Chapter Four: Fed Up
At the beybattle, I was strangely silent. I stood beside Barthez just as I had been instructed. Just leave it all to him, I was told.
In front of us, Mathilda battled Daichi of the BBA Revolution in the Knossos Stadium, a labyrinth beystadium which has maze-like walls that were perfect for our sneaky strategies.
I watched Mathilda, she battled with all she had. But I knew that didn't really matter. I knew what the outcome of the battle would be, for both bladers.
I could only stare in horror as Daichi activated his Strata Dragoon's Vast Cutter. That would trigger Mathilda's special attack… The self-destruct.
It was only a matter of seconds—the explosion of beyblade parts smashing into Strata Dragoon, practically destroying it, but that moment burned into my mind.
A loss for out team, yes, but a win in the long run, all I had to do now, was beat Tyson and we would win by default.
A genius plan, really, if your kind of thing was underhanded, sneaky, and… wrong.
Mathilda wrenched her eyes shut, she could not look at the wreckage of Pierce Hedgehog just yet.
Daichi, obviously, could not control his anger, almost lunging at Barthez, before being restrained and dragged away by a surprisingly level-headed Tyson.
By now, Mathilda was clutching the remains of her beyblade to her face, sobbing lightly. I walked up to her, wondering about it all. Yeah, we should probably win now, but only if we kept cheating. It was my job to seize the victory. And that meant to follow Barthez's orders exactly. Right?
"Mathilda. Your sacrifice will win the beybattle."
"I know… But right now, Miguel, I don't care," she said, gathering herself and moving out of my way.
I stepped up to the beystadium first, Tyson following from his side.
Our eyes met. While Tyson was not outwardly angry, in his eyes, burned a desire for revenge, but also… what was that I saw?
DJ Jazzman began the countdown.
3…
2…
1…
Let it rip!
I launched my Dark Gargoyle immediately, and Tyson did the same with his Dragoon. After a few initial slams, I heard Barthez's voice in my ear.
"Miguel. You know the plan. Let him think he has this, but then, you know what to do, right?"
"Yes, sir."
Fleeing from Dragoon, I led my beyblade behind a wall. Tyson followed, and that was all it took to gain control of the match.
Once our beyblades were out of sight, I released the hidden twin blades from my beyblade. Dragoon charged me, and was instantly smashed away. Tyson was shocked, but not too much. By the time we left the wall area, the blades had been pulled back.
After this, I just smashed at his blade, over and over, and finally, released the twin blades again for a smash that sent Dragoon flying straight through a labyrinth wall, causing rubble to crumble down on top of it.
"No! Dragoon!"
I would have smiled, but I felt too cheap. The match was ours now, anyway. I turned to walk away, just glad it was over.
I was genuinely surprised when Tyson called me back to the dish.
"Where do you think you're going, Miguel?" Tyson called. "Take a listen, will ya?"
I did. And from beneath the rubble, I heard the faint sound of… a spinning beyblade? It couldn't be!
"Come on out Dragoon!" cried Tyson, and his beyblade burst from the pile of broken wall easily, landing back in the beystadium.
"No! This isn't supposed to happen!" I heard Barthez yell.
For the first time in the tournament I was uncertain on my next move. Tyson knew all my tricks now. And Barthez was just as flustered as I was…
"Don't try anything funny, Miguel. I won't fall for it this time."
I felt I had to prove myself. "I can beat you in a fair match!"
"Not while you're on that team, Miguel. Not while Barthez controls you."
I froze.
Was Barthez really controlling me?
"You need to break free, Miguel. Beyblade with honor. With pride. And truly give your all without cheating. You haven't felt a true victory ever, have you?"
His eyes bored into mine, and I finally identified the mystery emotion. It was pity. Tyson felt bad for me!
"Miguel! What is that idiot saying to you?" Barthez demanded.
"Nothing, sir."
"Then attack! Use your secret weapon!"
I released the twin blades and headed for Dragoon. But Tyson shook his head.
"I won't fall for it again, Miguel," he said.
I paused. What should I do?
"Miguel! This needs to end! Destroy Tyson's beyblade now!" Barthez roared in my ear.
Destroy his beyblade?
It flashed before me once more, the looks on Mathilda and Daichi's faces. Their beyblades had been destroyed too. All that sadness and anger, caused by Barthez! And if I followed his order, I'd just be adding to it…
"Prove that you're a real beyblader, Miguel!"
How I wanted to!
"Raaaaa!" I shouted, retracting the hidden blades and urging Dark Gargoyle to attack.
I heard Barthez in my ear. "Miguel now! Destroy his beyblade! Smash it into tiny pieces! Make it so that Tyson can never—"
I didn't hear the rest. All I heard was one voice in my head.
'You know what you can do, Miguel.'
I did. Taking the communication device from my ear, I threw it down.
"No!" I heard Barthez yell.
"About time," said Tyson, smiling. But his smile soon disappeared. "Dragoon, Galaxy Storm!"
"Fire Execution!" I cried out.
A whirling vortex of fire clashed with a massive storm. The attacks engulfed eachother, and everything went bright.
When the light faded, I saw the outcome. My blade had stopped spinning, but Tyson's Dragoon was still going strong.
I'd lost.
I fell to my knees. How could I go back to my team now? I felt like I could cry, and I might have—but I heard a warm voice above me.
It was Tyson. He handed me my beyblade and smiled. "I'm proud of you."
I stood, and smiled back.
It would be my last moment of happiness for some time. I could practically feel Barthez's anger growing.
"You're going to regret that, Miguel," was all he said.
But I knew it was a promise, a promise that surely spelled harm for me…
