Thanks very much to the following reviewers:
kaz: Yea…I'm glad you liked that scene. I'm a little dramatic/sappy so I had a lot of fun writing that and I agree with you all the way-I like Mobekai cause he is my OC and he's pretty cute, but I'll forever love Mariah/Ray!
HikArI-T3nShi: Yea-I like you cause you're not taking such a strong side for one pairing or the other! Yep, Ray's my little idiot; but he's cool that way. I just so wish he'd waken up a littler sooner to the fact that Mariah liked him. And expect lots more chapters-I'm not even halfway through yet-they've got about 12 more places to visit and such and it's just going to get more exciting! Well, for me at least! J
Galux Kitty: Well, I'm glad you're taking my feelings into account, but please don't stop reading! I'm not even halfway done yet and I'm a total (VERY avid) Ray/Mariah fan. I'm just adding Mobekai to stew Ray's jealousy and in my own opinion, I think its very boring if they go together straight away-there's no suspense! I didn't know you'd stop reading it though! And again, I don't know what an ICQ number is so I can't help you there.
Suzuran: Yeah, Mobekai is really with Mariah-but only for a little while. Oh, if you don't believe it now, you will later.
neko-neko(): Oh no…If I put Mariah with Ray later, you're not going to still want to kill him, are you? Thanks for reviewing; yes, yes, I know I'm great! (^grins^)
Ice Archer Girl: (laughs) haha…I can so see Robert saying that: "And you're so uncouth." No, I knew it was probably your computer-I was going to wait last chapter cause it's always the same people who review, but I really wanted to get it up. I want to put the All-Stars in, but I can't think of a reason to have them do a narrative. For now, it will be mainly BB/WT/WCH, but they become more active next chapter and I have them a bit in this one too. Thanks!
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: I really like your name. I knew a guy named Zane Curtis. No offense or anything, but it kind of reminds me of him. That's a good thing! Well, Mobekai stole the blade from Ray, so he's probably not going to just hand it over and say, "Here you go!" But Ray figures it out-quite soon too: I'm guessing two more chapters from now, cause I still have other stuff I need to do. And it's not like Ray's going to go "Hey, I know who stole my blade!" There'll be a major hint that it was Mobekai. Good question though!
Also, thanks very much to the people that actually sent me an e-mail. That was very nice of you!
-angelofdarknessbabe@hotmail.com (Please don't stop reading this-it's a total Ray/Mariah, Max/Emily (I have to put Emily in more) story, but for now Mobekai's going with Mariah.)
-diving_ivan@hotmail.com (I'm sorry-I know you didn't want me to do this, but I just had to say thanks in some way cause I really appreciated it! And I'm not allowed to e-mail people I don't know-which is very, VERY sad.)
Cool Quotes:
"This calls for celebration-a round of Gelatto on Kenny's dime." -Tyson
"Ahhhh! I never said I would pay for anything!"-Kenny
-Seen at the end of the Episode Deja Vu all over again.
My Naïve Corner: I STILL really need to know if Emily and Michael are brother and sister! Even a speculation would be great!
Authors Note: If it's the last chapter, I will tell you, believe me! No, remember, this is a Ray/Mariah story! That means, Ray and Mariah will get together. So Mobekai obviously won't obviously stay with Mariah. And r/m hasn't happened yet so you've got to wait a little longer.
Boy, this is going to be a long story-I'm speculating maybe 30 chapters or more. I hope you don't leave after a while if I get boring on you. I haven't even explained anything yetL .
Yeah, I'm back to the eleven to twelve page chapter for now: it'll vary depending on what the chapter is about.
Anyway, as HikArI-T3nShi said, I have THE POWER. Right on!
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.
Dorothea and Hope Yenog also belong to me.
BTW, don't you think the cell phone rings sound a lot more real than just Ring? It's to the tune of dadadumdadadum, dadadumdumdum! Hehehe…Or whatever the title of that ballad is. (; The information on San Lorenzo was taken from
Italics are thoughts.
Bold Letters are songs.
WATCH THIS!
Chapter 14: Hilary and Tramper
"It isn't fair." Emily spoke aloud to no one in particular and lay back on the bed.
