Valt's POV
Spain was done with me as much as I was done with it. BC Sol had reacted about the same way I expected them to, though I could have done without the attempt to hug me at the end. I felt bad for recoiling from them, but they just didn't understand - I was so wound up, being around so many of my former friends and teammates, there was no telling what I would have done if one of them had touched me. They didn't understand. None of them understood, and they never would understand. It was better to just rip off the bandage and leave.

With Wakiya, I wasn't expecting him to just... shut down like that. The rough, irritating attitude, sure; you'd be worried if he didn't treat you with such hostility. I was expecting him to shout, scream, question me, do something! The frozen face of fear and disbelief was not what I had anticipated at all. It was a face that would haunt my dreams.

All in all, that was probably the second worse stop of my little tour, after Ken.

The weight of Raijin in my pocket was becoming more like a pound then the normal featherweight feeling of a bey. It became heavier and heavier each time I left a country. Each time I looked down, I half expected to see my coat flap dragging on the ground behind me. You're not my partner, I told Raijin in my mind. My real partner is Valtryek and every battle we won was won by fairness and hard work; the tech that went into making you made you too strong, and all you do is hurt those that you battle!

My strength has served us well so far, Raijin replied simply. And you didn't seem to have a problem with us when we began this journey.

"Because when we began, I didn't think it would hurt this bad to win like this!" I said out loud, exasperated. "I wanted to battle them because that's what we always did; I didn't expect to win every single battle. It's becoming repetitive, and that's taking the magic out of it. The very fact hurts." The faces of my friends when they lost to Raijin flashed across my vision and I winced. "Not to mention, it probably hurts them twice as much as it hurts me."

They are witnesses to greatness, Raijin growled in my ears. It is only natural that they react in such disbelief.

That doesn't make it any easier to bare, I told it firmly, choosing to keep it inside this time.

An echoing rumble followed, which I guessed was Raijin's version of a sigh. You said that you would wait until after our little journey to decide what to do with me, It reminded me. At least put up with our combined strength until then.

Inwardly, I cursed that little deal. All I wanted to do was fling that beast of a bey far away from me. But as PIXAL taught me, a Master didn't go back on their word unless it was absolutely necessary. Fine. The next stop is going to be the most difficult.

Difficult generally or emotionally? Raijin inquired.

Both.

Ah. Well, let's not squander our time here.

Nodding slightly, I took one last look at the skyline of Spain. I was currently standing at the top of the old bell tower, the one that Kit had found me at on my first day in the country. A weak grin twitched my mouth up as I thought of that day. It was the first of many fond memories I had made in Spain, as Kit was the first of many friends I made at BC Sol. But my grin was short-lived as I reminded myself that both just added to the growing list of people and places that I had to leave behind.

So I gave the country one last fond look, even took the time to blow a kiss at the horizon. Then I leapt off of the edge of the bell tower, transformed, and started my journey West. All the while, I was mentally preparing myself for what was sure to be the hardest stop of my journey, in more ways then one.

It was time to go see Xander.

No One's POV
The area outside the SB Rios training grounds was quiet. It had to be - the walls had been specially designed to keep out any and all noise that came from inside the grounds. The reason why was unknown to everyone except Banner Clay, the manager of the club. No one dared to ask him why, and for good reason. Xander Shakadera was the tallest in the club (possibly the tallest 11 yr old on the planet), and he was shorter than the man by a least a foot and a half.

But still, the grounds were quiet. Not even the dirt stirred in the breeze. All that could be heard was the gentle rustling of the various forms of foliage around the walls.

Then another sound broke the natural silence. The subtle yet unnatural sound of swishing fabric as a shadow passed over the ground.

The person of which the shadow belonged to obviously didn't want to be seen, for they moved quickly and silently through the palm trees surrounding the training grounds. Unseen eyes searched the walls, looking for a way in without drawing too much attention to themselves. Reasoning that the bladers inside must be busy training, thus not paying attention to the front doors, they slowly made their way to the towering gates that marked the entrance to SB Rios. Forgoing the protection of the trees, they stood before their destination and breathed deeply. They seemed to mentally prepare themselves as they started towards the gates...

