One True Team
I hope you will enjoy reading this chapter. Since I'm starting high school (my first year) pretty soon, it might take me a bit longer to update, but I'll try to keep you updated. Please Review! Thanks to all my reviewers!
"Solo listen!" Leslie snapped. "You have to get out of here right now!"
"What are you talking about?"
Leslie turned her head, looking at her flashing beyblade for a few seconds before turning her head to Solo again. "I don't know how to explain this, but I've been controlled by Howler ever since I got him as my own bit- beast! I tried to tell you before, but Howler would have destroyed you if you knew! And now, since you have defeated him, he's going to destroy you!"
"And what makes you think I'm going to believe you?" Solo argued.
"You have to believe me!" Leslie said angrily. "If you don't go now, then Howler will kill you!" By now, Leslie's beyblade had shot bolts of red light all around like a fire.
"Will you quit lying?" Solo yelled. "I guess you've just realized what a fool you've been and now you're trying to make up for it by pretending that you're still my sister!"
"I'll explain things to you later, but you have to get out of here before Howler-" A loud roar filled the stadium as Leslie's beyblade burst into flame. Then a huge gust of wind blew so forcefully that it knocked Leslie and Solo right off their feet, sending them flying. Everyone gasped. They landed in a heap near the battle dish. Solo groaned as she rose to a sitting position, Leslie right beside her. A golden light surrounded them like a circle as Leslie's beyblade began to light up. The two sisters watched in horror as Howler rose from the beyblade and hovered just above to where they were.
"OH no!" Lexis exclaimed.
"We have to save them before Howler DOES anything to them!" Max said to the others.
"But I don't understand why we have to save Leslie!" Tyson argued. "For all we know, she had something to do with all those accidents that's happened to us. Not to mention she tried to rob a bank and she treated Solo like dirt!"
"Yeah," Ray said. "But there are still some things that we don't understand. What if Leslie WAS being controlled by this bit-beast and was actually trying to find someone to rid her of it?"
"Ray's right," Kai spoke up. "Even though she HAS been wicked in the past, she deserves a second chance."
"Besides, we'll only be feeling guilty if we only save Solo," Terri agreed. "Right now, the only thing we should do is save both of them and defeat Howler once and for all."
"Just don't getting yourselves hurt," Saber grinned.
"Let's see just how strong this barrier is first," Kai said.
Kai ran towards Solo and Leslie, who were surrounded by the golden noose. But as soon as he came near them, Howler turned its head, then roared and breathed a stream of fire right at Kai.
"Kai!" Solo yelled.
"Watch out!" Leslie shouted.
Kai barely managed to escape as the stream of fire buried itself into the ground in front of him. He fell backwards, then quickly ducked as another stream of fire hit the ground beside him.
"Leave him alone, Howler!" Leslie yelled at the bit-beast.
The bit-beast turned its head, glaring at her, then shifted its gaze away from Kai.
"YOU!" it growled, snarling at Leslie. "You knew very well what the consequences ARE if you dare to disobey me and you just won't listen, will you?" Solo turned to look at Leslie, who turned into a shade of green.
"My original deal was that you would allow me to use you as a bit-beast for my beyblade and help me win, since YOU were the one who asked to help me and win all my battles for me as a bit-beast. But that deal NEVER included the fact of me being your slave in return for your help as a bit- beast!"
"SILENCE YOU!" the bit-beast roared. The crowd was now in a panicking state, and even DJ/Brad Best/AJ Topper had stopped announcing. Most of the people were running away, while some went to get security.
Ray and Max ran to Kai.
"Are you okay?" Max asked.
"Yeah. But there's no way we can break into that barrier Howler's put up," Kai said. He groaned as he rubbed his head and stood up.
"This bit-beast is too powerful!" Ray muttered. "IN fact, I'll say it's too powerful to even be controlled by a beyblader."
"I'm going to go back to where the others are and ask Kenny if he has any ideas," Max yelled as he ran back to where everyone else was.
"I've got an idea!" Terri snapped her fingers. "Kenny, maybe if you search through your laptop, then you can find out Howler's weakness."
