Ughhh I was all set to post this the other day when my laptop glitched during an update. I was so scared about losing this file, but it seems like everything's okay for the moment. Hopefully that won't interfere with future updates.

Technological issues aside, here is the latest installment! I'll try to post on a fairly weekly basis for those of you wondering. Special thanks to meamaya101, Exotic girl 26, and skycold for your reviews! They always make my day :D

I do not own Metal Fight Beyblade.

Sophie slipped into the empty booth, unnoticed by her friends. She knew she had about five minutes, but she had to take the opportunity. Wales joined her a second later.

"What are you guys doing here?" She whispered.

"That's not important," Wales waved her off.

"You wanted to talk?"

"On Tuesday. The whole- you know. It was a mistake."

Sophie's eyes widened. " A mistake?"

"I'm sorry. It shouldn't have happened. I just thought you should know."

This was not what she had been expecting. Not even remotely. She gripped the table tightly, feeling her vision starting to spin.

"Right," she said in a slight daze.

"It didn't mean anything."

She couldn't take anymore. Sophie stood up. "I- I have to go." Her voice betrayed her controlled exterior, and she went running out of the club, toward the beach. Wales might have called after her, but she didn't pay any attention. She didn't stop running until she reached the water's edge, then walked into the waves, letting the sea spray wash up against her over and over again. A few seconds later, her own tears joined the salty water.

Masamune and Gingka looked equally uncomfortable, while Kyoya and Ryuga simply looked bored.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Hikaru prodded.

"We're here for the same reasons you are," Ryuga said.

Hikaru narrowed her eyes. Madoka looked around, trying to find somewhere to go. She had a feeling where this conversation was going to go, and she didn't like it. Mei Mei appeared to be doing the exact same thing.

"Let's get out of here," Masamune whispered to Gingka, who nodded in response. The two of them slipped out onto the deck. Madoka would have loved to follow, but she knew she had to stay with Hikaru and stand her ground. It was obvious they couldn't avoid the boys forever.

"Right," Hikaru nodded slowly, taking Madoka by surprise. "So as long as we go our separate ways, we'll be-"

"You're the ones who have the problem, not us," Ryuga said coolly.

"And you're the reason we have the problem in the first place."

"That sounds about right. All our fault. You did nothing wrong of course."

Hikaru turned around, starting to walk away.

"Just remember who it was that started this mess."

Hikaru turned around so fast Mei Mei thought she'd get whiplash, her eyes ablaze. "Are you still blaming Mei Mei for being out during the storm?"

"That's not what I was implying," Ryuga's eyes stayed level with hers.

"That's right! Because you're the idiot who went in the water! You had control over your actions! You didn't have to go out in the storm after her if you didn't want to! It's just as much your fault as anyone else's! So don't you dare-"

The rest of her words were cut off by her marching up to him and slapping Ryuga across the face. Madoka and Mei Mei watched in total shock, and Kyoya dropped the drink he was holding and started laughing.

Hikaru glared at him, anger swimming in her eyes. "Let's get going," she spat out the words. "I can't take this any longer."

Behind them, they could hear Kyoya muttering, "Let her go, it's not worth it."

"Where's Sophie?" Madoka asked as they exited the club.

"I don't know," Hikaru said, running her hand through her hair, still aggravated. "Somebody text her that we're going back to the condo. She can catch up."

It was well past eleven, and the sky had darkened completely. The only light came from sporadically placed street lamps, which became fewer and fewer in number as they got closer to their condo.

"How much farther?" Mei Mei asked, beginning to feel anxious. She was using her phone as a light, but she didn't recognize any of the buildings around them.

"Not too far," Hikaru's voice sounded uneasy, like she was unsure of the answer herself.

Madoka stopped. "Are you sure this is the way we came? It doesn't look familiar."

"I have no idea," the other girl admitted. "I think we took a wrong turn somewhere."

The girls examined their surroundings as fear began to settle in. They were lost in a different area, one they didn't know at all. Every small noise put them on edge.

"We'll find our way back," Madoka tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "It's not a big deal."

Slowly, the girls started to walk back the way they came. The streetlight went out suddenly, bathing them in complete blackness. One of them shrieked, and the flashlights on their phones dimmed.