But before they got there, the ground exploded next to them. Without even thinking, they ducked a flying fist and, in the same motion, delivered a sweeping roundhouse kick to their attacker's shoulder blade. Their foot hit true, and the teenage boy who had so rudely attacked them cried out and stumbled back, holding his left arm.

At the boy's shout of pain, more dust clouds billowed from the ground, revealing three other teenagers, two other boys and a dark magenta haired girl. They were all poised in fighting stances - one, the youngest-looking boy, even held a pair of green nunchucks. They took in the sight of their wounded teammate, who had been reduced to a teary, whimpering mess as he continued to cradle his left shoulder. Their faces displaying various stages of horror and then anger as their gazes returned to the stranger.

"First you show up on our grounds unannounced, acting like some godforsaken ninja," The older boy listed heatedly, his black dreadlocks quivering with fury. "Then you attack one of our teammates and possibly dislocated his shoulder?"

"Yeah!" The girl shouted, her fists held before her. "Forget whatever punishment our Master will cook up for you once he finds out about this; once we're through with you, you're going to jail!"

The stranger stared at them for a while before turning to the teammate they had disarmed (literally - kind of). "First off, I didn't dislocate his shoulder, though his whimpering might lead you to believe otherwise; I only bruised it," They informed the assembled members of SB Rios, their voice garbled and glitchy. "Secondly, he attacked me first - the kick was purely out of self defense." They got a couple of scoffs and more than a few eye rolls at that. "Thirdly, I didn't plan on attacking anyone when I came here."

"Oh, really?" The boy with the nunchucks asked disbelieving, transitioning both halves of his weapon to one hand so he could cross his arms - Ray. "And what exactly what did you want to do when you came here?"

Seemingly satisfied with the question, the stranger took a step towards the small group; they took two steps away. "It's a simple request, really," They said reassuringly. "All I want is to challenge Xander Shakadera to a bey battle. So if you would please just inform him that he has a challenger, we can avoid having further harm done to anyone."

At first the members of SB Rios were quiet. Then they all burst out laughing, short, forced laughs. "You honestly think just because you can take out one of us and because you can rock a trench coat, we're going to let you battle the Laughing Giant?" The girl asked bitterly - Ana Mark, if the stranger remembered correctly. At her teammates' incredulous looks, she bit the inside of her cheek and huffed. "Come on! I know I'm not the only one that's thinking that."

The boy with dreadlocks rolled his eyes - Carlos Thunder. "Point is," He stated firmly. "You're not battling anyone, and you're not going anywhere until Master hears of you." He made some quick movements with his hand, and the other two fanned out around their target, clearly intending to keep them there by force if necessary. The boy - Mitch - who had attacked first steered clear of the confrontation, though his eyes burned with fury and lust for vengeance.

"I only want to battle Xander Shakadera," They repeated, sounding agitated. "It is my one intention, and I intend to fulfill it."

"Oh yeah, tough guy?" Ray said mockingly, poising with his nunchucks in a menacing manner. "That one roundhouse kick was impressive, but what else can you do with those legs? Not to mention, it's three against one."

"You want to know what else I can do with my legs?" The stranger asked, bemused.

Ray blushed and shook his head ferociously, causing his grip on his nunchucks to shake a little. "Y-you don't have to sound so weird about it," He stuttered. "B-besides, if you're a guy, I'm straight, and I'm 9!"

A series of short bleeps came from the stranger, which may have been a chuckle. "If you want to know what else I can do..." Their arms went behind their back, their elbows becoming right angles with their chest. Their hooded head lowered, mimicking that of a bull that's about to charge; their tone became menacing. "Come at me, and I'll show ya."

