Hi Guys! So so sorry its taken me so long to upload this. I've been working on it since forever and well...what was supposed to be a short chapter turned out to be a pretty heavy going one! I really hope you like it and its not too repetitive or drony. I'm dropping my hours at work very soon so will have much more time to write and chapters wont have such big gaps between publishing. Thank you soooo soooo much for your reviews, they really help with motivation and just affirmation I'm doing something right hahaha. I literally cant wait to write the next chapter...some very much loved characters are going to be central. Love you all and stay Safe!
Chapter 28.
Ray Kon, master beyblader of White Tiger Village and proud of it, was deep in thought. He clutched his chin with a red fingerless gloved hand, embroidered with the black and white Ying/Yang symbol. The same emblem decorated a red head band which levered up his naturally drooping hair into spiky jet-black bangs, of which stroked the edges of his curious, handsome face. The rest of his long ebony hair was wrapped tightly in white ribbon that swished like a willow tendril in the warm Asiatic breeze.
The bladers' tall athletic frame basked in a light-drenched clearing between a small koi pond, complete with an oriental bridge and a lush green Maple Tree. His Chinese footwear nestled between short blades of freshly mown grass and nearby, flower beds clustered thick with blue blossoming hydrangeas were buzzing with pollinating bees whilst white and red butterflies danced in the air above.
The neko-jin blader pondered. "Hmmmmmm where are you Kai? I gotta think. If I was Kai, where would I be hiding right now? And what did that old man mean? Why'd he make a bird gesture with his hands? And why'd he say *Tweet Tweet* What do birds have to do with Kai?"
The Chinese youths' yellow eyes gazed up at the cloud streaked skyline where the blue atmosphere and top of the buildings met. A pair of pigeons cooed and preened at the brick edge above. "Was the old man trying to tell us Kai… is on the roof? I bet its nice n'quiet up there. Just the place old sourpuss would skulk off to. I guess Mariah and I should check the roof out next. We've searched all over the garden now and it's pretty clear to me, if Kai was here...he definitely isn't now."
Ray eyeballed the pigeons for a moment as one preened the other, lovingly nuzzling a beak into its mates' dove-grey plumage. Despite the White Tigers' calm demeanour, the need to find Kai before something serious happened nagged in the back of his mind like a hammer hitting a nail. Right now Max, Emily and Kenny were searching the basement. Tyson, Hilary and Daichi had taken to the canteen and ward areas. Whilst he and Mariah hunted every inch of the hospitals' peace garden. So far…no sign of Patient 12.
"I hope Tyson and the others have had more luck than we have." Drigers' guardian sighed as he released his chin from grip.
Tired and frustrated; stress had turned his neck muscles stiff as a dull ache worked its way up the base of his skull. The White Tiger blader calmly raised a red clothed hand, wrapped it around the back of his neck and attempted to massage some of the tightness away with his fingers in a pinch and release motion.
Master Taos' kooky croaky words recited in his head. "My young cricket, listen closely. When the flow is low, you must take in the blow, put on a pink frilly dress on Tuesdays' and show the sun some love."
The youthful White Tiger chuckled with the memory as he remembered Master Taos' face with his scant white moustache and three long hairs above each eye that made up his ancient brows. "Yeah I get what you mean Master Tao. When your energy is low, breathe slowly and rest in the Sun. I get it. I don't see how wearing a pink dress on Tuesdays' is gunna help though. Haha. I guess I'll have to ask him when I'm back home. Haha."
The Chinese blader took a brief moment to stop and absorb the radiant sunshine's energy. He closed his heavy golden irises; breathed the florally scented air deep into his lungs, let the golden sunrays stroke his tired face, and enjoyed the gentle wind tickle the back of his tight neck. The serenity of the scene around him caressed away all tension as his muscles were healed by the gardens' blessed peace.
The days before had been hard, long and stressful...from the moment Kai was attacked at the Charity match, the sleepless nights of not knowing if his former team mate was going to survive until the next morning, to now...searching for said friend who shouldn't even be out of bed yet and worse yet, his attacker and Bitbeast stealing comrades were still at large outside the safety of the hospital walls.
The black haired blader stood for a few moments longer with his eyes loosely closed; songbird chirps soothed his wearied soul whilst stray butterflies' wings beat the air around his head causing his cat ears to twitch. The hospitals garden was a place for recovery, a tiny oasis and a place of brief tranquillity for patients and worn-out beybladers' alike.
Ray, like a true ninja of the beyblading world was known for his razor sharpness. His feline hearing, sight and sense of smell made creeping up on him impossible for most normal people. However today, the neko-jin was a dull blade as he stood silently in the lawn clearing with his fatigued head blissfully arched up to the sky…
...completely unaware of the scarlet set of eyes watching his every move.
Four fingers with long sharply pointed fingernails parted a gap in a dark leafed rhododendron Bush, allowing the person hiding within, a window to spy. A purple draped figure, their face and head coveted in the dark shadow of their deep velvety hood. The dark lilac shroud hung around their shoulders, the excess fabric pooled on the floor around their crouched stance like a set of curtains that were too long. A pair of open toed black boots indented footprints into the dry top soil of the flower bed hideout and crunched dead foliage as they pivoted their weight. The stranger reached for a brown beyblade launcher with one hand whilst parting the leaves with the other to keep view on their prey.
Rays' sun worshipping and oblivious figure mirrored on the lenses of blood-lust eyes.
The predator whispered in a hurried squeaky girly voice, much like Harley Quinns' from Batman. "There you are gorgeous. I've got you now... O' guardian of Driger. Oh what a shame I have to… kill you. You're such a cutie too. Hmmpph. What a waste."
"If you think he's so cute, why don't ya stop hiding in the bushes like a coward and go ask for his number huh?" Mariah smarted with a snide disapproving smirk, her arms bolstered across under her cleavage tight and one slim pink-haired eyebrow raised high on her pretty round face. The female neko-jin had soundlessly cat crept and now leered mere feet behind the kneeling creeper in the dirt. Her short baby pink-painted nails tapped her biceps like a pianist with crossed arms and hawked down at the other female, waiting for a reaction.
The assailants' long straight-cut silver hair swung forward as her body lunged on the hocks of her feet, and floated back down to rest on her chest again as her knees and body straightened. The intruder in the flower bed turned, raised a tanned tattooed hand and sharply flicked her hood back with a single motion. Like a villain in a bond movie she locked eyes with the ninja girl and demonically grinned displaying crystal white teeth, two of which were pointy like vampire fangs.
Mariahs' judging orbs scanned her from top to bottom, unperturbed whilst holding her irked stance. The newcomer was medium built, around the pinkettes' size, only a little taller and not as busty. She was roughly the same age in that she was in her late 20's.
Her long hair hung in panels at either side of her shoulders, flowing down her chest, and her fringe stopped straight above thin silver eyebrows, like a silver haired Cleopatra.
Like the Egyptian queen, she was attractive with a thin nose, plump lips and piercing blood coloured eyes.
Her skin was lightly tanned, like Arab skin. Around her fingers, wrists and ravelling all the way up her arms, stopping at her collar bones were black bands in perfect neat rows, permanently inked in place.
Her garments under the dark lilac cloak were not much different in style from Mariams' of the Saint Shields in that she wore a royal blue sleeveless tunic with black rims, long enough to be a dress which stopped just above her knees. Underneath the dress were black leggings which stopped mid thigh to keep modesty. The fabric of her tunic was parted at the breast area just like Mariams' and held partially closed with brown string, showing a limited view of cleavage. And lastly, black open-toed boots clothed her petite feet.
The silver haired youth cocked one hip and teased maniacally for fun whilst waving a sharp nailed finger. "Mariah Wong of the White Tigers I assume. I was wondering when you were gunna show up. Heh. I know all about your pathetic little beyblade team, and your perfect, happy little clan hidden in the hills. Peaceful... quaint... But...a weak village none the less… Filled with no talent. The only thing worth a dam about your people is Driger. The White Tiger Spirit, passed down the male descendants of the Wong family for generations until he was handed down to your boyfriend over there...of the Kon family?! Ouuuchh! I bet that stung your brother like a biitcchhh. Well Drigers' time being mastered by weak undeserving men is nearing its end. Soon enough the White Tiger of Earth and Thunder will finally be in the hands of someone worthy of his power. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
Feisty Mariah instantly lashed out a retort without any waver in her stance or confidence. She dropped her defensive arms and placed one hand on cocked hips. "Yeah that's me. Judging by your clothing and red eyes, I'd say you're from the Shadow Vale Clan. I've heard a thing or two about you too." She sharply pointed a deliberate and straight finger. "Your team mate Blake, hurt a friend of ours. You're just a bunch of violent brainwashed psychopaths who run around attacking bladers and stealing their bitbeasts. I think anyone who steals another bladers' Bitbeast is the lowest of the low. And anyone who attacks the blader is even lower. I almost feel sorry for you. You've been raised by a fruit loop cult built on madness and by the sounds of it... you're jealous of my happy little village."
The silver haired girl cackled loudly, clutching her belly as her hair dangled in her bent position."HAHAHAHHAHAH." She straightened and wiped a fictitious jovial tear away from below an eye lid with one finger. "Jealous of a pampered little princess like you? Pleaassee. You aren't even worth my time. It's Driger I'm here for...and your pretty boyfriend over there... Now, if you don't mind...get out of my way. I have a destiny to fulfil."
Mariahs' face turned serious as she smirked with a darkness engulfing the space around her eyes and crossed her arms again. She arched her head up with superiority. "You're here for Rays' Driger huh? Don't make me laugh." Her face lit up as her eyes caught fire. "Well I love to be the one to tell you, that that isn't gunna happen. My Ray's the strongest blader around and you haven't got a chance of beating him. But if it's a fight you want..."
She stabbed a challenging finger at the silverette threat. "My Galux and I will send you straight back to your village with your tail between your legs. You'll never call the White Tiger Clan weak ever again when I'm through with you."
The ruby eyed girls' face alighted with twitchy excitement as she abruptly dived a hand into a concealed pocket under the cape, rustling it madly like a magician's assistant until she pulled out a basic brown beyblade launcher. Her tone was crazy and teasing. "HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA that's quite a mouth on you Marrrriiiiaaaahhhh! Sooooo spuuuuunky! I wasn't expecting you to be this plucky!"
The caped assailant ecstatically produced and inserted a beige rip cord into a brown launch device causing a zipping sound as she did. Her ruby eyes were wide open with crazed, savage intent as she cackled. "Mhhahhahawaahaaaa. I was going to leave you alone but seeing as you've offered; it would be rude to turn you down. But I'm telling you now Maaaaarrrrrriiiiiaaaahhhh of the WhItE tIgErS. You're gunna regret it." Her tone was a mix of mockery and warning.
*CLINK*The tattooed strangers' black beyblade with toxic green edges on its attack ring was now primed and ready for a fight. "Driger you're gunna have to wait but it won't be for too lonnnng. HAHAHAH." The silverette outstretched two tanned tattooed arms and elbowed the bulk of her cape behind so as not to hinder her backwards rip. One black banded finger tugged tight on the rip cord, the other gripped around the launcher, trembling with menacing excitement. "I CANT WAIT TO PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE MARRIIIIIIAAAAHHHH!"
The female White Tiger blader immediately copied preparations for combat. Her Galux blade lynx-cat growled within her fingers as she metallically snapped her into her dark pink and black launcher.*CLINK* Her long pastel rose coloured ponytail swished and flicked in the wind as she took her battle stance with spread legs and bent knees. "You talk alotta trash! But that's okay. It'll just be more embarrassing for you when you lose. You know nothing about what White Tiger X is capable of and I'm about to teach you a harsh lesson in beyblading…and manners. I hope you're ready cus I'm gunna send you packing before you ever have a chance to make goo-goo eyes at my RayRay again."
