Jade: Because of our prolonged absence, we've got major uploading to do. Here's chapter five!!

Mike: Things are getting interesting…

Alexia: As always, read and review!!

CHAPTER FIVE

The Thrashing Ensues

From a hotel room not too far from the Bladebreakers' own, Mike sat on a white sofa, staring at his beyblade, with his shooter and ripcord in one hand.

Hmm…the Russian Tournament… Making it this far was as much as a dream as any other blader has… We're going to make it, Archonwolf… We're going to make it…

"In deep thoughts, I see…"

Mike didn't even have to look up and he said, "You know full well that I don't like people sneaking up on me like that, Zeus."

"That only came about because The Dark Bladers had been doing that and threatening to take your relics," said Zeus. "And, as I have heard, they've changed. They aren't after any more relics. Thanks to the Bladebreakers."

Mike straightened up from his seat and tossed his beyblade into the air and said after neatly catching it, "I always knew that something great would come out of that group. They've rid the world of one of their beyblade troubles at least…but now I suppose I must admit that after their famed defeat of the European team that they've become quite worthy opponents."

The manager and researcher of the Arcanis team sat down on a sofa across him. "And so I suppose that you will be keeping close watch on them during the practice session later on?"

"I don't have to," Mike answered. "I'm sure that they'll raise an uproar by themselves…"

"You really think they're that good, huh?" asked Zeus.

"I guess," said Mike, as he stood. "But I think that one of them will be especially determined to win over us. I heard, from Alexia, that Kai of the Bladebreakers seemed intent on challenging me to a match and she had just barely convinced him out of it when he was still rather inexperienced."

Zeus stood and went to the glass windows, looking out into the view of Moscow as Ray did before and said, "But now I'll have to admit that they've certainly raised in their levels of beyblade battle as well as in control of their relics. I wouldn't be surprised if they made the finals with you."

"I know," said Mike, also standing up. "In that case, I better go round up my team and get them ready…" As he pocketed his beyblade and headed to the doorway of their hotel room, he said to Zeus, "Hey, can you have that research I asked for ready by the time we get back?"

"No problem," answered Zeus, grinning at him. "I've also brought along the parts we'll need extra so we can upgrade your blades."

"You're a god, Zeus…" said Mike in way of thanks as he vanished out the door with a slight wave of his hand.

Mike walked down the hall casually, heading for the elevators. He knew that he should gird up his loins as well, because the Bladebreakers were dangerous. You never know what they'll do next and their adaptability and upgrading rate was quite inconceivable.

As he walked down the hall and now stood at the elevators, he saw a figure headed towards him. It was the muscular figure of the captain of the Bladebreakers, looking as imposing as ever. Mike smirked slightly as Kai glared at him from where he stood across him. It was obvious that the tension was thick.

There was the ring of the elevator, and Mike walked into one. Kai stood at the doors, still glowering at him, and Mike stood there, arms crossed over his chest and he asked, "Anything you want to say?"

Kai's eyes narrowed at him. "I'll beat you."

Mike smirked at this and nodded. "We'll see."

And the elevator doors slid closed, shutting the two apart.

CRASH!

With force that must have shook the entire floor, the two beyblades had powerful impact upon each other before they even reached the ground.

"Aah!" both Max and Kenny yelled as they raised their arms protectively from the shockwave that was created.

The force was so strong that both beyblades were knocked apart by recoil. But Patrick's blade dropped down only little way off from the center of the stadium, while Tyson's had been flung clear into the stadium wall, where it crashed loudly and was sent to the bottom, still spinning.

"Oh no!" said Kenny. "Look at Tyson's blade!"

"It's weakened already!" gasped Max. He looked out to the blue-tinted beyblade. "I've never seen such a beyblade!"

Patrick was still looking a bit bored, but he said, "Well, come on now! Go, Armada! Charge!!"

A powerful underwater roar tore across the room as the blue-tinted beyblade came tearing across the stadium and right for Dragoon. Tyson quickly recovered from his temporary shock and leapt back to action.

"Go Dragoon! Phantom Hurricane!!" he yelled.

Dragoon quickly lit up from the bit piece and he came out, looking gigantic and menacing at he roared right at Armada. A powerful whirlwind instantly kicked up from the beyblade and began to take control of the winds in the stadium. A whirling tower of dark storm came right at Armada as the Dragoon roared from within it.