In the darkness, a vague, shadowy figure appeared. It was near white, and looked to be a woman about ten years older than them. She vanished suddenly, disappearing down a different path. The strangest part was that she seemed like someone they'd seen before.

Something latched onto Mei Mei's arm. She screamed, and went running down the road in terror. Whatever or whoever it was let go almost immediately, but that didn't stop her. She heard two sets of footfalls behind her, thinking it to be her friends.

One of them passed her, and she heard Hikaru shriek ahead of her. Mei Mei suddenly found herself airborne as she lost her footing, tumbling down to the ground along a hill. She heard Madoka cry out behind her.

Finally, she collapsed on the ground in a heap, bumping into Hikaru in the process. Up in front of her, she could hear the sound of the waves as they crashed against the shore.

The woman was there again. Mei Mei covered her mouth to stifle a scream.

She was closer, giving the girls a better look at her. She stared out at the sea, a ghostly apparition with dark hair. She wore a long white dress that seemed to be in tatters. A moment later, she turned and faced the girls. Her face was haunted.

Mei Mei couldn't contain it any longer. She screamed at the top of her lungs, closing her eyes shut, praying the woman would go away. Madoka and Hikaru wailed with her.

The three of them went stumbling through the dark across the beach, doing their best to get away, linking arms so as not to lose each other. They couldn't see anything and their phones were no help at all. More than once they faceplanted into the sand, scrambling desperately to get up.

Cold water slapped against their legs.

"How did we get to the water?" Hikaru bawled. "I thought-"

An enormous wave came up and lifted them into the water, sending the three of them in different directions. Madoka crawled back out onto the beach. Through the dim glow from a light twenty feet away, she saw a dirt road.

"This way!" She called out, hoping her friends could hear her.

The path was covered with thorns and other plants, but they paid them no mind, trying to get back as quickly as possibly. Mei Mei winced as the thorns tore up her bare legs.

The three of them made it to the road, which led back to town. They were still lost, but it was a vast improvement from a few minutes ago.

Through their tears, they made it back to the main part of town, close to the club they had left.

A hand clamped down on Hikaru's shoulder. She screamed once more, but hardly any noise came out; her voice was shot.

"What the hell happened to you?" They recognized the voice almost instantly.

Kyoya, Chao Xin, Gingka, and Ryuga were next to them. Masamune and Wales were nowhere to be seen.

In the increased lighting, Madoka took a second to look herself over. Her dress was not only ripped all across the bottom, but soaking wet as well, and her legs were bleeding in several places from the thorns. Her hair was encrusted with sand and salt. Her friends didn't look any better.

"We- We got lost," Mei Mei said through chattering teeth. "Th-There was this girl. Sh-She-" Mei Mei couldn't even get the words out.

Kyoya rolled his eyes, but he looked concerned all the same. "Come with us. We were heading back now anyway."

Hikaru looked like she'd rather take her chances with the mysterious woman again, but followed regardless. She looked pointedly away from Ryuga, who looked to have a scratch mark from a nail on his face. To her surprise, he went and walked alongside her, blocking her from view of anyone else on the streets. Normally she would have been annoyed, but she was too overwhelmed to care.

Mei Mei took the chance to examine the dress. Sophie was going to kill her when she saw it. Speaking of, had the other girl made it back to the condo?

Chao Xin was leading the way back to the condo. Mei Mei was thankful; it was easier than facing him. She still wasn't ready for that. Not yet.

They made it back to the condo before they knew it. Sophie was waiting for them, appearing to be worried. She gasped when she saw the others coming up the stairs. Madoka gave her a look, conveying they'd explain everything later.

They thanked the boys briefly before going inside. It seemed the ban on boys had ended, their ordeal having exhausted them too much to care anymore. Before she stepped into the room, Hikaru noticed a piece of paper on the ground. She picked it up just as Ryuga, the last of the boys, disappeared into his half of the condo. She frowned, unfolding it.

We need to talk.

Sophie's outfit from earlier was hanging out on the deck, also wet. She flat out refused to explain anything to the girls, and was more concerned about what had happened to them rather than sharing her own story. The four of them sat in the living room, now dry and changed into their pajamas, drinking hot chocolate that Madoka had brought with her for whatever reason.

"So a strange woman appeared out of nowhere and followed you down to the beach?" Sophie raised an eyebrow.