*NEEEEOWWWWW NEEEOWWWWW NEEEEOWWWWW NEEEOWWWWW NEEEEOWWWWW NEEEOWWWWW*
Hospital Tannoy - "Please can everyone remain calm and make your way to the nearest fire exit. Leave the building in an orderly fashion and wait in the designated zones outside. This is not a drill. I repeat this is not a drill."
*NEEEEOWWWWW NEEEOWWWWW NEEEEOWWWWW NEEEOWWWWW NEEEEOWWWWW NEEEOWWWWW*
The noise flicked at Rays' cat ears, and then his golden eyes shot wide open, his tired heart immediately raced with the alarm. His fuzzy raven haired head shot a gaze up at the tannoy. "Oh man. Fire. Really? Right now? What crappy timing. We still haven't found Kai yet. Mariah and I have gotta check out that roof and quick. I just pray Kai is there. Speaking of which...where has Mariah gotten to?"
The tannoys' demand for evacuation did its job as the garden soon emptied its visitors. The White Tiger male gazed around with wide scanning yellow eyes, hoping to see his future wife emerge from somewhere nearby. Instead, speeding past on a nearby winding path was a young female nurse pushing a pensioner at great speed on his wheelchair, rushing him to the exit. The elderly gent was the two toothed elderly man from earlier, he gripped the arm rests hard like he was on a rollercoaster as his "Feel Better Soon" balloon with silver lettering flustered madly in the air behind; the ribbon threatening to snap from the g-force at any moment.
A man inhaling his fourth consecutive cigarette on a far wall finished his tobacco treat and threw the butt on the lawn, as he too made his way to the exit doors in order to re-enter the building to evacuate. More patients including a middle aged man on crutches with a plastered leg and a pregnant lady with red hair herded to the exits soon after, but not one of them...was Miss Wong.
"Mariah?! Where are you Mariah?!" He called with urgency, tunnelling his hands to make his voice louder as he strode towards the centre of the floral yard...and the last known location of his best friend, team mate and lover.
Then, as if to match the unease Ray was feeling, the weather supernaturally changed. Dense light-grey clouds suddenly loomed over head, blocking the suns' hot light and turning the lush summers' greenness down a shade. The wind eerily rose and whistled through Rays' black bangs, tickling the short hairs on his neck and raising all arm hair. Ray stood alone on the lawn; his sharp intuition screamed something wasn't right as an unwelcoming presence smothered the garden.
Mariah was a mere tendon flick away from pulling her ripcord when the tannoy barked its alarm.
The pinkettes' thick fringe bounced as she begrudgingly broke her gaze away from her opponent to sharply scowl at the voice box overhead on a far wall. "Looks like our beybattle is gunna have to wait. Hmph. I guess I'll have to deal with you later." She grumped, immediately ticked off that she was so close to getting her thirsty claws into a good scrap. She loosened her ready and rearing to go attack stance, unclipped her beyblade from its launcher and proceeded to replace Galux into a lilac drawstring pouch behind her back on a hidden belt.
Rays' calling drew near enough for the White Tiger female to hear over the droning evacuation call. His lofty frame appeared from a far-off narrow pathway; his bright clean clothing was difficult to miss in the green foliage backdrop. "Mariah! Where are you?!"
"I'm over here Ray!" Galux's master called out in reply with an up stretched arm to get his attention as he entered her line of sight. She beamed, happy to see him.
The male replied as the pinkette beauty caught his sight too, relief dripped in his tone. "There you are Mariah!"
The Two White Tigers sprung into a gentle jog towards each other, eager to reunite at the centre of an unchartered area of flat open lawn.
As Rays' feet pounded the ground at speed, his arms gently swinging, hair braid swishing; his intuitive tiger senses couldn't help but notice how soundless and empty the air. No movement twitched his delicate hearing like before. Alike the other garden visitors; the airborne insects had evacuated too. Something had driven them to flee for their lives as if something stifling and unearthly poisoned the air like proverbial smoke.
"OHH Mariah. You didn't think you could just walk away from me did you?" The female Shadow Vale blader cackled with offense as her malevolent gaze stabbed into the pink wearers back. She replaced her shiny black beyblade with green tips and its launcher back to concealed pockets within the darkness of her cloak. Now, her hands were now free to exact another weapon entirely. She raised both her tattooed arms outwards as if it catch rain in her palms... and her black ink bands began to glow a toxic green light.
"Hmmmmahahhhahah Ultimate Shield!" She beckoned like an evil sorceress as green flashes of light emanated from her skin and into the atmosphere like laser beams.
Mariah was a mere 8 or so feet away from her team mate and was closing in fast. "Ray, I have something important to tell you. Shadow V..."
***A sudden flash of bright green light erupted up from a line in the grass between the pair and materialised into a perfect, solid, iglu-like form.***
*DONK* Mariahs' sentence was instantly stopped as she head-butted the see-though structure and rebounded backwards in surprise. The bright light had dazzled her sight as she winced with one eye clenched shut. She inserted two fingers under her fringe to rub better a growing red bump on her forehead. The lady wearing pink and white cried in confusion. "Ahhh! What... was that Ray?"
*DONK* Rays' torso and head bashed just as hard. The impact briefly knocked the breath out of him causing him to gasp and raise a protective hand to steady his startled chest. His forehead however fared better thanks to the cushioning of his red Ying Yang head band. His eyes too needed a moment to adjust after the sudden flash of light left his sight spotty. "What on earth?" He complained.
The duo momentarily blinked from the surprise impact until...adrenaline sharply snapped them out of it. Ray placed his red clothed hand on the see-through structure to investigate as Mariah placed her pink on the other side, mirroring his. Separating them...was a dense glass wall.
Several heavy sweat drops broke out instantly as Rays' pupils dilated to the size of pin pricks, his blood instantly run cold as his stomach dropped to his knees. This... was a force field. His heart thudded in his chest as he stroked a gloved hand over its smooth flawless surface. The duo White Tigers' throats ran dry. They had encountered something like this before. They had tried tirelessly to smash through one with Tyson, Max, Daichi, Emily and their bitbeasts at their sides...and...failed.
Mariahs' solemn eyes locked with Rays' in quiet regret. She knew now. She was in trouble. "Ray." She inaudibly murmured as she realised the gravity of danger in her challenge to the Shadow Vale adversary.
The creator of the giant shield entered view from behind Mariahs' astonished form. A female with silver hair, blue and black clothing, shoulders draped in a purple cloak began to walk forward. Ray froze in fear, petrified and held tightly onto breath as memories of the dome and that day of the Charity Tournament came flooding back.
Flashback *Ray, Mariah, Tyson, Max, Daichi and Mariahs' first discovery of Blakes' force-field. Daichi running into and bouncing off it, then hitting the floor.
Flashback *Driger attacking, furiously growling whilst tackling and clawing at the glass structure. Not even leaving a scratch no matter how hard Ray pushed him to break through.
Flashback *Tyson hitting the barrier with bloodied fists, begging for Kai to "wake up."
Rays' anxiety peeked as he struggled to deal with his bolting heart rate as the Shadow Vale blader closed in behind his lover. Her purple cape swished as she neared, her blood red eyes leering like a thirsty predator, closer, closer and closer she stalked. The white of her fangs glinted with thirst.
Drigers' guardian burst into panic. He begged and banged at the domes' surface with double fists. "Mariah! Turn around! Behind you! Mariah!"
This force field was as apparently as sound proof as Blakes'. The pinkette tweaked her head to the side as she struggled to lip read Rays' lips. However his body language told her all she needed to know. The pinkette spun around so fast her ponytail took flight and whipped the opposite side of her neck.
The silver haired blader finally stopped her advance, retrieved her beyblade and launcher from their hiding places, and locked them back together with a *CLINK.* She then cocked her right free hand on her right hip, whilst her loaded black and green blade and launcher combo dangled by the side of her left. "What's the matter Maaaarrriiiiaaahhh? Where ya goin?! Don't cha wanna play with me anymore? Well tough! You can't just run away from me now, not after all your big talk earlier."
The smarmy voice caused Mariah's hackles to instantly rise. She smarted back with a fierce face. "I'm not running away from anything." Mariah was a cornered animal and did not like it...not one bit. Despite the initial surprise and anxiety of being caged in the force field, she lunged forward in agitation. "Didn't you hear the tannoy? This hospital is on fire. Our beyblade match can wait until it's safe to battle. I'm not burning to death to entertain you no matter how easy it would be, now let me out of here right now, or you'll be sorry."
The purple draped woman laughed and jibbed. "Hahahahhhahahahah you stupid girl! You really don't have a clue! The hospital isn't on fire! We tripped the fire alarm on purpose to send the place into chaos... and boy did it work! Those annoying security staff left the doors completely unguarded, giving me and my brothers just the window we needed to get in! Even those losers the Saint Shields have got their tails in a spin."
Mariah spat. "So there are more of you snakes?"
The Shadow Vale blader condescendingly jabbed. "HAHAHAH! Oh boy do you learn quick! Yessssss as we speak, my brothers are looking for your pals, the other three guardians of the sacred spirits. Kai, Max, Tyson...and I've found my RayRay. Tell me Mariah, how brainless do you have to be to call your boyfriend over here, knowing full well what I intend to do to him... and his bitbeast."
Mariahs' fists balled up and her head lowered ready for a fight. "We're not afraid of you. You are no threat to the White Tigers. I meant what I said about Ray being the toughest beyblader around. You haven't got a chance."
The ruby eyed blader waved her launcher and beyblade around, pointing it wildly at her quarry like a stick. "And you? You think you are a match for me too? Hahahahhahaha. Oh Mariah! I can't wait to play with you! I can't wait to see the defeat in your eyes when I break that spunky little spirit of yours. I'll use our battle to warm up a little before getting hot and heavy with your... RayRay." She bit her lip sexually seductively before quipping in a snide tone. "Besides your boyfriend there isn't gunna just abandon you...so I have time to spare. I can afford to have a little fun with you before I get..." She bites her bottom lip sexually again, taunting Mariah and clearly enjoying every second. "...busy with him."
Mariahs' usually cute face was burning red with fury as she fought not to pout like a child. Instead, the pinkette simmered back to normal skin colour and silently death glared as she retrieved Galux from the pouch behind her back with one hand, and swiftly twisted the blade back into the metal component of her trusty launcher. *CLINK* "My Galux is gunna chop up your beyblade like mincemeat."
The silver-haired girl giggled with delight. "Hhahahahah. Oh nooooooo have I touched a nerve?! Excellent! Now I've gottcha all riled up. Whatdya say Mariah? Is it playtiiiiiiiiiiimmme or what?! Hahahahahha."
Mariahs' stomach knotted tight but her burning attitude wasn't going to let her back-down. Like a warrioress she bravely strode away from the glass and Rays' anxious form on the other side of it. Her long pony tail flicked at her back and her beyblade weapon twinkled, ready to do some damage. Her empty fist curled tightly as she approached the clearing where the Shadow Vale blader waited. Galux cat growled telepathically as her master squared off opposite the tattooed assailant. The battleground was set as her pink and white trainers nestled into a first spot on the grass, bent her knees into a high squat and held her arms out with two fingers hooked around a rip cord with the other hand gripping her launcher tightly.
Mariah pondered as she took in a couple of long breaths to calm her nerves. "I've got this. Motor mouth here won't know what's hit her when my Galux gets her claws into her beyblade. Shadow Vale blader or not, she's just another opponent. Yeah Blake may have been strong but that doesn't mean this hussy is too. She's about to get a taste of White Tiger X and I have a feeling she's gunna regret it."
All Ray could do was watch with baited breath, the warm flesh of his fingers stuck flat to the cold hard surface of the glass dome as his chest leaned onto it. Right now, he was nothing more than a voiceless spectator. The White Tiger male felt completely helpless. His mind raced frantic as his feline teeth gritted. "What do I do? Should I go get help? No I won't leave her. I just have to trust in Mariah. She's got some awesome skills as a beyblader; she's come a long way these past years. I've just got to believe in her. Come on Mariah you've got this, I know you do."