"I'm trying to!" Kenny answered feverishly. His fingers were flying across the keys as if he were playing the piano (Beethoven's 'Pathetique Sonata' perhaps). " I can't find anything so far, but I'll let you know as soon as anything comes up."
"Excuse me." Everyone looked up. Surprisingly, it was Rochelle who was standing in front of them.
"What are you doing here--" Saber started to say, but got cut off by Tyson.
"What's going on? Is this part of Leslie's plan to win or what?" Tyson demanded.
"That's what I was going to ask you (meaning the part about what's going on)!" Rochelle replied. "I thought that maybe Solo was trying to get revenge on Leslie or the other way around, but I guess you're just as puzzled as the rest of our team. Our entire team has no idea on what's up with Leslie."
"What exactly do you mean?" asked Kenny.
"Something has gone terribly wrong!" Rochelle told them. "Never before has something this weird happen before to our team."
"So Leslie has never done anything like this?"
"Done what?"
"Get revenge on those who defeat her and kill them?"
"Leslie has NEVER lost before," Rochelle explained. "It's pretty weird, but for some reason- "
"Hang on," Saber interrupted. "What exactly are you doing here and why are you, or seem to be, asking for help and telling us about Leslie?"
"The truth is this: we never meant to hurt anyone," Rochelle answered. "We wanted to know what was going on and so, we thought that maybe you can help clear up this mystery. I . . .. Uh . . .. I have a confession to make. I helped Leslie with all those accidents that's happened to your team."
"What?" Terri piped up.
"It's true." Turning her head, Rochelle was surprised to see that Gwen, Wen, Julie, and Ruth were standing behind her. They didn't seem very happy about talking to their opponents, but it didn't look like they had any other choice.
"Leslie had commanded us to help her with some plan to get rid of all the other teams that were qualified in this championships, so we did. But, we didn't have to do what we did to YOUR team to all of the teams that were here," Gwen said.
"Mostly because we've defeated all the teams in our block and your team defeated all the teams in your block," Wen explained.
"So we figured out that your team would be the strongest and will probably be the team that will fight against us in the final round," Ruth told them.
"Then we did what Leslie had ordered us to do, which was to take you guys out by a few warnings," Julie sighed. "We send you a couple of threat notes, which Leslie had written earlier, hoping you would get the message. But you became twice as determined as before to win this championship. Then we locked Lexis inside the hotel training room and threw in a smoke bomb through the air vents, along with Leslie's note. We planted that bottle of juice inside your BBA box and hoped that at least one of you would grab the bottle and end up with a stomachache. That would be you, Terri. Then, since none of you refused to give up, we were forced to frame Saber for a crime that she didn't do." Julie sighed again.
"We never wanted to hurt anyone," Gwen insisted. "We didn't want to do this at all. But Leslie forced us to. Some of us even tried to protest, but then she just beat us up. We're really sorry for what we've done to your team. We thought that what we were doing would actually help our team more, and since Leslie was in charge of this whole thing, we thought that she was just doing this for the championships and for the good of our gang, but it turns out that we've been mistaken. Would you give us a second chance for us to make up for what we've done to you?" Gwen held out a hand. Terri and Lexis stared at each other puzzled while Tyson yawned loudly. Then he reached out and closed his hand around Gwen's.
"Look," he said. "Let's just forget that this incident ever occurred and concentrate instead on how to rescue Leslie and Solo. There'll be plenty of time to discuss this afterwards." A few smiles lit up, and then it was replaced by serious expressions.
"Right," Rochelle agreed.
Meanwhile, Ray and Kai were trying out a strategy to save both Leslie and Solo.
"It'll be almost impossible to even break through the barrier that's put up without being spotted by Howler," Ray said. "And we can't take too many chances of escaping from Howler. Who knows what he can do."
"Then we'll have to distract the bit-beast and THEN try to get Solo and Leslie out," Kai concluded.
"But how?" asked Raven, as she ran over. Saber scowled when she saw Raven glare at her. Terri nudged her in the ribs.
"Sorry," Saber muttered.
