Chapter Text
Aiga’s Bey isn’t evil, is it?
It was the first thing Valt noticed when the feisty little kid showed him Z Achilles. That Bey was possessed. Valkyrie had seemed to go crazy; Valt felt his fighting urges fly through the roof.
That Bey, Z Achilles. Aiga had made it himself. And a spirit was all too eager to possess it the moment it came into existence. Valt wasn’t entirely sure what that spirit was, but he knew it was there. And based on the way Aiga’s appearance suddenly changed mid-battle, the boy knew about the spirit, too.
Those Beys. With each generation, each new upgrade, the spirits only seem to grow more restless and powerful. It’s getting to the point where they seem to be possessing their owner directly.
However, Valt hasn’t laid eyes on a Super Z Bey since then. He’s had his own tournaments keeping him occupied. Maybe he should warn Aiga, tell him about the evil Beyblades.
At the same time, however, Valt doesn’t want to scare the kid. If Aiga knew about everything that happened, all of the possessions and insanity that went down before, he might never want to touch Z Achilles again. Either that or he’ll go nuts trying to protect his friends. One of the two.
This is something Valt has to take care of himself. There’s a whole new generation of Bladers, with a whole new kind of Bey.
And a whole new chance for trouble.
The Bladers are all over the world, it seems. Daina is in France again, Shu is in America, Valt is in Spain, along with Rantaro. Who knows where anyone else is. Wakiya and Kensuke are probably still in Japan, but who knows?
Valt has been losing sleep over it. The thought of more evil Beys, Beys worse than before, nearly cripples him.
Valt himself has a Super Z Bey, but Valkyrie doesn’t seem to have any malicious intentions. Valkyrie is just as nice as before, just as cooperative as before. The only thing it seems to be is more powerful than before, which is to be expected. The Super Z transformation is supposed to be an upgrade. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be more powerful.
He’s tried to warn Aiga before. None of his attempts seem to work. No matter what Valt says, Aiga won’t listen. He doesn’t believe that Achilles could be evil. He doesn’t want to believe that his Bey is evil.
Valt gets up from his bed in his hotel room. The kids are on their way to America: Aiga and Fubuki and all of them are on a ship, sailing toward them as he sleeps.
Well, he’s not sleeping anymore. In fact, he’s picking up the phone and dialing someone’s number.
“Shu,” Valt says.
On the other line, Shu’s voice comes through. “Hey, Valt.”
The sound of Shu’s voice makes him smile, but he tries to keep the conversation serious. “I’m worried about the Super Z Beys.”
Shu is silent for a moment. Valt can hear him take a deep breath. “So am I. I’ve been talking to Sumie Fubuki, the captain of the new Beigoma Bey Club. He says one of his other friends has been acting strange.”
“Do you think it has something to do with his Bey?”
“I don’t know, but it’s definitely something to consider. Has Valkyrie been doing anything funny?”
Valt shakes his head, even though Shu can’t see it. “No.”
“Good. Have you heard from any of the other guys?”
“No. I mean, they’ve texted me a bit, but we haven’t talked about anything important.”
“What about Lui?”
“Lui’s hosting a tournament. He’s calling it the Longinus Cup. I’m worried about him, honestly. He’s been acting kinda funny.”
“How so?”
“He seems… possessed again.”
“GOD DAMMIT!” Valt hears something slam. “Lui’s an idiot! If he let his Bey take over his mind again, I’m gonna break his skull!”
“Shu!” Valt exclaims.
Shu takes a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m just… really annoyed. If Lui is seriously stupid enough to-"
“I know.” Valt takes a breath. “So… I wanna warn Aiga about it, but every time I call him he’s not home, and I don’t have his cell phone number.”
“Will he even believe you?”
“I don’t know. He knows about the spirit inside of Z Achilles. I think he lets it possess him during battles sometimes.”
“Then he definitely should believe you. I might tell Fubuki, too, just in case the thing with his friend is related to it.”
Valt sighs. “I wanna help them.”
“Me, too.” Shu sighs. “Where are they? Do you know?”
“Last time I checked with Christina, they were halfway across the ocean. They’ll be in America any day now.”
