WOW! Thanks so much everyone for all the reviews~I got more than 100 and like I promised, I posted two chapters. I split reviews for each chapter depending on when they were posted and again, they can be found at the bottom of each chapter. (;
A/N (Author's Note): Galux Kitty was right-I just got the DVD episode of "My Enemy, My Friend," and Ray does say that he won't let his feelings get in the way of the game. But he also shakily says, "What's wrong with me?" at the beginning, so I still believe I'm right in thinking Ray does have some feelings for Mariah, but he just doesn't know it himself yet. You know what I mean? He's feeling something, but he doesn't know what it is or how to react.
Disclaimer: Any misspellings or mixed up references are purely accidental. (I'm not exactly new anymore so I had to makeover my disclaimer.) The author has not seen Beyblade 2002 (VForce) or G Rev, because they only just started airing, so coincidental or incorrect information about characters can be attributed to that. Also, character last names might be spelled incorrectly or Japanese/English last names might be mixed by fault. Kira Ocelet, Mobekai Tart, Danika Woods, Colby Peterson and Trish ??? belong to me.
Italics are thoughts.
Bold Letters are songs.
WATCH THIS!
Chapter 18: Black Driger
"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.
"Happy birthday, Mariah," Lee sat next to her at the windowsill and placed a necklace in her palms.
It was early in the morning and the White Tigers were lounging around their hotel room, up before everyone else as usual. The sky was mostly purple and dark blue, with silvery pink lacing the horizon. Only a few lights were on in the room, but it was just enough to see till the sunrise provided rays.
"Oh, Lee! Thanks so much! It's very beautiful…" The chain was gold and an emerald silver flower was attached at the bottom.
She clasped it around her neck. Lee took the towelette off the bed drawer and wiped his face off.
"She doesn't have any authorization to receive those!" Lee jumped forward. He could bet every one of them had nasty details about Ray and Driger.
"Actually, I do." She held up a pink slip of paper, "Trish got them from an exclusive friend of ours."
"Exclusive?" Lee asked, "That's crap! You can't just walk in and receive information like that."
"It's none of your business what I can and can't do," she brushed past him.
"It darn well is. Ray's my friend, even if we don't exactly see eye to eye. I will tell him what you just did."
She stopped and turned around slowly,
"I'll tell Mariah you were out today if you tell."
"I'm so scared," Lee snapped sarcastically, "Tell Kevin and Gary while you're at it."
"AND…!" She raised her voice, "I can guarantee you Driger if you don't tell."
"Oh, so now you're going to resort to stealing? Even that's a little beneath you, don't you-"
"I won't have to steal anything. I have an exact replica of Driger. It'll be yours, bit-beast and everything. Of course, I could always get you the real thing. It is what you've always wanted, isn't it Lee?
He stared,
"How did you know that?"
"Ray isn't the only person we keep tabs on, you know. Even if you do tell, we know stuff you'll only dream about."
"An imitation isn't the real deal, and you know it," Lee said quietly as he shut the hotel door behind him.
"What? Did you say something?" Kevin asked.
"Nah. Let's go get some breakfast."
Are you going to try something today, Colby? Lee thought curiously, trying to figure out what the Wild Cheetahs might be planning, And will it involve my own team?
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"Tyson? Tyson?!" Kenny sighed, "Boy, why do I even bother?"
"Tyson!!!" Max shouted directly into his ear. Still no movement.
"Get up, Ray." Kai pulled the pillow out from underneath the raven-haired boy's head, "We've let you sleep long enough."
Ray's head hit the ground hard. His hands flew up immediately and his eyes screwed together in pain. He moaned and curled up in a ball angrily,
"Asimplegetupraywouldhavedonenicely. Wha'imeis't?"
"What?" Max asked curiously, "What'd you say?"
Ray rolled over and opened his eyes dimly,
"I said, "A simple "Get up, Ray" would have done nicely. What time is it?"
