Blitzkreig50889: Okay sorry about not updating as I said I was going to. I ended up with some computer issues. So, to make up for the big updates you were supposed to get about a week or so ago, here's the mass of updates, starting with my Flaming Hearts fic, which will be finished up.

Ashley: well, it's about damn time!

Rysa: yeah!

Blitzkreig50889: oops, sorry girls. Anyway, will one of you do the disclaimer for me?

Sierra: (groans) seriously? We're still bothering with that thing?

Jasmine: unfortunately yes, and we'd better say it since the fic is almost complete.

Sierra: oh. Guess we'll have to make sure the guys are here for the final chapter, huh?

Jasmine: yep

Blitzkreig50889: and you're dragging out this mess so finish it up already.

Savannah: alright, alright! We get the point. Blitzkreig50889 does not own beyblade or any of its characters. She only owns her plot ideas and her OCS which are us the Flaming Hearts and the Black Thorns.

Blitzkreig50889: and with that finally said, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 10- Traps and Final Battle Preparations

The Flaming Hearts panted as they rushed through the dark corridors of the abandoned building. Being chased by suddenly brave guards and flying missles wasn't exactly pleasant though.

"Enrique had better have taken out all the security stuff around here," Kai growled while running at full speed.

"Yeah, and you guys had better be good at jumping hurdles," Rysa spat. "There's a ton of those things up ahead and unfortunately for us short people, they're far to high to be jumped over until someone knocks them down for us."

As usual, Kai ignored her. As far as he was concerned, the girls needed to be gotten out of this place as quickly as was physically possible. This was not something any girl should have to go through.

"Oh, shit," Bryan hissed. "Laser alert! Hope you guys are good at dodging things."

"Lovely," Ashley muttered sarcastically. "Just makes this day all the better doesn't it?"

"I'm glad that was sarcasm," Bryan retorted back at his cousin.

"Shut up," Kai snapped at them. "Focus less on talking and more on running and getting through the hoards of obstacles up ahead."

"Thanks for the warning," Jasmine muttered.

At this point, each blader's bit beast exchanged a glance with their fellow bit beasts along with a sigh. It seemed some things never changed.

A sudden blast from a nearby missle colliding with a wall startled everyone into moving quicker, and not even Dranzer was able to complain then.

(In the security room)

Enrique let out a string of curses as the building's security system refused to shut down. No amount of hacking had managed to weaken the system and he was becoming increasingly frustrated by the minute.

"How did such a stupid idiot such as Boris think of using equipment like this for security measures?" he mumbled to himself. "This thing is a pain in the ass to shut down."

"Any luck over there, Enrique?" Tyson queried.

"No."

Tyson winced as the word as literally hissed at him. "Sorry, I was just asking a question especially since our friends are close to entering the worst area in this entire building."

"DAMN IT!" Enrique yelled furiously. "Damn Boris and his stupid security system. Damn the stupid makers of this system for making it difficult to crack too!"

Robert winced as Tyson flinched. Things were most definitely not looking good.

(Outside...Tala's P.O.V.)

I snarled out a few curses as I paced. What in all living hell was taking those reinforcements so long? Ray, Mariah, and the Black Thorns should have been here by now.

The sight of a shadow passing by caused me to freeze and immediately look around for any trouble. Luckily, there was none as Ray walked out of the shadows with Mariah beside him.

"Sorry it took us so long. We ended up getting a flight that ended up the airport's delayed flights list and had to wait," Ray apologized to me.

As usual, I didn't say much of anything. Instead I just pointed at the abandoned building and hoped Ray understood my message I had given him earlier.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Mariah queried.

"No, there's still more people on the way to help."

"Oh," Mariah murmured. "Well, see you around then Tala." With those words, she and Ray entered the building as I waited outside.

Not long after the two Chinese bladers had entered the building, the Black Thorns finally arrived.

"Hey, Tala how's it going?" Cass asked casually. Out of all of the Black Thorns, I trusted her the most. The others weren't bad, it was just that I knew Cass better than I did the other three.

"Building. Now," I hissed while pointing at said building. Cass raised an eyebrow.

"Cranky today are we?"

"Cass, I don't think it's a good idea to antagonize him," Celina, the oldest of the Black Thorns advised.

"Well, why not?"

"Because you'll likely end up turned into a giant ice sculpture, regardless of your fire element."

