: Be reasonable, boy. I just wanted to see it’s power firsthand before we battled! This might be one of the toughest fights I’ve ever had, up there with Kakarot, and you want to keep me in the dark? This is not the true path of a warrior!
: You’ll see the power of my Leone in the battle, when I unleash the power of my Lion Gale Force Wall on you!
: Ah, so there’s a Lion Gale Force Wall in there somewhere? Good to know…
: Ooh…sorry about that folks, but we’re all outta time! Don’t worry, you might get to talk later…in the ARENA!
: Shadow, are you…happy?
: Of course not. I’m just…practicing for when I have to be.
: Well…okay then. With all that said, I’m JJ, he’s Bowser, and this other guy is Shadow, and we’re the THREE BATTLESKETEERS! Bringing you…A SMACKDOWNNNNNN!!!!!
—
Wolf Canyon, midday…
The sun was beating down, like a hammer smashing rocks in a prison yard, on the cruel, unforgiving cliffs that encircled the death trap known as Wolf Canyon. Not many dared to venture this far into the wasteland, even those serious about testing their strength. For not only was the canyon itself incredibly dangerous, with brush that seemed ready to catch fire in an instant, walls that felt like they could collapse at any moment, and an imminent threat of rockslides, but there were also large packs of hungry, ferocious wolves. They would attack anything that entered their territory, with no regard for allies or enemies, only food. And yet, if one listened carefully on the edge of the cliffs, they could hear the voices of two men, and the sounds of rocks crashing and the clink of plastic hitting plastic. No one ever was able to find out who they were, for as soon as they were brave enough to try climbing down the cliff, the howls of wolves below turned that bravery inside out, and they ran screaming with their tails between their legs.
Yet if they had just traveled a little further down, they could hear a very distinct voice…
“B-B-B-B-B-BU-BU-BU-BU-BULLLLLLL! YOU GOT IT, KYOYA! THAT WAS EVEN BETTER THAN LAST TIME, B-BULL!!!”
The voice belonged to the Blader known as Benkei. A rather bulky fellow, he sported a heart as big as his waistline and the confidence to back it up, and it was all tucked beneath a headband emblazoned with the emblem of his spirit animal, the raging bull. Fitting, then, that he always came into battle with his most trusted partner, given to him by the very man who ironically turned into an enemy, Doji. The Dark Bull H145SD was as strong as Benkei himself, and marked itself with blazing orange, symbolizing the anger focused into a single point the bull used to finish its victims.
But for all the power Benkei boasted, he was only a mere sidekick, an acolyte, of the one who trained next to him, firing his Bey into rocks and shattering them with ease. His ragged clothes and wild, spiky hair gave off the image of someone who was truly immersed in the customs of the wild, and there was truly no better description for Kyoya Tategami and his Bey Fang Leone 130W2D. As one of the strongest bladers to have ever existed, few could say they had gone up against the ferocious lion and emerged without getting scratched by its claws. And those who had, were almost certainly stripped of that honor later. The only one who Kyoya had yet to defeat was the one who soared on the wings of Pegasus, who had defeated the God of Destruction Nemesis, the one and only Gingka Hagane. And it was for that purpose that he was here, training harder than ever, his frenzied aura growing more and more powerful and forcing the wolves to keep their distance, whimpering in the face of this unstoppable power.
“3…2…1…LET IT RIP!” Kyoya yelled, pulling the cord on his Bey launcher and shooting Fang Leone into another rock, obliterating it. Smirking, Kyoya walked over and picked up the Bey, caressing it in his hands. “Nice job, Leone. You’re doing some solid work today! Let’s keep going so we can crush Gingka, and take our place as the kings of the Beyblade world, alright?” Kyoya said, before placing it back in the launcher. “Alright, Benkei, set up the next rock target!”
“Uh…I would, Kyoya pal, but you’ve already kinda destroyed all of them. There’s nothing left, B-Bull…”
“In that case…” Kyoya mused, before turning to face Benkei. “Challenge ME!”
“A-are you sure, Kyoya?”
“It’s time to show me how strong you’ve gotten these past few months! Show me that you’ve gotten strong enough to continue being my disciple, Benkei!” Kyoya challenged, readying his Bey.
“Y-Yes, Kyoya! I’ll make you proud, I promise! B-B-B-B-BULLLLL!!!” Benkei roared, preparing his own Bey.
“LET IT RIP!!!” Both of them shouted, as they launched their Beys into the custom stadium they had created. When the Beys landed, they began circling the stadium, as if sizing each other up.
“GO GET HIM, DARK BULL!” Benkei yelled, as his Bull charged in and smashed into Leone, sending the opposing Bey flying! But Kyoya was not finished so easily, for his Bey, still spinning, crashed back into Bull, dealing major damage.
“Shake him off, Bull!” Benkei shouted, as Bull lowered to the ground, and then all of a sudden surged upward, uppercutting Leone and causing it to crash into the wall. Leone wasn’t hurt, but it’s spin seemed to slow down, just a hair, as it continued to circle around.
“Not bad, Benkei. But, can you handle THIS? Special Move, LION GALE FORCE WALL!”
From out of Leone emerged an enormous maelstrom, so vast and powerful that tornado couldn’t even begin to describe it. It dwarfed Wolf Canyon in size, and was so strong that the rock formations around it simply crumbled away, becoming part of the tornado itself.
“Now Benkei, feel the power of my Lion 100 Fang Fury!” Kyoya ordered, as the tornado began shooting rocks at Benkei’s Dark Bull, which had to swerve in every direction to avoid the shots. “Great job, Kyoya! But I’ve picked up some new tricks too!”
“Oh yeah?”
“Here GOES! SPECIAL MOVE, DARK BULL RED HORN UPPERCUT!!”
A red ring of energy surrounded Bull’s Spin Track, as it rushed forward at the speed of a charging bull, smashing into every rock that tried to oppose it, before finally hitting the tornado itself. Entering into a fierce struggle, both Benkei and Kyoya’s Beys were pushing against each other, trying to get the upper hand, until finally, the bull’s horns pierced the tornado and slammed right into Leone, sending it high into the sky and dispersing the tornado.
“B-B-BULL! How do ya like them apples, KYOYA!?”
“What have I taught you about never celebrating victory until your opponent has growled for the last time, Benkei!? Kyoya countered.
“Wh-HUH?” Benkei was confused, until he looked into the sky. High above, he could see Kyoya’s Bey was still spinning. “Oh, no, not the-“
“KING LION REVERSE WIND STRIKE!”
With these words, Leone turned in midair until it’s Face Bolt was pointed towards the battlefield, and launched another Lion Gale Force Wall. Only this time, the tornado was facing downward, primed to hit Dark Bull for a clean knockout.
“You’ve done well so far, Benkei, but you won’t win this time. You’ve never been able to beat my Reverse Wind Strike and today is no exception!”
“You may think that Kyoya, but I’m not gonna stop fighting until Dark Bull spins for the last time! That’s what I learned from you, Kyoya! Special Move, DARK BULL MAXIMUM STAMPEDING UPPERCUT!”
Dark Bull once again arose from the Bey, but this time he was coated in a golden yellow armor. Standing his ground, Bull looked to the sky to see Leone descending at a rapid speed, it’s spirit form arising in the form of a golden lion to combat Bull. As they made contact with each other, Bull strained to hold back Leone’s fangs, which were inches away from it’s face.
“FINISH HIM OFF NOW, LEONE!”
“NO! GO GET HIM DARK BULL! KICK THAT LION INTO NEXT WEEK! GOOOOOOOOO! GO! GO! GO!!!!!”
Benkei’s powerful aura was enough to give Dark Bull the power it needed to push Leone off and fling it into a nearby cliffside.
“I…I did it? I actually beat Kyoya-pal! …YEEEESS!”
“SPECIAL MOVE, KING LION CRUSHING FANGS!”
“B-B-WHAT?” Benkei stammered, believing he had the battle in the bag and failed to notice how Leone was still spinning in the cliffside. But now, it wrenched itself free and shot at Benkei faster than he could comprehend, and he barely had time to say“D-Dark Bull Red Horn Uppercu-” before Leone smashed into the unsuspecting Bull and sent it flying out off the arena, smashing into another rock wall. Bull spun for a few more seconds, before stopping completely.
“B-…Bull.” Benkei muttered, disappointed, as Leone flew back into Kyoya’s hand. “That was a good battle, Benkei.”
“R-really, Kyoya?”
“Mmhmm. You’ve definitely grown a lot stronger. I never thought I’d have to use my trump card move against you, but you proved me wrong. I’m proud of you. If you just keep honing the power of that Maximum Stampede, pretty soon you might even be able to defeat me! Just keep training, okay?”
“Th-Thank you, Kyoya! I promise I won’t let you down, B-BBULLLL!”
Kyoya smirked, and turned his back, walking out of the canyon as Benkei picked up his Dark Bull and rushed after Kyoya. “So, what are you gonna do next, Kyoya?”
“I think it’s about time we payed Gingka and his friends a little visit…”
Meanwhile, on Beerus’s planet…
“Uuurgh…Whis, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong here. I’ve tried as hard as I could, I’ve sparred with you and Lord Beerus every day, I’ve done all the chores, I’ve even carried those 10,000 pound weights all over the universe…but I still cannot attain the power I had when I was fighting Toppo in the tournament. I think it might just be lost to me forever…”
This came from a rather short, yet muscular man, clad in loosely padded armor covering a blue training garb. His hair was as spiky as a porcupine’s, jet black yet tinged with flecks of gold as the man channeled his power into an aura of power. He was Prince Vegeta, the former prince of the planet Vegeta blown up long ago. And now he was here, on a planet far, far away from what he now called home, belonging to the god of Destruction Beerus and his angelic attendant Whis, who was sparring with Vegeta at the Saiyan prince’s request. Beerus, meanwhile, was lounging under a nearby tree, occasionally sticking his claw into a nearby ice cream sundae, picking out the cherries specifically and sticking them into his mouth whole. Sitting next to him was another Saiyan, this one sporting an orange gi, but the same ash-black hairstyle, and a cheeky grin. This was Kakarot, more commonly known as Son Goku, the very reason why Vegeta was spending so much time trying to unlock the power he had received when he had surpassed his limits.
“You…mmm…you go Vegeta! You can do it! I got faith in you!” Goku called out encouragingly, consuming some ice cream in the process.
“Oh, shut up Kakarot, can’t you see I’m-” Vegeta started to reprimand Goku, but he was distracted for just a little too long and was punished with a sharp boop on the head by Whis’s staff, signifying the end of the match and chalking up yet another victory for Whis.
“Lord Beerus, would you mind updating our scores, please?”
“What? Oh, oh yes…” said Beerus, a purple cat bedecked in Egyptian garb and loose fitting blue pants. His laziness hid a great power, for he was capable of destroying an entire universe if he so chose. As a result, he was generally left alone.
“Let’s see…you’ve got about 35832 wins, and the Saiyan has…4.”
“Wow…hehe, when you put it into perspective it does sound kind of…sad, on your end, Vegeta!” Goku carelessly remarked, earning him a stinging look of reproachment from Vegeta.
“Hnngh…I don’t get it! Let’s go again, right now!” Vegeta pleaded, but Whis simply shook his head.
“No, I think that will do for today’s training. Now I must attend to Lord Beerus for his nap. You know what happens when it’s not perfect, do you?”
Vegeta looked horrified, before shaking his head. “Y-yes, of course Lord Whis, I understand!”
And with that, Whis flew away to do god knows what, leaving Vegeta standing on the grass, scratching his head. “I don’t get it…I just don’t get it…KAKAROT!”
Startled by the noise, Goku sat up and smacked his head into a tree branch, ripping the branch off from its roots. “OW! That really hurts…”
“I think you did more damage to the tree than the other way around. Keep it up and I might have to stop your daily visits here…” Beerus lazily chimed in, but it was clear he was only half paying attention.
“S-sorry Lord Beerus. Anyway, you were saying, Vegeta?”
“Have you managed to unlock the power of your Ultra Instinct since the tournament?”
Goku sat there for a little bit, rubbing his head, before finally saying, “No, no not really. Ever since that fight with Jiren, I haven’t been able to use that power again. It’s weird…”
“Well, I should hope not! No mere mortal should be able to rise up to the level of godhood, not without serious work and training! You just got it by chance! And you haven’t even devoted a single second to training it since the tournament!” Lord Beerus spoke, serious for a rare moment at the mention of the power that could rival the Gods of Destruction.
“I know, Lord Beerus, but with taking care of Gohan and Pan and Bulla, and trying to get a job, I’ve just been too busy to train lately! In fact, I might have to go soon, Chi-Chi’s probably worried about me. Told me hours ago I had to pick up food from the store, and I’m late!” Goku panicked, as he raised his finger to his temple, closed his eyes, and suddenly teleported away, using Instant Transmission to bring himself to the nearest ki signature.
“Hmph. Way things are going now, you might just surpass him yet, Vegeta.” Beerus casually remarked.
“Maybe as he is now, but it won’t be a true victory until I unlock the power that I had then and put it up against that Ultra Instinct. Only then can I crown myself the strongest. But how…?” Vegeta wondered.
“I believe I might have an answer to that.” mused Whis, as he appeared behind Vegeta and tapped the spiky head of hair with his staff again. “Think back to the time you unlocked that power. How did it come about?”
“Hmm…I was fighting Toppo, and he was beating me senseless. I thought I was about to lose. And then…then he said that he was abandoning the ideal of justice for absolute power.”
“And…?”
“Well, it angered me. Him going against his ideologies just to win a match. And I knew, then and there, that I was going to win, for sure. Not just because I had remained true to my stances, but for my universe, and my family. And then, I unlocked that power.”
“Good…that’s the secret! The power does not come when you want it…rather it comes when you NEED it. You just want it to win against Goku, but it will not come for selfish reasons like that…”
But it was clear that Vegeta had stopped listening about halfway through, muttering something akin to “So I just need to be pushed to my limits and it will comes…But who?”
Whis sighed heavily, before appearing in front of Vegeta. “Well, while you try to figure this out, Vegeta, you might as well go run a task for us. We’ve detected an extremely powerful force in Universe 3, an extremely powerful one. In fact…” Whis continued, lowering his voice so only Vegeta could hear, “it might even be stronger than Lord Beerus…maybe even myself.”
Vegeta, unconcerned a few moments ago, was now paying extremely close attention. “A-Are you sure?”
Whis nodded gravely. “I’ve been unable to pinpoint his identity, but I can take you to him. Once there, try to find out if it’s a new weapon that Universe 3 is trying to use against us, or whether it’s a free agent. Perhaps we can…coerce him into becoming an ally of Lord Beerus. You may have to fight him, though, so be careful…”
“THAT’S IT! If this power you sense is indeed as strong as you say, then that’s going to be what pushes me to my limits and unlocks my inner strength! Then I will finally have the power to beat Kakarot! Thank you, Lord Whis, I will accomplish this task without fail!” Vegeta swore, as Whis smiled slightly.
“Very well, Vegeta. Hold on to me, and don’t let go.”
