The legend returns

Chapter 36

~Shu POV~

The bladers walked down the hallway towards the door. Shu was deep in thought about who was on the other side. Everyone we've faced has been the equivalent to the masked bladers they replaced. Most of them were from the beyclub. Could Ken be the next blader? We haven't really talked since the International Bladers cup. He's definitely gonna have improved during these past two years. He thought.The group reached the door and it opened. The heat of fire blasted their faces. "Another hot room? How can you guys stand this?!" Hearts asked. The bladers wearing jackets immediately took them off. Rantaro was once again wearing his like a cape. Free gave Sora back her trench coat and she ended up hanging it over her right shoulder. Shu made his way to the front of the group, pausing at the edge of the platform they stood on. The floor was mainly lava but there were pillars of metal that barely stuck up out of the hot liquid. The walls of the room looked like the sides of a volcano. Small fires and glowing embers littered the walls. "I think this is the most dangerous room out of all of them!" Wakiya exclaimed. "It is actually. This and Vin's battle room." Sable said. "How are we all gonna get across without falling in?" Wakiya asked. "Do exactly as I do." Shu said. He then jumped off of the platform and onto the first pillar of metal before carefully leaping from one pillar to the next. He paused on the fifth one just before a lava covered piller shot up out of the deadly liquid. "You know, I'm glad we didn't have to come in here the first time. We would have been toast." Rantaro said. "There used to be an audible warning before that came up. Ashtem is trying his hardest to kill us." Shu said. "Who knows what else he's done to this room?" Norman said. Shu continued parkouring across the pillars, scanning the lava for any sign of another pillar coming up. When he reached the eighth pillar, he noticed the lava being pushed away from an area on his left. He jumped, making sure he was far enough to his right for the pillar to miss. He looked to his left and watched as the pillar shot up on his left and thankfully missed him completely. He landed on the next pillar and looked forward and realized he was standing in front of the stadium. His crimson eyes widened in shock when he looked up and saw who was on the other side. It was his blond haired protochè, Fubuki Sumiye. The blond's normally red eyes were a menacing purple color and despite the high temperature of the room, he was a sickly pale color. He looked worse than the other bladers they had run into. He was shaking terribly and he looked in no condition to blade.What have they done to you? If you're already shaking this bad then you're going to collapse when you're freed. Unless someone's ready to catch you... you'll fall into the lava. Shu scowled at the thought. You really don't care who gets hurt do you Theodore? He thought bitterly. "First battle." The monotone voice said over the intercom. I know that I can end this with a burst but, should I? If I win, I'll barely have enough time to get to him before the pillar sinks into the lava, not counting having to destroy the chip in his bey. If I do what Valt and Lui did then the pillar won't sink out from under him and I'll be able to get to him and catch him before he falls. I have to be careful and not burst Forneus. Shu thought. The two bladers got into their launching positions, both having to go with a normal stance due to the small size of the pillar. "3...2...1... LET IT RIP!" They yelled in unison. Spryzen's Cho-Z wings didn't activate before it landed in the stadium. It spun around the stadium in right spin Stamina mode while Forneus settled in the center. "Turbo Counter break!" Shu yelled. Spryzen suddenly changed direction and charged down the slope towards Forneus. "Emperor Guard." Fubuki said. The two beys collided in the center and locked together in a fierce clash. Forneus' twelve bladed edge parried Spryzen's attack, that is until it was hit with the other blade of the axe on the red and gold bey's layer. Forneus was sent into the air, flying towards Shu. The albino reached out his right hand to catch it, only for the bey to burst just before it touched the red glove on his hand. He closed his hand around the parts before bringing them close to him and opening his hand again. He quickly took Forneus in his left hand and crushed the chip with his thumb. He looked up to see the purple drain from Fubuki's eyes and be replaced by their normal red color. The blond's eyes slid shut before he began to fall backwards. "FUBUKI!" Shu yelled. He jumped from the platform he was standing on, landing on the edge of the stadium before jumping off of it and onto the platform Fubuki was standing on. He grabbed Fubuki's left arm and pulled the blond to him before putting his right arm around the boy's shoulders, putting his left under his knees and lifting him into his arms. He looked down at the blond, scarred of what his fate could be. "Cho-Z Spryzen with a burst finish. Shu Kurenai wins with a score of two to null." The monotone voice said. I'm standing on Fubuki's platform. Crap! Shu thought. He quickly jumped off of the platform, the pillar of metal disappearing under the lava as his foot left it. He landed on the pillar behind it before turning to face the group. "Come on! Before the lava starts rising!" Shu yelled. He turned and continued to parkour towards the other door, careful not to drop the unconscious boy in his arms. He jumped up and through the doorway and walked a couple steps down the hallway before turning to watch as the group made their way to the door. Pillars began shooting up from the lava and the deadly liquid was steadily rising. There was little room for mistakes as the lava slowly began to cover the pillars the bladers were jumping across. One by one, the bladers jumped up from the last platform and into the hallway. The door slammed shut behind them, protecting them from the heat of the room and the rising lava in it. Their attention was now directed to the unconscious blader in Shu's arms. "Is he-" Valt couldn't finish his sentence. Sora put her right hand on the side of the blond's neck, checking his pulse. She let out a sigh of relief. "He's alive, just unconscious. He feels really warm, which makes sense due to the heat of the battle room he was stuck in." She said. Shu and Valt let out their own sighs of relief. "He's one tough kid, that's for sure." Hearts said, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "He's Kurenai's apprentice, of course he's gonna be tough." Lui said. "You saying that Shu is better than you?" Wakiya asked. "In your dreams." Lui said. "We should get going. We may be safe from the lava but Ashtem will get impatient and trigger another trap if we continue to stand here." Shu said.

