Beyblade Masters (Ninjago x Beyblade Burst)

Intruder #2

Xander's POV (a few minutes before)
I followed the mech across lakes, forests, hills, and valleys until I couldn't be sure exactly where I was on the Earth's surface anymore. My body was covered in cuts and bruises, and I knew I was covered in a fair amount of sweat and dirt. But I didn't care.

I had arrived.

Though I didn't know where, exactly.

I found myself at the bottom of a mountain of stairs that winded around a rocky face, extending far beyond the night clouds. The mech that had taken Valt had disappeared somewhere above, and my initial instinct was to start running up the stairs. But something made me pause before I started up. Something about this felt all too... familiar.

Have I been here before?

After staring at the journey ahead for a few seconds, I started up, albeit at a very slow pace. Some of it was out of respect for the place; something about about it seemed to scream "ancient", and my grandfather had taught me to respect old places. But it was also so I wouldn't fall backwards.

People kept rushing past me. Up and down the stairs, people either walked briskly or ran with urgency. People of all ages, young and old - a few even carried babies for some reason. Some carried duffel bags up the stairs and looked like they were heading to a practice of some sort; others went up with backpacks like they were going to school. Some were dressed in normal clothes, others were dressed like stereotypical ninjas. There were even two groups of what looked like cosplayers on a sugar high - one group was made entirely of snake-like people while the other was made entirely of black demons. They made me shudder just looking at them.

But then I blinked and realized - none of what I'm seeing was there. There were no people walking with me or towards me. There were no cosplayer armies.

I was alone.

Am I going crazy? Why am I seeing these things?

I shook my head, furious with myself for doubting my sanity. Come on, Xander. You're not crazy; you're dehydrated and worried sick for Valt, that's all. It may have just made you hallucinate. Content with that explanation, I willed the visions to go away and kept climbing the stairs.

They didn't go away.

In fact, as I went further up, the visions seemed to mirror my physical state. The people became breathless and slow, some even stopped for a break halfway up. I almost wanted to join them on the steps and take some time off, but I pushed myself to keep going. I had to find Valt.

The only ones that didn't even seem winded were the two armies - the one of snake humanoids and the one of black demons. The farther I went and the more tired I got, the more I was convinced that those guys weren't human. Back home, I would climb - make that run up - stairs like these after lunch and manage to keep my stomach down. But these stairs were about twice the ones back home, and the dizziness from the altitude was making my insides churn.

I've been told that I am remarkably fit for my age. Sometimes I even forget how strong I am. So if I couldn't get up these stairs without getting a touch of altitude sickness... then who the hell are these guys?

Despite the medical part of me that kept saying that this was wrong, I kept watching the visions as I made my way up the mountain. It was becoming clear that they all came from different time periods - rather, these people didn't climb up the stairs at the same time. People kept passing through each other without showing any sign of it bothering them. Different hairstyles and fashion choices that are years apart passed me by. I saw a woman flounce past me with her hair up in the bowl cut/end curl look that was popular back when my grandfather was in high school.