Chapter Sixteen
Ray and his team walked into the stadium known as Wikka. In terms of size, it was substandard to the other stadiums the Bladebreakers had beybattled in, and not in a very convenient location. The stands were small, a hundred or two hundred seats max, already packed with spectators. No venders within sight or smell. It would have been deemed a total failure if it hadn't been for the huge jumbotron on the far wall, the elaborate stage the dish was built into, and the fact that the whole thing looked like it came out of a sci-fi movie.
Ray looked at the dish, his eyes widening. They had to blade in that? The bowl was creased into lines from the edge to the center. Its lip was riveted to make three inches of the rim unusable and deadly if backed into. The center was unusable as well, as it was a hole. He had been very certain that steel couldn't be bent like that. At the least, the battles would be interesting.
He looked over the stage to catch sight of the White Tigers. They looked thoughtful as they surveyed the dish. He looked back to his own team. Kai looked analytical at the closest side of the team's bench. Kenny was already typing away on his laptop beside Kai. Tyson and Max looked stoked. Shadra sat at the other end of the bench, regarding the dish pensively. He dropped down beside her.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Steel." He waited for her to continue. "The dish is going to be harder to break than the plastic ones we usually beyblade on."
"So? It already looks smashed as it is."
"You won't be able to leave our team's trademark. This is the first tournament that the beydish shattered beyond repair and we leave the BBA a huge bill."
Ray raised his eyebrows. As strange a comment that he was used to getting from her, he didn't think that was the reason. "Is that really what you're thinking about?"
"…No."
"So are you going to tell me?"
Shadra still sat in her pensive position. She shrugged. "It's not important. Yet." Ray had barely been able to hear that last word.
He was about to answer when the room was plunged into blackness. His heart quickened for a millisecond, but slowed back down once two spotlights roved across the stadium. It was all part of the show. They fixed their eyes onto a man all in black standing upon the referee's podium. The Jazzman.
"Howdy, everyone! It's time to kick-start the Prairieland Tournament! I'm the referee, since that lousy BBA wouldn't give me a raise," he said the last part in a humorous murderous way, then suddenly jumped back into announcer mode. "Now let's introduce our competing teams. In this match we have the World Champion Bladebreakers! And the fierce Chinese team, the White Tigers!"
A mighty ovation broke out. Other spotlights focused in on them and the White Tigers. Tyson practically jumped up and started waving to his fans, enjoying the applause. Max also looked happy, waving to the crowd. Ray smiled and gave a short wave of this hand.
"And in our second battle, we will have the classy and suave Majestics versus the team that's new to World-Class competition, the Masters!" The spotlights previously focused on the Bladebreakers and White Tigers switched to the other two teams, who sat amongst the crowd.
"For our first battle, it's the white kitty Ray," Ray nearly fell to the ground as he was walking to the dish when he heard the 'kitty' part, "versus the unbreakable wall that is Gary!"
Ray managed to get to the podium without anything else happening. Gary already stood opposite of him, his launcher extended out and ready. Ray got into his position.
"Three, two, one. Let it rip!"
They launched simultaneously. Ray faintly noticed the jumbotron displaying their launches and numbers emboldened above the images. He didn't have time to wonder, because Gary's Galzzly took no time in ramming Driger. He had been taken by surprise, having thought it would take some time for Gary to get his mind on the battle. Ray silently ordered his beyblade to evade, using its awesome speed to loop around the center to come back and ram Galzzly in the back. The red beyblade pushed back.
Ray had to think of something, and quick! While the white tiger was strong, he wasn't as strong as the might bear Galzzly. Trying to outmuscle him would be fatal. The bumps played a huge factor in it as well. But maybe if he attacked by surprise…
"Driger!" he called. The white beyblade spun faster and faster around Galzzly, moving so fast it was invisible to the naked eye. Gary lost track of it. "Tiger Claw!"
Driger spun over a crease, giving it momentary lift. It landed squarely on Galzzly, causing little bits of metal to fly off the beyblade. Driger jumped off and neatly landed away from the beyblade.
"What happened Dizzi?" Kenny asked, typing on his laptop.
"The force of the blow reverberated through the blade and cracked the defense ring. He can't take much in the way of attacks anymore."
"Galzzly!" Gary summoned. The bit glowed red and the bear bit-beast appeared, roaring.