However, Patrick didn't even seem too worried about this, and instead watched with a hint of interest in his brown eyes. Tyson was confused for a moment. Huh? He wondered. Why doesn't he seem to care about the Phantom Hurricane?

"That's too easy," said Patrick.

And in a moment, they saw why. The hurricane came swooping at Armada and began to attempt to blow it away like it had been known to do to other beyblades. But amazingly, the beyblade held its ground, remaining solid on the ground.

"Why doesn't the Phantom Hurricane blow it away?!" Tyson gasped.

"Tyson!" Kenny yelled over the wind. "Armada is far too heavy! You need to increase power if you want to blow him away!"

"I can't!!" Tyson yelled back. "Dragoon is weakened by the first impact! He can't pour any more power!"

Patrick burst into laughter at this. "All right, then…let's put a stop to this…" He looked up, his eyes gleaming. "Armada!! Thrash it!"

There was a sound like a powerful underwater roar and Armada broke away like a blue cannonball through the winds of the Phantom Hurricane. Armada, glowing in an eerie blue light, then rushed right at Dragoon.

"Tyson, look out!!" Max yelled.

Armada, looking unstoppable, came heading right for Dragoon. Tyson gasped, but it was too shocking. Armada came right at the beyblade and crashed at Dragoon again. Sparks flew across the stadium like meteorites as Armada continued to rip through Dragoon mercilessly.

Patrick spoke over the sound of striking metal, "Armada is unstoppable. He has the shark's natural instinct to kill prey, and, like a powerful army, once I give the signal, he won't retreat until the enemy is defeated."

Tyson started to pale as he heard a snapping sound, and Dragoon's attack ring had cracked. He clenched his fist. He didn't want to retreat. He could still do it…couldn't he?

"Give it up," said Patrick.

"No!!" said Tyson. "I can still do this!"

There was a snapping sound again, and one of the sharp points on Dragoon's attack ring flew off and struck the stadium. Armada still kept going, but Tyson, closing his eyes from the scene, still refused to call a retreat. Maybe if I think of something… he thought.

There was another snapping sound. Max cried, "Stop it, Tyson, pull back!!"

"I…I…" Tyson stammered. He defeated Robert, didn't he? Why…why couldn't he defeat Patrick? But Dragoon…

There were even more sparks now, and as soon as another snapping sound rang out, Tyson looked up with a gasp and was about to call back, when he hesitated for a spilt second, and suddenly Patrick spoke a command.

"Armada…pull back."

And the blue beyblade retreated from the Dragoon. Patrick crossed his arms over his chest as his beyblade continued to spin by itself in the middle of the stadium. "This match is over," he said.

Tyson was speechless for a moment, and then he said, "N-no it isn't!"

"Look!" Patrick snapped, sounding firm and withering. "You will lose more than you want if you continue this match! Look at your beyblade and tell me that you can continue!!"

Tyson, catching his breath, looked down at Dragoon, and he gasped. The beyblade was indeed in a sorry state. It was cracked in seven different places and one of its points was gone. It was badly scratched due to the abuse it took from Armada's blades.

Tyson felt tears well up in his eyes but he blinked them back. "I…I can't."

And instantly, Dragoon stopped spinning and came to rest on the stadium. Patrick sighed. "Pack up your pride, Tyson. You should've done it earlier. You should at least have had more care for your beyblade. You know full well he couldn't continue but you kept pushing. Because of that, he lost."

Without a word, Tyson walked down into the stadium and picked up his beyblade. He looked at it sitting in his palm, and he bit his lip. He looked up to see Armada still spinning, and Patrick's gloved hand picked it up. He looked at Tyson again.

"You're defeated," he said. "And you should've known that. I warned you not to battle. I knew that you weren't ready. But you really did want to fight. I gave you a shot. You lost. I knew that at once and I told Armada to pull back before he totally destroyed your Dragoon. But then again, even if you didn't give up, you'd still have lost to me and lost your beyblade as well."

He stared hard at Tyson and said as he turned away, "Don't go biting off more than you can chew, unless you have a sure plan of winning."

And with that, he picked up his scythe, and he walked away. He vanished through the doors, and Max and Kenny instantly ran to Tyson.

