One True Team
My apologies to everyone for updating so late!!!! I'll try to update earlier people!! Read and review! Thank you to all my reviewers! Sorry! ;_;
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"Which way is it to our locker room?" Tyson asked impatiently as the gang walked down the hallway. It would only be a matter of minutes before the finals for the Team Pairs Championship would begin.
"Here it is." Lexis opened the door and everyone went inside to hang up his or her coats.
"Boy, am I excited to go battle or what?" Tyson exclaimed.
"Yeah, we know," laughed Max.
"I can't wait to find out how the other team is like," Saber grinned, cracking her knuckles.
"You shouldn't do that," Ray pointed out. "You'll get arthritis when you grow older." Saber looked down at her knuckles, which were already close to swelling.
"Hm. . . . . .. Too bad."
"I'm really nervous," Terri stuttered. "What if we lose?"
"Well, then at least we knew we lost trying." Kenny got everyone to crowd together again.
"Ok," he said. "Remember, Max and Terri will battle first. Then Ray and Saber will go and finally Tyson and Lexis. Stay focused and don't let down your guard if your partner is knocked out of the ring. Remember to use teamwork and do your best. If we lose, then at least we did our best."
"Alright!" Tyson yelled. He put his hand in the middle while everyone put his or her hand on top of his. "Whatever happens, let's just remain friends forever and be the best two teams out there!"
"Yeah!"
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"Alright, AJ! Looks like the crowd is just settling and is impatient to see the finalists compete!"
"You've got that right Brad!" The crowd continues to cheer as DJ Jazzman proudly walks onto a balcony.
"Ladies and gentlemen!!! Are you ready for the two most amazing paired up teams in the tournament?" The crowd goes wild. DJ jumps up as he yells into the mike.
"Please welcome the Bladebreakers and the Wildcats from this side!" Applause and cheers were heard from the crowd as the Bladebreakers and the Wildcats made their appearance. Solo frowned at the noisy crowd as the two teams walked across the stadium floor.
I hate crowds, she thought. Her fever had barely vanished and she was still tired. Maybe this day-mare will be over soon.
"And now, please give it up for the unstoppable gang, the Howlers!" Loud cheers and whistles were heard all around the stadium as a team, consisting of 8 girls marched out from the shadows. Lexis shivered when she saw them. One girl, obviously their leader, was walking ahead of the other 7, who walked in two rows. None of the girls were smiling. A few were frowning at the crowd and at them while a couple were smirking to themselves in an evil way. The rest remained emotionless.
Solo gasped when she saw the leader of the Howlers. No way! She thought in horror. She had expected this but wasn't aware of the sudden fear in her heart.
The leader had black hair with red highlights, black eyes, a black V- necked sleeveless shirt and black pants. She also had on black shoes. She stopped when she saw the Bladebreakers and the Wildcats. Her eyes focused directly on Solo, who stared back, growling. Both glared at each other, daggers running forth from each other. The pupils in their eyes shook angrily as they glared at each other with their cold black eyes. None of the other team members from opposite teams noticed this. Finally, the girl smiled, eyebrows arched and walked towards the bench. The rest of her team followed swiftly, with no hesitation.
"They're look tough," whispered Max.
"No doubt about it," Terri whispered back.
"I guess this is it, ain't it?" asked Saber. "This is probably the toughest team we've ever seen, eh?"
"I don't know," Ray answered softly. "Looks aren't everything, you know?"
"You nervous, Lexis?" asked Tyson.
"Oh yeah." The crowd became to cheer louder as it grew impatient for the match to begin. DJ looked about, then yelled into the mike again.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Let's get this party started! First match up, please welcome from the Bladebreakers and the Wildcats, Max and Terri!" Max and Terri stood up, smiling. The crowd cheered in respect.
"Wish us luck, guys!" Max laughed as he and Terri walked towards the battle dish.
"They sure are going to need luck," Kai murmured. Everyone looked at him. "This is no ordinary team."
"And representing the Howlers will be Gwen and Wen!" Loud applause was heard all around the stadium as two almost identical looking girls stood up. Both had short straight black hair that was combed to one side and was down to their necks. The right side of the hair was tucked behind the right ear, a silver earring gleaming from it. Both were wearing black long sleeved shirts with a white opened vest over it, black pants, and boots that reached below their knees. The only difference between them was that one of the girls' boots was white while the other one's was black, but other than that, the two both had those same cold ice-blue eyes.
Terri shivered as the twosome walked from their bench to the dish. Max noticed that the two for some reason were glaring at them, which made him feel uncomfortable. He decided to make an attempt to greet his opponents.
"Uh . . . . . hey! Nice to meet y-you. . . ?"
"What's your name, dude?" asked one of the girls.
"Max. And this is my teammate Terri. Best wishes to you both in the match. I look forward to playing against you."
"I hope that you are prepared for this match, Max," the first girl continued. Max guessed that this was Gwen, but he wasn't sure.
"Oh we're prepared," Terri answered sarcastically. "What's the catch?" The girl eyed at her suspiciously, then continued to talk.