"In case you haven't figured it out already, we planned and framed Saber by asking, or should I say by forcing Raven to dress exactly like her, wear blue contact lenses and dye her hair chestnut brown. We found out about Saber's criminal record and your team's skills and players by hacking into the Beybladers Profiles Records," Julie explained.
"Alright, cut the chatting already!" Raven cut in. "We better do something quick before those two get eaten alive."
"But how?" Max asked.
"Hang on," Kenny interrupted. "Maybe if you guys try to ambush Howler with your bit-beasts, then we can try to free them!"
"We know but we need a distraction!" Ray and Kai exclaimed annoyingly. Kenny anime sweat-dropped.
"I'll be your distraction," Raven volunteered. "It's the least I can do."
"Okay, Raven," said Ray. "Just distract Howler until Kai and I have summoned our bit-beasts."
"You two." Kai pointed to Rochelle and Kenny. "Go and get Mr. D. Tell him what's going on and ask him for help."
"We'll be right back," Ruth told Gwen and Wen as she and Julie ran towards the doors.
"Meanwhile, we'll be backing you guys up," Saber grinned, winking at Ray, who blushed slightly. "Just don't do anything stupid." Everyone else stayed close to the benches while Raven edged out slowly. At that moment, Howler was busy snarling at Leslie. Solo wasn't just sat there, motionless as she watched her sister arguing with the bit-beast.
"You mark my words! I shall make you pay for your rebellion!" it shouted, the air from its breath making Leslie's hair fly back.
"Hey! I'm not longer part of this deal! So you're no longer my boss!" Leslie shouted back. "I only agreed to listen and obey you on the condition that you wouldn't harm Solo and that I would use you as a bit-beast in my beyblade."
Leslie gasped when Howler suddenly slithered its tail around her body and lifted her right off the ground.
"Leave her alone!" Solo shouted at it. "I'm the one who defeated you, so come and - ah!" Solo dodged and covered her face as Howler suddenly blasted a jet of fire at her. The fire blast caused another hole to form in the concrete.
"Keep quiet, girl, or I'll destroy you right now!" Howler warned. "Now," it said, turning to Leslie, who was struggling against Howler's snake-like tail. Howler's tail tightened around Leslie's slim body as it continued on. "Where were we? . . . ah yes: your punishment. Since you are backing out of this deal, then I guess I'll have to back out of it too. And I'll have to take any evidence and witnesses along with it, starting with you and Solo. Then the Bladebreakers and the Howlers, one by one. Oh, don't worry," Howler said, eyeing at Solo's sullen expression. "I'll make sure it'll be extremely painful." Howler lifted Leslie up to its eye level.
"You. . . . you. . . . MORON!" Leslie spat out, then yelled when she started to glow all of a sudden. Howler's tail glowed slowly, and soon the glow began to spread all around its body. Gradually, Leslie became weaker and weaker as her energy drained and was absorbed into Howler's body.
"Since I no longer have any use of you, then I'll guess I'll take your energy, along with your life, and use it to power my own body until I can find a new victim. So prepare to die-"
"Lee-ix, leopard paw slash now!" Howler roared as a set of claws slashed its tail, loosening its grip on Leslie. The glowing light stopped and disappeared. Solo caught Leslie just before she landed on the ground, collapsing with a THUD. Howler turned its head to the direction of the attacker and growled. It was Raven and her bit-beast, Lee-ix. Raven was holding her beyblade, surface-facing Howler, while Lee-ix hovered in front of her. Howler screeched angrily and lunged at them. But at that moment, Driger and Dranzer leapt out from behind and tackled Howler to the ground.
"Driger, tiger claw attack!"
"Dranzer, counter attack!"
"Let's go break open that barrier, now that Howler's busy!" Saber yelled as she ran forward.
"Yeah!" Gwen and Wen agreed.
"Some of you guys split up to help Kai and Ray," Lexis suggested.
"We'll go," Terri and Max said.
"Just be careful not to hurt Solo or Leslie in the process, okay?"
"Right!"
The girls and boys split up: Saber, Gwen, Wen, Tyson and Lexis running towards Solo and Leslie, and Max and Terri running towards Kai and Ray.