Vegeta complied, as he and Whis disappeared into a flash of light.
“How long will this take, exactly?” Vegeta asked.
“Oh, about an hour, Universe 3 is quite out of our way.”
“Hmm…”
At Beyblade Stadium…
“GO, FLASH SAGITTARIO!” yelled a small boy with green hair. His name was Kenta, and his size hid a Blader of the most destructive caliber you would ever find. From the bottom of the barrel, he had risen up, until he was worthy not only to stand on the same level as the legendary Dragon Emperor Ryuuga, but to surpass him, becoming the Legendary Blader of Summer and evolving his Bey.
“MEET HIS ATTACK, PEGASUS!” Kenta’s opponent roared. Gingka Hagane was a tall boy with flaming red hair, a scarf that billowed behind like a cape, and boundless enthusiasm for the spirit of Beyblade. Months ago, he, with the help of the entire world, had finally stopped the evil of the God of Destruction Nemesis, truly earning his title of greatest Blader in the world…
…at least for now.
As Pegasus and Sagittario clashed, explosions filled the stadium, visibly cracking it in many places and forcing Gingka and Kenta to cover themselves to block the incoming shrapnel. “Wow, Kenta, I’ve gotta say, you’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger in these past few months! I guess there’s a reason why they’re asking you to manage the old Bey Park, huh?” Gingka said in awe.
“Aw, come on Gingka, you’re embarrassing me! Everyone knows you’re the real strongest Blader. You’re the one who did all the cool stuff! But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna pull my punches, even if you are a friend!” Kenta retorted.
“I’m counting on it!”
In the stands, there were four people cheering the two of them on. One of them was Tsubasa Otori, the up and coming manager of the WVBA and controller of Earth Eagle. Next to him was Masamune Kadoya, self proclaimed “Number One Blader” and presumably Gingka’s second best friend, wild and free as the Blitz Striker he partnered up with
“C’mon, Gingka! How are you gonna be able to battle me if you lose to Kenta!? Keep fighting, don’t give up!” Masamune encouraged.
“Well, it seems clear where your favoritism lies, huh?” Tsubasa commented.
“Oh, come on Tsubasa, you need to lighten up! You sound just like Yo-yo, ya know? Maybe you should have just gone with him on his training journey like Ben-Ben, huh?!” This came from the smallest of the group, Yu Tendo, the master of Flame Libra. Impatient he may have been, no one chose to cross him for fear of the power of his Inferno blasts.
“Yu’s right, Tsubasa, we’ve all got our favorites here, no need to be grumpy! But I do have to say that 230 Spin Track of Sagittario’s is amazing! If Gingka hadn’t upgraded his Bey too, I don’t think he’d stand a chance!” Madoka chuckled. As resident team mechanic, her extensive knowledge of Beys was something she liked to remind everyone of at any chance she got. And let’s just say that’s not the only top people like about her, hehe…
“Alright, Gingka, I’m finishing this right now!” Kenta said, loud and proud, as his Sagittario raced to the edge of the stadium, and used it as a springboard to launch itself high into the air, almost as high as the clouds.
“Not gonna happen, Kenta! Pegasus’ wings can soar even higher, up into space!” Gingka countered, as his Pegasus mirrored Sagittario, only this time going even further, until it wasn’t even visible.
“SPECIAL MOVE!”
“PEGASUS, STARDUST DRIVER!”
“SAGITTARIO, DIVING ARROW!”
Pegasus, in response to the wishes of its master, began soaring even further into space, passing all sorts of planets and stars in the blink of an eye, until finally it reached a far off galaxy. The emblem of Pegasus shined, and out of the galaxy came Pegasus, shimmering in a blue aura and moving at incredible speeds towards the planet, and the stadium. Sagittario, meanwhile, was simply cloaked in fire, rushing upwards to meet the oncoming Pegasus.
“RRRAAHHHHHH! GO PEGASUS!”
“MEET HIS ATTACK SAGITTARIO!”
“TRUE LION GALE FORCE WALLL!!”
“What?” Gingka and Kenta said together, confused. All their questions were answered, however, when a third Bey entered the battle, and created an electrified tornado, so powerful that it forced everyone to cover their eyes. When it was done, both Pegasus and Sagittario had been knocked out, and the only Bey spinning was-
“Leone!?” Both Kenta and Gingka exclaimed simultaneously.
“But that can only mean…” Gingka mused, looking toward the entrance to confirm his suspicions. “Kyoya.”
“That’s right, Gingka. I’ve returned, to settle the score!” Kyoya responded, stepping out of the darkness along with Benkei.
“Ben-ben too? Wow, it’s like the whole gang is back together again, this is great!” Yu chimed in, a big grin plastered on to his face.
Kyoya looked smug, until he glanced at Gingka again. Looking a little closer, he saw…
“I see you have a new Bey, Gingka!”
“Whu-Oh, yeah! This…is Samurai Pegasus! Madoka made it for me! So…what do you think?”
Kyoya thought for awhile, letting the silence build in the air for almost a minute, before he answered. “Looks really strong…should be an epic battle before I defeat you and become the strongest Blader in the world! After all, it’s not just you who’s gotten stronger!”
“I can tell, Kyoya. This should be fun!” Gingka said, excited at the prospect of battling his oldest and strongest rival.
And so they took their places in the arena, Kenta having retired to the stands to cheer Gingka on, a mirror to Benkei’s frantic cheering for Kyoya.
“3…” Gingka called, readying his Bey.
“2…” Kyoya did likewise.
“1…”
“LET IT-“
(stop music)
But before they could launch their Beys, they felt a disturbance in the air. And then, from out of nowhere, a ripping, pulsating ball of energy materialized in the sky above, bringing with it flashes of lightning.
“H-hey, what’s that!?” Kyoya questioned, attempting to mask his curiosity but failing.
“I don’t know…Masamune?” Gingka called, turning to his friend.
“Not me!”
Their concerns were further heightened when out of the ball came two figures, who unbeknownst to them were Whis and Vegeta.
“So, Whis, this is the place?” Vegeta gruffly asked.
“Mmhmm…and I must say, thank you for the suggestion of stopping by Bulma’s place first. That new lobster bisque she gave me is…mmm, EXQUISITE!” Whis replied, a dreamy expression on his face.
“If you’re done fangirling over my WIFE’S cooking, do you think you can tell me where the strong energy came from!?” Vegeta pestered, impatient and ready to get a move on.
“Oh, oh yes! Let me see…okay, I believe it was…that one!” Whis revealed, as he pointed to Kyoya.
“Huh?”
“So…” Vegeta began, letting go of Whis and descending slowly towards the ground, until he was right in front of Kyoya, straightening himself up to full height…which was rather underwhelming considering it put him only an inch or so above Kyoya.
“Ha ha, that guy’s short!” Yu chuckled, before bursting into full laughter.
“Come on, Yu, don’t laugh at the guy, I’m sure people like him are in ‘short’ supply!?” Masamune chimed in, joining the taunting and laughing.
“Aw, c’mon guys, this is probably serious!” Madoka sternly replied.
“Madoka is right, guys…” Tsubasa said, leaning in so he was next to them. “This guy might have a bit of a…short temper?”
And then they all started laughing again, even Tsubasa. Madoka tried to hold it in, but eventually she couldn’t help herself and burst out in laughter too, louder than everyone else. Vegeta even caught Whis laughing quietly out of the corner of his eye.
“THAT IS ENOUGH! NOW SHUT UP!” Vegeta roared, making everyone cower in fear…except Kyoya.
“So, what are you doing here, interrupting my match with Gingka, huh buddy?” Kyoya demanded.
“Well…” Vegeta replied, dusting himself off, “it seems my friend over there detected some kind of powerful energy in this universe. So I’ve come to ask if maybe you would like to come with us, so we can hone your rampant powers to fight for good and just reasons.”
“Rampant power, you say? HA! You couldn’t be any further from the truth! I’ve been training to hone this power for years now! I’m in full control of it, and I don’t need some short guy and a funny-lookin’ alien to take me to some happy hotel to work out my ‘issues’, got that?” Kyoya ranted.
“Come now, boy, be reasonable, Lord Beerus can do a lot for-“
“I said no!” Kyoya shouted, readying his Bey launcher and pointing it at Vegeta. “Now back off, before I make you go to the hospital, suffering from the wounds my Leone will give you!”
Vegeta closed his eyes in frustration, feeling a twitch, before opening them and sighing. “Alright, I was aware this could happen. Very well, child, if you will not come in for questioning and testing willingly, I’m more than happy to drag your unconscious body back a few quadrillion miles to Lord Beerus’ planet myself!”
“Go ahead and try it, if you dare!” Kyoya challenged. He turned to Gingka briefly and muttered “I’ll deal with you later!”
“Alright, Kyoya. Beat this guy, and then we can have OUR match!” Gingka said, acquiescing to Kyoya’s wishes and hopping the fence to join the crowd in the stands.
“Alright then…BRING IT O-“
“HOLD EVERYTHING!”
(start music)
“Oh, now what’s the holdup!?” Vegeta cried out, frustrated.
“You can’t have a Beyblade match without the oh so charismatic and grandstanding BLADER DJ!” boomed a voice from the darkness of the entrance archway. From it stepped a man, wearing a T-Shirt emblazoned with the insignia of his lifeblood, matched with a headband atop his hair. This was Blader DJ, the one and only announcer for all Japanese Beyblade matchups.
Everyone looked at each other and shrugged.
“Couldn’t hurt, I suppose. I could use some color commentary to entertain the masses before I stomp you into the dirt!” Vegeta trash talked.
“Jokes on you, buddy, you’re gonna be the one kissing the pavement when I’m done with you!”
“3…”
“2…” Vegeta said, getting into a fighting stance, before stopping briefly.
“Wait, wait, hold up!”
Kyoya stopped, confused once more. “Yeah?”
“Aren’t you ready to fight?”
“I am!”
“Then get into the ring so we can battle!”
“This is battling! My Leone is going to crush you into the dust!”
“A…are you kidding me? Instead of clashing spirits with me head on, you’re going to sit back and let some children’s plaything decide your battles for you!?” Vegeta uttered, shocked and slightly angry. “Uurgh, this is nothing like Kakarot, I’m disappointed.”
“You’ll find that my Leone is more than enough to beat you!”
But Vegeta wasn’t listening, instead speaking to Blader DJ. “You, human, is there any rule stating I can’t just defeat this boy as soon as the battle starts?”
“Well, no, but-“
“But if you have any pride at all as a warrior, you’ll go against my Beyblade first before you resort to such cowardly tactics!” Kyoya finished, a smug look on his face.
“Hrrgnh…fine. But when I’m done, you and I will battle!” Vegeta replied with finality, shifting into a battle stance again.
“As I was saying…1…”
“LET IT RIP!”
“So sorry, boy, but it appears I’ll have to cut this little ‘battle’ short. You don’t mind, do you? If it’s any consolation I’ll be more than happy to send you a consolation prize. Maybe we can toughen up your weak human muscles if you ask nicely.” Vegeta drawled, as the shot edged closer and closer to Kyoya’s bey.
“Not taking my Leone seriously? You’ll regret that, pal!” Kyoya countered, as his partner Bey dodged the shot with the utmost ease. Vegeta was stunned, and the brief moment was enough time for Leone to jump out of the arena, slamming itself into Vegeta’s stomach and sending the Saiyan prince flying into a nearby wall, leaving a noticeable dent and shrapnel that nearly struck the spectators in the face.
“Oof, wow, that was too close! Be careful Kyoya!” Gingka called out, with everyone else following suit.
Vegeta sat up and rubbed his head, trying to clear the spots out of his eyes. “‘Well…it seems this boy is not as weak as I was led to believe. Whis may have been on to something…just means I’ll have to put in a bit more effort than usual, nothing more.'”
“Alright, boy, you have proven yourself worthy of fighting me beyond 1% of my strength. Congratulations, you deserve a medal. But don’t celebrate too much: it’s the last achievement you will ever savor.” Vegeta said.
“Your lips are moving, but all I hear is bluster from a weak warrior! C’mon, my Leone needs a challenge, not some third rate duelist who’s compensating for his insecurities!” Kyoya responded, wagging his finger as if trying to rile Vegeta up. Unfortunately, it worked.
“What? I’ve been fighting in battles before you were even in diapers, boy!”
“Was that before or after you started walking like you were permanently constipated?”
“Befo-Wait, this is a WARRIOR’S STRUT! Not just any fool can prance around and say they can do it well!“
“Thanks for the tip. Maybe when I get home I’ll eat a box of cookies and do my own warrior’s strut.” Kyoya sassed, earning some more laughs from the crowd, which Vegeta immediately silenced with a piercing glare. Turning back, he bent down and murmured “Let’s do this…” as threateningly as he could manage.
“If by this you mean shit yourself, then go ahead, long as it’s not on my side.”
Vegeta didn’t bother to answer this time, instead opting to launch himself at Kyoya’s Leone, landing a fierce series of punches and kicks, but all were met with equal power by Leone, which seemed to spin faster and faster with every strike, rather than slowing down as Vegeta expected.
“What is the meaning of this? Your toy has been hit with so many of my attacks, and yet it seems to increase in power!? I demand an explanation!” Vegeta ordered.
“My Leone responds to my will! It is no mere Beyblade, but an extension of myself! It holds the power of the truly wild King of Beasts, of the wild itself!” Kyoya yelled, as out of the Bey came a flash of light, which solidified itself into the shape of a golden lion, encased in a green aura, which roared in Vegeta’s face. And in that one moment, Vegeta could feel the power of Fang Leone, rushing at him like a tidal surge, prepared to sweep him off his feet. It was all Vegeta could do to simply stand his ground, as he felt his knees begin to buckle beneath him.
And then, it was over, Leone retreating to stand behind its master. “So, have you gotten a taste of my Leone’s power? Are you ready to take me seriously, or are you gonna keep on giving me no effort? Because if that’s the case, you might as well walk away right now!” Kyoya taunted.
“Alright, alright, you’ve made your point! Do you treat all your opponents like this? Do you only win by boring them to death? Because I’d honestly believe it.” Vegeta sighed.
“Well that’s Yoyo for you! Always super serious, that guy!” Yu squeaked. “Uh-huh, but that’s why he’s so cool!” Gingka agreed.
“Uurgh, Leone! Attack!” Kyoya roared, as Leone charged forward and smashed into Vegeta again and again, sending the Saiyan backward a few inches with every clash, until Vegeta finally began to fight back, meeting every charge of Leone with a punch that sent shockwaves and explosions throughout the arena, but also giving Vegeta a chance to advance slowly, closing the gap between him and Kyoya.
“Leone, push him back, c’mon!” Kyoya encouraged, as Leone further increased the ferocity of its attacks, absolutely hammering Vegeta’s fists again and again until the Saiyan felt like his fingers were more akin to bloody stumps. And yet he pushed on, redirecting every strike Leone sent his way, and even shooting a few ki blasts to give his hands a chance to rest, until Vegeta finally stepped into the arena and curled his fingers in Kyoya’s direction, egging him on.
