Note: I am NOT pairing up Kai and Marina. They don't and won't have any
strong feelings for each other besides friends. I'm simply putting this
here because I received an email (not a review) from someone who was
pestering me about it – he obviously had not read my 'fyi' in my profile. I
suggest you do before reviewing or emailing me with complaints. ¬_¬
Chapter 3:
New York, New York
Sooner or later Tyson finally dropped off to sleep. Rei and Nyoko had dozed off just after Kai and Marina, and Hilary was now sleeping as well. Indira was reading a book and Chione was listening to music with Max. Kenny, however, continued to type away on his laptop, conversing in whispers with Dizzi.
"Can't you get me any data on their bitbeasts, Dizzi?" They had been searching the net for an hour or two now, and still they knew nothing about the Demangel's bitbeasts except that they were extremely fast and packet a wallop, although it was probably the blade itself, not the beast, since no one so far had seen them.
"Sorry, Chief. It seems no one really knows much about them at all." Dizzi replied. "It's a bit odd, really. You would think at least the BBA would know something about them, but I can't find anything at all."
Kai opened his eyes slightly, overhearing. He frowned, looking sidelong at Marina who still slept peacefully, her head now resting on his shoulder. They had been in the plane for quite a while now, and would be landing in around three hours according to the pilot. He decided not to move her lest he wake her.
"Maybe they've never had to summon out their bitbeasts before, Chief."
"That's impossible. Keep looking. There has to be something somewhere, Dizzi."
"If I may, Chief...I've just thought of something...what if they don't have bitbeasts...? What if they're just Beyblade Parts Hunters, who've got the best Beyblade parts around, so they wouldn't need a bitbeast?"
Kai frowned, trying hard to hear. But Kenny was silent.
- -- - -- -
The plane finally landed, and the two teams stood, stretching and yawning after the long ride. "Geez, I'm going to kiss the dirt as soon as I get off." Tyson said.
Indira made a face, and Chione giggled, Max shaking his head. They all filed off of the plane into the airport, each looking about themselves. "Welcome to New York, New York, Bladebreakers." Marina said with a smile.
"New York? I thought we were going to Washington!" Max said, giving Chione a quizzical look. The two had become fast friends, and now talked to one another as if they had forgotten they were to beyblade against each other sooner or later.
"We are. Here're your tickets to Washington." Marina said, handing each of them a new ticket. "We thought you'd might want to stretch your legs a bit and have a decent meal before continuing to Wa-"
"You read my mind, sister! Let's get some chow!" Tyson said, punching a hand triumphantly into the air.
Indira stared in disbelief. "After all the peanuts you ate on that last ride, you're still hungry? Where do you put it all? You're like a bottomless pit..."
"That's Tyson for you." Hilary said with distaste. Tyson grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well come on, what are we waiting for? I'm starving here!" And so the ten of them made their way from the airport out into the city where the cars whizzed by like their life depended on getting to their destination pronto, and there were hundreds of buildings and a couple skyscrapers. Tyson didn't notice any of it, though. "Okay, where are we eating?"
Indira suppressed a snicker. "Come on, follow me." They soon made their way to a little restaurant where they were seated and watched in awe as Tyson downed his own meal, half of Kai's, half of Chione's, and Indira's baked potato. He would have even taken Nyoko's, too, if she hadn't threatened to stab him with her fork.
"Well, well...look who's in town." The group looked up at the group of four boys that now stood before them. The first, the one who had spoke, wore a snide grin, his black hair in his auburn eyes, and had the ace of spades on a red string around his neck.
"Ace." Chione whispered to Max, who sat beside her. "He's not their captain, but...well, he's kinda like Tyson is to the Bladebreakers, you know?" Max nodded. He knew exactly what she meant. "The other three...the one with the dark brown hair and green eyes, he's Zeke, the captain. The one beside him, the one with the pale blue hair and gold eyes, the one with the black bandana, is Gene, and the last one, off a ways, with the blonde hair and blue-gray eyes, he's Yuu."
"Go away, Ace. Or, if you want to stay, shut up." Nyoko said from beside Rei.
