Chapter 21 – From the Jaws of Defeat
Meanwhile, Nemo had been practicing with Dromeda, recalling the incident with Ashley, when she was ambushed by two beys. She was so used to it, she did not even have to look up to know whom had joined her.
"You guys again?" she said to the looming shadows over the hill that overlooked the dirt path she was practicing on. "If this is to do with Bluefort and Redberg again, you do realise all you're doing is continuing a really boring vendetta nobody outside the county cares about, right? Besides, Redberg have pulled you guys out of recession like, twice, so you owe them – "
"This has nothing to do with Bluefort, Redberg, the games, or my brother, Vitale, the opponent you were meant to face today," said Vance. "This is about honour, which Bluefortians prioritise above all else, after all."
"What, by destroying my bey?" retorted Nemo, rolling her eyes.
"No," said Vance, and his voice dripped with malice. "We don't want your bey. We want the thing that's inside your bey. Your bit. I know a fellow familiar when I see one."
"We promised Ferdi your bit if he agreed to assist us," said his fellow crony, sneering with his launcher at hand.
"So, surrender your bit or have it forced from your possess – what the…?"
Nemo's eyes had turned dark and her bey had stricken both Vance's and the other crony's beys, sending them flying hopelessly through the air.
"Nobody," she whispered, her face contorted with spite, "threatens to take Andromeda from me."
The Ripmongers, plus Jodie, Dana and Toby, waited anxiously inside one of the tents. Cinthia was pacing up and down, getting more stressed the longer her double was taking to appear.
"If Nemo don't show up," she said, "ya'll better give me your blades and I'll spin in the next round! If launching a beyblade's anything like blending a cocktail, I'll take this."
"Cinthia, you've never pulled a rip cord in your life." Dana said, slowly.
"My claim to celebrity is on the line!" Cinthia said, indignantly.
"Look!" squealed Jordan, pointing dramatically to the entrance of the tent. There stood Nemo, dragging two feebly stirring Bluefort gangsters along the ground.
"Sorry I'm late, I got held up by unwelcome well-wishers," muttered Nemo, allowing Vance and his teammate to slump on the ground. "Clean up on aisle three!"
The on-call medics rushed to attend to them as Nemo joined her relieved team. Toby clapped her shoulder whilst Jodie and Jordan flaunted invisible pom-poms. Cinthia peered over the barely conscious Bluefortians, looking vaguely impressed.
"Wow, Nemo, they didn't tell me ya'll liked it rough." She said, nodding her approval.
"Nemo, you've got to tell the event co-ordinators about this! Bluefort could get disqualified for this!" Dana squealed excitedly, but Nemo brushed her aside.
"Forget it, I want a fair, clean game with Vitale to settle a few things, and nothing's gonna' stop me," said Nemo.
Toby, Jordan and Maxie left to resume their team bench and Dana, Jodie and Cinthia returned to the aisles. Nemo was left alone in the tent with Ashley, who stood facing her, awkwardly.
"Well?" snapped Nemo. "You look like you have something to say."
Ashley shook her head. It looked like she'd just undergone a severe epiphany. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for earlier. You may say I'm your smartest friend, Nemo, but in reality we both know that your instinct is the most reliable tool we have on this team."
"Anything else?"
"… And I promise never to get in your way again."
"Good," said Nemo, who leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Because we need to get the hell outta' here, Ash. Go pack our things and we'll go the minute this game's over."
"Wha – ? Why?"
"They know," muttered Nemo, tilting her head in Vance's direction. "They know about my Andromeda bit, I was forced to use it against them when they ambushed me. When they come to, they'll tell the event co-ordinators everything and MINDERS are gonna' find out one way or another."
She continued before Ashley could interrupt, "also, I had to deal with a security guard getting in. I told him my fake name and showed him my badge but he'd had strict orders to interrogate anyone who claimed to be 'Cinthia Perone'. I had to use my bit-beast again to get past him. They know, Ash, so we've gotta' be one step ahead. Here's the room key. Go pack our stuff."
"But Nemo – we can't just – "
"Ash, you're getting in the way again," Nemo said, nudging her shoulder jokingly.
Ashley gave a small grimace and replied, "you're right. I'll ask Jahane to help me carry the rucksacks out and I'll get Jodie to wait outside the entrance for me to help me past security when I get back."
Nemo nodded and made to move past her, but Ashley caught her shoulder.
