A Loyal Mutt

Missing Star

The group climbed down the volcano and had lunch back at Sala's place. Ginga and Zyro were happily munching like horses, as the rest ate peacefully.

Chi was by the window again, eating rather slowly compared to them. Her mind was replaying the events that happened in that volcano. She was full of hope, but was saddened by the fact they had to leave the next day.

If they could stay longer, she would. She'd even be willing to beg them to let her. But the villagers are still quite wary of visitors. Not only that, but Ryuga himself didn't want to be discovered, meaning she has no choice but to heed to his wish.

That night, once everyone was asleep, she slipped out the window. Looking up at the volcano made her sigh.

She had to say goodbye.

~~~~~

They all thought she had just gone to search the place one last time. No one thought of it as a big deal seeing how stable the volcano was the day before. That's why they were all shocked to find her covered in burnt marks on her way back.

They got her to bed and treated her wounds. Luckily, their boat wouldn't arrive until near noon.

"Tell us what happened, Chi." Kenta said, as soon as she was fixed up.

"We didn't feel a single rumble, so I doubt it was a battle." Kite added.

Chi shook her head. "He wasn't there. Something else was. It's... About Ryo's height? Maybe a little less... The sound it made when it moved was metalic."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Shinobu asked.

"Start from the beginning, Chi." Ginga saud. "Who wasn't there?"

Perhaps she was doing something he wouldn't like her to. Perhaps she would get left behind again as punishment. But that didn't matter at the moment. "Sir Ryuga was there last time... When I went back, he was gone. Sirius didn't have any sort of reaction either, so he must be far away."

"Ryuga?!" Ginga was in disbelief. "We went to the cave you were at, but he wasn't there!"

"It's true." Sakyo spoke up from the corner, surprising the rest. "We both saw him and talked to him. But he decided to leave when you all came."

"Huh? He left?" Kenta's face went from confused to worried. "But... Why?"

"Maybe he doesn't want people to know he's there." Chi muttered under her breath, but it was still loud enough for them to hear. "I don't think I'm supposed to tell you I even saw him yesterday either, so I didn't... But then that thing..."

They all exchanged glances before turning back to her. Zyro was first to speak up. "Chi, what's this thing you keep talking about?"

"I think... it might be an android...?" She continued to mutter. "I couldn't see its face. It was wearing a cloak and a hat. But when it pointed its bey at me, I saw it's arms... It was metallic, I'm sure."

Ren's eyes went wide in anger. "It pointed a bey at you?! And you didn't fight back?!"

"Fighting at such a place would endanger not only myself, but the entire island." She stated.

"Whoever programmed it must have had it follow us." Kite concluded. "It knew we were looking for the legendary blader, Ryuga, and when it found him, it probably captured him too."

"Ryuga? Captured?" Kenta never even considered it possible.

"He wasn't exactly in his best condition..." Chi pointed out. "L-Drago also looked like it was in pretty bad shape..."

"You mean he hasn't gotten it fixed from the Nemesis battle?!" Ginga yelled out in surprise.

"To be fair, he doesn't have a personal mechanic like you."

"Hey!"

"But Chi has a point." Kenta stated. "The entire time I travelled with him, he never needed a mechanic. He was just too strong to even take the slightest bit of damage from other bladers. The only time his bey was damaged before this was-"

"After Ginga's battle with him at Battle Bladers!" Madoka finished, piecing it together. "Ryuga didn't get L-Drago fixed back then either! It evolved from Lightning L-Drago to Meteo L-Drago, making it good as new!"

"What happened next, Chi?" Ginga encouraged her to tell more, but she shook her head.

"It pointed its bey at me and... I don't know... The fusion wheel was really hot... Even if it didn't touch me, I could still feel it. The metal conducted the heat I think, and then... it's just too hot. I couldn't stay up." She hummed in thought before turning to Kite. "I did hear a boat engine though, before I completely lost conciousness. It was coming from the north side."

The boy nodded in understanding. "If I could calculate the average speed of the boat and the how much time it's been since they left-"

"About 2 am."

"-Then align it with the direction you heard it coming from, I can estimate the area of where the boat is now!"

Within mere minutes, the device showed a red circle that indicates the estimated area. "Perfect!"

"Great job, big bro!" Eight praised his brother.

"Naturally! That is the power of this genius here, Mr. Perfect himself, Kite Unabara!"

But Chi wasn't listening to him anymore. She climbed out of bed, despite Madoka and Sala's protests, and grabbed the device from Kite's lap. "We need to get there. Now."

"No, you need to rest!" Madoka grabbed her rather roughly, making her point as Chi winced. "We're heading back to the WBBA!"

"But-"

"We'll lose them anyway. The boat won't arrive until two hours from now!" Her eyes soften as she continued. "I know this must be hard for you, Chi. But your body is in no condition for a chase. Ryuga means a lot to you, I understand that, but you can't just throw away your own health. You wouldn't be able to save him if you're still injured like this."

That shouldn't have stopped her. She was loyal to Ryuga and Ryuga only. Not even Doji or Ziggurat could make her betray the one she has devoted her entire being to.

Yet somehow, just looking at them... Looking at Madoka's disheartened face, looking at the worried glances of the rest...

She handed the monitor back to Kite and went back to the bed, covering herself in the blankets.

"Chi?"

"... Wake me up when the boat gets here."