Their sudden shift in tone made the bladers sweat a little, but they remained firmly in their places. If this weirdo wanted to show off, then why not join in the show? Plus, if they were so confident in their abilities and they ended up falling flat on their face, it would just make revenge so much sweeter.

"Why not?" Ray asked smugly. "But you might regret tempting us like this." Without much warning, he launched himself at the stranger, swinging his nunchucks in a complicated pattern. He had intended to take his opponent by surprise, but he was taken by surprise instead. Their foot swept up to meet his weapon, tangling it around their ankle and jerking it out of Ray's grip. A swift thrust off to the side caused the nunchucks to fly into the nearby foliage. Before Ray could react, that same leg was in front of him again, delivering a strong yet blunt kick into his gut. Poor boy was forced onto his back before he could even blink.

Carlos and Ana stared in shock at the picture of their fallen friend for a few seconds before reeling on the stranger with a new fury. "Oh, now you've done it!" Carlos yelled. He fell into a front handspring and launched himself into the air with one leg in front of him, aimed right for his opponent's head. Right before his foot met its target, another foot went up and clashed with his. Before gravity could cause his body to crash into the Earth again, that same foot was at a right angle to his ankle, creating a hook out of the appendage. That hook pulled Carlos until he was almost level with the ground again, then snapped back to sharply shove him in his chest. He joined his fellow Brazilian in a sore heap.

Ana stood shaking at the sight of her fellow teammates in a pile. Carlos and Ray, along with her, Mitch, Ren Wu, and Xander, were among the strongest martial artists at SB Rios. Yet this guy just took three of that group out like it was no problem! JUST BY USING THEIR LEGS! What is happening? She griped, fuming.

"What's the matter?" The stranger asked her, sensing her hesitation. They sounded amused - not even the slightest out of breath, even though they had just physically exerted their lower appendages. "Did all the fight leave ya, girlie?"

That touched a nerve. Scratch that, it touched a bear. "You wanna see just what a girlie can do?" She shouted. "I'll show ya!" She ran forward, ready to throw a punch or two in their pathetic covered faces. But like the other boys, she was surprised. One of their calves shot up to block her fist, then straightened out to loop around her armpit and a sweep off to the side sent her arm flailing. She stumbled for a second, but quickly regained enough balance to throw another punch. This time, their foot met her fist, pressing hard enough to force her arm to lower when their leg did. When her hand was almost two feet from the ground, they JUMPED ONTO HER FOREARM! Before she could focus on this for a second, both of their feet had already left her arm and were making contact with her collarbone.

Now four SB Rios members were sprawled on the ground.

(Disclaimer: I do not know if these moves would work in real life or not - this is just how I pictured the fight would go. Those of you who actually know martial arts can tell me if I'm wrong.)

Unbeknownst to them, a blader had heard the commotion outside the gates and had cracked them open to investigate. When they saw a cloaked figure standing over the groaning forms of four of the most experienced martial artists, they panicked and went to tell the two other most experienced. A specific red head and a brunette.

Back outside the gates, the three bladers struggled to get to their feet while Mitch continued to look on in horror. The stranger watched them groan and tenderly rub their bruises with an eerily quiet air. They didn't seem concerned that they may have just caused permanent damage to their opponent's bodies. Then again, it was hard to tell anything through the hood and mask.

"How... did you... do that?" Carlos grunted out, rubbing his chest.

"Yeah... I've never... seen that... style of... fighting... before," Ana added, gingerly fingering her collarbone.

"And you... didn't even... use your... arms!" Ray gasped, holding his stomach. His precious nunchucks were still out for the count.

"You said you wanted to see what else I could do with my legs," The stranger reminded them, stretching one of the appendages out for emphasis. "And let's just say I've learned from the best and oldest teacher in the world."

"Funny," A loud voice broke in. "The best and oldest teacher in the world has got to be my grandad, and you don't strike me as someone from the Shakadera Dojo."

