Beyblade: Final Battle

Please R+R! You can just review one chapter, if you want. All I need is feedback.

Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade in any way.

Episode Eight: The Tournament of Gathering, Part One.

*BBRIINGG!* The alarm clock rang, sending a jolt through Tyson's spine. "Unh... what time is it?" he asked wearily, turning over to shut down the alarm. He felt dazed for a moment... then he quickly realized what day it was. "Oh yeah, the tournament." He went to the bathroom to take a quick shower, brush his teeth, and change into his street clothes.

"Ahh... that feels so much better," Tyson said, taking Dragoon off his shelf and polishing it. He then took out his new launcher, the "Magnum Strike" as Kenny had called it. "I can't wait to test this out." He smiled briefly, then exited the dojo to go to Kenny's house, where Ray was staying.

*****

"Laddieess and gentlemen, welcome to first official tag team tournament at Zody's supermarket! The place where you can... uh... buy all your groceries!" Zody shouted excitedly. "Today we have all sorts of fierce competitors, including Tyson and Ray, two of Japan's champions!" The crowd roared with excitement, as all of the bladers walked up to the stage. Tyson and Ray were amongst them, who decided to form a tag team for this tournament. Even Kenny had entered, with their old friend Andrew, the first blader Tyson had met when he started blading (A/N: Andrew is the guy with the fish lips in series one. Also, I'm sorry for having to put brackets in the story again. Whoops!).

"Let's give a big warm welcome for our pairs!" Zody shouted once more. "Tyson and Ray, Kenny and Andrew, Natalie and Tanya, X and Y, Victor and Carlos, Selima and Goki, Casey and Kara, and our latest participants, Terrence and Nathan (A/N: Terrence and Dandy storyline will be explained in the next chapter. I promise.)!" The crowd shouted with applause as the spotlight went over to the eight pairs. "The computer will randomly generate the matches. In the mean time, why not shop at Zody's supermarket?!?"

Tyson was surprised to see their old friends Goki and Selima at the tournament. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?" he asked.

Selima grinned. "Hey Ray, hey Tyson, long time no see," she said.

"We decided that Japan was our next stop in teaching kids how to beyblade better," Goki explained. "When we heard that there was a tournament nearby, we couldn't resist getting a peace of the action."

Ray nodded. "I see..." he began. "Well, I'll bet you're going to be one of our fiercest competition, so may the best blader win!"

They both nodded in agreement. "Hey wait a second... we shouldn't underestimate our opponents here," Tyson said. "I mean, we don't even know half our competition... and what about that Nathan kid? He has a legendary bit beast too, and I'll bet my beyblade that Terrence has a trick up his sleeve too."

Ray couldn't help but laugh. "Ha, Tyson, you're actually being thoughtful.." he said between laughs.

Tyson sweat dropped. "What's that supposed to mean?" Before Ray couldn't retaliate, the lights went out.

"We've have configured the matchups!" Zody announced. "In the first round, Tyson and Ray will face Natalie and Tanya. Kenny and Andrew will face Victor and Carlos. Terrence and Nathan will face X and Y. Selima and Goki will face Casey and Kara. The four winning pairs will advance to the second round. The two winning pairs in the second round will advance to the third round, where the winner will be decided. Also, each pair launches their beyblades at the same time. There will be one launch per battle, and the tournament will be single elimination. The battle isn't over until both players of the team are disabled. Players ready? Then let's begin with our first round, Tyson and Ray V.S. Natalie and Tanya!" The crowd cheered with excitement, especially when Tyson walked up to the stage.

"Thank you, thank you," said Tyson, acting like his usual-self when fans were around.

Ray tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, if I recall, you're the one that told us not to let our guard down," he reminded him.

"Whatever," Tyson replied, as they walked up to the dish. He turned to face his opponents: two girls wearing strange white outfits. One of them had long, brown hair and the other had orange, short hair. He recognized the brown haired one as the girl who defeated Kai. "Hey Natalie, you're going down," he said, reading her name tag. "I'll avenge Kai's defeat by trashing your blade so bad, you won't even recognize it."

Natalie smirked. "You talk tough, but can you back it up?" she mocked.

"Sorry pal, but that's not going to work on me," Tyson replied.

The four players took out their beyblade launchers, and Zody began the countdown. "Three... two... one... let it rip!" All four of them launched their beyblades at the same time.

Dragoon received an enormous power boost from the Magnum shooter. "Alright, it's time to attack!" Tyson shouted.

"Driger attack!" Ray shouted at the same time. Both Ray and Tyson landed a direct hit at their opponents, pushing them back. However, Natalie and Tanya didn't bother to fight back. They just watched as their beyblades got trashed, sending bits of metal flying everywhere.

"How pathetic... is that all you can do?" said Tanya. She turned to face Natalie, who nodded in agreement.

"Double attack, unity!" they shouted. Both blades glowed with an awesome brilliance, releasing their bit beasts. One was easily recognized as Minos, the centaur bit beast. One was a tiny angel, who held a bow and arrow. Both bit beasts merged together, forming a winged-centaur creature. "Winged Minos, attack!"

Tyson recoiled in shock. "H-How is possible that they merged their bit beasts?" he whispered.

"Driger, attack!" Ray shouted. Driger emerged from his beyblade, and tried in vain to combat the combined bit beasts. Despite his best efforts, Driger was pushed back, smashing against the dish. "Tyson, a little help here? Call out Dragoon!"

Tyson was almost paralyzed. "W-We can't fight against a force like that," he stuttered.

Ray looked shocked. He had never seen Tyson act this way. What happened to the brave, confident Tyson?

Ray gritted his teeth, and punched Tyson on the cheek. "Tyson, I'm sick and tired of this. You're a world champ, you've been in tighter situations before. What about Tala, Zeo, and even Kai? Somehow, the Tyson I knew always managed to defeat them, so quite acting like a little baby!"

Tyson looked stunned for a moment. Then he grinned. "You're right Ray. I'm sorry, bud," he said. "Now it's time to bring out DRAGOON!" Tyson's beyblade glowed softly, as Dragoon emerged from it. He looked just as powerful as ever. However, they were just a little bit too late. The winged centaur took out his axe, and stabbed Driger in the arm, causing blood to spurt everywhere. He howled in pain, and retreated back into his beyblade, which had spun out of the dish.

Ray looked horrified. "I lost," he muttered, picking up his beyblade. "I'm sorry I let you down, Tyson. It's up to you now."

Tyson growled angrily. "You'll pay for what you did to Driger," he said. "DRAGOON, FINAL ATTACK!!!" Ray gasped. For a brief second, he could have sworn that he saw an aura glow around Tyson... but it quickly faded.

Natalie glanced at Tanya, who was equally surprised. "The boy figured out how to harness the power of the bit beast in a totally different way," she whispered. "He allows his bit beast to share his own spiritual energy. Amazing..."

"I'm not through with you yet," Tyson said. "Dragoon!" The dragon roared with rage, causing a few rocks to fall out from the roof. He then slashed the centaur repeatedly, forcing the two bit beasts to separate. It was all over by then. Both Natalie and Tanya's beyblades ran out of spin.

"Uh..." Zody began, looking dazed. "What an amazing first round match! This one goes to Tyson and Ray!" The crowd all shouted with excitement, as the two winners left the dish. "The next match will be Kenny and Andrew VS. Victor and Carlos! You gotta stay tuned for this one!"

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: The next episode will tell what happened between Dandy and Terrence. It will also explain Kai's whereabouts, and what he is doing (like you need to know). Then the tournament will continue. Also, be patient about the "beyond beyblading" thing. I'll get to it.