Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina and Pyro as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 14: A Plan at Last

In the warehouse, Marina was becoming more violent in her matches. She had been like this since her match with Pyro.

"Black Zeroth, destroy them. Show no mercy!" she shouted.

The black blade circled the dish and left a scorch trail behind it.

"I cannot be beaten. This blade makes me the ultimate blader who has ever lived." she said smirking as she watched the blade.

"Marina, think back to battling Pyro. Use what you felt." instructed Boris.

"Boris, I will do whatever it takes. You will control beyblading…through me." she said.

Boris smiled. As long as he got what he wanted, he didn't care how it happened.

"Black Zeroth, annihilate them!" she commanded.

The black blade shredded the trainee blades. The remains of the blades were dust.

"I don't want to harm my old friends, but if they stand in my way…then they are finished." she said to herself as she watched her blade spin in place at the centre of the dish.

Over in the Russian team's base, it seemed like Hiro was finally formulating a plan of sorts because every now and then, he smiled.

"This is getting on my nerves." said Bryan to Spencer.

"Calm down, Bry." answered Spencer wisely.

"Calm down? Our best blader is on the side of evil, she happens to be the second strongest blader around…and she's a friend."

"Yes, she's a friend and means a lot to us…especially Tala." said Spencer and he looked over at his captain who was sitting away from the others with his head bent over in his hands.

"We better get her back. I don't like seeing Tala like this. He's a friend too." said Bryan.

On the other side of the room, against the wall, were Kai and Tari.

"Why does Boris keep trying?" Tari suddenly asked.

"He's stubborn and refuses to give up. It seems the only thing we can do is just keep trying to stop him." answered Kai.

Not far away, Tyson, Ray and Max were discussing the events that had happened.

"What exactly is Boris after this time?" asked Max.

"Same as last time I think: control over beyblading." answered Ray.

"He screwed that up with BEGA, what makes him think this will succeed when a whole organization with five top bladers failed?" asked Tyson.

"Because Marina's combination with Black Zeroth makes her stronger than the best BEGA had." said Kenny, joining the conversation.

"Kenny, it isn't about power." said Tyson.

"Tyson's right…it's about feelings, emotions. We need to help Marina break through Black Zeroth's evil influence over her." said Tala, also joining the conversation.

"Tala, it's not as simple as making her break through…she'll be willing to harm us all. Maybe she's a lost cause…" said Tyson and was interrupted.

"Don't even go there, Tyson. She is a lot better than you give her credit for." said Tala.

Both bladers were getting frustrated and an argument was going to happen.

"Better as what? A blader…or better as your girlfriend?" asked Tyson harshly.

"Tyson, take that back." said Ray.

"Tyson, if you want to be an idiot, go right ahead. I know how to handle people like you." said Tala and turned away.

"Oh yeah, it's more or less your fault we're in this mess!" shouted Tyson.

"Tyson!" said Max in an attempt to stop what could become very serious.

Tala argued back in Russian.

"I don't have a clue what you're saying, dude." said Tyson. "So it's not going to work."

Kai was almost smiling since he knew what Tala was saying and probably wanted to say something similar to Tyson when Tyson annoys him.

"That's it. Break it up!" shouted Hiro and stood between the two bladers.

Tyson stopped moaning and Tala stopped arguing in Russian.

"Tala, you should know better." Tala frowned, but walked away. "And Tyson…"

Tyson looked up at his older brother.

"Grow up." finished Hiro and went back to the table.

Tyson frowned as well and went back over to Ray and Max, who were looking at him, but looked away when he approached them.

"Come on guys. I know, I went too far." said Tyson.

"Went too far? Tyson, you insulted a friend who's been through a lot. It's going to take a lot to get any forgiveness." said Kai who was still standing by the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Tyson looked down, feeling very guilty now.

"Okay, I think I have a plan." said Hiro about thirty minutes later.

"What is it?" asked Kenny running over to where Hiro was.

"Since Brooklyn is without Zeus, I have concluded that Kai, Tari and Tala are our best bet to face Marina…but it has to be the three of you working together."

Kai and Tala nodded, but Tari was looking unsure.

"I'm not strong enough to challenge Marina." she said.

"You're stronger than me, Tari. I'm going to battle and bring her back, no matter what." said Tala.

Tari nodded, but still looked unsure.

"Okay, in a day's time, we'll challenge Boris. I know, why wait a day? Well, we can't rush in, that will be to our enemy's advantage." said Hiro.

Everyone nodded.

In the warehouse.

"Boris, when can I get out there? I've done more training than I need." said Marina.

"Marina, be patient. There will be plenty of time to defeat your old team-mates and friends. You are not ready to face Tala yet. I know that for certain." said Boris.

"I'm stronger than Tala…" she started.

"But your feelings for him will stop you fighting at your best and I refuse to be stopped because of a lovesick teenager." said Boris angrily.

"Okay, but I will defeat him. I will do what you want. I will do it for me and Black Zeroth." she declared.

"Just what I want." he said. "Watch out, Blitzkrieg Bladers…watch out Tarinfia…and watch out…Kai." he said almost snarling as he thought of Kai, because it was mostly Kai's fault BEGA failed.