His heart was in a state of shock. Dynamis had never felt anything like it. It was like the world has stopped spinning, gravity become non-existent. It was not a bad feeling. In fact, if anything, Dynamis liked it. His mind kept replaying the seconds before. Those eyes. He had never seen eyes like that. The feeling of her hand in his, for that momentary handshake. He wished he'd asked her more, asked her to stay. Maybe he could have found out more about her.
"Give your head a shake, Dynamis." He muttered to himself. "What are you thinking?" His brain stopped the flashbacks, but his heart remained in the fluttering beat. Why? He wondered. Why am I so vulnerable to these…feelings? He looked up to his ancestors, but there seemed to be no answer from his soulfelt stars.

And yet there it was. The beating of those footsteps, running back up the staircase. They seemed to match his heart. Match its unruly beatings. He couldn't help the thrill, that it might be her. Maybe she could explain what was happening to him. He tied to look casual as the steps neared him. Right up until the explosion.

Dynamis finally snapped out of it.

"Hey stargazer! Duck!" The pale-eyed girl rammed into him just as a giant boulder flew past where his head had been. The temple was crumbling as the second explosion rocked it.

"What is happening?" He yelled over the rumble. Panic had replaced the bliss of moments before, as well as his fatherly instinct towards the little boy he was harboring. Tithi, where was Tithi?

"I don't know, but I don't wanna die!" Natsumi shrieked and leaped over a boulder. She had her beylauncher in her hand.

"Twisted Springer!" She yelled as the bey detached itself and flew through the dust. It exploded with light and Dynamis saw a figure though the dust, though he could not make out its face.

"Who are you?!" He yelled.
There was a foul voice on the wind, he could sense it. The foul voice of hades. One only Nemesis had.

Natsumi caught her bey and began to run. Dynamis leaped to his feet. Finally, the cursed temple was falling. He was free. He kept thinking it, over and over, even as her ran to the back of the temple.

"Tithi!" He yelled. "Where are you!" He tried to keep the panic out of his voice.

"We gotta get out of here!" Natsumi yelled to him. "We don't have time!" She was sprinting towards the exit.

A laugh split the air as a little boy vaulted down from the ceiling. How did he get up there, Dynamis had no time to wonder. Flashes of yellow exploded around the little boy, who just happened to be Tithi, destroying all rocks that threatened him.

"This is cool!" Tithi yelled gleefully as he caught his Death Quetzalcoatl.

"Tithi, come on, we've gotta get out of here! Natsumi!" Dynamis yelled, robes flapping around him as he ran out of the collapsing temple, holding Tithi by the hand. He sprinted down into the field of ruins, but they still were not safe, as the explosions launched rocks in their direction. Tithi pulled his hand out of Dynamis grasp and leaped
across the boulders lithely, giggling. That child had no sense of danger.

Dynamis pulled out his beylauncher and launched Jupiter at a huge boulder that was nearing them. In a flash of purple, tiny shards rained down around them, and Dynamis could feel the blood on his face. Better than being hit by a giant rock, though.
He had to stop this somehow, before they were killed by another rock, or worse, got caught in an explosion.

"Jupiter, Grand Lightning!" He yelled, stopping in mid-air and twisting around. He aimed for the spot where he and Natsumi had seen the figure. As the Jupiter's bey spirit materialised in the air and lightning rained on the temple, Dynamis threw himself to the ground, and Tithi hid behind a boulder. For a second, the world went was white, before turning black, and the last thought Dynamis had was that his life had just gotten really weird.

&*&*&**D**&*&*&

Dynamis coughed and wheezed as the sun hit his face. He was lying beneath a boulder, covered in dust and blood. He shot to his feet as he remembered his bey. He had to find Jade Jupiter. He stumbled over the rock he had been sheltering behind and sighed in relief as he found his purple bey still spinning on the dust-covered ground. Only then did he look around.

His temple was now a collection of boulders and nothing. The sun shined, as if interest by the events had made it come out quicker. How long had he been out? Probably at least enough time for the sun to rise. He sighed, and couldn't help the giddy relief flooding his veins. He was free. Though guilt clouded his mind, as he remembered the promise he had made to protect his temple so long ago to his father. His father, who had disappeared, along with his mother. He had never known what happened to them. The only thing he had from his father was his bey. Jupiter was their legacy.

A groan startled him, and he turned around to find Natsumi, lying behind another boulder. Her Springer lay beside her, cracked down the middle. He ran to her side, picking up the broken bey.
"Are you alright?" He asked.

She opened those startling colourless eyes. "Yeah, I think." She touched her neck, then sat bolt upright. "My amulet!" She gasped. "Oh no, oh no. If he got it….." She began to reach around the boulder, patting the ground.

Dynamis scoured his memory for an amulet. Yes, he had seen a glint of gold and amber on the girls neck. Could that be what she was searching for? It must have been extremely important, as Natsumi's eyes were wide with panic.

"Oh no. If they got their hands on it!"

This sparked Dynamis' curiosity further. "What are you searching for?"

"The twisted meteor!"

"What?!" He tried again.

"It's a powerful shard from a meteor that descended to earth. If they got their hands on it, the world will…..what the hell am I sayin'!" She smacked herself. Dynamis held his tongue, though he wanted to know more.

"Watcha lookin' for?" Tithi's curious head popped up over the boulder.

"Leave us be, Tithi." Dynamis said.

"Oooh, someone is in lo-ove!"

"Tithi, I swear-"

"Found it!" The relief in Natsumi's voice was so obvious. She slumped down against the rock, clutching a gold-and-purple rock to her chest. It was strung up on a piece of rope. She put it up over her neck so it hung down across her heart.

"I've gotta get out of here. I'm sorry about your temple, stargazer." She then glanced up at Dynamis, her colourless, shimmering eyes meeting his pale blue ones. His heart faltered again, but this time he pushed it away.

"Oh no." Natsumi whispered. "If they saw you, then they're gonna hunt you down for information."

"Wait, what?" Dynamis cried, startled.

"If you want to live, you'd better come with me." Natsumi said. "You too, kid." She said to Tithi.

"The names Tithi, woman." Tithi said, pointing at himself. "I'm a legendary blader!"

"You too, huh? There's a bunch of you."

"Wait, what have I gotten myself into again?" Dynamis interrupted. "And who are 'they'?"

"We have to get somewhere safe, preferably a big city. Then I'll explain everything. Let me see….I think New York should do it."

"WHAT?!" Dynamis screeched. A big city like that? How would a blader like him fit in? They'd stand out like a sore thumb!

"Yeah, but first we gotta get ourselves to look more….normal. Looks like a shopping trip is in order. She stood up, narrowing her eyes at the bright sun. "You up for this, Dynamis?"

"Seriously, I have a feeling I don't have much of a choice."