"We can learn a lot from the upcoming match," Kevin said to his teammates in their locker room, sitting on a bench next to Carry. "Two of the toughest teams are about to go at it, and we can't miss this opportunity to learn some of their strategies."

"Shouldn't we be more focused on our match with the Demolition Raiders?" asked Parker, polishing his Beyblade with a soft cloth.

"Parker's right," Carry interjected, putting her hand on Kevin's knee. "We still have to get past them first before we plan for the final match, and I have a feeling we're gonna have a very tough time with them. They want this just as much as we do, you know." Determination may be the key to deciding who wins between us and them, after all.

Kevin took a long breath. "I know. I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself. But still, we should watch the first match and take what we can from it."

There was a knock at the door. John was the first to react, hopping over to the door and opening it.

"The Covenant," John said dryly. "What do you guys want?"

Kevin rose to his feet at once, coming to John's side.

Manfred gave a sly smile. "We just wanted to come by and tell you to give up and hand over your blades now. We're gonna win this tournament easily, after all. So what do you say, little man?"

John returned a sly smile. "In case you don't remember, you're up against the Black Hawks, doofus. I'm sure you won't beat them."

"That's what you think, squirt," Manfred replied, shrugging. "I guess you'll just have to see for yourself when we stomp those punks. When we do, I'll personally take you down, Kevin, and when I beat you, I'm gonna smash your blade! Let's go, guys. I think we've wasted enough time with these fools."

John left the room behind the Covenant, spinning Manfred around and punching him right in the jaw, sending the man to the floor. Chuck reacted swiftly, grabbing John by the collar of his shirt and tossing him ten feet down the hallway. The rest of the Ice Bladers ran out of their locker room to see the commotion, quickly running to John's aid.

Chuck let out a battle cry and ran up to them, kicking Parker away and shoving Carry to the floor. Kevin got up just in time to dodge a punishing left hook, but Chuck continued his assault, picking Kevin up and slamming him into the wall.

While this was going on, Manfred and the other Covenant members started cracking up, too busy laughing to notice two BBA officials heading their way.

"What's going on here? Hey, put that young man down at once!" shouted one official, running up to Chuck, who had John lifted above him.

Chuck growled and dropped John, the boy landing with a loud thud on the floor. He returned to his teammates, snickering at the carnage he'd caused.

"You boys get back to your locker room before I disqualify you!" declared the other official, who was helping John to his feet.

The Covenant obliged and disappeared down the hall while the two officials aided the Ice Bladers back into their locker room.

"Care to explain what happened out there?" asked the taller official.

John crossed his arms and frowned. "Those guys started it by coming here and threatening us. I was just defending myself."

The official sighed and asked, "Well, are you guys all okay?"

The team gradually nodded.

"Okay, then just stay out of trouble. If I catch you guys fighting again, I'm afraid I'll have to disqualify you. Now, if everything's okay here, we're going to go back out to the stadium and prepare the dish for the first official match."

The two officials left. John got up from his seat and slammed his fist down onto the table, rattling the various Beyblade parts spread out on it. "That guy made me look like a chode! I wanna face him, even if they don't make it to the next round! I'm going after him at some point and none of you are gonna stop me, got that?"

There was a small squeal from the PA box in the corner of the room as it came to life.

"The first round will start in five minutes! Participants, make your last-minute preparations before coming to the stadium! Thank you!"

John found it in himself to calm down, breathing out slowly before heading for the door. "Let's go watch those asses get whipped." He flung the door open, leaving the group.

Carry let out a worried sigh, following behind him. Kevin and Parker both looked at each other before exiting the room as well, all of their gear sitting out in the open on top of the table.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaareee youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu readyyyyyyyyyyyyy, folks?" shouted Joseph at the top of his lungs, spinning in a complete 360 in his platform as it rose above the Beydish. Two fireworks exploded above him, showering him in a dazzling display of light.

The Ice Bladers were pointed to a row in the front, their seats right next to the Demolition Raiders, who were all too happy to see them. Kevin took a seat, followed by Carry, followed by Parker, followed by John, who was still angry from his recent encounter with the Covenant.

"Excited for the battle?" Damilare asked, elbowing Kevin in the arm lightly.

"Yeah, I'm really interested in who the winner will be," Kevin responded, folding one leg over the other as he got comfortable. "I can't decide who it'll be."

The stereos kicked up all over the stadium, blasting out loud hard rock synthetic music. The lights dimmed down considerably, and a red spotlight shined down on a corridor leading back to the locker rooms.

"Here come the Covenant," Parker said miserably.

"Ah, I don't think so," Carry corrected him as the team left the darkness and appeared in the spotlight.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Black Hawks!" Joseph announced, pointing down to them. "They're currently the number one ranked team in the country! Can the team we're still waiting on bring them down a notch? Let's find out! Here they come!"

The rock music faded as an eerie piano beat hit the speakers, bringing the mood down. From another corridor came the Covenant, dressed in ceremonial druid robes.

"And here is the Covenant! They appear to be dressed in some kind of costume, but I'm not sure why! Could it have some sort of wicked ability to enhance their game? We'll find out!"

The Covenant moved slowly across the floor, their robes dragging behind them. They huddled over by their bench. Across from them, the Black Hawks were being instructed by Sarge. The lights returned to normal as all of the music faded.

"Time to show them what we're made out of, Hawks," Sarge said, pacing back and forth in front of them. "We will not lose. Only weaklings lose, and we are not weaklings, are we?"

"No!" they all shouted in robotic unison.

"Then destroy them! Shatter their blades and their hopes!" He stopped in front of Michael, then turned and pointed to the Beydish. "You're up first, Michael. I expect nothing less than a swift and crushing victory!"

Michael, just two inches shorter than Sarge, nodded affirmatively and headed for the dish. He reached into his dark blue jumpsuit and retrieved his Beyblade; it's attack ring had four points shaped like miniature butcher knives equally spread apart from one another, its weight disk was wide, and its base was slender with a sharp metal tip at the bottom.

"Fellow Covenant members, it's time to fulfill our family's mission," Manfred began. "For centuries it's been passed down, and now it's finally our turn. We can't let our ancestors down, got that? Mickey, you're up. Make our ancestors proud."

Mickey removed his robe and headed for the dish opposite of Michael. His blade had a Halloween pumpkin theme to it, with three orange bumps protruding from the attack ring and the base, while the rest of the blade was black.

"It looks like Michael from the Black Hawks and Mickey from the Covenant will start things off! Bladers, are you ready!" Joseph reported loudly.

Up in the stands, the Demolition Raiders and the Ice Bladers looked on attentively.

"3…2…1…LET IT RIIIIIPPP!"