Emily felt terribly awful. As much as she enjoyed being in charge and collecting data-the team relied on her-she just hated that she had no one else to talk to besides the rest of her teammates. They were all boys, which meant they didn't really care to stick around her. She was just their "technical genius". Heck, they never even stayed together among themselves. Michael never encouraged or participated in teamwork and Steve's temper with Eddy's slowness were never a good combination either. Originally, Dr. Judy would have been spending the day with Emily but Max's father showed up and she went off with him somewhere. So Emily was back at the hotel room alone.
She wondered if she should go see a movie. Or maybe go see what the Bladebreakers were doing? Max and Kenny always enjoyed seeing her.
Or maybe even…
This was after all Milan, and she was in need of some shoes. A massage would feel good too.
She grabbed her purse with a more confident attitude and walked down the hotel stairs.
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"What's going on?" Colby had finally reached the start of the long line-up of traffic. A policeman of Milan turned around,
"Stupid animal. A white hare ran out into the middle of the road and people are stopping just to look at it. I'm terribly sorry about the traffic, ma'am. We're trying to move it along as fast as we possibly can."
"A white hare?" Colby's heart began to beat faster, "Where? Can I see it?"
"Oh! Does it belong to you? It's over there. Quite a thumper, that thing-it won't stop jumping around."
She saw a small steel cage off the side of the street. A car was parked in front of it so the people in cars couldn't see the animal. Two attendants dressed all in navy blue were trying to feed and calm the animal down. Colby walked around and saw the steel cage, which contained a rather large white hare. The hare suddenly stopped jumping around and the two attendants looked up puzzled,
"We haven't been able to get it to stop all afternoon. Just who are you? Do you have authorization to be here?" the female spun around, but the policeman held up his hands,
"I think she belongs to her."
"Oh! No, no, the rabbit isn't mine!" Colby's hands shot up, "I just wanted to see it."
"That's too bad," the male attendant stood up, "Cause she'll be in the hands of the state as soon as we register her."
"How do you know she's a girl?" Colby asked, "She could very well be a he."
"Because we looked," the female looked a little irritated.
"How could you if he/she's been jumping like that?"
"Well, we'll have a look now…" the male moved forward, but the hare began his incessant hops around the cage and the male attendant jumped back in surprise.
"Jheez…I'm going to get animal control on the phone." He disappeared and the female managed to stick the carrot she'd been holding inside. The rabbit tried to bite her, but only sunk his teeth into the bar handles. The female attendant looked down disgustingly at her hands,
"I better go wash this off…"
"Todd!" The policeman moved around, "We've got quite a woman with an attitude over here and another car's blimey stopped in the middle of the road. We need you to call for some backup because it looks like the line's getting longer."
"Good grief…I'll be back in minute, girl. Don't do anything funny while I'm gone kay?"
Girl! Colby fumed with the insult and got down on her hands and knees to get a better look at the white hare. As soon as it saw her, it stopped bouncing immediately, and stood up slowly on it's hind legs.
Colby inched backward, afraid it would slam against the metal opening furiously. It's eyes bugged out and stared at her. They were a pretty gold color and his fur looked slightly darkened. He seemed to like her.
A loud noise made her jump as the man stepped out of the police car. She turned around to look at the rabbit, but the rabbit got down and suddenly jumped forward fiercely. Colby yelped and leaped backwards as the small cage toppled over.
"Just what do you think you're doing!" The man rushed forward, "Don't let it escape!"
"I wasn't letting it escape! I was just staring at it and it jumped forward, I promise!"
He flipped the cage back over and suddenly grabbed her hand,
"Hey! Let go of me!" She demanded.
"Where's the rabbit, girl?"
"Look, my name is Colby Peterson and I haven't touched that…"
But the cage was empty when he pushed it in her face and she broke off in surprise.
He grabbed her hand,
"Amelia! I need you here!" The woman rushed forward and he slowly talked to her as if he was talking to someone stupid,
"If you tell me where you've put the rabbit, I won't take you into the station. Because the rabbit is not yours and it has caused a problem, it belongs to the state, so therefore, you have just committed a crime."
