Thanks very much to the following reviewers:
hikari-chan: Is Mobekai beating Michael believable? I hope so. Thanks a bunch for reviewing the day I posted! And more hints of romantic flirting will appear in the next chapter, but like I said, r/m isn't going to form for a while-Like someone on FF said, "Real love takes time, not alcohol."
Fire Fox: Wow! I can't believe you reviewed me! I LOVE your story "The Other Side of the Mirror". A truly good r/m fic! Okay, so Mariah did coin the phrase, "There's nothing I hate more than a snitch." But do you really think Mariah is the type to plot revenge against a teammate?
My Observance for the Day: Has anyone noticed that every team bit-beast has a similar synonym? For instance, all the White Tiger bb(bit-beasts) are Galeon, Galux, Galman, and Galzzy. The Bladebreakers are Driger, Dragoon, Draciel, and Dranzer. The Majestics are Griffolyon, Unicolyon, Salamulyon, and Amphylyon. And the All-Stars are Trygle, Tryhorn, Trypio, and Trygator. Quite Interesting.
My Naïve Corner: I know Ray and Mariah's last names. Can you give me a few others? Especially the Demolition Boys? Even if it's the Japanese last name, anything'll do!
Authors Note: You'll find out what team Kira, Mobekai, Danika, Colby and Trish belong to in this one-are they good characters and bit-beasts? Enjoy reading!
Disclaimer: Any misspellings, confused references or mixed up teammates are purely accidental and are a result of the author's new innocent fascination with the world of beyblading. Kira Ocelet, Mobekai Tart, Danika Woods, Colby Peterson and Trish ?? belong to me.
BTW, this story takes place two years after the World Championship Battle in Russia-Guess I forgot to tell you.
Italics are thoughts.
Bold Letters are songs.
*Max*: How terrible was it, Ray?
*SecretQuill*: Hey!
*Ray*: Actually, it wasn't worth the trip outside. Tyson's down at the local Beyblade shop.
*Kenny*: There's a local Beyblade shop?
*Max*: When did you enter this conversation? When did you get here actually?
*Kenny*: This guy here dropped me off.
*Ray*: What guy!?
*SecretQuill*: (~gasp~) KAIBA!
*Seto Kaiba*: Ummmm….where's Mokuba?
*SecretQuill*: (singing) Not here! I told you that so you'd come! And here you are! YAY!
*Seto Kaiba*: Is Yugi Muto here?
*Max*: (looks around) Uhhh….I don't think so.
*Seto Kaiba*: Is anyone here gonna duel me?
*SecretQuill*: I…don't have my cards. But I can battle you with my Beyblade!
*Seto Kaiba*: What the heck is that?
*Kenny*: (gaping) It's only the most complex and wonderful sport there is. You see, you have two blades, kind of like spinning-
*Seto Kaiba*: (confused) Bye Then. (Leaves)
*SecretQuill*: NOOOO! NOOO! Don't LEAVE! COME BACK! COME BACK!
*Max*: Wow. Guess she's over you, Ray.
WATCH THIS!
Chapter 3: Unusual Defeat
"BRRAAWWWPPP!"
"Tyson!" Kenny looked shocked, "We're in public!"
Ray and Max laughed.
"Nothing better than battling on a full stomach, chief," Tyson grinned.
"But still…" Kenny protested. They continued to make their way down the pavements of France.
"Let's go do a bit of sightseeing," Tyson suggested, "How about the Champs Elysees? Nah, I don't need to do shopping. How about Notre Dame? The Eiffel Tower? Or even the Louvre? A castle or two doesn't sound too bad either…"
"I wonder what's going on…" Ray saw the gathering crowd in the street ahead and began to walk curiously toward it.
"It's a battle!" Max jumped forward excitedly, "Let's go see!"
"I really think we should be heading back to the hotel!" Kenny protested firmly.
"C'mon, chief. Where's your sense of adventure?" Dizzi piped up.
"I suppose…"
"What are we waiting for? Let's go already!" Tyson shouted.
Upon their arrival, they could see two people already in battle against each other. The crowd was much larger than they had anticipated, so it was very difficult to see much.
"What's gong on?" Max strained his neck in vain.
"It's a battle between Mariah and Mobekai," someone to their left explained.
"Emily!" Kenny turned, "What are you doing here?"
"Collecting data, of course," came another deeper female voice.
"Mom!" Max grinned.
"Mobekai?" Ray asked again, in an attempt to bring up the original conversation.
"Yes-the new team from India," Emily explained, "Mobekai must be the captain. He just beat Michael with his bit-beast. I'm guessing they have quite a lot of control over their blades."
"It was a faulty mistake," Michael bitterly justified behind them, "And it's not like she is going to do any better either."
