Chapter Three of "Dragoon's Abduction" by Melinda-chan
"The New York Beyblade Open is now under way. The first teams to battle for the title and a place in the World Championships have been selected and now we have the Canadian champions and the World Champions head-to-head to see who gets to go to the next round. Let's meet them now," Brad Best's voice announced.
"First, it's the team from Canada, the Sisters Supreme. The De Mornay sisters are a mysterious bunch if I say so myself. According to Canadian sources, they went undefeated in the national championships. They cannot be taken lightly," A.J. Tupper's voice announced.
"Still it is going to be tough beating the Bladebreakers" Brad Best's voice said. "They not only are the world champions but had to do it against the Demolition Boys in order to do it. This might be just my opinion but I have a feeling that whoever wins this, might be at the final."
"You don't think, Brad?" A.J. Tupper's voice sounded sarcastic.
"Yeah-hey, did you insult me?" Brad Best's voice sounded annoyed.
"Well, uh, let's begin the round, shall we?" A.J. Tupper tried to change the subject.
"Fine. Let's see. Ah, yes, Ray and Julie will be in the first match. Ray's Bit Beast, Driger, is a formidable opponent, which can use its Tiger Claw attack to decimate anyone that is in its way. Though it is quite powerful, it has not been seen since Ray's battle with Bryan at the World Championships" Brad Best announced.
"We just have to wait and see whether Ray can win without it. Julie's Bit Beast I heard is a long, slithery Serpentus and it is not bad either" A.J. Tupper announced.
"Hey Ray! I heard that your beyblade got declawed! Too bad my Serpentus still got its fangs!" Julie yelled at him from the other side of the bowl. There was no accent in her voice.
"You should know that I can still beat you" Ray said. 'I hope' he thought.
"Okay, let's get the DJ Jazzman to start the battle," Brad Best said.
"Are you excited for the first battle?" the DJ Jazzman yelled at the crowd.
"YAAAAHHHHH!!!" the crowd roared.
"Are you very excited?" the DJ Jazzman yelled even louder.
"YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" a bigger yell from the crowd erupted.
"Then let me introduce the competitors! Representing the Sisters Supreme from Canada, Julie!" the DJ Jazzman announced. There was a polite applause from the crowd. Among the crowd there was the group of three girls and a boy in the red maple leaf uniforms, looking on attentively. "And representing the Bladebreakers from Japan and the World Champions, Ray!" A louder cheer erupted. The boy leaned to the girl next to his right. She had her arms folded.
" What do you think, leader? Do you think that Ray has a chance of beating Julie without his Bit Beast? " the boy asked her. The brown-haired girl simply closed her eyes and sighed. " I thought so. " (Note: The speech has been translated into English for the benefit of the reader).
"Let us bring the bowl that is going to be used for the competition," the DJ Jazzman said. All of a sudden a bowl appeared from under the ground. It had buildings on it, including a bridge and the Statue of Liberty. The two tallest buildings had a red, white and blue banner with the black words "9/11" on them. "This is the 9/11 Bowl commemorating the destruction of the Twin Towers and the lives that died when they collapsed." A cheer came from the crowd. "Now the rules of this tournament are the same like the standard tournament. That is, you still lose when your beyblade stops spinning, gets destroyed or go out of the bowl. However, you only get one try." That startled almost everyone.
'I get only one battle with her?' Ray thought.
"That is so unfair!" Kenny said out loud.
"That just means Ray has to put everything he has in this battle," Kai said. "He has only one chance to prove he is strong enough to win. That is the way it should be played."
"Yeah but-" Tyson started to say but stopped. He then looked at Ray, who looked stressed.
"It's fine with me," Julie said as she stuck out her tongue and raised her launcher to her face. 'Without his Bit Beast, he wouldn't win two battles with me anyway' she thought. Ray clenched his teeth.
'I got to win this' Ray thought. 'Not only will this be my only chance against her but if I lose, Tyson would be forced to compete if Kai does not lose as well.'