Shu swears again under his breath, this word worse than the one he used when he heard about Lui. “We can’t let this problem spread again.”
“That’s the thing, Shu. I don’t think it will.” Valt stares at Valkyrie, sitting on his nightstand, glittering in the light shining in from his window. “I think it’s just Aiga.”
“It’s not just Aiga. It’s Fubuki’s friend, too, and now it’s Lui again. Once these Beys start communicating with each other, they start conspiring against us.” Shu inhales sharply, and then focuses his mind again. “And remember Phi?”
Phi. That strange man that showed up and taunted Valt at his last tournament match. If you could even call Phi a man: rumors have been circulating like wildfire among the Bladers that Phi isn’t human at all. The species varies from demon to alien, with several even saying he’s some sort of prophet from Heaven, sent by God himself. The way the sky always seems to part, just to shine a spotlight on him, makes him seem like an angel.
Though, in Valt’s mind, that alleged “heavenly” glow is anything but heavenly. Phi had taunted Valt, said that Valkyrie would be fun to destroy. He spoke of his Bey, Revive Phoenix, as something to be feared, not revered. He openly told Valt that Phoenix got its pleasure from destroying other Beys. To call someone that sadistic an angel sent by God to purify this world would be like calling Jeffrey Dahmer a saint.
“Yeah, I remember Phi,” Valt says. “But what does he have to do with this?”
“Hasn’t Valkyrie sensed anything off about him?”
Valt can barely remember what Valkyrie had felt in Phi’s presence. He remembers a rush of adrenaline, and his battle urges soaring higher than the stars, but other than that, Valkyrie hadn’t seemed too wary. There hadn’t been fear, or agitation anywhere in his Bey’s spirit.
“Nothing weirder than what it sensed around Aiga.”
“That’s strange. That’s really strange. Spriggan went nuts when Phi showed up at your tournament match.” Shu sighs. “Our Beys are still connected, Valt. When Valkyrie feels something, Spriggan responds to it. Spriggan wanted to protect you.”
“Well that’s nice of it.” Valt looks at Valkyrie. “It really didn’t feel anything that worried me. It was just adrenaline and battle power.”
“It was trying to fuel you for a fight that it knew would be hard.” Shu swallows. “Please be careful, Valt. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.”
“I won’t, Shu.” Valt then hastily adds, “Get hurt, I mean. I will be careful. I won’t get hurt.”
“Good.” Shu cracks a smile, though Valt can’t see it. “Good.”
Valt sighs. “I’ve been trying to warn Aiga, but he won’t listen to me. It’s like he refuses to believe that his Bey is evil.”
“I refused to believe Spriggan was evil, so I don’t blame him.” Shu takes a breath. “I’ll call Fubuki and have him tell Aiga the same thing you did. Maybe he’ll listen to him.”
“I hope he does. I don’t want him getting hurt.” Valt sighs. “I’ll be in America soon, probably where you are. You’re in New York, right?”
“Right.”
“That’s where we’re heading.” Valt smiles. “I’ll see you soon, Shu.”
“I’ll be seeing you, too, Valt. I look forward to it.”
Valt’s smile becomes a grin. “You better watch out; Valkyrie is stronger than ever.”
“You act like Spriggan hasn’t grown since we last fought.” Shu smirks. “This’ll be the battle of a lifetime, Valt. You better be ready for it.”
“Oh, I’m ready for it! I’m ready for anything!” Valt jumps to his feet, as if Shu is waiting right outside the door for a fight. “We’ll be in America by tomorrow! You better be ready for us!”
“The World League awaits.” Shu steps toward the door of his penthouse in NYC, as if Valt is waiting outside for him. “And Valt, I was born ready.”
It’s hard to sleep on a boat.
The waves always send it rocking back and forth, which jostles your body until you’re pretty much awake. The waters are typically calm at night, but when it’s raining, practically storming like it is now, the waves are anything but tranquil.