"Listen, we're fighting for the titles for the Team Pairs Championships, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well-" The girl casually ran a hand through her silky black hair, allowing it to cascade onto one side before continuing. "The catch is this: my sister, Wen, and I play the sport of beyblading somewhat different than your way of seeing it. Your team likes to play it as a game of good sportsmanship and fun. WE play the sport serious, and I'm not talking about little pathetic pointless games I've seen you guys play with the rest of your opponents. I'm talking about the real thing. We play it hard and seriously."
"So what exactly are you trying to tell us?"
"I'm telling you NOT to hold anything back when you fight against us. We want to battle against the REAL power of your beyblade, not just some silly top. We would rather enjoy battling you if you were to throw every trick and secret weapon you've got at us. Even your bit-beasts, if you have any. So - feel free to get rough." "Are you sure?" asked Max. Gwen shot him a cold glare, then a smirk eerily and slowly spread across her face.
"I'm sure." Wen, her sister, flipped her head casually, and smiled eerily at Terri.
"Good luck, girl. You're not going to win that easily." Terri tried to smile, but it turned into a frown.
Man, these girls are cold metal! She thought, eyeing at Gwen and Wen, who both revealed their beyblades. They were black and white, but the black and white colours looked like a spiral from a bird's eye view. Max and Terri both looked at each other then took out their beyblades and attached them to their launchers.
"Come on Max and Terri! You can do it!" Tyson shouted from the bench. He was sitting in between the Chief and Lexis on the right side of the bench. Next to Lexis sat Saber, who was sitting next to Ray. Ray was sitting beside Kai, who sat next to an extremely frustrated Solo.
Solo's eyes kept darting back and forth to the eyes of the leader of the Howlers, who glared back. The only other thing she was looking at besides that girl was the black origami flower she had found taped to the door when their room was ransacked and a knife was nailed against the door. She had forgotten that it was in her pocket, but now took it out with a trembling hand.
Kai didn't notice their glaring contest, but he felt that Solo was really impatient and was unusually quieter than she normally would. Usually, Solo might at least say a couple of words to Kai, but ever since they had arrived here in the dome and had met their opposing team, Solo had become very fidgety. Her breathing had become more rapid too, and she kept looking at the team leader of the Howlers every 5 seconds.
"Players, please get into position! And a 3! 2! 1! LET IT RIIIIIPPP!!!!"
"H-yah!"
"Come on! Let's do some damage!" All four beyblades flew from their masters' launchers and landed in the battle dish. Terri and Max nodded together.
"Alright! Let's do this! DC Barrier!" Draciel and Cougarah spun into the middle and began their defense strategy just as Gwen and Wen's beyblades slammed into gear. Both beyblades tried to knock Draciel and Cougarah off balance but could not because of their defense shields. Gwen and Wen's beyblades flew backwards and then circled back to Draciel and Cougarah. Again they attacked but could not knock them off balance. The freaky part was that Gwen and Wen didn't even blink at the advantage Draciel and Cougarah had over their own beyblades.
"Alright!" Saber cheered. "Way to go Max and Terri!"
"Their defense barriers must be stronger than I suspected," Ray replied.
"Pretty soon, Max and Terri are going to win this battle of two on two!" Tyson shouted gleefully.
"Hold it. Something's not right," Kai cut in.
"What now, Mr. Sour-puss?" asked Tyson. Solo didn't even notice that comment. Kai glared at Tyson.
"Those two girls are up to something and it isn't good."
"Kai's right, you know," Kenny agreed. He had been analyzing the four beyblades' movements with Dizzy and had come up with an answer.
"Listen you guys. Something strange is going on. As we see right now as spectators of this battle, it looks as if Max and Terri are going to lick these two sisters out of the game. But they don't seem too upset about it. In fact, they don't look worried at all. Take a look at this." Kenny showed them his laptop. It had an image of Terri's beyblade on it and next to it were two bar graphs. "These two graphs represent Terri's beyblade. The first graph shows us Terri's power and defense level before Gwen and Wen attacked. The second shows Terri's power and defense level presently."
"Are you kidding?" Lexis asked in disbelief as she looked at the comparison of the charts.
"Oh, no. As you can see, Terri's potential defense was at full power in the first chart. In the second chart, it has fallen down and has decrease by at least 75%, which means that in just a matter of minutes, Terri's defense system will be completely wiped out."
"What about Max?" Tyson asked.
"Well, he's not doing much better than Terri is, but he is holding on much better by 2.5%."
"2.5%?! We need them to keep this up by at least 10%!"
"What about their bit-beasts?" asked Ray.
"Huh?"
"Their bit-beasts. Shouldn't they power up their beyblade(s) and keep it running? I mean, they COULD just summon their bit-beasts and stop themselves from getting wiped out, can't they?"
"They could."
"But the question is this," Solo murmured. "Does the other team have bit- beasts more powerful than we do?"
"What do you mean? We don't even KNOW for certain if the other team HAS bit-beasts for that matter," Saber replied dully.
"You're wrong. The other team DOES have bit-beasts and they CAN overpower us." Solo remained silent again, trying to focus on the battle. Saber clenched her teeth and growled silently.
"Max! I'm starting to wobble!" Terri cried to him. She wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand.
