Hades's Room, Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Chaotic Dimension, 17th Universe (Time Unknown)
"The thrush has found its ruined nest," A voice sang, walking among the destroyed room, "Its pitiful cry pierces the night. Oh, little thrush, what will you do to make this right?" The voice hummed, crossing a part of the room that had blood stains on the floor. The small, pale feet didn't make a lot of noise as it walked through the blood, although the bottom part of their feet was now red thanks to the blood.
"The poor thrush wants to seek revenge, fall down. It will not rest, fall down, until it finds the one that destroyed its nest." The song was cut off as the person reached an unconscious male that was surrounded by debris that had, by a miracle, not fallen on top of him.
"Fall down, fall down, vengeful thrush," The person continued to sing, grabbing the bit-chip that rested next to the unconscious male and holding it for a while in the small, pale fingers, "your wings will be dipped in red, your foes filled with dread. Oh, little thrush, what will you do to make this right?" The person placed two other bit-chips on the hands of the boy, along with the one they had picked.
The person left the room, humming softly before stopping in front of the double doors. They turned, a forlorn smile appearing in their face before looking forward and leaving the room. Before leaving, though, the final verse echoed throughout the silent room:
"Oh little thrush, why are you crying now? Didn't you know that blood is heavy?"
~~~MIAB~~~
Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Chaotic Dimension, 17th Universe (Time Unknown)
"Will Zeo be okay?" Julia wondered, Kai, Tyson, Ray and Max staying silent while the others wondered the same question. They had all felt the presence of both Cerberus and Hades disappearing, although Cerberus had disappeared before Hades had. That worried them a lot. Was it considered a draw or was it a win for Hades? Max kept looking behind his shoulder, hoping to see Zeo and Raul running up to join them but they never appeared.
What had they missed when they had been forced to leave the room? How had the battle between Zeo and Hades end? How was the battle? Was Zeo okay? Or was he gone? They had too many questions and not enough answers.
"He'll be fine. Zeo's a pretty good blader," Daichi acknowledged before they stopped in the stairwell, seeing that Kaori was glancing outside to one of the windows. He frowned, "What's up, Kaori?"
Kaori pointed to a window, her gaze calculating and eyes filled with questions, "I thought I saw something outside. Call me crazy for that but it looked like Nami." None of them called her crazy, especially when they knew that Nami was here but was not herself.
"It must have been Gaea." Garland told her, before also glancing at the window Kaori mentioned. He could see that daybreak was approaching and was confused until he remembered that time went faster in this dimension. They had been here for a day and it didn't even feel like it.
"We're going up against Gaea, right?" Steven asked as they continued their ascent, Julia now being supported by Steven as she had not regained her strength yet. Kaori was faring better, already six steps ahead of her.
"Yeah. The holy beast of the earth and the one that is currently possessing Nami." Tyson informed them, looking serious and unlike the fun-loving champion they knew, "We all have the game plan, right?" Everyone nodded and Tyson grinned, "Nemesis, Hecate and Hades are down. When we beat Gaea, that'll just leave seven left of the Forsaken Fallen!"
"We can do this." Max said.
Kai felt Dranzer tremble in his pocket and looked around the stairwell and could not see where Dark Dranzer was hiding. He was close, though, and could feel Dark Dranzer's presence. He eventually gave up trying to find him but he kept his guard up as he continued climbing the stairs.
Above them, resting on the chandelier that they paid no mind to, Dark Dranzer watched them impassively. He felt Rin trying to scream for them but he overpowered him, not allowing him to gain control. He created a fireball in his hands, "Gaea, huh? They might have an easy victory."
"Have faith in her, Dark Dranzer." Dark Dragoon said, glancing down. He laid his head on Dark Dranzer's lap, making said beast growl. He ignored the growl and yawned, closing his eyes, "You are terrible for the team's morale."
"Says the one that wanted to bond over genocide," Dark Dranzer said with an eye roll. He didn't move Dark Dragoon off his lap, instead gazing down at their competition before sighing, "Tyson will be hard for you to beat."
"My sentiments exactly." Dark Dragoon said, opening one of his eyes, "Besides, I won't battle him." With that last statement, he yawned again and closed his open eye.