Fubuki lays there, staring at the ceiling, wishing for rest but being unable to get it. There has to be something he can do to make himself fall asleep, but so far nothing comes to mind. In fact, the only thing he can think of is grab that launcher over there and smack himself over the head with it until he knocks himself unconscious. That would be a bad idea, especially since he has a tournament to prepare for. Giving himself a concussion is an immediate way to get himself disqualified.
He checks his phone, despite it being about three in the morning. No messages of any kind, no point in even looking through to see if there’s any other notifications. He sighs and puts it back down, feeling as the waves attempt to rock him to sleep. Instead, all they do is push him further and further into alertness.
Something feels wrong. Something feels so off that it’s making him uneasy. Fubuki sits up, looking around the room. This boat is so big that they each got their own room, which is almost a miracle considering not a lot of boats are as large as a cruise ship.
He opens the drawer to his nightstand which houses his prized Beyblade, Emperor Forneus. He picks it up and holds it in his hand, staring at every edge, every chiseled feature in that magnificent metal disk. He adores it, can practically feel every emotion it feels. That connection that they share is so strong that Fubuki never once considered switching out his Bey for a different one, despite not being as good of a Blader as a few others he can think of.
Shu is one of them. Fubuki still isn’t quite at his idol’s level. He’s sure he’ll get there someday, though.
Phi. Then again, Phi is pretty much at the top of the Blading ladder. He can’t imagine that anyone could surpass him.
Aiga.
Aiga.
Aiga.
That name sticks out in Fubuki’s head, playing over and over like a broken record. Here’s Fubuki, having been training every day for the last three years in hopes of reaching the same level as Kurenai Shu, practicing every spare moment he has, using every ounce of his strength to grow and improve.
And then there’s Aiga, who first picked up a Bey less than a month ago, and can somehow already beat Shirsagijo Lui.
That isn’t fair. That can’t be fair. There has to be something that Aiga is doing. Maybe he’s cheating. Perhaps he’s secretly taking Blading lessons when nobody’s looking.
Or maybe he’s just a prodigy. Maybe he’s somehow already that good without even having to learn the basics. But how does that work? How can someone just pick up a Bey and beat Lui without any sort of training?
Shu has practiced every day for five years to get where he is. Fubuki knows this about him; it’s one of the reasons why that younger boy has so much respect for the older one. Shu had to train really hard to get to where he is now.
Valt trained, too. Fubuki knows that as well. Both Shu and Valt trained with everything they had to get to where they are now. Fubuki can have respect for Valt as well.
Lui trains harder than both of them combined. Even now, Fubuki remembers that Lui spent some time up in the icy tundras. He climbed a mountain to prove his strength, and he battled his way back down to sea level. He told himself, he told everybody, that he wasn’t coming back until he beat everyone on that mountain. He would stay there, he would freeze to death if it meant proving that he’s more powerful than anyone on Earth.
That he did prove. And Fubuki can’t help but have mad respect, even if what Lui did was absolutely uncalled for and downright insane. Why would anybody do that to prove how good they are at a spinning top competition?
Because he’s Lui, is the only answer anyone can come up with.
And then there’s Phi. Nobody really knows anything about him: where he came from, what his motivation is. A lot of people have so many theories going around that Phi isn’t even human. The thought of that makes Fubuki nearly laugh every time he hears it.
Phi’s an alien, is the most popular one. Despite there being a strange Godly demeanor to that Blader, Fubuki can’t find it in himself to believe that aliens are even real. Sure, the thought of humans being the only intelligent species in this giant, vast plane we call the universe is even more ridiculous, the thought of there being aliens close enough to reach our humble little planet makes even less sense.
Even if Phi was an alien (which he isn’t, in Fubuki’s mind) what reason would he have for coming to Earth?
More importantly, what reason would he have for joining a Beyblade tournament of all things?
Fubuki looks around his dark room, wondering what he should do, since he’s clearly not getting any sleep tonight. There must be something-
His cell phone rings.
Fubuki grabs it and answers it without even looking at the screen. “Hello?”
“Fubuki, it’s Shu.”
“Shu?” Fubuki instantly perks up. “What is it?”
“I have to warn you about something. It’s about the Beys.” Shu takes a breath. “Tell me something: has Emperor Forneus ever communicated with you?”