"Ash – "
"I wanted to wish you luck, but I know that inherently you don't need it," she breathed, "just do you, Nemo. Nobody else. Just do you and win this thing. Don't think about Redberg, Toby, Corina or me. Just fulfil whatever your own ambitions are."
They parted ways and Nemo joined her team bench just as the commentator resumed the microphone.
"In case you missed the last announcement, here's a reminder of our newly integrated third round-rules," he said, "the event co-ordinators have decided that only the eight best performing teams from the previous rounds will be eligible to compete this round. Those are…"
He fumbled with a list and read out the school names with rampant cheers accompanying each one. Included were Redberg, Bluefort, Gaia, Clow, a school from a place called Riddlestone that Nemo had heard of before, and three other schools that she only scarcely knew existed.
"… So, without further ado. The third and final round is designed to test the player's strength. Each blader will be allocated to a statue presented in this field. They must launch their beys directly at the statue and try to drill the furthest distance through it without their bey stopping. Bladers, take your positions."
Nemo was thumped on the back as she arose from the bench, feeling the full broth of over fifty thousand pairs of eyes and numerous TV cameras on her. She stood facing the nearest, frighteningly life-like statue, which, like the others, was shaped like a dragon, with its mouth open wide and its stone fangs borne.
"On the count of three – three, two, one – "
Nemo grappled her rip cord as she launched Dromeda. It flew straight into the dragon statue's mouth along with seven others beside hers. Sparks flew from all directions as the beys each met their target and started tearing hard into the rock. Some beys were deflected from the statue almost immediately, whilst others, like Nemo's, remained in place, churning the stone relentlessly.
The audience watched in awe as the remaining beys drove holes through the fake dragons' guts. The only thing that foretold them from above that each bey was still spinning were the amount of sparks that emerged from the gaping hole they'd created.
Nemo looked sideways and saw Vitale and Leon blading on either side of her. A few minutes later, they were the only bladers still in the competition.
"C'mon, Dromeda," muttered Nemo, watching her purple bey dig further into the dragon's interior. She heard a groan beside her as Leon collapsed to his knees, his bey running out of spin.
"What a game! Our two remaining contestants are also from the best performing teams in the previous rounds," shouted the commentator, "Vitale Viperi, from Bluefort High, and Cinthia Perone, from Redberg High! Whoever wins this round claims certain victory for their team!"
Nemo felt herself begin to hobble, and knew that her bit, Andromeda, must nearly be out of power and was relying on her to keep it going. She closed her eyes and tried to channel all her remaining strength into her bey.
"Incredible," whispered Toby, and Maxie and Jordan's awestruck faces mirrored his. Soon, the entire audience was on their feet, peering over the stands to see if either bey had finally stopped.
Nemo heard the shredding noise stop and opened her eyes, fearing the worst, but saw Dromeda safely landed on a platform through a clean hole in the dragon. She turned to Vitale's bey, and saw that he, too, had driven his bey right through the statue.
"Unbelievable!" roared the commentator over heightened applause. "We have a tie! Both contestants have, to use the word appropriately, maimed their dragons. Both teams now have a win, a second place and a draw to their name."
"T-Serpent, attack!" shouted Vitale from beside her. Nemo's eyes widened as his orange bey slammed into hers without warning, sending it flying through the air.
"Dromeda, rebound!" Nemo retaliated, and her purple bey slammed into the stands and shot back at his. The commentator charged forwards and caught it in time.
"Hold on, I didn't say it was time to battle!" he scolded them both. "Our management is still deciding how to crown our rightful winner."
He tapped his earpiece and beckoned them to return to their benches. They took their beys and obeyed. Ashley and Jahane were there with the others, carrying a pair of bags each clumsily packed full of things.
Toby inclined his head as she approached. "That was the most incredible beyblading I've ever – "
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Nemo waved him down, rounding on Maxie and Jordan. "I hope you're ready to go as soon as this game's finished."
"What?!" Maxie hollered, rising to her feet. "But I thought you were disbanding the team after this!"
"I am," said Nemo, bluntly, "you can either choose to hand yourself over to MINDERS, here, or you can go home in your own time of your own accord. Your choice."
"Does this mean we have to put up with Fishy lips for another night?" Maxie whined to Ashley, folding her arms and glaring at Nemo.
"Don't call me Fishy lips, and I didn't particularly want this, either!" she retorted.
"Hey, guys, not interrupting a last-minute pep talk, am I?" came a cool voice behind them.