"What?" Dark Dranzer asked. When he was ignored, he smacked Dark Dragoon on the forehead, making him hiss in pain, "I thought you wanted revenge against Dragoon?"
"Nah. Tyson's the white king and I'm just a simple black knight, you know." Dark Dragoon responded, shrugging his shoulders before he stopped moving. He didn't want to be burned to a crisp if he managed to set Dark Dranzer off, "The white king should battle the black king, you know?"
"Then who do you want to fight?"
Dark Dragoon opened his eyes which were glowing with dark intentions, "I wouldn't mind taking down the one who looks like Daisuke and his imitation holy beast that looks like me. I don't like him, even if Gaea created Strata Dragoon." He looked angry and Dark Dranzer understood the sentiment, having an argument with Hades when he had created Black Dranzer – a cheap knock-off me, he'd said.
"Fine. Won't be as much fun," He assured his friend.
"Oh, it will be." He grinned, his eyes reflecting his inner madness and Dark Dranzer found that he wasn't as scary this way. He was scarier when he was happy and playful. "I'll get to see his descendant in pain, the same pain we went through, and I'll destroy the imitation me. Why do you think it won't be fun?" He asked, chuckling while he watched the small group enter Gaea's hall.
"To each his own, I suppose. But I'll be the one to take down Dranzer and Kai."
"Is that your mindset, or Rin's?" Dark Dragoon asked, making Dark Dranzer grimace. That caused the dragon beast raise an eyebrow, "Don't tell me that's one of your reasons."
"Rin is asleep but I saw his memories. He wants to challenge Kai and beat him. He wants to be better," Dark Dranzer's eyes were fiery-red, moving in a fire-like manner, "I want the same thing, except in different context, of course." He winked before switching the conversation to Dark Dragoon, "What about Hiro's mindset?"
"Treat this all like a test," He answered with a yawn, "That guy just wants Tyson to be strong. Geez, he's got a brother-complex."
"Hello pot, my name is kettle, you're black," Dark Dranzer answered.
"You suck." Dark Dragoon muttered, sitting up and standing as far from Dark Dranzer as possible.
The dark phoenix stretched and then unfurled his wings, yawning, "Let's go back to Chaos and report. Do you think he'd like it if he found out there were so many people still alive?"
"Let's find out."
~~~MIAB~~~
Raul woke up covered in dust from debris and was very confused for a moment. The last thing he remembered was telling Zeo the story of Hades before everything had gotten dark. He felt Hades leave his body but he had decided to rest in order to wake up with some strength.
He sat up and looked around, "Z-Zeo?" He coughed, his throat sore for some strange reason. He felt a pressure on his hand and opened it to see Hades, Venus and Unicolyon's bit-chips. Now he was really confused. How had he gotten them, when he had been sleeping? Something strange was going on.
"Can't worry about that now," Raul said before he struggled to stand up. He grunted before getting to his feet, "I need to find the others, Torch Pegasus and Zeo. Before Chaos finds out that Hades lost." He headed to the door, not seeing the golden-yellow eyes that followed him out of the room.
"Too late, Raul," Dark Driger thought, curling his smile to show his fangs.
~~~MIAB~~~
Forsaken Fallen Headquarters, Chaotic Dimension, 17th Universe (Time Unknown)
"This isn't a good idea, Ming-Ming," Oliver noted as the blue-haired pop star walked up the stairs. The two had been utterly devastated when Ouranos had taken their bit-beasts so easily from them but the popstar had decided to march into the castle and get them back. Oliver was even carrying Zeus on his back, much to his discomfort as he wasn't that strong.
"If Venus and Unicolyon are in their hands, do you know what they could do with them?" She asked, stumbling a bit. She looked down and gave out a cry of surprise and horror, running back down to hide behind Oliver, "I-Is that a skull?!"
"This place must have been connected with their previous hideout," Zeus noted, staring at the small skull on the stairwell, "From what I had gathered, several children died in the company of the Forsaken Fallen, the only known survivors being Tyson, Hiro, Kaori, Raul, Julia, Ann, Rin, Riku, Nami, Hikaru, Shun and Aya. The corpses of hundreds of missing children were never recovered."