Ray turned and concluded,
"Mariah's doomed."
"Yes, we thought so too," Emily confirmed, "But it was her challenge in the first place."
Kenny frowned,
"If only we could see what's going on…"
"They just started; you aren't missing much," Judy informed them, "I'm sure you could push your way forward, somehow…"
"No problem," Tyson squeezed between two adults, "Excuse me, excuse me, Beyblade World Champion coming through..."
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"Give it up, Mariah!" Mobekai called threateningly.
Mariah bared her teeth and continued to run away from his blade. She'd seen it before: the all-too familiar trap and pounce deal. Well, he wasn't going to trap her. She was going to give him the ride of his life.
After a few more long, but highly tense moments, both blades began to wear down visibly.
I should loop behind him and attack with my bit-beast; he won't be expecting that.
But then she remembered that Colby had already used that tactic against Michael and it had failed. What else could she do?
His blade quickly shut much distance between them and began to bear down terribly on her blade. She switched her beyblade to defense and pulled away quick again.
"Quit avoiding me!"
Mariah was pleased to hear frustration in his voice.
That's it! Wear out his beyblade!
She knew that Colby had also used this against Michael, but both of their blades were already well worn out.
It seemed to work for a while; he continued to chase her. Then, all of sudden, he pulled his blade back, as if waiting.
She didn't understand: what was he doing?
"Galux, attack!" she shouted fiercely, "Scratch attack NOW!"
She could not have timed it better. Unlike Colby, he did not react as quickly when her lynx bit-beast appeared.
His blade flew into the air and hit the pavement, but did not stop spinning.
"What?!" Mariah gaped, "Galux, attack again!"
But Mobekai was ready to command as well.
"White Falcon! Talon claw strike!"
The two bit-beasts collided, neither gaining the edge.
"You can do this Mariah!" a voice called from behind her, "You've just got to believe you can!"
Lee? No, she could see Lee out of the corner of her right eye, watching quietly.
It sounded a lot more like Ray, but what would Ray be doing here?
Determination rising within her, she shouted once more,
"Give it all you've got Galux!"
The blades and bit-beasts collided once again, but this time they began to slow until they could move no further. Mariah watched the teetering blades impatiently.
C'mon Galux! Hang in there a little longer for me!
Slowly, the beyblades came to a complete stop.
First Mobekai's and not a second later, Mariah's.
Mariah beamed like there was no tomorrow. She'd done it!
There was no way she could have beaten him! She didn't even come close to the power he had. It was the first time she'd made moves like that. It was more than she could ever hope for: to see what she was really capable of!
Mobekai must've been really good too, seeing as he beat the captain of the All-Stars, the most technically advanced team ever. And she'd beaten him! She, Mariah, of the White Tigers!
Mobekai should've been extremely disappointed with himself.
So why was he grinning in satisfaction at her?
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"All right then. We're in Group B-that's eastern Europe. Our first preliminary round is in Aix-en-Provence against the Bladehunters. Easy, but again, not beginners," Kai told the rest of his team once they'd arrived back at the hotel.
"I can't believe we're doing this again-like old times," Max grinned.
Tyson beamed. "Why shouldn't we? We're more than teammate, guys. We're great friends!"
"Hey guys!" Kenny called from his laptop, where he had been working to analyze the Bladehunters' strategies, "Any of you heard of "The Wild Cheetahs?"
"That must be the Indian team we saw today," Ray concluded.
"Yes, but look! They've registered as beginners and we've all seen how good they are."
"Maybe it's just because they didn't know how good everyone else was gonna be," Tyson shrugged.
"I don't think so. Besides, there are no records for previous matches or even stats for their teammates. Heck, their names aren't even available! Guys, it's like this team just appeared out of nowhere!"
"That's strange," Kai frowned, "There must be an explanation, though."
"Maybe they just don't want anybody else knowing what they're capable of," Max replied.
"That sounds more reasonable, but it still looks fishy," Kenny shut his computer down and looked up, "Well, I think as much as they've tried, the Bladehunters really haven't improved their skills, so we don't have much to worry about from tomorrow's match. But tomorrow afternoon we're playing the Tall Boys if we win…."
"Which we will," Tyson responded confidently.
"Yes, so be prepared," Kenny concluded.
"So, what's the line up, Chief?"
"I think Max should go first, then Kai, then Tyson."
"What?" Max sat up on the bed, "Why are you putting Tyson and Kai up against the Bladehunters?"
Kai huffed, "I'm not going to battle first-rate bladers Kenny."
"Look, the faster we beat these guys, the better, right? We have a title to protect. Besides, we've still got to worry about keeping our lead over the All-Stars and the White Tigers."
"We haven't got a lead over the White Tigers, though!" Tyson exclaimed.
