Silvan Arrow: Yay! I got reviews! I'm so happy! And to celebrate, I'm going to have a special guest do the disclaimer! Oh, Talaaaaa!

Tala: NO! NOT AGAIN!!!!

Silvan Arrow: Do it or I'll write in a scene where you're being chased by Garland-loving fangirls!

Tala: Okay! Okay! I'll do it! Silvan Arrow does not own Beyblade or any of its characters, including me! She just owns her OCs.

Silvan Arrow: Hmmm…improvisation…excellent! Please enjoy chapter 7, and don't forget to review at the end!


Chapter 7: Round One Rumble

Recap of last chapter:

"Now, to announce the first match! We've got the rookies squaring off against one of our fan favorites. Give it up for the Temporal Knights and Tetra Battalion!"

As the rest of the teams cleared the stadium, Eri smirked and thought to herself, 'So this is it: the World Championships. It's time to get the party started.'

And she knew without looking at her team mates that they felt the exact same way.

Both teams had a couple of precious minutes to decide on a strategy against the opposition. Eri began, "Based on the data I've gathered on this team from the BBA website, these guys shouldn't pose too much trouble. However, don't let your guard down and become complacent either." Once her teammates nodded in reply, Eri continued, "Nakia, you get the honor of opening the tournament for us."

"Whoa, really? SWEET!" she exclaimed, punching a fist into the air. "I'm so pumped right now!"

"Just…don't blow it, mkay?" Sonja asked teasingly, draping an arm around her shorter teammate's shoulders and pulling her into a half-noogie.

"Yes, mom…" Nakia muttered. The Egyptian stepped up to the dish to face Mathilda from Tetra Battalion.

"Bladers, get ready!" Both girls assumed their launch stances. Eri idly noticed Nakia spread her legs wider and crouch lower than usual, like a great cat poised to pounce on its unsuspecting prey. "Let's get this tournament underway! 3…2…1…"

"LET IT RIP!" Nakia and Mathilda shouted in unison as they jerked their ripcords, sending their beyblades flying into the dish.

'Now I get it,' Eri thought privately.

Care to elaborate, mistress? Pyrix asked.

'Nakia crouched lower to increase her blade's torque upon launch, thereby taking advantage of the strength in her legs.' One of Nakia's favorite training regimens back in Egypt was to do distance running to increase her stamina, even in the worst heat of the desert. As a result, her physical condition transferred directly to Uskadu, which was why they were masters of endurance battles.

"Let's get 'em, Pierce Hedgehog!" Mathilda shouted. Her beyblade picked up speed and repeatedly slammed into Uskadu. Nakia matched her move for move but was careful to use just enough energy to repel Pierce Hedgehog without taking too much damage.

"Uskadu, evade!" The panther complied by dodging Mathilda's next strike and retreating to the edge of the dish to circle his prey menacingly.

Meanwhile, up in the stands, the rest of the teams were quickly learning that the previously unknown Temporal Knights could actually pose some serious competition. Raina sat in the back of the stands with her teammates. "Study their moves carefully," she ordered. "The boss expects a full report afterward." She took their silent nods as confirmation.

The Blitzkrieg Boys were also taking special interest in this match as an opportunity to study their new competition. "Dang, Nakia is blading circles around Mathilda," Ian commented.

Tala glanced to the side at Bryan, who was watching the match so intently that he seemed to be oblivious to anything else. The redhead smirked. 'Hm…now this is an interesting development,' he thought idly.

Back in the dish, Mathilda was quickly running out of steam as her repeated attempts at attacking were met with failure. She panted quickly, trying to regain her lost wind. "Come on, Pierce Hedgehog!" Her beyblade charged once again, only to have Uskadu swerve out of the way at the last minute and come around behind her to deliver a brutal slam.

'This is too easy,' Nakia thought. She had staked out the edge of the dish as her territory, and nothing was going to get her to budge. 'I think we've worn them down enough, don't you think?'

I couldn't agree more.

"Uskadu, attack! Desert Fang!" The black panther rushed out of his beyblade, golden armor adorning his chest and head. It was as if one of the great cats from the Egyptian hieroglyphics had come to life. He let out a thunderous roar and charged for the attack, clouds of sand swirling around his body.

"Poison Needle!" Mathilda shouted, drawing upon her last reserves of strength as her bit beast appeared. However, she didn't have energy to sustain the attack, and Uskadu quickly overpowered Pierce Hedgehog to send him flying out of the dish.

"And we have a winner! Nakia from the Temporal Knights bests Mathilda to take round one!" DJ Jazzman announced. Being good sports, both bladers shook hands before returning to their respective benches.

Nakia sported a huge grin as she skipped back to her team mates. "Did you see that? I rocked!"