A shiver ran down Oliver's spine, "You're telling me that . . ."
"This place is not just a castle; it's a graveyard."
Ming-Ming covered her mouth, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought of them having been walking in a garden of corpses. Oliver knew how she felt, feeling just as horrified. She looked down, "They're sick. They're twisted."
"It's not easy getting tamers when yours are dead," Zeus answered, resting his head on Oliver's shoulder and closing his eyes, "That's the case for Nemesis, Hecate, Hades, Chaos, Dark Dranzer and Dark Dragoon."
"Why did you mention only them?" Oliver asked as they began to move, Ming-Ming picking up the child skull and cradling close to her chest, looking like she was ready to cry.
"Because everyone has their proper tamer."
"Why didn't you mention this sooner?"
Zeus glared, "Gee, I wonder what I was doing? Oh yeah, I was dying, bleeding out thanks to all the wounds they gave me." He huffed, scowling, "That leads us to have an advantage and a disadvantage."
"Please elaborate on that." The green-haired French asked, finally reaching the second floor.
"If they are bonded to their proper tamers, that makes them stronger than those that do not have a bond with their tamers. That's our disadvantage, one that we can turn in our favor."
"In what regard?" Ming-Ming asked.
"If it's a perfect synchronization, then that means that the controlled tamers can influence their beast."
~~~MIAB~~~
'This has to stop,' Gaea turned around to see Nami standing defiantly behind her, glaring at her. There were wisps of light in her hand, illuminating the soul room that had darkened when she and Gaea had joined together. The earth-spirit wondered if the others were having this problem too.
'Why should I? Don't you humans believe in 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?' Gaea asked in a condescending tone, looking at Nami with some disgust, 'Why can I not show you humans that your actions have consequences? It's a shame that you are a human yourself, my dear Nami.'
'I'm not your dear, Gaea,' Nami yelled, pointing at the beast with an accusing finger, 'I hate you so much! You've made me do such horrible things! I hurt Zeus. And I hurt Eddy. I can't take this anymore! Go away!'
'You're still just a child, Nami,' Gaea sighed, 'over time, you will forget about hurting these people. They'll be such an annoyance to you that you won't feel bad for hurting them.'
'I'm not a monster that enjoys hurting other people!' Nami cried out, taking a step back, 'I admit that humans are corrupted but not all of humanity!'
'Lies,' Gaea glared, making Nami give out a small gasp as Gaea looked scary as she glared at her, 'Humans are destroying this world. They're destroying my world!'
'Your world? What do you mean?' Nami asked, seeing hurt in Gaea's eyes when she had spoken.
Gaea looked at her hands that were dark as if she was covered in grime, amongst other things, 'They damage the earth every day. They cut down my trees, they pollute my waters, they pollute my air and they pollute this world. In my seal, I had to feel the same pain the earth felt while the humans lived in it. The atomic bomb, industrialization, nuclear plants, oil spills hurt me. That is my curse. I am the Earth. Shouldn't I have a say in who I allow to live in my world?'
Nami was silent before speaking once more, 'Wait, you're still only seeing the negative things a few people have done. What do you think ecologists are trying to do? They want to fix this earth.'
'They're working for their own benefit, of course. I've seen it before.' Gaea's eyes swirled with so much hate towards the humans that it prevented Nami from speaking more. Gaea closed her eyes, 'Oh, more humans have fallen into my web, it seems.'
~~~MIAB~~~
"Gaea, come out!" Mariam yelled, Rick standing beside her. Kenny had decided that Mariam and Rick could be a very good duo when they fought against the earth-spirit. They had gotten the details of Gaea's blade straight from Kaori, who had shown her amazing talent in identifying a beyblade's stats.
According to Kaori, Gaea was a defense-type blade that contained an extremely light attack ring that made her faster than your average blade. Her true form was never shown and she was great in all aspects except in her attack. This was going to be a big advantage that they were willing to exploit.
"Gaea! Show yourself already! It's time to battle!" Mariam yelled, her voice echoing in the dark room.