"Tyson!" exclaimed Max. "Are you…okay?"

Tyson said nothing and remained silent. He clasped Dragoon tightly in his hand and he looked up with a strong light of determination in his eyes. He looked to the doors where Patrick had just vanished.

"Don't worry, Tyson," said Kenny. "I'll fix your blade. Dragoon's not that damaged…much…"

"No, you don't understand!" Tyson exclaimed, looking at them. "That beyblade of Patrick's is just too powerful! I don't just need a fix, I need an upgrade and a strategy! I'm more determined now to beat him!"

Tyson stood up, his eyes blazing, and he said fervently, "Just you wait, Patrick—I'll beat you for sure, next time!"

Kenny sighed, "Oh here we go again…" to which Max just laughed. "Look's like Tyson's okay after all!" he laughed.

"All right, then," Kenny said as he, Tyson and Max walked out of the room. "Come on, Tyson. Let's do some upgrading."

"Right, Chief," said Tyson. "Let's go."

And the Bladebreakers ran off to the direction of their hotel room. As they went, Patrick, who was just leaning out of sight around a bend in the hall snorted to himself. "That oughto to learn them…" he muttered.

"Oh, I see you've been up and done an unscheduled battle."

Patrick looked up and rolled his eyes at his captain. "Look, Fearless Leader, it's no big deal. Let's just say that I've set his fire ablaze."

Mike walked up to him, still looking as calm and cool as ever. "That might not have been a move to your advantage. If our research is correct, then he, being the most adaptive, will very quickly take to your skills and find a way to rise up to the challenge."

"Oh, let him," said Patrick, waving it away as he straightened up and walked up to Mike. "That'll at least make is clear that we actually have an opponent worth fighting in this tournament."

"It wouldn't do you good to be so arrogant, you know…" said Mike casually, and Patrick immediately replied, "I'm not…I just want to bring out the potential that I came to battle here for."

Mike shrugged. "Whatever suits you, then. Now come on…we have to round up the others and get to Zeus. We have to gird up for the training session."

"What for?" asked Patrick, stifling a yawn.

"Just come on…" said Mike, rolling his eyes, and Patrick answered carelessly, "Oh all right…let's go…"

And the two Arcan bladers vanished down the hall.

Jade was sitting calmly and quietly by herself in the slightly foggy Russian grounds. She was sitting very still, listening to every sound made. It was still rather early in the morning, and she decided to do this to enhance her concentration. She listened to every slightest sound…

Snap!

A branch snapped nearby because of a foot that trampled down upon it, and Jade reacted instantly with her bow and arrow.

Thwack!

The arrow shivered for a brief moment, its shaft of feather vibrating in the wind slightly, where it was embedded into a tree and not a mere two inches from Ray's shocked face.

Jade gasped as she stood up. "Ray! Oh, I'm so sorry—what are you doing here?" She ran over and pulled the arrow out of the tree as Ray gave a relieved grin and said, "Oh, uh…don't worry about it. A little high strung today?"

"Sorry," Jade said. "I was training my concentration."

"Am I disturbing you?" he asked, looking at the bow and arrow.

"Oh, no, not at all," said Jade as she sat back down onto the stone bench. "I needed a break anyway. But you didn't answer my first question. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I saw you by yourself down here," said Ray, looking embarrassed. "I was wondering on why you were by yourself…so I thought I'd give you some company. I didn't realize that you were training."

"That's okay," said Jade, putting down her weapons next to her. She smiled at Ray and said, "Long time no see, Ray. How long has it been?"

"Oh, almost two weeks," Ray answered, smiling back. "I knew that I'd run into you in this tournament."

"But of course," Jade shrugged. "That is unavoidable. We're all supposed to be in here, after all."

There was quite a long pause, in which both didn't know what exactly to say for a moment, and then they both asked at the same time, "So how are your teammates?"

Jade laughed and said, "They're all right, as usual. Mike is probably upstairs, Patrick could be anywhere, but Alexia had gone to get some stuff in a beyblading store."

"I think Tyson might be in bed," said Ray thoughtfully. "The climate here doesn't seem to agree with him. Kai could be training, and Max and Kenny could be researching or making sure that Tyson doesn't eat the fridge out again."