Eri allowed a small half-smile for the hyper Egyptian. "Try to keep it to a low simmer, Nakia. We still have two rounds left to fight. Hina, you're up next."

"You got it," Hina replied confidently, flashing her captain a thumbs-up. Her opponent was Claude.

"Let's get the second round going! 3…2…1…Let it RIP!!"

As the match began, Claude and Hina matched each other move for move. Sonja leaned over and said to Eri, "Now this is going to be interesting. A one-headed eagle versus a two-headed eagle."

"Yeah but look: Hina's already taking the advantage because her maneuverability is better," Eri remarked.

"Go, Rapid Eagle!"

"Arashi, attack!" Hina smirked as her next attack sent Claude's beyblade reeling. His moves were too predictable. He charged in a straight line, while Hina would strike and then circle around at an angle before attacking again. Her defense was not the greatest, but she had learned to compensate by drawing out Arashi's speed and maneuverability.

Claude's temper finally came to a boil. "Don't give up, Rapid Eagle! ATTACK!" A shaft of light shot up from his bit chip as the two-headed eagle materialized with a fierce battle cry.

"Go, Arashi!" Hina shouted, summoning forth her own bit beast. Arashi materialized as a pure white eagle with light blue streaks on his underside and face. Lightweight silver armor protected his chest. He let out a shrill war cry before clashing with his opponent in an aerial dogfight. Hina's beyblade began attacking from new angles by banking off the sides of the dish to slam Claude's beyblade from above.

White feathery wings appeared on Claude's back as he prepared to unleash his final attack. "Twin Saber!" Claude ordered.

"Aero Blade!" Hina countered. Arashi beat his massive wings to send out shockwaves of slicing wind, which halted Rapid Eagle's advance and sent Claude's beyblade skittering on the edge of the dish. One final slam was all it took to send his beyblade flying to land motionless at Claude's feet.

"There you have it! Hina takes round two for the Temporal Knights!" DJ Jazzman shouted excitedly.

"Nicely done, Hina," Eri complimented. The Japanese girl blushed and muttered an embarrassed thank you. "Sonja, the final battle's all yours." Confusion flashed across the Greek blader's face for a moment before she nodded in understanding.

Mistress, are you sure? Pyrix asked. However, she, like Sonja, already knew why Eri was sitting out this round.

'The less I show of my moves, the better off we'll be,' Eri replied, glancing up in the stands to where Omega Platoon was seated. 'Besides, this is good experience for the other three.'

"Bladers, to the dish!" Sonja assumed her launch stance across from Miguel, Tetra Battalion's captain. "3…2…1…"

"LET IT RIP!" Sonja and Miguel shouted as they sent their blades flying into the dish.

"Dark Gargoyle, attack!"

"Lunash, show no mercy!" Sonja became a completely different person when she battled. Her normally gentle disposition was replaced by a burning desire to win. In the dish, she seemed almost…cold, the only evidence that she had spent years under Xhaiden's rule. That coldness quickly became apparent as her silver and blue beyblade wasted no time in going on the offensive and hammering ruthlessly on Dark Gargoyle.

"I don't get it. Why didn't the Temporal Knights send in their captain?" Spencer asked.

"Dude, look at the way Sonja's pummeling Miguel. Does it look like they're in trouble?" Ian asked.

From his seat beside Tala, Kai watched Sonja's technique carefully, a cocky smirk playing on his features. 'Now I can finally see what you're capable of, Sonja.'

"Grrrr…gotta hang on…can't give up yet," Miguel grunted in frustration. After watching Nakia and Hina battle, the last thing he had expected was for Sonja to come at him full-force. However, unlike her younger team mates, Sonja's specialties were raw attack power and defense. Lunash's powers would be wasted if he tried to battle like Uskadu or Arashi. Aside from throwing off Tetra Battalion's strategy, Eri had another reason for sending in Sonja. Lunash was a water-type bit beast, which perfectly countered Dark Gargoyle's fire attacks.

"Dark Gargoyle, Fire Execution!" The winged bit beast emerged surrounded by a swirling tornado of flames.

"Aqua Beam!" Sonja ordered. A shaft of bright light erupted from Sonja's bit chip, revealing the silver dragon bit beast. He stood upright on his two hind legs, his powerful forearms held out defensively. A long, serpentine neck ended in a triangular shaped head adorned with a set of elegant horns. His massive wingspan supported his muscular body, and heavy, blue plated armor shielded his chest.

Lunash reared back and unleashed a blue ray of energy infused with water from his mouth that snuffed out Dark Gargoyle's fire and struck the bit beast for heavy damage. "Finish him!" Sonja shouted. Her beyblade pulsated with a blue aura as it charged and dealt the finishing blow to Miguel's beyblade, sending it flying out of the dish.

"Wow, what a battle! With Sonja's win, the Temporal Knights sweep this round and earn their first victory!" DJ Jazzman proclaimed. A loud round of applause followed the announcement.