"You weren't waiting long for me, right?" They all looked down to see Gaea appear, this being the first time they could see the earth-beast member of the Forsaken Fallen that had possessed Nami.
Gaea had long dark green hair that was floating all around her as if she was underwater and brown eyes that reminded them of fresh and fertile soil. She was wearing a velvet green dress and a black cloak that seemed to be floating a little. She also had a silver bracelet around her right wrist that contained her bit-chip. In her left hand, she held her launcher and her blade.
"Welcome, humans," She curtsied before pointing at Max, ignoring everyone else, "You, the tamer of Draciel, a certain someone wants an audience with you."
"A certain . . . what?" Max blinked, glancing at everyone with a confused look before pointing at himself, "Me? You sure."
"I didn't stutter, Draciel's tamer," Gaea answered, "Dark Draciel wants to speak to you now." She turned around and snapped her fingers. A black portal appeared and she turned back around to face Max, "It'd be best if you did not keep her waiting. You've already made her wait for a thousand centuries."
Max looked at everyone once more before a serious look crossed his face. He patted Rick's arm, "I'm counting on you to beat Gaea and wake up Nami." He shot a thumbs up to Mariam and grinned, "Make sure Rick does this, alright?"
"Hey, what does that mean, Max?" Rick asked.
"I'll keep him in line." Mariam said, waving Max off. The blonde blader walked forward until he was in front of Gaea, seeing into her deep eyes that reminded him a lot of the terrible forces of nature.
"Nami . . . be strong." Max whispered.
"I will be." Gaea replied back, shocking Max as that had been Nami speaking. Gaea coughed before glaring at Max, "What are you waiting for? You're taking too long, you know."
Max smiled, "So she's still there." That meant that there was a bigger chance of Nami breaking free the way Kaori had. That gave him a lot of hope.
"Leave already." Max, with a small smile that was filled with relief, entered the black portal and he vanished, making everyone turn their gaze back on Gaea. Gaea, on the other hand, was only focusing on Mariam and Rick.
"So you're my challengers. Is that correct?" Gaea took out the bit-chip from her bracelet and placed it in her blade, "Then it is an honor for all of us to do battle. I am Gaea, holy beast of the Earth and I'll gladly accept your challenge. Just know that I am not a big fan of blood so there won't be a lot of that."
"She's different from the others," Mariam pointed out to Rick as the two loaded their blades into their launchers, Gaea doing the same.
"What do you mean?"
Mariam stared at Gaea, "She's acting like this is a duel: a battle where either side could win. In other words, she's saying we have a fifty percent chance of either winning or losing. On the other hand, Nemesis, Hecate and Hades always told us that we had no chance of winning."
"She's just saying these things to make you lose your concentration," Rick answered, Mariam frowning. He shrugged, "I mean, why else would she be in the Forsaken Fallen? You've seen their tactics before. Don't let them into your head." The three got into battle positions, Mariam still pondering over Gaea.
"Three, two, one! Let it rip!"
~~~MIAB~~~
"They are going to do battle with Erebus, Gaea." Ouranos informed the earth spirit as she was planting another willow tree, this one infused with her sadness and sorrow. She looked up from her task, seeing the serious gaze in the twin's face.
"I do not care. If Chaos and Erebus will battle, that is none of our business." She replied, standing up and grabbing the small bundle of seeds the women from the village had given to her while Strata Dragoon, her companion, continued to plant more trees.
"Gaea, have you no care for the humans?" Ouranos asked, following her as she kneeled down and began to dig, ignoring him. He turned to Strata Dragoon, who shrugged as if to say he had no idea how to handle her either.
"What about us? Do you care for us?"
"The only things I care for are the Elders, Strata Dragoon and this planet. The actions of others like Erebus and Chaos are not of any importance to me." She answered, pulling her hair back to gaze at the small seed with love before planting it on the ground, "Why do you ask me these things you know about already?"
"If Erebus and Chaos, in their war, destroyed this Earth, would you care then?"
She paused in her work, as if she had never thought about that until now. She looked up, "You have my attention."