The stranger visibly stiffened, their earlier laid-back aloofness gone. Their arms came out from behind their back and became parallel to their sides. Slowly, they turned around to face the newcomers.

Xander Shakadera and Ren Wu Sun were standing at the entrance to the SB Rios training grounds. Ren Wu had his bo staff clutched in one hand and had a stern expression, which was really his normal expression. He looked like he would hit the stranger over the head with his staff as soon as he would ask them their business. Xander had a similar expression on his face, but it was slightly softer than his teammate's; anyone who looked close enough would see the hint of his signature grin. His arms were crossed over his abs, and his biceps bulged from the simple posture. "A student from my family's dojo would never act like this," He stated firmly, his red eyes blazing.

The stranger snapped out of their trance and took a step towards the two. "Ren Wu Sun," They greeted the brunette blader first, clasping their hands in front of them and bowing deeply. "Xander Shakadera," They greeted the red head giant next, repeating the motion. "It's an honor to meet two members of the Big Five."

"You can lose the flattery tactic," Ren Wu snapped, his grip on his staff tightening slightly. "Just tell us why you're here, and why you attacked our teammates." Xander raised an eyebrow at his friend's temper, but did nothing to contradict him.

The stranger tilted their head, but decided against commenting on Ren Wu's abrasive tone. "To answer Xander," They started. "No, I am not from the Shakadera Dojo. The dojo that I'm from is probably not one that neither you have heard of."

"I highly doubt that," Ren Wu said dryly.

"And to answer you, Ren Wu Sun," They continued, sounding irritated. Everyone stiffened. Did this guy have beef with Ren Wu? "I was not the one who attacked first. Mitch over there-" They gestured to the other brunette blader, who was still whimpering and clutching his shoulder. "Popped out of the ground first, then tried to punch me. I kicked him purely out of self defense, honest. But then these three-" They gestured to Carlos, Ana, and Ray, who were still moaning and favoring their injuries. "Popped out and started accusing me of attacking first! On top of that, they refused to comply with my wishes, and they started doubting my skills as a fighter, so I gave them the chance to test their first impressions of me. So really, they attacked first, not me."

Xander considered this, then glared at the four bladers. "Well, they shouldn't have attacked you straight off the bat, so you're right on that account," He said calmly. Mitch grit his teeth and averted his eyes at that statement. "And they shouldn't have underestimated their opponent, which is one of the key principles we're taught here." Carlos glared daggers while Ray and Ana hung their heads in shame. "But as to why they refused you, we're not clear on that point." He said this to the stranger.

"Oh! My apologies - I should have clarified that," They said hastily, bopping their head in a hasty bow. "My intention is simple, really. I would like to battle you, Xander Shakadera."

A series of growls and no ways went up from the small group, but none were as surprised as the Laughing Giant himself. "Me?" He asked, incredulous. "Why do you want to battle me?"

"Let's just say you and I have unfinished business," The stranger replied, shrugging slightly.

They stepped towards Xander, but a bo staff barred the two. "No way - forget it," Ren Wu growled, his expression even more tense than before. "If you think I'm just going to let an overzealous fan battle one of our top bladers just because you took out four of our teammates, you're wrong!" He leaned closer until his and the stranger's heads were almost touching. "And if you think that I'm the last obstacle standing between you and your goal, there's a whole dojo of bladers behind me that say otherwise," He hissed.

A large hand gripped the top of the staff and firmly pushed both it and Ren Wu away. "Don't mind him," Xander said, sounding tired. "He's been like this ever since a security breach left him and several others unconscious." His grin looked authentic, but there was a strain around his eyes that suggested that the security breach had left its mark on him, too. "But as to your request for a battle, I say: why not?"

"But Xander-!" Ren Wu protested.

"The sooner I battle them, the sooner they'll leave, and the sooner we can get back to training," Xander assured him. A hand dipped into his pocket and Surge Xcalius emerged. "Besides, why are you so tense? Me and Xcalius'll wipe the floor with this guy in no time, just like we always do!" His eyes flashed fire at this.