The red-eyed blader elbowed her cape behind again allowing her all the room she needed for a powerful backward rip. "Heheheheheh. You reaaddddddddyyyyy Mariiiiaaaaaaahhhhhhh?!"
A single tiny cat fang twinkled as the pinkette side smirked. Her golden eyes alight as she fought off any self doubt and geared for the challenge. "Peh, I thought you'd never ask!"
Shadow Vale bladers' ruby eyes glowered as her vampire teeth glinted in a wide grin. "LETTTSSSSSSSSSS LET IT RIP!" She yelled as the rip cord was yanked and her black beyblade with green tips shot forward onto the perfectly gardened lawn in front, and like a heat seeking missile, B-lined straight for Mariah.
"LET IT RIP!"Mariah cried out as she too pulled her rip cord, sending Galux flying into the middle of the horticultural arena. Immediately the pinky-lilac beyblade intercepted the other spinning weapons' path causing a *SMASH*The shock wave rippled the soft green blades outwards as the two spinning tops hammered in the centre, ripping up the vegetation and churning up the semi dry earth everywhere they travelled. Dusty soil and chopped grass blades whirl winded in the air around them.
The black beyblade was fast but seemingly not as fast as the pinky-lilac Galux blade. To put simply, Galux was all over her. Smashing, tagging and then zipping away like the pro Mariah had become. If Mariah had a forte, it was rapid attacks.
The black beyblade struggled to keep up as it chased Galux onto the rim of a rectangular brick flower bed, along its length and then off again. The duo of chasing beyblades zipped and zig-zagged between the bladers, engaging in a classic cat and mouse scenario. Galux, in a pink flash, doubled back around and unapologetically tagged the slower blade time and time over, knocking it clear off the wall playgrounds and into the air several times over. The Shadow Vale blade spun strong however and the two beyblades relentlessly scrapped it out.
*ZIP* *CLASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* *ZIP* *ZIP* SMASH*
*SMASH* More shock wave ripples sent churned up tufts of grass and mud to fly outwards.
*SMASH*And again.
*SMASH*And again.
*SMASH* *ZIP* *ZIP* SMASH**SMASH* *ZIP* *ZIP* SMASH*
Mariahs' golden eyes were alight with fire and her pumped fists were tightly wrapped. She grinned fiercely and looked like she was actually enjoying herself despite her opponents' brethrens' reputation. It was clear to any spectator; the White Tigers' blade had the upper hand.
The silverettes' face however hadn't changed much since pulling her rip cord. A menacing red eyed gaze and toothy grin made her look crazed and unhinged. For someone who appeared to be losing the match, she looked unsettlingly confident.
The banished White Tiger male cheered on from the outskirts of the dome. He was like a child looking in through a shop window, unable to get inside and wishing he was. "Yes! Go Mariah. It looks like you've got this in the bag. Remember to keep on your toes though, don't let her lull you into a false sense of security." Despite his underlying scepticism, he thumped the glass hard with pride again with his meaty red gloved palms, watching every move the blading women made.
Mariah rooted for her blade as it turfed up the ground, ripping up grassy chunks and sending the odd worm flying as it clashed with her opponents'. Her eyes focused like a cat watching a bird. "Wahooo! Ok Galux. I think it's time to give her a little display of what we can really do."
Mariah fist punched as she leapt clean into the air. "Gooooo Galux! Cat slam attack!"
With Mariahs' caterwauling command, Galux scaled the wall of the crystal clear force field, reached a height and then dropped like a whistling, aeronautical lilac bomb. Wind blasted off its contoured attack ring edges, and an animalistic cat screech pierced the air as it hurtled back down to the ground like a pink bolt of lightning. Galux drop slammed perfectly on target...onto the bitchip of the black beyblade.
*BOOM*A great shock wave blew more grass outwards and more chunks of lawn and soil to go flying like blast debris. Some of which blew into the long hair of the bladerettes like green confetti.
The lawn was not green and lush anymore. Very little greenery remained as the grass was nearly shaved bald by beyblade base and axels. Only a few untouched tufts remained. What was left now was nothing more than uneven, scored, earthy terrain.
After delivering its blow, Galux zipped backwards in a zig-zag motion to Mariahs' feet and hovered, waiting for the outcome of the assault.
The black beyblade suffered a faint wobble and continued to spin in a crater of blasted earth; it had survived Mariahs' attack with energy to spare. Plump lips smirked as red eyes glowed with confidence. "You gotttta do better than that Marrrriiiiiiiaaaaahhhhh."
The spunky white Tiger hid her surprise and straightened her posture. She flicked one of her side bangs out with the back of a hand and succeeded to hide mild panting. "You're not so tough. Another attack like that and you're finished. But I can't help thinking you're holding back. Why don't you show me what you're really made of? Or is this it? I thought you'd be more of a challenge for me."
Her silver haired opponent broke into a raspy maniacal laughing. "Hahahahahah I have to say Mariah, your skills aren't half bad. Shame they won't be enough to protect you or your beloved over there."
"Oh and what do you mean by that? From what I've seen so far, you're nothing to boast about." Mariah taunted regardless. "I'm getting real tired of being toyed with. I haven't seen anything of your power. Why don't you show me? Or is this all you've got. Just all mouth and no bite. I thought this was going to be a real beybattle."
Long silver bangs flung forward as the Shadow Vale blader cackled whilst grasping her tummy. "HAHAHAHA OKAY! Since you asked. I won't hold back anymore. I just wanted to see your face as you think you're gunna win and then rip it away from you. I'm a doll like that. Hehe. But before I take your blade out. I think I'll play with you first. You ready to choke on your words about how strong the White Tigers really are? Marrriiiiaahhhh?"
The pinkette fearlessly egged on. "As if! Yeah, come on then, make me eat my words if think you're tough enough. But somehow I don't think you have the bottle."
The purple cape wears face darkened with malice. "Oooohhhhhkkkaaayyyyyyy here goes Maarrrrrriiiiaaaaahhhhhhhh. But you're not gunna like it." She threw out an arm to exact to her beyblade and yelled. "It's time for some fun Vamplash. Time ta feed my lil beaut!"
*ZIIIIIIIINNNNGGGG* The coal coloured beyblade immediately answered its masters' call by increasing its spin ten-fold, whipping away any loose grass and chunks of mud from around it in an instant. Its path to destruction was now clear as it hungrily hurtled straight for the Galux beyblade. The dinner bell had been rung and the animal spirit inside was ravenous for a feed. *ZIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGG*
Only...Galux wasn't on the Shadow Vale bitbeasts' menu.
"Galux get ready!" Yelled Mariah; priming her beyblade and lynx bitbeast for impact. She lowered her head and smirked cunningly. She had a plan. "That's it Galux, hold steady girl, we're gunna dodge at the very last second and counter with our best Cat Scratch attack. She... won't even know what hit her. I hope you're watching Ray. I'm about to serve her up on a platter for what she said about our village...and our team."
*ZIIIIIINNNGGGGG* The spinning jet dark beyblade careered towards the White Tiger and the lilac spinning top waiting before her feet.
*DONK*Ricocheted off a random rock on the ground, launching it high into the air...and like a phantom...
...it disappeared.
From outside the dome barrier, Ray watched their every move like a cat watching a goldfish bowl. His proud face dropped, his tone broke into a higher pitch and a sweat drop of worry formed. "What?! Where did her blade go? I can't see it!"
"Huh!? Where'd her beyblade go?" Mariahs' keen feline sight desperately hunted the air, turning her head, left, right, up and down. Having come up empty she scowled unimpressed and threw her hands to her hips.
"What a cheap trick. Why didn't you attack?... You scared I'll beat you?"
Then...she felt it. Her pretty yellow eyes drew to pin –pricks with the horror.
Something...sharp, small and silent...had sliced her upper arm.
"Ouccch. What was that?!"Mariah shrieked with confusion as sharply high pitched as the pain. A hot stinging sensation throbbed angrily, inches above her bare elbow. She cranked her head to the right and raised her arm high for inspection. Her feisty heart thudded in her chest with the dread, she had never been attacked directly by a beyblade before and hoped this wasn't her first. To her fright, she was greeted with a perfect straight gash around three inches long, warm blood quickly seeped out and was dribbling slowly down to her elbow. "You...you cut me!" She cried with disgust.
The astonished and angry pinkette dropped her arm to her side and protectively cupped her newly inflicted wound with her left pink gloved hand. Her face was scrunched into a scowl and shot daggers at the silver haired assailant. "Grrrrrrr. You attacked me?! Low blow! That was so uncalled for! I thought we were beyblading!" Mariahs' voice was infuriated as she fought not to lunge for her and rip out every silver hair on her head, and eyelashes too.
The disappearing beyblade had returned to its cruel masters' feet, spinning unapologetically on a hard patch of dirt... waiting for its next strike order.
"Oh but we are beyblading. This is just how I play. You want me to stop attacking you?! Make me stop with your GaLuX. Why don't you try attacking me back? Come on, its fun... hit me back! I know you want to! You wanted to see my true power and here it is. My blade is so fast you can't even see it at full speed. Come on Mariah, where's that WhItE tIgErspunk you spewed earlier? I thought we were kicking this match up a notch! Hmmmahammmhaha." The tattooed opponent mocked the words Galux and White Tiger then chortled cruelly.
Mariah continued to cradle her flesh wound and remembered a clean white handkerchief in her pocket. She growled as she retrieved it, glaring at her adversary as she did. She then wrapped it around her arm with one hand, and bit and pulled with her teeth to tighten it. Now with a clear mouth she shouted in reply. "That's not the way I do things. In a beybattle, the beyblades battle each other. You don't attack the blader. I can't believe you could do such a thing! That's disgusting behaviour and completely unacceptable. Only cowardly scum attack the blader!"
The silverette yawned then checked her fingernails for dirt nonchalantly. "Yawnnnn. You're so whiney Mariah .Moan moan moan. Borrrrrrrrrrring!" She snapped out of her bored body language and into battle mode with a sharp pointed finger at the pinkette. "Go again Vamplash!"
*ZIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGG* Went the black spinning attacker as it burst forward from the Shadow Vale bladers' feet, whirling away dirt and small stones as it did. Then...like before
...vanished out of thin air.
With the red-eyed bladers' command, Mariah knew, another strike was coming. The pinkettes' golden eyes shot open wide with alert, a sweat drop formed on the left side of her temple, adrenaline pulsed throughout her veins and her head spun as she frantically scanned the air around her for the blood thirsty beyblade. Her sharp feline eyesight however, was no match, no matter how in-tune her motion detection. She was nothing more than a sitting duck and completely vulnerable in the open garden terrain.
Mariahs' trusty pinky-lilac beyblade spun aimlessly and uselessly at her feet. It couldn't attack something its master or the Galux spirit inside couldn't see...or offer any protection.
Suddenly another slash caused Mariah to shriek in pain and surprise. "Ouuwwwwch! What are you doing? Just stop this!" She demanded.
Vamplash had taken another pound of flesh on her opposite arm. Its silent lightning speed attack had sliced through Mariahs' pale soft skin again like a hot knife through butter. The wounds were perfectly identical in appearance, length and precision, only this one was deeper and with far more bite to it. Faster flowing scarlet blood cascaded quick down to the bend of her left elbow, and dripped onto the grassy patch beside her pink trainers.
"Ahhhh stop! This isn't right! What are you doing?! What are you hoping to achieve by attacking me?!" Mariah hissed as she clamped her right hand tight around the second deeper wound. Blood soaked the fabric of her pink fingerless gloves; the excess fluid squeezed through her fingers.
Her left arm couldn't be forgotten as it stung under the handkerchief bandage with the flexing.
Unfortunately for Mariah, the Shadow Vale blader was only getting started.