“Okay, so maybe you can handle Leone’s normal attacks. But I’m just getting warmed up buddy, so watch yourself!” Kyoya warned, clearly planning for something…
“Hmph, tough talk from someone who’s about to kiss the pavement. But I guess it was inevita-“
“SPECIAL MOVE, LION GALE FORCE WALL!”
“Lion Gale say what now?”
Unfortunately for Vegeta, he got his answer in a way he wouldn’t have preferred, as Leone went underneath him and glowed green, unleashing a giant tornado that completely dwarfed the stadium in size.
“Th-that’s it! That’s Kyoya’s special move! This guy won’t have any chance at beating the Lion Gale Force Wall, Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-BULL!!” Benkei shouted, causing everyone else to recoil.
“Jeez…maybe we should get Benkei a muzzle or something.” Tsubasa murmured, rubbing his ears to relieve the pain. Thankfully, Benkei seemed to have not noticed.
“How do you like this, huh buddy?” Kyoya smirked, clearly proud of himself as Leone continued to increase the size of it’s tornado, to the point where even the clouds above were parted in deference.
Vegeta, however, could not answer, for he was still stuck inside the tornado. He tried to free himself to dissipate it, but he kept getting tossed and turned by the strong winds, taking him higher and higher into the sky. Finally, however, he reached a point where the tornado was wide enough that he could no longer touch the sides, and was thus left in the eye of the storm, angered that Kyoya had gotten the upper hand.
“Well…normally I wouldn’t want to use this power just yet, but it seems like I have to in order to defeat you. Very well, but know that this is on your head, boy!”
And thus, Vegeta moved his arms to his sides, squatted down, and began screaming “RRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!” As he did, he began to surround himself with a golden aura, a light that shone brighter than the hottest stars, a light that radiated enough power to be felt from all across the cosmos, a light that signified the arrival of an ascended being. When the light was gone, it had left a gift. Vegeta was still there, but now he glowed with a buttery yellow hue, which had even dyed his hair. Vegeta had become a Super Saiyan.
Flexing his muscles, Vegeta held his arms to his side, generating ki balls in each hand. Very slowly, he began spinning in the opposite direction of the tornado, before speeding up at an extremely rapid pace until he was little more than a blur, before he shouted “LUCORA CANNON!” and fired his ki blasts out of his hands, which hit the tornado’s walls and caused it to to weaken the hold it had on the Saiyan. But Vegeta wasn’t done, continuing to fire ki blasts out of his hand over and over again, until finally he had cut a hole clean through the tornado. Popping out of it, he slowly descended to the ground, and fixed Kyoya with a smug expression as the Legendary Blader sat awestruck for a moment.
Just a moment though.
“Hmm…so this is your Special Move, huh? The ability to change your hair color? Looks kinda lame, if you ask me.” Kyoya blustered, but inwardly he had grown a bit nervous at his chances.
This was not lost on Vegeta, who chuckled a bit. “I see the fear in your eyes, and you’re right to be afraid. Now you will see why I am known as the Prince of Planet Vegeta, the strongest of Universe 7!”
Faster than Kyoya could even react, Vegeta snatched up Leone and tossed it out of the stadium, far, far away, until it vanished from Kyoya’s sight. And without warning, he picked up Kyoya himself.
“H-hey! What are you doing!? You’re interfering with the rules of a Bey battle, ya know?” Kyoya gasped, squirming to break free. “Well…I’m changing the rules!” Vegeta screamed, as he threw Kyoya at unimaginable speeds out of the stadium as well.
“Hey, buddy, what’s the big idea, hurting Yoyo like that!?” Yu screeched, getting out of his seat and attempting to hit Vegeta in the legs, only to be picked up and grabbed by Vegeta, who stared Yu in the face with eyes that betrayed the years of battle he had faced.
“This is not your fight, little one.” Vegeta calmly stated, before tossing Yu over to Gingka, who managed to catch the small boy before he was hurt.
“Whis!” Vegeta turned to face the angel. “Tell my wife and Kakarot I might not be back for awhile, okay?” Vegeta did not wait for an answer before he rocketed away.
(stop music)
There was silence for a few moments, before Masamune coughed and broke the tension. “So…is he always like that?” Masamune pondered, directing his words at Whis.
“Oh yes. Vegeta-san is always prepared to battle, in an attempt to grow strong enough to beat his rival, Son Goku. Have you heard of him?”
“You know…now that you mention it, wasn’t there some kind of tournament between all the universes that happened awhile ago? Maybe this Goku and Vegeta come from a different universe?” Madoka posited.
“Mmm…very good! Smart girl, you remind me of Bulma-chan. Are you a capable cook?” Whis questioned.
“Well…not really, no. I’m sorry, Mr. Great and Powerful Angel Sir!”
“Shame. And in the future, feel free to call me Whis, everyone does.”
“So…what are we gonna do now?” Kenta chimed in, a question that no one could answer. No one, that is, except…
“C’mon guys, hop aboard the Blader DJ Copter! We’ll catch this battle live, no matter where it takes place! And I, BLADER DJ, will be announcing the battle live as well! It’s time to see this soon to be ferocious, frenetic, frenzied, fearsome fight form a fiery finale for the ages! Right here, in Battle Bladers ARENA!!!”Blader DJ monologued, as if speaking to a large audience.
“This guy…he’s really something, huh Kenshi?” Yu commented, directed at his friend.
“Uh-huh…but he definitely means well, and he makes the battle a lot more exciting, right?” Kenta responded, as he jumped out of the stands to follow the others into the Blader DJ Helicopter. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but at last they were all packed in, Whis deciding to float alongside at a steady clip as the helicopter took to the skies to follow the path Vegeta and Kyoya had taken.
In the courtyard of Beylin Temple…
“HWAA! HYAH! HYAAH! HYAAAAHHH!!”rang from the training yard of the famous Beylin Temple, a 4000 year old monument to the art of Beyblade Martial Arts originating from China. The members worked tirelessly, day after day, to hone their Beyblade skills, and their bodies. And out of all of them, none were as determined as the four members of Team Wang-Hu-Zhong, Dashan, Chi-Yun, Mei-Mei, and Chao-xin. Awhile back the four had participated in the Beyblade World Championships, and then the Chinese Tag Team Tournament. And now they were back to training once again, ready for the inevitable day when their skills might be needed again.
“HEWTH! Wow, that was a good training session guys! Think maybe we should take a break, ya know?” Chao-xin offered, getting to his feet and dousing his hair with water. Outside the temple, a flock of ladies swooned, collectively saying things akin to “OOH, Chao-xin is so cute!” or “Marry me, Chao-xin!”
“Chi-Yun agrees, this was a productive day. I feel stronger already.” said the short one in purple clothes and a braided ponytail, Chi-Yun.
“Yeah. Hey, Dashan, c’mon, or your legs will gets camps!” replied the girl, who was dressed in a cute kimono and hair bun combo, the sub member Mei-Mei.
“Uh, I think you mean cramps, Mei-Mei.”
“Oh, whatever!”
“Mmm…” Dashan whispered, as he balanced atop a thin pole, supported only by his foot. Very carefully, Dashan launched his Bey, which successfully went through 10 rings and knocked a log into a cauldron of water. Satisfied with his achievement, Dashan flipped off the pole and landed on the ground.
“Perhaps…you all are right. We should rest for today. After all, it’s the first time in 2000 years that we have reunited with our splintered comrades from the school of Beylin Fist. We should work on the welcoming ceremony to make them feel at home. Isn’t that right, Bao? Aguma?”
In the center of the yard were the two he called to, one tall and with spiked hair, wrapped in a cloak colored in the deepest shade of lavender. The other wore a simple brown shawl, but both shared a trait of flaming red hair. The frontrunners of the former outcast sect of Beylin Temple, Bao and Aguma had once been allied with the God of Destruction Nemesis to destroy not only Beylin Temple, but the world. But then, they had been persuaded to change their ways, and fight for good. And a month later, they cautiously approached the Beylin Temple, asking for forgiveness, and were welcomed with open arms. And now, Aguma and Bao were rising as two of the top fighters at the temple, defeating all comers and even training some of the new recruits themselves.
Aguma’s Scythe Kronos came to a rest, as he smiled and walked over to Dashan. Even though he towered over the leader of the temple, he still spoke with deference. “Yes?”
“You can stop training too. This is supposed to be a time of relaxation today! You are our honored newcomers, and we will treat you as such. Now come, and observe the preparations for the traditional Beylin Temple Festival!” Dashan cheered, as he led the way into the hall. Aguma, however, turned and noticed that Bao was still hesitant. Calling out that he would be inside soon, he turned to Bao and leaned down.
“Bao…is everything alright?”
“Well…” Bao began, clearly nervous, but at the sight of Aguma’s calming gaze, Bao pressed on. “I’m just a little…concerned. It feels so odd being amicable with Beylin Temple again after so long, ya know?”
“I understand Bao.” Aguma replied. “I have some mixed feeling myself, but…you know this is the right course of action. The hatred and fear between the Beylin Fist and the Temple needs to end, and camaraderie needs to be established, in order for the Temple-no, all of China, to move on and prosper. They seem willing to forgive the Fist for their actions, and we should follow suit. Okay?”
A moment passed, and then Bao nodded, without hesitation. They were about to go inside, but then…
“Aguma, do you see that? In the sky!”
Aguma turned to see what his companion was referring to, and spotted it immediately.
“Yes…”
“Do you think it’s some remnant of Nemesis’s power?”
“Well, probably not, but just to be sure…ready your Bey.”
Bao nodded in agreement, as Aguma readied his Scythe Kronos. He was about ready to launch it, when the projectile was revealed to be…
“Leone?”
“What’s Fang Leone doing all the way here in China? Last I remember, Kyoya was in Japan with Team Gan Gan Galaxy!” Aguma exposited, shocked, only to see Kyoya himself plop onto the ground next to his Bey.
“Ow…that really hurt…” Kyoya muttered, struggling to get to his feet, as he looked behind him, eyes wide, at Vegeta, who touched down in the yard with a dust explosion kicked up by his feet, and an enormous crater that stained the visage of the otherwise picturesque scene.
“Well, it looks like this battle is over, isn’t it boy?” Vegeta mocked.
“D-don’t count me out just yet! My Leone is still spinning and that means that this fight is still on! Now attack, LEONE!”
Leone complied, transforming into its spirit form and slashing Vegeta across the chest with its claws, somehow leaving a dent in the Saiyan Prince’s armor. Over and over Leone scratched Vegeta, leaving more and more claw marks and even injuring Vegeta’s cheek, drawing out some blood that dripped onto the cobblestone floors.
“That’s enough!” Vegeta roared, as he waved his hand and summoned a skintight energy barrier around himself. As Leone’s claws reared up to pierce Vegeta’s defenses again, they were stopped short by the barrier, chipping off one of Leone’s claws in the process. As Leone whimpered a bit, a tiny crack appeared on Leone’s fusion wheel.
“Don’t give up Leone! Hit him with even more force!” Kyoya ordered, as Leone sprang onto the walls and then used them as a springboard to launch itself at Vegeta! Leone slammed into Vegeta’s barrier, and struggled with it for a little bit, but was then pushed away.
“One more time!”Kyoya shouted, as Leone did the same thing, but seemed to pack even more speed behind it, as it surged towards Vegeta at speeds faster than light. So fast, and strong, was Leone that when it hit the barrier, this time it met no resistance, smashing through like it was wet paper and hitting Vegeta so hard the prince crashed into a nearby mountain, utterly decimating it, sending fragments of stone raining down all over China. Thankfully, no one was injured.
“There! An opening! Go, Leone, TRUE LION GALE FORCE WALL!”
As the familiar tornado appeared once more, Vegeta chuckled. “I had hoped you would be a little less predictable Don’t you remember that this move won’t work against me now?”
“Hold on, this attack is a two-parter!”
“Huh?”
But Vegeta was answered with the realization the tornado was actually pulling in all the debris around the yard, and indeed from down the mountain, into itself, swirling rapidly. Then, when all the pieces were charged with Kinetic Energy, Leone started flinging them rapid fire at Vegeta like some sort of shrapnel machine gun.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Vegeta stammered, as he had to fly around the tornado at blazing speeds to dodge all the shrapnel shots, which just kept coming as the bigger rocks were crushed into smaller rocks. Twice, Vegeta was too slow and got nailed with shards of broken rock, leaving yet more bruises behind, before it ceased, the tornado disappearing back into the maw of its progenitor.
“Well…I’ll certainly admit that attack had more destructive power than just making garbage fall on me, but still…you’re growing desperate, aren’t you? Resorting to these tactics borne of tactless ingenuity rather than raw strength, you must be running out of ideas.”
When Kyoya didn’t respond, Vegeta frowned. “No answer? Alright. But you are not the only one who can rain bullets from above. Take this, LUCORA CANNON!” Vegeta roared, unleashing a storm of ki blasts upon the Blader.
From beneath his hair, Kyoya smirked. “That’s just what I was waiting for, laughing boy!” Kyoya remarked, confidence brimming in his eyes. “Now Leone, ride those bullets to the top!”
And so Leone complied, jumping on top of a ki blast and standing its ground as though it were solid rock. It kept climbing, higher and higher, like the koi climbing the waterfall to become the mighty Dragon Emperor, or the Pegasus soaring into the stars.
“Huh? How is it doing that!?” Vegeta demanded, continuing to rain a storm of energy down onto the battlefield and allowing Leone to climb higher still.
“Leone isn’t just the king of the wilderness, it’s the master of the fiercest typhoons, the legendary Wind Rider! It has climbed the tallest tornadoes with ease, your pathetic attacks are nothing new! By riding the air itself, Leone can control the skies as well as Pegasus!” Kyoya exclaimed, to Vegeta’s surprise, as Leone drew level with Vegeta’s face and began hitting it over and over with a rapid barrage of attacks, stunning the prince long enough to stop the attack before he plummeted to the Earth, collapsing spread eagled on the pavement.
As Vegeta rolled himself on to his back, he looked up just in time to see Leone take off from the stadium and soar high into the sky. Higher, higher Leone went until it was a silhouette against the sun, before turning upside down.
“Special Move, KING LION REVERSE WIND STRIKE!”
From out of Leone burst another tornado, this time facing towards the ground, threatening to swallow Vegeta whole if he didn’t act fast. Supporting himself on one arm, Vegeta used his other arm to aim at Leone.
“‘You only get one shot, Vegeta. Make it count!'” Vegeta thought, steeling himself. This time, the ball of energy that formed in his hand was blue, and looked much more powerful than his previous blasts. He let it grow, bigger and bigger, until it was as wide as the tornado itself.
“BIG…BANG…ATTACK!”Vegeta shouted, firing his blast of energy. So potent was it, that it simply passed through the eye of the twister without encountering any resistance, before finally striking the unguarded Leone, not only stopping the wind strike cold, but also flinging Leone into a nearby bell tower, generating a clanging ring that reverberated throughout the temple, forcing everyone to cover their ears.