Howler resisted against their attacks, but since they had surprised it, it looked like Driger and Dranzer had more of an advantage. Howler's tail whipped the ground violently, causing the concrete to crack. The area where Solo and Leslie were on was cracking increasingly faster than everywhere else.
Solo looked around, then turned back to Leslie. "Leslie! Wake up!" she snapped, shaking her sister violently.
Leslie opened her eyes weakly, lying on the ground. "Solo, listen. I'm really sorry about this stupid incident. I never meant to do it, but Howler got jealous of you because I was more loyal to you than it, so it threatened to kill you unless I listen to it and forget about you. I didn't have any choice, but at least one of our family members would survive."
"You fool! You should have told me about it!"
"Howler wouldn't let me, and told me to be mean to you."
"Is that why you starting acting strangely and violently?"
"Yeah. I thought that if we had a bit-beast, then maybe we could win more money and live in a better place. Guess I took the wrong path." Leslie groaned and sat up. The floor around her cracked, then suddenly collapsed. She screamed as she suddenly fell through the hole. Solo gasped in horror and reaching out, caught her sister by the arm. Rocks fell past Leslie into the hallway below them. It was the main hallway of the Russian Beyblade Stadium. People looked up and gasped at the scene. Huge amount of rocks landed onto the floor as people scrambled to get out of the way.
"Don't let go!" Solo shouted. "They're going to break open the barrier and free us soon!"
"I can't!" Leslie replied, sweat dripping down her face. "Howler already took half my strength and for some reason, I can feel that it's taking beyond my strength as we speak. Ah!" Solo's hand slipped upwards and closed around Leslie's wrist. "Solo, I'm really sorry about all this! Can you forgive me for what I've done?"
"I forgive you," Solo answered. "Let's make a fresh start to things and forget that this ever happened before."
"You have to destroy Howler completely! If it escapes, then it will find its way into someone else's beyblade and control them! Howler still has control of me though. I don't think I can hold on any longer. I don't understand, but it still has a link to me. You have to find that link to me and destroy it!"
"Okay! Panthera, scythe claw attack!"
"Rye, Owl Screech attack!"
"Predator, Full Wing Pronto!"
The barrier started to crack.
"Dragoon, Phantom Hurricane attack!"
"Jaguarah, Jaguar Paw Scratch!" The barrier exploded with a puff of smoke. Tyson was about to run inside when he noticed the spreading cracks.
"Oh no! We can't go in there all at once! The ground might collapse under our weight, and Solo and Leslie might go down with it!"
"Then we'll just get the lightest person to go in there," Saber muttered. "Okay? We'll start with 90 lbs. Who's 90 lbs?" Just then, a loud crash was heard. Turning around, they could see that Driger was flung against the walls of the battle stadium on one side while Dranzer was under one of Howler's paws. Draciel and Cougarah were furiously trying to knock Howler over but Howler was too strong. Meanwhile, Lee-ix was unconscious on the ground. Raven was trying to wake it up. Max and Terri had to back away from the bit-beast fight in order to prevent themselves from getting injured. Ray had gone over to Driger while Kai was looking around. He had spotted the dangerous situation Solo was in and was running over.
"Hold on just a bit longer," Solo told Leslie.
"I can't," Leslie answered weakly. "Howler's taken away my strength." Solo's hand was now grasping Leslie's palm.
"Solo, hold on!" Saber was trying to move across to where they were, but had to move slowly to prevent the ground from cracking.
The rest of the gang were backing away from them, fearful that even the slightest crack could send Leslie falling down to the next floor.
Just then, one of Howler's fire blasts blasted the ground just in front of Saber, sending her flying backwards. She tumbled backwards. Gwen and Wen reached out and grabbed her just before the ground slipped from her feet.
"We can't go through to her! We'll have to go around," Lexis said.
"But that will take too long!" Tyson exclaimed.
"Just a little bit longer," Solo gasped.
"I'm sorry," Leslie said. Then, of all horrors, Leslie's hand slipped from Solo's grip. Solo screamed as she watched her sister plunged down to the floor below her.
~Guess what everyone? We're going to get a new computer! So it will take me probably a few weeks timed to update the next chapter! Well, tell me what you think guys! Review!