Cass muttered a few curses before looking over at me. "Well, are you leading the way in or do we have to go into this place blind?" Her teammates smacked their foreheads at her bluntness as I ignored her outburst and just walked into the building.

"I think that's your answer," Julia, the youngest of the Black Thorns said quietly.

Cass muttered a few more curses, this time in Gaelic, before running after me. "Hey, Tala, wait up!"

(Inside with the Flaming Hearts, Kai, Bryan, Ian, Spencer, Johnny and Oliver)

"This. Is. Freaking. Insane." Oliver hissed out between clenched teeth. He'd never ran like he was running then in his life. The insane number of flying beyblades, missles, stink bombs, laser beams, trap doors and floors, odd patches of quicksand, and assorted animals were unbelievable.

"Since when did Boris get this smart?" Ian yelled back to the Flaming Hearts as if the girls would know the answer.

"How the fuck are we supposed to know?" Rysa yelled back to him. "We weren't around him as much as you guys were."

"Don't remind me," Ian groaned before suddenly flying through the air. "Whoa! Get me out the freaking air!"

"I'm not even asking how you got up there," Kai called back to him as he launched his blade to cut Ian free from whatever was holding him. Ian dropped to the ground with a loud "Oomph!"

After about thirty minutes of dodging the irritating, shocking, obvious, and insane, the bladers finally got a chance to catch their breaths. Even Kai, Bryan, Spencer, and Ian were exhausted from all of the running they'd been doing.

"Surely you aren't done yet," a voice above them said calmly. "I was expecting more of a challenge from you."

Jasmine's head snapped up as did Rysa's. "Figures you'd show up when you would see what looked like an easy fight."

"BORIS!" four male voices bellowed furiously.

Boris chuckled at the boy's fury. "Well, I'm pleased to see you remember me."

Ian growled something rather obscene under his breath. "Fucking mother fucking bastard," he added after a small pause.

Boris's eyes thinned. "Well, I guess that's the first thing I'm going to have to take care of now isn't it?" With those words, he jumped off of the small balcony he'd been standing on to easily land on his feet.

"What the fuck?" Kai queried in confusion. "How in all living fucking hell did he manage that?"

"Probably the same way he managed to magically heal himself earlier after Jasmine attacked him in her desert cat form," Rysa answered. She got a series of odd looks at that comment. "What?"

"Nothing," Bryan muttered. "Nothing whatsoever."

Rysa shook her head and with her typical abandon, ignored all caution. "So I take it you're actually going to try and keep us all in this place?"

Boris smiled cruelly. "But of course! What kind of father would I be to any of you if I didn't?"

"Father?" Kai spat. "I don't think so. Homicidal madman, sure. Father, I don't think so. Dream on Boris." Bryan, Ian, and Spencer were too horrified at Boris's words to say anything except for a "Ugh!"

"Um, hate to be pains in the asses, but would you guys please explain what the hell is going on?" Oliver queried for his and Johnny's sake. "We're both completely lost here."

"Sorry, guys," Ashley apologized. "Boris is under the delusion that because he killed off our closest family that he in turn is a father figure to each of us. Of course, his idea of a father figure is someone who wants to dominate the world and make all incredible beybladers into slaves or living missles."

Oliver's sudden snarl was enough to shock all of them. "Bastard!"

"Holy cow," Ian gasped. "He does know how to curse!"

"He's not even started yet," Johnny warned. "He gets much worse than that; believe me."

"Damn right I do!" Oliver snapped. He sent Boris a glare that even Kai envied a little. Boris actually flinched a little from the sight of it.

"It's of no matter," Boris said after a moment. "In a few minutes this entire place will be gone and each of you will be with me, helping to create the new empire."

"Man, this guy has issues, doesn't he?" Johnny muttered. "Never thought I'd run into someone worse than the mother fucker from the past."

"Do I even want to know who you're talking about?" Ian queried.

"No," Oliver answered. "You don't although we may tell you about the idiot sometime."

"Key word there is maybe," Johnny added as Ian's eyes lit up. "In the mean time, we need to stop getting sidetracked, take this current bastard out, and get our asses out of this building before it falls down on us and sends us to some other place before we can take out Boris."

"Well, I guess that's a way to put things," Savannah murmured. "Anyone have any suggestions as to what to do to the fucker over there?" She pointed in Boris's direction as she spoke.

"Sure," A voice from above them said coldly. "First we disembowl him then if he's still alive, we lock him in a gas chamber."