The Shadow Vale blader stroked a long stray silver hair back in place and cocked her head to the side. Her voice was flat but playful. "Why am I doing this? Fun... It's fun to watch someone with so much fire in'em reduce to a squealing pig as my beyblade takes chunks off her. Your mouth isn't flapping with so much fight now Marrrrrrriiiiiiaaaaahhhhhh. And what's even better... is that it's driving your man outside absolutely crazy!"
The Shadow Vale blader cocked her long tipped fingernails over her hips and smirked, whilst the wounded Mariah turned her gaze to the male outside. Ray...was frantic and extremely distressed; sweating, angry eyed, bashing the fleshy parts of his fists on the dome, shouting words that nobody inside the structure would ever hear.
"Hah. Look at him slamming away at my shield like a fly on a window. He's gunna tucker himself out if he keeps that up. But that's okay, keep at it cutie pie... when it comes to battling you for Driger, you're gunna be half spent. Allllll part of my genius plan." Stated the silverette as she snidely turned her head to victim number 1.
"But don't worry Mariah, I'll leave you conscious enough to watch the whole shebang. You can watch as your mighty Ray-Ray takes his last breath and I skip off into the sunset with your clans' Sacred Spirit... Driger."
She burst into an excited command and pointed at Mariah for another attack. Her face was wild as her drape caught flight. "VAMPLASH... IT'S TIME TO FEED AGAIN MY BEAUTYYYYYY!"
*ZIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG*
"WAIT! STOP IT! Galux we've gotta do something!" Mariahs' heart rate quickened as dread filled her bones. Her yellow pupils shrunk to mere dots as she braced for another imminent attack. Her feline sight frantically tried again to hone in on the slicing attackers location. The black beyblade was a phantom in the wind and no matter how hard she focused, her neko-jin reflexes were no match. She felt completely vulnerable and cornered, and her opponent was leaving her no time to think.
*SLASH* *Ripping sound of fabric*
Vamplash had struck again; this time on the outside of Mariahs' right thigh, ripping through her tight pink ¾ length cropped Chinese style trousers. Scarlet ooze pumped out immediately and seeped into the surrounding fabric creating a growing red circle; which only grew faster as Mariahs' frightened heart raced peaked. The pinkette muffled a scream as she released cradling her arm to investigate her thigh. With blood stained hands, she twisted her trunk and gingerly peeled the trouser fabric away from her skin to reveal the damage. Mariah panted harder in heightened anxiety as she inspected the third slice to her body. She had never been attacked like this before but valiantly fought...and won to regain composure. Three of her appendages throbbed hot as the stinging intensified. Mariahs' inner tigeress rose from the depths as the lynx Bitbeast attached to her heart cat-wailed and hissed in the back of her mind.
Mariah Wong snapped.
The female white tiger abandoned her wounds, straightened her spine, propped her head up high, her knuckles turned white as she screwed her reddened moist fingers into balls, ready to fight back. Her top lip and one lower eye lid side twitched with fury. "Ok, now I'm mad. I'm not going to take anymore of this. Galux! It's time we take this bitch down for good. GO GALUX!" Mariah beckoned. Her feline slit pupils' paper thin as her heart-rate blew up. Her prey...Vamplash, spinning at the toe exposed booted feet of its shameless Master.
Without hesitation, the lynx Bitbeast handed down in the Minx tribe for generations, took her true form. A wild cat covered in red fur with yellow spots ringed with black decorated her like a cheetah. Other features included turquoise cuffs on her front two ankles, blue and turquoise spiky shards protruding from her shoulders and ankle cuffs. She sported a long whip like tail and tufts of white fur on her hind quarters, nape of her neck, elbows and extending out of her cheek line. Her slit cat eyes glowed turquoise and from the base of her lower eyelids protruded more turquoise spikes and to finish her majestical look...on her forehead, a yellow gemstone. Galux was a fierce feral creature that could only be tamed by someone as vivacious as Mariah from the legendary...White Tiger clan.
"Wrrrawaaaaarrrawwwwarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"Cried the stunningly decorated cat as she leapt out of Mariahs' girly spinning top and hovered above her bitchip. Her claws were drawn and caterwauled whilst whipping her tail with ferocity.
"Oh goodie, here we go! Come on Vamplash! Itssssssss dinner timmmmmme!" Squealed the crazed Shadow Vale blader with delight. Her hair panels floated up and down with gravity as she gleefully jumped with excitement.
*ZIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG* The black beyblade did as commanded and hurtled into battle for Galux. Churning up more soil and grass as it did.
The Galux beyblade glowed luminescent pink as it turbo charged with all the power its Bitbeast could muster. Like a lioness attacking a zebra, it pounced into the air at the Zamplash beyblade. If what Shadow Vale did to Kai was anything to go on, Mariahs' safety was very much in danger and Galux knew that holding back was not an option.
Trails of blood dribbled down Mariahs' arms and pools soaked her right trouser thigh. Still, she remained deathly focused and locked crosshairs onto her prey. Miss Wong was not to be messed with when poked hard enough. Her body lit up with thunder and her eyes glowed completely yellow like a demon. "My Ray taught me this one and now you're going down! VALCUN CLAW ATTACK! LET'S END THIS GALUX!"
Galux - *crackle of electricity* *ZIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG**crackle of electricity* "GRRRRRWWWWAAAWWWRRRRRRRRRR"
Electricity zapped and flickered out from Mariahs' vengeful beyblade as it thundered towards its enemy.
Vamplash - *ZIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG*
The gap closed in 2 seconds flat...
"GRRRRRWWWWAAAWWWRRRRRRRRRR" Cried the lynx spirit as she cat leapt, ready to deliver a devastating electric powered attack with her steely claws.
Only...
Galux ground to an abrupt halt.
The electricity instantly fizzled away.
Its target...the black beyblade...
...had vanished...
"What! Not again!" Cried Mariah as her heart dropped to her stomach as she back stepped and released her determined fists. Two sweat drops of panic littered her cheeks. Pure dread and sickening adrenaline hit her nerves. She didn't need a fortune teller to tell her what was coming next. She placed two hands on her head and braced with a worried face. Her bloodied fingers clamped over her clean pink hair. The last thing she needed now was a head injury. Fear was setting in and she found it difficult to hide any longer.
*SLASH* *Ripping sound of fabric*
"AAAOOOHHHHHCCCHHHHHAAAAAAA!"Mariah yelped with wide eyes and wry lips as the front of her shins were slashed open in a millisecond flat. She immediately bucked into a crouched position and clamped her hands across the cuts to put pressure on them. The familiar hot pain felt on her arms and right thigh, had been delivered to both of her shins in one wicked blow. Mariah's terrified eyes dilated to pin pricks, she didn't know what to do with herself as she felt the stinging pain of two new wounds beg for attention...and the knowledge that more attacks would follow. She extended one leg out straight to inspect the damage. The cut...was down to the bone. There was no doubt in her mind; she was going to need stitches for these and probably for her thigh too. Blood cascaded down her legs from the three injuries and soaked large patches of fabric to red. She was being shredded, limb by limb...and was running out of limbs. She panted heavily in distress and angst. Her pretty eyes were wide with anxiety as sweat soaked into her fringe. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively to substitute a hug. Hope was draining out of her quicker than the blood. "I don't know what to do. Her blade is so fast, I can't even see it. Galux and I can't attack what we can't see."
*DONK*
Mariahs' left ear twitched and sharply turned her head to the direction of the ominous sound, to where Ray was standing watch on the other side of the barrier.
*DONK*Driger head butted the glass barrier with all the strength in his furred mystical body.
The female beyblader duo were so tied up in their battle that they failed to notice the Legendary White Tiger Bitbeast had been called upon; and Ray was pressing him hard. Driger tackled the force field with his great cat skull. Over...and... over. Crunching and smacking at the barrier surface desperately to rescue his guardians' love, after all Driger had grown up with Mariah as much as Ray had and the green striped spirit loved her all the same. Drigers' deep tiger growls vibrated the glassy structure as Ray yelled orders from behind him in a leg-parted battle stance. The Ex Bladebreakers' usually handsome and relaxed face was twisted into a toothy snarl; his white fangs glinted on display. Rays' neko-jin pupils were razor thin and his chest heaved with a toxic mix of rage and fear as he panted. His red sash and hair braid blew in a light breeze, a wind only those outside the domes' confinement could feel.
"RWWWWWRRARRRRWWWRRRR"
*DONK*Driger tiger roared before reversing up, ready to repeat another tackle again.
The caped intruder jumped up and down twice whilst clapping her tattooed hands with glee. Her silver hair flapped up and down and then back to rest on her shoulders, and clamped her hands together in admiration. Her red eyes sparkled like diamonds. "DRIGER, OH MY OH MY! DRIGER! WHAT A GORGEOUS FLUFFY WUFFY THING YOU ARE! IM SO GLAD TO FINALLLLLLLLY... AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF TRAINING TO BE YOUR RIGHTFUL GUARDIAN... I'VE FINALLY LAID EYES ON YOU!"
*DONK*Driger head butted again, completely ignorant of the gushing Shadow Vale blader eyeing him up like a kitten in a pet store window.
Like Jekyll and Hyde, the purple draped fanatic calmed in an instant. Her tone became serious and mocking. "I can't wait to save you from these weakling WhItE tIgErS and put you to some reaalllllllll good use! DRIGER... ME AND YOU ARE GOING TO RULE THE WORLD! Destiny begs it after all! You just wait for me okay, just a little longer. Your new master has got something to do first." Taking out Mariah regained her focus as she proudly smirked over at her sliced up and shaken captive.
*DONK*Driger head butted with greater force and let out a furious obstinate roar. "RWWWWWRRARRRRWWWRRRR."
"Ray." Mariah tenderly whispered as she felt a fire in her belly arise and her pupils sharpen up. Seeing her livid lover gave her the mental boost she needed. Fabric of her trouser leg pulled at the damp blood on her thigh as she shakily rose to her feet and her slashed limbs screamed with their sharp soreness and bruised muscle beneath. She drew in and exhaled a deep calming breath through her nose as she momentarily closed her eyes to refocus her mind, just like Master Tao taught her back at the village. Then...her yellow cat orbs shot open, focused and ready to RIP.
*DONK*Driger continued his battery.
"PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I'm sorry Mariah I can't help but laugh at how pathetic your boyfriend is. Sure, he's cute but such a fool! He really thinks he can break my shield?! PAHAHAHAHAHHAA. How sad and dEsPeRaTe! Pahahahahaha. The Shadow Vale blader heckled crazily clutching her belly and hair lolling forward as she shook with hilarity.
*DONK*"RWWWWWRRARRRRWWWRRRR."
Ray yelled with husky breathy desperacy. "KEEP GOIN DRIGER! WE HAVE TO BREAK THROUGH THIS BARRIER. YEAH WE COULDNT BREAK THROUGH BLAKES SHEILD BUT MAYBE THIS GIRLS BARRIER ISNT AS STRONG. WE'VE GOTTA KEEP TRYIN'! MARIAH NEEDS US TO BREAK THIS THING!"
Mariahs' tone was dark and warning as she glared seriously at the red-eyed joker. "You have no idea... of what my Ray's capable of. "He will break through your barrier. Just you wait. But for now, you need to forget about him. Galux and I have one more trick up our sleeve and I think you should see it. But as were playing a game of show and tell, how about you show me your Bitbeast. I know that's what you've been using to attack me. It's the only explanation. No beyblade can spin that fast on a rip launch alone. Your Bitbeast powers your beyblades' high speed attacks. Huh? Am I right?"
Mariahs' head tucked down and her eyes glowered. "You show me your Bitbeast you nasty piece of work and my Galux will have a target she can finally see and catch. And then for you...it'll all be over."
The silverette ceased all joking around as her stance abruptly straightened and her flat hair panels rested calm on her shoulders once again. Her face dropped and coldly glared with ruby red eyes at her blood stained opponent. Her tone was snide but squeaky. "Okay Marrriiiiiiiaaahhhhhhhh! Okay, one more shot for you!" She threw one hand in the air and ordered aloud with a witches cackle. "HEHEHEHEHE VAMPLASH! Reveal yourself!"
