"So, how do you guys intend to do this?" asked Kenny as he turned on his computer. "Tag-team, obstacle course…?"

"One on one," said Kai shortly.

"Don't I get a say in this?" asked Samantha.

"No."

"Alright then," said Kenny. "Bladers ready?"

"Just say when," said Kai. He sounded bored as he readied his launcher. Samantha glared and followed suit.

Kenny nodded. "Okay. Three, two, one… Let it rip!"

Mauve clashed with blue midair before jolting away and crashing head-on, on the ground. Their blading styles were similar, that was the only explanation Samantha could think of for what had just happened. This was a typical move of hers; try to get on the opponent's side to lessen his attacking ability. Kai seemed to have had the same idea. Well, at least she's foiled his plan. The thought made her smirk. Vera's emotions were gleeful as she spun on the rugged ground easily. Samantha felt the effect of her joy and the smirk gradually turned into a smile. Opposite her, Kai held a similar expression.

'What shall I do now?' Vera sounded enthusiastic.

Show off. Samantha's tone was wry, but serious. Vera seemed confused.

'You normally disapprove of such behavior.'

Who's going to see? Do your best, I don't expect to beat him anyway.

'You underestimate me?'

I know Dranzer's power, Vera. And I know Kai's too. He knows my moves probably as good as he knows his own.

"Are you just going to spin there all day or actually attack?" his tone was uninterested, almost lazy. But from the corner of her eye, Samantha saw Kenny's eyes popping.

"What's up, Chief?" she asked.

"You-your power is off the charts!" he yelled. "Both of you! But you're not even doing anything!"

Samantha glanced at Kai, frowning. "Are you…?" she trailed off suggestively, raising her eyebrows.

He seemed surprised that she'd figured it out. "Yes. You?"

"Always."

"It's exhausting," he pointed out.

"It's useful," she shot back.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Kenny.

Samantha didn't look away from Kai as she spoke. "It's a defensive measure we were taught at the Abbey."

"It gives you power when you're not even attacking?"

"Actually, it lets your Bitbeast feed off a bit of your energy. That way, your beyblade is practically immune to physical attacks, because there's this energy shield around it that wards them off," explained Samantha patiently.

"Whoa," Kenny sounded awed. "How fast can you learn it?"

It was Kai who answered. "Ten years."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "He's better at it than I am. It takes about two years of constant practice. But you need a really special bond with your bitbeast for it to work, so I wouldn't advise you to tell the others. With Tyson on the loose, those battles would be excruciatingly boring."

"How?" asked Kenny.

"Just watch. Ready to show off?" she asked, smirking. He shrugged, but he was smirking too. This would be fun.

They crashed head on again, without any sign of planning. Samantha knew it was pointless because neither of them was getting damaged, but Kenny had to see how good the defense was. Again and again they collided, sometimes Kai making the first move sometimes Samantha.

Finally, Kai spoke. "I'm getting tired of this."

"In the literal sense?"

"A little."

"See?" Samantha pointed out to Kenny. "Its pretty tiring."

"Chief, you got enough data?" asked Kai. He didn't take his eyes off the spinning beybaldes. Samantha saw Kenny give them a thumbs up sign. "Can we get serious now?"

"You've been warming up all this time?" asked Kenny incredulously. "Kai, even you're not that strong!"

Kai scoffed. "Did I ever have an opponent who was worthy enough?"

Samantha raised her eyebrows. "You think I'm worthy?"

"You're a whole lot better than Tyson."

She smirked. "I appreciate the compliment, Phoenix."

Kai looked up from the beyblades finally when he heard her say that. It had been an old nickname of his that she had caught onto quickly. His grandfather had called him that, and she had somehow heard it and adopted it too. He expected to feel annoyed, but instead he was amused.

"You remember?"

She winked. "Let's see if you can live up to it."

Their attacks were more serious now. Each was trying to wear down the other, but only physically. The Abbey had drilled into them the habit of fatigue; it was the most useful attack anyone could inflict on their opponent.

Finally, Samantha spoke. She could sense Vera's impatience, and Kai's twitching fingers told the same story. "Should we finish this?"

His only answer was the glint in his eye. "Dranzer, Flame Thrower!"

"Vera, repel it!"