"Same here," Max answered back. "I guess we have no choice but to reveal our weapon, eh?" Gwen and Wen's beyblades were circling back for another round of slam-and-jam.
"Ok! Let's go Draciel!"
"Cougarah, do your stuff!" Both bit-beasts rose up from their beyblades, growling. Gwen and Wen both suddenly smiled.
"Yes! It's about time." Their beyblades spun faster as the black and white patterns on their blades spiraled like a never-ending twister. Cougarah lunged at the closest spinning beyblade.
"Cougarah! Mountain Cat Attack!" Cougarah growled as its claws glistened. It was heading directly for Wen's beyblade.
"Shift now!" Wen commanded. Her beyblade sidestepped from the bit-beast and lit up. Everyone gasped at this.
"What the? How can Cougarah miss that attack?" Terri sputtered in frustration. Wen's blade glowed as something hovered over her beyblade. It was her bit-beast: an owl. It spread out its wings and chirped eerily, its huge eyes staring right into the glowering eyes of Cougarah. Cougarah couldn't take its eyes off the owl's huge spiraling eyes. It froze in its position.
"Cougarah! What are you doing?" Terri cried out to her bit-beast. Max could only gawk at the huge owl.
"Oh man! That is the most uncommon bit-beast I have ever seen!" Kenny stammered.
"And it's huge!" Tyson gasped. Everyone else, including Kai was completely astounded at the owl.
"You guys aren't the only ones with a bit-beast, you know," Wen said. "Meet my bit-beast, Rye." Rye hooted as it continued to stare into Cougarah's eyes. Cougarah froze.
"Aw man!" Max sputtered, completely awed with Cougarah and Rye. Gwen suddenly yelled, breaking the moment.
"ATTACK NOW!" A light lit up in Gwen's beyblade as it charged at Draciel. Something lunged out at Draciel as it was completely caught off guard. It was another owl. Its eyes flared up as it screeched like a ghost. Its beak snapped as its wings spread and its claws rammed into Draciel.
"NO! Draciel!"
"Predator, finish it off!" Predator, the huge silver great-horned owl, nose-dived down and slammed dead right into Draciel, knocking it down. It wasn't the only thing that disappeared from the ring. Max's beyblade also flew out of the ring, rolling away.
"Oh no!" Max cried as he held his head in confusion.
"Cougarah! Attack it!" Terri tried to order her bit-beast to listen to her, but Cougarah stayed frozen. Rye continued to stare in its eyes, then finally screeched once again, and with a mighty shove of its claws, knocked Cougarah back and slammed it out of the stadium. Cougarah landed beside Draciel, both beyblades smoking. Terri and Max could only stay silent, shocked at their defeat. It was their worst defeat ever. Predator and Rye flew next to each other, screeching before they disappeared back into their beyblades, and flew back into their masters' hands. Gwen and Wen didn't even smile.
"I hope you now realize how serious I am when I told you not to hold anything back," Gwen stated. "But, it turns out that you don't HAVE anything to hold back at all." Wen grunted at them in a satisfying 'hmph'. Then joined her twin sister and walked back to the bench. Max picked up his beyblade and nearly dropped it. It was too hot. The metal defense ring was still hot from the battle. Terri's beyblade was scratched and even cracked.
"AH man! Those girls were absolutely brutal!" Saber commented.
"They shouldn't be allowed into the battle dome for violence and trash- talking," Kenny cried out.
"Be quiet. They weren't trash-talking," Kai snapped. "That's just their way of communicating."
"I don't get it," Lexis said, crossing her arms across her chest. "Why can't Terri get control of her bit-beast?"
"I know," Saber agreed. "Terri would be the last person I would think of who would lose control of her bit-beast."
"Do you think Dizzy can tell us anything?" asked Ray.
"Let's see." Kenny typed on his laptop, occasionally clicking on a few files. "Aw man! I can't seem to find anything on why a bit-beast would stop and disobey its master. The only time it would actually do that is if it doesn't like the way it's being treated, or if you fight half-heartedly. The result for that would be losing your bit-beast."
"I know how THAT feels," Ray sighed, remembering how he felt when he had lost Driger to Kevin.
"Ouch!" Saber winced.
"Chief!" Terri ran over to the others with Max right behind her. "Something's not right. Cougarah won't listen to me."
"We think you might have seen something or analyzed the last battle on your laptop," Max replied.
"Sorry," Kenny said. "But Dizzy and I don't understand what's wrong. Until your bit-beast appears again, we won't know what really happened."
"That's ok," Terri answered. "Thanks for your help anyways." Terri and Max stood among themselves by the bench, repairing/replacing some of their broken beyblade parts.
Solo clenched her teeth. Things were really bad now. Something wasn't right. You're up to something, aren't you Howlers?
"And ladies and gentlemen! Please get ready for round 2, cause it's coming right at you!!!!!!!!!!" DJ yelled.
"And here we go again, AJ!"
"That's right, Brad. I must say the Howlers have been very mysterious and cautious with their moves."
"Players: ARE YOU READY?" The crowd cheered as they watched the competitors prepare for battle.
"You ready to beat these guys Terri?" asked Max.
