The New Generation

Sorry for the exceedingly delayed update. I spent my Christmas holidays in Australia! That doesn't mean I wasn't planning out my fic though... Answer to an earlier question by Nightswift (again ^___^;): Yep, the Chinese guy who originally beat Colin was Ray. He's out of college now though and is happily married. More on him in the Asian Tournament segment of this story... A no-prize to however can figure out who he's married to!

Happy New Year!

Disclaimer: I still don't own beyblade, but I'm working on it!

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Quarterfinals Ranking

Bradley n/a

vs. Bradley n/a

Evan n/a X

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Colin Drake X

vs. Devon Rembrandt

Devon Rembrandt

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Bradley n/a

vs. Champion

Devon Rembrandt

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Bradley, stretching his tired arms, walked over to his relaxed friend, Evan, at a leisurely pace and dropped into a chair beside him. Evan had his arms crossed behind his head and was staring into the ceiling, looking far more untroubled than when his new and arguably formidable bitbeast had somehow contaminated him with the venom of nearly unlimited power. The pony-tailed teenager removed his attention from the air above them and stared poker-faced at his fellow orphan.

"I just watched the recording of Colin's battle against Devon."

"I know." The blonde beyblader replied in a weary way. After all, why shouldn't he be fatigued?

"Devon has abilities far beyond yours."

"I know."

"The chances of you losing are nearly at ninety percent."

"I know."

"All right then... Altiel cannot fight because of a stamina drain."

"WHAT?!?"

Bradley stood up faster than the blink of an eye and gaped at his calm ally. Evan nodded in a monotone way before removing his arms from their relaxed position and reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his damaged beyblade and motioned to the feebly glowing bit chip that housed Eiras.

"Eiras was almost completely sapped of his energy reserves, which, may I add, are quite large, after your bitbeast's devastating attack. I concluded Altiel, who had fought the elimination rounds and the final matches right after each other, might have lost a greater amount of power..."

"So this is all just one of your educated guess things?" Bradley asked, skeptical.

"In truth, yes... But there is no real way of telling if Altiel is indeed worn out. I only assumed Eiras' drain because he appears to have established a symbiotic link with me. I feel just as exhausted as my bitbeast is."

"Aw, c'mon, man! I can talk to my bitbeast, remember?"

"You never mentioned that..." Evan shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"Good point." Bradley admitted whilst pulling out his own beyblade out from his jeans' pocket.

"...Ask Altiel."

Bradley nodded and closed his eyes. Normally, it was Altiel who would be trying to contact him but he guessed it could work in reverse as well.

~You don't have to close your eyes~

Bradley's olive green eyes shot open once more and he grinned sheepishly. Evan, his short ponytail bobbing up and down, cocked his head to the side curiously and waved a hand in front of his blonde friend.

"Well?"

"Wait, I'm talking with him..."

~Well, what is you want to ask me, master Bradley?~

You do know your attack practically removed all the spirit from Eiras, right?

~Of course. It wouldn't be satisfying if it didn't~

Er, did you happen to experience the same thing?

~Hahaha... Well, I actually didn't have enough power for it so...~

That would explain my decrease in energy.

~Yes~

But are you combat capable? Technically, I still have one fight to go...

~Then I'm sorry, you'll be in this alone~

Bradley's mouth curled into a scowl and he punched Evan lightly on the Asian's smallish left shoulder.

"You're right."

Evan shrugged and walked off in the direction of the bathroom, tucking his tri-colored beyblade into his pocket. The pony-tailed boy then waved stiffly at his friend, smiling a tiny, unseen smile.

"I guess..."

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Colin swore loudly as he collapsed onto a leather couch that lay close to him. In the span of one month, he had been defeated twice already. Not that he hadn't tried to prevent the second one from happening by training intensely since his first loss... But all those weeks of practice were blown away in an instant by some half-baked nutcase who had suddenly decided to have his comeback or something.

"Hell!" The brown-haired boy exclaimed in frustration then glared angrily at the passing girl, who presently scampered away from the infuriated beyblader.

He muttered a few more curses under his breath before relaxing slightly and sinking into the cushions of the sofa. Colin's mind then began to slip away into a meditative trance, organizing the events that led to his humiliating failures. He had been insulted by some new kid called Bradley and challenged the obvious novice to a battle... As his theory suggested, Bradley was indeed a complete rookie and he had dominated the balance of power in the first half of the match. However, the blonde orphan managed to extract a powerful angel bitbeast from a rosary he was given and overcome Kaiser's immense strength.

Next, he had entered his semifinal match against Devon Rembrandt, a guy he had only recently heard about, full of confidence. But this beyblader had talents beyond his imagination; a bitbeast of unbelievable vigor and techniques he had only witnessed on professional beyblade matches. Not unlike that guy who had creamed him years ago. Just a few seconds into the battle and Colin was certain he was going to lose. Even Kaiser, who had gotten far more powerful in the past few weeks, was unable to even impede the progress of his enemy's onslaught...

A noisy clang interrupted his thoughts and his light brown eyes shot open, narrowed in suspicion.

Colin got up and rushed to the corner of the wall that was positioned adjacent to a nearby corridor, only to find a shiny new beyblade, crimson and gold, just like his, lying unattended on the floor. His left eyebrow went up and he walked cautiously toward the device. He squatted and picked up the beautifully made beyblade, its edges in perfect synergy with one another, with his right hand, running his left one through his hair in astonishment.

Consider this a gift from our society, Colin Drake.

-The Devoted

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"YO! It's time for the final showdown of this amazing tournament, folks! Once again, this is DJ Sandman!"

"And Joe Spinner, bringing you every last juicy drop of the fantastic beyblading!"

"Right you are, dude! We've had some awesome events in the past hour; classic stuff!"

"Take the semifinal round between the two orphans from our very own St. Joseph's Center for Children, Bradley and Evan!"

"Evan sure put on quite a show with his brand new raven bitbeast but the Brad-man held up and managed to beat him in the end!"

"Woohoo, that was some match, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was! Completely unlike the other semifinal round between hometown hero, Colin Drake, and comeback champ, Devon Rembrandt!"

"OH yeah, man... Devon just thrashed Colin in that battle! Reltion, Devon's lion bitbeast, steamrolled good old Kaiser flatter than pancake!"

"Now though, it's gonna be a far more balanced match! Bradley's determination against Devon's sheer force!"

"Eh... Balanced? I think the scales are tipped in Devon's favor..."

Bradley grimaced as he listened to the conversation between the two hyperactive commentators. Standing out here in front of the expectant crowd and his impressively skilled opponent, the blonde orphan already felt defeated and hopelessness begun to seep through him. He had but a tiny chance of vanquishing Devon with Altiel and now that his bitbeast was recovering from his previous battle that puny window of opportunity had been shut. But despite this, he wasn't going to go without a fight. He had come this far and there was no way in hell he was going to give up.

"Hey, Brad. Good luck!" Evan shouted from the sidelines, offering a flat sort of smile.

Bradley smiled back in an equally fake way before turning back to face Devon with a similarly transparent scowl, trying to hide his apprehension.

Devon grinned malevolently , seeing right through Bradley's obvious attempt to disguise his fear.

'Now this, is going to be fun'

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End of Chapter