Phoenix

A Beyblade fanfiction

Hi, minna-sama! Here is another chapter for you. Please enjoy!

Standard disclaimers apply. Y'know, if any of us owned one of these shows, then why would we just post stories? Wouldn't we...make them happen on the show?

"Three...two...one...Let it rip!"

The two blades flew into the bowl, spinning faster than anyone present had ever seen before. Almost instantly, Tyson, or rather, Dragoon directed his blade to start attacking Kai's agile blue blade. Kai easily dodged the aggressive thrusts and sent his own blade in for an attack on the other blade's weak spot.

Dragoon dodged the assault then came in for a counter-attack. Kai barely managed to dodge, and the other blade nicked one of the spikes on his attack ring. He directed the blade to start evasive maneuvers, moving in zig-zag patterns inside the blade.

Branzer! Look out! To your left!

Kai's eyes flicked to his left and he saw Dragoon heading on a beeline for him. He dodged and countered, knocking part of his attack ring off.

"Hmph!" Dragoon brooded, then swung in for another rush of attacks. Kai was hard-pressed to dodge all of them, but escaped mostly unscathed. "Stand still, you blasted phoenix!"

"Right..." Kai said, "Better chance of hell freezing over, buddy." While he was distracted talking, Kai winged in for a brutal attack to the right of his opponent's weak spot, almost sending the blade out of the bowl.

"Blast it," Dragoon struggled to recover, "Time to take off the kiddy gloves." A bright light flashed and Dragoon roared out of the blade. Over on the pedestal, Tyson looked around, confused.

"What am I doing here?" he asked, then looked at the battle in the bowl in front of him. "Yipes! What's going on?"

"Tyson," Dragoon said, "Kai and Dranzer have turned evil. We must get rid of them." He used his physic abilities to hypnotize him into believing anything. "Now help me."

"Kai! How could you go evil on us again?!" Tyson shouted, "Well, no matter, this time I'll kick your butt so hard, you'll never get evil again!"

"Damn," Kai was reduced to constant defensive maneuvers.

Kai! Let me help you!

No! He'll hurt you.

I'll be fine! Now let me out!

...

Branzer...please.

A-alright...

"Dranzer!!" Kai called, and the majestic red phoenix emerged from the blade in a brilliant display of flame. She looked the dragon straight in the eye and went in for an attack.

Leave him alone! She sent a spray of flame at the treacherous dragon.

Ha! And give up the promise of power? Never. He dodged and swooped close to bite down on her neck while she was still recovering from her attack. She roared in pain as his teeth sunk in, then sent him away by surrounding herself in flames.

"Dranzer!" Kai cried out, "Retre-"

No, her voice, strained with pain, echoed in his head, I'll be fine. Just warn me if he tries that again.

I'll kill him...

Just concentrate on winning the match okay?

Fine.

"Dragoon!" Kai roared, "Don't you lay a finger on her again!!"

"Ha ha..." the dragon spoke, "Don't worry, I will." To demonstrate, he launched a tornado at her. She roared and countered by flapping her wings powerfully, negating the whirlwind. She then sent a spray of fire at him again, this time catching him.

The dragon roared, "You little bitch." He attacked during her recovery again, this time knocking her to the side of the stadium with a powerful blast of wind. "And stay out my way."

"Dranzer!" Kai's turned to see her, eyes bright with fear for her safety. She was slowly getting up, obviously battered from hitting the wall. As he was distracted, Dragoon realized this was the perfect opportunity to take what he wanted.

He coiled, getting his long claws ready. At last, I shall have what I want. "You're time is over, Branzer!" he yelled triumphantly as he neared the preoccupied blader.

"What?!" Kai turned to see the dragon rushing towards him, his long blue claws ready to strike. Shit... He knew he had no time to move, even with his heightened reflexes. He closed his eyes briefly, ready to face his fate. I'm sorry Dranzer...

At the same time, Dranzer's eyes lit with fear as she saw the dragon approach Kai. No! I can't let him be hurt! She rushed to defend him, using a burst of flame to speed her travel. At the last second, she stopped in front of him, extending her wings to protect him. She closed her eyes and smiled, Branzer...

His eyes met Dragoon's, defiant and brave. He would never admit fear. He gritted his teeth and glared at the dragon, I won't give him the satisfaction of screaming. But before the dagger-like claws could reach him, he saw something red appear in front of him, followed blinding flash of light. He looked up to see Dranzer, or rather Kia, in front of him, Dragoons claws impaled in her chest, the blood-covered tips protruding from her back.

"No!" Dragoon cursed, "Why did you interfere?" He growled and tried to pull his claws free of Dranzer's chest, but soft hands held his paw in place.

Kia's pained eyes looked up at the dragon, and a trickle of blood trailed down her chin. "I...will not...let you...hurt him," she choked out, holding back tears and cries of pain. She knew she had no chance of surviving, but she wasn't going alone. She squeezed her eyes shut and called upon all of her energy. She had stored it for just this occasion. She would incinerate him as punishment for trying to hurt her Branzer.

Kai was too shocked to do anything more than stare. Right before his eyes, Dragoon started to glow a bright red, then he started to smoke and smolder. "Stop it, Dranzer!!" he yelled, ripping his claws from her body. He tossed her to the ground, "You can't do this to me!"

"Agh..." Kia pushed herself up on her elbows, "Goodbye Dragoon." She triggered the fire, using the last of her energy and swayed, collapsing to the floor. The audience fell into a shocked silence as the once-majestic dragon was reduced to a pile of ash in the middle of the bowl, his blade slowing before stopping. Kai's blade continued to spin.

"And the winner is Kai," Kenny announced quietly to the silent crowd. No one could believe what had just happened. Max, Ray and Tyson stared at Kia's still form, then turned their eyes to the Kai, who was visibly shaken by everything that had just occurred.

"Please no," Max said softly, "She can't..."

"This is terrible," Ray added, bowing his head and sending a quick prayer for her soul. "I can't believe it..."

"What have I done...?" Tyson fell to his knees and stared at his hands.

He shook himself, slowly walking over to Kia's side. He fell to his knees beside her. Kai grabbed her, turning her over and cradling her in his arms. "Kia...wake up..." he brushed a hand over the side of her pale face, "Wake up." Her smiling face flashed through his mind. He recalled the sound of her laughter, soft and tinkling. He remembered the warmth of her body in his arms when they kissed. Remembered how beautiful his little flame was- human or phoenix.

Kai put his hand over the bleeding wounds in her chest, willing her to awaken. He shook her gently, "Talk to me, Kia...please...anything...." He bowed his head when she didn't respond, burying his face in her hair. "Kia..." he whispered, tears falling down his cheeks. "No..."

Judy rushed over to them, grabbing Kia's wrist to check for a pulse. She closed her eyes and prayed that she would find a pulse, even if it was weak. She doubted it though; even if her body could endure more than a normal human, Judy didn't know of anything that could survive such a traumatic wound. A few seconds later, her eyes flew open. "She...she's alive."