The bladers looked up to see a rather furious Enrique, Robert, Tyson, Max, and Daichi. All of the bladers looked as if they'd walked through a bomb zone. Behind them, if one looked close enough, Amphylyon, Salamolyon, Griffolyon, Unicolyon, Dragoon, Draciel, and Strata Dragoon could be seen and each bit beast looked rather annoyed.

"I vote with Enrique," Rysa piped up. "I think being disembowled is exactly what Boris needs. After all, he nearly did the same thing to his earlier "captives" if you guys know what I mean."

"Alright, everyone in favor of disembowling Boris, say 'I!'" Ian yelled. A suprising round of "I's" easily reverberated through the building. "'I's' have it so let's do it!" With those words, each blader turned furiously towards Boris. Boris however, was prepared.

"I don't think so," he said quietly. "You'll have to go through a few others before you can get to me."

"What?" the bladers asked just before the halls filled with mutated creatures and people.

"Oh, now that's just wrong," Johnny hissed. "Just flat out wrong! Salamolyon, dare I?"

"Go ahead," the salamander answered. "At least that will put them out of their misery."

"Good." With that single word, Johnny again removed the gloves. He knew exactly what would happen and was actually grateful it would. "Anyone feel like clearing a small path for me?"

"On it," Bryan answered. At those words, the bladers tensed up and prepared themselves to fight off the mutated creatures and people. As the creatures attacked, Bryan and Johnny struck. They left the unfortunate mutant people for the others.

"Falborg, Stroblitz!" Bryan ordered as he launched his blade amongst the creatures. Falborg instantly obeyed and rushed at full speed out of the blade and into the middle of the animals that had not be able to stay sane through their mutations. Falborg's Stroblitz easily cleared a path for Johnny to run into and the Scot took immediate action, burning away the remaining creatures, before turning towards the, by that point, less than a hundred remaining mutated humans. Both the Russian and Scot felt momentary pity for the people and both shook it off before lending their strength to the fight yet a second time. In a matter of two minutes, each of Boris's mutated members of his army had been destroyed, but Boris was nowhere to be found.

"Damn it!" Kai bellowed. "He got away!"

"But look at the good side, Kai," Ian said quietly. "At least he doesn't have an army of mutants to protect him anymore."

"Gee, that makes things so much better, Ian," Robert muttered with a shake of his head.

"Forget him for the time being," Savannah advised. "We're bound to run into him in here again before we leave and we'll take care of him then. Now, can we please head for the nearest exit?"

Enrique nodded in answer. "Yes, but stay away from any thing that looks like a laser or a trap door. I wasn't able to completely shut down the system no matter how hard I tried. There's still a few traps completely functioning."

"Okay, fine. Just tell me you took the big one at the exits out," Spencer pleaded. "I'm not going to mess with any more of those things."

Enrique half-laughed. "Yeah, they're gone. Amphylyon saw to those personally."

"Thank goodness," several male voices said in relief.

"Did we miss something?" Jasmine queried. The guys looked at her.

"Only a machine that would force you to sing nursery rhymes backwards in multiple languages while doing the motions for those same nursery rhymes," Ian supplied. The girls winced.

"Better you guys than us for a change," Sierra murmured. "Well, enough standing around. Let's get out of here!"

"Oh, right! Follow us," Enrique ordered before jumping back up into the vent he'd used to get to the others in the first place. "This will lead us back to the main control room and the closest exit. Once we hit the control room, we'll only have to go about fifty steps or so to our left to get out."

"Let's hope that's all there is to it," Ashley said quietly. She was so quiet that her comment actually went unnoticed.

(In another part of the building with Tala and the Black Thorns)

Tala glanced around him and wanted to laugh. It looked like a tornado had gone through this place. In fact, one probably had if Falborg had been allowed to take part at any time in the battle. Then again, there was always Dragoon, Griffolyon, and Amphylyon to think about.

Shaking his head, Tala continued through the wreckage and dead bodies. Falborg and Dranzer had most definitely been through here. Tala was pretty sure he saw evidence of Salamolyon and Amphylyon at their worst as well, but forced himself to keep moving as quickly and quietly as he could manage. He didn't want to risk one of these bodies on the floor still being alive and grabbing a hold of him. That would not be pleasant.

"Tala?" a voice whispered quietly. Tala recognized the voice as belonging to Samantha, Enrique's current and only steady girlfriend and fellow Black Thorn.

