen went blank as Zeo left and Rika turned back to her companions.
"So, Rika," Tsubasa began. "You said that you launched your bey at the red stone, and that's how the energy got transferred to your bey?"
"Yup," she said. "Similar to the way L-Drago spins against its opponents to drain their spin power."
"But L-Drago has no power," Natsumi reminded them. "How is it supposed to spin against the red stone to get its power back?"
"More importantly, Ryuga isn't exactly physically able to even launch L-Drago." Ryuto gestured to the unconscious Ryuga. "So how's this gonna work?"
"I have no idea!" Rika threw up her hands. "It's all kind of problematic." They sat in silence for a few moments.
"Ryuga's energy might regenerate," Tsubasa said at last. "He is human, after all. He probably won't be strong, but he might just be strong enough to get L-Drago's power back."
"It's probably better if he's not strong so he won't go rampaging again," Natsumi added. The boat arrived at the shore and they unloaded.
"Let's go!" Rika bounced up and down with anticipation. Tsubasa looked over at Natsumi.
"How's your bey?" he asked her.
"Hasn't changed," she replied, handing it to him. He examined it for a few moments. The bey was still glowing and pulsing.
"I don't want you using it right now," he told her. "We just don't know what would happen. There's a whole lot of power in there, and you might not be able to control it."
"Likely not," she said with a nod. "So what do you want me to do?"
"Stay here," he instructed. "Watch over Ryuga."
"Great," she muttered. "My favourite thing." He gave her a small smile and patted her shoulder.
"Good luck," he said quietly. The three of them ran off, leaving Natsumi by herself. Well, with Ryuga, but basically by herself.
It wasn't until maybe one or two hours later that Ryuga stirred. Natsumi, who had been sitting in the sand the whole time, processing her thoughts, flinched when she saw the great dragon emperor awaken. There were a few groans and then he spoke up. "What…what happened?"
"You got drained," she answered bluntly. Ryuga staggered to his feet, holding on to the side of the boat for support. "L…L-Drago…" Natsumi tossed him the dragon bey, which he caught, staring at it incredulously.
"Don't even bother with it," she told him. "It's pretty much dead."
"No…" Ryuga shook his head in disbelief. "It can't be…"
"Yeah, I know," she sighed. "Karma's a jerk."
"Don't mock me!" he snapped, stepping out of the boat. "Where is L-Drago's power? Tell me now!"
"Some weird guys have it or something," she said with a shrug. "We're working on it, so just calm yourself. You're in no shape to freak out over anything right now."
"Says you…" He began to walk inland, ignoring Natsumi altogether. Natsumi groaned and got to her feet. She planted herself right in front of him, positioning her bey.
"Don't go any further," she warned. "It's could be dangerous and you can't defend yourself. Just stay here."
"Oh, yeah?" he laughed. "And how do you plan on stopping me?"
"I have all the power of…that green thing in my bey," she said evenly. "You have no power. If I unleash this on you, God knows what would happen." Ryuga stared at the glowing bey.
"Impossible…" he barked. "You can't possibly possess that much power!"
"Yeah, that's what I figured when you tried to do it," she shot back. "Mr. I'm-the-dragon-emperor-so-I-can-possess-as-much-po wer-as-I-want-with-no-regards-to-my-well-being!"
"Well then. Somebody's forgetting who they're up against." They had a moment of just glaring at each other. "Just wait till this is over. You will battle me."
"I don't even care that you're weak and helpless," she snapped. "I'm still not going to battle you. You've got nothing to battle for anyway. All the power is in my bey already. Unless you want to steal it all for yourself, to which I say…no." More glaring. Frustrated, he launched his bey at her. L-Drago flew from the launcher and fell to the ground, defeated before it had even started spinning. "No!" His eyes bulged and he crumbled to the ground. "This can't…be happening!" His coat fell off his shoulders and he lay on dust beach, having completely fallen apart. Natsumi stared at him, unsure of what to think. The almighty dragon emperor has fallen. He just looked so defeated, so powerless. Those cowards…draining his energy remotely. What a dirty trick. She sighed and picked up the bey from the ground. "Get up," she instructed firmly. "I'll take you to get your stupid power back." For a moment he didn't move. She glared angrily at him. "Are you really going to give up?" He slowly got to his feet and followed her down the beach into the trees.
Three figures hid behind a group of trees beside a very vulnerable looking campsite.
"Alright," Rika whispered. "What's the plan, guys?"
"I think they're all sleeping." Ryuto squinted in the direction of the camp. "It is pretty early."
