Battle File 01: Takao VS Adolfo

"Where there's a will, there's a WAY~~~!!!"

The Eiffel Stadium, although not as large as the Seine one, was as high-tech and as new, as well. The spectators streamed through one of the 4 gates that led to the inner ring area, and soon, the seats were fast filling up with people.

And it was WEIRD. Aside from the regular spectators, there were a bunch of souvenir peddlers mixed in with the fray.

"BEY BLADE KEYCHAINS! Get 'em while you CAN!"

"BBA License CARDS! Hang one for the ultimate fun TODAY!"

"Prism STAT CARDS! Get your rare Ultimate Legends Team Cards while they're CHEAP!"

"Chocolate BLADES! Chocolate BLADES!"

"Mint TRUFFLES! Grab one for the ultimate Vervain treat to satisfy your greatest CRAVING!"

"Wow…" SD Max was wide-eyed. "What on earth HAPPENED?! Why are these souvenir sharks on the LOOSE here?!"

"Don't ask me." Kai blinked, and grabbed a nearby Kai plushie doll from a souvenir peddler's tray beside him. He turned SD with a murderous look on his face. "Since WHEN did I have PINK face TATTOOS?!"

"Oh, look, they're CUTE!" SD Takao grabbed a plushie version of himself, going very giddy. "I even have a mini-Phantom DRAGOON!"

"They even have Guild paraphernalia," Professor whispered. "They look even more AWESOME than those rip-offs…"

SD Lei had a huge sweatdrop on his head. "Yup, I do not have a smiley on MY bandanna. How right you are, Professor."

"Those come CRUDE! Hey, kid, why don't you buy from me?! I even have the latest BBA Dolls! Say…HEY! YOU'RE the BBA Team!" The man right in front of the peddler in front of them (^^;; you get the idea) grinned. "Heh, I didn't spend my time chasing you around the world wasting my BBA knowledge on those pathetic rip-offs. Won't you take a look?"

"GOD. These look EXACTLY like us." Max was very wide-eyed and impressed. "I see you've done your homework real good, my esteemed gentleman."

"Thanks!" The man flashed his BBA License Card. "My name is Yuuji Sakaguchi, member # 99-457298 of the BBA LOADED! fan magazine. These come in ORIGINAL! And I have ALL Bey Blade associations around the world fitted into my little black book! I am the best BBA and Bey Blade Blader investigator around, and I've been watching your exploits VERY CLOSELY these past 4 years!"

"Errh…right." Takao blinked. "You researched EVERYTHING on those PLUSHIES?"

"Yup, down to the littlest turn of chibi chibi Ceresia's pinky on Asaya Ninomiya's trademark ice pink Jansport! I RESEARCHED thoroughly on them ALL! My plushies are always great hits with the fans, they're totally VACUUMED at the end of every single BLADE MATCH! The current hot items are the -Holy Beast- series, along with the BBA Dolls, and the Guild Dolls. Oh, and Driger is always out of stock." Yuuji stuffed a Driger plushie into blinking SD Lei's arms. "But SINCE you're the one and ONLY Lei Kon, winner of the 'Sexiest Blader Alive' 5 years in the running, contested hotly by Mr. Kai Hiwatari over THERE for a 1-2 place running…I give you a plushie Driger to end ALL plushie DRIGERS! It roars, it purrs, it even does rolling cartwheels all OVER the PLACE!"

"Uh…thanks, I think," Lei said, still blinking.

Chairman Daitenji waited until they got their fill of Yuuji's merchandise before heading down the waiting area by the ring side itself. The old man nods. "Alright, this is your first battle as the regrouped BBA Team. I sincerely pray for your victory."

"Don't worry Chairman Daitenji, we'll cream them GOOD! Boy, Dragoon plushie's so FINE, it tickles when I hit his belly button and just vibrates all over the place!"

SD Max burst out laughing when he said that, and Professor had a blank look on his face. SD Takao blinked. "WHAT?!"

"Don't ASK," SD Kai said, looking murderous again. Max insisted he wear Dranzer plushie on top of his head. It was one of those mornings when Max is on that dangerous sugar high again, and everybody was always on the edge of their seats as to who he'll victimize next.

The audience quieted down after a couple of minutes, and soon, the stadium became pitch black as the lights were all turned off. When it came back on again, several spotlights raced through the audience then came to a rest on the raised platform on top of the spanking new ring arena.

"Good MOOORRRRNNNNIIIIIINNNNGGGG~~~!!!" A woman was standing there, dressed in funky DJ clothes, consisting of a sleeveless dress with a short skirt that had slits way up until her lower thighs. She had short, maroon colored hair, and bright orange eyes that were always sparkling. She had gloves ala Videl's on her hands, and her bandanna was tied back and its tails were held down by 2 small shiny orbs. A cool Bey Blade earring hung from her left ear, and she wore boots on her feet.