"Gosh! I leave you alone for a minute and what's this-? Where's the rabbit, Edward?" The policeman ran up to the chaotic scene.
"I swear I didn't touch it!"
"All right. If you're going to play it that way, I'll have to take you up until you hand it over. You were the only one with it, so you must have it. But I'm not allowed to search you until I have a warrant," the man pushed her forward and the policeman shook his head sadly,
"I'm so sorry, child, but laws are laws so I'm going to have to take you in for an hour. You won't have to go at all if you confess to where you've taken the hare."
She couldn't believe that they thought she'd actually stolen the rabbit! Stupid cops!
"I told you-I never touched it."
"How did the rabbit disappear then? Look! The cage isn't open and it couldn't have slid through the bars!"
She could see: the cage was exactly how it was a couple of minutes ago, only, the only thing in it was an old piece of carrot.
The policeman pushed her into the police car.
"Jacques! Please, sir, I left a taxi and I must pay him for it. He needs-"
"Don't you worry-we'll take care of it. I do wish you would only just tell us where you put the rabbit. It's really not worth going in, is it?"
"I'm not being arrested am I?"
"No, no…just for questioning and Edward will need a search warrant before he can search your belongings for the rabbit-the hare does belong to Italian Animal Control, you know."
"Yes, yes…"
"You may make one phone call once you are there." He tried smiling sympathetically as he got into the driver's seat, but she frowned, completely annoyed and stared reluctantly out the window at the passengers in their cars. At least they weren't being held against their will.
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"So, where exactly is this San Lorenzo?" Tyson kept trying to shade his eyes.
"There!" Kenny pointed, "I see it: it's the tall building there!"
Above many tall skyscrapers and pillars of building, was the faint spiral of a very large builing.
"It's a church," Ms. Llewellyn explained, "Besides the cathedral, it's one of Milan's tallest and most spacious."
"It's a church?" Tyson raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Is it Sunday already?" Ray grinned.
"It's not an active church, Ray."
They had finally reached the church of San Lorenzo. It featured a large central dome supported by half-domes. Solid support for the magnificent structure was provided by four square corner towers. The building itself was still standing, but the dark burns and many cracks gave it the appearance that it was about to collapse.
"I'll say," Tyson frowned, "This building's been through the dumps."
"It's actually a very lovely building, but repeated fires, destructions and collapses have made its interpretation nearly impossible. It was built between 450 to 475 A.D." Ms. Llewellyn dictated.
"Hey, guys, check this out!" Max stood on top of a large statue in the square in front of the church and puffed his chest out and crossed his arms, in mimic of the man. A row of Attic-Corinthian Roman columns stood on either side.
Tyson, Ray, Mr.Dickinson, Grandpa and Ms. Llewellyn laughed.
"Perfect!" Grandpa called, "You look just like him!"
But Kenny cried out,
"MAX! Get down from there! Do you know whose statue you are standing on?"
Max looked up and grinned, patting the general's cheeks,
"Mr. Proud!"
"That happens to be the statue of emperor Constantine!"
"Hey, I want a statue-that looks cool!" Tyson walked up to the statue as Max jumped down..
"Who's that?" Ray asked.
"This cathedral was founded soon after the edict of Milan in 313 A.D. It was then that emperor Constantine granted freedom of religion to the Christians. This statue was placed in honor of him."
"That's right," Ms. Llewellyn smiled, "And the columns here were erected with materials taken from a preceding Ancient Roman building to enhance the visual effect of the church."
They walked down the columns to the front of the building and she continued,
"Both the columns and the statues survived World War II bombing because they were sandbagged from top to bottom."
"They're so old. Will they ever fall down?" Tyson wondered.
"Well, the municipality of Italy hopes not as it attracts many tourists and is a very historical and ancient place."
"Isn't ancient just a fancy word for really really old?" Max asked.
"Yep," Mr. Dickinson said from behind, "But ancient also means it's of great worth." "That's what I'm turning into, eh?" Grandpa laughed.
"The architecture of San Lorenzo is amazing. It was built in the remarkable current of early christian engineering that developed the central-plan Ancient Roman mausoleum pattern. The same pattern, where the structure is surmounted by a large dome, can also be seen in the Paleochristian baptristies, San Vitale, and Hagia Sophia, which was built when Constantinople ruled. But that period of construction ended in 560 A.D. when Northern Italy was conquered by the Longobard peoples."
