by Shadou-sama
Chapter 19 - Final Showdown
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.
Tyson, his team (minus Kai) and their girlfriends (plus Hilary) walked through the hallway that separated their locker room from the main stadium. Today was the day; this time was the time. Tyson was going to defeat Shadra and win the IHS Beyblade Finals (plus a free ride in Physics!). One chance only (well, technically two out of three), he just hoped he didn't screw up.
Max walked along, grim and slouching. Only an hour before he had been stupid enough to challenge Shadra to regain the bit-beasts. Unfortunately, she gained his bit-beast. Now she had another for her little bit-beast army.
"Hey!" The beybladers stopped and turned around. Dick opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Carly sighed, exasperated. "Dad had this whole big speech he was going to say, but apparently he's already forgotten it,"she said. "The main gist is good luck."
"Thanks, Mr. Stephens,"Tyson said.
Dick again opened his mouth, and Carly rolled her eyes. "And he promises that if you bring Chaton back, he'll take you out for all you can eat," Carly said.
A grin grew on the navy-haired boy's face. "Passing Physics, free meals, and a shiny new title!" Tyson exclaimed. "Now I will definitely win!"
The group laughed. It quieted after a moment or two, and they just stood there looking down, uncomfortable, reminded of how grave this one match was.
"Umm..." Rei began.
Kenny looked down at his watch. "Tyson, your match is starting in two minutes!"
That got them moving. They dispersed with a few meek farewells, Dick and Carly heading to the stands while the friends walked into the main stadium.
Shadra was already at the beydish, looking bored. Tyson held up a second, imagining what it would've been like facing her without Biovolt's intrusion. For one, she'd look very, very excited. Some of Tyson's own friends would be behind her, not the silent new students. Everyone would be laughing and enjoying him or herself, not grim and anxious like now. Those would be great to have back, but the biggest thing he missed was the confidence he'd have of beating her without breaking a sweat. Now she had a whole stable of bit-beasts and an overflowing pot of skill. Winning might not be as easy.
Still, he confidently strode up to the dish. Tyson, however he truly felt, would always exude happy confidence despite what odds he would face.
But, he reminded himself, one thing was the same. His friends were behind him, supporting him. Shadra might be a strong individual, but they were an even stronger team. But would his friends be the deciding factor of the match?
He shook his head of such negative thoughts. He'd win; they'd party. Shadra would become her old self again, and they'd party even more. Plus all you can eat--
His self-confidence was back on his face as he faced his opponent.
"The final and apparently deciding match between the Bladebreakers and the Demolition Boys! Yesterday, both beybladers of the Demolition Boys won their matches, but Tala, team captain, opted for one last deciding match! So, here we are with Shadra of the Demolition Boys and Tyson of the Bladebreakers!
"For this last match, we have the Time Bowl!" The cover over the dish slid open, revealing a slightly concave bowl with a long bar that acted like the hands on a watch. As soon as the bowl rose to full height, the hand started spinning, as fast as the second hand would on a clock. "These two beybladers not only have to watch out for each other, but the second hand moving. After each minute of a battle, the clock hand will move slightly faster. Quick victories are prized with this dish, not endurance..." He stopped for a moment, letting it all sink in.
"Are you ready?" the ref called more to the crowd than to the two beybladers. The audience cheered and joined in on the count-down. "Three! Two! One! Let it rip!"
The two launched their beyblades into the bowl, Shadra narrowly missing the bar. She sped her blade up, to get out of the hand's way. The scores for the launches (5790 and 5821) had barely been up before Shadra attacked. Unprepared for this quick starting move, Tyson's beyblade didn't have a chance to defend and flew out of the dish. The hand had only made over a quarter way around the dish.
"And the winner of the first battle is Shadra!" the ref called, after the rapid victory had sunk in. There weren't many cheers in the audience, and a loud boo-ing that seemed to come from Kevin. "She'll have no problem with this fast paced dish!"
Shadra walked back to her team after grabbing up Black Dranzer, a quiet smirk playing across her lips. Gently, she slid her thumb across the bit-chip.
"You didn't follow my orders," Boris growled.
Shadra shrugged. "Didn't feel like losing."
If the Demolition Boys ever showed emotions, they might have gasped. But as such, they looked from the black-haired girl and their glowering purple-haired coach, holding their breath.
"You weren't going to lose," Boris replied slowly, as if explaining to a young child. "You were simply allowing us to gather up to date data."
