Arcan Bladers: Yahoo!!! We finally got the computer back!! Yipee! This is amazing!! (stops and sees everybody) Oh.
Jade: (embarrassed) Oh. Sorry. But, yes, we got it back! The computer's back at him and we were finally able to update.
Alexia: (Looking the pages over) Looks like a rough ride for all of us, eh?
Patrick: This better be good after all this time…
Mike: Come on, you guys. Let's get a move on…
CHAPTER FOUR
The Challengers
(Note from the authoress (Jade): In this modified Russian Tournament, Kai is sane, i.e. he's semi-friendly now—he's been rescued from BIOVOLT and he doesn't have Black Dranzer. All-Stars, White Tigers and Majestics haven't arrived in Russia yet—and no one's bit beast has been stolen—yet. I leave it to your imagination on how that all happened and everyone still lands in the tournament. But the Russians will get that interesting ability to nab bit beasts later…)
It was about a couple of weeks after this encounter and the Bladebreakers had finally reached Russia for the Russian Tournament. They were now in their hotel room, and they had only just recently reclaimed Kai from the clutches of BIOVOLT—making Kai a rather changed beyblader since then. The Russian sun rose slowly over the grayed sky, warming the people below with its brilliant rays.
"Ah-ah-aaahh-choo!!"
Tyson's sneeze tore through the large hotel room like a gunshot, and the Bladebreakers all winced. Tyson flopped back on the bed he was on and groaned with a sniffle as he shivered under the covers.
"Gezundheit," Max said, with a sweatdrop from his position at the table, wrapped in thick clothes with the official mark of the BBA and drinking a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
"Thanks," said Tyson stuffily, and he sneezed again into a tissue in his hand. "Man, I hate this!" He drew the blankets closer around him. "It's so darn cold here!"
"It was colder last night when we got here," said Kenny tearing his gaze from Dizzi's screen and looking at Tyson. He too was sitting at the table, wrapped in a thick coat and drinking hot chocolate. "But what did you expect, Tyson? The climate in Russia's colder than in Japan."
"I didn't realize that was possible," Tyson sniffed.
"Don't be ridiculous, Tyson," Dizzi said rather irritably. "Of course there are colder climates. Ah-choo!"
"What's wrong, Dizzi?" asked Kenny, looking at his laptop, and Dizzi answered, "I have to agree with Tyson a little there. My circuits are all freezing up!"
"Well, why don't you process something?" suggested Kenny. "You'll keep warmer if you're busy."
"Like what?" asked Dizzi as Max got up and set a mug of hot chocolate on the table next to Tyson's bed. He looked at Tyson and said, "Drink that—it'll do you good. My dad always makes hot chocolate when it's cold."
"Yeah, well, my fingers are too numb to move," Tyson said, his voice muffled in the covers. Max sighed in surrender and as he walked back to the table, Kai walked into the room and also wearing a BBA coat and looking a little better than the rest of them, considering that no climate in the world could get him down.
"Run the research you found about the Arcans again, Chief," he said, sounding fairly cold, as usual.
Dizzi snorted and said, "I don't know which is colder—the temperature around or Kai."
"Just do it," Kai snapped, looking tense and Kenny jumped, saying, "All right, all right! Don't bite my head off, Kai…"
"Why do you want to see it again, anyway, Kai?" asked Tyson, coming over while dragging the blanket around him still. "We've already seen it…"
"It never hurts to double check on the competition," said Kenny when Kai refused to respond, as usual. "We have to make sure that we know exactly who we're going up against and exactly what they can do."
Kenny began typing in his laptop, and Dizzi said, "Here, then. I got it."
"All right," said Kenny. "It was really hard to find information on these bladers, because the Arcans were virtually unknown. Arcanis is a small country in the Pacific with a populace of only seven hundred thousand, an island that is uncharted and unmapped—neither was it in any organization of countries. It also had little to almost no contact to other countries. That's why everyone was quite surprised when a national team came out.
"It turns out that one of the few contacts to Arcanis had delivered to them the sport of beyblading, and since then, it has become revered as a national sport. And not only that—although Arcanis is small, it had a lot of bit beasts (that they call relics) roaming around, and very powerful ones. Many bladers here are skilled with or without bit beasts, as they take beyblading seriously and are quite dedicated to it. So it's no surprise that the Arcans are exemplary bladers.
