It's Just For Fun, Right?
by Shadou-sama
Chapter 9 - Slipping In A Little Deeper

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.

Tala launched Wolborg, his beyblade, into the beydish during the morning's practice. His wolf immediately took out the bey-bot blades with very little effort. The gray beyblade shot back into his waiting hand.

Too easy, he thought. He watched the other two beybladers. Bryan, using his wind bit-beast Falborg, sliced and diced the oncoming beyblades. Spencer's Seaborg dived upon its' enemies. Tala smirked. They were getting too good.

He walked around his beydish to the gray bey-bot, and programmed it for a harder scenario. The last program was for Shadra's level. Speaking of the dunce, where was she? He hadn't seen her all morning. Boris must have really chewed her out if she would miss practice because of it. Oh well, it was none of his business anyway.

Unknown to the other Demolition Boys, Shadra had arrived early, so early that she had had the entire facility to herself. Pacing herself, she had worked weights, run miles on the track, and practiced launches till Boris had come along to tell her about this special dish.

Two things made this dish special. One was the fact it was nearly thirty meters in diameter. The second was that it was made from pure steel, not the metallic plastic used in regulation bowls. There was possibly a third point; it being those thirty or so computerized launchers surrounding the dish. They were not bey-bots, which were large and cumbersome, but sleek and high-tech rifle look-a-likes. They were hooked to a main computer in the overlooking room, which Boris was working.

The launchers made a sound like a rifle being handled, and Shadra fell back into launching position. They simultaneously launched.

Black Dranzer spun around the beydish, dodging playfully the gray beyblades. In one move, the phoenix spun between two enemies, which dived for the black beyblade. But Black Dranzer was too quick, and they crashed into each other.

Shadra stood there, overlooking the sadistic playing. It wasn't time yet.

Boris was about to pull his hair out. Why wasn't she attacking? All the phoenix did was defend. Maybe she wasn't worthy after all. Several minutes passed.

"Black Dranzer!" Shadra called out. The dark phoenix obeyed her command, and got down to business.

In merely a minute, every single beyblade was trashed. Bits of gray plastic and metal slid down the sides into the middle. Whole parts, cracked beyond repair, bounced down the sides, still moving from its former speed.

The dark phoenix was still spinning. Shadra closed her eyes. Don't tell anyone about Black Dranzer, Boris had told her. Don't worry, she thought to herself. She wouldn't share something this good.


Miriam waited until Emily and Max separated to ask. That was no easy task. The two stuck together more than Mariah and Rei. But she had to do it, or she wouldn't get her reward: Kenny's Physics Notes, the Holy Grail of all notes. Out of sheer luck, Emily was called to Mr. Dickinson's, the school principal, office.

"Hey, Max," she said, sliding up to him as he walked down the hall, smiling her gorgeous smile.

Max blushed, but tried to hide it. "H-hi."

Miriam inwardly smirked. This would be easier than she had even suspected.

"Whatcha' doing tonight?"

"Uh…"

"Good, you're coming to the cinema with me. My all time favorite movie is playing. You just have to see it, it's so cool."

"But—"

"Great! I'll meet you there at eight!" She hurried off before Max could say anything.


Oliver sat down at his assigned spot in the Physics lab, which also doubled as a Chemistry lab and a Biology lab. The bell rang, and Ms. Tate started her lesson. He glanced at the empty seat beside him.

Where was Enrique? He hadn't been seen since practice ended yesterday. Did he get lost in the storm? Nah, it would've been on the news. The teachers didn't expect him at all. Something must have happened. The lime-haired beyblader sighed. Enrique would tell him when he was ready.


Carly shivered miserably as she walked home from school. Her father had had to use the family car, so she was left walking. And stupid Enrique, avoiding her like that. She hadn't even been able to find him for their 'special janitorial supply room acquaintance' time.

What did that little French kid say? She hadn't been really listening. It was bad enough that she wasn't dating a senior, but to be seen talking with him? She shivered again. Enrique was worth the popularity rating descent, but no one else. Oh yeah, he said that Enrique wasn't in school all day. Well, she guessed she could forgive him.

"Grace!" she called out to her stepmother, when she arrived home. The TV was on some cheesy soup opera.

No reply. How rude.

"Grace!"

Still no reply.

She took her shoes off, yanking them hard, and nearly tore her jacket off. She jumped forward into the living room. Some couple were making out on the television screen. There was a bowl of some kind of brown liquid on the coffee table. Ice cream, she realized. Their wicker chair was knocked over.