"Well, it sure is an old building anyway." Ray said.
They walked inside. It was quiet as people crowded in around them with respect and awe, but they could see a room to the right, where many people were crowding.
"Gosh, the inside is just as bad as the outside," Tyson plugged his nose.
"Dude, it stinks in here," Grandpa began sweeping cobwebs off hangings. The smell of old burnt building was stronger in the enclosed area. There were many masterpieces of art hanging on the wall, but like the stone domes outside, they too were marred by fire and age. The mosaics really only showed biblical figures.
"See that there?" Ms. Llewellyn pointed to a picture of the crucible, "That piece dates back to the fourteenth century."
"Where's the rest of it?" Max touched the empty space. The painting just…stopped halfway across.
"It was incomplete."
"Is this a fresco of the deposition?" Mr. Dickinson stood curiously in front of a well-detailed masterpiece.
"Yes, it is."
"Will you look at that!?" Grandpa said.
He was staring at the entrance to the right, where the group of people had now vanished further into the chapel, had a marble portal, decorated so brilliantly with birds, fruits and flowers.
"That mural was recycled from an Ancient Roman building. That room leads into the octagonal Sant'Aquilino chapel. The Roman Queen Galla Placidia, sister of emperor Onorius, intended it to be her mausoleum and even installed a large sarcophagus."
"You mean there's a dead person in there?" Kenny looked frightened.
"Fortunately, no. She died somewhere else. The buildings been restored. You can take stairs down to see the original chapel, where a painting of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" still hangs. But we can't enter unless we pay a fee. It's not worth it."
"WELL…" Tyson yawned and stretched his arms above his head, "That was educational."
"Why was the chapel built?" Kai asked curiously. It was the first time he had spoken for a while.
"Just like any chapel-for worship. It was used once for services."
"Soooo…what castle are we going to?" Tyson changed the subject immediately
"It is called Castello Sforzesco," Mr. Dickinson said, "It's on the outskirts of town."
"Is it big?" Tyson asked.
"Yes."
"Is it ancient and popular?" Max asked.
"Yes!"
"Has it got suits of armor and chandeliers?" Ray asked
"Oh my, yes yes!"
"Great!" Max grinned, "To the castle we go!"
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"Oh, gosh! PLEASE stop holding hands like that; I am going to barf…" Danika held her stomach nauseously.
Mobekai dropped Mariah's hand. Mariah could feel cold wind touch the palm of her hand. She looked up at a clock tower visible above buildings across the street and sadly said,
"I guess I better go. The others'll be looking for me."
"Have fun; maybe we'll see you later," Kira smiled merrily.
"Bye Mobekai." She kissed his cheek, "I'll see you-"
Dingaling, dingaling, ding a ling ling ling! Ding a ling, ding a ling, ding a ling LING ling!
"Oh!" Danika rummaged in her purse and held up her pride and joy: her cell phone.
"Hi, this is Danika." Danika grinned, pulling a little antenna up.
#Hey Danika! Did the Bladebreakers win?#
"Colby? You called me just for that! Darn, girl, you'll waste my batteries! I'll see you in just a-"
#No, Danika! Whatever you do, don't hang up. Ummm-I'm not sick anymore.#
"That's great. But again, why can't you just tell me when we get to the-?"
#I'm not at the hotel right now, Danika. I--was on my way to the match and…#
"And…?" Danika encouraged.
#Well, I kind of ran into the Federal Italian Animal Control…and, and they had a white hare that I wanted to look at and…#
"Did you get in a wreck?" Danika asked frantically. Trish made a reflexive movement and Kira turned,
"She didn't, did she-"
"Shhh!" Danika hissed, "Colby, where are you right now?"
#Um…can you come get me Danika?#
"Why? Where do you want me to come pick you up, Colby?"
#Well, if you are near the stadium, it's only a couple of blocks away, on Via Sanchillo. #
"We're walking that way right now."
