It was always a problem for Miguel to just stand up for the team. Instead, he'd just clench his fists at his sides and take whatever lecture Barthez would give them for being incapable of simple orders, or for being late, or whatever else he could get mad at. For the longest time, before the world championships even started, Miguel had doubts about whether they were doing the right thing by cheating – or at least it felt like cheating. Barthez called it tipping the match in their favour. But was tricking out their Beyblades with hidden mechanisms that their opponents didn't even know about really fair? It wasn't even their own skills they were using, just Barthez's orders.

Miguel was sick of having to listen to them.

"It's never the time to talk about it…" Miguel muttered, obviously irritated by the lack of voice the team had when it came to Barthez. When Matilda left him on the bridge, worried about her Beyblade, Pierce Hedgehog, he didn't know what to say. If he didn't obey Barthez… but the question was, did he want to?

No. He never wanted to obey him. Miguel had even forgotten the reason he wanted to compete since all he could think about was how to win – the Barthez way. He tried to think back to the days when he and his friends would battle in the park and talk about how they'd be world champions. It was fun, and every time he lost, he got better. It was a better feeling than when he was cheating. Since when did their image matter more than their wins? Barthez had let Claude take a hit just to boost their image in the media and turn the crowd against the PPB Allstars! Claude could have won that match if Barthez had given him the chance instead of ordering him to stay.

It was all about what he told them to do nowadays and Miguel hated it.

"Miguel!" Matilda's voice woke him up from his thoughts and he sat up on his bed, looking towards the door to their hotel room.

"What is it Matilda?" He asked, concerned.

Her brow furrowed in worry. "I don't know what I want to do! Pierce Hedgehog… I don't want to lose my Beyblade for a victory, because what I've lost is much more important to me!"

"I guess this would be the time to talk about it…" Miguel muttered, turning his face away from Matilda, looking at the floor. "I don't know what to do."

There was a silence, where Matilda huddled up beside him on the bed. Finally she spoke again. "Barthez is making us win the wrong way, Miguel. I don't want to win when I feel like trash afterwards. I want to play fair and win on my own!"

Miguel grimaced. "It's what we all want." He said simply. "I don't see why we can't just overrule him. Majority rules, right?"

"I wish it were that easy." She frowned, resting her head on her knees.

Miguel gave her a small smile, which he hoped was reassuring, and stroked her hair. "It's going to be fine. We'll turn it around in the next battle!" He said, though he didn't necessarily believe his words. Their next match-up was against the BBA Revolutions. That meant they would be facing Tyson, the world champion two years running. Unless they followed their orders, they wouldn't have a chance – would they?

Apparently Matilda had the same feelings, as she groaned in complaint. "Only if we do what coach says to… I don't want to lose Pierce Hedgehog! What kind of twisted plan is that? It disables two players, and puts all the pressure on you to win. It's a one-shot chance and it's unfair on you and me!" She told him, showing her more forceful side for once as she pushed him. "And what about Aaron and Claude? They're under the same pressure as us! This team is like a family to me, but Barthez is breaking us apart!"

Miguel knew what she said was true, but couldn't help but disagree with one point. "I actually think that this is making our bond as a team stronger. Look at us, at first we just followed orders, but now we come up with ways to defy them, standing up for each other when we make mistakes. If anything, I'm proud of us."

Matilda looked up at him and smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah, Matilda!" He said reassuringly. "And tomorrow, even if we lose, we'll still be a team. Even if Barthez gives up on us – and I'd rather it be him who gives up than us."

Matilda nodded. "I sure hope you're right Miguel." She lifted herself off the bed and put her hands on her hips. "We'll always be a family, a team, no matter what! Right?"

Miguel smiled sheepishly at her sudden confidence, which was sure to disappear by the time the match came around. "Right." He replied.

When she left, he fell back onto the bed again, intent on leaving the problem alone, and hopefully getting a decent night's sleep before the trouble-causing match the next day. He wasn't necessarily looking forward to his match against either player of the BBA Revolutions. In fact, he was scared. They had to have figured out their cheating techniques, and Tyson would surely never fall for such a beginner's trick. In fact, Tyson probably wouldn't even stand for it and finish off the battle before he had the chance to pull out the twin blades that sprung out from inside his Beyblade.

Barthez had to go, Miguel no longer cared for the methods they put into use. In order to be the champion he always dreamed of in the park, he had to stop this.

He just didn't know how.

Hello to one and all who have decided to read this :D Episode 17 is one of my favourites so far in G-Revolution, and I had to write something about Miguel because he's just so cool!!

Ugh, what I noticed about all my Beyblade fics is that they're extremely depressing and sad. Like, they all deal with the more serious side of things (which is totally nice because you don't see a lot of canon fics to do with that side of things) but most of them don't really contain all that much humour. Oh well!!

I hope I captured the characters well :D Oh, and I hope I didn't waste your time! :P