“LEONE, NO!”Kyoya screamed, but thankfully the Bey landed on the ground once again, still spinning, but its rotation had somewhat slowed after the impact.
“Hah…” Kyoya sighed with relief, before turning to Vegeta, who had gotten up, but was still clutching his left arm, seemingly in pain.
“‘Ah…I can use that!'” Kyoya mused, excited as he stared down his foe.
“So, you defeated my King Lion Reverse Wind Strike. But can you be-Hey, what’s THAT!”
“Whuh?” Vegeta mumbled, turning to where Kyoya pointed only to be stunned as the Leone smashed into Vegeta’s stomach once more, this time infused with a green aura, an aura that was absorbed from Kyoya himself, resonating with more power than ever before, increasing its speed and stamina to unimaginable levels and actually giving the Bey enough strength to uppercut Vegeta into the air! Once finished, Leone leaped into the air with its strong hind legs, and with a mighty kick, smacked Vegeta far, far away, Leone following suit by trailing the path of turbulence left behind.
“Hmph. He’s probably not done yet. Sorry guys, gotta go. Say hi to the others for me, would ya?” Kyoya bantered, before following Leone and jumping on its back.
(stop music)
“WAIT! WAIT! Who’s gonna clean up this brisater!?” Mei-Mei screeched.
“I think you mean disaster?”
“WHATEVER!”
Kyoya ignored them, opting instead to disappear from sight. “Well, that’s just fan-flippin-tastic. How are we supposed to get this clean in time for the ceremony!?” Chao-Xin whined, but was stopped by the appearance of a Bey Launcher.
“I have an idea.” Dashan offered.
“Me too.” Aguma chimed in, reading his Kronos.
“As do I.” Bao joined in, as all three let their Beys loose simultaneously, creating an explosion. When it was over, the debris had been simply reduced to ash, easily swept away by the members of Beylin Temple.
“Well, that was easy. Now let’s go celebrate!” Chi-Yun suggested, to the agreement of everyone else.
“Ah, man, I cannot believe we missed the epic battle that took place in the 4000 year old center of Beyblade Martial Arts Culture! What a disaster!”
The voice came from a nearby helicopter, the very same one piloted by Blader DJ.
“You mean we missed Kyoya? Bummer…” Gingka sighed, a bit disappointed at the development.
“Well, maybe if SOME people…” Madoka accused, giving a sharp glare at Whis and Masamune, who could do nothing but glance at each other with guilt, “hadn’t been stuffing their face in Taiwan’s True Nourishment, maybe we could have gotten here in time!”
“How many times do we get to go to Taiwan, Madoka? C’mon!” Masamune pleaded.
“Yes, and those spiced dumplings were truly a treat for the tasteful angel.” Whis added.
“Ah…maybe we can catch Kyoya at his next destination! Where’s he heading, Madoka?” Tsubasa questioned.
“Based on trajectory and wind speed, he seems to be touching down in…New York City!?” Madoka replied, shocked.
“New York? Maybe we can see Toby and Zeo there too! C’mon, man, can’t you make this hunk of junk move any faster?!” Masamune pleaded to Blader DJ.
“Uh, I don’t know, I was never actually given my helicopter pilot’s license, but hang on Masamune KADOYAAAAA…!!” Blader DJ responded, as he shifted into high gear and headed east back to the US.
In the forests of Europe…
“DESTROYER! BLACK EXCALIBUR!”
“CETUS GRAND DEUCALION!”
“STEEL DARKNESS!”
The four members of Team Excalibur, Sophie, Wales, Klaus and Julian Konzern, were busy practicing their Beyblade skills as well, and had just unleashed their special moves. The Capricorn spirit charged forward, horns first. The Cetus Beys breached into the air, as gracefully as their whale counterparts. And Konzern unleashed the power of the sword of heroes, Excalibur, now fully charged with gravitational energy, slamming it into the ground, sending out shockwaves that immobilized anything in their path.
The collision of all three special moves at once caused a chain reaction that resulted in a pillar, intermixed with red, blue, white, and purple hues, firing into the sky, stretching for miles like a signal from heaven. So bright was it, in fact, that the fog in the skies above was cleared, and for the first time in a long while, Team Excalibur could see the stars. And more importantly…
“Hey…is that Kyoya up there!?” Konzern exclaimed, as he pointed to where Kyoya was miraculously riding on Leone’s spirit.
“I see him, but what is he doing?” Sophie replied.
“I think he’s…fighting someone!” Wales added.
“Hmm…Well, whoever he’s fighting, I hope Kyoya wins. He just needs to once again push past his limits, try to reach a new level! You can do it, Kyoya!” Klaus encouraged.
In the skies above, Kyoya continued to battle with Vegeta, his Leone clashing with Vegeta’s punches yet again. Due to the Super Saiyan transformation, though, Vegeta’s hands were now as hard as steel, and Leone met stiff resistance with each and every strike.
Vegeta, in an effort to keep Kyoya on his toes, mixed in some ki attacks with his punches every so often. When Leone swept its tail and summoned a line of mini tornadoes to attack Vegeta, he raised his hand and summoned his ally Krillin’s most famous technique, the Destructo Disk, and fired it, matching the tornadoes in power and evaporating all of them in one move. When Leone tried rushing at Vegeta with its claws once more, Vegeta grabbed onto the lion’s mane…somehow, and held on with both hands. Charging energy, he blasted Leone away with the Double Galick Cannon, destroying Leone’s soul. It was only temporary, however, for moments later his cockiness was punished with swift claw marks on his cheek, leaving yet more scratches that leaked golden blood.
“Uurgh…” Kyoya grumbled, as Leone and Vegeta continued to clash, the sparks from their power struggles lighting up the sky like fireworks on Bey Year’s Eve as they continued on their way.
New York City, 11:55 AM…
The skyline of New York was absolutely breathtaking that day. The sky was a cloudless and brilliant azure blue, the skyscrapers seemed to stretch all the way to the heavens, and the symbol of freedom and prosperity and union between the people of the world, the Statue of Liberty, also shone with a radiance only the ivory maiden could produce.
And yet one of the city’s new most famous landmarks was nothing like these. It was a small, shoddy little gym, set ini the deepest back allies of the seediest parts of New York’s underbelly, a place no one would have even considering going to about 6 months ago. And yet ever since the World Championships, the Dungeon Gym had been thriving, more and more people signing up each day to see the place where one of Team Gan Gan Galaxy had gotten its start, training each and every day to eventually become champions in their own right. All under the supervision of the three members of Team Dungeon still in the city: Coach Steel, Zeo, and Toby.
“Wow, guys…Team Dungeon is really pulling itself ahead of the competition, huh?” Zeo remarked with pride, gazing around at the numerous Bladers littering the cramped gym.
“Yeah, but not ahead of space restrictions. All I gotta say is that I’m real happy you guys got enough dough to open a new location uptown, cuz it’s starting to get a little too cramped in here for my liking.” Coach Steel pointed out.
“Well, it was really thanks to Toby taking up those extra jobs, ya know?”
“Least I could do after the whole…ya know, Spiral Force stuff.” Toby murmured, rubbing his head in semi-guilt.
“Aw, c’mon man, you know everyone’s forgiven you for that! Wasn’t your fault!” Zeo said.
“Yeah…that’s true. Besides, it looks like another great day for Beyblade, so let’s get those doors…open?” Toby trailed off, confused, as he looked out the window and saw two smears in the blue sky.
“Hey, guys, come look at this!”
Zeo and Steel followed suit and were just as confused.
“Whattya think it is, kids?” Steel questioned.
“I dunno, but you’re gonna get your answer flying right through your skull if YOU DON’T MOVE NOW!!” Zeo yelled as he pushed Steel and Toby away just before the front of the gym was completely obliterated by the fireball composed of Leone and Vegeta battling it out, not giving an inch in terms of their attacks.
“What the heck is going on!?” Toby questioned.
“Oh, uh, hey guys. I’m just fighting for my life, ya know, no big deal. Except this guy just really wants to kill me for some reason…eh.” Kyoya shrugged.
“You know the reason, boy!” Vegeta countered, as he fired more ki blasts at Leone, who dodged all of them and left a trail of dented pavement in its wake.
“Get out of here, NOW!” Kyoya commanded to Team Dungeon, who took off without another word, nodding at Kyoya as if to give him encouragement, which was swiftly returned.
“Hmm…you care about your friends quite a bit, don’t you?”
“They’re not friends. I just happen to associate with ’em. I am still the independent lion who rules the wilderness, I am KYOYA!”
“Isn’t that a little counterintuitive? When you think about it, lions generally hunt in packs. So an independent lion doesn’t really make sense in that sort of context. If it was like, say a tiger, then I could understand, but-”
“Can you PLEASE not get in the way of my epic speeches!?”
“Well, how’s this for EPIC!”
Another flash shone through the skies, forcing Kyoya to cover his eyes. When the brightness faded, Vegeta looked about the same, but he seemed…shinier, somehow.
“This, is a Super Saiyan 2.”
“So you got some new hair conditioner, big deal. I’ll still finish you.” Kyoya taunted.
“So…shall we proceed?” Vegeta asked.
“BRING IT!”
“Whoa, that’s fast! Leone, switch to Defense Mode!” Kyoya ordered, as Leone spun to the middle of the street and remained stationary. Vegeta tried hitting it away again, but was surprised to find his punches and kicks were now entirely ineffective, as Leone’s stance never faltered.
“What-What’s going on!?” Vegeta exclaimed, shocked.
“My Leone is full of surprises! The power of the stars has given it the ability to switch between a fierce hunter and an iron wall, thanks to the Fang Fusion Wheel and Wave Wide Defense Performance Tip Combo!”
“Performance Tip…?”
“It’s a…ya know what, it’s too difficult to explain to a novice like you.” Kyoya said, resigned to his fate as Leone continued to harden its hide until Vegeta was simply stopped by an invisible barrier every time he tried to hit Leone. He fired off a few ki blasts and they had no effect either. Even the Big Bang Attack was stopped after it made just a bit of headway. And so Vegeta decided to try something with a bit more…oomph.
“GALICKKKK…” Vegeta began, putting his arms by his shoulder and building up power, his hands glowing a dark purple, a color befitting the warrior of lost royalty. Larger and larger the energy ball grew, until finally…
“GUNNN!!”
Vegeta yelled as he launched a giant purple laser beam at Leone, growing steadily larger the further away from Vegeta it traveled, so that when it finally struck Leone’s barrier it was about the size of a small warehouse and Leone’s power was the only thing keeping the buildings behind it.
“Hmm…you know, it looks to me like your attack failed. My Leone is still standing, and you’re just fulla hot air! Push him back, Leone!” Kyoya commanded, as Leone’s spirit began to counterattack, it’s claws arcing through the air and slashing at the beam at inhuman speeds, pushing it back.
“Damned son of a bitch…TAKE THIS!” Vegeta countered, as he screamed even louder and put more of his soul into the attack, making it grow even larger and stronger and forcing Leone back more and more, until it was right next to Kyoya, shielding the Blader as well as it could, but little cracks began appearing in Leone’s Performance Tip, and indeed Kyoya could see Leone’s legs about to give out. Then Kyoya looked and saw the building Leone had rammed into earlier about to tumble over.
“Rats! Leone, help the people!” Kyoya pleaded, as Leone responded by jumping high into the air, and then charging forward with tremendous force to slam into the building. The power of Leone acted as an equal and opposite force to gravity’s pull, straightening the building once again, for the time being. More importantly, someone in the sky noticed it too.
“Bladers of the world, we have FINALLY MADE IT to NEW YORK CITY! AND I’M COVERING IT LIVE, FOR I AM BLADER DJ!”
“Does he have to say that every time?” Tsubasa whispered to Yu.
“Mmm…I don’t know, but Gingky seems to like it.” Yu replied.
Upon their arrival, the bladers looked out the copter’s open doors. “Look, guys, down there! It must be Kyoya and that Veggie-whatshisname!” Kenta exclaimed, pointing to where Leone was saving the building from collapse.
“Kyoya…haha, I knew that deep inside you cared about people! Way to go!” Gingka cheered.
“Hmph, well done Kyoya. It seems you not only managed to elevate your own reputation, you saved your Bey from utter destruction. Congratulations.”
Vegeta then looked up to see the helicopter and smirked. “Ah, and it seems your little fan club is here as well! Here to cheer you on and steal your thunder! How does it feel?”
“If you’re trying to rile me up, forget it! I’ve come a long way since then, and now I see…now I see that even though I may not want friends, these goofballs still find a way to track me down, each and every time. They’re like parasites!” Kyoya ranted…and then smiled.
“At least, I used to think that. Now I see they just wanna help me become stronger! Strong enough to fulfill all of my desires. So they should know, I respect all of them, even that goofy little Yu…long as they don’t hear this.”
“Oh, not many people heard that. Except the 5 MILLION PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING THIS BROADCAST!” Blader DJ announced.
“Of course…” Kyoya muttered.
“Well I’ll be. Kyoya really does appreciate us. It warms my heart.” Tsubasa said.
“Yes, I didn’t think that sort of compassion could come from Universe 3, I’m surprised. But also grateful to know we now can have friendly chats on Saturdays.” Whis chimed in, but suddenly felt a strange ripple on the back of his neck. Turning around, Whis saw there was some kind of portal behind him.
“Hmm…that’s odd…” Whis mumbled, before he bore witness to the arrival of someone very familiar.
“Oh, Lady Bulma, it’s you! How are you doing?” Whis questioned, as the capsule containing Vegeta’s wife opened up to reveal a woman of average height, a slim figure, blue hair, and a scarf because scarves are basically required nowadays.
“Whis, where is my husband, he was supposed to be back 3 HOURS AGO!!!” Bulma screeched, forcing Whis to cower and rub his ears.
“Well, uh…the thing is, he is kinda sorta…fighting someone.”
“Uh, AGAIN!? I swear, that Vegeta spends more time fighting people than taking care of his family! Bulla needs a strong father figure and he just abandons her to fight some teenager with a…is that a children’s toy?” Bulma questioned.
“Yes. Quite a powerful one too, it seems. It may even be more than a match for Vegeta. It’s quite intriguing really, do you wish to observe?”
“No.”
“Did you at least bring some of that delicious rice pudding?” Whis asked hopefully, only to receive a stern look in return. “Right, sorry…”
“Ugh, this is just ridiculous! VEGETA!”
Vegeta stopped right as he was about to throw his next punch and saw, right behind Whis, an angry woman with a cold, steely look on her face.
“Bulma…this is not a good time…!”
“Don’t tell me this is not a good time, Vegeta! You need to come home, NOW!”
“But-“
“NOW!”
“Hmm…very well, lead the wa-Actually, how did you get here?”
“Oh, I made a teleport device. Pretty simple, honestly.”
“Did…did you say teleportation device?” Madoka questioned in awe, as she reached out to touch the capsule, caressing it as if it were a child.
“Well…yes. You appreciate the subtle work that went into it?” Bulma asked.
“Yes! I’m a bit of an amateur mechanic and hacker myself, you know.”
“Oh…what do you work on?”