"Oh yeah." Terri glared at Wen, but she eerily seemed to be smiling.
"And 3. . . . 2. . . . 1. . . . Let it RIP!"
"Come on Cougarah!" Terri yelled as she ripped her beyblade.
"Time to battle, Draciel!" Max shouted. Rye and Predator flew from their launchers and hit the battle dish.
"Let's see what you've got kid," Gwen sneered.
"Draciel! Attack now!"
"Hey look! Max isn't playing defense anymore!" Tyson cried.
"He must be desperate!" Kenny yelled. Draciel charged into Predator and knocked him back. Gwen stared. She seemed surprised.
"Well, I guess you're not just an all defense beyblader," she murmured.
"Gwen, would you stop being so foolish?" Wen groaned.
"Why? What's the matter?" asked Gwen.
"This little game's starting to get on my nerves," Wen growled.
"So. . . . you're out of patience," Gwen said coolly. "What say we. . . . . have a little fun before we end this?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Wen sighed, relieved at her sister's answer.
"Terri! Let's try our battle strategy again!" Max suggested. "They don't seem to be paying attention right now!"
"Ok!" Terri answered. "DC Barrier- huh? I said DC Barrier! . . . . . . . Cougarah! Why won't you listen to me?" It was true. Cougarah and Draciel both rose from their beyblades in their bit-beast form. Draciel seemed to be heading for Predator and Rye, but Cougarah wasn't following. Instead, Cougarah was growling and gnashing its teeth at Draciel when it tried to lunge at Predator and Rye. Both Gwen and Wen were snickering, their hands crossed across their chests.
"Heh heh heh. . . . my, this is amusing," said Wen.
"Alright! What have you two done with my bit-beast?" Terri demanded.
"I think I ought to explain this one," Wen spoke up. "Gwen needs a rest from answering all these annoying questions. It's very simple. What we've. . . . . or should I say Rye has done is put Cougarah under a little temporary spell. When your bit-beast showed up at first and faced mine, Rye and Cougarah had a little glaring contest. Rye's eyes have the most original talent I have ever seen. My bit-beast has the ability to transfix another bit-beast's eyes by staring at it. Once it stares at it, it can't take its eyes off of Rye's pupils. While this is going on, Rye uses a special technique and can put anyone who stares into its eyes under a spell. Rye can then control the bit-beast's actions and order it what to do."
"Wait a minute!" Max piped up. "You don't mean that -"
"OH yeah," Wen smiled. "My bit-beast has the ability to hypnotize."
"Ah!" Terri gasped. Everyone else gasped in surprise.
"That's a very interesting method and ability," Kenny said. "I've never seen a bit-beast with an ability like that."
"That's also very cheap!" Saber snapped. "How can they just hypnotize someone's bit-beast and order it to win? It just doesn't sound fair!"
"Life isn't fair. . . . ." Lexis sighed. "But I guess this isn't against the rules."
"Now that Rye has control of your bit-beast, there is no way you can win!" Cougarah roared, then lunged at Draciel and scratched it.
"NOOOOO! COUGARAH!" Terri screamed. "Max! I'm so sorry! I don't know what to do!"
"It's ok," Max said, squeezing her hand. " I just hope that Draciel can stand up to this." Draciel fought back as it defended itself against the out-of-control bit-beast. Cougarah growled as it launched itself against Draciel over and over again. Both beyblades were wobbling while Rye and Predator stood on the side. Gwen put down her arms.
"As much as I DO enjoy watching this, I suppose it would be more fair if I ordered my bit-beast to finish you off. PREDATOR!" Predator flew above the two fighting bit-beast and nose-dived into them. Draciel and Cougarah knocked into each other and were tossed out of the ring. Terri and Max both gasped, hand in hand. They had lost the first battle out of three. The Bladebreakers and the Wildcats couldn't believe their eyes.
"NO!!!" Max grabbed hold of his hair. Terri glared at the two opponents, tears in her eyes.
"This hypnotism spell is only temporary, right?"
"Yeah. In exchange for use of your bit-beast, Rye disuses your bit-beast once you are officially beaten. It will return to its normal self again." The two sisters marched back to their bench, where they spoke to their leader. Solo's eyes narrowed.
"This has to be the most unfair match ever!" Tyson declared.
"Yeah, but they haven't broken any rules. So we can't have them disqualified," sighed Ray as he looked down at his feet.
"Don't be so hard on yourselves," Lexis told Terri and Max. "You both tried your best. What matters to us is that you put effort in to it."
"Yeah," Max murmured.
"Saber, you better win this one for us!" Terri growled.
"NO problemo!" Saber flashed a peace sign and jumped off the bench. Ray stood up.
"Hey Ray," said Solo.
"Yeah?"
"Watch out. This team may have more tricks than we thought. Don't underestimate them." Kai nodded.
"Ok. We'll do our best." With that, Ray and Saber walked to the battle dish.
"Just be careful, guys," Solo murmured. She sighed and tried to concentrate. But all she could think about was the girl on the other side. . . . . . . . .
~ SORRY I UPDATE SO SLOW!!!!!!!!!! MY APOLOGIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!!!! I hope that wasn't too boring! Review!