"Let's wait till they come out, and then we'll see what we can do," Tsubasa told them. The sun moved slowly across the sky and people began to trickle out of the tents. They gathered around a fire in the centre of the campsite and spoke quietly to each other.
"We're not going to be able to do much by hiding," Ryuto whispered. "Let's just go get them!"
"They'll overpower us," Rika argued. "They've got Ryuga's power, remember? We should strategize."
"Well, what can we do?" Tsubasa stared at the gathered people intently.
"How about we fly down from the trees and tackle them?" Ryuto suggested. "If we take them by surprise, we can steal the stone!"
"We don't have wings, Ryuto," Rika reminded him. "But maybe we can distract them or something." They huddled and whispered to each other for a few moments, and then split up in three different directions.
At the camp, the unsuspecting group of people ate breakfast.
"Nice day, huh?" one of them grunted.
"Yeah. Real quiet," said another. Suddenly, there was a crash at the side of the camp. The people jumped up to look. A lone bey spun innocently in the dust.
"What the heck?" They ran over to investigate. Explosions erupted the ground as two more beys appeared, knocking them over. Tsubasa, Rika, and Ryuto leaped out into the clearing, tackling them to the ground. The people fended them off easily, throwing them aside.
"I think you forgot one small detail, Rika," said Tsubasa through gritted teeth. "We're clearly outnumbered here."
"My brain is not fully developed, Tsubasa," she hissed back. "I don't take everything into account."
"We can't give up now! Dragonis!" Ryuto's bey set off a series of explosions.
"Get them!" one of the people shouted. Simultaneously, they launched their beys, and the two groups clashed with a bang.
"Go, Eagle! Metal Wing Smash!" Tsubasa called.
"Fox Sky Barrel Attack!" Rika yelled. Their opponent's beys were thrown aside, defeated.
"Give us the stone!" Ryuto demanded.
"Not so fast!" A man stalked up to them. "Go, Dark Corvus!" A bey flew at them, glowing red.
"It has Ryuga's power!" Rika gasped. "And that guy has the red stone!" Half hidden by his cloak, the strange red stone hung around his neck. Corvus spun faster, unleashing waves of energy that threw them all backwards. Rika landed in the dust with a grunt. "No, Fox!" Her bey moved towards her. "Come on, guys, get that stone!" The man laughed evilly.
"Get that stone," he mocked. "You think you can face this kind of power? Fools!" Corvus glowed red and released more powerful waves. Rika clung to the ground, struggling to stay steadfast while the energy pulsed past her.
"We're got to stop them!" Rika's eyes flickered to her bey. "Fox! I need you to use your power!" She squeezed her eyes shut in desperation. Fox reared up and flew towards Corvus. It glowed the same hazardous red and slammed into the other bey, sending it flying. So much power…Rika gazed at her bey in awe. The man balled his hands into fists.
"So it's you who possesses the rest of my power!" he growled.
"It's not your power, it's Ryuga's!" Rika staggered to her feet. "And it's hard earned too! You can't just steal something that someone's worked tirelessly for years and years to obtain!"
"I believe I already have! Corvus!" Corvus rose into the air, unleashing another bout of energy.
"Ugh…" Rika flew backwards, clinging desperately to the ground. "Stop it!"
"I'll show you!" The man and his bey advanced on her. Rika stared at them fearfully, vaguely aware of her immobile friends lying nearby. Her childish instincts kicked in and she let out a shriek. "Natsumi!"
"Rika!" To her shock, she saw in the corner of her eye Natsumi running towards them, with Ryuga in tow. "No, wait! It's not safe!" she called quickly. "Don't come here!"
"Don't you dare hurt her!" Natsumi yelled hoarsely.
"Stay out of this!" the man shot at her. "Or I'll destroy you too!"
"You coward!" Ryuga raged. "Give me my power back or you'll be the one who'll be destroyed!"
"Oh, yeah?" the man laughed. "And who's going to destroy me? You? Corvus, get her!" Corvus launched itself towards Rika and Fox.
"No!" Natsumi screamed. She launched her bey, glowing green and all. Rika stared as Lynx seemed to disappear and reappear around in the dust, setting off a series of blasts that exploded like firecrackers. The ground erupted and Corvus was thrown aside. At the speed of light, Lynx rammed it again, sending it crashing into the ground. Rika's mouth dropped in disbelief. And I thought I couldn't possibly see more power.
"Natsumi!" With Corvus's attacks wavering, Tsubasa and Ryuto got up and ran over to them. Natsumi turned to them fearfully.