“Mostly fixing Beys when these boys act all immature like they usually do.” Madoka snidely remarked.
“I hear that, sister. I can’t get Vegeta to do anything remotely worthwhile and Goku…oh he’s absolutely hopeless!”
“Men…” Madoka mumbled, with Bulma nodding.
“Excuse me, is this going somewhere, and can it go faster?” Masamune butted in. “I kinda wanna see Toby and Zeo sometime to-“
“For Bey’s sake, you’ll get to see Toby and Zeo if you just shut the hell up!” Kenta yelled, as everyone slowly backed away in fear. “I-I’m sorry, I’m just a little on edge, ya know?”
“Well, time to go home. Thanks for the battle Kyoya, it was really something.” Vegeta said, as he floated upwards and began heading into the portal.
“So that’s it? You’re just gonna stop in the middle of a battle because you have work to do!?” Kyoya said, flabbergasted.
“You’ll understand when you’re older, wiser, more mature.” Vegeta responded.
Kyoya stood there, seething with anger, as he balled his hands into fists and bared his fangs, before fixing Vegeta with a gaze of pure hatred.
“I’m not letting you get away that easily!” Kyoya yelled, as he commanded Leone to jump from building to building, climbing higher and higher, before finally smashing into Vegeta’s chest, sending both of them flying into the portal and out of sight.
“VEGETA!!” Bulma yelled, before turning to Kyoya and ranting at him about how he had to stop and help her.
“Help that guy? No thanks. See ya!” Kyoya chuckled, as he jumped into the portal as well.
“Hrrngh…” Bulma murmured, taking her capsule inside as well. “Geez, what’s her problem?” Yu asked, getting no concrete responses.
“Well, we gotta follow Yoyo, right? Hey, Blader DJ guy! Follow them, and hurry!” Yu begged, his eyes going all big and sad and anime-like.
“I, BLADER DJ, cannot resist the sight of a child crying! I will do whatever is needed, and bring you all the latest Beyblade news, no matter what!” Blader DJ saluted, as he drove the helicopter into the wormhole as well, hoping that wherever they ended up it was at least safe.
“And so I’m left alone here. Wonderful…it’s quite lonely without Lord Beerus. Hmm…perhaps I’ll visit Vados in Universe 6! That’ll be fun…somewhat.” Whis mused as he set off at lightning speed towards Champa’s palace, intending to catch up with the rest of the Bladers later.
In the wormhole…
Vegeta was stunned by Kyoya’s unprovoked attack, but he managed to clear his mind and palm strike the oncoming Beyblade away before it hit him a second time. “Hey, what was that about? I was trying to leave you in peace and you retaliate with this outrage!?”
“You started this fight, and I’m gonna finish it, one way or another!”
“Hmph, well if that’s the case, don’t expect me to finish you with any semblance of mercy. No, I will inflict as much pain as possible so you remember me to your grave!” Vegeta threatened.
“Well, then stop talking about it and FIGHT ME!” Kyoya roared, as Leone charged again towards Vegeta, who swiftly countered with yet another technique, a technique learned long ago on Namek, the Dirty Fireworks. Aptly named, as explosions appeared, ignited from the supercharged air, to stop Leone in its tracks. No matter how high or low, or to the side Leone went, it was stopped by explosive blasts, allowing Vegeta to recover a bit before the sparks died down and Leone passed through with ease, hitting the Saiyan with an explosive and rapid barrage of attacks that would not let up, forcing Vegeta to pokehis head outside of the wormhole as he struggled to fight off the encroaching Bey.
Needless to say, it would be a long drop.
“Alright…guess it’s time to bring out the big guns! This wormhole is filled with cosmic energy, energy that allows us to tap into our most well hidden powers and bring them to the forefront. And so, Kyoya, prepare yourself as I demonstrate to you how far my power can extend!” Vegeta exposited, as he held his arms up, as if generating a Spirit Bomb. Enormous amounts of spatial energy flowed into Vegeta’s body through every pore, making the Saiyan glow brighter than he had before, until he gleamed like a star.
Super Saiyan 3 had arrived.
“O…K…so your hair just got 10 times more ridiculous and unmanageable, am I supposed to be intimidated?
“Maybe you will by this.”
“I know I’m gonna regret asking, but what is ‘this’?” Kyoya asked.
“The power of a supernova itself!”
From Vegeta’s chest came a pure white light, yet in the wormhole it was refracted into the colors of the rainbow. The beam grew as Vegeta’s voice grew louder in pitch and ferocity, until the white eclipsed Vegeta’s body completely.
“Special Move, GALAXY BREAKER!”
This time, Kyoya was unprepared for the sheer size and scope of the Galaxy Breaker, and thus was not able to call out defensive measures for Leone, allowing the Bey to be hit by the force of the beam, sending it flying out of Kyoya’s sight in moments.
“Hmph, it seems like I’ve truly won this time, hmm?” Vegeta leaned in, eyebrows raised.
“It looks like that, yes, but…Leone has not stopped its spin just yet, and that means I can still continue to fight! Look!”
“Impossible…” Vegeta muttered as he strained his eyes to see where Leone had fallen. Finally his vision zeroed in on a tiny meteor off in the distance, and spinning on top of it was Leone! Using it’s incredible leg strength, Leone’s spirit jumped from meteor to meteor, kicking off of them with incredible force to reach the next stepping stone.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Vegeta shouted as he raised his arms to fire ki blasts, only to be grabbed from behind by Kyoya, who binded Vegeta’s arms together and would not let go, no matter how much Vegeta thrashed around.
“Hey, let me go, worm!” Vegeta cried out, as he attempted to fire ki blasts at his back in order to dislodge the parasitic Kyoya, before finally jumping into the air and attempting to slam his back on the ground to crush the teen. Unfortunately for Vegeta, Kyoya managed to crawl across Vegeta’s body until he was now on the Saiyan’s stomach, leaving Vegeta to crash into the ground and injure his back without any benefits.
“Fuuuuucking hell, that hurts!” Vegeta complained, rubbing his bruised back and giving Leone enough time to make it back to the whirlpool portal stream.
“Hooyah!” Kyoya said as he roundhouse kicked Vegeta right in the stomach, forcing the Saiyan to double over in pain as he struggled to keep his feet firmly planted on the…ground?
“Oh, I see, so you wanna go hand to hand with me? That’s fine, that’s brilliant! LET’S GO!” Vegeta roared as he lifted one foot in the air extremely high before slamming it down on the ground, planting his feet firmly in the void platform, before doing the same with his other foot.
Kyoya, meanwhile, raised his hands in front of him, one behind the other, both open palmed, and widened his legs so he formed a Kung Fu stance he had seen on TV awhile back, hoping that Vegeta wouldn’t call his bluff.
The two fighters stared at each other for a good long while, sizing each other up. And then Vegeta charged, running forward at incredible speeds against the flow of the portal’s current.
“‘Wait for it…'” Kyoya thought, his face betraying no signs of fear as Vegeta approached.
“‘Wait for it…'”
“NOW!” Kyoya said without warning as he thrust his palm forward and opened it up, revealing his faithful Bey that charged forward and crashed into Vegeta’s face, sending the warrior toppling backward on to the “floor”, helpless as Kyoya planted his foot firmly on Vegeta’s chest.
“So…are you ready to surrender to the power of the wild?” Kyoya said, triumphant as he stood over his defeated foe.
“Mmm…we’ll see when we get there.”
“Get…where, exactly?”
Vegeta didn’t need to answer, for the blinding light was all that was needed to resolve Kyoya’s concerns, dumping the two into a giant arena, with thousands of screaming people on all sides, and an announcer who stopped dead in his tracks as he simply stared at the two fighters, collapsed on top of each other.
There also happened to be two fighters already in the arena, those being Mercenary Tao and the indomitable, invincible, infallible HERCULE SATAN, the strongest man in the world and champion of the people. At least, that’s what it said on his card.
“What the-what are these people that are now in the presence ‘a the great HERCULE SATAN while he’s in the middle uv the fight of the centry? Ima about to DYNAMITE KICK this fool into oblivion, Ah don’t need dis garbage!” Satan boasted, all the while dodging Tao’s attacks and blocking everything else, before somersaulting over Tao and kicking the assassin in the back, sending the ponytailed punk down.
“Aw YEAH! The great HERCULE SATAN’s new trainin’ program is kickin’ butts citywide! Soon, I’ll be on the road and spreadin’ my great wisdom to the all the peoples who need it, or my name isn’t-“
“HER-CULE SA-TAN! HER-CULE SA-TAN!” The crowd cheered in unison as Kyoya and Vegeta got to their feet, panting. Hercule’s eyes grew wide. “OH, Vegeta, I didn’t recognize ya! You kinda blended in with that kid next to ya! Uh…say kid, wats yo name?”
“Do you know this guy?” Kyoya whispered to Vegeta.
“Sadly, yes. His name’s Hercule Satan, and he’s the ‘World Martial Arts Champion’. In reality he’s nothing more than a pathetic weakling hiding behind the guise of fame and wealth. Bit disgusting honestly, but he’s helped us on a few occasions so he’s not TOO bad…” Vegeta explained.
“Hmm…hang on a second. I know what you guys are doin’! You and whathisface are…planning a little party for Goku, huh?” Satan guessed.
“If by party, you mean bloodbath, then yes, it’s an absolutely fantastic little soiree.” Vegeta drily remarked.
“Oh…so you and whathisface are fightin’, huh?”
“I have a name, you know, it’s Kyoya!”
“Well you never told me tha-“
“WAIT UP, HOLD THE PHONE, BLADER DJ has arrived!”
Everyone turned to see the portal reopen, and out of it came an absolute clusterf**k. Bulma’s capsule, and the helicopter containing the Battle Bladers, all burst out like some sort of tidal wave of mechanical parts and human bodies, all collapsing in a heap very much akin to how Vegeta and Kyoya had ended up.
The announcer of the 49th World Martial Arts tournament had absolutely no idea what to say here. He was scratching his head, attempting to think of some sort of clever joke or commentary he could bring to the table, when Blader DJ’s hand suddenly burst out of the wreckage and the bandana wearing warrior of Beyblade burst forth, jumping ridiculously high into the air in order to gracefully land in the announcer’s box.
“Hello, my name is Blader DJ! I’m here to give you all the Beyblade and martial arts action as CLOSE as it gets! Stay tuned for the exciting finale of this scintillating slugfest!”
“Mmm…well, this is highly irregular, but if the champ agrees?”
“Hercule Satan is always willing to give up and coming fighters the shot they deserve. Let’s do it!”
“OK THEN! IN THIS CORNER, WEIGHING IN AT 152 POUNDS AND A MERE 5 FEET 5 INCHES…VVVVVEEEEGGGETA!!!” Blader DJ announced.
Vegeta raised his fists in the air in victory, even blowing an air kiss at some screaming fangirls who collapsed upon seeing it, only to cower at Bulma’s angered expression.
“AND IN THE OTHER CORNER, WEIGHING IN AT…I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY POUNDS OR HOW TALL HE IS…THIS…GUY!?” The Martial Arts announcer mirrored. Blader DJ then whispered into his ear.
“MY MISTAKE! KYYYYOOYA!!!!”
Kyoya simply flipped his hair and turned his back on Vegeta. “You aren’t even worth my time.”
“ROUND ONE!”
“FIGHT!!”
Leone and Vegeta clashed once again, Beyblade vs Hand to Hand as Leone struggled to get past Vegeta’s flurry of punches and kicks. Every so often Leone’s spirit came out of the Bey and stood on its hind legs, swiping its powerful front paws at the Saiyan and cuffing him in the back of the head, each strike hitting with the force of ten heavyweight boxers. Vegeta gave as good as he got, however, as he kicked Leone in the sides and the head to send the great lion tumbling to the ground. However, as Vegeta attempted to body slam Leone into the dirt, it rolled out of the way just in time, allowing it to get the upper hand on Vegeta as the Saiyan plummeted into the ground, leaving a human shaped hole and a dust explosion.
“Is…is it over? No, it couldn’t be, Vegeta is FAR too tough to be wiped out by a simple attack like that! There has to be more to his game plan, is that correct?” Martial Arts announcer pointed out.
Suddenly, Vegeta’s hand clawed the top of the crater, and Vegeta slowly and methodically pulled himself up out of the crater, panting a bit.
“He’s OKAY!”
“But not for long, as Leone skillfully pounces on Vegeta, pinning our secondary champion to the ground! What will Vegeta possibly DO!” yelled the martial arts announcer.
“Wait, I feel a chill rising up in the air! It’s slithering up my spine, it’s…it’s…it’s the fact that Vegeta isn’t done yet! It’s the sudden realization that Vegeta, the prince of all Saiyans, has a plan to escape! But what? Let’s WATCH!” Blader DJ called out, pushing Martial Arts announcer out of the way.
Vegeta held out his palm and summoned a red ball of energy this time. It didn’t grow larger like the other attacks, but instead stayed tiny. However, the attack’s size was more than made up for by the fact that it was incredibly dense, and as a result, much more focused and powerful than Vegeta’s usual beams.
“Shine SHOT!” Vegeta yelled, hitting Leone dead center and flinging it so far away that it was soon just a tiny meteor, falling back to earth somewhere past the treeline.
“LEONE!” Kyoya shouted, and the Bey spirit resonated within Leone, as it very carefully maneuvered itself so that when it landed, it fell on a nearby tree, pushing it down far enough so that when it sprang back up again, Leone was shot through the air at unimaginable speeds, perfecting the art of tree catapulting and making the Namekian frogs nearby curse with rage. It took off at just the right time too, for moments later the treeline caught fire and it shot up in a blaze of glory.
“Well, folks, it looks like it’s all over for Kyoya’s Le-Hey, wait, is that Leone in the SKY!?” Blader DJ shouted incredulously, as Leone fell like a diving arrow back towards the battlefield.
“Oh, come on, how many times do I have to defeat the same stinking-OOF!” Vegeta howled in pain as Leone dived directly into Vegeta’s…unmentionables, filling the Saiyan with an odd mixture of humiliation and pain.
“OOH, THAT’S GOTTA HURT! LEONE SUCCESSFULLY COUNTERATTACKS WITH A WELL PLACED SHOT RIGHT IN THE OLE KIDNEYS! Why, I haven’t seen precision like that since Mr. Satan’s fourth martial arts victory! Good year for fighting, that was…”
“O…okay, I’ll admit, that was pretty good. I wasn’t…expecting that one, not by a long shot. But this battle-ow…isn’t over yet!” Vegeta bravely said, trying to mask his injury. Vegeta raised a fist in an attempt to hit back, but then…
DONG DONG DONG!
“Oh, that’s the bell! Looks like ole Vegeta missed his chance at getting his revenge on Kyoya this round. But after looking at the scores it’s pretty plain to see that Kyoya dominated that round!” Blader DJ announced.
“Let’s just hope Vegeta can do better in round numero dos. Alright, back to your corners, fighters!” Martial Arts announcer chimed in, as Vegeta and Kyoya turned their backs and walked to their respective corners.