Ren Wu stared at him, glanced at the stranger, then motioned for Xander to lean down until they were almost eye to eye. "I don't know about this, Xander," He whispered, sounding nervous. "I have a bad feeling about this guy."

Xander laughed slightly. "You say that about everyone who comes here nowadays," He told the paranoid brunette.

"I know, I know I say that, but... there's something off about this guy. I mean, come on, who comes to BRAZIL wearing a TRENCH COAT? I just don't think this is a good idea." His knuckles turned white on his staff.

"You can relax, Ren Wu Sun," The stranger broke in, having obviously eavesdropped. "I mean no harm. But if I do appear to be hostile during my visit here, you have my full permission to take me out."

Ren Wu was quiet, a little peeved that the stranger would dare to listen in on a private conversation. He looked like he wanted to beat the guy's brains out right then and there, but a hand on his shoulder from Xander stopped him. The two shared a meaningful look, then the brunette sighed and nodded his consent.

A pleased garble came from the stranger, and their shoulders sagged with relief. It was clear that they hadn't been sure that they would be allowed into the dojo to begin with. With their former stress dispersed, they all but sauntered through the gates. As they passed Xander, a glimmer from within the flaps of their trench coat made him pause. "Hey, buddy," He called after them. "What's around your waist?"

The stress came back in a snap. The stranger's shoulders tensed around their hood, and they slowly turned back to face him. "Just a belt," They said quickly. They moved the flaps of their trench coat slightly so Xander could see the black circle around their waist, though they arranged it so he couldn't see the buckle. He stared at the belt for a moment, then shrugged and waved the stranger through the gate.

They were met with hostility - not a real shocker for a club made of martial artists. As soon as the newcomer stepped through the gates, half a hundred pairs of eyes flew towards them. The air was filled the sound of confused and irritated mumbles, and more than a few scowls were thrown their way. They didn't even falter as they made their way to the stadium set up in the center of the training grounds; mostly new, by the look of the few scratches on the floor. Their posture was laid back; their arms swung briskly back and forth. The only way to tell that they were nervous about what was to come was the way their hands clenched and unclenched.

An uproar went up when Xander followed the stranger to the stadium. Everyone shot a flabbergasted look at somebody, bulging eyes and gaping mouths all around. Who was this person, and why were they going to battle the Laughing Giant? A few questions were thrown at the large red head, but he silenced them all with a firm glare. No one questioned Xander when he glared.

The two bladers took their places on either side of the stadium, with the regular referee already in place. "Why don't you show us your bey?" Xander called across to his opponent. "If I'm going to battle, I'm going to at least know who I'm fighting."

Nodding slightly, the stranger reached into their pocket and brought out a bey that was a blinding blue. "Electric Raijin," They revealed. "Does it give you shivers?"

To be honest, it did kind of make Xander shudder. The color of the bey brought back some painful memories, mostly of bright blue lightning. But he dared not let his opponent or anyone else see his weakness. "Nice try," He claimed, clenching his fists to hide his shaking. "Nothing can beat my Xcalius, especially on our home turf."

"Home turf?" The stranger inquired, tilting their head. "Aren't you from Japan?"

Xander realized his error and blushed, embarrassed. "Y-you know what I meant!" He sputtered, earning a few giggles from the crowd and an eye roll from Ren Wu.

"Yeah, yeah," The stranger mused, garbling out a few chuckles. They locked Raijin into their launcher and crouched down with their partner held between their legs. "Well, come on! Get in your launching position!" They told Xander, but there was no bite in their tone. It was more like a friend egging their buddy on.

Realizing that he was already behind on battle protocol, Xander lowered himself into his launch position, his launcher held behind his back like he was about to draw a sword. With a nod to the referee, the battle was on.

"3... 2... 1... LET IT RIP!!"

