Beyblade Metal Arc: The Tale of the White Tigress (Under Editing)

Chapter Nineteen: A Misty Temple

Once everyone had stepped out of the airplane, the familiar heat overwhelmed all of Sandra. Waiting for them was two members of Team Wild Fang, with a jeep behind them and the group eagerly greeted them.
"Nile, buddy!" Benkei bellowed, rushing over to engulf Nile in a hug.
"I'm glad... to see you all... as well." The boy managed to say through being tightly embraced by Benkei. Benkei finally let him down.
"Thanks for meeting us here," Sandra said to him gratefully.
Kyoya stepped forward and fist bumped Nile, while greeting both Demure with a nod. Sandra had hugged Nile and fist-bumped him, but not before hearing a quiet growl behind her.
"It's like a reunion!" remarked Benkei.
"Don't forget about us!" Gingka proclaimed as him, Madoka, and Yuki joined them.
"It's nice to meet you in person, Mr. Nile," Yuki stated. "If I recall correctly, both our Beys are based on Ancient Egyptian Gods."
Nile smiled. "It's great to meet a fellow Blader with something in common."
At that, the group soon sat down in the jeep's trunk as they drove through the African savanna that has a few trees and boulders scattered around. But they could see many wild animals in the savanna.
"Woah, awesome! The savannah stretches as far as you can see," Gingka exclaimed excitedly. "Look! There's some zebras!"
"There are elephants too!" Yuki pointed out.
"Oh, and giraffes!" Benkei added.
"Look, look! Warthogs!" Madoka joined in.
"I'm glad you could join us, Demure!" Sandra said.
He smiled. "I wouldn't miss out on seeing you all again."
"Peachy. So, how much longer until we get to this Mist Mountain place anyway?" asked Kyoya.
"We're almost there," Nile answered.
"A Star Fragment fell there, is that right?" Madoka inquired.
"Yes." Nile nodded. "As long as the data you sent us from Russia is accurate, that's where it'll be."
"Of course, things may be difficult," Demure stated.
"'Difficult'?" echoed Yuki.
"Mist Mountain is dodgy. It rises from the jungle at some very strange angles," Nile explained. "For some reason, the entire mountain is covered in mist all year long. Because of that, once you enter the mountain, you can lose your sense of direction, get lost, and never find your way out. That's why around here, it is known by another name — The Mountain of No Return."
"Oh yeah, l've heard rumors around town about it," Sandra chimed in.
"Huh, so it had to fall there of all places," Kyoya remarked, unamused.
"Well, actually, it might be that it wasn't just by chance," inferred Demure.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Madoka asked, puzzled.
"The fact is, there are ruins there, ruins of an ancient civilization. A large number of ancient Beys were found in the ruins. It is proof that a civilization that flourished because Beys existed on Mist Mountain," Nile explained to them.
"Wow!"
"Sounds interesting alright," Sandra mused thoughtfully.
"A civilization that was based on Beys?" Madoka and Yuki asked simultaneously.
"Yes." Nile nodded his confirmation.
"And there is more, my friends," Demure divulged. "It is rumored that there is a guardian who protects those ruins, even today. The descendent of that ancient civilization."
"So, we have to assume that this guardian is a Legendary Blader, isn't that right?" questioned Benkei.
"The descendent of an ancient people who respected Beys? It sure sounds like someone the Star Fragment would choose," Yuki commented.
"I wonder what a person like that is really like. I'm starting to get pumped, I tell ya!" Gingka proclaimed.
"As long as it's not another one like that King guy we ran into." Kyoya grumbled.
"Yeah." Everyone else agreed.
"You know what, you've got a point. He was summoned by a Bey that possessed a Star Fragment — Variares." Gingka remembered with a frown.
"I just don't get it. How did the Star Fragment choose the Legendary Bladers that it was gonna fall on?" Yuki pondered.
"Speaking of Star Fragments, was it alright to leave King back in the U.S. like that?" Madoka inquired.
"We didn't have a choice, right? He and Masamune hit it off so well, he didn't want to leave the U.S.." informed Gingka.
"If he's at Dungeon Gym, Toby and Zeo will be with him too, and Coach Steel will keep on eye on him as well," added Yuki.
"I guess you're right." Madoka nodded understandingly.
"Ah! Look over there, it's a pride of lions!" Demure suddenly announced, pointing out to the savannah.
"Lions?" Kyoya became excited at the mention of his favorite wildcats.
"Where? Where?" The rest of them looked around questioningly.
"I didn't see them anywhere," stated Benkei.
"That's weird, you can't see them?" asked Demure. "A pride of about ten lions just twenty kilometres away."
"We can't see that far!"