"Now, you know that I don't need that data."
Boris cursed under his breath. Her chip was on full power, yet she disobeyed orders like... Kai. She had too much power to allow having such flexibility in her conduct. He'd have to strengthen the program. Without replying to her, he walked out of the main stadium to where he kept his computers.
Meanwhile, the call went up for the two beybladers to return to the dish for the next match. Shadra returned in silence, while Tyson was berated with a dozen, "ood luck!"s, "Don't lose this time!"s and a "Hiyo!" The blue-haired beyblader had no idea what that last one was about.
All attention turned to the referee. "If Shadra wins the next beybattle, the Demolition Boys will win despite their gamble! But if Tyson wins, the Bladebreakers still have a chance!" the ref called.
"What are you, the narrator?" Shadra asked with a sneer.
"Actually, yes!" the ref called down. "Now, are you ready?" The whole audience cheered their reply. The two beybladers didn't reply. "Three! Two! One! Let it rip!"
The two launched their beyblades. This time, neither was close to hitting the moving hand. The scores went up with even greater numbers: 6984 and 6979.
The two beyblades, black and white, battled furiously as the watch hand followed behind them. But the hand was going at a much slower pace than the blades, so they easily pulled ahead and before the beybladers knew it, they had come up to the hand again, this time from behind.
Dragoon easily maneuvered around it, but Black Dranzer had only a few seconds before the beyblade came up to it. The audience and Tyson held their breaths. This could be the end.
"Black Dranzer!" she called out, and the black beyblade leaped over it, and sped up to escape the oncoming hand. The dark phoenix smashed into Dragoon, but the dragon didn't budge. The beybattle was still on.
The hand had now sped up, and it was proving more of a challenge for the beyblades to keep out of its way. Dragoon nearly clipped its attack ring after a failed attack on its enemy.
"Time to end this!" Tyson proclaimed. "Evolution Hurricane Attack!"
"I agree," Shadra said. "Griffolyon, Wing Dagger!"
A sharp pain snapped through Shadra's head, causing her wince. She ignored it, concentrating on the rising griffin and the dragon's wind attack. Wind swept around the beydish, while the black beyblade rose into the air with Griffolyon. When the beyblade was high enough, the griffin let out a mighty flap of his wings, sending tens of purple feathers at its opponent's beyblade.
Another sharp pain slapped her. Her hand flew to her head; it was so strong. With her deteriorating attention, the attack weakened and affected the dragon none whatsoever.
"Dragoon, final attack!"
Shadra's head snapped up, pain forgotten. But it was too late, Dragoon had already knocked out Black Dranzer.
Tyson was about to gloat, but yells from the entrance hall interrupted.
"You --" huff puff "-- have to go back -- " groan "--to the hospital!"
"Patients--" moan "-- in your condition --"another groan "-- shouldn't leave!"
Tyson and the others turned their attention to the door, where Kai dragged three hospital attendants into the stadium. The team captain looked a bit better than yesterday, but nothing drastic enought to allow his release this early. He was still covered in bandages, for goodness sake.
"Kai,"Tyson said.
"Must -- watch -- match--" Kai groaned. The attendants may not have been stopping him, but they had certainly slowed him down. He reached the team dug out, then stopped. The attendants slid off him, looking more tired than Kai did. They might even have been reconsidering their choice of profession.
"It's televised," Max said as he and Hilary jumped up to help him keep standing. "You could'vee watched it on TV."
"You should be resting!" Hilary exclaimed.
Kai didn't respond, just slid down onto the bench.
"He's a bit out of it," one attendant explained, obviously not familiar with Kai's usual manner.
"Sedation, tranquilizers," another attendant explained. "Trying to keep him in the hospital..."
"And what a great job you did," Hilary said, rolling her eyes.
"If you're done with the circus freak, why don't we get on with the beybattle?" Shadra said, interrupting the group.
"That 'circus freak' was the guy you had a major crush on!" Tyson said, his hands in fists.
"Now he's just the guy I crush in battle," Shadra said. "Now, are we going to battle, or are you just trying to buy some more time before the whole world discovers how simply inferior you are."
"He may be inferior, but that doesn't mean you're superior!" Hilary yelled.
"Hey!" Tyson exclaimed.
"Uh, kids? Maybe we should start the next beybattle?" the ref suggested. The two beybladers nodded with a soft "finally" from Shadra. "Three! Two! One!
"LET IT RIP!"
To be continued...