Nemo spun round and found herself face-to-face with the much taller Vitale Viperi. She instantly recognised why so many people were drawn to him; dark and handsome, with combed back dark hair and a fine jawline. He was the kind of person with a natural flair for smooth-talking his way through situations, but it wouldn't help him get any of their team secrets, Nemo told herself.
"No."
"I just wanted to apologise for my comrades' behaviour towards you this past week, and I wanted you to know that I intend to win fairly and honourably, unlike them." Vitale said, flashing them a smile.
"Sorry, dude, but save the reconciliations for after the game. Based on what your team have done, you could easily be here trying to delve into our strategy, and I won't let you," replied Nemo.
Vitale's smile faded. He scratched the back of his head and looked momentarily taken aback. "Well, you've got intuition – I like that. It's going to be an exciting decider. I wasn't trying to pry anything from you, of course, but alright. May the best man – or lady – win."
"Sure," said Nemo, watching him walk away. Her fellow Ripmongers were guffawing around her, but she barely noticed; her eye was on a band of security personnel on the other side of the field, pointing seemingly in their direction.
A group of men were wheeling a giant structure onto the field that was coveted by a large, white blanket. Once they'd pulled it to the middle of the arena, they whipped the blanket off to reveal a large tower with adjacent platforms for each blader. The crowd 'ooed' and 'aahed' at the sight of it.
"Players, take your positions in our specially built tower stadium," said the commentator, and Nemo and Vitale assumed each platform to face opposite each other. Toby grated on his fingernails with his teeth as the deciding round got underway.
"The event co-ordinators have agreed as planned that in the unlikely event of a tie, this stadium would be unveiled and an ordinary beybattle be hosted. The objective of this game is to have the last bey spinning on the tower. The first bey to stop spinning, or leave the tower, is indeed counted the loser. Players, on three – "
Nemo felt her palms shudder as she raised her launcher. Vitale did likewise opposite her, looking far more content. The sight of his expression flooded her with strength, making her desire victory even more.
"… Two… one… let it rip!"
The crowd screamed as Nemo's Dromeda and Vitale's T-Serpent flew onto the paths that scaled either side of the tower in an entwining circle. They raced to the top, and eventually the paths overlapped, allowing the two beys to slam into each other and deal sparks as they raced towards their goal.
The Ripmongers, Jahane and Toby cheered behind her. Jodie juggled her pom-poms from the stands, Dana shouted encouragement, and Cinthia's thumb was a blur on her mobile phone as she updated her status on social media sites to say how nerve-wracked she was.
"I've waited a long time for this," said Vitale, quietly. Their eyes met.
"So have I."
Dromeda and T-Serpent slammed into each other left, right, and centre. Occasionally, one bey would near the edge of the path and the audience would collectively inhale, but every time, it veered safely back into the crossfire.
"Dromeda, Vanishing attack!" cried Nemo. Her purple bey put on an extra burst of speed and disappeared, re-appearing on the slope above Vitale's bey.
Vitale folded his arms and suddenly, his orange bey slammed into the tower and shredded it as it gained height. It smashed into the underside of the path above it and was propelled upward, landing safely in front of Dromeda.
Nemo clenched her teeth and made Dromeda pull further in. It accelerated and then slammed into the side of the tower, rebounding towards T-Serpent, which narrowly evaded. Both beys were once again break-even; this was no race, but either blader knew that reaching the top first gave them an advantage.
The two beys hurtled out onto the ceiling of the tower level with the opponents' torsos and met in the centre, swiping each other furiously. Nemo and Vitale stood their ground, watching their beys at work.
"Serpens, Venom Mist!" cried Vitale, and his bey retreated and circled the perimeter of the arena, gaining momentum. A teal coloured mist started to secrete from his bey and flood the centre of the arena in a bubble.
"Nemo, that mist is harmful to your bey!" shouted Maxie from behind her.
"I know that, idiot!" she shouted back. She could hardly fail to recognise the signs; Dromeda was wobbling, and patches of the attack ring were actually becoming discoloured the longer they were exposed to the mist.
"Alright, Andromeda, use Vixen Storm!" cried Nemo, and her bey regained balance and started spinning at an alarming rate. A funnel of air broke free from the tip, destroying the bubble of mist created by T-Serpens. Both beys were temporarily obscured and the audience broke into a panic, some of those nearest the stands leaving their seats to avoid the tornado that had materialised before them.
Nemo watched as the funnel disintegrated. T-Serpens hung from the air above it, propelled by the storm, and now descending for an attack –
"Serpens!"
