Beyblade: Final Battle

Please R+R.

Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade or any beyblade characters from the anime/manga.

Episode Twelve: Crack Under Pressure

"Y-you what?" Hilary asked, horrified.

Tyson turned his back on her. "I told you. I've decided to quit beyblading."

There was a long silence, when the only sound heard was the wind howling. Finally, Kenny chuckled a little bit. "Haha, do you expect me to believe that? Nice try Tyson, but this joke's not going to work," he stated confidently. "You've been beyblading for years now. Do you expect me to believe that you'd just give up so suddenly?"

Tyson gritted his teeth, and gave Kenny a rough shove. "Tyson, what do you think you're doing? This isn't funny any more, how could you hurt your own friend?" Hilary spat in disgust.

"Beyblading makes me sick," Tyson murmured. "It's not just a game any more. Everyone from evil masterminds to artificial humans want a piece of me. I'm so disgusted of this... why can't they just give us a damn break? " He ran off, without saying so much of a goodbye to his old friends.

Hilary looked like she was just about to explode. "That jerk... is he just going to leave us like that?"

"I don't know Hilary. I really don't," Kenny replied, sounding genuinely concerned.

"He needs some breathing room," a voice interrupted. It was Kai, and for once he didn't have the usual cold look on his face. His expression seemed almost unreadable. "Give the kid a break. Out of all of us, he's been through the most challenges in beyblading. I can sympathize..." His thoughts briefly drifted to the time he inhabited Balkov Abbey, the time he used Black Dranzer against everyone, even the time he joined the evil organization BEGA for a while. He had betrayed his friends many times in the past, but he'd always find some way to come back, and they'd forgive him."Believe me, Tyson will come around. He always finds a way to solve his problems. We should let him go for a while before we do anything."

Kenny and Hilary nodded in understanding. It was just like Kai to be the voice of reason. "Thanks... you're right Kai. I see it a little better now," Hilary said. However, it seemed that she was the most concerned for Tyson than any of them.

Elsewhere....

"Dr. Zagart, our sources tell us that beyblade champion Tyson has quit beyblading. What should we do in a case like this?" asked one of the scientists, perplexed.

Zagart snarled. "Curse that boy.... this wasn't the way it was supposed to happen."

Another scientist grinned as he watched the video screens. "Sir, I have a suggestion. We could strike the remaining bladers, now that their forces are weakened. If our plan is a success, then Tyson will have no choice but to return to beyblade, and avenge his friends. Otherwise, it could be completely arbitrary."

Zagart's frown slowly transformed into a fully-fledged smile. "No... carry on with the plan. Based on what I've seen with Tyson, he will protect his friends at any cost. Even if it means a sacrifice...." He laughed maniacally.

In the mean time...

Tyson wandered aimless on the streets, dazed after his last encounter. It had been his decision to quit beyblading, but he couldn't help but feel bad. He knew that he wanted to escape all the pressure that was going on, and on the other hand... a voice in his head told him that Kenny was right. He couldn't just quit beyblading; it was his life. Without his life, he would just be abandoning all the friends and experiences he had .

He calmed himself down, and watched some kids play football at a nearby. "Maybe I'll join them... anything but beyblading," he told himself. He took a seat at the stands, to reflect on the events that had occurred recently. "Argh, I can't stop thinking about it." Tyson growled in frustration. He couldn't deny the past couple of years in his life. At the same time, he didn't want to dwell on all the hard experiences he faced back then.

"I'm not coming back," Tyson announced, deciding that he solved his internal struggle. He left the stadium, which was completely empty by then. As he left, he threw his beyblade into the trash can.... but stopped to remove the bit chip from it.

*****

Ray and Dandy were equally shocked when they heard the news about Tyson. "Geeze, I knew the kid would crack someday," Dandy said. "I mean, he was just like a dynamite crate waiting to explode. All that anger was bottled up inside of him."

"Guys, am I the only one who noticed that our group is slowly splitting apart? First it was Max, now it's Tyson. Personally, I'm not just going to sit around and watch it happen. Driger and I are gonna find Tyson." He launched his beyblade out in the open, and commanded it to track down Dragoon.

The beyblade stopped spinning. "Huh? Why can't you track down Dragoon?" he questioned the bit chip.

Kenny sighed. "Tyson must have removed dragoon from it's beyblade, so therefore it can't be tracked down as easily. He probably discarded all his equipment already..."

Ray slapped his hand over his forehead. "Already? It's only been an hour and the kid's gone for good. I guess I have to track him down the old fashioned way." He picked up his beyblade, and took off.

Kai, as usual, watched as the action took place. "I should be going to find Tyson as well" he murmured to himself.

Dandy was thinking of the same thing. "Dude, we need him back if he's going to compete in Zody's tourney two days from now," he noted. He ran after Ray, as they went on pursuit of Tyson.

Meanwhile, one of Zagart's henchmen was watching the whole thing. "Excellent... it's all going as planned. With them splitting up to find Tyson, it will be much easier to completely crush them in battle. To top that off, we'll make sure that they're tortured enough..." She grinned. "Alright, let's put the plan into action." They all split up, to confront their respective opponents.

*****

Dandy ran to the bridge as fast as he could, only to discover that Tyson wasn't there. "Blast it... this is his usual hangout," he murmured. Instead, he saw a short, grey-haired boy waiting for him, standing in front of a bey-dish.

"You're Dandy, right?" the boy asked. "My name's Darryl. I challenge you to a battle." He took out an immense beyblade, one that even rivaled the likes of Trypio.

Dandy hesitated. The boy looked like a good opponent, but he couldn't afford to waste any time. "Listen, I'm really busy with something right now. How about later?"

"Well, if you don't want information on Tyson, then that's o-"

"What do you know about Tyson?" Dandy asked, bringing out his launcher.

The kid grinned. "Now's that's more like it." He hooked his beyblade onto his launcher.

"3...2...1.... let it rip!" They launched their blades into the dish, which hit each other full force. As a result, a large chunk of Dandy's attack ring came flying at him, narrowly missing his face. It seemed that this kid meant business, and he wasn't here to screw around.

To Be Continued....

Author's Note: The action is begin to heat up! Will the Blade breakers escape the clutches of Dr. Zagart's team, or will do they have a trick or two up their sleeves? Also, what about Tyson? All these questions and more answered on the next Beyblade: Final Battle (lol, I'm starting to sound like the announcer from DBZ).