"Nine. Gosh, you're usually the first one up. Did you not get enough sleep?"
"No, strangely. And I wasn't the only one. Hilary went into this strange mania thing last night. I had to wake Tyson up for it, so he might be extra grumpy this morning."
"Her screams could have--ahhh," Dizzi yawned very loudly from Kenny's laptop, "…wakened the dead."
"How did you wake up Tyson?" Kenny asked.
"I dumped ice on his face," Ray sat up and stretched, "Why?"
Kenny raced into the kitchen. They could hear the clatter of Tupperware and the cracking of ice hitting the countertop.
"Get ready for the yelling," Max chuckled as Kenny came out, holding a glass full of water and ice.
He walked over to Tyson, who was sprawled on top of his covers, his mouth hanging open. His nose flinched and he sucked up a lot of air and coughed. It was then that Kenny dumped the ice water onto his face.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Tyson yelled, sitting up wide-eyed "What the--"
"Good morning sunshine!" Dizzi called merrily.
"That's the second time!" Tyson muttered something else and then, "Why can't you guys just dump me in a pool?"
"You don't have time for that. We need to be at the match in an hour," Kai shook his head.
"Match?" Tyson leaned back on his elbow, "Match! Who're we playing against? Why wasn't I told earlier? Why do we have to cut these things so darn close?"
"Stupid! He's talking about the Wild Cheetah match against the Bladehunters," Hilary announced matter-of-factly, dropping her bag next to the lamp and closing the hotel door behind her.
"Well, hello to you too," Tyson's eyes narrowed as he sat up again.
"Is that what you packed last night?" Ray asked curiously, referring to her day bag.
Hilary's face looked dangerously close to cracking with anger,
"No."
Ray stepped back innocently.
"Ha! As if! I think she packed her toilet as well!" Tyson guffawed shortly.
Hilary started moving forward angrily, her arm held back in a tight fist. Tyson grabbed Dizzi desperately out of Kenny's hands (Kenny: Hey!) and held it up in front of him cowardly,
"Please don't hurt me!"
"Oh, sure, use the small laptop. We can always fix it, they say. No harm there," Dizzi complained under her breath.
Hilary crossed her arms and leaned against the wall separating the main/bedroom with the kitchen,
"Hmmph!"
Tyson slowly lowered Dizzi before handing her back to Kenny,
"Please ask next time, Tyson. I think you scared Dizzi."
"Sorry, Dizzi. It was just a nervous reaction."
"Apology accepted," she chirped.
"Well, are you guys done getting ready so we can go?"
Tyson got out of bed and closed the bathroom door in response. Hilary seemed to have been expecting this and looked at her watch,
"All right then. I'll wait down in the lobby for you, but if you're not down in a half hour, I'll find you at the stadium."
"Sounds good," Max flipped the lights on in the kitchen and rummaged through the cereals.
"Hmmmm….some extra gigabites do sound good right about now," Dizzi said tauntingly.
Cheese had been sniffing around curiously on Max' bed and leaped forward at the sound of food.
"Eeeep!" Hilary jumped back as Cheese scurried across her shoes, "Why couldn't you have found a dog, Max?"
"They're so predictable," he grinned, poking his head through the window.
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"Boy, are the others going to be in over their heads today," Colby rubbed her hands together.
"You're to tell them as little as possible," Danika warned.
"Even less than that," Mobekai shook his head at her. Kira nodded in agreement, even though anxiety was overwhelming all her logical senses.
But Mobekai always had the final say.
Trish walked slowly, confidently, behind them.
"Aren't you nervous, Trish?" Colby asked, pivoting on her feet. Kira stopped and turned around to watch the captain as well. Trish, however, closed her eyes and continued to walk past them.
"It'll be quite an argument," Mobekai said quietly, watching her back, "Just you wait: she and Kai will go at it soon. And they're not the only ones either."
He looked over at Danika, who looked away shamefully,
"I've nothing to hide from Ray. He deserves to know."