#I'm inside the building between Milano Jewelry and the red brick apartments. #
Danika looked up and stared in disbelief,
"Are you in jail, Colby?"
#Well…no not exactly. But they kind of think I stole that hare so they want to issue a search warrant. #
"What's going on?" Mariah whispered. She still hadn't left yet, a little intrigued with the conversation.
"Why is Colby-?" Mobekai stared, but Danika waved a hand furiously. She hated being talked to on the phone.
"We'll be there in a minute, Colby."
She hung up.
"Looks like we're heading to the Milan municipality police station. Colby's been taken in cause they think she stole a stupid rabbit."
"You can't just charge in and tell them to release her," Mariah frowned.
"We could if we had evidence to release her," Mobekai said slowly, with emphasis. He looked up at Trish, who actually forced a grin of excitement.
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Emily walked out of Joya Duermo, a jewelry store and walked slowly down the street. She saw a small privately owned massage shop that looked quite inexpensive, yet nice enough that she didn't have to worry about the conditions of the shop.
A bell rang as she entered and a loud woman's voice called out,
"Just a minute, just a minute!"
Around the corner an older woman appeared. She was rather busty and as she moved, her thighs jiggled. Emily had to try hard not to stare at her weight. She had thick brown hair and a rough Greek accent.
"Ahh…you American?" She grabbed a pen.
"Yes, I am. I'm a beyblader."
"What's your name, child?" The older woman stared at her curiously.
"Umm…I just want a massage."
"Yes! And a massage you will get!"
"My name is Emily."
"Oh…" She sounded disappointed.
"Oh! What's wrong?" Emily hoped she hadn't done anything awful.
"It is not really anything you should worry about."
"But I would like to know!"
"Okay, then, I will tell you while you get your massage. Come! Come with me this way!"
She handed Emily a towel and let her in the room,
"You will knock when you are ready?"
As Emily put the towel over her and called the woman in, she began to worry that it was this old lady that was to give her a massage.
The door opened, but a younger Italian girl also appeared. She did not seem to pay attention to the old lady because she might not have known English. Emily's shoulders sagged and relaxed at once.
The older woman pulled up a chair near the table to face Emily and she began to speak,
"My name is Dorothea. Ten years ago I was married to a rich man in America, but he was a selfish selfish man. Each time he earned money, he never show me. He go spend it on lottery and beer and other nasty stuff. I couldn't divorce him because I didn't have enough money. Slowly, he get not so rich and mortgage get high. We sold and moved into a one-story, one bedroom home. It was terrible. So I came up with idea: each time I got my money check, I stash away half and say 'Oh, look, here's the money for my money check!' He believe me of course cause he never home, and as I suspect, he took the money to buy a pointless pool table. Well, I finally stash up enough to support myself and I say I want a divorce. He more than happy to divorce and we go to court. But then I find out I pregnant. Yet I only had money to support one person. Well, my husband, see, he found out I'd been keeping money and he demand I pay him. But I don't have to pay him. So he lie to the court and say that I was the one that spended all the money on the lottery, beer, and drugs. When the child was born, the court grant him custody of the child I had labored so long to bear. I had named her Hope. Hope Yenog. Because she had given me hope for a new life. With the child in his hands, I was forced to pay him child support. He never used it for Hope. I learn through my friend he spend it on more drugs and beer. I fear for the child and I fear for my own life; I gave so much money to him for Hope I had barely enough for myself each month. So, I did the only thing I could do."
Emily closed her eyes and suddenly felt bad for misjudging this kind older woman.
"I kidnap my own child and bring her to my sister in Virginia. That a very long way from New York if you don't have car. She helped me get passport here and promise I see my child later. I've waited for ten years to see little Hope and no word came from Virginia. Then! Just a month ago, my little Hope called and spoke to me! She spoke to me," she began to cry, "I never see Hope speak, or walk. I don't know what she looks like. But she say she have red hair just like you. And she come to me this week. That is why I asked your name."
"I understand. I'm so sorry, but it must be wonderful to see her again!"
"Yes," lines appeared on the woman's face, "Yes. She might not remember me. She might not like it here. I am so worried she like my sister more than me. How I worry."