She grinned. "How are you people on this lovely, lovely LOVELY DAY~~~?! I'm sure you're ALL excited by now, as you all ought to be anyway. This is the 1st battle for the Gamma Block, and yes, I would be your host to all the events that would be happening HERE~~~!!! My name is DJ Maverick, how do you DO?!"

"WOW!"

"She's HOT!"

"I think I'm in heaven…"

"Alright, before everything goes all out in the next couple of minutes, let me take this opportunity to introduce…the 2 teams that would be batlling for the first Gamma Block duel EVER! On my left side…would you please give a round of applause…to Team PORTUGAL~~~!!!"

Maverick swipes her left arm, and spotlights shone down from the ceiling and flooded the left side with light. A bunch of young men were seated there, and they stood up as the lights shone down on them. They looked like a real tough lot, and from what Kai could sense, a deep dangerous aura.

"And now, on my right side…they've been out of reach for the last 4 years, so to speak…being the World Bey Blade Champions back then has certainly turned these guys into somewhat of a legend. Could the charm work twice? Alas, only time could tell. Now please give a round of applause…to the BBA TEAM~~~!!!"

The spotlights shone down on them too. Takao blinked, then waved at the now wildly cheering audience. Sugar hyper Max started waving his arms at the audience with gusto, while Lei smiled at them. Kai was his usual quiet self.

"Alright, let me give you a run-down. Bladers, please step forward!"

Both the BBA Team and Team Portugal came forward, a few steps away from the ring arena proper.

"I want this to be a clean fight, no ifs and buts. The rules have been rehashed time and time again, so now, basically, we'll be using the same rules in Bey Blading with a few new twists. Each Blader would be given ample time to finish the match, however, due to the time constraint, each must be able to finish the fight in an hour, the Bey left spinning would be declared the winner. Remember, there would be 9 teams competing this day. Don't give me that 'ah, so' look; I assure you, the teams you would all be facing are REALLY tough, being handpicked from over 300 teams that auditioned, and that's no mean feat. Don't expect a quickie win for a few seconds' worth. These teams could leave you practically screaming at me for mercy for a time extension, so don't fight if you don't feel like it. They deserve more than just turd performances, right…they've been through living hell just to get invited here after passing the strict auditions held in their respective Bey Blade Committee area. These 36 teams that passed are the toughest of all the toughest Bladers you've faced, and you won't just be sitting pretty.

"Now, to more of the other rules. Each match is divided into 4 sets, meaning EVERYBODY gets to BLADE. 15 minutes each would give you enough reason to panic now, won't it? Anyway, teams would be able to call a time-out and the clock counter would be stopped for the Bladers to have a thorough check-up with their respective Bey techs in case they have any problems. The team has to see through ALL 4 sets…meaning, even if you win 3 games out of 4, and your other teammate unfortunately has diarrhea, the Blade Keeper has no choice but to forfeit the match and declare your opponent team as the winner. The teams are allowed 4 timeouts of 5 minutes' worth each, so you have to work fast and be really coordinated as not to waste precious time. To be declared winners, you must win 3 games out of 4. Bey techs allowed per team are 2; a senior Bey tech and his assistant. See to it that you have your Bey tech kits at hand, we won't allow for bellboys running to and fro the stadium in case of 'missing parts' and 'boxes'. The guy with a stopwatch by the arena serves as the timekeeper; don't worry about him, worry about the flags he's raising. Green for 15 minutes, yellow for 10, orange for 5, and red for stop. Got all that in your heads, kids? Alright then…let's get ready to RIP it!"

"…" SD Takao blinked, his eyes little beads. "Did you get ALL that?"

"Don't worry, I've put it into Dizzi for safekeeping," Professor told him.

"First Bladers to battle, please step to the shooting points! Alright, for Team Portugal, we have ADOLFO!"

The crowd cheered wildly. Adolfo Rodriguéz stepped forward, looking very serious and was very quiet. He looked as if he was more than willing enough to stab Takao to death with his ripcord.

"For the BBA Team, we have TAKAO!"

Takao blinked again, and felt his stomach churn uncomfortably as he stepped into the ring arena side. He was wearing a red t-shirt with yellow trim, a pair of denim jeans, his trusty Skechers, and had a white ribbed shirt underneath his red shirt. His hair was tied neatly at his nape with a white cord. And he had dark blue open gloves on his hands.

"Alright, Shooters at the ready? Good." Maverick raised her arms in the air. "Let's get ready to GROOVE IT!"