"He'll know, all right," Mobekai began to walk forward, sticking his hands in his pockets, "The shock will be nasty enough, but if he tries to pry information out of you Danika, you're not to tell him anything."
"I understand completely."
"Good."
"Don't use your fullest potential either," said Mobekai.
"Why not?" asked Danika.
"Everyone, especially the All-Stars, will be trying to analyze our data. We never registered a file, remember? If you can keep it low key and win, don't hesitate. We don't want anyone else knowing what we can and can't do."
"Mobekai! Over here!" Mariah waved from a street corner. Lee, Gary, and Kevin stood expectantly behind her.
"Nothing more, understand?" Mobekai finished.
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"I want you to store away everything you see in this battle, Emily. We can use the data to come up with a strategy to defeat the Wild Cheetahs. They are our new focus at the moment," Dr. Judy Tate put some papers in her hand bag and sat on the edge of Eddy's bed.
"I especially want to cream Mobekai," Micheal threw a ball up and caught it angrily with his mitt, "I want to humiliate him like he did to me."
"I'm glad you have found positive ways to channel your fury, Michael, but I must remind you that we still have no information yet on the Wild Cheetahs and it is impertinent that we know what they can do," Judy explained.
"We can't fight blindly and expect to win," Emily placed her hands on her hips impatiently.
"That's right. I'm not necessarily sure whether they're also going to use their fullest potential. I still find it impossible to believe Mobekai beat Micheal, but Mariah managed to beat him."
"We need to just get more power then," Eddy shrugged.
"Right! I'm working on it right now-a device I'm assuming will work excellent with your blades and increase your power over the White Tigers and possibly, the Wild Cheetahs."
"What about the Bladebreakers?" Emily asked.
"I haven't yet decided what their weakness is, but with good time," Judy smiled.
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Mobekai wrapped his arms around Mariah and leaned down to kiss her softly and passionately.
Kevin pulled a face disgustingly and Lee's brow twitched anxiously. After about two minutes in which neither had come up for air, he jerked forward to grab Mariah away, but Colby grabbed his arm and frowned warningly. Lee folded his arms crossly and watched Mobekai with current dislike. Fortunately for Lee, they broke apart a couple of seconds later.
"AWWWWWwwwwwww…" Danika grinned, whistling.
They walked across the street and down the alley that would lead them directly to the front of the Austrian Beyblade Stadium.
"Happy Birthday," Mobekai whispered in Mariah's ear.
"That was a great gift," she licked her lips.
He laughed,
"I do have something else for you."
"Oh, what is it?"
"Later."
"You weren't thinking that a minute ago, were you?"
"It's a surprise, Mariah! It's not something I can describe anyway."
"Like a kiss?"
"No, but you'll get some of that too."
"I see," Mariah pretended to be interested in the alley surroundings, but Mobekai knew she had something at the tip of her tongue and was just biding her time. Mobekai smiled and shook his head.
"Just one teensy weensy little hint?" She spun around suddenly, her face lit up.
He laughed,
"I knew you wouldn't have played that to the end."
"Oh, c'mon, Mobekai!"
"Nope."
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"Good, she's gone!" Tyson peered carefully around the lobby, "I knew she wouldn't want to wait here for so long."
"Uh…Tyson?" Dizzi asked.
"She might have some seats saved too," Max added hopefully.
"Oh, this is the perfect chance to go spend some of that money I have on Beyblade improvements. I think there's a shop right outside the stadium."
"Even some new blades," Kenny thought curiously, "Hey, Tyson, would you mind-?"
"Tyson!" Dizzi called again.
"What?" he spun around.
"Behind you."
Tyson spun around curiously.
Hilary was standing outside the continental breakfast door, with her hands on her hips.
"Oh. Hehehe…Hey Hilary!" He waved merrily.
"Did you really think I wasn't going to keep my word?" She asked silkily.
"Well, I know I wouldn't have waited!" He argued.
