Shu Kurenai: The Last Blader

Episode 55

Flashback

Theodore sat in his signature chair overlooking the stadium and empty stands below, but little did he know everything was going to change.

It was late in the night and by now everyone had gone home to get rest for the semi-finales of the tournament between Valt and Free. But Theodore had remained behind, planning in case something went wrong.

Despite how strong Free was, Theodore couldn't help but feel unconfident in Free's ability to win and the new data he'd acquired taking Valt under his wing didn't lie. His power was growing stronger.

But before he could get too deep into his thoughts Phi opened the door and closed it behind him.

"You summoned me?" Phi asked, leaning against the wall.

"It's Valt, according to the data he's gotten even stronger, I'm worried we may have a new enemy in our midst..."

"Bey battles aren't always decided by data Theodore." Phi said simply as if explaining this concept to a younger kid instead of an adult.

"My data doesn't lie and neither does our apprenticeship nor the video footage and damage from the other day when the chandelier fell. Besides, it's not just his power I'm worried about, it's also his ability to uncorrupt bladers."

"And the battle tomorrow?" Phi asked knowing where this was going.

"While I'm confident in your power over others Phi, facts and logic don't lie about Valt's increase in power. He could ruin everything, Phi. He could uncorrupt our army with his own. Which is why we need to find out everything we can about Valt Aoi."

Phi straightened up and was no longer leaning against the wall and instead standing across Theodore's desk wearing an evil smile.

"But if he could be turned, he could be a powerful ally."

The same smile spread across Theodore's face.

"And with Valt out of the picture he can't uncorrupt any bladers...Phi at tomorrow's battle you can turn Valt and what better way than to give them false hope by giving them a great victory only to have the hero slowly turn to our side. This is an opportunity we cannot let pass Phi."

"And with Valt on our side we can teach him everything we know." Phi added smiling even more.

Their laughter echoed through the building haunting its walls with their presence.

Indeed, everything was going to change.

******

Shu's heart was pounding as the group made their way into the staircase. Shu had considered using the elevator during the plane ride but Theodore could easily manipulate it and Shu wanted every advantage they could get.

The further they descended on the staircase the darker the lighting became and colder the temperature dropped creating a quiet and eerie mood. Even Zac who was usually both hearty and talkative was instead quiet.

Shu would've liked to have been going up instead of down but the way to the requiem room was down and so down they went into the darkness.

Or at least Shu thought Valt was with Theodore but since the Snake Pit was so large he figured Valt could be anywhere.

Once they reached the bottom the basement was so quiet Shu could hear his heart pumping.

Then came a scream, so loud but at the same time so inhumane. Everyone was dead silent as they kept moving trying to forget what they just heard.

Luckily the group found a hallway with stairs leading to another part of the building. Relief relaxed Shu but not before something caught his eye.

For at the end of the staircase was a large, thick heavy metal door in which the scream had originated from.

Looking into the window, a figure moved along the shadows and then another. Shu's eyes widened and suddenly he understood.

Valt's distant words echoed in his head from battling him back at BC Sol and at the time Shu had denied the existence of the basement claiming Theodore never told him they had a basement. But now those same words echoed through his head:

"There are bladers down there Shu, bladers who are way past corruption and way past Phi's power."

And now he understood exactly what Valt was talking about. The bladers weren't just corrupted they were fully gone and way past it to the point they were basically animals lost of all humanity.

Another inhumane screech sent a shiver through Shu's entire body.

Theodore had tortured bladers before sometimes, overworking them, mentally torturing and even beating them very rarely.

But this was on a whole different level of messed up, Theodore had crossed a line and had gone too far. These weren't kids anymore. It sickened him to his very core knowing this could happen to any blader with their resonance turning against them even with ones like Sasha or Zac who were nice and friendly.

"We need to keep moving now."

And so they did in silence with Shu trying to forget what happened, what he saw and from that point on that's when everything went downhill.

Snake Pit bladers easily found them and for a while the group managed to hold them off and keep going but after a while one by one they all started to stay behind sacrificing themselves just so Shu could move onto the next level.

At first it was Zac and Nika fighting a large group of bladers then Hyde had stayed behind to hold open a door and when the next group of bladers came causing Suoh to tell them to go on without him.

And then it was down to the four of them Shu, Diago, Aiger and Delta. Shu was surprised they still had this many people left and considering they just saw some higher ranking bladers like Cuza, Silas and Hae-Jin then he figured they must be getting closer to Valt.

Yet, something was nagging him, something that made this all seem too easy. Breaking in, finding Valt and the way they were moving so fast and still with this many people Shu had expected a bigger fight like maybe a war with two sides clashing or an epic battle but something was off.

And it wasn't just the fact that they hadn't heard from Free's group or that most of Theodore's bladers were probably on the other side with Free's group no, it almost seemed like he wanted them to find Valt because the way they were going was leading them right to the...

Stepping into the room dread filled Shu's whole body; he knew this room all too well.

Broken glass littered the ground as the remains of the pod in the center of the room was damaged and in shambles. The rest of the room was in shambles with computers and consoles all over the place.

Taking out his flashlight, Shu realized he shouldn't be afraid. This was his best friend, the same person who loved blading with all of his heart, the one who had brought Wakiya, Diago, Rantaro, Ken and himself together and the same person who had been able to defeat Theodore before.

And yet he was still very afraid. Afraid of what Theodore could turn his best friend into.