You guys make so happy :)

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'M-Mei?'

I stuttered her name, unable to think properly. It occurred to me I never knew her whereabouts after the incident at the Nationals, and I never told any of the others why I was late or why Ukyo and I broke up.

Only Shu knows. Of course the others don't know who Mei is, so they stood to one side, confusion evident in their faces. But it seemed I forgot I went the kindergarten with a smol bean...

'Mei!' Valt yelled out, rushing to my side. He looped on arm around mine, helping me to keep stable. I offered him a grateful smiled, which he returned. 'I remember you! Why are you always so mean to (y/n)! Even when we were younger, you were a complete bully to (y/n). How dare you show your-'

'Valt, enough!' I cut in. 'I'm fine now. I appreciate the help, but I can take care of my battles by myself. I won't lose to some phony copy of my bey!'

'Good luck then, (y/n),' grinned Valt, before rushing away to the others.

'Well then, (y/n),' smirked Mei, swishing her lavender hair as her amber eyes glinted with maliciousness. 'Let's begin, if you're ready.'

'Of course I'm ready,' I scoffed. I lowered into my launching position, twisting Xcalius onto my launcher as I gritted my teeth.

'Ready? Set!' Honcho called out.

'3 2 1! Let it rip!'

Both beys smoothly landed in the stadium, tracing lines of black and gold around the stadium. Since we were both attack types with the same performance tip, we swerved into the middle repeatedly, but missing the other bey.

'Wow. It seems like you can actually beyblade,' I remarked, my lips curling upwards slightly. 'But you still can't beat me.'

'Don't be so sure, (y/n),' Mei warned, and before I knew it, an amber aura with golden yellow flames had erupted around her. Her hair flew everywhere as the wind from the aura hit her.

The shine of a magnificent sword with golden edgings and a diamond set in the middle flashed in the air. Suddenly, Shadow Xcalius sped up, igniting a trail of sparks as it flew around the stadium at speeds of lightning, before abruptly swerving towards the middle, just when Xcalius was zooming towards there.

Mei raised a fist in the air. 'Shadow Xcalius! Hunting Zoom!'

Clink.

It was all over in a flash. I glanced behind me, speechless as I saw the bey that had fallen outside the stadium on the smooth metal. My bey. Xcalius. I swallowed nervously as I slowly picked the bey up, as a cackle rang through the metal chamber.

'Who can't beat who now?' Mei smirked, crossing her arms. 'But the battle is still going on. So I can crush you even more!'

'In your dreams,' I muttered, dropping down into my launching stance, twisting Xcalius onto the launcher. But I wasn't finished yet. I reached for the black strip of plastic across the launcher and pressed in forward. 'I've got a surprise for you, Mei~'

'Ready? Set!'

'3 2 1! Let it rip!'

Mei's face contorted into shock, then anger, then disbelief. Her wide, purple eyes trailed Xcalius's unusual rotation as it spun across the stadium.

Her mouth flung open, agape as she had no words to say. Smirking to myself, I put my hands on my hips. 'What's wrong, Mei? Can't your bey spin counterclockwise as well? Seems like someone didn't do their homework.'

'So what?' Mei whipped her eyes from the stadium, recovering from her shock. 'My Shadow Xcalius won't lose, no matter which way your bey spins.'

'Is that so?' I grinned, determinedness glinting in my eye. 'Xcalius!'

I lifted my hand up in the air as crimson and gold flames rushed around me, wind blowing everywhere.

A sword similar to Mei's aura appeared, except it was wielded by a beast. The beast was clad in golden armor, blades protecting his shoulder. Diamonds were set into large, golden plates that shielded his calf and shoulder.

Four blacks spikes rose up from it's back, and flames surrounded it's head. A large "x" shimmering in turquoise was sent in a white circle that covered the breast plate, three spikes on each side sticking it out. Xcalius.

I was mesmerized by Xcalius's transformation (since it was usually at sword), that I had completely forgotten about my surroundings.

I didn't notice that everything, including Mei and the stadium, had vanished. Replacing those missing things, was white. Plain white. We weren't even in a room.

The sound from the battle had even vanished. I couldn't even hear Mei's annoying voice anymore. Awed by this, I looked up at Xcalius who was at least five times my height.

'Xcalius,' I whispered, amazed by the transformation. My whole body went numb with shock, and I had to clench my fists in order to stay with Xcalius. The beast's eyes shined with something. Maybe, pride? Astonishment? Understanding?

'(y/n) (l/n),' Xcalius breathed back, a little raspy. An almighty gush of wind swept through the air as the large beast knelt down, even though it's height was still superior to mine.

I met Xcalius's diamond-studded eyes, and for the first time, it felt like we were finally in sync. 'Do you deserve to wield this sword.'

'I do,' I replied instantly, my voice trembling with determinedness. I dug my nails into my palm even harder. 'I do!'

Xcalius stood up, satisfaction gleaming in the turquoise hues. He slowly faded as the alabaster backdrop began to slowly disintegrate, bit by bit.

Unclenching my fists, I blinked and realized I was back in Snake Pit. Mei was yelling over and over again to her bey, urging the special move as amber flames licked her skin and her sword aura was battling with all her might. A large grin broke my face.

'That won't work,' I declared, fierceness glinting in my eye as I felt the flames was over me. The beast I had seen emerged from the flames next to me, giving me a slight nod. I nodded back and the grin spread as determinedness washed over me. 'Xcalius! Upforce Launch!'

The sound of a bey bursting echoed throughout the chamber as Shadow Xcalius was left busted on the stadium floor in three seperate pieces. Silence filled the room as everyone took in the result, some happy, others...not so happy.