"Does he really eat that much?" Jade laughed.

"Yeah," Ray said, laughing as well. "You should've seen him eat when we were at Robert's castle! He and the rest of us ate for five straight hours!"

The two of them collapsed into laughter again. Jade choked, "Five—hours?! I didn't know anyone could eat that much!" Then she stopped. "Wait a minute. Robert? Robert Jurgan? The European champion?"

"That's right," said Ray, grinning.

"I can't believe that you managed to do that to him!" Jade said, laughing again, and Ray joined her.

After a moment, the laughter finally went down. Ray looked at her with a smile and asked, "So you guys are going to be at practice, right?"

Jade nodded. "We have to be, like everybody else. Don't want to upset the Russians now, do we?"

"Yeah, they haven't been too warm towards the foreigners…" Ray agreed. "But, don't take this the wrong way, or anything…but I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys in action."

"Well, join the rest of the world," said Jade with a slight sigh as she looked up at the sky. "Not many people realize how much pressure we're on. You know, being the new team and suddenly springing to success…they'll all keep their eyes on us and we can't afford to mess things up. That's why we have to really strive hard."

"Not like you need to, actually," Ray commented. "You guys are some of the best bladers that I've ever seen. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Jade gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Ray."

Ray nodded back to her with a smile.

And it was chosen at this very moment that someone will find them. A shriek pierced the mist and startled the two on the bench.

"Aaaaahh! Ray!! Who is that and what are you doing with her?!"

The two looked up to see a tanned figure wrapped in a thick brown coat storming towards them with an infuriated look on her face. Ray's eyes widened as he bolted up from his seat. "Mariah! What're you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Mariah exclaimed. "You knew that the White Tigers are coming here, right? But that has nothing to do with this right now! Who is that?!" She pointed at Jade, who looked very surprised.

"Okay, Mariah, take it easy—don't jump into any conclusions…" said Ray, stepping between her and Jade. "This is Jade, she's a friend of mine and—"

Mariah ignored him and pushed by and looked down at Jade, who was still seated, and the Chinese blader narrowed her eyes. She straightened up and sniffed. "Humph. She's not even pretty at all!"

Jade stood straight up and challenged the Chinese girl's glare. "Well you're no fruitcake yourself!"

"What did you say?!" Mariah exclaimed and went into fighting stance.

"All right, break it up, girls!" Ray exclaimed stepping between them again, and this time looking stern. "This isn't the time for you to be fighting!"

"She just insulted me!" Mariah said, looking at him.

"But Mariah, you did start it," said Ray gently.

Mariah looked stunned. "So now you're on her side?!"

"I'm not on anybody's side," Ray said calmly. "I'm just saying that the two of you calm down—this is just a misunderstanding, okay?"

Jade hung her head. "All right…"

"Humph," said Mariah stubbornly, looking away, and Ray sighed.

"What's going on here?!"

The three of them looked up to see the rest of the White Tigers walking up to them, also wrapped in the same thick brown coats as Mariah was wearing. Lee walked up to their only female member and said, "Mariah, I could've heard your voice from all the way to the other side of the grounds. What's up?" he looked up and saw Ray. "Oh. Nice to see you again, Ray."

"Lee," said Ray, grinning at him. "Welcome to Russia. Nice to see you again."

Lee smiled at him, and looked back at Mariah. "Well?"

Mariah looked at him, and remained obstinate. Ray and Lee sighed. Ray said, "Let's do this over." He looked at the White Tigers and said, "Guys, this is Jade Star. She's also a participant in the Russian Tournament. Jade, these are my friends, the White Tigers."

"The Chinese national team?" Jade blinked. She smiled and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you all."

Lee shook hands with her and said, "Your name sounds familiar. Where are you from?"

"Arcanis," said Jade and Ray at the same time.

"Oh, that new group that we've been hearing about when talk turns to the Russian Tournament," said Kevin. He squinted his eyes at her. "But what are you doing with Ray?"

"I want to know that too," said Mariah.

"Look, you guys, like I said, Jade and I are just friends, okay?" said Ray, getting a sweatdrop. "We were just talking about the practice tomorrow."

"I've heard that too," said Lee. "We'll be going there to watch it as well as join in. Show them the power of the White Tiger, Ray."