I hope you will enjoy reading this chapter. Since I'm starting high school (my first year) pretty soon, it might take me a bit longer to update, but I'll try to keep you updated. Please Review! Thanks to all my reviewers!
"Solo listen!" Leslie snapped. "You have to get out of here right now!"
"What are you talking about?"
Leslie turned her head, looking at her flashing beyblade for a few seconds before turning her head to Solo again. "I don't know how to explain this, but I've been controlled by Howler ever since I got him as my own bit- beast! I tried to tell you before, but Howler would have destroyed you if you knew! And now, since you have defeated him, he's going to destroy you!"
"And what makes you think I'm going to believe you?" Solo argued.
"You have to believe me!" Leslie said angrily. "If you don't go now, then Howler will kill you!" By now, Leslie's beyblade had shot bolts of red light all around like a fire.
"Will you quit lying?" Solo yelled. "I guess you've just realized what a fool you've been and now you're trying to make up for it by pretending that you're still my sister!"
"I'll explain things to you later, but you have to get out of here before Howler-" A loud roar filled the stadium as Leslie's beyblade burst into flame. Then a huge gust of wind blew so forcefully that it knocked Leslie and Solo right off their feet, sending them flying. Everyone gasped. They landed in a heap near the battle dish. Solo groaned as she rose to a sitting position, Leslie right beside her. A golden light surrounded them like a circle as Leslie's beyblade began to light up. The two sisters watched in horror as Howler rose from the beyblade and hovered just above to where they were.
"OH no!" Lexis exclaimed.
"We have to save them before Howler DOES anything to them!" Max said to the others.
"But I don't understand why we have to save Leslie!" Tyson argued. "For all we know, she had something to do with all those accidents that's happened to us. Not to mention she tried to rob a bank and she treated Solo like dirt!"
"Yeah," Ray said. "But there are still some things that we don't understand. What if Leslie WAS being controlled by this bit-beast and was actually trying to find someone to rid her of it?"
"Ray's right," Kai spoke up. "Even though she HAS been wicked in the past, she deserves a second chance."
"Besides, we'll only be feeling guilty if we only save Solo," Terri agreed. "Right now, the only thing we should do is save both of them and defeat Howler once and for all."
"Just don't getting yourselves hurt," Saber grinned.
"Let's see just how strong this barrier is first," Kai said.
Kai ran towards Solo and Leslie, who were surrounded by the golden noose. But as soon as he came near them, Howler turned its head, then roared and breathed a stream of fire right at Kai.
"Kai!" Solo yelled.
"Watch out!" Leslie shouted.
Kai barely managed to escape as the stream of fire buried itself into the ground in front of him. He fell backwards, then quickly ducked as another stream of fire hit the ground beside him.
"Leave him alone, Howler!" Leslie yelled at the bit-beast.
The bit-beast turned its head, glaring at her, then shifted its gaze away from Kai.
"YOU!" it growled, snarling at Leslie. "You knew very well what the consequences ARE if you dare to disobey me and you just won't listen, will you?" Solo turned to look at Leslie, who turned into a shade of green.
"My original deal was that you would allow me to use you as a bit-beast for my beyblade and help me win, since YOU were the one who asked to help me and win all my battles for me as a bit-beast. But that deal NEVER included the fact of me being your slave in return for your help as a bit- beast!"
"SILENCE YOU!" the bit-beast roared. The crowd was now in a panicking state, and even DJ/Brad Best/AJ Topper had stopped announcing. Most of the people were running away, while some went to get security.
Ray and Max ran to Kai.
"Are you okay?" Max asked.
"Yeah. But there's no way we can break into that barrier Howler's put up," Kai said. He groaned as he rubbed his head and stood up.
"This bit-beast is too powerful!" Ray muttered. "IN fact, I'll say it's too powerful to even be controlled by a beyblader."
"I'm going to go back to where the others are and ask Kenny if he has any ideas," Max yelled as he ran back to where everyone else was.
"I've got an idea!" Terri snapped her fingers. "Kenny, maybe if you search through your laptop, then you can find out Howler's weakness."