"Yes, Ace, honestly." Said Zeke, nudging past him.
"Hey there, Zeke." Chione said as the busboy cleared their table. "We'd have called you up, but we've got company." She waved her hand at the Bladebreakers. Zeke nodded.
"I noticed."
"Hey, guys, this is Zeke. He's the captain of Team Hellfire. That guy over there is Yuu, and there's Gene, and the annoying one is Ace." Indira said. Ace stuck his tongue out at her, and she smirked. "Come on, we can chat more outside." She placed two twenty-dollar bills on the table before they left, to pay for the meal. The fourteen of them made their way outside. Indira peered at her pink and blue watch. "Hmm...actually, we'd better get going."
"Going?" Zeke asked, giving her a questioning look. "Y'all are going back to Washington, then?"
Marina nodded. "Yup, back to my place. We've challenged the Bladebreakers, but we want to use the new stadium back at home." Zeke nodded.
"I see. Well, good luck..." Zeke grinned. "If you ever feel like comin' back over here, look us up, 'kay?"
"Hold it right there!" Ace exclaimed, crossing his arms. "There is no way you guys are going anywhere without a battle first!"
Tyson grinned. "Alright!"
"No!" Hilary exclaimed, crossing her arms across her chest. "We're going to miss the plane! Tyson!"
But Tyson and Ace were already standing at the ready. "Don't worry, Hilary! I'll make this quick!"
"Or I will," Ace said with a smirk.
"Tyson!" Hilary protested. Indira shook her head, putting an arm out to stop Hilary from advancing on Tyson. "Let him blade." She said softly. Hilary stared at her for a moment, then crossed her arms and watched in a moody silence. She obviously didn't like being told to let Tyson do what he wanted by another girl.
"Let it Rip!" both bladers cried in unison, their blades shooting from their launchers. Ace's beyblade was black and red, and there was a bitbeast image on the bitchip, Kai noticed, although the blade spun so fast he couldn't make it out.
"Alright, Dragoon!" Tyson said as his blade zipped across the concrete, chasing Ace's top. "You've got him! Attack!" his beyblade zoomed in close, the two tops' attack rings grinding against each other and sending sparks to spray across the pavement.
Hilary was fidgeting where she stood. "We are going to miss the plane...Tyson, pick up the pace!"
"Go, Dragoon!"
"Let's go, Spade!"
"Spade?" Kenny frowned. "What kind of bitbeast is that?"
Dragoon emerged from the blade as the two blades bounced off each other, rising above them in a flurry of blue light. "Impressive." Ace said indifferently. "Let's go, Spade." A red beam shot from the bitchip, and soon a massive black wolf countered Dragoon, flames licking its maw and demon wings sprouting from its back, each covered almost completely by metal tendrils.
"Wow." Max said, watching as the two beyblades collided once, twice, three times. "You've got 'im, Tyson! C'mon...!!"
Marina frowned. There was a lot of power radiating from that Dragoon. Maybe they had underestimated the Bladebreakers, despite all the times Indira had warned them against it.
She exchanged glances with Indira, Chione, and Nyoko. She hoped Kai wasn't much better at Beyblade than Tyson. She'd have her hands full, then. And Nyoko had done so much, using her invention to block Dizzi from accessing sites on the net that would give her too much information on them.
But Indira had defeated Ace, and tied with Zeke. If Tyson failed to defeat Ace, they wouldn't have much to worry about, since it was Indira who would face Tyson. But how would Kai fare in a battle with Ace and Spade?
The two blades continued to spin, tearing up the concrete beneath them and sending up clouds of debris. Tyson shielded his eyes with his left arm, squinting to see his blade.
"Wow," Chione murmured, her golden curls bouncing in the slight breeze. Max nodded silently. What else was there to say? She had described the battle perfectly.
"Attack!" Tyson and Ace called simultaneously. Their blades circled each other once, then zoomed in for the final blow. But, as they zoomed in, Dragoon hit off a loose bit of torn concrete, sending it wobbling, only to be hit by Spade. Tyson's blade was blasted into the air, where he caught it, a look on his face that could only be described as utmost disappointment.