Both Xcalius and Raijin fell into the stadium. Right away, everyone could tell it would be a no hold brawl. By the looks of the sparks Xcalius left in its wake, Xander had put all of his strength into his launch - he wasn't taking any chances with the newcomer. No sparks came from Raijin, but it charged around the stadium like a wild beast, nothing more than a blue blur gliding along the stadium floor. From the surprised looks on Xander's and the crowd's faces, it was clear that they had never seen a bey go that fast before.

"I should warn you - the tech that went into making Raijin made it too strong," The stranger told his opponent, and they truly sounded sorry. "Not even I can control it at times."

Xander raised an eyebrow. Really? The speed of the bey was scary, sure, but making it seem like it had a mind of its own? That was a desperate plea for surrender, if he ever heard one. "Let's test that theory, huh?" He dared. Watching his own bey as it zipped along, he shouted, "XCALIUS, LET'S GO!! SABER STRIKE!!" The red bey complied, rushing to deliver a crippling, if not fatal, strike into its opponent. But no matter how many times it went for Raijin, the blue bey was always three spins ahead. Crap, I didn't gauge the speed correctly, Xander growled mentally.

"A brilliant effort, Xander Shakadera," The stranger praised, and they still sounded genuine with their words. "But like I said, Raijin was made too strong, and no normal launches can stop it. Observe." They looked into the stadium and commanded, "Raijin, Electric Command." The blue bey reversed direction to clash with Xcalius, forcing its enemy backwards. Just when it looked like the one clash was it, Raijin sped up again, hitting the red bey over and over.

"W-what the-?" Ray sputtered, holding an ice pack to his stomach. "Xcalius is getting pummeled!"

"H-how is that even possible?" Ana asked in disbelief, rubbing lotion on her red collarbone.

"My bey has the name of a god," The stranger said for all to hear. "Gods are unequalled, so all those who bare the name of one must also be unequalled." Their words seemed firm, but there was something sad in their tone.

Raijin continued to strike Xcalius in a steady pattern of hit, slow down, speed up, hit. When the red bey finally started to slow down, its tormentor decided to veer away and take the center of the stadium. There, it seemed to sneer as it spinned, watching as Xcalius's speed diminished bit by bit until it started to wobble.

Xander grit his teeth. "NO WAY THIS IS OVER," He seethed. "All you're doing is hitting Xcalius enough to line it up for our next move." During the clash of the beys, Raijin had hit Xcalius just hard enough for its three points to line up. And the red bey was now spinning, albeit wobbly, towards the center, where Raijin waited. Grinning ferally, Xander thrust his fist forward and yelled, "HERE WE GO!! TRIPLE SABER!!"

"Ahh ~ Your signature move with Surge Xcalius," The stranger remarked. Xander's fist dropped a bit when he heard the familiarity in their voice. It's never a good thing when your opponent knew your move...

When Xcalius was only a few spins away, the stranger raised their arms, palms up. "Master's Decree," They intoned. In the blink of an eye, Raijin had forgone its place in the center and flown towards Xcalius. When the blue bey finally stopped spinning, it laid next to its opponent, now three pieces on the stadium floor.

Everyone was in a state of shock. It was rare and, to be honest, unnatural for Xander to lose, let alone that fast. He was a member of both the Supreme Four and the Big Five, for crying out loud! He had labeled himself as unbeatable, yet the sight of the three pieces of Xcalius in the center of the stadium was starting to say otherwise.

Xander's chest heaved as he stared at the pieces of his beloved bey. "No way I'm going to back down from a fight," He growled. Reaching for Xcalius, he glared at his opponent. "Best two out of three?"

"Wish I could," The stranger said remorsefully, bending down to pick up Raijin. "I have other places to stop at, more people to battle." They looked at the sky, which was turning purple. "The day is almost over, so I got to hurry." As they bent down, the flaps of their coat fell from their body, revealing the golden buckle which they had hid from view before. Xander froze as he saw the design of the buckle - a kind of octopus with strands of lightning as the tentacles. He had seen that symbol before, and the memory of such wasn't a very good one.