"They astounded the world when they joined the World Championships and became the champions for Block F. It was like they were just flying through the competition. And it was safe to say that their beyblades were nothing like anyone had ever seen before. They were all far heavier than average and made out of an unidentifiable metal alloy, and their design is all built for attacking, endurance and defense at the same time. Not even their heaviness and built affects the streamlining so they're also agile and swift. Nothing much is known about their bit beasts, because they hardly ever used them. But they do have them.
"Their leader is Mikhail Xerxes, and he's the best in their country. He has the beyblade Archonwolf. His teammates are the other finalists in their country's tournament, like you guys were, making their team the best bladers in their country. Jade Star has the beyblade Auran, Alexia Raven has the beyblade Aldebaran, and finally, Patrick Crowe has the beyblade Armada. Their bit beasts are also the names of their beyblades. If charted, Mike obviously has the higher power level, but it can't be confirmed because there are a lot of unknown variables. And finally, their team is called the Relic Bladers."
Kenny leaned back. "Well, that's about it. That's all the information I have about the Arcans. They're a very secretive and mysterious team, if you ask me."
"If they are so mysterious, then that basically means that we barely have a clue on who we're up against unless we see them battle first hand," said Kai.
"Well the only way to do that is to watch them fight during the tournament itself," said Max. "We did increase our power, but I'm not sure if it might be good enough."
Kai frowned and he turned away to the direction of the glass windows that led out to the balcony. "We need more power…" he muttered. He looked to them again and said, "We'll see them sooner than we think. If they're here already, then they'll be at the mass practice session tomorrow."
"Mass practice?" they all asked, and Kenny snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah! Mr. Dickinson told me something about that. tomorrow, all the bladers from all teams are going to come down to the arena and all of them are going to practice at the same time. Everyone must be on equal footing. So by holding the mass practice, the bladers are all going to be on even ground to an extent since they all practiced and have seen others practice."
"Are there going to be practice battles?" asked Tyson excitedly.
"Well of course," said Kenny. "You're not required to have one, but you can if you want to."
"All right!" Tyson cheered. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Man, I can't wait to see the other bladers go out into the field and practice!"
Kai said nothing, but he looked around for a moment before asking, "And where, might I ask, has Ray gone?"
"Hey yeah, where is Ray?" asked Tyson. "I didn't see him all morning…"
"Ray left early this morning," said Max. "He said that he was going to the balcony to get himself ready or something like that."
"He's going to the balcony in this weather?" Tyson demanded, sneezing again into his tissue. "Is he crazy or something?"
"Come on, Tyson, Ray's like that," said Max with a grin. "He's just focusing. Besides, I heard that some of our more known opponents in the past are coming over as they were invited to play, and that means that the White Tigers and the All-Stars are coming to see this too. So it's no surprise that he wants to be at his best."
"I guess so…" said Tyson.
Kai turned to the doorway and said, "I'm going to go and tell him about the practice. The rest of you make sure that you're at least ready later on during the practice."
"Ow, that's harsh, Kai," said Tyson, pretending to be stung, but Kai only snorted and walked out the door without another word. Tyson looked back at them and said, "Well, I for one do want to be ready for the practice. What do you say you fine tune our beyblades, Chief?"
"Right," said Kenny, grinning. "I'll make sure your blades are in top shape."
Tyson grinned, "Today, we'll show them that you shouldn't underestimate the Bladebreakers."
Ray was staring out into the rather foggy view of morning over Moscow from where he stood behind the stone rails of the balcony. It was indeed cold as the wind blew out on him, and he wrapped his thick coat around him closer.
Moscow is cold… he thought. He looked down at his gloved palm and at his beyblade. "We've been practicing all morning, Driger," he said with a grin. "We'll be prepared for anything."
"Well, almost anything."
Ray jumped and turned around. Kai walked up to him, wrapped in a coat, and looking rather neutral. He walked up next to Ray and said, "We've checked the Arcans again, and I still don't think that we can be prepared for anything."
"So…are they the only threat to us as of now?" asked Ray.