"I'm trying to!" Kenny answered feverishly. His fingers were flying across the keys as if he were playing the piano (Beethoven's 'Pathetique Sonata' perhaps). " I can't find anything so far, but I'll let you know as soon as anything comes up."
"Excuse me." Everyone looked up. Surprisingly, it was Rochelle who was standing in front of them.
"What are you doing here--" Saber started to say, but got cut off by Tyson.
"What's going on? Is this part of Leslie's plan to win or what?" Tyson demanded.
"That's what I was going to ask you (meaning the part about what's going on)!" Rochelle replied. "I thought that maybe Solo was trying to get revenge on Leslie or the other way around, but I guess you're just as puzzled as the rest of our team. Our entire team has no idea on what's up with Leslie."
"What exactly do you mean?" asked Kenny.
"Something has gone terribly wrong!" Rochelle told them. "Never before has something this weird happen before to our team."
"So Leslie has never done anything like this?"
"Done what?"
"Get revenge on those who defeat her and kill them?"
"Leslie has NEVER lost before," Rochelle explained. "It's pretty weird, but for some reason- "
"Hang on," Saber interrupted. "What exactly are you doing here and why are you, or seem to be, asking for help and telling us about Leslie?"
"The truth is this: we never meant to hurt anyone," Rochelle answered. "We wanted to know what was going on and so, we thought that maybe you can help clear up this mystery. I . . .. Uh . . .. I have a confession to make. I helped Leslie with all those accidents that's happened to your team."
"What?" Terri piped up.
"It's true." Turning her head, Rochelle was surprised to see that Gwen, Wen, Julie, and Ruth were standing behind her. They didn't seem very happy about talking to their opponents, but it didn't look like they had any other choice.
"Leslie had commanded us to help her with some plan to get rid of all the other teams that were qualified in this championships, so we did. But, we didn't have to do what we did to YOUR team to all of the teams that were here," Gwen said.
"Mostly because we've defeated all the teams in our block and your team defeated all the teams in your block," Wen explained.
"So we figured out that your team would be the strongest and will probably be the team that will fight against us in the final round," Ruth told them.
"Then we did what Leslie had ordered us to do, which was to take you guys out by a few warnings," Julie sighed. "We send you a couple of threat notes, which Leslie had written earlier, hoping you would get the message. But you became twice as determined as before to win this championship. Then we locked Lexis inside the hotel training room and threw in a smoke bomb through the air vents, along with Leslie's note. We planted that bottle of juice inside your BBA box and hoped that at least one of you would grab the bottle and end up with a stomachache. That would be you, Terri. Then, since none of you refused to give up, we were forced to frame Saber for a crime that she didn't do." Julie sighed again.
"We never wanted to hurt anyone," Gwen insisted. "We didn't want to do this at all. But Leslie forced us to. Some of us even tried to protest, but then she just beat us up. We're really sorry for what we've done to your team. We thought that what we were doing would actually help our team more, and since Leslie was in charge of this whole thing, we thought that she was just doing this for the championships and for the good of our gang, but it turns out that we've been mistaken. Would you give us a second chance for us to make up for what we've done to you?" Gwen held out a hand. Terri and Lexis stared at each other puzzled while Tyson yawned loudly. Then he reached out and closed his hand around Gwen's.
"Look," he said. "Let's just forget that this incident ever occurred and concentrate instead on how to rescue Leslie and Solo. There'll be plenty of time to discuss this afterwards." A few smiles lit up, and then it was replaced by serious expressions.
"Right," Rochelle agreed.
Meanwhile, Ray and Kai were trying out a strategy to save both Leslie and Solo.
"It'll be almost impossible to even break through the barrier that's put up without being spotted by Howler," Ray said. "And we can't take too many chances of escaping from Howler. Who knows what he can do."
"Then we'll have to distract the bit-beast and THEN try to get Solo and Leslie out," Kai concluded.
"But how?" asked Raven, as she ran over. Saber scowled when she saw Raven glare at her. Terri nudged her in the ribs.
"Sorry," Saber muttered.