~Zero2-the-scyther
My apologies to everyone for updating so late!!!! I'll try to update earlier people!! Read and review! Thank you to all my reviewers! Sorry! ;_;
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"Which way is it to our locker room?" Tyson asked impatiently as the gang walked down the hallway. It would only be a matter of minutes before the finals for the Team Pairs Championship would begin.
"Here it is." Lexis opened the door and everyone went inside to hang up his or her coats.
"Boy, am I excited to go battle or what?" Tyson exclaimed.
"Yeah, we know," laughed Max.
"I can't wait to find out how the other team is like," Saber grinned, cracking her knuckles.
"You shouldn't do that," Ray pointed out. "You'll get arthritis when you grow older." Saber looked down at her knuckles, which were already close to swelling.
"Hm. . . . . .. Too bad."
"I'm really nervous," Terri stuttered. "What if we lose?"
"Well, then at least we knew we lost trying." Kenny got everyone to crowd together again.
"Ok," he said. "Remember, Max and Terri will battle first. Then Ray and Saber will go and finally Tyson and Lexis. Stay focused and don't let down your guard if your partner is knocked out of the ring. Remember to use teamwork and do your best. If we lose, then at least we did our best."
"Alright!" Tyson yelled. He put his hand in the middle while everyone put his or her hand on top of his. "Whatever happens, let's just remain friends forever and be the best two teams out there!"
"Yeah!"
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"Alright, AJ! Looks like the crowd is just settling and is impatient to see the finalists compete!"
"You've got that right Brad!" The crowd continues to cheer as DJ Jazzman proudly walks onto a balcony.
"Ladies and gentlemen!!! Are you ready for the two most amazing paired up teams in the tournament?" The crowd goes wild. DJ jumps up as he yells into the mike.
"Please welcome the Bladebreakers and the Wildcats from this side!" Applause and cheers were heard from the crowd as the Bladebreakers and the Wildcats made their appearance. Solo frowned at the noisy crowd as the two teams walked across the stadium floor.
I hate crowds, she thought. Her fever had barely vanished and she was still tired. Maybe this day-mare will be over soon.
"And now, please give it up for the unstoppable gang, the Howlers!" Loud cheers and whistles were heard all around the stadium as a team, consisting of 8 girls marched out from the shadows. Lexis shivered when she saw them. One girl, obviously their leader, was walking ahead of the other 7, who walked in two rows. None of the girls were smiling. A few were frowning at the crowd and at them while a couple were smirking to themselves in an evil way. The rest remained emotionless.
Solo gasped when she saw the leader of the Howlers. No way! She thought in horror. She had expected this but wasn't aware of the sudden fear in her heart.
The leader had black hair with red highlights, black eyes, a black V- necked sleeveless shirt and black pants. She also had on black shoes. She stopped when she saw the Bladebreakers and the Wildcats. Her eyes focused directly on Solo, who stared back, growling. Both glared at each other, daggers running forth from each other. The pupils in their eyes shook angrily as they glared at each other with their cold black eyes. None of the other team members from opposite teams noticed this. Finally, the girl smiled, eyebrows arched and walked towards the bench. The rest of her team followed swiftly, with no hesitation.
"They're look tough," whispered Max.
"No doubt about it," Terri whispered back.
"I guess this is it, ain't it?" asked Saber. "This is probably the toughest team we've ever seen, eh?"
"I don't know," Ray answered softly. "Looks aren't everything, you know?"
"You nervous, Lexis?" asked Tyson.
"Oh yeah." The crowd became to cheer louder as it grew impatient for the match to begin. DJ looked about, then yelled into the mike again.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Let's get this party started! First match up, please welcome from the Bladebreakers and the Wildcats, Max and Terri!" Max and Terri stood up, smiling. The crowd cheered in respect.
"Wish us luck, guys!" Max laughed as he and Terri walked towards the battle dish.
"They sure are going to need luck," Kai murmured. Everyone looked at him. "This is no ordinary team."
"And representing the Howlers will be Gwen and Wen!" Loud applause was heard all around the stadium as two almost identical looking girls stood up. Both had short straight black hair that was combed to one side and was down to their necks. The right side of the hair was tucked behind the right ear, a silver earring gleaming from it. Both were wearing black long sleeved shirts with a white opened vest over it, black pants, and boots that reached below their knees. The only difference between them was that one of the girls' boots was white while the other one's was black, but other than that, the two both had those same cold ice-blue eyes.
Terri shivered as the twosome walked from their bench to the dish. Max noticed that the two for some reason were glaring at them, which made him feel uncomfortable. He decided to make an attempt to greet his opponents.
"Uh . . . . . hey! Nice to meet y-you. . . ?"
"What's your name, dude?" asked one of the girls.
"Max. And this is my teammate Terri. Best wishes to you both in the match. I look forward to playing against you."
"I hope that you are prepared for this match, Max," the first girl continued. Max guessed that this was Gwen, but he wasn't sure.
"Oh we're prepared," Terri answered sarcastically. "What's the catch?" The girl eyed at her suspiciously, then continued to talk.