"I doubt that," said Kai stolidly. He looked down at Dranzer in his hand and said, "I'm not going to lose. Johnny was lucky. It's not happening again. I know I won over him before, but this time no other blader is going to get cocky enough to do that."
He looked at Ray and said, "I heard that the White Tigers are coming for audience."
"They are," said Ray, smiling to himself. "They haven't heard much from us, and I want them to see how much I've improved."
"Now I have a question for you," said Kai, leaning over the rail. "We haven't seen the Arcans in only almost two weeks. How much do you think they've improved?"
Ray sighed. "You haven't changed much at all, Kai…still serious. But you have a point. The Relic Bladers are excellent. And at the rate they're going…" He shook his head. "We have to get better—and fast." He looked at Kai. "Hey, didn't Mr. Dickinson say something about a practice or something tomorrow?"
"So you've heard," said Kai, looking down at the grounds below. He spotted something that made him frown slightly, and he straightened up and turned around, heading back into the hotel. "All of you do what you want—but remember," and now he turned to look at Ray with the same glint in his eyes, "Mike is mine to battle. I'll take him and his beyblade on."
"Right," said Ray, nodding. "I'll make sure the others remember that."
"You better," Kai muttered. "Tyson might get it up his head again."
Ray laughed shortly and nodded, and Kai turned to leave. But as he entered the warmth of the hall and walked back to the direction of the elevators, he thought, I told you that I wanted to take him on, Alexia…and now I'm ready for him…and I'll prove it.
Ray watched as Kai vanished, and he turned back out to the view of the slightly foggy grounds below, wondering what he ought to do next, when he did a double take when he thought he saw a familiar figure standing on the grounds, in the fog. It was the same black-haired figure he's seen shooting archery in the cabin grounds. Jade was down there, sitting on a bench with her bow and quiver on her back.
And now he realized what made Kai frown. Because if she was here, then that would mean that the rest of the Relic Bladers would as well. He supposed that Kai must've gone out to get himself ready—he seemed very intent on challenging Mike to a match.
He looked down at her motionless figure, and decided that maybe he could go down there and see what she was up to by herself down there, or maybe just give her some company for the time being. And he turned around, pocketing Driger, and he headed downstairs.
Tyson and Max were bounding down to the breakfast hall with Kenny in tow, but as they did, they happened to pass by a practice hall on the first floor of the building. It seemed mercifully empty at first glance, and Tyson skidded to a stop.
"Hey look! Maybe we could sneak in a practice!" said Kenny.
"Really? Can't we eat first?" asked Tyson.
Max looked at him and said, "Come on, Tyson, we'll need all the practice we can get! We can't slack off or anything since we know how good our opponents are…or at least, we will…"
"Oh…all right," Tyson groaned. But he took out Dragoon from his pocket and said, "Besides, I wanted to test Dragoon out too."
The three of them walked up to the glass doors of the training room in the hotel, and then abruptly stopped as they saw a vague figure moving behind the glass. The three Bladebreakers, confused, walked closer up to the door, and a closer look revealed that the colored blob moving inside was a person.
"Hey," said Tyson as he pressed his nose against the glass and his breath fogging it up, "Isn't that the other guy in the cabins two weeks ago?"
"Yeah," said Max, also pressing his nose into the glass. "He's that guy with Mike and Jade when they ran up to us when Sanquinex attacked."
"Then he must be Patrick Crowe," said Kenny. "He's the only member that we haven't properly met yet."
"Well, what's he doing in there by himself?" asked Max.
Kenny shrugged. "He's probably training, then. The tournament does happen soon. Maybe we should go…"
But it was quite too late, because Tyson, anxious to meet the blader, bounded forward, saying, "Well, if he's Arcan, then that means he's a great blader! And I want to see this for myself."
"Tyson!" Kenny exclaimed, but he was paid no heed as Max followed after him. They came into the training room, which was empty except, of course, for Patrick's presence, and he was standing on one side of the large stone stadium embedded into the ground.
"Hey! Hey buddy!" Tyson hollered as he raced over to the boy with the messy dark hair, sharp deep brown eyes, thick dark clothing and a scarf trailing to the ground and covering half his face.