Emperor Forneus? Communicating with him? Fubuki stares down at his Bey. “I mean, I sometimes get these weird rushes of emotion that don’t feel like my own.”
“That’s your Bey. Those emotions are Emperor Forneus’s. Have you seen your Bit Beast? Do you know what it looks like?”
“Yes.” Fubuki recalls his last battle, seeing that glow of teal light, feeling that rush of wind, of power, seeing his Bit Beast through the light, that shark, that creature definitely had been his Bey.
“I have to warn you,” Shu says, “Aiga’s Beyblade, Achilles, have you seen it before? Can you see Aiga’s Bit Beast?”
Fubuki thinks about it. He hasn’t battled with Aiga in such a long time that he can barely remember seeing anything when he fought him. However, recalling Aiga’s matches in the tournaments are a completely different story.
“I do remember it,” Fubuki says. “I’m pretty sure I have seen it before. I swear it comes through when Aiga’s talking sometimes. In battles, it’s like he’s a completely different person.”
“That’s it!” Shu sounds terrified. “That’s Achilles! He’s letting his Bey possess him. I was going to tell you to warn him, but I think it might be too late for that.” Shu takes a breath. “Fubuki, please, if Emperor Forneus ever tries to convince you to do something for it, to give something up for power, don’t fall for it.”
Instead of questioning Shu, Fubuki decides he should listen to his idol without questioning it. If Shu sounds this worried, if Shu is telling Fubuki to do something without any sign of hesitation, why shouldn’t he trust him?
“I won’t fall for it.” Fubuki remembers something else. “Shu, I think the same thing is happening to another friend of mine. Suoh, remember me telling you about him?”
“Yeah, I remember that.” Shu takes a breath. “Everyone around you is falling for it, Fubuki. I don’t want you making the same mistake. Keep your head, keep getting stronger. And remember: we can save your friends. They don’t have to be vessels for their Beys forever. We took care of this once before, we can do it again.”
“Before?”
Shu takes a breath. “I’ll explain that to you later. Right now, we just need to try to relax and focus on what’s happening now. You can do that, can’t you?”
“Yes, I can.” Fubuki cracks a smile. “We’ll be in New York soon. Will I be seeing you there?”
“Of course you will.” Shu cracks a smile back. “And once we meet up again, we’ll figure out what to do about Aiga and Suoh.”
“Okay.” Fubuki takes a breath. “I’ll be ready.”
“Good. Now, get some rest. There’s nothing worse than being exhausted right before a tournament.”
Rest. Fubuki has been trying to get rest for a while now. Sadly, that boat makes it really, really hard to fall asleep. “I will.”
“Goodnight, Fubuki. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
“Goodnight, Shu.”
That’s where the phone call ends. Fubuki stares at the ended call screen for a moment, and then turns his focus back to his Beyblade. Forneus feels like it’s just as ready for this battle as Fubuki is, and that feeling makes Fubuki feel all the more determined to save Suoh and Aiga.
He can’t wait, but Shu is right. He needs to get some rest before he can do anything. That is probably the hardest part of this whole endeavour: getting rest.
Fubuki’s phone screen lights up again. He stares, seeing that lock screen of his. It’s a selfie of him and his former best friend, Goshuin Suoh.
Suoh. Fubuki takes a deep breath, trying not to let himself boil over with emotions. His best friend, turned into someone cold and merciless by his own Beyblade. Shouldn’t the Blader control the Bey, and not the other way around? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?
Fubuki swallows, grateful that Emperor Forneus hasn’t gained control of him yet. Or has it? Would Fubuki even know if he was possessed?
Does Suoh know what he’s doing, the person he’s become? Or does he think that this is the real him? Does he have any regard for everything he lost for the sake of some stupid spinning top game?
No, he can’t think about Suoh right now. Shu is right. He has to rest, he has to focus. He can’t dwell on the past. He has to think about how he’s going to save his best friend.
And now Aiga, too. Apparently that fiery little kid is also part of this.
They have to stop it before it gets too far, spreads too wide, before too many people fall victim to these evil toys.
They’ve already lost enough.