"What do I do?" she asked, the slashing green light reflecting in her eyes.
"Lynx is your bey," Tsubasa told her calmly. "You must be able to control it." Natsumi shook her head, staring out at the rampaging Lynx as it battered at Corvus ruthlessly. The man could do nothing but stare helplessly as his bey was beaten to pulp.
"Focus, Natsumi." Tsubasa's quiet voice rang in Natsumi's ears. "You need to be one with your bey. It's a huge thing of power, but it's still your bey." Natsumi closed her eyes and felt the waves of energy radiating through her. She concentrated harder and harder, and the pulsing quickened to the same speed as her heartbeat. For a moment she lost herself in the great power, and her mind whisked back to the mountains that she had once lived in. She felt herself flying through the dark tunnels that she had walked through hundreds of times. It smelled of familiarity. Of home. As she reached the heart of the mountains, the petrajadus sat glorified on its pedestal, as it had all those years before. Feeling drawn to its power, she reached out to it. Instead of grasping the stone, she felt the cold, sharp metal of a bey in her hand. She pressed the bey to her chest, letting its spirit surround her. "Sky Lynx," she breathed. "You're Sky Lynx." As if it was responding to her, the bey began to spin, leaving her hands. She reached out to the stone once more, wrapping her hands around it. Instantly, she felt its power rush through her and she was surrounded in a soft green aura. The stone detached from its pedestal and she held it tightly, rising slowly into the air. She closed her eyes and let the power of the stone mingle with her own spirit. "Please, share with me your power," she whispered. "I need your help." She felt a flicker inside of her, and suddenly energy filled her from her head to her toes. The surge of such intense power knocked the wind out of her, and she gasped for breath, clutching her chest tightly. In front of her, Sky Lynx glowed a brilliant green and flew towards her. She reached out and grabbed it, relaxing as their spirits entwined. Then, she fell, and fell, and fell, into the darkness.
Inhaling sharply, Natsumi crumbled to her knees. "Natsumi!" Ryuto helped her up worriedly. "Are you okay?" Natsumi looked around. Her bey was still exploding everywhere. "Lynx!" she called. And at that moment, Lynx stopped. The green glow faded and it spun on the spot, awaiting its next command. Natsumi took a deep breath, channeling all her energy into her bey. She saw Rika lying on the ground, exhausted, Ryuga positioned angrily behind her, Tsubasa and Ryuto beside her. They were counting on her. She lifted her head and turned to her bey. "Go get 'em, Lynx." Lynx burst into action, once again slamming into Corvus, but this time with precision. The dark bey flew into the air, glowing red. "Corvus!" the man yelled. The crow beast in Corvus cawed loudly and nosedived at Lynx.
"Lynx! Summit Skyburst Attack!" Lynx launched itself into the air and the two beys collided head on. A huge explosion ensued, and dust filled the air once again. When it cleared, both beys were still spinning.
"It's no use," the man snarled. "Even with your power, you still cannot defeat me." Natsumi concentrated on her bey again. The glow returned, beaming brighter than ever. It's now or never. She shut her eyes. "I never wanted to fight for anything," she said. "I wanted nothing more than to live in peace. But you…" She opened her eyes and stared him down. "You have threatened everything I have. And I don't even that much stuff. You have done so much wrong, and for that I will fight." She planted her feet in the ground and clenched her fists. "I will fight for everyone I love and care about. Go, Sky Lynx! Aerial Eruption!" Lynx launched into the air once again, this time hovering for a few moments. The green light spread across the entire area, until no one could see a thing. The powerful bey began to spin faster and faster, until it was nothing but a blur in the sky. Then it dropped, spinning even faster still. It accelerated and accelerated as it got closer to the ground, and then made impact.
The ground burst. Everyone clung to whatever was in arms length. Natsumi pressed herself to the ground. Come on… The dust slowly cleared and Corvus lay defeated on the ground. Natsumi stared in shock. I won… She held out her hand instinctively and Sky Lynx flew to her, landing in her palm. She gazed at the bey in wonder. It was…because of you…
"No!" The man stood his ground, shaking his head in disbelief. "Impossible! You couldn't have…" The red glow in Corvus faded and everyone watched in awe as the stone around the man's neck began to tremble. "What…what's happening?" The man clutched the stone desperately. "No!" The stone shattered, shards littering everywhere. A mass ball of condensed energy rose into the air, shimmering with red heat. Natsumi whipped around. "Ryuga!" she called. Ryuga stood up and launched L-Drago towards the cloud. The bey flew weakly into the red mess, and for a second nothing moved. Then, the dragon bey began to spin, faster and faster until it had absorbed all the energy. Huge dragon heads rose into the air, circling them menacingly. Ryuga roared as the power filled him once more.