"What is it, Samantha?"

"Are all of these guys...dead?"

"It appears so. Why?"

"Because I could've sworn I saw one move about three feet to your right."

Tala tensed at Samantha's words and made himself stand still. He quickly took in his surroundings. The mass of dead bodies all looked alike and that alone nearly made him sick. God, to think Boris had nearly made him and his teammates into something like these idiots. Slowly, he moved forward again.

"Tala, look out!" Cass suddenly yelled. Tala jerked from an almost immediate bout of pain splintering into his shoulder.

"What the fuck was that?" he hissed.

"A bullet I think," Cass supplied. "Are you going to be okay or does it need removed now?"

He sent her a horrified look. "If it needs removed now it's going to wait. I'm not having the damn wound end up infected because of these idiots around us. And wouldn't it be better if someone found out who it was that just shot at me?"

"Already taken care of," Julia answered. "I just shot the guy with an arrow about thirty seconds ago."

Tala sent her and her teammates a shocked look. "Okay, you guys get an apology when this is over."

The girls blinked in confusion before exchanging looks and a shrug. "Okay, whatever you say Tala," Celina murmured. "Whatever you say."

Just as they were about to move out of the room they were in, a voice stopped them. "Well, I'm so glad you could join us, Tala."

Tala's head snapped up as he forced himself not to snarl. He knew who that voice belonged to. And he hated what he was seeing above him. Each of his friends, teammates, and allies were held in a rather large cage and each were looking rather annoyed or perplexed. Only the Black Thorns were in the slightest bit safe.

"Okay, now what do we do?" Cass queried. "It doesn't look as if we have to find the others anymore."

Tala nodded his head in agreement. "You're right. So, what is it that you want Boris?"

Boris actually started to laugh then. Tala simply raised an eyebrow. "What do I want, Tala? Why that's simple," Boris answered once he stopped laughing. "I want world domination with you, Kai, Bryan, Ian, Spencer, Jasmine, Ashley, Sierra, Rysa, and Savannah by my side. You didn't think I would train each of you and then let you walk away, now did you?"

Tala rolled his eyes. "Don't try and flatter anyone Boris. It won't work. We're gone, you're not getting us back, we're never going to help you take over the world, nor would we allow you to. What we are going to do, is take you down, get our butts out of here, and make sure that you're either executed, or placed in a prison that can't be escaped from. Personally, I prefer the first option and I know a few bit beasts that would be more than pleased to perform your execution for you."

Boris raised an eyebrow. "My, my. Since when did you get so good at speeches, young Tala?" Tala said nothing in response. "Alright, Tala. I see what game you are trying to play. You're not going to be able to outsmart me Tala."

This time Tala raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said I was trying to outsmart you?"

Boris was about to say something in return to that comment when Oliver suddenly grabbed his attention with a sudden string of French. "Pardon?"

"You heard me," Oliver hissed. "Deal or not?"

While Boris pondered over whatever it was Oliver had said, Tala took a quick glance at Oliver's teammates. It seemed that whatever Oliver had just said to Boris was nothing for anyone else to be worried about.

"Alright, Oliveri, you have yourself a deal. I will allow a group of eight bladers to fight for everyone else's freedom."

Tala paled at those words. He was going to strangle Oliver for this. He could only watch as Oliver moved closer to the bars of the cage.

"It's only a deal if you agree to a handshake."

Boris's eyes thinned as if he was looking for some sort of loophole that would allow his captives to escape no matter what happened. Seeing none, he reluctantly nodded. "Very well," he muttered before shaking hands with the French blader. A slight widening of the eyes was the only response he made to the sudden spark of electricity that seemed to seal the deal.

"Just remember Boris, that a deal made with one of us means that if the deal is broken by one of the members who made it, that member goes through excruciating pain."

At those words Tala wanted to actually hug Oliver. Now he understood why Oliver had made the deal.

"Pick your fighters, Oliveri," Boris ordered. Oliver sent him a dark look.

"I'm not picking them. They can decide for themselves who the lucky eight are." As he spoke, Oliver looked over at the other bladers in the cage with him before glancing down at Tala and the Black Thorns. He left Boris to pick his seven warriors who would battle with him.

"Well, I say, Kai, Bryan, Johnny, Tala, Cass, Samantha, Jasmine, and Sierra should blade for us," Ian supplied. The bladers he had chosen each sent him a glare as if to say, "Why us?"