"Damn." Nyoko murmured.
Ace smiled snidely, his top still spinning amongst the rubble. "Indira, I don't think he's worth your time."
"Shut up, Ace. I'll be the one to determine that." Indira snapped back, seeing Tyson standing there, looking at his blade in what might have been shock.
"Whatever," Ace said, too smug about his win to be put down. "I'll be seeing you all around, 'cuz I doubt you're gonna make your plane." He grinned, turning and walking down the sidewalk, waiting for the rest of his teammates at the corner.
Zeke frowned as Max and Rei approached Tyson, desperately trying to comfort him. "It's alright, Zeke." Indira said, noticing his silent sympathy. "He's a blader. He'll get over it."
Zeke smiled faintly and nodded. "I'm sorry we've caused you to miss your flight...that battle was a real fluke. If Tyson's blade hadn't hit off that rock..."
"I know, but there wasn't anything we could've done to help him." Indira reassured him with a sigh. "We'll find some place to stay...you'd better join their team; they'll need all the help they can get trying to keep Ace's ego contained." She crossed her arms in distaste. Zeke smiled softly and nodded, turning to follow his teammates around the corner and out of sight. Indira turned back to Tyson, watching as he refused to be encouraged by his friends.
"Great, Tyson." Hilary was saying. "Not only are you being a sore loser, but you've made us miss our plane, too!"
"Shut up, Hilary." Tyson said softly, pocketing his blade and looking at her with an expression that clearly showed he was not in the mood to argue.
"But-"
"Just shut up." Hilary looked a bit hurt at this, but not nearly as hurt as Tyson was. He had stridden right into another mess without a second thought, and he had caused them to miss their flight to Washington.
Marina stared at the ground. She knew how much Tyson was hurting. "Come on, guys." She said softly. "We can stay tonight at a hotel or summat..." the others nodded in silent agreement, starting on their way down the street to the closest inn or hotel.
"You alright, Ty?" Rei asked.
"I'm fine." Tyson said bitterly. "Just fine." There was no way they were leaving until he had a rematch and won, he promised himself. The only way to beat an ace was to play down another ace...then win the War. And that was exactly what he planned to do.
Chapter 3:
New York, New York
Sooner or later Tyson finally dropped off to sleep. Rei and Nyoko had dozed off just after Kai and Marina, and Hilary was now sleeping as well. Indira was reading a book and Chione was listening to music with Max. Kenny, however, continued to type away on his laptop, conversing in whispers with Dizzi.
"Can't you get me any data on their bitbeasts, Dizzi?" They had been searching the net for an hour or two now, and still they knew nothing about the Demangel's bitbeasts except that they were extremely fast and packet a wallop, although it was probably the blade itself, not the beast, since no one so far had seen them.
"Sorry, Chief. It seems no one really knows much about them at all." Dizzi replied. "It's a bit odd, really. You would think at least the BBA would know something about them, but I can't find anything at all."
Kai opened his eyes slightly, overhearing. He frowned, looking sidelong at Marina who still slept peacefully, her head now resting on his shoulder. They had been in the plane for quite a while now, and would be landing in around three hours according to the pilot. He decided not to move her lest he wake her.
"Maybe they've never had to summon out their bitbeasts before, Chief."
"That's impossible. Keep looking. There has to be something somewhere, Dizzi."
"If I may, Chief...I've just thought of something...what if they don't have bitbeasts...? What if they're just Beyblade Parts Hunters, who've got the best Beyblade parts around, so they wouldn't need a bitbeast?"
Kai frowned, trying hard to hear. But Kenny was silent.
- -- - -- -
The plane finally landed, and the two teams stood, stretching and yawning after the long ride. "Geez, I'm going to kiss the dirt as soon as I get off." Tyson said.
Indira made a face, and Chione giggled, Max shaking his head. They all filed off of the plane into the airport, each looking about themselves. "Welcome to New York, New York, Bladebreakers." Marina said with a smile.
"New York? I thought we were going to Washington!" Max said, giving Chione a quizzical look. The two had become fast friends, and now talked to one another as if they had forgotten they were to beyblade against each other sooner or later.