"Get ready!" the DJ Jazzman announced. Both Julie and Ray put their beyblades into their launchers and waited. Ray had sweat coming down his face and neck. Julie in contrast was calm. The DJ Jazzman put his left arm up. "3,2,1!" He then put his arm down. "Let it rip!"
"Go Driger!" Ray yelled. He released his beyblade onto the bowl.
"Allez Serpentus!" Julie shouted. She released her own beyblade onto the bowl but on the other side of it.
"Now this is interesting," Brad Best announced. "Instead of attacking head on with Ray's beyblade, Julie decided to make Ray come over to her side."
"I am very sure she has a brilliant strategy," A.J. Tupper said.
"Come and get me, Ray! If you don't wear out before then!" Julie taunted him.
"I am coming after you!" Ray yelled. "Go Driger!" His beyblade went across the bridge.
"Look like Ray decided to go across the Brooklyn Bridge to meet her! No, wait! It looks like Julie decided to meet him after all! She just busted a hole from under the bridge!" Brad Best announced.
"What an entrance! And look at her go! She is not giving him a chance to fight back!" A.J. Tupper announced.
'Oh man!' Ray thought when he saw Julie's beyblade makes its entrance onto the middle of the bridge, and then watched as she makes a direct attack at his own beyblade. 'She didn't give me a chance to meet her!'
"Declawed animals shouldn't be allowed outside," Julie said smirking. "Especially around bridges or is your team that desperate?" Ray clenched his teeth.
'Why you-' Ray thought but he did not say anything out loud.
"She is sure using her mouth," Tyson said.
"There are more than physical warfare going on here," Kai told him. "She is using her mouth as a weapon as well. She wants Ray to lose his cool so she can attack him when he has lost his reasoning. If this is how her team win battles, no wonder they haven't lost one yet."
"But Ray is better than that!" Tyson said. "He knows how to keep cool under pressure! I mean, he beat Bryan and that was no walk in the park!"
"Perhaps, but Julie keep reminding him about not having Driger. It is probably a sensitive topic for him" Kai said.
"Don't listen to her, Ray! Focus on the battle and you'll win!" Tyson yelled at him. Kai put a hand on his face in dismay.
"Tyson, I don't think that is going to make an impression on him" Kenny told him.
"Why not?" Tyson asked, still oblivious to what he actually did. Of course Julie jumped at the chance of taunting Ray even more.
"It looks like your friend doesn't believe you can do it on your own, Ray" Julie said with a devilish grin. Ray, who had a sweatdrop running down his face, now turned to Tyson with an angry expression on his face.
"If I wanted you to shout some confidence to me, I'll tell you!" Ray shouted. Now Tyson looked upset.
"Now what did I do?" Tyson asked puzzled. Kenny groaned.
"Let it go, Kenny. It's not like he'll get it" Kai said to him. Tyson turned to Kai.
"What?" Tyson said but neither Kenny nor Kai said anything in reply. All of this did not escape the notice of a few onlookers.
"That girl sure is riling up Ray!" Johnny said. Oliver, who was two seats to his right, looked up from his binder.
"That is an old trick of hers" Oliver said. His other teammates noticed what he was reading.
"You got some information we don't know?" Enrique asked from his left.
"Yeah, from my supposed 'girlfriend' of mine," Oliver said in sarcasm.
"That was just a joke," Enrique said. Oliver said nothing in reply. "Are you still mad at me for that?" Oliver said nothing to that as well.
"I am surprised that you could get so much information on them" Robert told Oliver, who was from his right.
"It's not illegal," Oliver said dismissively. He looked down at his binder. "Julie is known to be the trash talker of the group. She uses her mouth as a weapon, doing everything she can to upset her opponent and make them lose their focus or do something else stupid."
"What about her Bit Beast?" Robert asked. The French beyblader turned a page to reveal a drawing of a green snake. Yellow sparks were around it.
"That is Serpentus," he told his comrades. "'Serpent' means 'snake' in French. Of course, it doesn't really matter in English."
"I wish this was in English" Johnny said. "Your friend only knows French?"
"Yes" Oliver responded. "She was once a member of the De Mornay team but dropped out and formed her own team."