"In case you haven't figured it out already, we planned and framed Saber by asking, or should I say by forcing Raven to dress exactly like her, wear blue contact lenses and dye her hair chestnut brown. We found out about Saber's criminal record and your team's skills and players by hacking into the Beybladers Profiles Records," Julie explained.
"Alright, cut the chatting already!" Raven cut in. "We better do something quick before those two get eaten alive."
"But how?" Max asked.
"Hang on," Kenny interrupted. "Maybe if you guys try to ambush Howler with your bit-beasts, then we can try to free them!"
"We know but we need a distraction!" Ray and Kai exclaimed annoyingly. Kenny anime sweat-dropped.
"I'll be your distraction," Raven volunteered. "It's the least I can do."
"Okay, Raven," said Ray. "Just distract Howler until Kai and I have summoned our bit-beasts."
"You two." Kai pointed to Rochelle and Kenny. "Go and get Mr. D. Tell him what's going on and ask him for help."
"We'll be right back," Ruth told Gwen and Wen as she and Julie ran towards the doors.
"Meanwhile, we'll be backing you guys up," Saber grinned, winking at Ray, who blushed slightly. "Just don't do anything stupid." Everyone else stayed close to the benches while Raven edged out slowly. At that moment, Howler was busy snarling at Leslie. Solo wasn't just sat there, motionless as she watched her sister arguing with the bit-beast.
"You mark my words! I shall make you pay for your rebellion!" it shouted, the air from its breath making Leslie's hair fly back.
"Hey! I'm not longer part of this deal! So you're no longer my boss!" Leslie shouted back. "I only agreed to listen and obey you on the condition that you wouldn't harm Solo and that I would use you as a bit-beast in my beyblade."
Leslie gasped when Howler suddenly slithered its tail around her body and lifted her right off the ground.
"Leave her alone!" Solo shouted at it. "I'm the one who defeated you, so come and - ah!" Solo dodged and covered her face as Howler suddenly blasted a jet of fire at her. The fire blast caused another hole to form in the concrete.
"Keep quiet, girl, or I'll destroy you right now!" Howler warned. "Now," it said, turning to Leslie, who was struggling against Howler's snake-like tail. Howler's tail tightened around Leslie's slim body as it continued on. "Where were we? . . . ah yes: your punishment. Since you are backing out of this deal, then I guess I'll have to back out of it too. And I'll have to take any evidence and witnesses along with it, starting with you and Solo. Then the Bladebreakers and the Howlers, one by one. Oh, don't worry," Howler said, eyeing at Solo's sullen expression. "I'll make sure it'll be extremely painful." Howler lifted Leslie up to its eye level.
"You. . . . you. . . . MORON!" Leslie spat out, then yelled when she started to glow all of a sudden. Howler's tail glowed slowly, and soon the glow began to spread all around its body. Gradually, Leslie became weaker and weaker as her energy drained and was absorbed into Howler's body.
"Since I no longer have any use of you, then I'll guess I'll take your energy, along with your life, and use it to power my own body until I can find a new victim. So prepare to die-"
"Lee-ix, leopard paw slash now!" Howler roared as a set of claws slashed its tail, loosening its grip on Leslie. The glowing light stopped and disappeared. Solo caught Leslie just before she landed on the ground, collapsing with a THUD. Howler turned its head to the direction of the attacker and growled. It was Raven and her bit-beast, Lee-ix. Raven was holding her beyblade, surface-facing Howler, while Lee-ix hovered in front of her. Howler screeched angrily and lunged at them. But at that moment, Driger and Dranzer leapt out from behind and tackled Howler to the ground.
"Driger, tiger claw attack!"
"Dranzer, counter attack!"
"Let's go break open that barrier, now that Howler's busy!" Saber yelled as she ran forward.
"Yeah!" Gwen and Wen agreed.
"Some of you guys split up to help Kai and Ray," Lexis suggested.
"We'll go," Terri and Max said.
"Just be careful not to hurt Solo or Leslie in the process, okay?"
"Right!"
The girls and boys split up: Saber, Gwen, Wen, Tyson and Lexis running towards Solo and Leslie, and Max and Terri running towards Kai and Ray.