"Looks like he's back," Tsubasa remarked. Natsumi shook her head slowly, a small smile spreading across her face.
"Wait!" Rika held out her bey, which was still glowing. "What about the rest of your power?"
"Ha!" Ryuga smirked as L-Drago set off more light shows. "I have no use for that miniscule power-up! You can keep it." Rika's eyes widened, and she looked down at her bey. The red lightning streaked across the sky. Ryuga turned to Natsumi, his eyes narrowed. "You've obtained great power," he growled. "In time, I will come find you." With a flash, he was gone.
"Yes," Natsumi muttered. "I can't wait." Rika ran over and hugged her.
"You controlled the power!" She pointed at Sky Lynx. "It's so amazing!"
"I'm going to expecting a lot of action from you," Tsubasa put in. "Everyone is going to want to battle you."
"Sure, sure," Natsumi sighed. "But right now, I want to go home."
"Home?" Rika looked surprised. "You mean the mountains?"
No," she replied. "My new home." She looked up to Tsubasa with a smile, which he returned.
"Hate to break up this very happy moment, but what should we do about these guys?" Ryuto pointed at the people lying on the ground.
"Ah, just leave them," Tsubasa told him. "They're just another bunch of stupid bladers thirsting for power. If they rise up again, we'll just knock them back down. Come on." He picked up his bey. "Let's go home."
"Rika!" The four friends arrived back in Mexico to be greeted by the rest of the gang. "You're okay!" Rika grinned as Zeo ran up and hugged her.
"How did the tournament go?" she asked him excitedly.
"Forget the tournament!" Toby exclaimed. "Tell us what happened with Ryuga!"
"But if you're wondering about the tournament, we all made it to the second round," Masamune put in. Rika laughed, exchanging a high five.
"That's awesome!" she said with a big smile. "This is so exciting!"
"Yeah, the next round is going to be held in Greece!" Zeo added. "How cool is that?"
"Very cool," she nodded. "But I think Sky Fox and I need to train a little bit before we'll be able to participate in any tournaments anytime soon."
"You've still got Ryuga's power?" Zeo questioned.
"Yeah." She pulled out her bey and handed it to him. "It's pretty cool though, when you think about it."
"That it is." Zeo grinned. "Train hard, Rika. For Team Dungeon!" They exchanged a high five.
"Tsubasa! Natsumi! Ryuto!" Gingka, Madoka, Kenta, and Yu ran up to them eagerly.
"What happened?" Kenta asked, shocked at their unruly selves.
"We ran into trouble with some power-hungry cronies," Tsubasa explained. "Natsumi took care of them." Natsumi flushed, looking away.
"It was Lynx," she put in. "Not me."
"Did you get Ryuga's power back?" Gingka asked.
"We got more than that." Tsubasa glanced at Natsumi. "Somebody's finally got her bey spirit. And a whole lot of power too."
"Great," Gingka said with a grin. "That means you'll be battling all of us, right?"
"Yeah." Natsumi smiled a bit. "I guess it does. But later. Right now…" She looked around. "I think I'm gonna run off."
"Again?" Kenta looked surprised. "But you just got here!"
"Don't worry, I'll be back," Natsumi grinned. "I just need to spend a bit of time alone with my bey." She glanced at Rika. "And maybe my sister too." She turned and jabbed a finger at Tsubasa. "And you, make sure you don't let off. When it comes time for our battle, I'll defeat you for sure!" Tsubasa grinned.
"That's the spirit," he laughed. "Safe travels." He held out his hand and she struck it cleanly.
"Hey, Rika!" Natsumi flicked her head. Rika's eyes lit up and she gave her friends one last hug before joining her sister. Tsubasa watched as they ran off, eventually disappearing into the distance.
"Where do you think they went?" Gingka asked him.
"Who knows?" he replied quietly. "Maybe to the mountains, maybe to find Ryuga. I don't even think they know."
"They'll come back, right?" Kenta pondered nervously. "She said they would."
"They'll come back," said Tsubasa with a nod. "No matter how far away they go, or how many people they meet, the path always eventually leads back to home. And I'd say they've made some pretty good friends here."
"Home is where the heart is," Gingka remarked. Tsubasa glanced off in the direction that they had run off in. The sun was beginning to sink beneath the horizon, and the two girls were nothing but shadows getting further and further away.
Running… he thought, shaking his head with a smile.
Always running.