"But he can still attack," Dizzi added.
"Bear Axe Attack!" The beyblade charged towards Driger.
"Driger!"
You think you're gonna run me up against the wall
Then let it rip, get ready to fall!
The white tiger leaped out of its bit. The two bit-beasts, green and red, collided. Galzzly was pushing hard against its opponent. Driger was barely holding his own. Ray gathered up his own strength, feeding it to his bit-beast. Driger pushed back with its newly gained power.
You're never gonna take me down
Better watch your back, I'm the best in town
"Driger, now!" Ray yelled. The tiger bit-beast pulled back sending Galzzly off balance. It swiped its massive paws, claws fully extended, against the bear bit-beast. Galzzly roared in pain, and dissipated. The red beyblade slowed to a complete stop.
"And the winner is Ray!" Jazzman announced. The crowd erupted.
Ray bent down to pick up his still spinning beyblade, careful to avoid cutting himself. He straightened up, and looked at Gary who was retrieving his Galzzly. "Good match, Gary."
"You too," Gary said simply, and walked back to his team's bench.
Ray jumped off the podium, and sat back down on the Bladebreaker's bench. He was happy about the outcome. The Bladebreakers were now one win above of their opponents. He couldn't ask for more right now.
"Way to go, Ray!" Tyson said merrily.
Kenny nodded. "I don't think we've ever won the first match before."
"Yeah, now that I think about it, I don't think we have," Ray said thoughtfully.
"The next match will be between the defense centered Max and the cute but ferocious Mariah!"
Ray had the feeling that the BBA hired someone to write the descriptions for Jazzman. He watched his teammate get into position on the podium, Ray's girlfriend doing the exact same thing on the opposite side of the dish.
"Three, two, one… Let it rip!"
Both beybladers launched their beyblades. Ray looked up at the screen. The numbers looked like they were rapidly changing. He had forgotten about the numbers. Leaning over to Shadra, he whispered, "What are the numbers for?"
Shadra had lost her pensive position. "Its how many RPMs, rotations per minute, are in the launch."
Max had 5163 RPM while Mariah had 5202. Ray decided that of they were that high, the launches must have been good. He turned back to the match.
"Galux!" Mariah summoned. "Cat scratch attack!"
The pink beyblade increased its speed, nearly to the point of invisibility, and attacked Draciel. Its lightning quick, multi-sided and often aerial attack barely gave time for Max to react, forcing him into defense. Unfortunately for her.
"Fortress Defense!"
The beyblade shimmered purple. Galux went flying back after bouncing off of the green beyblade. Ray could hear Mariah's annoyed hiss. Galux wobbled.
"Draciel, attack!" Max yelled.
Ray saw the subtle grin on his girlfriend's lips. Draciel was racing towards the pink beyblade. He understood her plan. He jumped to his feet. "Maxie, watch out!"
Too late. Galux circled behind Draciel and attacked. Max was caught off guard. The green beyblade was thrown out of the dish, landing three feet away.
"And the winner is Mariah! That makes this next match the tiebreaker."
"Sorry, guys," Max said as we walked back to his team. "I just didn't see it coming."
"Don't worry about it," Tyson said. "We'll win this, I know it."
He walked up to the beydish. Across from him was Lee. Tension was thick.
"For the final match, we have the unbreakable Tyson versus the cool cat Lee. Who will win and advance to the finals? We'll soon find out. Bladers, take your positions!"
"I've learned some new tricks. You won't win," Lee said.
"I hate battling liars," Tyson said.
"Three! Two! One! Let it rip!"
Both simultaneously launched their beyblades. Ray looked up at the jumbotron. 5575 RPM for Tyson; 5454 RPM for Lee.
"Dragoon, phantom hurricane!"
Hitting like a hurricane
Blowing everyone away
Galeon was struggling against the massive winds Dragoon had conjured. Slowly but surely, the black beyblade inched forwards. It was swept up in the eye wall winds.
Everyone gasped.
The black beyblade was thrown high into the air still spinning. It broke loose by some chance and fell into the eye of the storm.
"Black lightning!"
Pounding like thunder
We are gonna pull 'em under!
The black electricity surrounded the descending beyblade. It was heading straight for Dragoon's bit! In the nick of time, the white beyblade moved out of the way. Galeon's attack hit the steel with a flash of black light. When Ray could see, he saw the big crater where Galeon had melted the metal. And judging from the heat waves and the orangish color, the steel was still boiling hot.