There were two streaks of light, and suddenly Vera and Dranzer were there. Samantha had never seen Dranzer up close and was stunned by the size and beauty of the phoenix. Along with bright red feathers, her eyes were darker than coal. As she opened her beak, fire streaked out, rather like it did from a dragon; yet Dranzer could never be compared to a lizard.

But Vera was no less. Pure white from head to toe, the only display of color was at the tip was each tail: Amethyst, Carnelian, Garnet, Onyx, Pearl, Opal, Peridot, Topaz and Turquoise. The stones glittered, each ready to unleash the attack it coveted. But Vera merely flicked her tails, all at the same time, to shield herself from the flames that darted out of Dranzer's mouth. Kai hadn't expected that.

"I'm not entirely without defense, you know," pointed out Samantha.

"You won't win," he said.

"We'll see. Vera, Jewel Verve!"

'Are you positive?'

Give it your all. But I don't want to finish this too soon.

'You are enjoying yourself.' Vera chuckled deeply.

Surprisingly. He's a worthy opponent.

'Very well.' Vera straightened out of her defensive crouch and her tails began to shimmer. The attack looked like it took some time, and that was exactly what Samantha wanted. Kai saw the opportunity, but he saw exactly what she wanted him to see; Vera needed to be able to harness the power from each gem before Samantha could order the attack. He took a risk, and slammed headfirst into her beyblade. Vera wobbled, then vanished.

Kenny gasped from behind her. "Samantha, what did you do?"

"Jewel Verve," answered Samantha smugly. "Now you see her," Vera reappeared behind Dranzer and attacked mercilessly. "Now you don't," she swerved and vanished again.

"Impressive," he almost sneered. "How did you do it?"

"I borrowed a bit of your energy."

"What?" Kenny was yelling again.

Samantha explained patiently, "Well, I knew he'd attack when he saw how long my attack took. That's a mistake everyone makes. When they touch me, I absorb the energy they use in the attack and hit them back."

Kai's eyebrows were raised. "I underestimated you. I won't make that mistake again."

"I certainly hope not. I think I'm overestimating you, though."

"You'll regret that. Dranzer, Blazing Gigs!"

"We'll see. Vera, Gem Shower!"

"Your attacks are exact duplicates!" yelled Kenny as Vera crouched in preparation and Dranzer spread her wings.

The slight breeze was turning into a gale now. "What does that mean?" asked Samantha over the noise of the rushing wind.

"It means this battle is going to be rough." Kenny grabbed hold of a tree branch with one hand and his computer with the other. He looked scared.

Shall I finish this? Vera was curious.

'If you want to. I could stay at this all day.'

But I am getting bored.

'Then let's end it.'

Vera let out a growl, then the gems started shimmering. It was practically a light show, because each tail was bathed in light, and Vera resembled a rainbow by now. At the same time, Dranzer was surrounded by a halo of golden light, which Samantha strongly suspected was in preparation of the fire that was supposed to engulf them soon.

It was surprisingly quick. There was a rush of flames, a rush of wind, and Samantha saw Kai hold up his arm to shield himself from the light. She did the same, and it was over in a matter of seconds. The clearing was filled with smoke, and as it cleared Samantha scrunched up her eyes to look for the beyblades. They were both lying side by side, completely still.

!

"Chief," said Kai finally as he swerved away from Samantha's house. "Are you sure there's no way?"

Kenny sighed. "I've told you before, Kai. There was no way I could've made my camera see through all that smoke. I'd need a real, professional bey-stadium technician team for that. We'll never know who won the fight, unless your bitbeasts remember, which I highly doubt."

"Why won't they?"

"Well, it was tough. I'm sure they were both glad to just stop spinning. Maybe it didn't occur to them to check and see if they were the only ones."

Kai was silent for a while, then he spoke again. "Whose power was greater?"

Kenny hesitated. "It was pretty close…"

"Just say it."

"Hers," he admitted. "But she used an attack that was way more powerful than yours in the end. I don't understand how she didn't win."

"You expected her to?" the words came out with more force than he's intended.

"Not really," said Kenny hastily. "But she's really, really good, Kai. And she's trained a lot more than you, in better conditions. Vera's the bitbeast of death; Dranzer's the bitbeast of life. You were really at odds."

"Does that mean she's better than me?"

"I can't tell. She's holding back. But so are you."

Kai sighed quietly and pulled up outside Kenny's house. "See you tomorrow, Chief."

"Thanks for the lift, captain."

Oooohhh I had fun writing this! Please tell me how it was, I love reviews