Damion woke up with a grunt, rubbing his eyes as the morning sun beamed through his window onto his tan face. He slapped his blaring alarm clock as he yawned and stretched, scratching his head of red hair as his eyes blinked open.
His room was rather plain, white walls with some paint chips and a single large poster. He didn’t even remember what it was for, but it’s just always been there. Didn’t matter, he had a big day ahead of him. One quick wash up and pair of jeans later and he was heading down the stairs to wake up his best friend that was sleeping on their couch, Rin. His hair was long and black, his skin paler than paper and he had a face that was covered by the pillow Damion just pelted him with.
“Wake up nerd, you look like a ghost trying to haunt my sofa.”
Rin slowly sat up in his loose fitting tank top, the pillow falling off his sharp face with a soft thump. His glaring yellow eyes squinted open at Damion before he retorted.“You’re one to talk, you look like a vampire tried getting a suntan.”
“But vampires are considered hot, charming, and desirable. Ghosts are just annoying and make people uncomfortable.”
Rin muttered something getting up from the couch while Damion grabbed a clean shirt from the laundry bin. They had a rhythm in the morning, and so far it had gone to the same tune as always. Once they were fully done Damion was wearing a blue shirt with a single black stripe going diagonal across his chest. He was putting on his shoes when Rin came back down the stairs in a full leather outfit, complete with a jacket covered in belts and combat boots.
“And you have the gall to get on me about sleeping in?”
“Hardy har har, grab your stuff already.”
The boys walked out of the door, grabbing a belt each off of the table that had some strange gear attached. Damion wrapped his loosely around his waist and Rin’s over his shoulder like a sword scabbard.
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Smoke bombs of several colors went off above the arena as the two boys marched for it, smirks on their faces. Surrounded by countless fans, dozens of bladers and all sorts of amazing smelling food, not a thing could ruin their day, not even that loud girl's voice yelling at them.
“THERE YOU TWO ARE!! I’ve been here waiting for you all day!!” Shouted a girl in skinny jeans and a grey hoodie. She was stomping up to them with her blue hair bobbing up and down as she poked Damion in the chest. “Where the hell have you been!?”
“Ow ow, calm down Lucy! We’re here aren’t we?” Damion said sheepishly as his short friend drilled into him with the fury of a hundred men. She was not calming down, and instead began furiously dragging them both by their shirts. The boys looked at each other with a shrug, before Rin spoke up with an exasperated tone.
“At least save some of that vitriol for our opponents.”
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“WHAT A BOMBASTIC FINAL BATTLE EVERYBODY!!!”
Sounded a voice over the mega speakers inside the stadium as two beys slammed into each other down in the giant dish. Damion stood on one side and smirked at his opponent, before waving his hand.
“Now Phantom Wolf, let’s end this!”
One of the beys broke away, circling the stadium slope before swiftly turning back down. Like an azure flash it smashed into the other bey and sent it flying, much to the dismay of it’s blader opposite of Damion. The other bey unceremoniously clinked down outside the stadium.
“WHAT A LIGHTNING FAST ATTACK, DAMION HAS JUST EARNED THE FIRST MATCH WITH TERRIFYING EFFICIENCY!! LIKE A GHOST IT ENDS THE FIGHT AS IF IT HADN’T EVEN STARTED!”
Wolf flew up into Damions waiting hand as he turned back to march into his team's bench area. Rin was leaning back in his seat with a smirk, and Lucy was sitting cross legged still fuming. Rin was the first to speak up.
“Having fun out there captain? Was it too tough for you?” He was clearly mocking him, but Damion brushed it off with a snicker as he turned to Lucy.
“You’re up next miss grouchy buns, go work off that aggression you hit us with earlier.”
She huffed, standing up and making her way to the stadium. Damion took his seat next to Rin as the crowd went wild, but he could see the tired look on his face. He was bored sitting here. “You seem unmotivated, even more than usual.”
“I mean, we’re undoubtedly the strongest bladers around. It’s been fun reaching the top of the country with you guys, but this is…too easy.”