"My mother is in the U.S. too. I'm here with my team to win a cup." Emily suddenly felt homesick, "I haven't seen my mom for a while, but I write to her."
"You must miss her."
"Yes, but not as much as you must miss Hope. I hope you have a wonderful reunion."
The Italian masseuse lifted her hands and exited the room and Dorothea stood up and paused at the door,
"Thank you very much. I never forget you, Emily. I enjoys talking to you."
"Yes, I did too."
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Colby slouched on the hard wooden bench.
"We've just received permission to search your belongings," the policeman appeared, "I'll be back in just a minute. If we don't find anything, you will be allowed to leave."
Colby picked up her bag. She didn't want them searching through her belongings if she hand anything personal in her purse. Her hand moved past her wallet and her passport and stopped when she clutched her beyblade. She lifted the brown and white blade out of her bag and turned it over slowly. There was something different about the blade. It felt heavier, more…emotional.
There was a piece of white paper on her bit chip and she tried brushing it away, but it stayed. She leaned closer and saw that it wasn't a bit of white paper, but a white hare on top of her bit-chip. She didn't get it. Was the rabbit inside her blade? Did she now have a bit-beast?
If that was the case, she really did indeed steal the rabbit.
I must not let them see this. She stuck the blade in her pocket as soon as the policemen walked out of the back room. She expected him to tell her what they were going to search and then take the bag back.
But he grabbed her and the bag,
"I'm afraid we were mistaken. A couple of teens just found the rabbit right off the street. It'd been hiding in a trash can. I'm so terribly sorry for all the confusion, Ms. Peterson."
"That's fine. I-"
She stopped when she saw Danika, Kira, Trish, Mobekai and Mariah around the front door, holding a feisty little rabbit.
A guard took the rabbit into the back and Colby was handed her larger backpack.
As soon as they were outside, Mobekai grinned.
"You didn't just take a wild rabbit, did you?" Colby asked in amazement.
"Actually, we did better. We coaxed a guy to give us a rabbit from the pound for free. I imagine the rabbit will get better treatment in the hands of the state," Trish began to walk.
"I-umm..actually did take the rabbit."
Kira groaned,
"Oh, Colby, you didn't!
Colby took out her blade,
"Guys, I think the rabbit is a bit-beast."
Mariah leaned forward,
"Oh, it's cute!"
"That's great, Colby! You can do so much better now."
"And he's very violent too. He's a Tramper," Colby grinned, very confident about herself.
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"Gosh, these halls are pretty spooky," Kenny fiddled with his hands nervously.
"Ooooooooh!" Tyson raised his hands, "Look out Kenny, I'm a -"
Kenny hit him,
"Stop it Tyson! I'm serious!"
Max was examining a broken chandelier up ahead, sticking out of the wall. As he ran his hand down one of the arms, it broke off suddenly. Max jumped and fiddled to catch it, before grabbing it between his wrists. He turned red with embarrassment
"If everyone can gather here!" The tour guide called.
Max hurried forward after stuffed it in one of the nearby knights.
"Ooof!"
He stopped and turned around, but there was no one behind him. He looked around curiously and heard a small groan. But as he peered forward, there wasn't a sign of anyone. A little anxious, he walked up behind Tyson.
The tour guide was saying,
"They managed to dig up the shield, but the sword was broken in the dig, so only half of it remains here. You can now take the time to tour the castle on your own. If you get lost, please follow the signs above . The castle closes at five this afternoon. Have a nice day!"
"This is so cool!" Tyson walked up to the same knight Max had been near earlier and lifted the arm,
"Hello, how are you?" He did a fake voice.
Kai shook his head,
"You are such a child."
Tyson turned the knight's hand,
"Mr. Kai, you're not being very nice."
He let go of the knight and moved to a statue of what looked like a half-ogre, half elf holding swords up in the form of an X, his head bowed.
"Tyson."
"Yeah?"
…………………
"Yes?" Tyson repeated again ,turning around.
"Look." Max lifted a finger, staring at the knight he'd just held earlier. The hand was still sticking straight out in mid-air.
"Oh, do you guys still believe in that? It's just the oil-it's rusted." Ray moved forward to push the hand down, but before he could, the hand slowly moved downward. He stopped in disbelief.
