Authors Note:
I do not own Beyblade Burst. Please support the official release.
Red Eye was beginning to regret returning to the Snake Pit. Of course, he still felt that battling with, what he observed as a blader equal to him, was the right decision. But he hated the place. Mostly because it felt like a cage for his growth. It was only after Red Eye decided to leave did he feel like he was making progress.
"So…" Jing began. "What's your story?" He glanced back at her.
"What?" He asked.
"I mean, I saw your bey. How'd you end up with Legend Spriggian, because Free can attest it was last with Shu Kurenai."
"Shu Kurenai is gone," Red Eye turned away. "He came to the Snake Pit to become stronger. But Shu was not worthy of Legend Spriggian."
"And you are?" Free glanced at him skeptically.
"I can harness Spriggian's true potential!" Red Eye snapped. That shut the pair up.
They continued to walk for another few minutes before approaching a metal door with triangles lining the edges. The room was revealed to be a death trap when he pushed it open.
More accurately, it was a room covered in spikes, with scattered metal poles used to navigate to the other side of the room.
"Huh…" Jing stepped into the doorway. "Ashtem sure has a lot of money to invest in a spike room."
"Let's move," Red Eye jumped onto the first metal pole.
"Can't argue with him," Free leaped onto the far left platform.
"This is why we can't have nice things." Jing sighed before jumping off the sides of the wall spikes onto the far right pole. As the trio slowly navigated to the other side of the chamber, Red Eye heard something. He looked up.
"We need to move quickly."
"Why are you saying that again?" Jing looked back at him. Red Eye moved towards her from pole to pole.
"Why are you..?" Jing began. Red Eye stared at her.
"Look up," he smirked. She glanced at the ceiling and visibly paled.
"You could've just said the room was going to crush us." They quickened their pace.
Things were going smoothly. He leaped onto the last platform, mere feet from the other side. Then the pole quickly dropped to the floor. He could hear Gold Eye cackling in his control room. Red Eye was absolutely screwed. However, he was jolted to a stop, as someone grabbed his arm. His boots laid mere inches from the spikes.
His savior turned out to be Jing, who didn't look amused.
"You actual idiot." Jing pulled him up. Red Eye aggressively pulled his arm away.
"I didn't need help," he pushed past her. If he wanted to become the strongest blader, he would need to do it alone, with his own strength.
` "That was kinda rude," Free said to Jing.
"You're telling me," Jing shook her head. "Let's just get out of here."
It wasn't long before the trio came across the second door. Red Eye inspected the carvings in the door.
The image depicted an Aztec warrior with a long thin tube in its mouth. A blowgun most likely. The dead body with a dart sticking out of its heart supported this idea, though it was a bit off-putting.
"This next room will test our reaction time," Red Eye concluded.
"So, dodging blow darts," Jing shrugged."Sounds simple enough."
"Let's go then," Free pushed open the doors. It revealed what looked like another hallway. Except for the many small holes dotting the walls. Way too many holes.
Free came to the same conclusion. "We won't be able to dodge all of them."
"Hmmm," Jing inspected the floor. "They're being triggered by…tripwire and pressure plates. If we could cause them to fire with something else…" She eyed Fafnir on Free's belt.
"I don't think Fafnir could trip them all alone," Free caught onto her line of thinking.
"Spriggian will help," Red Eye brought out Legend Spriggian. "I'll take the right."
"Sure," Free gave a small smile to Jing. She, in turn, rolled her eyes. Red Eye, ignoring them got in his blading stance.
"Are we doing this?" Red Eye called. Free pulled out his launcher.
"Ready?" Jing called. "3! 2! 1! Let it rip!" Red Eye took two running steps, then yanked the launcher's rip cord as he stopped. Spriggian hit the floor, causing sparks to fly. A storm of darts followed as it raced down the room. He glanced to his left. Fafnir similarly caused a rain of lethal poison on sticks.
"That was way more effective than I thought it would," Jing grabbed a nearby rock and tossed it into the hallway. A few stray darts whizzed into the air. "Maybe spoke too soon."
"Then be careful." Red Eye hopped over an uncut tripwire. Free follow suit but jumped to the ceiling instead to grip a tree root that had grown into the room.