"Hey," He called across the stadium, his voice remarkably low for him. "Where did you get that belt buckle?"

The stranger tilted their head, then saw where he was looking and realized their slip up. They tried hurriedly to cover up their belt, but the damage had been done. "I-it's a... f-family heirloom," They sputtered.

"Funny," Xander muttered, though there was no laugh in his voice. "I remember seeing that symbol before, on another guy... a guy who's been missing for four months."

The stranger was quiet for a moment, then a sigh seemed to rack their entire body. "Are we just going to pretend it's not me?" They asked sadly, their hands reaching for the hood and mask that covered their face. Slowly, both fell away, revealing a face that Xander had last seen as a monster.

"Valt..." He said simply.

His blue haired friend looked exhausted, for lack of a better term. His eyes looked sad and empty, his usual sparkle gone. There were dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't been getting a lot of sleep. His cheeks had lost their roundness, and his skin had tanned a bit. His headband was still missing, and the blue hair that usually hung to only his chin now grazed his shoulders. The only thing that hadn't changed about him was the red birthmark below his left eye.

"Hey, Xander," He greeted the red head, nodding slightly.

The whole world seemed to hold its breath as the two stared at each other. The training grounds of SB Rios were in a trance - even Ren Wu was still, his grip on his staff slack. No one could have imagined that, after four months, the boy who had displayed such raw power, the boy who had tortured them that fatal day, would come back. But why he came back was still unclear.

"Why?" Xander finally forced out, his gaze inscrutable. "After what happened, after what you did, why would you dare return?"

"Yeah," Ren Wu squeaked, stepping forward. His royal blue eyes flashed fury. He coughed and his voice regained some strength. "You're either crazy or have a death wish if you expect forgiveness from us."

Valt sighed again, sounding resigned. "I don't expect forgiveness for what I did," He said gravely. "Not from you, Xander; not from you, Ren Wu; not from anyone in SB Rios; not from anyone I hurt that day. I don't deserve forgiveness, I know that. It's not what I sought when I came here." He stared pointedly at Xander. "I came here to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Xander asked.

"There's no way anyone will accept me after what I did," Valt said with a paranoid certainty. "So I'm going into hiding for a while, at least until I get a better handle on... THIS." He held his hands out, letting a little electricity dance between his palms. A few bladers in the crowd gasped and moved away slightly.

"How long do you think that's gonna be?" Xander inquired weakly.

"I don't know," Valt revealed. "I'm still not completely sure what I have; all I know is that it's genetic."

Xander didn't say anything for a minute. After a beat, Ren Wu felt it was necessary to step in. "I'VE HEARD ENOUGH!!" He yelled, his staff held in front of him menacingly. "YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE; LEAVE, OR WE'LL CALL THE POLICE!!" A hundred angry voices echoed his call - a few even went to get weapons of their own.

Xander snapped out of his stupor and faced the crowd. "Wait, no-"

"It's okay, Xander," Valt told him, drawing his attention back to him. "They're right, I should leave. I'm in enough trouble as it  is with law enforcement - I don't need to add trespassing to my list of charges." A sad smile graced his face. "Well... see ya when I see ya."

Before Xander could stop him, Valt had spun around, run to the nearest wall, and vaulted over it. A flash of blue soon followed, and a dark form zipped into the air. It disappeared into the highest reaches of the sky before anyone could blink.

Ren Wu walked over to Xander, who was still staring at the spot in the sky where Valt had disappeared. "The nerve of that guy," He said, trying to strike a conversation with the big red head. "Coming back here after all these months, thinking he can apologize to you, to us? After what he did? I don't know about you, but I have half a mind to - HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" He yelled as Xander suddenly sprinted away.

"I'M GOING TO GET MY BROTHER BACK!!" He yelled over his shoulder as he pushed open the gates and disappeared into the foliage.

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5817 words.

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you like this newest update!