"Phew! That was close," Tyson said, wiping an arm across his brow.
"Too close if you ask me," Dizzi said.
"Don't just stand there, Tyson!" Kai yelled.
"Watch out!" Max yelled.
Galeon had bounced out of the melted metal, circled around and rammed Dragoon into the red hot metal.
"Hit him back, Dragoon!" Tyson ordered.
The white beyblade pushed back. Sparks flew wildly. The two beyblades switched places and now Galeon was the one being pushed into the melted metal. The black beyblade was millimeters away from it.
"Dragoon!" The white beyblade gave one last hearty push and Galeon was thrown back into the puddle.
Here comes victory
Generation beyblade
The metal had cooled enough while they had been trying to force each other into it that it did nothing to slow Galeon's spin. The lion did a small reverse and ran back at Dragoon. The black beyblade continually rammed into Dragoon. Pieces of white plastic broke off from the attack ring, showering the playing field.
Gotta spin 'em live
With the King of Overdrive
"Dragoon! Phantom Hurricane!"
"Kenny, does he have enough of the attack ring to pull it off?" Ray asked.
Kenny typed something onto his laptop. "He should, but if he loses anymore…"
Wind whipped around the white beyblade and blew the black one back. Bits of the attack ring caught in the wind and assailed Galeon. The black beyblade dug into the surface, its top pointed into the wind.
Round after round we keep on winnin'
We're taking 'em out with the beyblade spinnin'
"Final attack!" Tyson ordered.
Dragoon emerged from its bit roaring. Both beyblade and bit-beast charged at the black beyblade.
"Oh no you don't! Galeon!"
The black lion rose from its bit roaring its own challenge. The two bit-beasts collided. Galeon sunk its teeth into the long neck of Dragoon. The dragon slashed at the lion with its long claws. The two beyblades sawed at each other.
"Dragoon!"
On and on just keeps on winnin'
Beyblade just keeps on rippin' yeah!
The blue dragon flipped Galeon out of the dish. Its beyblade counterpart hit the black beyblade to follow the bit-beast. The match was over.
"The Bladebreakers are in the finals! Tyson's win over Lee cinched it. Be back in half an hour to find out whom they'll have to defeat to win this tournament!"
"Good job, Tyson!" Max exclaimed.
"Yeah, but you had us worried there a few times," Rei said.
"You doubted me? I'm hurt," Tyson said, walking over to them.
"Nah. You might not win all the time, but you do when it counts," Shadra said.
"We better get going if we want to find good seats for the Majestics versus Masters."
"Welcome back! The first match is between the white knight Alleon and ladies' man Enrique."
The Bladebreakers had found nice seats in the second row. First row would have been nice, but crazy Majestics fan girls, who had hissed and snarled when they tried to take the seats, occupied them. They were given a few glares even now.
The Majestics were on the side that had been the Bladebreakers'. Oliver had told her that he, no matter how much he didn't want to, was the bench warmer. Also, they'd get Darker back for her and that the Majestics would be facing her team in the finals.
On the opposite side were the Masters. The three of them looked quite serious. Shadra had never seen Iayah blade, only Holly and Alleon, so she didn't know what to expect from her. She figured that was because Iayah was the best of the three, and wanted to hide that talent.
Enrique stood at the ready in his usual battle armor. In fact, all the Majestics were, even Oliver. Alleon stood opposite and wore his regular white and navy clothes. In fact, Jazzman's introduction seemed backwards.
"Three! Two! One! Let it rip!"
The two launched. The numbers scrolled, then settled on 5189 for Enrique, 2757 for Alleon. Shadra widened her eyes in shock. With the RPM Alleon had, this was no competition, more like an execution.
The two beyblades bashed together in the beydish; or rather, Alleon's white beyblade tried to hit Enrique's beyblade, while his totally smashed Alleon's. His beyblade had been so much stronger last time Shadra had seen him blade. That teamed up with the steel dish (steel happened to be chock full of iron, the Master of Dimension's special metal), Alleon should be kicking Enrique's butt, not the other way around. What gives?
She then noticed the ajar door behind the Masters. If she could get there, she could hear what the Masters' plan was and she could probably see the jumbotron from the crack in the door. It was a little dubious, though. But it wasn't like she was competing herself. And the Masters had already done worse things before the tournament had even started.