"Andromeda!"
Dromeda shot into the air to meet its opponent, and there was an explosion of sparks as the beys collided. Vitale smirked, drawing deep breaths as Nemo did likewise.
"You're good, fellow familiar," he muttered. "The best I've faced."
"Thanks, so are you," Nemo said, truthfully.
"If I ever thought that you weren't a familiar, I wouldn't have resorted to my bit, but I knew so and that's why I was eager to battle you."
"Andromeda is the guiding light of my life," Nemo whispered, hoarsely.
"You know, beyblading was only enacted as an inter-school sports game this year, and you have me to thank for that," began Vitale, closing his eyes. "The event co-ordinators had initially considered it, but then a controversy in the city of Gaia made them change their minds. Apparently, some schoolgirls had used beys as weapons to force their way out of the city."
Nemo looked up, and observed him closely through the rain of sparks.
"I was the changing force that made them reconsider beyblading to be an inter-school sport. My battle on the dome wall with my little brother was what did it. I impressed the locals to the point where they were forced to accept the phenomenal talent that existed in the field was too good to deny, and that's how beyblading became re-enacted as a sport," he said, "I am the reason we're stood here today, because of a battle I won with a move that looked like this."
Nemo felt a chill run down her spine as Vitale opened his eyes. She could feel and almost see the giant serpent bit that occupied his bey, and then suddenly, T-Serpens had overpowered Dromeda and it flew over the edge of the tower in a volley of sparks.
"Nemo! Nemo!" screamed her comrades, but she was smirking. Finally, the missing piece of the jigsaw she had waited for – the mystery was solved.
"Hate to break it to you," she said, watching her falling bey. "But I was the person who initially made the event co-ordinators consider beyblading to be a real sport in the first place. I'm the girl who ran away from Gaia," she continued, "and I'm the reason we're really stood here today, because of a battle I won with a move that looked more like this. Andromeda, Vanishing attack!"
Dromeda put on another speed burst and vanished mid-fall.
"Up there!" wailed Jordan, pointing almost vertically over their heads. The entire audience looked up, their movements syncopated together; a purple dot was descending from the sky above them, reaching terminal velocity as it came down, and of course it was Jordan who'd seen it first, because her head was always in the clouds and that's how far up it had gone.
"That can't be," said Vitale, dropping to his knees weakly as he looked up.
The more elegant, serpentine figure of the Andromeda bit seemed to be emitting from Nemo's bey as it descended. It struck the top of the tower full-force, and there was a colossal plume of smoke turned red by the sunset.
The tower crumbled and burst into pieces. T-Serpens fell with the rest of the wreckage. Nemo's wig and glasses were blown off her face, exposing her for her true self. The Dromeda bey landed safely on the remaining piece of structure, surrounded by rubble and barely spinning.
There was a moment of silence, and then a very diverse reaction erupted amongst the audience. There were cheers and stamping, and there was also anger amongst the many Bluefort supporters at the sight of Nemo, but they were eventually ceased by the strength of the applause.
"She's done it!" cried Dana, tears streaming down her face.
"I got a snap of that last explosion on my phone! Am TOTES making it my Myspace profile picture!" squealed Cinthia, mobile at hand.
Toby was sobbing on the team bench, waving a flag embroidered with Redberg's coat of arms. Jahane was consoling him as Maxie, Jordan and Ashley victory danced nearby, the bags deserted on the ground.
"Pick those up," Nemo ordered them, and ran over to the podium where the commentator was stood.
"… And there you have it, folks! Cinthia Perone takes Redberg's first victory for – er, let's just say many years, and indeed, in a series of moves that the laws of Physics had originally deemed impossible, takes the victory for the first ever hosted inter-school Beyblade 2006 – "
" – Of, I'm sure, many!" Nemo said as she took to the podium, pushing the commentator aside. "I'd like to thank my team, what was it? Oh, yeah, the 'Rebellion Ripmongers'. I personally never liked the name, but I was outvoted on that. Oh well!"
"I'd also like to thank my coach, Toby, our team's moral supporter, Shelby – er, I mean, Ashley, my external moral supporter Jahane, and above all, my bit-beast, Andromeda, who I owe everything to. Unfortunately, I will not be able to sail with Captain Rockhopper on the Migrator, which was the winning team's prize," continued Nemo, "but, eh, I'd like to give that enviable reward to the next placed team that isn't Bluefort. The reason being that I'm currently wanted across Circum Pars, which is why I bladed under a disguise – but still a legit entrée, so go check the rulebook if you're a sceptic."