"And what's this about money? Where did you get money from? Is it a lot or just pocket money?" She walked up curiously.
"It's nothing, really."
"Are you kidding?" Kenny stared incredulously, "Do you know what ten thousand francs can get you?"
Hilary's jaw dropped and she jumped forward,
"Ten thousand! 10,000 francs is definitely not nothing, Tyson!"
They opened the hotel door and began walking through the morning mist. The streets were mildly crowded. Most of the public was already at work, so the rush of traffic wasn't bad either.
"How'd you get it?" She asked pryingly.
"I won a contest in Aix-en-Provence."
"Ha! What kind of contest did you happen to win at by chance?"
He glared,
"It was a hot-dog eating contest."
"Seems kind of trivial. Who'd give 10,000 francs to someone for eating hot dogs?"
"Oh, you're just jealous," Tyson grinned.
"Am not!"
"You are too! I can see it! You'd give anything to win 10,000 francs for a spelling bee or something like that!"
"First of all, a spelling bee is quite the opposite of eating hot dogs-"
"Is not."
"Whatever. And second of all, I wouldn't be receiving francs and it wouldn't be a spelling bee."
"What, then? A geography bee? You'll win that for sure," he teased.
"No! I'm talking about an actual contest like a game show or something, something that actually requires a brain."
Everyone laughed except Tyson and Kai.
"I like my brain to be fresh when I use it," Tyson excused himself.
"Actually, I think it's past the expiration date," Kai spoke up, "You should think about getting another one."
Everyone laughed again, but Tyson just gaped at him,
"Wow! You cracked a joke, Kai. Good for you! Good Kaiy waiy!" He patted Kai genially on the arm.
"Don't touch me," Kai frowned dangerously.
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Mobekai opened his BBA bag and pulled Ray's Driger out slowly.
I wonder if I should use it.
"Mobekai!" He spun around quickly and hid the blade behind his back.
Danika had poked her head around his dressing room door,
"Trish has decided she wants to put Kira against Chucky. She doesn't want you battling today."
"What?" He asked incredulously, "Why not?"
"She thinks Kira's Sea Dragon will destroy Chucky's dive attack in no time. Besides, you can't battle all the time."
"Well, I know that, but you battle quite frequently too."
"That's because my blade is much more powerful than yours."
"It's not. Yours is a fake."
"Oh, stop being a baby and come on," she grabbed his arm, "We need to be outside with the others now."
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"Welcome back to the European World Tournament! We're in Austria at the moment and the first round has started with the beginners facing the losers of the Advanced Round! I'm A.J. Topper and this is my partner, Brad Best. Hi Brad!"
"Hello to you too, A.J! Have you noticed that we've been to five cities in five days?"
"Uhhh…no Brad I hadn't. We do seem to be jumping all over the place, huh?"
"Not like jumping beans of course though!"
"No Brad. This competition definitely isn't Jack and the Beanstalk. Our competitors today are the Bladehunters vs. the newbie Wild Cheetahs. But word is, the Wild Cheetahs are darn good."
"The Bladehunters were defeated in the Advanced Round, but some recent improvements to their blades might keep them in the game."
"That's right! And their competition? Well, nothing is known about the Wild Cheetahs, but we're hoping they'll surprise us somehow," A.J announced.
"I've changed my mind," Trish stated once they'd sat down outside, "Bring your bit-beasts out and fool around with the Bladehunters. We'll win for sure. But let's show these dirks what we can do."
"You mean I have an excuse to show off?" Danika asked excitedly.
"Yeah, whatever you want to call it."
"This is just getting better by the second," she grinned, "All right Kira, you're up. Be aggressive. We're counting on you."
"Got it," she clutched her green and purple blade and walked confidently up to the stadium.
"And it looks like Kira Ocelet has been chosen to compete against Chucky of the Bladehunters. Chucky is famous for his Big Kahuna Dive Attack, but it looks like Kira has a sea beast of her own. The selected dish for this match is just the standard bowl. Not easy to run anywhere though," A.J announced.