"What--?" Even Kai turned.
"Hey, Mr. Dickinson! Mr. Dickinson!" Tyson yelled, "Ms. Llewellyn!"
The hand shot forward again suddenly, as well as the other hand and grabbed Ray around the neck.
"Aaaaaauuugghh!" Ray yelled, as he was lifted off the ground.
"Ray!" Kenny and Max jumped forward. The armored knight loosened its grasp on Ray enough for him to jump away quickly,
"It can't be…"
"Don't let it get to you," Kai moved forward, "It's just something the castle people have cooked up to scare you. Let's go. If you ignore it, it will go away."
They turned their backs slowly and began to walk.
"CREAK!"
Max and Ray stopped curiously, while the others walked forward defiantly.
"CREAK!"
Max and Ray spun around,
"Oh, no!" Max' eyes widened with fear, "It's on the ground."
Tyson, Kenny and Kai spun around and the knight slowly began to lift each of his legs,
"CREAK! CREAK! CREAK! CREAK!"
"Gaaaahhhh! Someone…anyone…help!" Kenny yelled as they walked backward. The armored knight grew closer and reached a hand out to Kai,
"Iiiiiiii''''mmmmm nnnnnnooooottttt faaaaaakkkkkkeeeeee……"
"Aaaauugggghhhh!" Kai backed away slowly, his hands shaking.
"CREAK, CREAK!" The knight moved forward slowly and Tyson dropped to his knees,
"Please Mr. Knight….PLEASE don't hurt us. We'll do anything…Please!"
"CREIEAAAAKKKK!" The Knight tripped on a loose part of the carpet floor and fell face down on the floor.
"HahhhahahahhaHAAHAHAHHAA!" Someone started laughing hysterically, muffled by the dark helmet.
The knight sat up, crossed his legs as best he could and pulled his helmet off, shaking with mysterious laughter.
"Haha! I sure got you that time-oh man, you were all great! 'PLEASE don't hurt us, Mr. Knight! I'm coming after you!' Hey, what's wrong with everyone?" She stopped laughing at the serious faces.
"Hilary?!!!?" Tyson asked in disbelief, "No, it can't be!"
"Well, thanks for the welcome!"
"You're like an annoying little sister that won't ever go away!" Tyson pulled his hair in frustration, "You're supposed to be halfway across the world in Japan!"
"I was in Japan! But it got so boring, so I earned enough money and now I'm going to travel with you in your tournament thingy. Cool, huh?"
"Yeah, that's awesome!" Kenny grinned.
Tyson's face dropped and he glared at Kenny, before turning back to Hilary,
"You can't just come over here and travel with us! You don't have any right to be here-you're not blading!"
"She did travel all this way and earn her own keep just to be with us," Ray shrugged, "We can't make her turn back now."
"Well, Kenny doesn't blade and he's traveling with you, isn't he?"
"Hes--hes--he's our technical engineer! He gets privileges."
"Well, shouldn't I get privileges?"
"For WHAT? For being an annoying tag a long?!"
"Oh, cool it Tyson. I'm not going to let you ruin this for me! I'm staying whether you want me to or not!"
"Did you call?" Mr. Dickinson appeared suddenly, "Oh, Hilary, it's so good to see you! Are you going to be staying, then?"
Tyson sweat dropped, anime style and sat on the ground,
"I give up."
"Oh, yea! And you're going to Austria tomorrow, aren't you all? I hear they have the best chocolate. And a really beautiful view-oh I can't wait to see the mountains."
"And after the tournament, I want to go learn how to waltz!" Kenny exclaimed.
"That sounds like fun-I'll go with you!" Hilary grinned. She and Kenny walked off ahead of the group.
"Hehehe-she does have spirit, doesn't she?" Mr. Dickinson winked, "Let's all go get packed. We should be eating dinner in Austria tonight if our flight leaves on time."
"We're taking a plane?"
"Oh, yes! It'll be much faster that way!"
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Final Note: Thanks so much for waiting patiently for this chapter. I got it up a little late, but I nevertheless got it up for this week so I could keep my bargain of having two chapters up every week. You know the deal: Please read/review!