"…" Adolfo was quiet as he got his deep orange Shooter and aimed it at the ring arena. "I am a staunch admirer of yours, Mr. Kinogu. I hope both of us would have a good fight, and I am really honored to be your opponent."

"Yeah, me too!" Takao grinned in spite of his churning stomach. "Let's make this a BEY to remember."

"3…2…1…GOOO…SHOOOOOOTTTTT~~~!!!"

The 2 Beys entered the arena at the same time, each driving sparks that arced gracefully over the arena itself. Maverick nodded.

"Dragoon and Darkspur have both entered the arena…seems that everything's getting heated even at the start! Both Beys are really tough…who would outdo who?! Alright, seems as if Darkspur's getting fired UP!"

Darkspur shot towards Dragoon, who narrowly avoided it. Takao's eyes went wide. "What the…?!"

Adolfo grinned. "Heh. Seems like the match has already ended."

Professor's eyes went wide. "WHAT~~~?! How did that HAPPEN?!"

Dragoon wobbled dangerously for a split second, then Takao saw pieces of it fly off. His eyes became wide and unseeing. "D…Dragoon…"

"Behold my Bey Blade, Darkspur! Its specialty is speed and decimation attacks. I am famous in my country as the 'Lynx Assassin' because my Bey just EXACTLY does that! He could nick off pieces of your Bey even if it looked like he just narrowly avoided it. What more if he manages to mow right through HIM!?" Adolfo smiled. "Sorry it has to end this way. I thought you were good, I really idolized you back then. What happened?"

"Oh NO!" Maverick was blinking. "Just look at them GO! Darkspur's shaving Dragoon off bit by bit, and I wouldn't be too surprised if Dragoon would only have a spinning bit left after this very match. Is this the end of mighty legendary Kinogu?"

"This is so unreal," Professor whispered as he typed frantically on his laptop. "Dizzi's saying that Darkspur's speed ALONE managed to nick off all these tiny Dragoon parts…!"

"!!!" Lei was wide-eyed. "You MEAN…?!"

"I've never seen a Bey like that before," Professor murmured. "It spins so fast it even destroys enemy Beys in the process…without it even touching THEM! How…how did he…"

Darkspur continued passing by Dragoon, and soon, the pieces got bigger and bigger. Adolfo was nodding. "It's so sad to see you, Mr. Kinogu, literally fall apart at the blades of my Bey. I've waited years…years…I've been dreaming to be able to face you in battle! I've trained especially hard for this event, and yes, I suffered a lot of ridicule and hardship along the way. But I survived. Yes, to be able to meet you. It's so sad to see the curtain fall down on this little act so quickly. I'm sorry…but it was really wonderful while it lasted!" He swiped his arm, his red eyes narrowing. "Alright! Darkspur! DYNAMITE SLASH!"

A deep orange light shot out from the center bit, and Kai, Max, and Lei's eyes all widened. Professor gulped.

"A…-HOLY BEAST-~~~?!"

Sure enough, a wildcat appeared, looking very fiery and angry indeed. It was a lynx. It shot towards Dragoon like a runaway freight train, leaving its blazing trail down the arena. It was spinning so powerful and so fast that it burrowed deep into the arena itself as it made its way towards Dragoon.

It catapulted Dragoon straight into the air, and there was a bright flash of light as it exploded. Lei was aghast. "TTTAAAAAAKKKKAAAOOOOO~~~~!!!"

***What…happened…what is it that I lost…?***

Takao's eyes became glassy. Adolfo was smiling smugly. "See you then, Mr. Kinogu. I'm REALLY really sorry."

***Did I…lose…anything…?*** Takao clenched his fists.

"TAKAO! SNAP OUT OF IT! YOU'RE NOT LOST YET!"

The whole BBA Team looked up to see SD Tsukiyo looking very furious indeed. She had a gargantuan pulsing twitch on top of her head.

"YOU MAY BE MATURE NOW BUT YOU'RE STILL TAKAO KINOGU! REMEMBER THAT! TAKAO KINOGU DOES NOT RUN AWAY FROM A FIGHT! TAKAO KINOGU FACES EVEN HELL AND BACK JUST TO GET THERE WHERE HE IS RIGHT NOW! TAKAO KINOGU IS NOT AN IDIOT~~~!!!" SD Tsukiyo was yelling. "TAKAO KINOGU IS TAKAO KINOGU~~~~!!!"

***Tsukiyo's right, I AM still Takao. And yes, I do not run away from fights, and I've faced hell and back, and I'm NOT an idiot. Heh heh, thanks, buddy. Dragoon. We WILL fight!*** Takao smiled, then shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I haven't lost anything at all. Sorry to disappoint you."