“Alright, Kyoya pal, you got this! Show this wannabe the true power of the LION GALE FORCE WALL, B-B-BULLLL!!!” Benkei encouraged, as he rubbed Kyoya’s shoulders.
“Yeah, Kyoya, we’re all with you!” Kenta agreed.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Bulma was giving similar encouragement to Vegeta. “Come on, honey, you can’t lose now! I need you to be a big strong man and do the heavy lifting, for Bulla! Just know that I have total confidence in you.”
And then 5 seconds later…
“Put it all on Kyoya!” Bulma demanded as she put a large stock of money in for the bet.
“Really, ma’am, are you su-“
“Trust me, I’ve done the math.”
DONG DONG DONG!
“And that’s the bell for the second round! I am positively sweating bullets here, who knows how crazy this clash of conquerors could turn out! Not me, and I’ve been doing this for years!” Blader DJ announced, headlocking Martial Arts announcer as he struggled to breathe.
Leone, still spinning even after all this time, charged in for a direct attack against Vegeta, who countered with his powerful Photon Bomber from long ago, still efficient enough to send Leone flying so that it landed among the stands, directly on the head of a bystander. Vegeta noticed, and thus shot some more ki blasts at the Bey, careful to make them smaller to avoid hitting the bystanders as Leone jumped from one head to the next to dodge all the shots, to the ire of the crowd.
“Hey kid, what’s the big idea?” said numerous people affected by this annoyance, as Kyoya rubbed his head in minor guilt before having Leone jump back into the stadium.
“OK, so you like firing projectiles huh? Then have some of these! Special Move, King Lion FURIOUS BLAST SHOT!” Kyoya roared, as Leone immersed itself in another windstorm and fired itself right at Vegeta at blazing speeds. The Saiyan barely managed to dodge it, but had no time to celebrate as the shot reversed its trajectory and crashed right into Vegeta, sending him sprawling onto the ground. And yet Kyoya wasn’t done, as the Blast Shot hammered Vegeta over and over again, driving Vegeta further into the ground.
As Vegeta sunk even lower, the Bey flew high into the sky, as high as the clouds themselves, and then fell at terminal velocity towards the planet, intending to stain Vegeta’s blood on the hallowed arena. Closer, closer the Bey came, about to hit the ground…
before Vegeta CAUGHT the Bey!
The crowd, including Kyoya himself, was speechless as Vegeta caught the fast moving Bey in his hands. He felt them burn for a bit as he fought the Bey’s spinning momentum, slowing it down enough to hurl at Kyoya, who was able to dodge it in time, but unable to avoid Vegeta’s follow up Exploding Wave, which slammed right into Kyoya and sent him careening into the stands, leaving a hole in the wall that Kyoya struggled to get out of. When he did, he was covered in bruises from head to toe, and the dirt packed into the bleacher foundations had turned his injuries an ugly purplish-yellow, almost as if they were infected. Yet Kyoya still got to his feet, planting them firmly in the ground and preparing a palm-strike.
Vegeta was about to slap Kyoya, but his hand stopped just short. Kyoya, bracing himself for the hit, was confused, and struggled to stand unsupported.
“Why’d you stop?”
(stop music)
“Because…not many people have been able to stand up to my Super Saiyan 3. Usually my opponents would have collapsed in agony by now, but you…you are strong. Stronger than almost every opponent I’ve ever fought. And therefore, you deserve to see the power of a god before you are vanquished.” Vegeta solemnly replied, as he floated to the center of the arena. He bent over, held his arms by his side, and screamed.
The scream echoed across the world, so that even little Cindy Lou Who from across the Himalayan Choo-Choo could hear it. The skies darkened and blasted lightning that scorched the landscape and toppled the roof off of the arena, smashing a hole in the ground.
“Uh…question, what exactly is happening? This is not standard Beyblade fare!” Blader DJ nervously commentated, as Martial Arts announcer broke free of the headlock and grabbed the microphone.
“Folks, it is finally here! What you’ve all been waiting for, the one, the only, SUPER SAIYAN BLUE VEGETA!!!”
As if to confirm Martial Arts announcer’s message, an azure blue pillar of light descended from an opening in the swirling, hellish clouds, which completely shrouded Vegeta in a burst of energy more potent than the strongest solar flare, forcing everyone to look away for fear of being obliterated by the radiance. It seemed to stretch out for an eternity, and yet it only lasted a few seconds, before it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. However, the clouds were still dark, as if to indicate the arrival of a truly unstoppable force.
Vegeta had not grown in size, nor had he drastically changed his appearance. And yet his overall power had skyrocketed. He was now glowing with an electric blue hue, and even his eyes had take on a dull blue shade. Not only had Vegeta just channeled the power of a god, but he had surpassed it.
(start music)
“You know what, Vegeta? I’m impressed…I haven’t met many warriors who could rise up to my level. Only Bladers like Gingka, or that Damian kid, have been able to force me to go past my limits…and it looks like I gotta do it again. So get ready…for my final assault!” Kyoya defiantly vented to his opponent, who felt a faint twinge of respect to Kyoya as well, in the pit of his stomach.
“Alright then! The real showdown starts now!”
“Well, then, might as well skip to the third round! Bottom of the ninth, the whole enchilada, the kit and caboodle, needless to say this fight will end with a winner, mark my words, for I am BLADER DJ!”
“Here we go! 3…2…1-“
“STOP!!”
“STO-Wait, what?”
(stop music)
In the sky, a ripple appeared, which slowly grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of a moon. Then it twisted itself into a defined shape, a face, one that looked rather familiar to Vegeta.
“This charade has gone on long enough…” the giant face boomed, the mere sound of his voice sending shockwaves all across the country and blowing people away.
“Vegeta, if you will not stop this carnage now…I will do it.”
And with that, Vegeta, Kyoya, the Bladers, Blader DJ, Bulma and Whis were transported to someplace new. It was rather dark, but not an ordinary darkness.
Rather, it was Advanced Darkness.
They were in a void, with no end or even the faintest of light visible. All that could be seen was a few rock formations, all centered around a giant arena, shaped like-
“A BEYBLADE!?” Gingka squealed excitedly as he rushed to the helicopter door in a second. “Wow, imagine playing Beyblade on a stadium shaped like a Beyblade! It must be a dream come true…”
“That’s not a Beyblade or whatever you called it, dumbass! It’s…the World of Void. And that can only mean we’ve been summoned by…”
“VEGETA-SAN!!!!”
“…him.”
They all looked high above to see a throne, rested atop an ornately carved piece of stone. And sitting upon that throne was a pair of small, round, yet devastatingly powerful gods of creation, the Zen’o Twins, along with their servant, the Grand Priest, master of the Angels.
“Hello, everyone! Welcome back to our world!! SUGGOI!!!” The Zeno’o’s squeaked as they danced around on their platform, the Grand Priest clearing his throat. “Yes, yes, on behalf of our esteemed hosts, welcome to our world. We are rather pleased you could take the time to visit, and perhaps join us for a nice session of Pai Sho, and maybe tea. If you have any sort of questions, please speak now.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a question!” Kyoya butted in. “Where the hell are we and who the hell do you think you are!?”
Everyone gasped at Kyoya’s audacity, with Gingka even trying to gag his rival to prevent him from being obliterated in a single strike, but incredibly…
the Zen’o twins were laughing!
“SUPER SUPER SUPER SUGGOI!! WE INVITED YOU HERE TO PLAY!”
“Play?” Vegeta questioned.
“Alright, I will cut straight to the point. Your fighting in Universes 7 and 3 has caused a major power imbalance in the universe. More energy created there means less for everyone else! And now the gods of destruction and angels of the other universes are calling for your heads on a stake, ours included! You need to stop this useless struggle and make peace!” The Priest ordered.
Vegeta and Kyoya looked at each other, eyes burning, before turning their backs in disgust. In that moment, Whis stepped forward and floated upwards until he was level with the Grand Priest.
“My lord, with all due respect, these two are some of the most stubborn and hard headed warriors I have ever seen. Simply telling them to stop will do about as much good as hitting them with wet paper towels!” Whis urged.
“Hmm…what is your suggestion, then, Whis of Universe 7?”
“Perhaps allow them to conclude their conflict in here, the void between universes so that no dimension has to deal with their power being drained by the scuffle. Call it the Epilogue to the Tournament of Power, if you will.”
“Hmm…there’s an idea. Zen’o-sama has been growing rather bored and impatient lately, so seeing a tournament may take his mind off of the fact that he hasn’t seen Goku-san in a while. And we can rebuild the stage relatively quickly…” Grand Priest mused.
“Will you accept, my lord?” Whis posited.
“If Zen’o-sama agrees, I don’t see why not.”
“SUPER SUPER SUPER SUGGOIIIII!!!!!”
“I believe that means yes.” Whis translated, as the Grand Priest floated high above the Tournament of Power stage, and snapped his fingers. At once, the rocks were inserted back into the arena like puzzle pieces, the uneven axis the stage had settled into was corrected, and the clock marking the tournament’s progression was reset.
“Ah…” Bulma began to ask, before the Grand Priest added “There is no time limit, it just seems more professional. Really drives home the ‘final battle’ feel, huh?”
A few minutes later, and the stage was set for the final battle, the Grand Priest levitating everyone else to the stands to prepare.
“ALRIGHT Folks, here we go! It’s time for the final clash between VEGETA and KYYYYYOYA! Place your bets now, because there’ll be too much action later on!” Blader DJ announced, with Grand Priest shrugging and joining in.
“AS ZEN’O-SAMA GREENLIGHTS THE MATCH, IT’S TIME TO FIND THE STRONGEST WARRIOR IN THE UNIVERSE THAT ISN’T GOKU-SAN! ARE YOU READY!?” Grand Priest yelled into the microphone, as everyone raised their arms and shouted “YES!”
“YOU COMMENTATE!?” Blader DJ questioned the Priest.
“I dabble.”
“THEN-“
“LET’S-“
“GO!”
They yelled altogether as Leone barreled towards Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta.
“I’m not wasting any more time here! SPECIAL MOVE, TRUE KING LION TEARING BLAST!” Kyoya roared, a green aura surrounding him that filled the Bey with extra strength. From out of it came not one, not two, but FIVE tornadoes, all circling around Vegeta and boxing him in, before smacking him from tornado to tornado, ricocheting him around and around like some bizarre human pinball, not letting Vegeta rest as the tornados lifted the Saiyan Prince up into the sky, smashing him into some nearby stone pillars along the way in order to dislodge some of the rock, before dissipating and leaving Vegeta free to float up in the air without resistance.
“Hewth!” Vegeta sighed with relief, but Kyoya wasn’t done yet.
“LION WILD WIND FANG DANCE!” Kyoya commanded, as Leone once again formed a tornado around itself, but this time it was much thinner, much faster, and much more erratic, circling the arena and picking up the fallen stones one by one. Then, much like in China, it swirled the rubble around with enough speed to launch them at Kyoya like a gatling gun, forcing the Saiyan to bob and weave through the shots in order to avoid getting knocked out of the sky.
At one point, Leone launched a piece of rubble a few feet to the right of where Vegeta was flying, just far enough ahead so that when Vegeta flew past it, he was unable to stop the rock from actually piercing his skin, leaving a bloody gash about 3 inches long in his leg, spewing blood at an inexorable rate and staining the sacred stones beneath.
“Oh, that’s gotta hurt! I should know, I had a fire hydrant stuck in my leg one time, oof!” Blader DJ commentated, everyone staring at him with a look of surprise and confusion.
“Graagh…” Vegeta grumbled in pain, as he tried to focus his thoughts. Suddenly, he shot his hand out to his side, palm open, aimed at Leone. Focusing his mental energy into his fingertips, Vegeta telekinetically lifted Leone into the air, the lion straining to keep its paws on the ground, digging them into the stone, but ultimately failing as Vegeta forced Leone to stand still. Very carefully, he flung Leone into the air, and as it was coming down, put both of his hands together and yelled “FINAL SHINE!” unleashing twin balls of emerald coated energy that smashed into the fierce lion of the winds, sending him downward to smash into the ground, chipping away at the spirit. When Leone tried to fill in the missing holes in its flank and mane, it failed, Kyoya staring with a shocked expression as Vegeta smugly looked him in the eyes.
“And Vegeta-san’s Final Shine move does some SERIOUS damage to Leone! I honestly didn’t think we’d be seeing that one here today, DJ, but I can safely say that we are all glad it’s here!”
“‘Wow…this guy’s really tough. He’s even managing to overtax Leone’s regeneration. Gotta end this quickly before he fires that again!'” Kyoya mentally strategized as he prepared to order Leone to attack again, but was too slow to stop Vegeta from picking Leone up and smashing it into the ground. He then picked up the Bey again, and formed an arc above his head before slamming Leone into the stone again. Over and over Vegeta did this, until finally he threw Vegeta into the air again, attempting to use Final Shine once more to finish the fight.
“LEONE! SWITCH TO COUNTER MODE!” Kyoya pleaded, as Leone complied and adjusted its spin track so that when it fell down, it was able to control its path and fall faster than before, fast enough to smack Vegeta in the head before he got off the Final Shine. When Leone hit the ground, it bounced back up and smacked into Vegeta again, repeating the process as it rebounded off the rocks like some sort of rubber ball, doing more damage due to being in its Counter mode.
“Focus…THERE!” Vegeta realized, as he turned around to where Leone was about to strike him in the back and met the attack with a punch. Leone just kept going however, so Vegeta did so as well, meeting every Bey strike with a punch that coalesced into a series of fist attacks that were so quick they appeared as a blur to all but Zen’o himself, until finally Vegeta flew backwards and launched a series of golden energy orbs around Leone, which exploded and rocked the Bey back and forth as it was pushed from one blast to the next in an endless loop, subjected to the awesome power of the Hellzone Grenade.
“And VEGETA-SAN makes a stunning counterattack! Who could have seen that coming!?” The Grand Priest exclaimed, the Zen’o twins watching with bated breath.
“Damn…” Kyoya muttered. “LEONE, Tornado Blast!”
Leone’s spirit came out of the Bey and flicked its tail, unleashing another storm of mini tornados. Afterwards it jumped into the air and then bodyslammed on the ground, creating a wave of wind that hurtled towards Vegeta. Then Leone spun faster and faster on the spot, until the intense heat it had created gave rise to a giant tornado that was flung at the Saiyan. Finally, Leone opened it’s mouth, and out of it came a massive wind laser that mixed together with all the other tornados to form a massive hurricane, so powerful that it was ripping the arena in half with its power.
“Oh fuc-” Vegeta started to say, but was stopped by the tornado sucking him up, and then somehow grabbing the Saiyan with the force of the wind and smacking him onto rocks and dead trees and even far off asteroids, much like how he had treated Leone like a ragdoll. It got to the point where Vegeta touched his head and felt warm blood coming from a fresh injury on his head.
“Alright, that’s it! Normally I wouldn’t wanna use this move on you, but…you’ve forced my hand.” Vegeta quietly murmured, as he began charging energy into his hands. This time, however, the energy warped the space around Vegeta, causing the colors inside the tornado to become an inverted mix of purples and greens, along with the space time continuum ripping itself apart at the seams. Bigger and bigger the anomaly grew as Vegeta poured all his energy into this attack, desperate to escape the Tornado Blast attack, until the energy was glowing brighter than the Big Bang.