"We are. Here're your tickets to Washington." Marina said, handing each of them a new ticket. "We thought you'd might want to stretch your legs a bit and have a decent meal before continuing to Wa-"
"You read my mind, sister! Let's get some chow!" Tyson said, punching a hand triumphantly into the air.
Indira stared in disbelief. "After all the peanuts you ate on that last ride, you're still hungry? Where do you put it all? You're like a bottomless pit..."
"That's Tyson for you." Hilary said with distaste. Tyson grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well come on, what are we waiting for? I'm starving here!" And so the ten of them made their way from the airport out into the city where the cars whizzed by like their life depended on getting to their destination pronto, and there were hundreds of buildings and a couple skyscrapers. Tyson didn't notice any of it, though. "Okay, where are we eating?"
Indira suppressed a snicker. "Come on, follow me." They soon made their way to a little restaurant where they were seated and watched in awe as Tyson downed his own meal, half of Kai's, half of Chione's, and Indira's baked potato. He would have even taken Nyoko's, too, if she hadn't threatened to stab him with her fork.
"Well, well...look who's in town." The group looked up at the group of four boys that now stood before them. The first, the one who had spoke, wore a snide grin, his black hair in his auburn eyes, and had the ace of spades on a red string around his neck.
"Ace." Chione whispered to Max, who sat beside her. "He's not their captain, but...well, he's kinda like Tyson is to the Bladebreakers, you know?" Max nodded. He knew exactly what she meant. "The other three...the one with the dark brown hair and green eyes, he's Zeke, the captain. The one beside him, the one with the pale blue hair and gold eyes, the one with the black bandana, is Gene, and the last one, off a ways, with the blonde hair and blue-gray eyes, he's Yuu."
"Go away, Ace. Or, if you want to stay, shut up." Nyoko said from beside Rei.
"Yes, Ace, honestly." Said Zeke, nudging past him.
"Hey there, Zeke." Chione said as the busboy cleared their table. "We'd have called you up, but we've got company." She waved her hand at the Bladebreakers. Zeke nodded.
"I noticed."
"Hey, guys, this is Zeke. He's the captain of Team Hellfire. That guy over there is Yuu, and there's Gene, and the annoying one is Ace." Indira said. Ace stuck his tongue out at her, and she smirked. "Come on, we can chat more outside." She placed two twenty-dollar bills on the table before they left, to pay for the meal. The fourteen of them made their way outside. Indira peered at her pink and blue watch. "Hmm...actually, we'd better get going."
"Going?" Zeke asked, giving her a questioning look. "Y'all are going back to Washington, then?"
Marina nodded. "Yup, back to my place. We've challenged the Bladebreakers, but we want to use the new stadium back at home." Zeke nodded.
"I see. Well, good luck..." Zeke grinned. "If you ever feel like comin' back over here, look us up, 'kay?"
"Hold it right there!" Ace exclaimed, crossing his arms. "There is no way you guys are going anywhere without a battle first!"
Tyson grinned. "Alright!"
"No!" Hilary exclaimed, crossing her arms across her chest. "We're going to miss the plane! Tyson!"
But Tyson and Ace were already standing at the ready. "Don't worry, Hilary! I'll make this quick!"
"Or I will," Ace said with a smirk.
"Tyson!" Hilary protested. Indira shook her head, putting an arm out to stop Hilary from advancing on Tyson. "Let him blade." She said softly. Hilary stared at her for a moment, then crossed her arms and watched in a moody silence. She obviously didn't like being told to let Tyson do what he wanted by another girl.
"Let it Rip!" both bladers cried in unison, their blades shooting from their launchers. Ace's beyblade was black and red, and there was a bitbeast image on the bitchip, Kai noticed, although the blade spun so fast he couldn't make it out.
"Alright, Dragoon!" Tyson said as his blade zipped across the concrete, chasing Ace's top. "You've got him! Attack!" his beyblade zoomed in close, the two tops' attack rings grinding against each other and sending sparks to spray across the pavement.