A flash of toxic green light burst upwards from her bitchip like a haunting light display; and a giant vampiric winged-beast engulfed the air. A bat spirit with the typical anatomy of the flying mammal had an ebony furred body with black, stretchy, shiny wings that looked like they were made out of latex. Two giant cone shaped ears twitched above its head; two tiny beady soulless eyes between the ears and below them were two tiny slit openings for a nostrils. The most frightening of its features was a wide closed mouth and two silver fangs like sabre-tooths protruded downwards from under its top lip. The tips of its ears were clasped in silver armour and curved metal claws acted as fingers at the tips of the wings. A Bitbeast, built to be light weight for speed but with enough weaponry to be a killer on the fly.
Mariah smirked for the first time in forever as she put the trauma of her injuries to the back of her mind, and focused on taking the Shadow Vale blader out, once and for all. She was getting tired from the blood loss and time was running out for her energy reserves. "That's your bitbeast? Well I'm not impressed. There's your target Galux. Go get it! CAT SCRATCH ATTACK!" Yelled Mariah with an outreached blood-stained gloved hand, ordering her beyblade to advance with everything she had left.
Galux caterwauled in reply as she launched herself out of her bitchip in a pink florescent flash with her spine arching up like a pissed off cat. "Wrrraarrawrrrrwrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr." Her claws were out and ready to cat spirit raced alongside her beyblade as its metal axel tore up whatever lawn remained and thundered full tilt at the Vamplash blade like a heat seeking missile.
The tattooed blader beamed and then broke into more maniacal laughter. "OHHHH MARIAH! THAT MOUTH OF YOURS DOESNT KNOW WHEN TO SHUT UP DOES IT?! Oh well, it's all over now anyway. VAMPLASH! A THOUSAND ARROWS NOW!" The silverette ordered with blood lust eyes as she folded her arms with confidence and smirked evilly. "Oh well. It was fun beyblading with you while it lasted."
*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE* Vamplash emitted a shrill cry of agreement as it flapped its shiny membranous wings a beat faster. The giant bat opened its mouth, drew energy from the dark pits of space and summoned it into a shiny silver sphere of energy between its jaws. The shimmering ball then separated into needles and then morphed further into arrows like black magic. Not too dissimilar to how Blakes' Killertile produced daggers that shot down and impaled Dranzer days ago.
Mariahs' jaw dropped as she held onto a deep gasp and stopped breathing. It was too late to recall her attack. Galux was already mid-leap beneath the mass of devastating arsenal and in perfect firing line. She failed to anticipate a long range attack and it would cost her dearly.
Vamplash screeched as it expelled the arrows at high speed from the gap between its jaws. "SCCCCCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Galux leapt directly into the spray of arrows. It all happened so fast...but for Mariah, it was an agonising slow motion nightmare. She watched with parted lips and a breaking heart as her beloved Galux was impaled mid-jump. There was nothing she or Galux could have done to dodge it and like a shot deer, the great lynx spirit fell to the ground with a giant thud. As many as 20 silver arrows protruded from her spotty furred feline body, pierced her ears and imbedded at different angles in her turquoise-green armour plating, bleeding all over the churned muddy battlefield like a wounded war animal. The glowing pink cat was a sorry sight as she lay pinned on her side, scrambling with paws and clawing away at the dirt, struggling to right herself. The spotty Lynx beast cried out to her guardian as she arched her short neck, looking to the pinkette for comfort and caterwauled in agony.
Galux- "GRAWAARRRRRR GRRAWWRRRRRRRR GRRAWWWRRRRRRR."
Mariah was speechless as her jaws clenched shut and two bulbous tears rolled down her pale round cheeks as she fought with her slashed trembling legs not to buckle. Her body was nearing its limit and her emotions were breaking with it. "Galux...no." She whimpered.
Finally after moments of struggling, the feline spirit could take no more. She dissolved into an airborne stream of glittery pink fairy dust and wisped back to her stammering beyblade with one last sorrowful cat cry. "GRRaaawwwwrrrrrrrrrrr."
Mariah gasped and cried. "Huhhhhhhh. No! Galux! This can't be happening!"
The silverettes' sharp tongue was sarcastic and snide as ever as she smirked with a sharp upturned nose and crazed bulbous eyes."Oh Mariah! Your precious Galux...it lost. How sad. I guess it's time to finish your beyblade off now...AND YOU!
Her voice turned sickly sweet as she fluttered long lashes flirtatiously at the agonizing White Tiger man. "I hope you're watching Ray...don't blink. Okayyyyyy?!" Her tone viciously switched like a harpies' "VAMPLASH! You know what to do!"
The black beyblade did as ordered without hesitation or a shred of mercy. The devilish Vamplash sped up its wicked rotation in a second flat with a shrill metallic *ZIIIIIIIIINNNNGGG* sound and zipped like a black thunderbolt at Galux. The stark coloured blade collided with such devastating force that Galux shattered on impact, into hundreds of lilac and silver smithereens. The beyblade shrapnel comprising of attack ring, defence ring, base, axel, weight disk and any ball bearings fired backwards at bullet speed like the back blow of a bomb blast. The trajectory of the metal and plastic shards was perfectly orchestrated to cruelly strike the blader from once it came.
By some miracle Galuxs' bitchip survived and fell discarded, flat, and silent and face up in the mud.
"MARIAH! NOOOO! MARIAH!" *Punch* *Punch* Cried Ray as his bruising gloved fists clubbed the see-through wall with rage and despair , with Driger, still growling and head butting the dome barrier at his side. The male White Tiger could do nothing but watch in slow motion as his love was peppered with the broken shards of her own beloved beyblade. The same beyblade she had bladed with for years and hardly ever upgraded because of how attached she was to its build, and hand-me down parts from her parents and other villagers. Galux was a one of a kind for sure, almost a vintage beyblade, difficult to replicate due to the rarity of the parts much to Kennys' past fascination.
There was nowhere for Mariah to run for cover, she was completely unprotected in a clearing with no bushes close by and so, did the only thing she could and instinctively raised her arms in just enough time to shield most of her face. Her torso, flanks and thighs however, were cut to ribbons. A cut on her cheek drooled crimson where shrapnel shot past through a gap in her girlish fingers. The backs of her hands were bloody, her wrists, her bare forearms all striped with growing streaks of blood. The fabric of her pink clothed torso was ripped apart with shrapnel holes, with untold damage to her soft flesh beneath.
*Punch* *Punch* "MARIAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! MAAARRRIIIIAHHHHHHH!" Continued Ray, his husky voice broke with desperacy and stress as he belted out her name over and over so hard his already husky voice grew raspier with each cry. He frantically pummelled the wall with such vigour that shock waves shot from his hand bones up into his forearms, rattling his joints and marrow. If the distressed White Tiger smashed any harder, he was at serious risk of breaking his own wrists.
*Punch* *Punch**Punch* *Punch**Punch* *Punch**Punch* *Punch**Punch* *Punch*
Driger panted like a hot cat beside his distressed master, sporting red scuff marks in multiple spots on his titan tiger head, his whiskers were frazzled and snapped short, and the golden piece of armour above his eyes suffered a hairline crack from his relentless tackling of the barrier wall. The great tiger took a series of deep breaths and then continued his assault. Ray hadn't given the order to stop and the faithful Tiger spirit needed no reminding of who needed rescuing. His Masters' love and Galux, the lynx spirit he had roamed the earth with before ever knowing the confines of a bitchip.
Drigers' white beyblade fared just as bad with several chunks missing from his white attack ring, the tiny broken off fragments littered nearby. Jagged Driger continued hammering at the glass without a break in speed, ferocity or tactic. Like a bird bashing into a window pane, over and over, and over, persistent to break through.
Devastatingly, the glass dome barrier suffered barely a scratch. Still, Ray couldn't stop and his panicking mind made him blind to how ineffective his attacks. "MARIAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! MAAARRRIIIIAHHHHHHH!" He continued with sweat cascading down his forehead, sticking his bangs to the side of his face.
*Punch* *Punch**Punch* *Punch*
"DRIGER WEVE GOT TO PRESS HARDER. YOU KNOW WHAT SHADOW VALE DID TO KAI. THEY ARENT PLAYING AROUND DRIGER! MARIAH!" A defiant tone took over Rays' tone as he changed tactic and pressed away from the wall and back-stepped away. "DONT WORRY I'LL GET YOU OUT! I PROMISE MARIAH! JUST HOLD ON!" Ray twirled on his heels to look behind him. His eye line darted around the empty garden behind. His face fought not to cry as his bottom lip quivered and yelled as loud as his tired chest would allow. "HELP! I NEED HELP! TYSON! MAX! KAI! JOSEF! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY?! HELP! I... NEED... HELP!... I don't know what to do." The latter of his sentence trailed off into a whimper as lonely seconds pass.
He felt like the world was ending as no soul came to his aid. The garden and most of the hospital was empty, just as Shadow Vale had planned.
With a whip of his hair braid, Ray's attention returned to his wounded girlfriend in the looking glass. He pressed his bruised and pained gloved hands against the cool glass. "Huhhhhhhhhh." He gasped as his heart broke in two. Mariah was barely standing up as her pink and white clothes seeped into red and blood streamed in thin lines down bare skin, the body he had loved since a young thing. The body he had seen grow from a young 4 year old that lived in the hut next door, to a young beautiful, curvy woman and hopefully, if he ever got round to asking...his future wife.
"Our attacks aren't working Driger." Ray whimpered as he dropped his heavy bruised hands to his side, his tremoring arms fell bolt straight to the floor as his fists began to uncurl. He couldn't look anymore, his face turned to the ground." His voice was solemn, his eyes in pin pricks and his lips straight with fright, he turned his head to peer into the eyes of his panting and angry bitbeast. "Mariah is in a real bad way. I don't...I don't know what to do. Driger... I ...I don't know what to do."
Driger looked down to the floor and grumbled a low and sad rumble from his tiger throat. They were fighting a losing battle. The force field was not breaking no matter how hard they tried, the minute scratch marks on the dome surface could testify to that. Rays' mind raced behind thin pupil panicked eyes. There had to be something he could do. Mariah's safety was on the line and the male was growing desperate.
Mariahs' fearful tiny yellow irises and pin-prick wide pupil vibrated on the whites of her eyes. The hot sore slash marks were numerous and overwhelming, her body didn't know how to cope. Trembling, she dropped her protective pose, bringing her shaking hands down from her face and turning to inspect the backs of them. Her eyes shook further in terror. One had a slash mark; the other had been impaled by a piece of thin metal with the tip protruding from her skin like a thorn, probably a chunk of her own weight disk. The female White Tiger screwed her face up and hissed as she pulled out the shard and discarded it to the floor. Her heart beat fast as she fought with dizziness not to fall over with the physical and mental shock, and her ordeal was far from over. The pinkette sipped in a quick breath and proceeded to check the rest of her body; and felt instantly queasy with the discovery of how shredded she was. She had been put through the wringer. Mariah stood cold, streaked in blood and speechless as her knees threatened to buckle. She bravely held herself together as she clamped a red, with fresh and dry blooded hand over a gap in her top where her bra peeped on show.
Seconds pass as she shivered cold with the blood loss and soon succumbed to her knees in defeat; despite the deep open lacerations on her shins pressing into the dirt. Tears of embarrassment and disgust fought their way to the surface as the last of her body's adrenaline circulated. Her teeth gritted as she fought not to whimper and wrapped her jittery arms around herself for a tiny degree of comfort and warmth.
Defeated, she turned her heavy head to Ray on the outside of the glass. "Ray...I'm sorry."
Two sets of yellow cat-like eyes gazes immediately locked. Mariah, terrified and teary, met with her lovers' panicked furious ones.
Ray - "MARIAHHHH!"