"I'm glad I've finally been able to prove to myself that I was the initial reason beyblading was selected to be an inter-school sport," she said, "this is the game that preoccupied me when times were hard. I'm pleased to have created this legacy, which I hope lives on, and if I'm taking one thing with me from my origin of Gaia into whatever journey awaits me next, it better damn well be that legacy."
She pushed the microphone back into the commentator's chest and ran. She stole a glimpse into the crowd where she knew Corina was sat, somewhere; if that hadn't met her side of the bargain, she thought to herself, she didn't know what would.
"Nemo!" screamed Ashley, hurtling up the field with Maxie and Jordan, bags at hand. There were guards situated at every side of the dome, closing in on them.
"What are we gonna' do now?!" asked Maxie, frantically.
Nemo gritted her teeth; they were trapped. She rushed over to collect her bey and think of a plan, when she noticed something.
Dromeda was no longer wobbling. It was spinning perfectly in balance again, and a silver, pearly vapour was rising from it. As Nemo watched, the serpentine form of Andromeda uncoiled from the tip of her bey in its full form, the height of a two storey house, and far more corporeal than Nemo had ever seen a bit-beast. It had large, sorrowful eyes and a gown of silver hair that was draped around its long tail.
"Look at that!"
"Is that a bit-beast?"
"Yes, that's a bit-beast! I told you they were real, didn't I?" Chantelle smiled at her stunned-looking friends, Paula and Rachel. "Wow… that bit-beast is so opaque… I guess Jackie's not the best beyblader I know, after all."
"Vance!" yelled Ferdi, as he spotted his friend stumbling over towards their gang.
He took Ferdi by the collar and shook him violently. "Why didn't you tell us she was Andromeda's familiar, eh? The LEGENDARY Andromeda? Did it pass your notice?"
"I didn't know it was Andromeda – I just knew whatever it was was p-powerful!" spluttered Ferdi.
"Well, don't cheer for the opposition!" Vance snapped at Noah, who had broken into clapping and whooping at the sight of it.
The silver bit fixed its effeminate face on Nemo, who heard its voice in her head over the renewed cries of the audience. "I can get you out of here! You must escape, quickly!"
"Right," muttered Nemo, turning to Ashley and the others. "Get the bags and mount Andromeda!"
They were taken aback by the sight of it, but quickly recovered and jumped onto its long, silver tail. Nemo picked up her bey and joined them, clambering in front as if to take the reins. Andromeda arched its tail, ready for lift-off.
All around them, the Bluefort cronies, MINDERS executives and security personnel were flooding out onto the field with the woman who Nemo didn't identify as Devin Maiden at the rear.
"No, no, girls!" she simpered, "you can't go! You have your education and your accordance with the national statute of welfare and safety to think about! As a MINDERS top ranking executive, I insist you escort me back to your parents immediately!"
"Do you?" Nemo shouted scornfully down at her, "your stupid corporation trapped us in a basement and nearly drowned us all!"
Andromeda sprung upward, into the air, and a gush of wind reverberated from around its body, driving the pursuers back. There were ripping noises from below them as dozens of beys were launched from rivalling schools, but none of them could reach the height that Andromeda had quickly gained, let alone what Nemo had accomplished earlier with her bey.
Vitale struggled to his feet in the thickset of the people who'd flooded the pitch. For once, he was no longer the centre of attention; all eyes were on Nemo, now.
Leon watched the serpentine creature rise over the heads of the crowd from the sheltered dome interior. "I've longed for a battle with you for so long, Nemo, and again it goes unfulfilled," he said, solemnly, "but at least now I know I would've not stood a chance against you anyway."
"Bye guys!" shouted Jodie from the otherwise abandoned wing that belonged to the cheerleaders, "and Jordan, don't, like, prep out in the villages beyond the county, you now know how untrustworthy outsiders are! Wait until you get back to Gaia for that!"
"Thank you for everything," waved Toby, weakly, held up by a beaming Jahane.
As for Corina, she watched them alone in her seat, disengaged from the chaos around her and even from the fact that her parents had joined the pursuit. Her eyes were fixed solely on the beautiful bit-beast that now frolicked in the great, orange sky that spanned the horizon, and she finally understood the reason for their departure that she'd so longed to know prior to Nemo's impromptu victory speech.
"You remembered the deal after all," she said to herself, "thanks, guys. Thanks, Nemo."