“BEHOLD THE POWER OF GAMMA BURST FLAAAAASH!” Vegeta screamed as he pushed his hands, upside down, into the heart of the tornado storm, piercing it’s outer shell and striking Leone in the core. The tornado blast began growing in size, and light began to break through the wind shell in multiple places, until finally…
“KABOOOOOM!!”
The tornado blew itself apart, scattering shrapnel in all directions, including the thrones, forcing the Zen’os to erect a blue shield to stop the attacks. “SUGGOI! THAT WAS AMAZING, VEGETA-SAN!!” the Zen’os shouted in excitement.
The shrapnel spread also to the stands, forcing everyone to take cover as the Grand Priest redirected those shards to the remaining ones flying out into space, destroying both clusters. By the time it was over, the stage was shattered, busted in half by the wind and left with just a tiny fragment of rock that both characters were standing on, barely the size of a city block. Vegeta was still there, but breathing heavily and on the verge of collapse.
Kyoya was panting too, his physical limits being pushed to their peak as he had to suffer the powerful splintered stormshards piercing his side and drenching his clothes with blood. And Leone?
Still spinning.
In fact, it seemed like it had taken very little damage from one of Vegeta’s strongest attacks, the wind cushioning the blow and allowing Leone to hang on by a thread. And as Vegeta saw this too when the smoke evaporated, he felt a sense of hopelessness and defeat welling up within him.
He fell to his knees with a great THUD, and slammed the ground with his fists, anguished over the fact that his best had been not been good enough.
“RRAGH!!! How is this possible! Usually I’m fine with Kakarot being the one to defeat me, but if some kid can wipe me out…what does it even mean to be a pure blooded Saiyan anymore? What does it mean to have pride in your heritage? What does it mean to fight, to improve…if in the end you still cannot win against everyone? UNIVERSE, give me a sign!” Vegeta ranted to the heavens.
“Sheesh, what a drama queen. Grow up, why don’tcha?” Kyoya taunted, leaning his back against a nearby rock and staring at Vegeta with disappointment. “So you lose to a superior duelist, so what? You think I haven’t lost before? You think I haven’t tasted the stinging tang of defeat? You’re dead wrong. Gingka beats me half the time, and you don’t see me complaining. See, I do want to defeat Gingka, really badly, but it’s not because of a personal grudge or a petty score to be settled. No, I battle because battling is just one small facet on my personal journey of growth. I fight because it makes me stronger, not just physically, but mentally and socially as well. I don’t just fight to win against enemies, but protect what I care about. My ideals of being the lion, one who protects his pack rather than goes it alone. And when you began focusing more on the first one than the second one, you lost sight of the true nature of combat.”
“SHUT UP!” Vegeta lashed out.
“He’s right, Vegeta!”
“What?”
Vegeta looked around to see, on the stands…
“K-Kakarot?”
“That guy over there…he’s really smart, beyond his years actually! That stuff he said, that’s what I try to live by whenever I fight you, or Krillin, or whatever guy I come up against! Because it’s not about winning for yourself…it’s about winning for everyone. Striving to save the people of today to protect the sanctity of tomorrow.” Goku spoke.
“Yeah, Vegeta, you can’t give up now! Bulma and the rest of us need you to keep fighting!” Krillin chimed in.
“Yes, Vegeta. You can’t give up without giving Bulla here a proper tussle.” Piccolo stoically remarked.
“Pan, too!” Gohan reinforced, as he hugged his wife Videl.
“Besides, if you lose here, who’s gonna spar with me, and train me in your techniques? Tien Shinhan proffered.
“Yeah, man, you gotta chill out, go with the ki flow, and all that. Know you can do it!” Yamcha encouraged.
“Vegeta, you feel the power of my Dynamite Kick coursin’ through ya, you’ll be able to get up in no time!” Hercule Satan grandstanded, but with a gleam of hope in his eyes.
All the positive reinforcement hit Vegeta like a tidal wave, washing him off his feet. Right then and there, he knew how lucky he was to have such good allies by his side. And he had finally understood the true purpose, the true destiny, of being a Saiyan.
“So…this is it huh? The power of the Saiyans doesn’t come from just training the body. It comes from the feeling of exhilaration we get from battling, the intense joy we undergo as we throw punches, kicks, all those attacks. One shouldn’t enter a fight with only the goal of winning in mind. One should go in with the desire to enjoy the thrill of battle, and relish the idea of protecting the innocent. Now I see…” Vegeta uttered, as his body began to glow blue once again, but it felt different this time. The blue was more of a darker shade, like cobalt, and it was mixed with flecks of dark golden yellow that formed an aura of power, turning Vegeta’s once electric blue hair to cobalt and his dull blue eyes to the same cobalt as his hair. But more than that, Vegeta simply radiated power, power that was shaking the World of Void with every second that passed, threatening to rip it apart if the Saiyan’s power was left unchecked.
(stop music)
“This…this is-“
“Yes, Vegeta-san. This is the power you have been searching for this entire time. You just needed to unlock it in a different way, and it seems you have found it.” Whis chuckled, hiding a sense of pride behind his mischievous features.
“You know, now that this transformation of Vegeta-san has been used twice, we should give it a name! How about…SUPER SAIYAN BLUE EVOLUTION!” The Grand Priest suggested.
“I’m sorry, but that is just the dumbest name I have ever-!”
“SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUGGOOIIIIII!!!!!!!”
“Well, Zen’o seems to like it, it stays!”
“Fine…’Super Saiyan Blue Evolution’ Vegeta vs our very own champion KYYYOOYA! One way or another this battle will be over in a few short minutes, so let’s see if Vegeta has some bite to his new bark, eh?” Blader DJ announced.
“It will be settled indeed.”
As Kyoya and Vegeta stared each other down, the world itself seemed to halt, freezing in time as if to make way for the two to finish their fated clash.
Leone landed on a chunk of debris, it’s Spin Track a little worse for wear but otherwise fine, and once again called on the power of the winds to jump from rock to rock like a leaping monkey, dodging all of Vegeta’s blasts of god ki at the very last second, leaving a trail of nuclear explosions in its wake, until finally it reached a rock too far to jump to the next one. But Kyoya wouldn’t give up so easily.
“Leone, stand on the side of the rock and use Lion Gale Force Wall!” Kyoya commanded, as a sideways tornado suddenly appeared that led all the way back to the arena stage. “NOW RIDE THE WIND!”
Leone began following the spinning path of the tornado, climbing further along and inching ever closer back to the arena stage, constantly dodging the Lucora cannon blasts aimed through the middle of the tornado, wiping out the twister one level at a time, until Leone finally shot out the end and slammed Vegeta in the torso, sending the warrior crashing into a nearby dead tree, totaling it with ease and scattering gnarled branches all over the prince.
Vegeta sat up and rubbed his head, before deftly flipping out of the way of Leone’s next charge just in time, jumping onto a plateau and kicking the loose rock so hard it flew at the speed of a bullet, Leone just barely escaping in time. Vegeta continued to kick rocks and fire them at the rate of a machine gun, with Leone forced to twist and turn and jump through all of them, using the dexterity of the claws of the spirit Leone to successfully escape unharmed.
“By the 230 Spin Track of Flash Sagittario, Kyoya has escaped his fate unharmed! This is why he is the coolest Blader around!” Blader DJ gushed.
“Yes, but credit must also be given to Vegeta! His spectacular tactic of aiming for the tornado’s weakness after studying it for some time is certainly not something one can do under pressure! The atmosphere is truly intense and charged, isn’t it!?” Grand Priest replied.
“B-B-B-B-BULLLLLL! YOU GOT HIM, KYOYA, SHOW HIM THE POWER OF OUR BEYS OKAY!!?” Benkei roared.
“C’mon Vegeta! Don’t quit now!” Goku chimed in, as Leone and Vegeta circled each other once again, like predators about to fight for survival.
“Okay, you’re strong.” Vegeta said, with mild deference. “But are you FAST ENOUGH?”
Vegeta disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving Kyoya confused until he felt a sharp pain in his stomach, caused by Vegeta’s Final Blow. The air pressure from the attack sent Kyoya barreling into a nearby wall, where Vegeta followed up his strike with yet another furious rush of melee blows.
“Damn! Vegeta lands a devastating series of blows on the poor Kyoya! Needless to say, he’s gonna be sore in the morning!” Blader DJ called out, wincing a bit.
Vegeta kept on hitting Kyoya in the shins, arms, stomach, and head, and Kyoya could actually hear his bones snapping with every strike, caving in under the intense force Vegeta was dishing out.
“L-Leone…” Kyoya weakly called, as the lion sensed its master suffering and bounded towards the pair of clashing duelists, nailing Vegeta in the back with a well placed claw strike and forcing the Saiyan to recoil in pain, allowing Leone to set Kyoya on his back. The spiritual energy Leone offered was enough to heal Kyoya’s wounds so he could sit up.
“Alright, Leone, let’s finish it!” Kyoya called out, as Leone clashed with Vegeta’s fists, claws on palm strikes, over and over again, the sheer power of their attacks crumbling the rock around them and levitating them in the air. Then they flew back a fair distance before charging, bashing their skulls against each other over and over again, creating audible cracks that could be heard for miles around. Over and over they collided, on occasion spinning like a tornado with their claws and fists out first so they resembled bullets, until both fighters were covered in scratches and bruises, and their heads were aching.
“Fine, let’s finish this right now! FINAALLLL-” Vegeta began to yell as he held both his hands in front of him, charging up a ridiculous amount of golden energy.
“BRING IT ON!” Kyoya screamed as he braced himself.
“FLAAASSH!” Vegeta finished as he fired an enormous golden beam that approached Kyoya and Leone at incredible speeds.
“OK, then! SPECIAL MOVE, KING LION CRUSHING FANGS!” Kyoya roared, as Leone touched the ground with its front paws, and then quick as lightning shot forward, it’s fangs and claws growing to gargantuan size and enveloping itself in a leafy green aura as it made contact with the Final Flash attack.
The two seemed evenly matched, for as the Final Flash pushed Leone back, Leone countered just as hard with the Crushing Fangs.
“RRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Vegeta shouted, putting even more energy into the Final Flash, giving it his soul to power it up.
“LEEEEEOOOOOOONNNNNEEEE!!! Kyoya countered, putting even more of his aura into the great beast, both attacks getting bigger and more destructive until finally…
“BA-BOOOOOOM!!!”
At the center of the clash, the intermixed energies finally grew so unstable that they exploded, searing Vegeta and Kyoya with intense burns and pushing them to the very edges of the arena, which was basically about the size of a small bathroom at this point. Kyoya and Vegeta struggled to push themselves forward with their arms to escape the platform crumbling, until they were close enough to touch.
“WOOOW! That attack nearly annihilated the stadium and those two with it! But in a miraculous stroke of luck, they survived that insane explosion, and I feel we’re gettin’ down to the end here!” Blader DJ announced, tears of joy in his eyes.
(stop music)
Both of them were panting, hunched over, about to collapse in exhaustion. Yet their eyes still burned with the heat of battle, the desire to see this through to the end.
“And now…it is…time for my…ULTIMATE MOVE!” Vegeta roared, pausing every so often to catch his breath.
“Yeah…same here.”
“Alright, here we go!” Vegeta said with finality, as he drew himself to his admittedly rather unimpressive full height and held his arms by his side. This time, he didn’t hunch over, but rather raised his head to the sky, screaming his lungs out as the familiar yellow aura surrounded him and began expanding rapidly.
“Wait, what’s that guy doing?” Masamune questioned.
“He’s not…” Krillin said, suspicious over what Vegeta was about to do.
“It is.” Piccolo answered Krillin’s unasked question.
“But that’ll…VEGETA, STOP!” Bulma cried out. “You don’t have enough energy to survive Final Explosion this time!”
“I don’t care! I’m ending this on my own terms!” Vegeta responded, as the aura continued to grow in size.
(start music)
“Fine, buddy, but don’t forget I’m still here! Leone, prepare to attack!”
“SPECIAL MOVE, KING LION OMEGA FINALE!”
Leone jumped to a nearby rock formation and stuck to the side. From there, he launched another True King Lion Tearing Blast.
“Hmph! Didn’t you pay attention to how that didn’t work last time!?” Vegeta taunted.
“Sure, maybe my moves on their own couldn’t stop your final attack, but together…”
With that, Leone jumped into the middle of the tornados. Like Vegeta earlier, it ricocheted from twister to twister, bounced around like a rubber ball, yet this time it was not to do damage, but to build up speed. Once it had become nothing more than a blur, it bounced once more against the rock before flying at Vegeta at unimaginable speeds. But Kyoya still wasn’t done.
“Now, COMBO ATTACK! TRUE KING LION FURIOUS CRUSHING FANGS!” Kyoya roared, as Leone surrounded itself with another green tornado, while also spinning faster and faster until it was more like a minature drill than a top. Leone’s spirit emerged once more, it’s claws and fangs growing enormous, but also being coated in armor, armor made from the prey it had hunted in order to get here. It was no mere lion, it was a griffin, a winged king of beasts that soared the skies.
“NOW GO!” Kyoya shouted as Leone made contact with the Final Explosion. Once again, the two were locked in fierce combat, attempting to get the upper hand.
“DON’T THINK THIS WILL WORK AGAIN!” Vegeta boomed, as Final Explosion overpowered Leone and sent it flying.
“And that ends that! I win!”
“Don’t be so sure!”
“WHAT!?”
Kyoya smirked, and then said “Did you think I wouldn’t be expecting you to stop my attack! I was counting on it!”
He then pointed upward, forcing Vegeta to abandon his concentration and look skyward to see…LEONE! Still spinning!
“Ho-“
“SPECIAL MOVE, KING LION REVERSE WIND STRIKE!”
Leone turned upside down in the air and fired a tornado downward, entrapping Vegeta. This time, however, Vegeta was unable to stop the attack without abandoning his Final Explosion, and was thus forced to watch as Leone rode the wind downward and slammed into Vegeta’s skull, breaking the Saiyan’s concentration and dissipating Final Explosion to rub his head, while Leone safely touched down.
“Oh, wow! WHAT A MOVE! Kyoya, anticipating Vegeta’s counterattack, actually had a contingency plan to strike from the point where Final Explosion is weakest: above! You don’t see that kind of strategy every day, you know!?” The Grand Priest commentated.
“No, you do not, but that is why Kyoya is so powerful! But now let’s see what our resident deities have to say!”
“SUGGGOOIIIIIII!!!!!!!”
“Yes, how unexxpected.”
As Leone and Kyoya stood facing the Saiyan, their resolve hardened upon Vegeta smiling, as if urging them to finish the fight.
“Special Move! King Lion Furious Blast Shot!” Again, Leone was enveloped in a tornado, blasting itself at Vegeta, and slamming the Saiyan square in the chest, causing an explosion that kicked up the dust all around the two.