Hilary was fidgeting where she stood. "We are going to miss the plane...Tyson, pick up the pace!"
"Go, Dragoon!"
"Let's go, Spade!"
"Spade?" Kenny frowned. "What kind of bitbeast is that?"
Dragoon emerged from the blade as the two blades bounced off each other, rising above them in a flurry of blue light. "Impressive." Ace said indifferently. "Let's go, Spade." A red beam shot from the bitchip, and soon a massive black wolf countered Dragoon, flames licking its maw and demon wings sprouting from its back, each covered almost completely by metal tendrils.
"Wow." Max said, watching as the two beyblades collided once, twice, three times. "You've got 'im, Tyson! C'mon...!!"
Marina frowned. There was a lot of power radiating from that Dragoon. Maybe they had underestimated the Bladebreakers, despite all the times Indira had warned them against it.
She exchanged glances with Indira, Chione, and Nyoko. She hoped Kai wasn't much better at Beyblade than Tyson. She'd have her hands full, then. And Nyoko had done so much, using her invention to block Dizzi from accessing sites on the net that would give her too much information on them.
But Indira had defeated Ace, and tied with Zeke. If Tyson failed to defeat Ace, they wouldn't have much to worry about, since it was Indira who would face Tyson. But how would Kai fare in a battle with Ace and Spade?
The two blades continued to spin, tearing up the concrete beneath them and sending up clouds of debris. Tyson shielded his eyes with his left arm, squinting to see his blade.
"Wow," Chione murmured, her golden curls bouncing in the slight breeze. Max nodded silently. What else was there to say? She had described the battle perfectly.
"Attack!" Tyson and Ace called simultaneously. Their blades circled each other once, then zoomed in for the final blow. But, as they zoomed in, Dragoon hit off a loose bit of torn concrete, sending it wobbling, only to be hit by Spade. Tyson's blade was blasted into the air, where he caught it, a look on his face that could only be described as utmost disappointment.
"Damn." Nyoko murmured.
Ace smiled snidely, his top still spinning amongst the rubble. "Indira, I don't think he's worth your time."
"Shut up, Ace. I'll be the one to determine that." Indira snapped back, seeing Tyson standing there, looking at his blade in what might have been shock.
"Whatever," Ace said, too smug about his win to be put down. "I'll be seeing you all around, 'cuz I doubt you're gonna make your plane." He grinned, turning and walking down the sidewalk, waiting for the rest of his teammates at the corner.
Zeke frowned as Max and Rei approached Tyson, desperately trying to comfort him. "It's alright, Zeke." Indira said, noticing his silent sympathy. "He's a blader. He'll get over it."
Zeke smiled faintly and nodded. "I'm sorry we've caused you to miss your flight...that battle was a real fluke. If Tyson's blade hadn't hit off that rock..."
"I know, but there wasn't anything we could've done to help him." Indira reassured him with a sigh. "We'll find some place to stay...you'd better join their team; they'll need all the help they can get trying to keep Ace's ego contained." She crossed her arms in distaste. Zeke smiled softly and nodded, turning to follow his teammates around the corner and out of sight. Indira turned back to Tyson, watching as he refused to be encouraged by his friends.
"Great, Tyson." Hilary was saying. "Not only are you being a sore loser, but you've made us miss our plane, too!"
"Shut up, Hilary." Tyson said softly, pocketing his blade and looking at her with an expression that clearly showed he was not in the mood to argue.
"But-"
"Just shut up." Hilary looked a bit hurt at this, but not nearly as hurt as Tyson was. He had stridden right into another mess without a second thought, and he had caused them to miss their flight to Washington.
Marina stared at the ground. She knew how much Tyson was hurting. "Come on, guys." She said softly. "We can stay tonight at a hotel or summat..." the others nodded in silent agreement, starting on their way down the street to the closest inn or hotel.
"You alright, Ty?" Rei asked.
"I'm fine." Tyson said bitterly. "Just fine." There was no way they were leaving until he had a rematch and won, he promised himself. The only way to beat an ace was to play down another ace...then win the War. And that was exactly what he planned to do.