A drak blue orb of light appeared from the smoke that billowed atop the arena, and a strong wind blew. Dragoon was ragged-looking, alright, but the light was coming from it.

Adolfo was surprised. "W…w-what…?!"

"I'm STILL here, ALRIGHT!" Takao clenched his fists. "DRAGOON~~~!!! PHANTOM SKY SCYTHE~~~!!!"

A deep blue light emerged from Dragoon's central bit, and there was a roar. The Blue Dragon emerged, looking sleeker and more powerful than what he was 4 years ago…holding a jewel in its left claws and having lots of curious sky blue appendages on top of his head. A dark blue jewel glinted on its forehead, and winds were whirling about him in torrents. He was the legendary Guardian of the East indeed.

He roars again, and shot up the arena, then dives anew, this time hurling blue crescent-shaped wind bursts at the unsuspecting Darkspur lynx, who mewled and put up a terrific fight.

Both dragon and lynx fought, winds whirling about them in a furious shroud. Maverick was very excited.

"What was that strange light?! Look! Both Beys are fighting it out…and Dragoon seems to have made a GREAT comeback right from being totally SQUASHED! The BBA Team's proving to be the legend that they were once before 4 years ago in the World Bey Blade Championship Finals Tournament in RUSSIA! Clearly they're not one team to be MESSED with!"

"This is unbelievable!" Professor gulped. "Takao…how did he manage to do that…?!"

Takao's eyes were narrowed very dangerously as he glared at Adolfo. "So what do you think of Dragoon now?! My best buddy and I won't be defeated by the likes of you! I won't have IT!" He swipes his arm. "DRAGOON! Finish him off! SHINING TWILIGHT!"

The Blue Dragon's central dark blue jewel glowed, and it roared. The winds about him increased in ferocity, and soon the whole stadium was enveloped in its furious shroud.

"AAH!" Maverick shielded her face with her arms as she squinted onto the battlefield. "Dragoon's powers are becoming extremely ferocious! Could this be the end of Darkspur?!"

The winds about the Blue Dragon shone through, and soon, there was a brilliant flash of dark blue light. Lei, Max, Kai and Professor shielded their faces with their arms, along with the rest of stunned Team Portugal. The Blue Dragon cut through the light, and soon, everything abated into nothingness.

Maverick blinked. "H-huh…?! The light's ABATED! Where in the world are the 2 BEY BLADES?!"

As if on cue, Darkspur shot out of the ring, and Adolfo's eyes became wide. It landed on his feet, where it promptly shattered into pieces. Dragoon shot out and continued spinning at Takao's feet in the ring arena, albeit a little wobbly.

"It seems we have a WINNER!" Maverick raised her arms in the air. "Darkspur, out! First match goes to Takao Kinogu of the BBA TEAM~~~!!!"

"YYYAAAAAAYYYYY~~~!!!" SD Max was very happy, windmilling his arms around. "TAKAO! You DID it!"

"…" Takao knelt down and Dragoon willingly went to his hands. He looks over at Adolfo, who was picking up the shattered pieces of his Darkspur. He smiled. "That was one good fight. Thank you for that. I'm looking forward to meeting you again sometime soon."

"Yes. I'm looking forward to it, too." Adolfo nodded, then slowly smiled. "You truly deserve to be called the best then, and still so now. I am very honored to have faced you."

The crowd erupted into wild cheers as each of them went back to their respective teams. Kai nodded. "Good work, Takao. Thought you died back there."

"Heh heh! It was NOTHING!" Takao's eyes became sad. "Although…Dragoon's beyond repair now…the fight left him totally maimed…"

"Don't worry, I'll fix it until it's good as new!" Professor told him. "So cheer up, Takao!"

"…?" Max blinked. "Takao…look at Dragoon…"

They all looked at the central bit. Dragoon seemed to have evolved, and the bit around him became crystalline. SD Takao's eyes went wide. "What the…what the heck HAPPENED?!"

"I have no frigging idea," Kai said, awestruck. He's never seen an evolving –Holy Beast- before.

"TAKAO!" SD Tsukiyo shot out from nowhere and glomped him. "You WON! You WON!"

"Thanks for yelling at me back there, I really needed it," Takao said, grinning. Maverick clears her throat then looks over at the audience.

"Alright, 2nd set would start in a couple of minutes. Would the next set of Bladers please step forward?"

"Who's next?" Takao asked, blinking.

"I AM!" SD Max said happily. He went to the shooting point.

"…" Kai was quiet.

***Something's seriously wrong here. I still can't quite put my finger on it yet…but…we all have to be extra careful…***