I AM ALIVE! I'LL UPDATE TO PROVE THAT I AM ACTUALLY ALIVE! Or am I just a ghost? o3o

Nyah, of course I'm a living breathing human! XD Or else I wouldn't be awesome like the people who've reviewed! And all those awesome people get a Tazmin plushie! *hands them out*

SO READ! XD

Oh ja, and I'm now gonna refer to Da Xiang as Dashan. Or Dashan Wang if he's introducing himself.

NOW YOU READ.

DISCLAIMER – I ONLY OWN MY OCs AND THE PLOT OF THIS STORY!

Blading Brings People Together

Chapter 13: The Old Ruins

Sprinting through the forest, the gang plus the three guards (who were lagging behind, due to their heavy build and such) quickly drew near to their destination: the Old Ruins.

Charice was leading, since the guards had said that they needed to keep going forwards before they reached it, closely followed by Miku and Dashan, who were being tailed by Nile, Kyoya and Mitsuki, and the guards at the back.

They ran and ran and ran for what seemed like an eternity, until they (finally) arrived at the Old Ruins (well done).

"Not you again!" Charice glared at her old enemy: The person-who-says-annoying-things-in-brackets.

"(Oh yes. It's me.)" The person-who-says-annoying-things-in-brackets snickered, then turned and disappeared.

"… What on earth was that?" Dashan questioned.

"Don't worry. Anyway, we're here, so let's go!" Charice chirped happily, before beginning to skip into the ruins.

"Wait!"

"Huh? What is it, Mitsuki?"

"Remember what Dashan said? If we stay near the Shadow Pearl for too long, we'll end up becoming insane!"

"Oh yeah…"

"So maybe it's best if we don't rush into there like we've already lost our minds." Nile sniggered.

"I HAVE NOT LOST MY MIND!" Charice yelled, chasing Nile around with her fist held up high above her head.

"Ah… when are they going to realise that they're so hopelessly in love?" Miku sighed.

"I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM!"

"... CHARICE! You're strangling her!"

"I KNOW!"

-XD-

After they had (eventually) calmed Charice down, they headed into the ruins, eyes darting around, searching for any sign of the Shadow Pearl. They left the guards outside because they were big wimps).

"This place is creepy… I'm kinda hoping that we don't find the pearl…" Charice shuddered.

"Why, are you scared of a pearl?" Kyoya teased, remembering when Charice was teasing him about that.

"N-no! O-of course I'm not scared of a pearl that could potentially make us lose our minds! W-why would I be scared?" Charice replied rather too quickly.

"Charice is scared of a pearl~! Charice is scared of a pearl~! Charice is scared of a-!" Kyoya chanted, Nile joining in for fun.

"Oh shut up!" Miku said, punching Kyoya lightly.

"Guys… I'm feeling a sort of tingling sensation… I think we're drawing close to the pearl…" Mitsuki shivered, pulling her sleeves down.

"Mitsuki's right… I'm feeling it too!" Charice exclaimed.

"Me too." Dashan said.

"I don't know… I'm not feeling anything." Miku shrugged.

"Probably because you already are insane."Kyoya muttered under his breath.

"Oi!"

"Guys! I've just realised that there are drawings etched onto the walls! Look!" Nile suddenly pointed out.

"Oh yeah!" Charice examined one. It seemed to be… a deformed human without a head. "These are messed up!"

"They all seem to be depicting some sort of scene… maybe linked with the Shadow Pearl?" Dashan suggested.

"Maybe." They continued walking in silence, the tingling getting stronger and stronger, and before long, it was almost like pins and needles.

"Ow ow ow! This pain is becoming unbearable!" Mitsuki began shaking.

"Really? You're feeling pain? My arms are going numb." Miku rubbed her arms, probably trying to get some feeling into them. "How about you guys?"

"I feel pain! YOUCH!" Charice replied, jumping as a twinge of pain shot through her body.

"Me-" Nile shuddered. "Too…" He whimpered.

"Wimp." Kyoya murmured.

"I think my arms are going numb." Dashan said.

"So… I guess we're split into two different groups! Miku, Kyoya and Dashan's arms are freezing, while us other three are stuck with pain!" Charice chirped happily.

"And you're pointing that out because…?"

"I felt like it!"

"OMG! GUYS, LIKE TOTALLY LOOK OVER THERE!" Miku abruptly yelled.

"What is it?"

"THERE'S A PLINTH OVER THERE! And it has some sort of… sphere on top of it."

"That could be the-" Charice trembled with more pain, "Shadow Pearl!"

Quickly, the group ran over to the plinth. Atop it sat a pitch-black orb, and had what looked like dark clouds swirling inside it.

"… Is anyone losing their minds yet?"

"Nope. I'm not."

Charice examined the Shadow Pearl. It seemed like it was in perfectly good condition… exceptfor a chip in its side!

"Check this out! There's a chip there! Hey… do you think that someone cut a chunk off of the pearl and slipped it in Alex's suitcase or pocket or something?"

"Even a tiny fragment of the pearl would be enough to send someone insane, eventually." Dashan said.

"But what if that fragment wasn't given to Alex? What if it was something other than the pearl?" Nile questioned.

"But what if it was given to Alex? Nile, this is the only lead we have. Dashan, can you destroy the shard without having to find it?" Charice retorted.

"I think… if we destroy the pearl itself, any other fragments elsewhere would be destroyed too." Dashan answered.

"And… how do we destroy it?"

"With our beys, of course."

-XD-

"COME ON! HURRY UP! THE STUPID PLACE IS COLLAPSING!" Miku screamed, dashing through the ruins.

"WE'RE RUNNING AS FAST AS WE CAN, MIKU!" Charice screamed back, flinching slightly when a chunk of the ceiling crashed down in front of her.

"THERE'S THE EXIT! LET'S GO!"

They managed to give themselves an extra burst of speed, and they raced out of the exit just as the place fell in on itself.

"Ok…" Nile panted. "So the Shadow Pearl… was keeping… the Old Ruins… in place."

"Let's… just get back… to the Tribe… okay?" Charice said, and so the gang headed back (as quickly as they could in their tired states) to the Tribe's camp.

WHEE! I'M DONE! … You happy now? :P Anyway, the battle between Charice and Aaden will be in the next chapter… or will it? WILL THEY MAKE IT BACK IN TIME? No, no they won't. :P

So ja. Review and all that. After you've done the QUESTIONS! XD

ONE! Who wouldl win? Would Charice or would Aaden? That is, if they were to battle again.

TWO! WILL THEY EVEN MAKE IT BACK?

RANDOM QUESTION! Which football team do you support?

THREE! Will Tazmin appear again?

FOUR! Why is Miku obsessed with aliens?

NOW YOU REVIEW!

Oh ja, and anonymous reviews ARE enabled, so if there are any people without an account reading this, YOU CAN REVIEW! XD

YOU GET A VIRTUAL CHOCOLATE CAKE IF YOU REVIEW! XD