"I know it sounds weird," Hikaru said. "And it was dark out so we can't be sure what we saw. But she was there twice and she was just- weird. I can't explain it, but I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."

"She was like a ghost," Mei Mei added.

"Are there any legends on this island?" Sophie asked.

"I'll stop at the library tomorrow," Madoka decided. "I wasn't planning on doing anything."

"Okay," Hikaru nodded. "But what if she is a ghost?"

"I doubt it," Sophie scoffed. "But something here isn't adding up. I feel like I've seen this woman before, too, even though I wasn't there with you now. I woke up early one morning a few weeks ago and saw something."

"That's it!" Madoka realized. "That's where I saw her! One of our first days here, during one of the storms, I saw her out running on the beach!"

Mei Mei shifted uneasily. "I don't like this."

"Well there's nothing we can do anymore," Sophie sighed. "We should probably all get some sleep."

With that, the four of them slipped upstairs, minds heavy and hours away from sleep.

Madoka wasted no time in getting to the library. It was a sunny day out, and she was anxious to get to the beach and forget the previous night's events, but she'd made a promise to her friends. She spoke with the librarians and picked up several books on local legends.

She made her way back to condo and placed the books on the kitchen table with a note to her friends. If any of them wanted to look into them before she did, they could; that was fine with her, though she was doubtful any of them actually would. She'd read them later, when she had some time. Until then, she was going to do her best to put everything out of her mind.

Gingka was outside on the deck when she left.

"Where are you going?" He gave her a small smile.

"Just the beach," she returned the smile. "Why?"

"I was going to check out the beach on the other side of town. Wanna come?"

"Sure."

The two of them made their way across town, talking easily. Madoka couldn't help but smile. She was glad their silly ban had ended. It had been stupid, really; there was no harm in talking to the boys. Sure, they'd had their share of problems, but in the end the pact had just created more.

Madoka lounged on the beach for a while, soaking up the sunshine. It was much more crowded than the area with the condos, but she didn't mind. Gingka ran across the beach like a maniac, chasing down the seagulls. Madoka couldn't help laughing. Watching him was like watching a five-year old child. Finally he tired of chasing the birds and went down to the water. After a while, she joined Gingka in the ocean.

"How's Mei Mei doing?" Gingka asked.

Madoka's face fell slightly. "She's doing a lot better," Madoka admitted. "But she's still a little upset about what Chao Xin did."

"I figured," Gingka nodded. "What about Ryuga and Hikaru, though? Those two are constantly at each other's throats."

Madoka nodded. "I don't really understand it. You would think what happened that night would bring them closer together, but it seems to have done the opposite."

Gingka was silent. Madoka took advantage of the opportunity and splashed him.

"H-hey! That's cold!"

"Oh, please, you're already wet. Besides, this is payback for before."

Gingka splashed her back and Madoka laughed, allowing herself to enjoy the moment.

There were screams, and suddenly people were rushing out of the water all around her.

She saw the fin seconds before she realized what was happening.

Shark.

Gingka saw it as well, his golden brown eyes growing larger.

"Watch out!" He pushed her out of the way, just as the shark came closer to her, the upper jaw open barely above the surface. She tugged on his arm, trying to pull him out of the way.

She heard him cry out, then saw as red began to mix with the clear blue of the water.

Not thinking, she hit the shark over the nose as hard as she could manage, and grabbed Gingka by the shoulder, forcing herself to swim as fast as she could to the surface. She didn't look behind her, she didn't want to know what was going on. She didn't even know if she had actually struck the shark, or if it had done anything. For all she knew, the shark was right behind her.

All she cared about in that moment was getting to shore.

Gingka felt like deadweight against her, but she didn't dare slow down.

"Get help! Get help!" She shouted, finally making it out of the water, the people around her still moving in a panic. But they weren't the ones who had been bitten. They hardly even seemed to care.

She collapsed onto the sand, the extra weight too much to carry at this point. She started crying, unable to stop herself. She couldn't bring herself to look at the damage that had been done. She used her own hands, trying to stop the blood as best she could, but it was pointless. She heard the ambulance come roaring up moments later.

This couldn't be happening… Their perfect summer…

"Gingka!" She screamed as he was brought to the medical technicians, unmoving. Blood poured endlessly from the wound, and as he was loaded into the ambulance, all she could do was watch helplessly, jumping into the vehicle with him.