'N-No way,' whispered Mei, astonished. Her amber hues glazed over in extreme shock, her face contorting into a scowling position.

She glanced between the three pieces of Shadow Xcalius, unable to comprehend what had just happened. In defeat, she crumbled to the floor, clutching the metal bricks as she stuttered. 'No way. I-I-I lost.'

'Let's go,' Wakiya interjected, walking to a door that had just been revealed. 'It's my turn to battle and I am not losing.'

Everyone nodded and slowly made their way to the exit, leaving Mei behind. I bit my lip and desperately hoped she didn't come back to haunt me. Even though I doubted she could hear me, I said, 'Don't ever come back into my life like a demon.'

A shrill shriek cut through the air. Picking up my pace, the BeyClub and I raced around the corner to see Wakiya screaming as he looked down in fear, having reached the next chamber before any of us.

This chamber wasn't square like any of the other ones, it was in a cylinder shape, the roof much higher than usual, but still showing no signs of daylight. A purple glow was softly radiating of the metal panels, making the chamber look more eerie and mysterious. At first I couldn't tell why Wakiya screamed, but as I walked along the purple-paneled floor, it became obvious.

A stadium was centered in the middle of the cylinder, two purple walkways connecting the stadium to two tunnels, one we were in, and another facing opposite us. Wakiya had walked too far without noticing the special feature of this chamber. He was standing there, horror stricken and clenching hands in fear. And beneath him and the stadium was a 20m drop.

I didn't know if it was exactly 20m, the purple glow had only illuminated up until that far. Then it was just pitch black. So the drop was probably deeper. Good to know.

However, I couldn't see the bottom so it was unknown whether the landing was soft or hard. Another shrill scream echoed in the air, and I realized Wakiya was standing out there, near the stadium.

His legs seemed to have turned to jelly, but his feet was somewhat glued to the floor, unable to move back. Sweat beads lineds his paled forehead as he swallowed and gulped nervously, his eyes glued to the drop.

I'll admit the drop was scary, but Wakiya was afraid of heights so it made things ten times worst for him. It didn't help that he was screaming like crazy.

'Wakiya!' I cried out, running towards the terrified blonde. He leapt towards me, digging his nails into my arm until beads of blood started to appear.

'(y-y/n)!' he stuttered hysterically, turning into a hot mess.

'Calm down, Wakiya!' I shouted at the Wyvron owner. 'Jeez, I might pass out because of blood loss soon!'

'(y/n) is right Wakiya, just let go!' Honcho grunted, rolling his eyes at the other blonde. 'Stop being such a baby!'

Wakiya opened his mouth angrily to retort something back, but somebody else beat him to it. The clear voice radiated with utter coldness, freezing us all in our tracks as we turned away from our petty little argument.

'He's right you know,' the figure whispered, hidden in the shadows. 'Stop being such a baby and battle me!'

The male figure stepped out of the shadows hiding the opposite tunnel. His thing, long, pale face was obscured by a unique black masks, the royal purple lenses standing out. Again, this figure wore the standard Snake Pit uniform, the length of his magenta hair hidden in the high collar.

'I'm not a baby,' uttered Wakiya, his voice dripping with equal coldness. His fear about heights seemed to be forgotten as he raised Tempest Wyvron to Violet Eye. Determinedness was plastered all over face. 'Cower before my Wyvron! But why would I battle a pathetic blader like you? C'mon, where is Red Eye?'

'Red Eye is-' began Violet Eye, but another masked figure emerged, cutting Violet Eye off.

'Right here,' Red Eye announced, his garnet gaze sweeping across us, settling on various hues, but pausing at (e/c) ones. Rage and anger rose in my throat as I glared coldly back into the eyes that held the knowledge about Shu, the real Red Eye. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth as I couldn't contain the anger anymore.

'Red Eye, I will battle you!' I cried out in fury, stepping forward. But it seemed like I had forgotten about the person clinging to my arm. Wakiya let go just in time, but I was sent flying towards Red Eye, who slipped away. My eyes widened as I realized what was going to happen too late.

Shutting my eyes, I braced for impact. But there wasn't any. Slowly opening my eyes and glancing up, I realized why I hadn't fallen. Another pale hand had slipped down to catch my right one. Whipping my gaze towards the owner's face, I was met by a pair of crimson lenses. Red Eye.

I shrieked and loss my grip on the edge of the roof. I slipped, but a pale white hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. I looked up, and suddenly I was staring at a pair of scarlet eyes. Those beautiful, red ruby eyes that I had fallen in love with. A small smile spread across my face, and the scarlet orbs radiated and glowed with warmth and love. A brisk wind rustled through, racking my body cold, but I didn't care. It seemed I was just so lost in those shimmering hues, I didn't care about our surroundings. Even if I was dangling high up in the air. Everything was slowly melting away, disintegrating before our very eyes. Not that we were looking. It was only a moment, but for that moment it was like we were in our own little world. Where it was just us. Something passed between us, and then the moment was broken.

'S-Shu?' I whispered, breathing in Red Eye's mask. 'I-Is that you?'

The lenses on his masks gleamed, and his lips parted a little. His eyes focused on mine, like they were trying to figure something out. I felt him grip tighter on my arm, but it was gentle, somehow. Slowly, I tilted my head to my side, my forehead creasing. It seemed like Red Eye was having a battle within himself.

'Shu Kurenai is dead,' replied Red Eye, his cold front returning, not acknowledging what had just happened between us. It was like he was putting up walls, preventing me from seeing any further.

'But-'

'Shu Kurenai is dead!'

His voice rang out with anger as he stood up, removing his grip around my arm.

The only thing preventing me from falling.

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I feel like lately the main character has been falling or collapsing a lot, don't you agree?

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