Howler resisted against their attacks, but since they had surprised it, it looked like Driger and Dranzer had more of an advantage. Howler's tail whipped the ground violently, causing the concrete to crack. The area where Solo and Leslie were on was cracking increasingly faster than everywhere else.
Solo looked around, then turned back to Leslie. "Leslie! Wake up!" she snapped, shaking her sister violently.
Leslie opened her eyes weakly, lying on the ground. "Solo, listen. I'm really sorry about this stupid incident. I never meant to do it, but Howler got jealous of you because I was more loyal to you than it, so it threatened to kill you unless I listen to it and forget about you. I didn't have any choice, but at least one of our family members would survive."
"You fool! You should have told me about it!"
"Howler wouldn't let me, and told me to be mean to you."
"Is that why you starting acting strangely and violently?"
"Yeah. I thought that if we had a bit-beast, then maybe we could win more money and live in a better place. Guess I took the wrong path." Leslie groaned and sat up. The floor around her cracked, then suddenly collapsed. She screamed as she suddenly fell through the hole. Solo gasped in horror and reaching out, caught her sister by the arm. Rocks fell past Leslie into the hallway below them. It was the main hallway of the Russian Beyblade Stadium. People looked up and gasped at the scene. Huge amount of rocks landed onto the floor as people scrambled to get out of the way.
"Don't let go!" Solo shouted. "They're going to break open the barrier and free us soon!"
"I can't!" Leslie replied, sweat dripping down her face. "Howler already took half my strength and for some reason, I can feel that it's taking beyond my strength as we speak. Ah!" Solo's hand slipped upwards and closed around Leslie's wrist. "Solo, I'm really sorry about all this! Can you forgive me for what I've done?"
"I forgive you," Solo answered. "Let's make a fresh start to things and forget that this ever happened before."
"You have to destroy Howler completely! If it escapes, then it will find its way into someone else's beyblade and control them! Howler still has control of me though. I don't think I can hold on any longer. I don't understand, but it still has a link to me. You have to find that link to me and destroy it!"
"Okay! Panthera, scythe claw attack!"
"Rye, Owl Screech attack!"
"Predator, Full Wing Pronto!"
The barrier started to crack.
"Dragoon, Phantom Hurricane attack!"
"Jaguarah, Jaguar Paw Scratch!" The barrier exploded with a puff of smoke. Tyson was about to run inside when he noticed the spreading cracks.
"Oh no! We can't go in there all at once! The ground might collapse under our weight, and Solo and Leslie might go down with it!"
"Then we'll just get the lightest person to go in there," Saber muttered. "Okay? We'll start with 90 lbs. Who's 90 lbs?" Just then, a loud crash was heard. Turning around, they could see that Driger was flung against the walls of the battle stadium on one side while Dranzer was under one of Howler's paws. Draciel and Cougarah were furiously trying to knock Howler over but Howler was too strong. Meanwhile, Lee-ix was unconscious on the ground. Raven was trying to wake it up. Max and Terri had to back away from the bit-beast fight in order to prevent themselves from getting injured. Ray had gone over to Driger while Kai was looking around. He had spotted the dangerous situation Solo was in and was running over.
"Hold on just a bit longer," Solo told Leslie.
"I can't," Leslie answered weakly. "Howler's taken away my strength." Solo's hand was now grasping Leslie's palm.
"Solo, hold on!" Saber was trying to move across to where they were, but had to move slowly to prevent the ground from cracking.
The rest of the gang were backing away from them, fearful that even the slightest crack could send Leslie falling down to the next floor.
Just then, one of Howler's fire blasts blasted the ground just in front of Saber, sending her flying backwards. She tumbled backwards. Gwen and Wen reached out and grabbed her just before the ground slipped from her feet.
"We can't go through to her! We'll have to go around," Lexis said.
"But that will take too long!" Tyson exclaimed.
"Just a little bit longer," Solo gasped.
"I'm sorry," Leslie said. Then, of all horrors, Leslie's hand slipped from Solo's grip. Solo screamed as she watched her sister plunged down to the floor below her.
~Guess what everyone? We're going to get a new computer! So it will take me probably a few weeks timed to update the next chapter! Well, tell me what you think guys! Review!