"Chaos is angry at Erebus. Even Night cannot stop his rampage when, before, he could have spoken his name and that was enough to placate him. If he continues this way, then it is only a matter of time before he starts destroying everything that gets in his way, including the wildlife."
"Do you want me to kill Chaos or join him?" She growled, Ouranos raising his hands to appease her.
"All I am saying is that he needs someone to remind him and Eden's Rapture that this world is still beautiful and should not be destroyed." Ouranos sat down next to Gaea, looking pensive, "I would not mind if humans were destroyed but not all of them. I want to stop Erebus from being so foolish. He wants this whole world dead, Gaea. I cannot let him do that. We cannot let him do that." He turned to her, his eyes unreadable, "Will you help us stop him?"
Gaea nodded.
~~~MIAB~~~
The three blades looked like they were dancing as they dodged attacks and attempted to land attacks. Gaea's blade was delicate and graceful as that happened, as if she was a falling cherry blossom.
"Kaori wasn't kidding when she said that she was fast," Mariam told Rick as they once again missed Gaea, much to the girl's anger. It was tiring her out and she hadn't even managed to hit Gaea. Rick, on the other hand, had managed to land at least ten hits while Gaea had hit each of their blades at least twenty-five times.
"You can do it!" Kaori encouraged them.
"Sharkrash isn't fast enough," Julia muttered, her grip on her dress deadly. Tyson saw the same thing and gazed at Gaea, who looked just as calm as he did in the battlefield. He glanced around and then noticed Gaea's blade was forming something as it made its makeshift dance. The radical movements of Gaea were not that; they were calculated. What was she planning?
"Too bad." Gaea noted before her blade began to spin faster and rushed to Rock Bison, "Noble Earthmaker."
"Rick, look out!" Mariam yelled as Sharkrash intercepted Gaea's attack. Gaea's blade glowed and, the next thing everyone knew, Sharkrash and Mariam went out flying, the girl screaming before she landed on the ground. Sharkrash landed on the ground, wobbling slightly.
"Mariam!" Rick yelled, kneeling down to help the girl on to her feet. He paused when he saw that some of Mariam's leg was stone, the same being said for some of Sharkrash's attack ring, "What was that?"
"I decided to make her part-rock, so she can become something useful if she loses," Gaea answered with a smile, "How else can I use her, after all?"
"You're insane." Mariam responded, getting up but hating the fact that her right leg was now useless.
"That's all humans are good for, you know." Gaea answered. Rick did not seem to take to that idea kindly as Rock Bison barreled its way through the battlefield and delivered a good hit on Gaea, who gave out a cry of pain and surprise.
"You members of the Forsaken Fallen need a wakeup call," Rick answered before pointing at Gaea, "If you can't see that humans aren't just good for fertilizer for the ground, then you have issues."
"Excuse me?!" Gaea asked, flustered, "I have issues?!"
"You heard me loud and clear, mudbrain." Rick answered while Gaea ignored the giggles from Nami that were distracting her from her anger, "The battlefield is no place for issues like that! So get your head out of your problems and battle or I will crush you."
"You got some nerve!" Gaea yelled, "Splendid Earthriser!" A white light from her bit-chip appeared and a large dark brown scorpion appeared, looking as pissed off as Gaea did.
"Rick, this is a good time to apologize." Mariam noted.
"Nonsense," Rick grinned while Gaea's blade began to spin really quickly, dirt gathering around it and creating a familiar looking storm that Tyson remembered Daichi had used on him the first time they battled. Rick pointed at the tornado, "Rock Bison, Wind Wrecker!" His bit-beast shot out of his blade and yelled out its battle cry before rushing towards Gaea's cyclone.
"Won't be that easy." Gaea responded before Rock Bison was caught by the heavy winds, "My storms are deadlier than Strata Dragoon's. Strata Dragoon learned from me, after all." She pushed her hair back, as it kept getting in her face before smiling, "Reverse Earthriser." The winds stopped for a moment before it started spinning the other way, as if it was some sort of carnival ride.
"Rock Bison!"