~Sora POV~

The bladers began walking down the hallway once more. Sora put her trench coat back on, knowing what to expect out of the last room. She looked over at Shu and Fubuki, noticing how concerned Shu looked for the unconscious blader. She also noticed that Shu was still holding Forneus' parts in his right hand. "Here, I'll keep Forneus safe for him." Sora said. Shu nodded before rolling his wrist back and opening his right hand. Sora grabbed Forneus's parts and put them in the right pocket of her coat. She looked back over at the two bladers and saw Shu's worried expression. "He'll be ok Shu. He's stubborn like you." She said. The other bladers started laughing. "She's not wrong." Valt said. "Nope, he's like you, Sora. " Shu said. "How's that? I don't see him jumping into danger for the fun of it." Lui said. "I jump into danger because I have to. The adrenaline is just a bonus." Sora said. "Sure, and you seem to enjoy the challenge of getting out of trouble and thwarting peoples plans. " Lui said. "You've got me there." Sora said. "Ok, Fubuki is like me. There, I said it." Shu said. "Glad to see you accept the truth." Sora said. "Well, then Katsumi has to be like you, Sora." Free said. "No. She's not. She gets frightened more than Wakiya does. I've tried to help her with it but it's who she is. And I'm fine with it." Sora said. "She is a really good blader like you though." Toko said. "That she is. I know she'll become a legend someday. Her and her brother both, along with some other bladers I know." Sora said. The group reached the end of the hallway and the door opened. A gust of wind greeted them, blowing their hair back and tugging at their clothes. Trees surrounded them and the branches obscured their view of the stadium. "Are there any traps in this room?" Diago asked. "No. The path narrows down alot beyond those branches though." Sora answered. "More long drops. Great..." Wakiya complained. "Well, at least you can see the bottom." Sora said as she began to walk down the path. The bladers followed the gold eyed blader down the path, dodging the branches as they did. As they emerged on the other side, the path narrowed down to where only two or three people could walk side by side. When she let go of the last branch and turned to look at the stadium, she froze in shock. Her wide gold eyes met red lenses. A very familiar blonde haired blader stood by the stadium in the middle of the room, her anger and hatred towards her mentor burning through the lenses of her mask.