"Don't worry, Lee," said Ray, grinning. "I will."

Jade looked at them and said, "But won't you be participating as well? I've heard that the best teams all over the world that weren't able to make it were being invited as guests to prove at challengers to the contestants."

Lee opened his mouth to speak, but Mariah cut in. "Of course we are! We'll be there! And you better be ready, because the White Tigers have become way better than before."

"Mariah, that's enough," said Lee sternly. He looked at Jade and said, "I'm sorry. But you must understand the position we're in—we must keep our pride at some point…"

Jade hesitated for a moment and said, "All right then. I sense that I'm not quite wanted. But I will be at the practice tomorrow." She bowed gently. "I'll be seeing you, White Tigers."

And she picked up her bow and quiver of arrows, slung them over her shoulder, and turned to leave. "Jade, wait," said Ray.

Jade stopped and glanced at him, but she only bowed gently again and vanished into the mists. Ray let out his breath in a sigh, and turned back to the White Tigers. He spoke, "You didn't have to be so mean, Mariah."

Mariah said nothing for a moment, but kept staring at her hands. "…Right."

Ray looked at them with a slight smile and said, "Well then…why don't we, uh…go walk around or something?"

Gary looked at him and said, "Is there something wrong, Ray? You look a little down."

"No, don't worry about it, Gary," said Ray. "Let's go."

Lee looked at him for a moment, and the White Tigers walked off.

Jade walked down the path with her hands into her jacket pockets. A cloud issued from her lips as she breathed a sigh and glanced back to where Ray and the White Tigers had gone.

She turned back, and instantly crashed into someone.

"Ouch! Jade, watch it!"

Jade looked up and saw that it was Alexia, carrying some packages in bags. She tilted her head at the black-haired girl and asked, "Are you okay? You look a little pale."

"Yup," said Jade, plastering the largest fake smile she could on her face and glanced around. They were near the hotel doors. "So are you taking that to Zeus?"

"Yeah," said Alexia. "Mike mentioned something about getting the blades re-upgraded."

"Zeus must be trying to outdo himself, then," said Jade with a smile.

The two girls walked into the lobby, and Alexia let out her breath. "Whew! It's feels good to be back in the warm building."

"Yeah, the cold in Russia doesn't agree with me either," said Jade. "We're used to a warmer climate…"

Voices started to sound in the hall, and they both looked up. Two figures walked into the hall and they heard their voices.

"Where are they?"

"Well, you know that the girls do what they want—but I did hear this morning that Alexia had gone to get parts for our blades…"

"Excuse me? Parts? Our parts are completely customized and unique and can't be bought at any store!"

"I guess it's up to Zeus to work his magic on the blade parts…"

The figures were now fully visible and they turned out to be Mike and Patrick. The boys saw them and Mike let out his breath. "Finally. We've been looking for you two."

"I was…outside," said Jade. "Intensifying my concentration…which totally botched somehow…" she added silently to herself.

"What was that?" Patrick asked.

"Nothing!" said Jade, blushing slightly. "What were you saying, Mike?"

"Yeah, what were you looking for us for?" asked Alexia.

Mike immediately took command again and he stepped forward. "All right. I want all of you prepped and ready—we've got some stuff to discuss before we start an early practice."

"What?" asked Alexia.

"Nothing important—just some stuff on the mass practice," said Mike. "Alexia, you better send that stuff up to Zeus. I doubt he'll need very much help, so just follow after us. By the way, are those the most metallic parts that you found?"

"Yup," nodded Alexia. "If we want bigger and better ones…"

"No, I'm sure Zeus can work that," said Patrick. "You know him—he'll be able to turn anything into an upgrade…"

"I'm sure," Alexia laughed. "Well, I'm going upstairs. What about you guys?"

"We've just been there," said Mike. "But meet us in the hotel café, all right? I want to have a team meeting in regards to the mass practice later on."

"Right," said Alexia, balancing the bags properly and nodding. "See you guys later."

The rest of the Arcanis team nodded, and they walked off, and as they did, Alexia could hear Mike and Patrick asking about why Jade looked a little different, and Jade was insisting that nothing was the matter.