The silverette held out her hand to accept Vamplashs' return to her open palm. With one swift movement, her beyblade was tucked away into a pocket beneath her cloak. Once that was done, she turned her sights to Mariah for the last time. Her open toed black boots stomped the disturbed earth with pride as she made her way closer to her broken and bleeding victim.
"HAHAHAH. Oh look Mariah, your Galux did chop something up today...it was you. Look at the state of you. Oh hunni I can see your bra. Hahhahahah. Well it was fun playing with you. I guess it's time for me and Ray-Ray to get our freak on now and for Driger to come home with me." She sneered as she neared closer to Mariahs' crippled kneeling form.
The sarcastic assassin propped a hand to cup around her ear whilst taking another power satisfied stride. "Oh what's that? Got nothing to say? Mouthy Mariah...speechless at last. For someone with a big mouth you sure don't have the skills to back it up and I bet your man is the same. All trousers and no balls. Maybe I'll cop a feel and see for myself. You White Tigers with your happy little village in the hills, so free and happy and yet I was completely right. You are completely talentless. Galux was nothing impressive but Driger out there... I bet he's something. Now that Drigers' guardian is all spent of energy, taking him will be like taking candy from a baby. Ohhhh I just can't wait to take Driger home. My Lord and Master Rochimaru will be so happy with me!...Welp...See ya Mariah! It was a BLAST!" Exclaimed the Shadow Vale blader as she turned a 45 degree direction towards the true target of her mission.
Mariah murmured angrily, her face hidden in the darkness of her heavy fringe. Mariahs' crimson coloured hands were still wrapped around her trembling shoulders. "You'll never get Driger. And don't you... lay a hand on my Ray."
The silverettes open toed boots stopped abruptly in the dry churned mud, her cape swung forward and still again with the immediate cease of travel. Her mad red eyes were wild with disbelief as her head cranked round like a stiff vampire. Her words were gruff and mad. "Say what?! Really? You look like that, all cut up and you're still mouthing off? Why don't you do yourself a favour and be quiet now Mariah. Sit back and watch as I mess up your boyfriend, I'm sorry, Ray-Ray...for his Bitbeast."
Having verbally put Mariah back down, the tattooed blader re-continued her strides and after five or so more, stopped opposite Ray in a clearing with the glass still separating them of course. She joyfully eyed his panting form up and down then sassily winked with an animated face, enjoying every inch of what she saw. Ray was attractive, heaving and gritting his teeth with fear, but even sexier to her... was the Driger Bitbeast at his side, the spirit she had been raised to believe was her birth right to wield.
Ray was immediately disgusted with her flirting gesture and was riled furious in an instant as his eye slits contracted tighter, his nose scrunched as he bared sharp fangs. His body raged within as his hands balled up; his hackles raised high and mentally prepared for a fight to the death if necessary. If this next battle was anything like Kai faced, his death was a sure possibility. But his mortality was far from the doting boyfriends' mind, all Ray could focus on was what was coming next; and getting to Mariah...whatever it took.
With a deep and rumbling tiger growl, Driger fizzled back to his bitchip like luminescent green stardust in preparation for the start of a new and defining beybattle. The Driger blade gently twirled beside Rays' black and white Chinese shoes momentarily before being quickly scooped up from above and elevated to golden eyes for a seconds' pre-battle inspection. Rays' heaving angry chest held in a sharp gasp as he laid eyes on Drigers' jagged and chipped attack ring. In an official setting, his beyblade would be instantly disqualified; the attack ring had sustained too much damage and horrendously not fit for purpose. The desperate hammering at a surface stronger than itself had taken its toll in chunks leaving Driger severely disadvantaged for combat. Despite the impediment, Ray had no other choice but to thread through his rip cord and load his broken Driger into his launcher.
The White Tiger blader took a wide legged battle stance with his aching arms out straight; his sweaty fingers wrapped tight around his black launcher grip and white ripcord. Adrenaline surged, nervous sweat drops trickled down to the edge of his jaw line and crosshairs locked onto his silver-haired target, on the other side of the glass.
"Driger, when she brings down her shield its gunna be game on. We've gotta be ready for anything. We know she uses body shots now and we've dealt with this kinda thing before haven't we. We've just gotta take her out fast and without mercy. She's gunna pay for what she did to Mariah. She's gunna pay big time you hear me Driger. We're gunna throw everything we got at her... I just hope my blade holds out until then."
The silvertettes' tattoos began to tingle as the familiar surge of power, the magic used to erect or dismantle her shield ignited her blood as a glowing green light pushed through the black ink.
"AND NOW DRIGER...YOU'RE GUNNA BE ALL MINE BEFORE LONNNNNNNNNNG! HEHEHEHEHE!" The ruby eyed blader cackled. Her face alight with over confidence and glee as the excess material of her purple cape draping around her shoulders fell behind, as her arms began to rise. The ritual to magically dismantle her glass dome bubble was beginning to cast.
Until...
"Ehh? WHAT?!" She shrieked in repugnance as a pink, white and red figure caught the corner of her eye. Her arms instantly ceased elevating, freezing in the air as the luminescent jade glow instantly dulled, returning her skin back to tanned and black banded. The force-field... remained entirely intact.
The Shadow Vale blader dropped her arms like dead weights, leaving them to hang floppily at her sides as her spine curved her posture and her hair panels to dangle forward with disbelief; her head creaked to the left with bulbous eyes. Her tone was warning and unamused. "You can't be serious Mariah?!"
For behind the Shadow Vale blader, Mariah Wong had risen to her feet by the pure strength of will-power and feist. She stood with both hands raised in fists ready to punch; one was extended whilst the other was held back near her shrapnel rained torso in a bid to keep the fabric closed surrounding her exposed area of bra. A stride apart, her ripped bare shins stung as they held tentatively strong, whilst her slashed thigh muscles flexed and screamed in discomfort to keep her upright. Wet crimson from her arm slash wounds trickled like rivers down to her elbows and like the cut on her cheek, dripped to the brown earth around her and onto her red speckled pink trainers which anchored flat to the beyblade shaven grass. The pinkette stood shakily but brave in a classic Kung Fu fight stance...much to The Shadow Vale bladers disgust and Rays' horror.
Mariahs' sentences were defiant but stammering as she fought with gravity to stand and muddle through the pain. "Don't you... call him Ray-Ray! And if you think... I'm just gunna stand here... and let you hurt him, you... have another thought coming... I would die for Ray, you understand."
A nauseating sinking feeling engulfed Galuxs' guardian as she shot a worried glance to a wide eyed, jaw dropped Ray behind the glass and sniggering silverette. "I'm sorry Ray. I know you aren't going to approve of this but it's the only way. I just need to buy you and Driger some time. I saw your face as you picked up Driger just now. Your beyblade is trashed from trying to get to me I bet. I can't risk you battling her and losing with your blade the way it is. You and Driger are too important. We can't let them steal Driger away from our clan and I won't let her kill you to get him. Tyson and the others must be around somewhere. Reinforcements are on the way, I can feel it. I'm gunna stall her for us Ray. Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."
Rays' battle stance slumped as his body dropped from fight mode terrified. He was a poor lip reader but knew from the way the purple draped assailant behaved after Mariah spoke...something bad was going to happen. His heart pumped with dread and his blood ran cold as his feline senses went mad like a cat trapped in a small box. He could only watch what happened next.
A plump upper lip twitched with malice as her nasty streak boiled to the surface again. The Shadow Vale blader was getting agitated and harped in an angry shrill. "I'm getting real bored of you Mariah. You really don't know when to shut up and lay down do you?! You would die for Ray? Okay, let's see how long you stick to that promise?!"
Silver hair relaxed flat to her shoulders as she straightened, she then twisted her head to face the petrified male. Red eyes locked with feline yellow until she lowered her gaze to gleam down at the Driger beyblade clutched in Rays' red fingerless gloved hand. She smirked devilishly and cooed to it. "Driger, sweetie you're just gunna have to wait a little bit longer. I have to take care of this irritating piece of trash named MArIaH and then I'll be right back my lovely."
Rays' heart plummeted into his groin and his breath held painfully tight in his lungs as he watched the silverettes' face switch like the Jekyll and Hyde monster she was. A dark shadow took over her soul as she snapped into a fast paced predatory stomp, with clenched fists and a lowered head towards the quivering, barely able to stand Mariah who was in no fit state to defend herself. Her purple cape became animated in the speed behind as white hot aggression built rapidly in her tissues, readying to deliver a painful demonstration of how lethal she was. Her beyblade had destroyed Galux; and now thanks to her lip, Mariah herself was going to suffer the same.
Rays' panic kicked-up ten-fold as he recognised the body language of someone about to physically attack. He begged whilst pounding the glass once again. "NO! LEAVE HER ALONE! COME BACK AND BATTLE ME! IT'S ME YOU WANT! MARIAH! MARIAH!"
The blood loss, Vamplashs' vicious attacks to her body, stress of her beybattle and the telepathic experience of feeling everything Galux suffered too during the match, had drained nearly all of the energy reserves Mariah had left. She used the last 1% of her Qi(Chi) to tremble to her feet, shake off the dry mud and adopt her Kung Fu stance.
Poor, wounded Mariah didn't stand a chance. Before the female martial artist could react, the healthy and assassin-like blader set upon her violently and without a shred of honour or humanity.
The ninja fast aggressor dashed in close, effortlessly dodging a slow and poorly launched punch from Mariahs' clubbed fist and delivered a shattering one of her own to the weakening girls' right cheek, knocking her off balance and slamming Mariah to the dirt like a felled tree.
The pinkette instantly shrieked aloud in pain as the back of her head and spine bounced and whiplashed on the hard turfed-up terrain. Her ears rung and her vision went temporality spotty as she choked and spluttered for breath.
Mariah wasn't given a second to rest as the Shadow Vale blader wickedly descended in full force upon her, pinning her into submission from which there was no escape. The red eyed assailant jumped into the air and landed; her black open toed boots thudded close either side of her victim's soft tummy. She bent her knees and let gravity do the rest as her full weight slammed upon Mariahs' already pained midriff. Black clothed thighs pincered tight around the side of her torso whilst the enemies'' bare knees dug up against the soft roundness of her breasts, causing them to slightly bulge against the holes of her torn bloodied Chinese style tunic, and her red stained white bra to reveal itself again through a large gash in the fabric. The silverettes' sheer weight and sharpness of her landing knocked all wind out of the pinkettes' lungs, causing her to gasp and writhe in discomfort as skinny butt cheeks jabbed onto her rib cage.
*Cough* *Gasp* "GET" *Cry of discomfort* "OFF OF" *Shriek of pain* ME!" *Gasp* *Cough*
Shadow Vale blader rode Mariah like a bucking bronco as she squirmed and writhed frantically. The weight of her attacker made breathing difficult causing her to whimper in gasps, trying to draw in a full lung. All the while she hopelessly flailed her arms with uncoordinated frenzied punches; of which were easily parried away by like flies by tattooed arms.
*Cough* *Gasp* Mariah struggled to calm her panic and draw breath as the red-eyed blader continued to crushed her chest. *Cough* *Cough**Gasp*
"Hhahahahahah. I bet you regret opening your big trap now huh? Awwww can't breathe? How do you like this Mariah?! Let's see you try to mouth off to me now!" The inked villain shot her hands around Mariahs' throat, her fingers interlocked and she began to squeeze. Her face grew mad with evil glee as her eyes twinkled, begging to witness more suffering.
Mariahs' slashed and ripped arms instantly stopped flailing to instinctually grasp her hands around the silverettes, trying urgently but in vain to pull them apart by clawing at her hands flesh with pink-painted nails. Her bloodied but pretty face started to swell with blood shot eyes as her complexion soon turned a ruby shade of pink. Her legs thrashed out furiously, kicking up plumes of brown dust as she desperately fought for air...and her life.
Ray could only stand and watch, panting and gasping for breaths of his own as Mariah fought for hers. There was nothing Ray could do other than punch the barrier harder with fruitless results. Hot tears ripped down his face as the Shadow Vale assailant strangled his team mate and love.