"In positions!" Jazzmen raised his hands wide, "Blades ready?"
Kira lifted her green and purple blade up. She focused her mind on her motivation and tightened her face determinedly.
"3…2…1…Let it RIP!"
Kira sliced her blade back furiously and narrowed her fists, grinning excitedly,
"Now show me what you can do!"
"She means business," Max said from the sidelines, "Gosh, I don't think I've ever seen this side of Kira."
"No ones a perfect angel," Tyson watched her closely, "But sweet and gentle Kira suddenly doesn't look so kind in the stadium."
"I've already started a file on the Wild Cheetahs. Are you getting this Dizzy?" Kenny held his laptop up, following her blade.
"Yep! It's all coming down."
Chucky grinned as if she would be no big deal at all,
"Big Kahuna Dive Attack!"
A tidal wave of water suddenly filled the entire dish.
"Can you stay afloat?" He taunted.
"Ha! You won't even phase me!" Another wave launched furiously again and Kira cried,
"Fangtail! Hurricane Spike!"
"What?!" Chucky stepped back surprisingly.
"Sorry, kid, but your dinky little wave pales in comparison to my ocean bite."
A magnificent scaly aqua and turqouise dragon, with trident like horns appeared out of Kira's blade and roared angrily. Visible sound waves came out of it's mouth, which blasted Chucky's Kahuna tidal wave away. The water hit the nearest audience seats and they shielded themselves when the impact hit.
"That wasn't even the full spike!" Kira boasted, "That was just a sound effect for your pleasure."
"Wow…there's no way!" Max' eyes went wide as he clutched the railing. Kenny typed furiously next to him.
"He's just as big as Dragoon!" Tyson commentated shockingly.
"Did you see the size of that sea dragon?" Steve stood up in his seat.
Chucky's blade waded around a couple of more times, but the dissipating waterline soon brought the weak blade to a stop.
"That's a shame. Fangtail had really wanted to use his spike too," her blade was still spinning strongly against water in the dish.
"And the winner is most decidedly Kira! Who can stand up to that?" Jazzy announced.
Kai's fist clenched tightly,
If that was the power of just Kira, he wondered briefly what kind of power Trish had.
"Guess we better improve the stats of the Wild Cheetahs, huh, A.J?"
"That's for sure. That sea dragon looked anything but tame."
"Maybe Danika has just as good of a bit-beast; we'll certainly find out in the next battle; she and Lippy are going head on for another round."
"How are their blades so powerful?" Kevin asked curiously from the sidelines.
"Age," Lee replied shortly, not at all shocked. He'd been expecting something like that. The Wild Cheetahs didn't boast for nothing.
"I see. That sea dragon's got to be pretty ancient, huh?" Mariah asked.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it evolved about the same time Spencer's Whale did."
Kira walked back and Colby jumped forward and hugged her tightly, grinning wide,
"Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Our first win!"
"Good job, Kira," Mobekai smiled.
"Thanks! Oh, that was easy. I want to go do it some more."
"Nope. It's my turn now," Danika clutched her brown, white, and black blade to her stomach and was about to step up.
"Danika."
She turned around and noticed that their team sponsor was standing behind Trish.
"Yes?" Danika asked.
"Don't hold back."
"Yes, sir."
"They'll get all our data though…" Trish protested.
"Yes, that's what I want them to do," he crossed his arms and smirked. Trish still didn't understand.
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"The 2nd battle in the first round is about to begin. Let's hope the Bladehunters have a backup strategy," Brad commentated.
When the bowl came up, several peaks appeared.
"The bowl setting this time is the Alps. Good luck there, I tell you."
"Bladers, prepare yourselves!" Jazzy yelled.
Danika held her blade to her eyes level and resolutely looked into Lippy's eyes,
"Whenever you're ready?"