Correctly interpreting their facial expressions, Oliver grinned. "They've got a point Ian. Why them?"

"Because Kai, Bryan, Johnny, and Tala are some of the most powerful bladers I know and they're absolutely ruthless in the beystadium. They won't be afraid of hurting someone of Boris's choosing. As for Cass, Samantha, Jasmine and Sierra, I chose them because of their skill. They're almost as good as Tyson is at blading and they can be just as formidable as the earlier mentioned guys are."

"Are you saying I'm not formidable?" Tyson growled.

"Tyson, don't get annoyed by what I'm about to say, but yes he is and yes he's right," Enrique supplied. "Each of those bladers could easily intimidate you if they wanted to."

"Okay, I can understand the guys, but how are the girls more formidable than I am?"

"Let's just say personal experience often proves what one might not be able to see with their own eyes," Robert muttered.

Tyson gave him a confused look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"In other words, Tyson, Robert is saying that from personal experience, he knows that each female blader down their can successfully scare a guy into submission and in giving up a battle," Ray clarified.

"Oh, that makes sense. And just out of curiousity Ray, how the hell did you get stuck in here with us? Last time I checked, you had went back to White Tiger Hills because you were needed at home. What are you doing back in Russia?"

"I'll explain it to you later, Tyson. Right now, we need to decide if the bladers Ian named are who we're sending out to save the planet."

"Gee, thanks for not adding any pressure Ray," Sierra grumbled.

"Ah, c'mon, Sierra. We can do this," Jasmine said cheerfully. "It doesn't matter who Boris sends to the beyblade dish, they're going to lose, we'll be free, Boris will be taken completely out of our lives in one way or another, and we'll have nothing to worry about."

Sierra muttered something else under her breath, but it went unnoticed.

"So does this mean you guys are agreeing to blade for us?" Oliver asked quietly.

"Sure. Fine. Just don't expect me to like it," Johnny snapped. "Salamolyon, are you ready for this? For that matter, are you even going to be able to fight?"

"Of course I'm ready and of course I can fight!" The salamander yelled indignantly. "What do you think I am? A coward and a weakling?"

Johnny ignored the salamander bit beast as Salamolyon went off on one of his tirades. "We're fighting."

"Kai, Bryan, Tala, Cass, Samantha? Are you up for this?" Jasmine asked.

A shrug from Kai and Bryan gave her the okay she'd been looking for along with a mutter from Tala about wanting to strangle a certain French beyblader after this mess was over with. Jasmine simply sighed and looked over at the only other two bladers besides Tala that wouldn't have to be freed from the cage. After a moment, both nodded their assent.

"Are you finally done choosing bladers?"

"Yes!" Oliver hissed back at an impatient Boris. "Just let Kai, Bryan, Johnny, Jasmine, and Sierra out of this cage first and we'll be ready to go."

Boris grumbled about it, but he let them out. He then proceeded to lead them down the nearest set of stairs so they could stand next to Tala, Cass, and Samantha. Then, without further preamble, he signaled for his seven chosen bladers, all of which looked like zombies to Tala, to join him at the bottom floor of the building.

"Well, you guys ready for the battle for humanity?" Jasmine queried.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Samantha answered for herself and Cass.

"Ready," the others answered simultaneously.

"Then let's do this," Tala grumbled. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner this place can fall, and the sooner we can get out lives back to normal."

With those words, the final battle for freedom was finally underway as Boris sent his first zombie blader to the beystadium that sat cracked almost in half at the bottom of the abandoned building.

"Samantha, you go first. Sierra, Bryan, Jasmine, Cass, Johnny, Kai, and then myself will follow after you, in that order," Tala ordered.

"'kay," Samantha said with a shrug before walking to the beaten up dish. "Here goes. You ready Kazul?"

"You bet," Kazul replied back. "Let's take this asshole down."

Blitzkreig50889: well, there you go everyone. I decided there's still two more chapters to go since this one would've been rather long if I hadn't cut it in half. I didn't want to bore anyone with a lengthy chapter, so I cut this one in half and made another one to go with the rest of this fic.

Ashley: Sweet! That means we get to be in the spotlight for another chapter yet!

Blitzkreig50889: yes, it does. Just don't get too excited over that.

Jasmine: don't worry. She won't.

Ashley: (gulps nervously)

Blitzkreig50889: anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always please remember to review!