"Impressive," Eri commented as Sonja walked back to the bench. "I see you and Lunash finally perfected that attack."

"Heh, that was nothing. We're working on another one that puts the Aqua Beam to shame," Sonja replied, her competitive side still out in full force.

Hina took the opportunity to interrupt the conversation. "They just announced the next match. The BBA Revolution is facing Justice 5, which means we need to clear the bench."

The Temporal Knights sat up in the stands for the rest of the day to watch the other battles and scope out the competition. Ming-Ming easily beat Kenny (He was too busy drooling over her to focus on his battle.), but Tyson and Daichi managed to beat Crusher and Mystel to earn the win overall. The Blitizkrieg Boys easily trounced F-Dynasty, even with Romero blading for them. The battle between the PPB All-Starz and White Tiger X ended in a tie, as Max and Rei were too evenly matched. Finally, DJ Jazzman announced the final match-up of the day.

"Now it's time for last match of the day. Give it up for the Majestics and Omega Platoon!"

The Temporal Knights shared uneasy glances with each other. They were finally going to see just what their rivals were capable of.

Needless to say, it wasn't a pretty sight…

The match started off with Ramona battling Oliver. Despite Oliver's graceful technique and expert control over his blade, he and Unicolyon simply didn't stand a chance against Ramona and her bit beast Gygax, a female liger. Next up was Vala, the only one that the Temporal Knights hadn't seen battle yet. Her bit beast was a wyvern named Fafnir, and together they made quick work of Enrique and Amphilyon. Alannah stepped up to take the last round against Robert.

'They're mocking us,' Eri thought.

What makes you say that? Pyrix asked.

'They're doing what we did and aren't sending out their captain. It's like they're trying to make a point that anything we can do, they can top it.'

"LET IT RIP!"

"Griffolyon, attack!"

"Nithhogr, go!"

Metal grinded against metal as Robert put all of his strength into keeping up a strong offense. Oliver's and Enrique's blades had been trashed in their matches, and Robert was looking to deal some serious payback. At first, his beyblade easily outpaced Alannah's violet one, which was heavier and more sluggish.

"Wing Dagger!" Robert commanded, unleashing his special attack. Griffolyon emerged with a fierce battle cry and sent a maelstrom of razor sharp feathers shooting toward Alannah's beyblade. The attack set off a massive explosion, forcing Robert to shield his body with his arms. When the smoke finally cleared, Nithhogr was completely unfazed. "What? No way!"

"Heh, is that all you've got? I expected better from the top beybladers in Europe. Too bad…I was hoping you would make better sport." Alannah taunted.

"What was that? How dare you!" Robert exclaimed, indignant.

"I suppose I'll let my bit beast have some fun. Nithhogr, attack!" A dark shaft of light emerged from the bit chip of her beyblade, revealing a black Hydra, a dragon with five heads. It had wings, but it was obvious from the bit beast's sheer size that he couldn't fly. But it's not like he needed to. Nithhogr was HUGE, dwarfing Robert's Griffolyon. Its five heads, which reached halfway to the ceiling of the massive stadium, roared in unison, sending a chill down Robert's spine. Even the audience was stunned into silence.

Without warning, each of Nithhogr's five heads struck out and bit down on Griffolyon's body, making the griffin shriek in pain. Robert cried out as he shared in his bit beast's agony and sank to his knees, barely clinging to consciousness. Fresh cuts in the shape of bite marks appeared on his arms and legs in the same places as Griffolyon.

"I can't watch…" Nakia murmured, scrunching her eyes closed. Hina was as pale as a ghost out of shock of Alannah's brutality. Sonja's hands were shaking as she gripped her arm rests. Eri, however, re-directed any possible fear into raw, feral rage at the team that thought that injuring their opponents as the only way to win.

"Geo Fissure!" Alannah commanded. Her beyblade suddenly began spinning faster than anyone would have thought possible, but the increased spin combined with her blade's heavy weight generated enough force to split the beydish multiple times and cave it in, sending a cascade of rocks and debris to rain down on Griffolyon. When the attack finally abated, Robert's blade was shattered into a million pieces that were scattered among the wreckage, with the bit chip the only part intact. As for Robert, he was covered with multiple bleeding cuts on his arms, face, and legs, and he was barely conscious.

Johnny and Oliver came rushing out to the dish to help their injured teammate while Enrique dug through the rubble to find Griffolyon's bit chip.

'They can't do this! They have no right to do this! Just wait until I get my hands on you, Xhaiden…' Eri thought savagely. She sent a death glare in Raina's direction. Her rival saw it and merely replied with a cocky smirk. Eri clenched her fists until the nails dug into her palms and made them bleed. She was more determined than ever to make them pay, no matter what.