He lifted his blade up and grinned,
"Ladies first."
Danika looked up at Ray, who was leaning curiously against the railing with the rest of the Bladebreakers,
"Sorry, Ray. This is for me only."
He looked into her eyes. She blinked twice and turned away. She could feel the fire burning in her throat. And her blade shook in her hands. He was eager to be let out.
"Ready?" The countdown lights began to blink off, "3..2..1..LET IT RIP!" Jazzy pointed at the stadium.
Lippy and Danika both let theirs rip and Lippy's blade fell hard on top of Danika's, trying to cut into her's quickly. He obviously wasn't going to waste any time.
"I have to admit they're getting better," Kenny shrugged, pulling his glasses off and again letting Dizzi record Danika's movements.
"Not for long…look!" Ray pointed.
Danika was laughing quietly and suddenly began to run around the mountain paths. Rocks crumpled under her course. Lippy followed extremely close, trying to run her blade off the mountain, but every time he did so, she would side step him and he risked losing control of his own bit.
"Bladers have to be very careful with this terrain. One wrong move and they'll be soaring to the bottom. And the higher up they go, the harder it will be to control their blade power," A.J. explained quietly, trying not to take away from the atmosphere of the battle.
"This is pathetic. Is that all you have?" Danika asked calmly.
"I'm beating you!" Lippy yelled frustratedly, "So shut up!"
"Tsk, tsk," Danika shook her head, "Beyblading is half-psychology, don't you know? Would you like to see my bit-beast?"
"Stop talking and start blading!" She grinned. He was definitely pissed at her.
"I am. I just wanted to have some fun for a while. Here, I'll give you a treat before I make you lose…BLACK DRIGER! Dark Claw Attack!"
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Final Note: I seriously typed this one and chapter 19 in only one day-today. That's how busy I was this week, honestly. I'll have to admit it's a little better than I imagined, but I think I could've done a whole lot better.
Thanks very much to the following reviewers:
Kai-Hanmyo: Yea! You were the last one to review the last chappie (the first time you reviewed me too) and you were the first to review me this time. Heck, you reviewed within twelve hours. Bravo! Oh yeah…(*wicked grin* ~little slobber here and there~) Hilary and Tyson definitely get together in this fic.
Cheril X: Well, I thought your commentary was funny at first and then I got a little lost…But Ray understood it, didn't you, Ray? (*Ray*: ^nods and shakes head furiously^ Poor Kai always gets the butt end of our jokes. And Tyson's SO in denial.) Denial of what? (*Ray*: ^sweat drops anime style^ Why do I even bother?) Hey! This is my fic~ you can't make fun of me! (*Ray*: Just watch me.)
Ice Archer Girl: hehe… "throw away his last name"~sounds like you're going to put it out with the daily trash. Torture him, Carly! If you go back two chapters and scroll up to where you see the Majestics, you'll notice Oliver is only spelled with one "l". I like it better that way too. Thanks for reviewing!
Starwave: Hello! Sorry, I just felt like saying that. Anyway thanks a bunch and enjoy reading the two chapters that I posted together! (;
HikArI-T3nShi: Poke! Neko-neko() wanted to tell you thanx for telling her I updated. (shudders) Gosh, I hate pop quizzes. I've had tons of homework lately too…so much I almost ran the risk of losing computer privileges for a month if I hadn't started working on that instead of getting on the computer first. Computeritis, that's what I call it. Everyone's taller than Kenny: he's funny just by himself. Funny Kenny!
Neko-neko(): You and Hikari-T3nshi go to the same school? That's really interesting~my best friend also has an account here, but she writes a lot of crossovers for Slayers, Cowboy Bebop, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc. The waltz is a satanic dance, didn't cha know? J/K, I've never actually even tried it, but I'd rather stay a virgin waltzer all the same. And tuxedos are a great idea, but I'm not actually going to show them at the waltz place again, just infer it indirectly. If you don't understand that idea now, you will later.