*Punch*
"MARIAH! NO MARIAH!"
*Punch*
*Gasp* "JUST"
*Punch*
"LEAVE HER"
*Punch* *Gasp*
"ALONE!"
Ray was on the cusp of a panic attack as his breath drew laboured and rasping, his back and face were sweat laden and his chest so tight he thought his heart could burst. But he cared not for how he felt, just that Mariah needed help and he couldn't provide it. Crippling fear of the prospect of losing Mariah, the love of his life and sister of one of his closest friends, pushed him to the edge of insanity.
Intense feelings of helplessness overwhelmed him as distress rocked his taught, quaking body until his legs could no longer stand. Like in slow motion, he dropped harshly to his knees. His golden and black dot pupil eyes vibrated in panic as he clenched his teeth. More tears trickled in the paths of the tears before them and dripped into his lap. A growl emanated from his trusty beyblade that remained still tightly gripped in his hand, the edges of its chipped attack ring poked sharply into his palms.
Ray spoke telepathically to the only being who could offer some form of support.
"Driger.*sniffle* I don't know what to do. *sniffle* Mariah...if I don't do something now... she's going to get killed. *sniffle* I've already watched another friend die and sniffle*I...I can't do it again. I have to stop her Driger...and it's going to mean giving her what she wants...But... I don't... know... if I can...do it."
The female White Tigers' last acts were hard fought with every last molecule of her defiant strength. Her neck muscles strained trying to turn her head to view Ray, whom was crumpled on his knees in despair on the other side of the glass wall. As she pulled ligament and neck bone to tip her head to the side, steams of tears from the pressure in her skull and frightened emotion cascaded over the bridge of her nose and drip one after the other onto the dry earth. Her lover was heaving, his hands trembling as he held Driger in his fingers up to his face, tears ripping down his white-with-fear cheeks, his eyes crazed with despair and his lips parted in clear mental agony.
"Ray...I can't...fight her off. I bit off more than I could chew with this one Ray. I did what I could to keep her from you but now you have to run. You can't let her take Driger... and you have to live. Please, I wish you... would just go...Just go."
Mariah released a hand from trying to pry the cruel captors grip and held it out towards Ray as if she was trying to reach to his person. Her red stained fingers twitched and stretched in the air as she begged to take his hand one more ' face flushed red as her blood pressure sky rocketed and chest bucked from sobs she couldn't exhale. Before long, her sharp brain grew fuzzy and eyesight blurred.
The Shadow Vale blader sneered at the lovers' gesture then spat with venom in a crazed squeaky voice. "Awwwww you two really are little love birds. That's a shame for you. Well... it's been fun Mariah but I'm afraid I'm running out of time. I have a mission you know. Driger and I are meant to be and I won't let the likes of some jumped up little princess get in my way. You were fun to beat and I was going to let you live... but your mouth just pissed me off. That White Tiger spunk you spewed earlier hasn't got much credence now does it? Oh well It won't be long until you depart this world and not much longer until Ray-Ray joins you. Now just hold tight Mariah." The purple cloaked assassin said as she squeezed her fingers tighter around the pinkettes windpipe and having a hard job of it as Mariah fought and wriggled in her grasp. "I... can... see you're starting... to black out... already, it won't be long nowwwww."
"Raayyyyyyyyyyyy..." Mariahs' lips began to turn a ghostly shade of cyan as her last thoughts flickered into black...
Until...
Mariahs' hand fell flat and lifeless to the mud.
"MARIAH! NO!" Ray watched as Mariahs' body went limp and immediately shot to his feet. He resumed his pointless battery on the glass, not to break it but desperate to grasp the silverettes' attention.
I'll GIVE YOU DRIGERRRRR! I'll GIVE YOU DRIGERRRRRRRRRR! He repeated loudly over and over with a razor sore throat. He punched the glass harder than he ever had before as his close to fracturing wrists screamed for him to stop. His begs were frantic and berserk. "I'll give you Driger, just... let Mariah go. I'll give you Driger! I'll give you ...Driger. I'll give you Driger! Take my life... Whatever it takes. Just...let her go!"
The shadow Vale blader instantly froze with astonishment, her fingers instantly relaxed from their constricting bind around Mariahs' soft throat. Her spiritual bond with Vamplash, the bat Bitbeast with ultrasonic hearing afforded her the same audible gift. She had heard every word of Ray's offer and cranked her head sharply to meet his desperate stare.
"Say again?" She released Mariahs' neck only to cup one hand playfully around her ear and smile maniacally. Her face and tone were alight with excitement. "What was that Ray?! What did you say handsome?" She had to hear his sugar coated words again.
Ray slowly raised an aching arm with his hot moist fingers clutched around the rims of his chipped attack ring; and solemnly pressed Drigers' beyblade against the glass wall with his bitchip facing the dome interior. His soul looked like it had died and his heart along with it.
His shoulders dropped as the gravity of the trade weighed on body and conscience. His face twitched with anguish as he yelled his offer again. "I'LL...GIVE YOU...DRIGER!" *Heaving breath* "Just stop hurting her... and let her go." He sniffed back tears as he silently begged for her to say yes with straight lips and seriously focused orbs.
A handful of seconds ticked by as the vile assailant analysed him for any disingenuousness. Having found none, she then toothily smiled with animation and excitement. She leered downwards at the barely breathing Mariah, of whom she still perched on. Mariah had passed out due to lack of oxygen and physical exhaustion, but was still alive.
"You're lucky Mariahhhhhhhh...verrrrrrrrrrrrrrryy lucky. Your boyfriend just saved your life. I hope you're grateful to him. He's gunna give me Driger in exchange for you. I'd say he got the bum end of the bargain but hey ho. I get what I want and I can go home without getting my hands anymore dirty. Ohh and one more thing."
The sadistic beyblader draped in purple dove a hand into a hidden pocket in her cloak and pulled out a short silver knife with a serrated edge. She rolled herself forward onto the balls of her feet and effortlessly straightened her legs. She stepped over Mariahs' unconscious vulnerable form and knelt down by her head. The Shadow Vale blader wasn't through with her tirade of cruelty.
Rays' heart did back flips as the shiny weapon glinted in the daylight. "WAIT WAIT! WE HAD A DEAL!" He yelled with constricted pupils whilst thrusting himself up against the see-through barrier in alarm.
With the several pound woman now lifted off, Mariahs' chest instantly inflated properly for the first time in minutes and her lungs took a giant breath followed by many shallow ones. She lay still, with one arm crooked by her head and the other still in its outreached position pointing to Rays' direction. Her legs flat straight and her unconscious head slightly rolled to her right, her pink pony tail lay limp on the dirt.
"Calm down Ray-Ray. Don't worry, I'll honour our deal. We agreed after all. Driger...for Mariah." She said in a softly and in a matter of fact tone as she hacked off the pinkettes' 14" long pony tail. The rest of Mariahs' hair flopped free, now unrestrained without the ribbon that usually kept it tied.
The Shadow Vale blader wasted no more time as she hurried back to the clearing opposite Ray. She raised her tattooed arms as if to catch rain in her palms. The green glow illuminated the atmosphere; and just like Blakes' shield, the impenetrable walls dissipated like crystal dust in no time flat. The green glitter fizzled in to nothing and the remainder blew away with the floral summer breeze. The shield separating the White Tigers was finally...no more.
"Mariah!" Ray yelled as his legs kicked into action. He leapt into a run as his heart ached in concern for his fallen team mate and love. Urgency electrifying his bones to aid her.
"Errrrrrm not so fast Mister!" The fraught with worry White Tigers' path was blocked in seconds as the sadistically cheery attacker jumped into his path. She waved a playful finger and tapped a foot up and down. Her tone was joyous but with a dangerous undertone.
"Remember our deal Ray? You get to have Mariah back..." She held out the limp rose coloured ponytail, the strands held together in a thick bunch with Mariahs' own favourite lilac ribbon still tied around it. The ends of the pink tresses dangled off both edges of her hand due to its length, of which flowed back and forth with a gentle breeze; the object representing Mariah.
"...And you hand over Driger. Just give me the whole blade. I'll extract him when I get home." She winked playfully as if their transaction was something petty like trading cards.
Rays' top lip twitched and fought not to snarl. Driger growled through to Rays' bones as he too felt the undying need to get to Mariah. Aided by his tall height, the neko-jins' eye-line glanced over the silverettes' shoulder to his unconscious maiden of White Tiger village. He froze as he wrestled with what to do next.
Ray - "Mariah needs help. I don't really know how hurt she is. I can see her chest rise, so she's breathing at least."
The red- orbed intruder raised a sharp finger whilst the other hand tossed Mariahs' pony tail up and down in the air like a toy. Her tone was abrasive and not quite so flirty anymore. "Stop stalling Ray. I haven't got all day. We agreed. Mariah for Driger. Now hand him over. If you've changed your mind I'll happily go over there and kill Mariah right now with my knife. It'll be quick and there would be nothing you can do to stop me. Then I'll defeat you easily with your beat up beyblade, and then...take Driger myself. My gosh boy...right now you have the best deal ever going on here. I'm sure OzUmA has already filled you in about how this works. I will sever the bond with your Bitbeast by taking your life and then I will assume guardianship. However if you relinquish your Bitbeast willingly; you voluntarily sever the bond and then we can all skip off into the sunset without a scratch on either of us. Except Mariah...who has...erm quite a few...scratches to say the least.
Ray glowered with anger at her last remark. Making light of what she did to Mariah boiled his blood instantly, his skin bubbled beneath like a hot kettle as his inner tiger caterwauled fiercely. Thw White Tiger blader growled in indecision as he weighed up the scenario. "I can't just give Driger over. The White Tiger clan and my team will never forgive me if I did. I'd never be able to look any of them in the eyes again. Driger...he's one of the four Sacred Spirits and if Ozuma is right, in the wrong hands, the whole worlds' safety could be in jeopardy. Driger's my best friend as much as any of the White Tigers or Bladebreakers. We've been through so much. We've travelled the world together. You've always been there, through thick and thin. Driger, I can't imagine a life without you battling by my side.
But Mariah... I'd never be able to live with myself if anything happened to her, she's my world too. I love her, I've always loved her from the first day I laid eyes on her and right now...she needs me more than ever.
I can always get you back Driger. I'll find you. Wherever Shadow Vale goes I will find you and bring you home again. I promise you my friend."
With a heavy and shaking arm, the White Tiger X member extended a closed fist outwards, with his beyblade tightly wrapped in his under-turned fingers. He then lifted his head and announced with a breaking voice dripping in self pity. "Okay. Here's my Driger. He's... yours."
The silverette beamed from ear to ear and fanned her face with a limp hand in fake relief. "Ohhhh golly! I was worried for a sec there you were going back on your word. Congratulations Ray. You really are the worlds' number one boyfriend. Mariah's a lucky girl!" She then winked without a dash of sensitivity.
"Tssst." Ray couldn't hide the sneer from evolving from his curling upper lip as he strode towards the Cleopatra looking villain. His usual carefree nature was completely absent as his body tingled on high alert. He didn't trust her and was half expecting a surprise attack as he closed in within touching distance. Every twitch of her body language was noticed as he half expected her to reach for her knife again and cut off his braid of hair too, or exact far worse.
Instead, she smarmily grinned and held out both her arms to display the contents of her hands. In her left, lay Mariahs' amputated ponytail for offer. Her right palm was empty, her fingers flapping the air and grasping, tingling with excitement to receive the Driger spirit she had been dreaming of ever since she was old enough to speak.
Rays' heart tugged harshly like metal hooks in his chest at the overwhelming guilt of having to give his beloved Driger away; whilst at the same time, eager to get the transaction over with to get to wounded Mariah as quickly as possible. Whatever the Bladebreakers, White Tiger X, his village, his parents, Master Tao thought of his decision. He was sure he had to do this...for Mariah. It had to be done.