She gasped, taking one step back. "Grace!" she yelled, running around the sofa and yanked the chair up. Her stepmother laid there, unconscious. Carly tapped the woman on cheek. The skin felt cold to her touch.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," she said, and ran to the kitchen where the phone was. As quickly as she could she dialed 911.


Mariah cornered Kai in an empty hallway, after the student population had left for the day.

"What?" Kai snapped.

"That picture you drew in Physics yesterday," Mariah said. "How dare you!" Kai winced. "Crushing on that traitorous bitch!"

Huh?

"After abandoning us, betraying us, you want her!"

Kai blinked. Oh… Mariah thought he fancied Shadra. Now that he thought about it, the two looked awfully alike, especially for two individuals who weren't related in any shape or form.

"It's disgusting, it's despicable, it's unholy!"

Okay, was she talking about his supposed interest in Shadra, or his actual interest in Rei? That woman could be so confusing.

"I don't have a crush on Shadra," Kai said. "I was just thinking about her and accidentally drew that… doodle."

"What exactly were you thinking about her? 'Cause from the way it looked it couldn't have been so innocent."

"The Demolition Boys' sponsor is Biovolt Corporation."

"So? Everybody knows that."

"My grandfather's company."

"Yeah—Oh…"

The two just stood there in silence.

"This is great! You just have to convince your grandfather to cut their funding," Mariah said. "Sweet, sweet justice."

If he ever saw him. "I don't think he'd take advice from the captain of their chief rival."

"Oh! You could steal top secret documents about them!"

"It wouldn't be fair."

"So? We'd have the leading edge!" Mariah could see she wasn't winning him over. "Would you rather the team that your own flesh and blood put faith in win, or would you like to show him up?"

"Fine, I'll look."

"That's all I ever asked."


Carly and Dick stared blankly at the television screen in the hospital's waiting room. Grace had been in the operating room for five hours. No one had come to tell them what was going on.

Paramedics had rushed over to their house and started CPR on Grace's limp body. For once, Carly had trouble answering questions. They managed to get Grace breathing again and rushed her to the emergency room. There, Carly had called her father. Shadra was unreachable.

They both held their breaths as a surgeon came in. But he didn't come to them, but to another individual. They sighed. More waiting.

Ten minutes later, a doctor came in. This time, he walked over to them. Dick stood up, followed by Carly.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said. "She died."

Carly choked, tears falling freely down her face. She sat down, resting her elbows on her knees.

"What?" Dick asked. Tears were gathering in his eyes too.

"In patients who have had tumors removed, there's always a risk of a blood clot occurring. In this instance, the clotting was slow, but she was unconscious for most of it."

"But couldn't you remove it?" Dick choked out.

"Usually we can, if the patient gets to us fast enough. But her brain was damaged from lack of air too severely, and she died from that."

Dick nodded, sat down, and hugged his daughter.


Shadra lied on her back on her bed, holding Black Dranzer above her so that she could look at it. Practice had been fantastic. She still hadn't trained in front of the boys, shown them just how powerful she could be, but that didn't matter. The sheer power that had exploded from the dark phoenix was all that did.

Boris couldn't be prouder, she knew. She could beat any bit-beast she came across. He thought that she had met the glass roof now, she couldn't get anymore powerful. Did he ever need to get his eyesight checked. There was still a whole lot more way to go, and she vowed to get there. There, no one would ever stand a chance in beating her. Not ever.

Someone knocked on her bedroom door. "Shadra?" Dick called, his voice a little shaky.

"What?" she snapped.

"I need to speak to you," he answered.

She huffed. After putting Black Dranzer in the drawer of her desk, she said, "Fine," and sat back down on her bed.

Dick opened the door. His face was wet and red.

"You probably noticed that your mother wasn't here when you came home this evening," he started, his voice unsteady.

"So?"

"She fainted today, sometime around lunch the doctors said. A blood clot formed in her brain."

He paused again. Hurry up, Shadra mentally yelled at him. She didn't have all night to listen to his silence.

"She died."

"That it?" she asked.

Dick's eyes widened. "Yes, I just wanted to tell you of your mother's death."

"'Kay, then you can go now."

Dick obliged, feeling that Shadra's actions were a bit apathetic, but everyone deals with grief their own way. She was probably crying right now, but didn't want him to see.

But Shadra just grabbed Black Dranzer out of her desk and planned what kind of program she'd try the next practice.

To be continued...