"Showoff," Jing grumbled, before joining her friend on the ceiling. Crossing this room was much less eventful than the rest. Red Eye occasionally ducked, weaved, and jumped over the stray dart, but it was considerably less stressful than the last room. He didn't have to worry about Gold Eye orchestrating an unavoidable death. Then he thought to look up. Free and Jing were swinging from tree root to tree root, but they were running out of them.
So they let go to drop to the ground.
Right on top of him.
He just had to jinx it. Instead of crushing him, however, Jing extended her hands out, causing her to land on his shoulders, only sending a shock through his system. Free landed on his feet behind Red Eye. Jing hit the floor on her feet.
"A little warning next time?" Red Eye asked while brushing off his white coat.
"Sorry," Jing panted. " The tree roots were being cut remotely."
"So Gold Eye targeted you this time?" Red Eye was confused. Gold Eye had beef with him for taking over as Ashtem's top blader. So maybe it was Ashtem ordering Gold Eye to sabotage their escape?
"Gold Eye?"
"One of Ashtem's lieutenants,"
"And he's been trying to kill us?"
"If they wanted to kill us, they would've done that in the last room," Free jumped in. "I think they're testing us."
"For what?" Jing asked.
"Ashtem said that the Snake Pit was built to find and hone ultimate bladers," Red Eye mused, "But how would that benefit him?"
"Well, I can't say for certain," Jing began, "But strong bladers have a strong influence on the public right?"
"So your saying Ashtem wants to create the strong blader, to use them to take over the world?" Free wondered.
"That would align with how he runs the place," Jing answered. "Abusing children doesn't create a great blader." Red Eye put a finger to her lips.
"Listen," he urged them.
"It…sounds like hissing," her eyes widened.
Free grabbed the two by the arms. "It's from the poison gas being released. Let's go."
"So maybe they do want to kill us," Jing quipped. The trio dashed through the rest of the poison darts and ran through the door, neglecting to take a look at the door.
Red Eye blinked. It didn't make the darkness go away. All he could feel was Free gripping his wrist.
"What kind of test is this?" Jing asked.
"To get out, we'll need to rely on our other senses," Red Eye decided.
"Unless we can find some light," Free stated the obvious.
"Light…" Jing fumbled in the dark for something. "This might work."
"What will?" Free asked.
"Our beys. When I bond with Wu Kong, our power produces a bright aura."
"And if we combine them," Free continued.
"We'll have enough visibility to get to the other side," Red Eye finished.
"Exactly," Her bey began to glow. "This can either be a test of our physical senses or the strength of our bonds." Red Eye pulled out Legend Spriggian. I have proven I have the power to wield you properly. But to grow in power, I will need to you lend some strength to get through this. His bey hummed in agreement. A red, silver light emanated from Spriggian, then quickly spreading to the blader himself. The darkness retreated a few feet from them, revealing the structure of the room.
It was a massive pit, with a narrow, but strong stone bridge in the center. Red Eye took a tentative step. It was held. He moved completely onto the bridge.
"It'll hold," Free called.
"I know," Red Eye replied, before making his way to the other side. He breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Your turn," Free nudged Jing.
"You just want to make sure it's not going to collapse," She gave him a skeptical look.
"So?" He grinned in return. She responded with a smile, before jogging over to Red Eye. Her footsteps rang out through the room. They got louder.
Until they didn't.
The stone underneath Jing's feet crumbled from the main supporting structure, dropping into the abyss. He could visibly see her eyes widen in surprise. Red Eye sprinted towards her.
He didn't enjoy owing people. He caught Jing's wrist just as the stone block fell. His arm seared in pain for a few seconds, before a second hand gripped his. Red Eye looked up to see Free's dilated pupils. He could feel a slight shaking from the blonde. They pulled her up together.
Before Jing could say anything, Free pulled her into a hug.
"Free!" she yelped in surprise, before returning the gesture of affection. "I'm okay now. I'm…sorry for scaring you."
"I can't lose you again," he squeezed his hands before releasing Jing.
"You won't," She gave a small smile. Red Eye strangely felt a sense of jealousy and regret. The scene reminded him of…he tried to push the thought out of his mind.