"Listen, we're fighting for the titles for the Team Pairs Championships, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well-" The girl casually ran a hand through her silky black hair, allowing it to cascade onto one side before continuing. "The catch is this: my sister, Wen, and I play the sport of beyblading somewhat different than your way of seeing it. Your team likes to play it as a game of good sportsmanship and fun. WE play the sport serious, and I'm not talking about little pathetic pointless games I've seen you guys play with the rest of your opponents. I'm talking about the real thing. We play it hard and seriously."
"So what exactly are you trying to tell us?"
"I'm telling you NOT to hold anything back when you fight against us. We want to battle against the REAL power of your beyblade, not just some silly top. We would rather enjoy battling you if you were to throw every trick and secret weapon you've got at us. Even your bit-beasts, if you have any. So - feel free to get rough." "Are you sure?" asked Max. Gwen shot him a cold glare, then a smirk eerily and slowly spread across her face.
"I'm sure." Wen, her sister, flipped her head casually, and smiled eerily at Terri.
"Good luck, girl. You're not going to win that easily." Terri tried to smile, but it turned into a frown.
Man, these girls are cold metal! She thought, eyeing at Gwen and Wen, who both revealed their beyblades. They were black and white, but the black and white colours looked like a spiral from a bird's eye view. Max and Terri both looked at each other then took out their beyblades and attached them to their launchers.
"Come on Max and Terri! You can do it!" Tyson shouted from the bench. He was sitting in between the Chief and Lexis on the right side of the bench. Next to Lexis sat Saber, who was sitting next to Ray. Ray was sitting beside Kai, who sat next to an extremely frustrated Solo.
Solo's eyes kept darting back and forth to the eyes of the leader of the Howlers, who glared back. The only other thing she was looking at besides that girl was the black origami flower she had found taped to the door when their room was ransacked and a knife was nailed against the door. She had forgotten that it was in her pocket, but now took it out with a trembling hand.
Kai didn't notice their glaring contest, but he felt that Solo was really impatient and was unusually quieter than she normally would. Usually, Solo might at least say a couple of words to Kai, but ever since they had arrived here in the dome and had met their opposing team, Solo had become very fidgety. Her breathing had become more rapid too, and she kept looking at the team leader of the Howlers every 5 seconds.
"Players, please get into position! And a 3! 2! 1! LET IT RIIIIIPPP!!!!"
"H-yah!"
"Come on! Let's do some damage!" All four beyblades flew from their masters' launchers and landed in the battle dish. Terri and Max nodded together.
"Alright! Let's do this! DC Barrier!" Draciel and Cougarah spun into the middle and began their defense strategy just as Gwen and Wen's beyblades slammed into gear. Both beyblades tried to knock Draciel and Cougarah off balance but could not because of their defense shields. Gwen and Wen's beyblades flew backwards and then circled back to Draciel and Cougarah. Again they attacked but could not knock them off balance. The freaky part was that Gwen and Wen didn't even blink at the advantage Draciel and Cougarah had over their own beyblades.
"Alright!" Saber cheered. "Way to go Max and Terri!"
"Their defense barriers must be stronger than I suspected," Ray replied.
"Pretty soon, Max and Terri are going to win this battle of two on two!" Tyson shouted gleefully.
"Hold it. Something's not right," Kai cut in.
"What now, Mr. Sour-puss?" asked Tyson. Solo didn't even notice that comment. Kai glared at Tyson.
"Those two girls are up to something and it isn't good."
"Kai's right, you know," Kenny agreed. He had been analyzing the four beyblades' movements with Dizzy and had come up with an answer.
"Listen you guys. Something strange is going on. As we see right now as spectators of this battle, it looks as if Max and Terri are going to lick these two sisters out of the game. But they don't seem too upset about it. In fact, they don't look worried at all. Take a look at this." Kenny showed them his laptop. It had an image of Terri's beyblade on it and next to it were two bar graphs. "These two graphs represent Terri's beyblade. The first graph shows us Terri's power and defense level before Gwen and Wen attacked. The second shows Terri's power and defense level presently."
"Are you kidding?" Lexis asked in disbelief as she looked at the comparison of the charts.
"Oh, no. As you can see, Terri's potential defense was at full power in the first chart. In the second chart, it has fallen down and has decrease by at least 75%, which means that in just a matter of minutes, Terri's defense system will be completely wiped out."
"What about Max?" Tyson asked.
"Well, he's not doing much better than Terri is, but he is holding on much better by 2.5%."
"2.5%?! We need them to keep this up by at least 10%!"
"What about their bit-beasts?" asked Ray.
"Huh?"
"Their bit-beasts. Shouldn't they power up their beyblade(s) and keep it running? I mean, they COULD just summon their bit-beasts and stop themselves from getting wiped out, can't they?"
"They could."
"But the question is this," Solo murmured. "Does the other team have bit- beasts more powerful than we do?"
"What do you mean? We don't even KNOW for certain if the other team HAS bit-beasts for that matter," Saber replied dully.
"You're wrong. The other team DOES have bit-beasts and they CAN overpower us." Solo remained silent again, trying to focus on the battle. Saber clenched her teeth and growled silently.
"Max! I'm starting to wobble!" Terri cried to him. She wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand.