"The White Tigers have been pushed back with the beginners because of Mariah and Kevin's stunt. And the Demolition Boys and Majestics are in Group B, so as long as we just take it easy for a while, we've got a guaranteed spot in the finals."
"Why not use Ray and Tyson, then?" Kai asked.
"We still can't let our guard down. We want to win these battles as fast as possible. And no one will be expecting Kai to challenge the Bladehunters, right?"
Tyson nodded slowly,
"Yeah, you've got a point there."
The hotel room door suddenly flung open and Mr. Dickinson entered with several bags in tow.
"Yes!" Tyson jumped forward excitedly, "Dinner!"
"Not yet, Tyson…" Mr. Dickinson shook his head.
"Huh?"
"Dinnertime in France is not till ten."
Kai, Max, Ray, and Kenny laughed.
"WHAT?!" Tyson moaned, "Oh, my stomach!"
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"C'mon Galeon!" Lee flung his beyblade launcher down in cold fury and stared angrily at the twinkling stars. How was it possible? Did he just get lazy?
He was thinking, of course, about how Mariah had beaten Mobekai. Mariah just didn't have that strength. If she could beat him, so could he. However, there was no way that he would be able to beat Michael. At least, not if he didn't practice. And yet, Mobekai had managed to beat Michael and lose to Mariah.
His sister had never managed to stump him, but Lee was sure she'd done something to cheat. The skill measurements just didn't match up right. Not like he didn't think Mariah was good. She was after all, part of the White Tigers, and a win by her was a win by the whole team.
"You could possibly be more crazy than I am right now. It's freezing."
Lee turned to see someone approaching him against the night sky. She had dark brown hair and light blue eyes. It was the girl Michael had played: Colby Peterson.
Lee decided to ignore her and picked up his launcher, preparing to strike against the side of the roof once more.
"What's your name?"
He paused stubbornly,
"Lee Mynx."
"Are you practicing then? Can I watch?"
"I'd prefer if you didn't," he turned around, "You could use it against us."
She nodded, "Yeah, I probably will. So which team do you belong to?"
"The White Tigers."
Her eyes opened with interest,
"Really? I thought I'd recognize you."
At first it was her purely annoying attitude that drove him to ignore her as much as he could. But now she was just being plain rude. And she'd struck a very sensitive cord.
"I'm the captain," he snapped, "My sister beat your teammate earlier today."
"So that's who it was, then?"
He didn't reply, furiously ripping his blade and after watching it hit the roof wall a few times, called it back once more.
"I thought Ray Kon was the captain of the White Tigers," Colby spoke up very quietly.
She sounded confused and upset, two qualities which normally would have pleased him in an opponent, but the question upset him even more than her earlier statement. His fists clenched,
"Look, Colby, or whoever you are, I didn't ask for you to come up here and to be blunt, you're starting to annoy me, so go get some rest or whatever it is you do before a tournament."
"I practice just like you do and I'm quite good. I just want to know where I can find Ray."
His anger faded away briefly to shock. Did she really not know about the World Tournament?
"You mean you don't know…?" He asked.
"Yes, that's why I obviously asked you. I need to know where he is."
"Ray's a member of the World Champion Bladebreakers."
"And he's captain?" She asked excitedly.
Why is she so eager to find Ray? Lee briefly wondered. And why does she want him to be the captain so bad?
"No," he watched her face fall slightly, "Kai Hiwatari is."
"Are they in this tournament?"
"Of course they are," he snapped again, "Why do you want to know all this?"
"Oh…I'm a…fan," she blushed slightly.
He raised an eyebrow,
"And competition at the same time? I pity your team."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" She asked angrily.
"Nothing at all," he lied, ripping his blade against the wall again.
"Well, I'm getting quite cold, so if you don't mind, I'm going to leave."
She stuck her hands in her jacket and exited briskly, but before she reached the roof stairs, she turned around once more,
"Could you…tell me, does Ray…does he have his bit-beast Driger still?"
"Yes, he does," Lee's anger was kindled once again.
"Lovely boy really, good manners and all…" she muttered sarcastically to herself, descending the stair well.
Too late, he realized that his quick anger had just made him spill a great deal of information. He watched her retreating back and then turned around, whispering furiously,
"Good riddance."
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Final Note: Next Chapter?! The day of the first Beyblade battle! Who's pumped up? Cause I certainly am! Again, any last names here would be fabulous-I really can't just say, "Hi, I'm Tyson." Actually I guess I could….but it wouldn't be fun. "Hello there, good chap. My name's Ray Kon and I'm a member of the happening Bladebreakers. Oh, and you are?"
Let's be a little more specific-I need to know the last names for the Demolition Boys and the All-Stars! There we go!
Bunches of love to you if you read my stupid AN's and if you reviewed my story as well!