"Are we done?" Red Eye tapped his foot impatiently.
"Jealous?" Free smirked. Red Eye turned away to hide his warm face.
"Stop being an idiot Ghost Boy," Jing elbowed him. "Let's go."
The rest of the journey outside stayed silent. Red Eye squinted at the quickly fading sun. The sky was bathed in a pale gold and pink light.
"This is where we part ways then," Free sighed.
"We will meet again," Red Eye met Free's and Jing's eyes.
"So, what are you going to do now?" She inquired. Red Eye considered lying for a moment, but then considered the last few hours and the trust they put in him.
"My plan is to defeat Ghasem."
"That'll be a long way to London."
"I'll manage." He turned around. "Farewell then." Red Eye didn't bother listening for a reply before disappearing into the underbrush.
"Shu Kurenai has changed," he could hear Free say. The familiar combination of rage and detachment started to bubble. He shook his head. No point dwelling on it now.
It would be a long road to the path or redemption.
Tick tock. Tick tock. The clock hit one am. Kris leaned back in her chair, taking another sip of her coffee. Her eyes felt heavy as she tried to organize the files on her desk.
The World League was just around the corner, and she wasn't sure if BC Sol was up to it. Not that the bladers were weak, but Kris wasn't sure if she was helping her team. Heck, she still wasn't sure if she was the cause of Free's departure. And her greatest regret.
She picked up a picture frame on her desk, smiling at the memory. It was a photo of her, Jing, and Free, in the same office Kris was sitting in. Jing and Free had arms slung over each other's shoulders, with Kris telling them a joke.
Ring! Ring! She turned to the phone on the desk. It was a landline, very outdated, but it didn't feel right to change it. Especially with all the memories she made with it. She wondered who was calling her at this hour.
"Hello?" Kris asked with some trepidation.
"Oh thank god you picked up," a feminine voice said.
"Jing!" She cried in surprise, "How are you doing?"
"Well, I could be better," She heard a muffled voice in the background. "Are you sure she has your passport?"
"...basically adopted me," a second voice said.
"Is that… Free?" Kris asked.
"Yeah, sorry," Jing responded. "It's just, we're stranded in Mexico and need our passports to get back to the states."
"I'm sorry, did you say stranded in Mexico?" Kris's eye twitched.
"...Yes?" Jing responded.
"How…?"
"Free got kidnapped and I went to rescue him."
"...excuse me for a moment," Kris put down the receiver on the desk. Take a deep breath. She tried not to scream, lest she wake up the entire building. They should be fine now.
"Are you still there?" the phone buzzed.
"Y-yeah," Kris gingerly picked the receiver back up. "Are you two okay?!"
"Yes," Free responded.
"Free!" Tears started to form. It had been months since she had last heard his voice.
"Hey Kris," His voice, while sharing the same bored tone he use for everything, had a hint of mischief. "Sorry I haven't called."
"It's fine," She wiped her eyes. "How have things been at the Raging Bulls?"
"Interesting," Kris could feel Free smirk, then felt the mood change. "What about BC Sol?"
"We've made a fresh start," She smiled warmly. "And it's thanks to you."
"...you figured it out?"
"Valt gave me a hint actually."
"Really?"
"He said you talked to him before leaving."
"Oh yeah, I-woah!"
She could hear scuffling. "Everything alright?"
Kris had to wait a moment before getting a response. "Yes, I just need to interrogate Ghost Boy on his relation to this Valt. Make sure you send our passports" Jing told her.
Kris could only giggle. "Play nice."
"Sur-wait, what's that's supposed to me?"
"I got the address, bye!" She hung up, her smile melting away. Kris missed the dynamic between the three of them. It was just plain fun talking to both Jing and Free.
Her phone beeped with a notification. A text from someone? Kris found it was from Free, of all people.
See you at the finals. It said plainly.
She answered. See you there. Then checked the time. 5 am is a reasonable time to start training, she decided. Kris pressed a button on her phone.
Meep! Meep!
"Ahhh!" A collective scream from every person on the club's property blasted her ears.
"That's more like it." She grinned. "Morning guys; training's starting early!"