"Same here," Max answered back. "I guess we have no choice but to reveal our weapon, eh?" Gwen and Wen's beyblades were circling back for another round of slam-and-jam.
"Ok! Let's go Draciel!"
"Cougarah, do your stuff!" Both bit-beasts rose up from their beyblades, growling. Gwen and Wen both suddenly smiled.
"Yes! It's about time." Their beyblades spun faster as the black and white patterns on their blades spiraled like a never-ending twister. Cougarah lunged at the closest spinning beyblade.
"Cougarah! Mountain Cat Attack!" Cougarah growled as its claws glistened. It was heading directly for Wen's beyblade.
"Shift now!" Wen commanded. Her beyblade sidestepped from the bit-beast and lit up. Everyone gasped at this.
"What the? How can Cougarah miss that attack?" Terri sputtered in frustration. Wen's blade glowed as something hovered over her beyblade. It was her bit-beast: an owl. It spread out its wings and chirped eerily, its huge eyes staring right into the glowering eyes of Cougarah. Cougarah couldn't take its eyes off the owl's huge spiraling eyes. It froze in its position.
"Cougarah! What are you doing?" Terri cried out to her bit-beast. Max could only gawk at the huge owl.
"Oh man! That is the most uncommon bit-beast I have ever seen!" Kenny stammered.
"And it's huge!" Tyson gasped. Everyone else, including Kai was completely astounded at the owl.
"You guys aren't the only ones with a bit-beast, you know," Wen said. "Meet my bit-beast, Rye." Rye hooted as it continued to stare into Cougarah's eyes. Cougarah froze.
"Aw man!" Max sputtered, completely awed with Cougarah and Rye. Gwen suddenly yelled, breaking the moment.
"ATTACK NOW!" A light lit up in Gwen's beyblade as it charged at Draciel. Something lunged out at Draciel as it was completely caught off guard. It was another owl. Its eyes flared up as it screeched like a ghost. Its beak snapped as its wings spread and its claws rammed into Draciel.
"NO! Draciel!"
"Predator, finish it off!" Predator, the huge silver great-horned owl, nose-dived down and slammed dead right into Draciel, knocking it down. It wasn't the only thing that disappeared from the ring. Max's beyblade also flew out of the ring, rolling away.
"Oh no!" Max cried as he held his head in confusion.
"Cougarah! Attack it!" Terri tried to order her bit-beast to listen to her, but Cougarah stayed frozen. Rye continued to stare in its eyes, then finally screeched once again, and with a mighty shove of its claws, knocked Cougarah back and slammed it out of the stadium. Cougarah landed beside Draciel, both beyblades smoking. Terri and Max could only stay silent, shocked at their defeat. It was their worst defeat ever. Predator and Rye flew next to each other, screeching before they disappeared back into their beyblades, and flew back into their masters' hands. Gwen and Wen didn't even smile.
"I hope you now realize how serious I am when I told you not to hold anything back," Gwen stated. "But, it turns out that you don't HAVE anything to hold back at all." Wen grunted at them in a satisfying 'hmph'. Then joined her twin sister and walked back to the bench. Max picked up his beyblade and nearly dropped it. It was too hot. The metal defense ring was still hot from the battle. Terri's beyblade was scratched and even cracked.
"AH man! Those girls were absolutely brutal!" Saber commented.
"They shouldn't be allowed into the battle dome for violence and trash- talking," Kenny cried out.
"Be quiet. They weren't trash-talking," Kai snapped. "That's just their way of communicating."
"I don't get it," Lexis said, crossing her arms across her chest. "Why can't Terri get control of her bit-beast?"
"I know," Saber agreed. "Terri would be the last person I would think of who would lose control of her bit-beast."
"Do you think Dizzy can tell us anything?" asked Ray.
"Let's see." Kenny typed on his laptop, occasionally clicking on a few files. "Aw man! I can't seem to find anything on why a bit-beast would stop and disobey its master. The only time it would actually do that is if it doesn't like the way it's being treated, or if you fight half-heartedly. The result for that would be losing your bit-beast."
"I know how THAT feels," Ray sighed, remembering how he felt when he had lost Driger to Kevin.
"Ouch!" Saber winced.
"Chief!" Terri ran over to the others with Max right behind her. "Something's not right. Cougarah won't listen to me."
"We think you might have seen something or analyzed the last battle on your laptop," Max replied.
"Sorry," Kenny said. "But Dizzy and I don't understand what's wrong. Until your bit-beast appears again, we won't know what really happened."
"That's ok," Terri answered. "Thanks for your help anyways." Terri and Max stood among themselves by the bench, repairing/replacing some of their broken beyblade parts.
Solo clenched her teeth. Things were really bad now. Something wasn't right. You're up to something, aren't you Howlers?
"And ladies and gentlemen! Please get ready for round 2, cause it's coming right at you!!!!!!!!!!" DJ yelled.
"And here we go again, AJ!"
"That's right, Brad. I must say the Howlers have been very mysterious and cautious with their moves."
"Players: ARE YOU READY?" The crowd cheered as they watched the competitors prepare for battle.
"You ready to beat these guys Terri?" asked Max.
"Oh yeah." Terri glared at Wen, but she eerily seemed to be smiling.