“Is…is it over?”
Vegeta was buried under a pile of rocks, and Leone was still spinning, albeit just barely, while Kyoya leaned on the flank of Leone’s spirit.
“Well, if that’s the case, then the winner is-“
Suddenly, from the rocks came a stirring.
“Huh?”
And then the rocks exploded to reveal Vegeta, surrounded by a red aura of rage.
“Never mind!”
Vegeta was about to launch another ki blast, but then his eyes rolled back so the pupils were no longer visible, and he collapsed, well and truly this time.
“MMMMMMMM…YEAH!!! I cannot believe that, after such a long and fierce battle, we’ve finally arrived at the end! It took a trip across multiple countries and three entire universes, but the final clash between these two fierce rivals is at last settled! So, how about we make it official!” Blader DJ announced.
“THE WINNER IS…” The Grand Priest began, wrapping his arm around Blader DJ as he did likewise.
“KYYYYYYOOOOOOOYYYYYAAAAAA!!!!”
And as Kyoya’s Leone raced back to its owner’s hand, Kyoya felt an ultimate sense of pride. He had faced one of his toughest opponents yet, and had emerged victorious. Then he looked at Leone and noticed how it was covered in scratches, and the Performance Tip in particular looked mangled.
(stop music)
“Leone, you fought really hard today, and never gave up for a second. You deserve a long rest before we settle the score with Gingka!” Kyoya murmured, as his friends came down the newly made stairs to Kyoya’s platform and dogpiled him.
“Wow Kyoya, that was amazing! I always had faith in you, Bu-Bull!” Benkei shouted.
“You definitely put me to shame! I might even call you an equal to me!” Masamune chimed in.
“Most impressive work, Kyoya.” Tsubasa stoically remarked.
“Your Bey is amazing engineering!” Madoka smiled.
“Yeah, Yo-yo! Are you gonna battle me next!?” Yu asked, feigning innocence.
“Don’t call me…yeah, okay.” Kyoya remarked, as he turned to face Gingka.
“Kyoya…that was awesome.” Gingka said, giving his rival a thumbs up.
“Heh, thanks I guess. But this doesn’t change the fact that I’m gonna beat you soon, right Gingka?”
“Sure, Kyoya. One day…”
Vegeta, meanwhile, was transferred back to the stands, as he was surrounded by his allies.
“Dammit…I lost. I almost had the win in my grasp…and then it slipped away like a Namekian frog.” Vegeta winced, clutching his wounded arm in pain.
“Oh, uh, sorry about that.” Android 18 remarked.
“It’s okay…long since past.”
“Eh, look on the bright side Vegeta. You may not have won the match, but I don’t think you’ll forget the lessons that you learned on this battlefield for quite a long time.” Piccolo reassured.
“Well, yeah, the whole ‘beating it into my skull’ thing was taken a little too literally this time around. But yes, I do feel like this whole battle may have changed me, as a person, as a warrior, and as a father. Bulma?”
“Yes…?”
“Come here.”
Bulma came closer, and put her ear right next to Vegeta’s mouth.
“I…care deeply about you. You and Bulla. No one is more important to me right now than you two. And I want you to never, EVER, forget that. Promise me…promise me you will remember, okay?”
“Oh…Vegeta!” Bulma replied, crying, as she hugged the Saiyan as tightly as she could, tears streaming down her face and soaking Vegeta’s armor.
“OK, but just be careful…arm still hurts a little bit.”
“Oh, sorry.”
She released Vegeta as he managed to get to his feet, turning to Kyoya, who was still conversing with the people of his universe.
“You there, Kyoya!”
Kyoya stopped dead and turned around, facing Vegeta and giving the Saiyan all his attention for the first time.
“This…isn’t easy for me to say, but…your skill have outmatched mine today. So…do you think it would be possible to train me, train me in this art you call…Beyblade?”
Kyoya stopped dead, stunned by his words. Then his expression softened, and he stroked his chin. It took a while, but at last Kyoya opened his mouth and said:
“Eh…sure. But you should know that my training is incredibly strenuous and trying. If you join me, you will be pushed beyond your limits, you will feel incredible pain, and it won’t stop, EVER. There is no point where you can finish with training. A wise master taught me that.”
“Eh, that’s pretty much my normal training schedule, so no big deal.”
“Great! We start tomorrow, so get prepared and buy a Beyblade, they’re pretty cheap. Or you can climb a mountain and earn it like Gingky over here.”
“Hmm…”
“Alright, that’s enough.” Grand Priest interrupted. “It’s very nice to see that you have indeed made up and ended your fighting and helped restore the universal balance, but now you really must be going. It’s Lord Zen’o’s naptime, and he really does not prefer disturbance. So I will now send you all on your way, back to your own dimensions. You will of course be aware of all the events that have transpired today, but please try to keep this information to yourselves when asked about it. Knowledge of other universes given to the masses may be enough to bring about war on a cosmic scale, and that’s very annoying to deal with. Anyway, good bye, and may Shenron be with you!”
At that, the Grand Priest clapped his hands, and all the Bladers and Z-Fighters vanished, Blader DJ grabbing the dimensional rift and pulling himself through one last time to say, “AND THAT CONCLUDES THE BEYBLADE FINAL BATTLE! THANK YOU ALL FOR WATCHING, AND HAVE A GOOOOOD NIGHT!” before being sucked back in.
“You know, that was quite an enjoyable experience.” Whis mused, Grand Priest nodding his head in agreement, as the Zen’os said one last SUGGOI as the sun finally rose in the World of Void.
: Awwww…yeah, BABY! Leone wins again!
: Rrr, this is an outrage! I demand a rematch!
: Whoa, whoa, whoa, EASY!
: Hey, man, cool your flame chomps, this is starting to get interesting.
: I’m already pretty satisfied, but I got 5 bucks on Leone.
: 10 coins says Vegeta stomps.
: Good to know you’re not putting much stock in that idea.
: Believe it or not, I actually have very impressive mon-e-tar-y skills. Also Kamek helped.
: Anyway…Kyoya won. Wanna talk about it?
: It’s on in a manner similar to an enormous primate with the intials D and K!
: Needless to say, this was a very close battle. Neither Vegeta nor Kyoya and Leone completely outclassed each other. Each had their strengths and weaknesses, and there are indeed many scenarios where Vegeta could win. But in the end, it just wasn’t enough to take the majority.
: In a race, it’s pretty evident that Vegeta can take a sip of coffee, read the newspaper, walk the dog, eat lunch, read a book, and then finish in the time it take Leone to do half the race. So yeah, Vegeta was 100% gonna win in a contest of speed. Probrem is…speed ain’t everything.
: To be fair, Vegeshit-I mean Vegeta’s advantages don’t end there. By virtue of being older, he obviously has a lot more combat experience, and his martial arts skills are obviously far superior to Leone’s. However, Leone and Kyoya aren’t too far behind in terms of experience considering they too have pushed past their limits on many occasions, like Vegeta, and have also rigorously trained all the time.
: Finally, Vegeta…technically has more versatility. In terms of sheer number of attacks, Vegeta absolutely dominates, comparing his 40+ moves with Kyoya’s…15 at best. However, I say technically because pretty much all of Vegeta’s moves can be boiled down to “energy attack”, “melee attack”, or “melee attack coated with energy”, and Kyoya is basically the same. So…honestly their versatility is pretty much equal.
: I hate to admit it, but Vegeta does have more advantages. But it’s countered by that old saying, ‘Quality over Quantity.’ And Kyoya’s advantages are so enormous that they kinda eclipse anything Vegeta has to offer. Actually, never mind, forget what I said, the lifting strength advantage means Leone and Kyoya actually have more advantages, how about that-
: First of all, Leone’s power and durability kinda make Vegeta look like the littlest bitch.
: True. Now, you might be thinking “oh, but both Leone and Vegeta are Universal+ at peak, so shouldn’t they be even?” And you’re right to think that, but the answer is a very solid NO. Just because two characters are in the same general tier of power, doesn’t mean they’re automatically comparable. For example, 1 exaton of TNT and 29.6 exatons of TNT are both Multi-Continental levels of power, but the latter is more than powerful enough to one shot the former. It’s the same case here. Vegeta is a pretty low to mid tier Universal+. By contrast, Universal+ Beyblade has existed since Dark Wolf in Metal Fusion, and almost every Bey after Dark Wolf has been more powerful than it, like a pyramid, and Kyoya is basically at the top of that chain, second only to Gingka. So by this point, Kyoya is superior to about 20-25 other Beys that are superior to a Low 2-C, making Kyoya an extremely high Low 2-C in AP and durability. Also, Leone being superior to Jade Jupiter which can casually move planets most likely makes Leone stronger than Vegeta, telekinetic or otherwise.
: Long story short, not only does a goddamn children’s toy one shot Vegeta, but Vegeta literally cannot hurt it. How’s that for crazy shit, huh? And this isn’t even the end of consistently powerful children’s toys, look at Bakugan…
: Okay, but let’s say you don’t buy that. Let’s say you think Vegeta can actually land a few solid hits on Leone. It really doesn’t mean much when Leone’s regeneration really makes that kinda moot. The Beyblade can keep going as long as its spirit isn’t permanently destroyed. And these assholes can take a lot of punishment. You can fucking destroy them, and they come back like a minute later! Bad writing or ridiculous pain tolerance, I don’t know, but Vegeta cannot deal with that kinda shit.
: Last but not least, Kyoya is far more creative in terms of attacking than Vegeta. Vegeta’s main strategy in all his fights is just to bumrush his opponent and hit them until they die. Kyoya, while not being extraordinarily intelligent, is a master at using his environment to his advantage in order to perform some of his attacks, most notably with the Lion 100 Fang Fury. Plus, it’s not like Vegeta can really one shot Kyoya, as Kyoya has tanked the fires of Hades Kerbecs, which was strong enough to destroy the souls of Beys like Gravity Destroyer, which is most certainly also Universal+. Here, look at the stat chart, it paints a nice picture
: The only real issue would be, as you can surmise, actually hitting Vegeta. But a combination of factors, such as Leone’s AoE attacks, Vegeta’s tendency to fight battles hand to hand a lot of the time, and Leone being able to jump through the air to get closer to Vegeta, should allow the Bey to land those few good hits on Vegeta and win the battle. Establishing himself as the 2nd most Ultimate Life Form behind yours truly. Also Quaddriol is how you say Quadrillion in Mobian.
: Huh? Oh, I wasn’t listening, too busy beating the shit out of this guy.
: Kamikazi dkdkh, baluk dighin bachiz…
: Darn, guess I owe Private Goomp 50 coins. Suffice it to say Vegeta couldn’t put a positive spin on this battle.
: The winner is Kyoya Tategami, Blader of the Winds
++ Much stronger in AP, easily capable of ending the fight in one shot
++ Too durable for Vegeta to really damage
+ Regeneration helps further Leone’s survivability
+ More ingenuity in regards to attacking
+ Stronger in lifting strength
= Intelligence
-/= Has less attacks, but the same amount of attack variety
= Rigorousness of training
– Has less combat experience
– Has no martial arts training, unlike Vegeta’s mastery of it
–/+ Is far slower, but has methods of getting around that
++/- Far faster, but Kyoya can still deal with it
+ More combat experience
+ More fighting skill by a landslide
+/= Technically more versatile, but only in number of moves
= Intelligence
= Rigorousness of Training
– Has no reliable way of dealing with Leone’s regen
– Weaker in lifting strength
– Overall more predictable as a fighter
— So much weaker in AP that he can’t damage Leone at all
— Is so much less durable that he can get one shot with no issue
Epilogue…
About a week after the final battle between Kyoya and Vegeta, the Saiyan was busy training on Beerus’s planet, attempting to hone the power of his Super Saiyan Blue Evolution transformation without resorting to emotional ties. It was rather iffy as to whether it worked or not, but over time Vegeta had gotten used to it to the point where on good days, he could consistently access the form on his own. And so now he was working on increasing the form’s power to its limit, and even potentially obtaining some new transformation.
Right now, he was sparring with Lord Beerus, and needless to say it was going quite well. Vegeta had landed 10 consecutive hits on the God of Destruction, and Beerus was panting, forced to draw on his full reserves of power to stand a chance against the mighty force of Super Saiyan Blue Evolution.
“Okay…okay, that’s enough…I’m tired.” Beerus wheezed, as he sat down next to the nearby tree and took another sip of his fish flavored milkshake.
“Ew…I can’t imagine how someone like you can drink that disgusting shit.” Vegeta muttered, as Lord Beerus simply shrugged and kept chugging.
“Eh, regardless I think you’re now ready to stand up to Ultra Instinct.” Beerus lazily remarked.
“Really, are you sure?”
“Yeah. Your training with that Kyoya kid seemed to have really helped you out, and needless to say your power is absolutely off the scale. So, go on, head home, and do what you need to do, okay?”
“Yes, Lord Beerus.” Vegeta spoke with reverance, as he touched his finger to his forehead and transported away, back to Earth.
Meanwhile, in Universe 3, Gingka, Kyoya, and the rest of the Battle Bladers were back in Blader Stadium to finish what they had started.
“Alright, Gingka, it’s time we settle this, once and for all!” Kyoya yelled, his fist raised in defiance.
“Agreed!” Gingka countered, as he raised Samurai Pegasus and strapped it into his Bey launcher, Kyoya doing the same with his Fang Leone.
“I guess Yoyo and Gingky aren’t gonna change, huh?” Yu wondered, everyone else nodding their heads.
“Well, you can’t deny their fighting spirit!” Masamune chimed in.
“BU-BU-BU-BU-BU-BULLLLL!!!! GO GET HIM, KYOYA!!!” Benkei shouted above the others, his excitement plain to see.
In Universe 7, Vegeta appeared in front of Goku’s house, and transmitted himself to the garden where he knew Goku would be. And there he was, plowing the fields with his bare hands.
“KAKAROT! It’s time to finish this!” Vegeta shouted.
“You read my mind, Vegeta!” Goku retorted, as he flew in the air and discarded his farming clothes to reveal a gi underneath, at which point he floated up to match Vegeta’s height before the two flew off at light speeds to the battleground.
“GOKU! You were supposed to do your chores! GET BACK HERE-oh, why do I even bother!” Goku’s wife Chi-Chi yelled after her husband, going back inside to feed their granddaughter.
Goku and Vegeta landed in a distant, green field, miles from any civilization.
“Alright, Vegeta, no one is gonna bother us out here!”
“Yes, Kakarot, it’s time I finally prove myself the strongest Saiyan in the universe!”
“Give me your best shot!”
Simultaneously, Blader DJ was giving the opening callouts. “ARE YOU READY TO BLADE, EVERYONE?!”
“YES!” The Battle Bladers answered, as Goku and Vegeta simultaneously transformed into their Ultra Instinct and Super Saiyan Blue Evolution forms respectively.
“Okay then! 3-“
“2-“ Goku yelled
“1-“ Gingka and Kyoya said in unison.
“LET IT RIIIIP!” “LET’S GO!”
JJ's Writing Corner 