"Rick, I got it!" Mariam yelled, her voice almost lost to the howling winds that were picking up, "I'm going to need Rock Bison's help in this, alright?" At Rick's nod, Mariam gave out a yell, "Sharkrash!" The partner of the blunette girl shot out of its blade before she pointed at the spinning Rock Bison, "Hop on it!"
"Are you insane?!" Rick yelled.
"She's gone mad." Gaea thought as Sharkrash let itself be carried by the dust storm, "I told you that humans are insane, Nami." Her eyes widened as she stopped speaking as she saw Sharkrash jumped on top of Rock Bison, that threw it high into the air.
"That's not good for me." She thought with a groan. She had never liked blades that were in the sky.
"Sharkrash, Meteor Volley!" Mariam yelled, her hair turning green for a moment as she and Sharkrash joined together within their soulroom and fell inside the vortex, where Gaea had been left out in the open, surrounded by stones all around her except from above. Sharkrash and Mariam both yelled and Tyson felt that pull again as Gaea's wind stopped.
"What-?!" Gaea frowned, "Earthshaker-."
"Rock Bison, Pillar Drop!" Rick yelled, his beast giving out a battlecry as the blade began to fall. Both blades were filled with light, much to Gaea's surprise as she was hit by both blades, her attack not able to form.
"Not like Strata Dragoon, huh?" Tyson thought aloud before smiling, "You lost just like he did, almost a year ago."
The two light-covered blades shattered Gaea's blade, leaving behind the bit-chip. Gaea screamed in pain just like her true form before it returned to the bit-chip. Gaea wobbled in place, "How did I lose? I tried to-. Forgive me for my sins, please," She fell forward, her hand reaching out for the shattered pieces of her blade.
~~~MIAB~~~
"Strata Dragoon, why am I here? We are supposed to be getting ready for the next harvest." Gaea asked, pushing her long hair back before seeing Daisuke appear before her best friend, who stared at her in sadness. She frowned, "Daisuke? What are you doing here?"
"I am sorry, Gaea," Her best friend said, closing his eyes and turning away. She was about to question him when she felt the earth underneath her start dragging her down. She yelled, looking around wildly as Dragoon, Driger, Draciel and Dranzer appeared before her.
"What are you doing?"
"We cannot allow you or any of the members of the Forsaken Fallen to be free, Gaea. We are sorry." Dragoon said, sounding sincere as he and the others began to seal her away. She fought against the ground that restrained her, feeling weak and terrified.
"Why? Why? Why?!" She cried out before meeting eyes with Strata Dragoon. She reached out for him, the only familiar face in her eyes, "Help me. Please help me." She reached out as far as she could before he adverted his gaze from her pitiful figure. Her sight became blurry as she continued to reach for him, "Help. Do not forsake me. Please help me. Help me. Do not abandon me. Gaia Dragoon, help me."
"That is not my name anymore." He whispered, turning around so she could look at his indifferent visage, "Goodbye, Gaea."
"If you will not help me, then forgive me for whatever it was I did to hurt you." She cried out, "Forgive me. Please, forgive me. Say that I am forgiven. Say it. Please. Please." Her vision began to darken as she continued to reach out for someone that was going to be out of her reach, "Say you forgive me. That is my only wish." Those were the last words Gaea spoke, the only words that people would remember of her.
~~~MIAB~~~
Mariam's leg had turned back to human flesh once more and the stone in Sharkrash's blade disappeared. As Sharkrash and Rock Bison vanished into their blades, something black came out of Gaea until her dark green hair was now a familiar shade of navy-blue.
"Nami!" Kenny yelled while Ray and Tyson ran forward, Kai checking to see if Rick and Mariam had any injuries. Just like Gaea had said, there wasn't a scratch on them so it looked like they had just run a marathon, not battled an ancient spirit.
"Nami?" Tyson shook the girl before familiar-looking eyes opened, turning to him moments later. He smiled when he looked down at her, "It's good to see you again, Nami."
"Tyson?" Nami whispered before she wrapped her arms around Tyson's shoulders and began to sob, Tyson doing nothing but patting her back. Nami sniffed, "Gaea, I forgive you. Gaea, I'm so sorry. I forgive you."