But when Patrick saw them running at him, there was a sudden flash and the cutting of an object through air, and Tyson, Kenny and Max found a large wicked looking crescent scythe right at them, the blade at their necks. Patrick looked at them with a hard stare, as cold as ice, and holding the rigid handles of the scythe.
"Whoa, take it easy," said Tyson, paling. "We're not going to kill you."
Patrick eased up instantly. "Oh. Sorry. I'm just high strung…it never hurts to be careful." He smoothly lowered the scythe and stood straight. "Have we met?"
"Not properly," answered Kenny. "We're the Bladebreakers, remember? We met in the cabin grounds. I'm Kenny—but you can cal me Chief—and that's Tyson and Max."
"Oh yeah," said Patrick. "The Bladebreakers. Well…are you here to train?"
"Not just that," said Tyson with a grin as he raised up Dragoon, which glinted in the light. "I want to challenge you to a battle."
There was a slight pause, and suddenly, Patrick burst into peals of laughter. "Excuse me?" he asked. "You want to challenge me to a battle? Oh, you've got to be kidding!"
"No I'm not," said Tyson, frowning.
"Well why?" asked Patrick, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You're a Relic Blader," said Tyson. "And I've heard that you guys are pretty good. And the better my opponent is, the more excited I get on fighting him in a beyblade battle. Now are you going to fight or not?"
Patrick stared at him incredulously, but sighed and said, "Oh, all right, then. Whatever you want."
"All right!" said Max. "Come on Chief, let's get to the center—I want to see this!"
Patrick almost lazily strolled to the side of the stadium, acting quite aloof and careless as he did. In his hand he still held the menacing scythe, which Kenny couldn't take his eyes off.
"What is he doing with that thing?" asked Kenny. "Admittedly, it's a powerful weapon, but…"
"Hey Chief," said Dizzi. "Take a closer look on that scythe blade."
As Kenny and Max did so, Patrick grinned at them and said, "Cool laptop. It talks."
"Oh…there's just a…bit beast inside…" said Kenny almost sheepishly, but Patrick didn't even seem to bothered with this. He acted like it was nothing at all. But, as if to help them out, he held out his scythe. "Here…take a look, then…"
Kenny gasped. "It's—it's a ripcord!"
And indeed, it was. At least the underside of the blade was. At the part connected to the handle, there was the beyblade, already loaded and glinting in the lights. It had to be one of the largest beyblades they'd seen, and it was, like the others', completely made of solid shiny metal alloy parts. The main color was a shiny metallic blue, but it was adorned in orange and black on the attack ring. The attack ring itself was wicked-looking, like six curved pocketknives had been welded into it, sharp as the scythe's large blades. The defense ring was a solid mass of thick metal with pointed spikes. It could possibly be the most imposing-looking of the Arcan bladers' blades.
"This is Armada," he said with a careless and yet proud tone upon mentioning his beyblade. "So…shall we begin, then, Tyron?"
"It's Tyson," said Tyson irritably.
"Yeah…whatever…well, whatever your name is, buddy, you're still a little brazen if you think you can beat me so easily," said Patrick, as if he was stifling a yawn from behind his scarf.
"Oh yeah?" Tyson smirked. "Let's just see about that."
"Tyson, let me put this gently," said Dizzi. "You're going to get positively steamrollered if you keep putting yourself up on your pedestal like that. If I'm calculating correctly—and I'm sure I am—then that would pretty much confirm that Armada is several times stronger than Dragoon."
"Dizzi!" Kenny exclaimed. "That's not helping! Although…you may be right…"
Tyson sweatdropped. "Oh not you too, Chief."
"Come on, Tyson!" Max cheered. "You can beat him!"
Patrick stifled a laugh again. "All right, all right, whatever, Tylon—Tyson, whatever. Let's go."
"All right," said Max. "Bladers, take your positions!"
Tyson immediately stepped up to his shooting area, and Patrick went over to his. Both aimed their shooters and beyblades at the stadium.
"Three! Two! One!" Max counted down.
"Let it rip!!" both Tyson and Patrick chorused. Tyson pulled on the ripcord to fire the blade and Patrick powerfully swung around the scythe to release his own blade. And two beyblades shot out, tearing across the stadium.
Jade: Chapter four. Whaddaya think?
Patrick: (snorting) A battle. Heh.
Mike: Read and review, you guys!!