That evening…

"But Hinaaaaa…I don't want to go clothes shopping!" Nakia whined.

"Oh come on! We're in Times Square at night in the fashion capital of the world! How can you not take advantage of this?" Hina argued. After a long day of tournament battles and then watching Omega Platoon beat the tar out of the Majestics, Hina needed some serious retail therapy.

"Easy. I go back to the hotel room and order room service. Why can't you do this by yourself?"

"Because there's no way Eri would let us go out in a big city at night alone. Oh look! We gotta check this out!" The Japanese girl dragged still-grumbling Nakia into a nearby clothing boutique, where they unexpectedly found Hilary, Julia, Mariah, Mathilda, Emily, and Ming-Ming already rummaging through the racks. "Dang it, looks like they beat us to the punch!"

"Oh hey, girls! I didn't expect to see you two here," Mariah greeted them.

"Well, there's no way I would pass up such a fantastic shopping opportunity, but Nakia was a whole other story," Hina replied, jerking a thumb at her best friend.

"I hate you so much right now," Nakia groused, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Heh, looks like Nakia needs a little education in the fashion arena. Girls, shall we?" Julia proposed, earning devious smirks from her companions.

"Oh, I love the way you think," Hina replied conspiratorially.

Nakia gave Hina a martyred expression, pleading silently for mercy. However, her best friend merely smirked mischievously as she shoved Nakia toward the other girls. Her cries for help could be heard within a half a mile radius of the store.

Later that night…

A wide-awake Hina tiptoed out of the dark hotel room, careful not to wake any of her sleeping teammates, and made her way into the hall, closing the door quietly behind her.

Mistress, can you not sleep? Arashi asked worriedly. In all the years he had known Hina, he had never known her to suffer from insomnia.

'I've just got too much on my mind right now,' Hina replied. She took the elevator down to the lobby, hoping a midnight snack would help her sleep.

Meanwhile, Spencer was in the hotel lobby watching the news. Ian and Bryan had been fighting over the TV remote in their room, while Tala kept spouting threats of physical harm and extra training to try (and fail) to keep them under control. Kai, as usual, kept to himself and did not even try to intervene. Needless to say, Spencer wasn't in any hurry to go back. The sound of the elevator got his attention, and he was surprised when he saw Hina step out, looking lost in her own private thoughts.

She seems troubled, Seaborg commented.

"Hina?" Spencer called gently to the younger girl. He could tell he had startled her, but she relaxed visibly upon seeing who had called her name.

"Hello, Spencer," she returned with a kind smile. "What are you doing down here?"

"Getting away from my crazy teammates for a while," Spencer replied with a smirk. "I could ask the same of you."

"I couldn't sleep, so I came down here to get a snack," Hina said, looking through the buffet of food and picking up an apple from the basket. "So you came here to get away from your teammates? I can't imagine them being that crazy."

"You'd be surprised," Spencer said with a laugh. "Ian's a bad influence on all of us." Hina laughed at that comment and sat down in a chair near the couch that Spencer occupied. 'She has such a pretty laugh.' Spencer mentally slapped himself. Where had that thought come from?

"You seem worried about something," Spencer commented once Hina fell silent. "Is everything okay?"

"Huh? Y-yeah…I'm fine. I think I'm just tired. You know…jetlag and then the tournament," Hina stammered. She didn't want to mention anything about Omega Platoon and risk giving away her team's past connection with them. She stood up to leave, effectively ending the conversation. "It's getting late. I should head back before my teammates notice I'm gone."

"I'll walk you back to your room," Spencer offered, clicking off the TV.

"Oh…you don't have to…"

"I'm headed back to my room anyway. Don't worry about it."

An awkward silence fell over the two teenagers during the elevator ride back up to their floor. Hina kept staring at the uneaten apple in her hands like it was the most interesting thing in the world. After what felt like an eternity, she was standing in front of her room. "Thanks for walking me back," Hina said shyly.

"No problem," Spencer replied with a gentle smile. Then he surprised Hina by pulling her into a brief, yet warm, embrace. "If you ever need anything, I'm here for you." He pulled away, bid her good night, and left to go back to his own room.

For a moment, Hina stood completely frozen in the hallway. Mistress? Arashi asked, trying to snap her out of her stupor. For some reason, that apple wasn't so interesting anymore.

'Suddenly I'm not so hungry…

End chapter 8


Author's Note: Whew, that one took FOREVER to write! I loved how the battle scenes came out. I just want to thank everyone who reviewed while I've been away at college. I'm sorry that it took so long to update, but classes have kept me busy, not to mention that I've been a little sick lately. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! Reviews will help me feel better so I can write more!

Also, this is your LAST CHANCE to vote for your favorite Temporal Knight! I will post the results at the beginning of the next chapter!

Take care, everyone! Until next time!