Rays' black and white lined Chinese style shoes stopped at arm's length away from black open toed boots. He extended his muscled arms for his fists to hover over the evil bladers claws. Driger was covetted in a red Ying & Yang gloved hand, which was swollen and puffy from bashing the force field. The other gloved hand was empty, and ready to take back a piece of his girlfriend.
"Okay you need to say the words. "I, Ray of the White Tigers, relinquish Driger to Garnetta of the Shadow Vale clan. Driger is now yours." And then place him into my palm. A little light show will happen and then that's it. I will go on my merry way with Driger and you get to be with Mariah for the rest of your miserable life. Or at least until my clan and I change the world for the better." Her tone was smarmy but matter of fact.
Ray was still at odds with the decision as he gritted his teeth in hesitation and his bottom eyelid twitched.
"Don't worry Ray. I'll take good care of him." The female sensed Rays' turmoil and seeked to ease his loss a little. She wasn't a complete monster. Just 99% of her. She pressed with a taunting and sarcastic tone. "Mariah had some pretty deep cuts and bled quite alot. I hope she gets to see a doctor realllllllll sooooon." Her ruby eyes stabbed at him to hurry the hell up.
Ray took one final glance at Driger still wrapped safely in his protective fingers. He felt a wave of disgust and nausea surge with fresh adrenaline as he outstretched his occupied paw over her vacant one, ready to drop his beyblade into her ready and waiting clutch.
He bowed his head so that his eyes were shadowed in darkness. His long bangs flopped forward as he recited the words. "I, Ray of the White Tiger Clan, relinquish Driger to Garnetta of the Shadow Vale clan." The soldiering White Tiger gulped back a lump in his throat... "Driger is now... yours."
The silverette was ecstatic with joy as she bounced up and down on her hocks like a spoilt child about to get her own way. She hurriedly commanded with a quick and snippy tone. "Now Ray, hurry up and drop Driger into my hand." She quipped with a snide voice "and then Mariiiiaahhhhh is allllllllllll yours."
The stiff tendons in Rays' fingers began to relax as his plump grip began to unfurl. Driger was mere seconds away from falling into Garnettas' clutches.
The silvetettes' world became a tunnel view as her bulbous scarlet eyes widened with each passing millisecond. Lusting for Drigers' touch as if nothing else in the world mattered. She imagined the pride of returning to her village with the sacred tiger spirit in tow. How pleased her Lord and Master would be with her. Her sharp nailed fingers writhed in the air with anticipation. Her palm stretched wide and ready for the catch. She high pitched urged with glees. "That's it Ray. Drop Driger in to my hand. One more second and Driger is... allll..."
"Oh I don't think so! Go Vanishing Moot!" Cried Josef as he urgently yanked back a red ripcord from his launcher; sending his arsenal shooting from an above slanted rooftop whilst running at the same time. Vanishing Moot, a turquoise beyblade with red phasing to black stickering was unleashed at full force in a downward trajectory into the air. The Saint Shields' blade crashed to earth like a flashing blue comet towards the unsuspecting trading bladers in the mini Eden below.
The female shadow Vale bladers' hand was Josefs' intended target; of which struck right on point like a shuriken blade, slashing a line into the flesh of her open palm, and narrowly missing Rays' paw by a hair line. Vanishing Moot then ricocheted off a wall with a metallic*smack* and retracted back to Josefs' hands like a line-free yo-yo. His beyblade only had enough spin energy to make the airborne journey, then the hit, and return. Battling would require a whole new rip. Josef raced along the roof ledge like a character from Assassins' Creed, his eyes hunting to find a way to ground level and to do just that.
"OUCH! YOU BASTARD! WHO WAS THAT?!" The Shadow Vale assailant cursed aloud as she whipped her arm in close to her body to instinctively cradle her gashed hand. Her face was livid and her eyes glowing with anger as she hawked her line of sight upwards, desperate to find the one responsible for her slashed and now dripping red appendage. Blood seeped over the edges of her palm and dripped onto the grass by her feet. A taste of her own medicine.
"I've been looking everywhere for you Ray! I climbed this roof to get a birds' eye view and hey presto, there you are. I just hope I'm not too late." Quipped Josef as he swung his arms out to propel his running gait.
Ray backed away two steps in complete surprise. His yellow eyes were wide with disbelief and his jaws agape as he too hunted the rooftop skyline for a sight of the newcomer. There in the distance. A twinkle of a single golden earring swung like a pendulum on his ear.
"Josef!" Ray cried and slyly smiled with relief. He had never been so glad to see the short, sarcastic, Saint Shield blader. The White Tiger clutched Driger super tight in his palm despite the sharp jagged edges threatening to slash his palm too. The tables were turning.
"Youuuu! Joseffffff! You little rat! Look what you did to my beautiful hand!" She spat with bitter distain as she caught sight of her long time adversary on the distant rooftop.
"I'm not gunna make it in time. I'm still so far away. Ray, you moron. Get out of there while I've got her distracted." He said huffing and puffing as his nimble feet pounded on the hot asphalt roof surface. Little did he know, Mariah was down for the count and Ray wasn't going anywhere without her.
Despite his nifty speed of pace, Josef was still minutes out from getting to Ray, and he still needed to find a way down to ground level... Until his green eyes glinted; a guttering pole on a far off building, of which he could slide down like a fireman.
Ray bravely took his chance and bolted for Mariahs' side. The Shadow Vale balder was too occupied glaring at Josef and clutching her wounded dripping hand. The world went in slow motion like a tense climax in an action movie. Rays' muscles ignited as his body broke into sprint, his Chinese style shoes pounded earth and tufts of battered grass as he entered Galux and Vamplashs' battle scored arena, his braid whipped at his back as he took flight and black bangs swung up and down. He ran like Mariahs' life counted on it.
"Mariah!" He cried as his shoes skidded in the dirt and he dropped to his knees in one swooping movement like a baseball player slamming into base; dust kicked up and plumes of it blew away in a wisping breeze.
"Mariah! Mariah can you hear me?!" He propped up her red stained torso so that she was limply sitting up in his muscled arms. He pulled her in tight so that her face was close to his. The smell of her blood was agonising to his sensitive feline senses. The smell of pain and torture hung thick in the air and would stain her clothes forever.
Rays' lip quivered as he felt tears swelling in his lower lids. She wasn't responding despite gently shaking her. He whimpered with desperacy. "Mariah?"
His face was twisted with worry as she scanned over her bloodied cheek and familiar pale features. Her arms were limp as wet noodles at her side. She felt cold, her lips pale and flat, her face...lifeless. Until...
"Urghhhhhhh" *cough* "Hmmnnnuurrghhhh"*cough*"Ray?" The pinkettes' face scrunched as she stirred. Her arms and fingers flexed as her chest bucked into short sharp coughs. "Ray." She murmured croakily. Her golden yellow eyes fluttered open to meet with his concerned gaze.
The doting boyfriend gingerly fingered the dry cut on her left cheek and stroked it with a gentle thumb. "Mariah! Say something!" He ordered with care in his heart. His pulse racing as he clung to her tightly.
Mariah lifted her slashed left arm and stroked the right side of Rays' face, fingering a heavy damp black bang out of the way of his eye. She croaked. "Ray...boy am I glad to see you."
Ray and Mariahs' touching reunion was short-lived. Ray slowly lifted his head as his peripheral vision caught a figure. Stood before him, the tattooed blader now known as Garnetta had caught up with him. Her bleeding hand had been bandaged with a white cloth and now wrapped around a launcher grip with her Vamplash blade loaded and ready to dish out more devastation. Its attack ring edges were red tinted with dried blood, Mariahs' blood. Her legs were parted in a battle stance. Her purple thundered and whipped behind her as if the winds of hell moved it. Her ruby eyes were piercing and mad with blood lust and her chest heaved air in and out like bull about to charge. Her voice was raspy, desperate and fuelled with black rage. "RAY! GIVE ME DRIGER NOW!" She demanded as her lower eye lids and upper lip twitched.
Her bottom jaw hung as she gasped with anger and her madly agitated mind raced. "Fucking hurry up Ray! Give me Driger! I earned him after all. I was chosen to become Drigers' guardian. It was foretold by my Lord and Master after all. He's mine by birth right! Josef is nearby and I don't know how long I have until he gets here. Alone, I can take him out no problem. That flea Josef is no threat to me. But if he's around then the other Saint Shields are sure to follow...And I can't find myself out numbered. Not now that I'm this close to competing my mission." Her dangerous scarlet eyes locked with Rays' frightened yellow.
Ray was like a kitten in headlights. It wasnt long before Mariah sucumbed and had passed out again in Rays' arms just as the Shadow Vale blader re-entered close; the stress was much for her. She fell flagid once again, her breath shallow as her head fell to rest between Rays' pectoral muscles.
The protective White Tiger male fought with himself. He gritted his teeth as he weighed up new options. "What do I do? Give her Driger and she'll leave us alone? Or hold on, call her bluff, and hope Josef reaches us in time. But is he strong enough to take her out? My beyblade is no match in the state it's in and I can't leave Mariah to battle anyway. Come on Josef. Where are you? We need help... before it's too late."
The impatient blader stamped her foot forward as her arm muscles flexed, ready to let her spinning weapon fly at the defenceless couple. "I... DONT...HAVE TIME" She stamped forward a heavy step which vibrated the ground"...FOR THIS...RAY! GIVE ME... DRIGER NOW!" She stamped forward again. "OR I'LL LET VAMPLASH RIP...AND YOU CAN BOTH DIE RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. GIVE...HIM...TO... MEEEEE!" She yelled; demanding with lethal intent. Her vicious words bounced around the walled garden.
Ray didn't know what to do. His eyes desperately scanned the garden and rooftops trying to find Josef. No sign of him yet. His jaw clenched as he begged for a glimpse of him. "Josef...come on where I are you?"
"Awwwwww looking for the runt?!...WELL TIME'S UP RAY! FINE! YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE. I'LL TAKE DRIGER FROM YOUR COLD DEAD FINGERS WHEN I'M THROUGH."
*Snagging sound of a rip cord begin ripped through a launcher* "VAMPLASH!"
"No!" Ray instinctively pulled Mariahs' body in close to his, turning her face into his thick muscled breast and bringin her arms into his protective embrace. His body folded over in seconds to become a human shield for his love, Mariah. Rays' eyes clamped shut and cried out in fear. "Gahhhhhhhhh." For when that beyblade connects, he knew it was going to hurt.
*SMACK* The familiar sound of one beyblade striking another clinked in the air mere inches away from Rays' head. Rays eyes shot open in surprise, that sound was unmistakeable. Help was finally here.
"Joseffffff!" The purple caped villain hissed like an angry cobra, spitting venom with each syllable. She cranked her head to face the interrupter; her eyes baying for more blood.
Ray shot his tired and headachy skull up in surprise. His eyes drew to tight pink-pricks. He couldn't believe who was standing there. His jaw fell. Of all the people to come to his rescue...
The overcast weather was passing. Cloud thinned to produce a sunny clearing a few meters away between two hydrangea flowerbeds. A new garden inhabitant had arrived. From his feet up he wore dark blue sneakers with two metallic silver stripes over the toes, complete with silver laces. Navy blue chino style trousers fit loosely around his legs and to complete his outfit, a well fitting burgundy t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show off some arm muscle and a grey beyblade holster secured around his waist. Early 30s in age, an average build and stood around 6ft in height. A pale-skinned, grey haired Caucasian with a very short fluffy fringe, short bangs that tufted in front of his ears, very light stubble on his chin and spiky unkempt grey eyebrows. A lilac with red stickers spun effortlessly in one spot in front of his feet.
Ray exclaimed aloud. "Bryan?!"
The Blitzkrieg Boy smirked with his pale muscled arms across his burgundy clothed chest. His voice was robotic and tone deaf. "Long time no see... Ray. You look like you could use a hand."