Chapter Eight: We're All With You

We're back to Miguel's POV.

We'd arrived in Egypt pretty late, but the fans were still out in droves to see us.

Fangirls swarmed our team as we tried to exit the airport, most of them squealing: "Miguel, oh he's so cute!"

I ignored them. I wasn't in the mood for attention right now. Not from them, anyway.

We were slowly making our way through the crowd when I heard a voice call out.

"Miguel!"

It was Tyson. The BBA Revolution had just arrived. I turned toward him beginning to take a step in his direction when…

Barthez hooked his arm around mine and pulled me away quickly. I visibly growled at him, but he didn't seem to care as I was whisked off.

Tyson began to follow after us, but stopped when he realized that there was nothing he could do, for the moment.

I tilted my head back just a bit, to catch a glimpse of his face.

He was… smiling?

When we reached our new hotel room, Barthez lined us up against the wall. Looking quite angry, he paced in front of us.

"As you all know, we lost in Spain. That kind of poor performance will not be repeated! My plans for this team important! So tell me, who is going to lead you to ultimate victory? Who is your leader?"

Claude, Aaron and Mathilda quickly answered. "You Coach Barthez!"

I was hesitant, but I answered. "You."

He looked at me for a moment, sensing my rebellion. I expected him to question me further, but instead he stepped away.

"They're having a rather lavish reception for the beyblade coaches tonight, and I will be attending. All of you know the curfew," he said, turning toward the door. "Until the morning…" he said, as he stepped out.

There was silence for a bit. No one wanted to break it, but eventually, it was Claude who spoke.

"This isn't good," he said, looking downward.

Aaron nodded. "We've got to do something about this."

"Yeah!" cried Mathilda.

"Forget it," I said, my eyes dark with rage. "Just forget it."

"What do you mean, Miguel?" Mathilda questioned.

"I want you guys to stay out of it. If anyone confronts Barthez, it will be me."

They were quiet.

"Right now, we need to concentrate on finding our purpose. We're not just Barthez's soldiers, we're beybladers. And we need to remember that."

"Yeah Miguel."

"I want you three to go to bed. I'm going to go out for a bit."

Claude stepped forward. "But Miguel, the curfew!"

"I don't care, I have something I need to do! Someone I need to see…" I said, and with that I stepped out the door, leaving my teammates alone in the hotel room.

I wandered through the floor. Most of they beyblade teams were on this floor, it wouldn't be long before I would find…

The BBA Revolution room. I walked up to the door. But before I could knock, the door burst open, Tyson racing out of it, not looking where he was going, nearly knocking into me.

"Tyson where are you going?" cried a female voice from inside. That must be Hillary, I thought.

"To find someone—hey! Miguel!"

"Hello, Tyson."

"I'll be back later, ok?" he yelled back into the room.

"Whatever," the voice said, and Tyson shut the door behind him.

We began to walk down the hall together, neither of us talking. But then, Tyson paused, and spoke.

"Miguel. Do you realize that in order for you to finally be free, Barthez has to leave your team?"

That struck home. Yeah, I knew it. But I didn't want to admit it.

"Yeah, I know, Tyson. But how? How do I make him leave?"

"You'll have to stand up to him, Miguel. Tell him that the team is yours now. That he is no longer needed. Show him that you can lead your team to victory just as well as he can—in fact, even better, because you won't be cheating."

I nodded, slowly. It was a good plan. But could I carry it out?

"I know you're a little afraid of him—your whole team is. But your anger can help you. Remember all the things he's done to you. He's hurt you, Miguel. Tell him he has no place in your team anymore!"

"Yeah, Tyson. You're right. That's what I'll do."

"It's going to be hard Miguel, but I will be with you. Okay? Don't worry about it too much."

"Right," I said. I smiled. I knew that if Tyson was with me, nothing would stop me. "Thanks a lot, Tyson. You don't know how much you've helped me."

"Like I said before, anything for a friend."

I smiled again. "Last time you said that we kissed—"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence, Tyson was on me. Pushing me gently against the wall, he seized my lips in a heated kiss, wrapping his arms around me.

I leaned back against the wall as Tyson continued the kiss, and when it was broken, he fell gently against my chest and I held him, stroking the back of his neck. He looked up at me.

"Miguel… If I told you that I loved you, would you accept it? I know that you might not want to…"

I was somewhat shocked. I wasn't expecting him to say something like that. And what could I say? I didn't know what love was! But…

I looked into Tyson's eyes. Something made me speak.

"I accept your love Tyson… I might not have ever experienced real love before, but that doesn't mean I can't try. I think… I love you too, Tyson."

As shaky as my statement was, Tyson was happy with it, and he leaned up to kiss me again. This time, I kissed him back.

After a time of kissing and snuggling against the wall, Tyson and I realized it was time for us to go our separate ways again, back to our teams.

After letting go of me, Tyson began to walk back to his door, and once he reached it, he gave me a last glance before entering.

I continued walking, entering the Barthez Battalion room down the hall silently. I expected to see an empty room, but instead I saw my teammates, standing almost where I had left them.

"You guys! I said to go to bed!" I snapped.

"No, Miguel. We know you're planning something. Something that has to do with Barthez. And we're going to be part of it. We're with you Miguel! Don't you see?" cried Mathilda, speaking for the group.

It hit me. Just like Tyson, my team was here to help me. I shouldn't be pushing them away.

"Fine. My plan is simple, guys. We show Barthez we can win without cheating for once. We tell him that we don't need him anymore."

"But can we win without cheating, Miguel? All we know how to do is cheat!"

"We can do it. I trust in our ability. We don't need to cheat ever again."

My teammates nodded. They understood the plan.

"From now on, you're our leader, Miguel," said Aaron.

"That's right! You will lead us to victory!"

I smiled. "Well then, my first order is that you all go to bed! And I mean it this time. Ok? We can't battle sleepy."

They instantly marched off to their rooms.

I lingered a bit before returning to my room, mind swarmed with thoughts of the upcoming battle.

Would we win? Could we drive Barthez off? Is it possible?

I smiled as I flopped down on my bed.

Of course it is. My team was with me!

And Tyson was with me.

And that… was all I needed.