Beyblade: Metal Masters S2 E36

## Plot

In the previous episode, Masamune finally reunites with Toby, and the two reminisce about when they first met and became friends years ago. Toby isn't sure who to cheer for if Zeo and Masamune end up battling each other in the final. Masamune tells him to cheer for whoever he wants, and then come to challenge the winner when he gets better, so they can finally decide who number one is. We see HD Academy for the first time. It's a skyscraper in the middle of a place called Hades City, which is in the middle of a desert. The owner of HD Academy and the manager of Team Starbreaker is a man named Dr. Ziggurat. The other two members of the American team are Damian Hart and Jack. They're both a little crazy, especially Jack, who has an obsession with art. Their beys are Hades Kerbecs, and Evil Befall. Damian is currently going through something called an arrangement. Zeo returns and asks Ziggurat what he wants. They see Ryuga enter a testing area and easily defeat all of the beys there. Ziggurat wants Zeo to battle him to get data on his bey, because it rotates to the left and could become an obstacle to their goals, but the doctor wants Zeo to receive an arrangement first. He refuses, saying that Ginga didn't need an arrangement to defeat Ryuga, so he doesn't need one either. He thinks he can beat Ryuga using nothing but his own strength, and tells Ziggurat that he's not his guinea pig. However, Ziggurat reminds him that the real reason he chose an unskilled blader like Zeo is because he's one of the few people who can handle the arrangement system. The reason Toby is receiving such good care is because Zeo is cooperating with Ziggurat, but if he stops doing that… I personally love this arc because of all the dark implications behind Ziggurat's plans, even if not a lot happens and the same exposition is repeated multiple times over the course of a few episodes as more characters learn about it. Plus, we slowly see Zeo unravel and let his true feelings out. After he leaves, Ziggurat says he's troublesome. Jack applauds Ryuga's performance, and Ryuga responds by launching L-Drago at his viewing window. It leaves a large crack, but doesn't break. It turns out that Jack was the strong blader from earlier, who refused to battle him that time too. His bey isn't complete yet. Ryuga faces Zeo instead. He blames him and Ginga for "stealing" Masamune away from him and Toby. He won't forgive Masamune for leaving either. In his eyes, they're all guilty. Yeah, Zeo's got some abandonment issues, and it's hard to blame him. Masamune never mentioned him or Toby to the others before Brazil or even bothered trying to contact them. I'm kind of on Zeo's side here, although that definitely doesn't excuse his actions or methods, but he's basically being blackmailed into doing all of this for Toby's sake. It's no wonder he starts losing it due to all of the bottled up anger and stress. He reveals to Ryuga that Flame Byxis can control an opponent's movements. It also has a limitless supply of strength and stamina. However, Ryuga calls Zeo boring, because dragging the match into a sleep-out is boring. Zeo tries to use Byxis's special move to draw out L-Drago's full power, but he can't use it due to an arrangement point failure, which is why Ziggurat told him to receive an arrangement earlier. Ryuga uses Dragon Emperor Supreme Bite to easily defeat him. Ziggurat introduces himself to Ryuga and tells him what the arrangement system is. It artificially brings out a blader's untapped power and their bond with their bey. By releasing the still unknown power hidden in beys, Ziggurat thinks he'll be able to take over the world and all of its power. Ryuga doesn't care because it has nothing to do with him, but Ziggurat reveals that he's had his eye on him for some time, and he's the one who used the Dark Nebula organization to send him to Koma Village to obtain L-Drago in the first place, in an attempt to control its power. They hoped he'd be able to control the dark power, but he wasn't ready. Ryuga compares him to Doji, but Ziggurat says he was overwhelmed by the dark power and lost sight of their true goal. Ironic, given what we learn next season about the antagonists' ultimate goal of the series, assuming we can even believe anything either Doji or Ziggurat says of course. He was impressed that Ryuga was able to overcome the dark power, but tells him that it would've been more impressive if he had been able to do it back then. Ziggurat invites Ryuga to cooperate with them to make the arrangement system more perfect than it already is, but he refuses. They can obtain data from Gravity Destroyer in the next match, but it's not the same as L-Drago. Ryuga isn't participating in the World Championships though, which is why they led him to their HQ. Ryuga tells them not to mess with him and launches L-Drago, which causes a large explosion in the side of the building, and he leaves. Ziggurat says that L-Drago is a truly fearsome bey, which is all the more reason not to let it escape.