"And 3. . . . 2. . . . 1. . . . Let it RIP!"
"Come on Cougarah!" Terri yelled as she ripped her beyblade.
"Time to battle, Draciel!" Max shouted. Rye and Predator flew from their launchers and hit the battle dish.
"Let's see what you've got kid," Gwen sneered.
"Draciel! Attack now!"
"Hey look! Max isn't playing defense anymore!" Tyson cried.
"He must be desperate!" Kenny yelled. Draciel charged into Predator and knocked him back. Gwen stared. She seemed surprised.
"Well, I guess you're not just an all defense beyblader," she murmured.
"Gwen, would you stop being so foolish?" Wen groaned.
"Why? What's the matter?" asked Gwen.
"This little game's starting to get on my nerves," Wen growled.
"So. . . . you're out of patience," Gwen said coolly. "What say we. . . . . have a little fun before we end this?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Wen sighed, relieved at her sister's answer.
"Terri! Let's try our battle strategy again!" Max suggested. "They don't seem to be paying attention right now!"
"Ok!" Terri answered. "DC Barrier- huh? I said DC Barrier! . . . . . . . Cougarah! Why won't you listen to me?" It was true. Cougarah and Draciel both rose from their beyblades in their bit-beast form. Draciel seemed to be heading for Predator and Rye, but Cougarah wasn't following. Instead, Cougarah was growling and gnashing its teeth at Draciel when it tried to lunge at Predator and Rye. Both Gwen and Wen were snickering, their hands crossed across their chests.
"Heh heh heh. . . . my, this is amusing," said Wen.
"Alright! What have you two done with my bit-beast?" Terri demanded.
"I think I ought to explain this one," Wen spoke up. "Gwen needs a rest from answering all these annoying questions. It's very simple. What we've. . . . . or should I say Rye has done is put Cougarah under a little temporary spell. When your bit-beast showed up at first and faced mine, Rye and Cougarah had a little glaring contest. Rye's eyes have the most original talent I have ever seen. My bit-beast has the ability to transfix another bit-beast's eyes by staring at it. Once it stares at it, it can't take its eyes off of Rye's pupils. While this is going on, Rye uses a special technique and can put anyone who stares into its eyes under a spell. Rye can then control the bit-beast's actions and order it what to do."
"Wait a minute!" Max piped up. "You don't mean that -"
"OH yeah," Wen smiled. "My bit-beast has the ability to hypnotize."
"Ah!" Terri gasped. Everyone else gasped in surprise.
"That's a very interesting method and ability," Kenny said. "I've never seen a bit-beast with an ability like that."
"That's also very cheap!" Saber snapped. "How can they just hypnotize someone's bit-beast and order it to win? It just doesn't sound fair!"
"Life isn't fair. . . . ." Lexis sighed. "But I guess this isn't against the rules."
"Now that Rye has control of your bit-beast, there is no way you can win!" Cougarah roared, then lunged at Draciel and scratched it.
"NOOOOO! COUGARAH!" Terri screamed. "Max! I'm so sorry! I don't know what to do!"
"It's ok," Max said, squeezing her hand. " I just hope that Draciel can stand up to this." Draciel fought back as it defended itself against the out-of-control bit-beast. Cougarah growled as it launched itself against Draciel over and over again. Both beyblades were wobbling while Rye and Predator stood on the side. Gwen put down her arms.
"As much as I DO enjoy watching this, I suppose it would be more fair if I ordered my bit-beast to finish you off. PREDATOR!" Predator flew above the two fighting bit-beast and nose-dived into them. Draciel and Cougarah knocked into each other and were tossed out of the ring. Terri and Max both gasped, hand in hand. They had lost the first battle out of three. The Bladebreakers and the Wildcats couldn't believe their eyes.
"NO!!!" Max grabbed hold of his hair. Terri glared at the two opponents, tears in her eyes.
"This hypnotism spell is only temporary, right?"
"Yeah. In exchange for use of your bit-beast, Rye disuses your bit-beast once you are officially beaten. It will return to its normal self again." The two sisters marched back to their bench, where they spoke to their leader. Solo's eyes narrowed.
"This has to be the most unfair match ever!" Tyson declared.
"Yeah, but they haven't broken any rules. So we can't have them disqualified," sighed Ray as he looked down at his feet.
"Don't be so hard on yourselves," Lexis told Terri and Max. "You both tried your best. What matters to us is that you put effort in to it."
"Yeah," Max murmured.
"Saber, you better win this one for us!" Terri growled.
"NO problemo!" Saber flashed a peace sign and jumped off the bench. Ray stood up.
"Hey Ray," said Solo.
"Yeah?"
"Watch out. This team may have more tricks than we thought. Don't underestimate them." Kai nodded.
"Ok. We'll do our best." With that, Ray and Saber walked to the battle dish.
"Just be careful, guys," Solo murmured. She sighed and tried to concentrate. But all she could think about was the girl on the other side. . . . . . . . .
~ SORRY I UPDATE SO SLOW!!!!!!!!!! MY APOLOGIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!!!! I hope that wasn't too boring! Review!
~Zero2-the-scyther