Alexia headed for the direction of the elevators and slowly, she hopped into one and ascended to their room's floor. She was wondering how the Bladebreakers were, as they were the first team that they'd actually been acquainted to who were going to participate in the Russian Tournaments. Goodness knows that she hasn't seen them for weeks and she hoped that they were doing all right.

The elevator bell went off and she held up her packages and walked out. She instantly collided into someone.

"Oof!"

"Watch it!"

The packages fell to the floor. Alexia groaned from the ground where she and the person she crashed into were. "This is the second time today!" she looked up and saw who she bumped into. "Oh, Kai!"

Kai blinked as he rubbed the back of his head and stared at her. "Alexia?"

"Sorry," Alexia laughed. "I didn't see you. Sorry if I knocked you down."

Kai didn't reply. He merely picked himself up and brushed himself off and then held out a hand to help her up. Alexia grinned and took it, and she began to pick up her packages.

"Where are you going with all this stuff?" asked Kai as he picked up some of the packages. His sharp eye didn't fail to notice that they were all beyblade parts.

"Oh…just for upgrades and stuff," Alexia said dismissively. "Long time no see, eh, Kai? How are you and the Bladebreakers doing?"

"Not too bad considering," Kai murmured in reply as he finished picking up the last of the packages. But he didn't hand them to her and hung on to them. "Where's your room?"

Alexia blinked. "You're helping me?"

Kai did not reply for a moment. "Unless you don't want it."

Alexia grinned. "This way. Come with me." Alexia walked down the hall, with Kai alongside her. After a while, she laughed softly.

"And what is so funny?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You're actually quite a gentleman when you're willing."

"How do you know that I'm not doing this so I'd find something about your team?"

"Okay one—even if you were, you'd never be successful. Please don't ask why. And two—I know that you're not that unscrupulous. You don't need to find out our secrets to be able to beat us."

Kai snorted. "You got that right."

Alexia just smiled. And then, she said, "Are you really that determined to beat Mike?"

"I am," Kai responded. "Why?"

Alexia just sighed. "I'll just give a warning right now… Treat Mike like a wolf. He's the leader of a pack. He can be bloodthirsty, and he'll do what he has to do to ensure the safety of his pack, but that does not include stepping over boundaries. So…be prepared to face anything when battling him."

She grinned at him. "You should get to know him better—a wolf is actually a pretty good friend if he's docile and tamed." She looked up. "Here's our room. Thank you for your help, Kai."

Kai did not answer, but he handed Alexia her packages. Before she could get into the room, Kai said, "You lot will be at the mass practice session won't you?"

"Yes, of course—everyone has to," said Alexia. "Why do you ask?"

Kai turned away. "I'll be waiting, then."

"I'm sure Mike will be too," said Alexia, smiling. "He said he'd also been looking forward to seeing—"

"I wasn't referring to Mike," he answer before turning around and striding away without a proper goodbye. Alexia didn't mind, though. She just smiled to herself and walked into the hotel room.

As she went inside, a tall figure walked into the living room from an adjoining room. He had ginger brown hair and bright blue eyes and quite good looking—and he was about nineteen in age. He wore wire-framed glasses and a black shirt and pants. "Alexia, here you are. Do you have the parts?"

"Right here, Zeus," replied Alexia, putting the packages down on a nearby table. "Our parts are all customized. Why do you need these parts?"

"Just trust me," said their researcher and manager, the young man called Zeus, smiling. "I'll take care of it all." He picked up some packages and said, "You'd better go with Mike now, Alexia. If you need me, I'll be at the lab."

"As usual," smiled Alexia.

Zeus was about to turn when he asked, "Hey, Alexia—is it just me or do you seem a little happy today?"

Alexia flushed. "No I'm not. I'm always like this."

"Well…you just seem happy," said Zeus. He grinned. "Anything I should know about?"

"I'm going!!" said Alexia loudly before turning on her heel and hurriedly walking out of the room. Zeus just watched as she went, laughed, and walked to his lab.

"Like they can hide anything from me," Zeus muttered cheerfully. "I've got tags on them and everything…"

Jade: I still am not forgiving Zeus for the tagging thing…

Mike: (calmly) It's for our own good…

Patrick: (scowling) Our own good… (mutter mutter)

Alexia: But things are getting interesting, aren't they? So? What do you guys think? Review, please!