Now how to get there... She could freeze time, but the door wasn't wide enough to slip through. Or maybe she could find the back way in. Yes, that was the better plan. Earlier, when they were coming into Wikka, she had learned that a deck outside ran all the way around the small stadium. Supposedly, most of the rooms were accessible by that deck.
"I'll be right back," she told her teammates. Why bother? she asked her self. They were too interested in the match to notice much else.
She slipped outside easily. Stopping, she easily gained her bearings and looked around for any witnesses. Finding none, she walked around the deck. She ducked under every window she came to.
The door she figured that led to the correct place was unlocked. It was adjacent to a small hallway that led to several other rooms. Picking her best bet, she walked through the door and into a long dark room. She quietly closed the door. The only light was the thin strip coming from the ajar door. She stalked up to it.
The match was over and Enrique had won. A great roar of cheers went up, half of which Shadra supposed was from the crazy fan girls. She couldn't see the Masters, but fortunately, she could see the jumbotron. She heard Alleon walk up to the bench.
"Good job. I was convinced that you were a bad beyblader, and I knew the plan." Holly was talking.
Alleon muttered his thanks, then continued louder, "I don't see why I had to throw away the win."
"The Majestics will think we're not so great beybladers. They'll be caught totally off guard."
"But won't they realize we tricked them after you demolish them in the next match?"
"Then we'll have our next surprise."
"Our next round is between the redhead Johnny of the Majestics and the golden-haired Holly of the Masters."
So, now she knew their little scheme. Too bad she wouldn't be able to worn Johnny in time. She hoped that he wouldn't be too rash. She realized that this was like asking water to become gold. So she changed her prayer to that Johnny and Salamolyon would be strong enough to win.
She was grabbed by the collar and thrown back into the wall, too surprised to fight back. Her arms were pinned to her side. She saw a glimpse of red hair in the small light and immediately thought somehow that Iayah had circled behind her. Then she caught sight of a blue eye. There was only one person she knew that had that odd combination.
"Tala?"
"Yes, Shadra?" He put more pressure on her. His face was inches from her own.
"What—"
"Am I doing here? Beyblading on my team."
"B-but, the Demolition Boys weren't entered."
"I'm not on that team anymore. I'm taking my rightful place on the Masters."
"W-what?"
"I sent Iayah, my akki, to pretend to be the Master of Space until I could come myself."
"You're the Master of Space? B-but—"
"B-but what? Iayah is a master of deception."
"But your bit-beast—"
"Unlike the rest of you, none of my akkae have died. Wolborg is a true bit-beast."
Except for the part that Wolborg had been experimented on and was half technology. But since Tala had the upper hand, Shadra felt that she shouldn't argue about that little point.
"If you're the Master of Space, then give me some."
Tala gave her a weird look. "This isn't the time for your little fantasies."
Her eyes widened. "Hey, what? I meant that you're totally cutting into my personal bubble."
Tala stepped back, but he still pinned her to the wall.
"Thank you."
"So tell me, why are you so against us regaining our former power?"
Shadra paused before continuing. "Because the only way is to steal bit-beasts and that would hurt my friends."
"It's not stealing, they were ours to begin with."
"But they're not ours anymore. If they didn't want to be with the humans, then they wouldn't be. They're not so powerless as to be enslaved."
"Do you really think that they're your friends? Do you really think that if they caught wind of all the things you've done, they would still like you? If they knew what was inside of you?"
"Yes," Shadra said firmly.
"Then you're a bigger fool than I thought."
Shadra broke an arm free. "I am not a fool."
Tala shook his head. "I guess we'll find out."
"The second match is over with Holly defeating Johnny. The deciding match will be between Robert of the Majestics and—"
Tala walked to the door.
"Wait—What?"
He didn't respond. Instead, he walked right out through the door as Jazzman said, "Tala of the Masters!"
She heard a unison gasp from the audience. Shadra sank to the ground, thinking about what Tala had just threatened. He had practically told her that he was going to tell her friends about her… err… exploits. Bloody and not so nice for the people around her.
So she had lied. She didn't really think they'd be her friends after learning that. But they'd hate her more if she joined the Masters. So she'd stubbornly stick it out.
"Tala wins! The Masters are facing the Bladebreakers in the finals!"
To be continued...