Damion didn’t respond, silently turning back to the battle as Lucy went on the attack. Her bey stuck to the opponent, the constant contact burning away its stamina until it stopped spinning completely. Music began playing over the loud speakers as the announcer narrated their victory.
“TALK ABOUT TOTAL DEFEAT!! LUCY HAS CLAIMED THE CROWN OF VICTORY AND MADE TEAM ZOOTROPIC THE TOP BLADERS IN THE COUNTRY!!”
Lucy was smiling and playing the crowd as confetti cannons went off, streamers being flung up and victorious music filled the stadium. Damion stood up, prompting Rin to do the same. They walked up to stand with Lucy, waving at the crowd as the roars grew louder. They had done it, they had reached the top….
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“Ah~! Victory milkshakes are the best!” Lucy shouted out, sitting on a bench in the park and enjoying a well earned chocolate milkshake. Damion was sipping his own through a straw, the strawberry shake rapidly disappearing.
“You said it, feels good to be the best huh?” He raised his glass, which clinked against hers. They had spent the better part of the day celebrating, the high of ultimate victory waning as the night went on. But for one of them, it seemed that the high never hit.
Rin was standing a few paces away from his friends, his eyes not focused on anything in particular. This should feel like a great day, he and his team had climbed to the very top, they were number one….so why did he feel so hollow. Why didn’t he feel accomplished. He didn’t have long to think about that before he felt an arm on his shoulder.
“Hey there mopey, you gonna sulk over here all night?” Damion teased, fixing Rin with a smirk. Lucy also walked up to them, poking Rin in the side with her straw.
“Yeah, we’re over here trying to celebrate and you wanna be a spoil sport.” She tapped his forehead with the straw next, making a kissy face at him in jest. “Upset no one gave you a victory smooch?”
“As if.” Rin said as he gently pushed them both off, giving them a slight chuckle. “I just….wish it was more of a challenge. Like, you both won so easily I didn’t even get to battle, let alone look like it was a competition.”
“Hey, we just trained harder than everyone else,” Damion replied patting his shoulder. “But what else are we supposed to do? We wanted it more than the rest, so we won.”
“Yeah, but…..” Rin trailed off, his hair gently blowing in the wind. He seemed serene almost, simply contemplating as the wind got a little stronger. It was getting way stronger actually, almost knocking the laid back Damion on his back.
“Woah, talk about sudden breeze huh?” Damion joked, only for Rin to place a hand over his mouth.
“Shshsh…listen…”
cha…..Len…..chal
“What…is that?” Lucy asked, looking around like an owl, her hair blowing around in the wind. Before any of them could ask anything else a burst of light enveloped them. With yells of shock they all stumbled backwards as a massive voice echoed to them in a strange white space.
Challenge is what you seek, challenge greater than yourselves yes?
The strange, ethereal voice boomed over the trio. It sounded like a cacophony of trumpets and choirs, leaving Rin curious about this challenge the voice spoke of, Lucy confused about what was happening, and Damion asking what that guy put in their milkshakes.
I offer you all an opportunity to face opponents like none you’ve ever seen.
As the voice spoke, images flashed before their eyes. Silhouettes of strange people, some with wings and horns, massive tails and claws. Some even of beyblades engulfed in flames, summoning walls of water and destroying the ground. The group were enamored, the beauty, the danger, the promise of excitement. They all shared a look of bewildered curiosity as the voice continued.
Will you accept this fight in another world, warriors of this world. Do you believe yourselves strong enough to compare and become the greatest?
The beybladers gave each other a look of confusion. Slight smirks gave way to curiosity and eventually agreement. They all turned back to face the same direction and reached out while taking a step forward.
The light grew brighter, their forms becoming darker as a slight purple spiral appeared in front of them…….
Author's Note
Hey guys, Damion here! Welcome to the after corner, where we can drop all the serious stuff and talk to you beyblade fans directly!
The bey I use is Phantom Wolf T125 HF/S
For those of you familiar with Beyblade, I actually keep Phantom in attack mode, and my hole flat/sharp tip constantly changes modes to adapt to my situation.
That’s all the time I have for now, but stay tuned for what happens when we step out of the light! Till next time!