"I don't recall another team here that has a French girl," Robert said. Oliver decided to say nothing.
"So what about Serpentus?" Enrique asked. "What can it do?"
"Serpentus uses an electric shock, similar to an eel, to stun the other Bit Beast but it can also squeeze it like a boa constrictor by wrapping itself around its victim" Oliver told them. "I have not heard of any Bit Beast being strangled to death but you have an idea of how powerful it can be."
"Is there anything else we should know in case we get them in the next round?" Johnny asked. The other Majestics looked at him. "Not that I want that to happen."
"There is something about Julie's beyblade that makes me nervous about Ray's chances of winning" Oliver said. "All of the De Mornay's beyblades has a Shield that can deflect all attacks, at least so far."
"Do you know of anything that can penetrate it?" Robert asked.
"No" Oliver candidly answered.
"I'll get you this time!" Ray yelled. "Go Driger!" His beyblade tried to slam Julie's beyblade against the replica of the Empire State Building. Julie remained unmoved. The building started to sway.
"Woah! The Empire State Building is moving like Jello!" Brad Best exclaimed.
"Well I did hear that the Empire State Building can sway seven feet either way during a severe rainstorm" A.J. Tupper told him.
"Remind me not to go there when a rainstorm hits," Brad Best said.
"Ha ha ha! Either you are desperate already or you're having delusions of winning!" Julie exclaimed. "Allez, Serpentus!" Her green beyblade hopped up and started circling around Driger. Ray clenched his teeth.
'She is trying to confuse me,' Ray thought. 'I got to keep my focus. Dammit, how am I supposed to win without my Bit Beast?' He closed his eyes. 'Maybe if I keep pounding away at her beyblade, something might break.' He then opened his eyes. "Pound her, Driger!" he yelled with full force.
"Ha ha! You think you can beat me by sheer-huh?" Julie said, and then she saw him hit her beyblade head on. "Oh no! Serpentus!"
"Oh yes!" Ray smiled. "I have a few tricks of my own! Slam her beyblade against that building!" His beyblade complied.
"Oh my! He hit the Marriott Hotel!" A.J. Tupper announced.
"It looks like it is going to be the second time it was destroyed this year! I don't think the crowd would like that!" Brad Best said.
"Oops!" Ray said as he realized the building that he ordered his beyblade to crash Julie's beyblade into. The impact of the crash made Julie's beyblade go right through the building. And then…
"Driger! Get out of there now!" Ray ordered. His beyblade complied, just in time before the building fully collapsed on the ground. A chorus of boos came from the crowd.
"My bad," Julie said smirking. "I guess I didn't think you would be that powerful."
'She intentionally allowed me to do that!' Ray thought. 'She wants to wear me down! And she hoped that the building would collapse on me!'
"Is that all you can do without your Bit Beast?" Julie asked. "Now that the farce is over, attack, Serpentus!" All of a sudden her beyblade flew over the ruins and gave his beyblade a jolt that made Ray went back as well.
'She's fast! Dammit!' Ray thought. 'How do I defend her?'
"Hit him by the side! I want him to feel what's it like to be the end of a devastating crash!" Julie called out. Her green beyblade did as she said. Ray watched helplessly as her beyblade attacked him at the side making him crash into a building nearby.
"Was that it?" Ray asked himself as he saw his beyblade escaped unscathed. 'Her power must be weakening! This might be my chance to get her!' he thought. "Driger, her power is weakening! Go after her now!" he shouted.
"Oh no you don't! Evasion!" Julie commanded. Her beyblade dodged his attack and then went up onto one of the Twin Towers!
"What on earth is she doing?" Brad Best asked.
"I don't know but I have this feeling that something else is going down very soon" A.J. Tupper told him.
'She is now flying straight at the other World Trade Center!' Ray thought as a bead of sweat came down his face. Everyone in the crowd held their breath.
"Shield Activate!" Julie commanded. All of a sudden a ball of light appeared around her beyblade, just in time before it crashed into the banner on the building. However, the power around it caused the banner to break apart. There was a small hole underneath where the banner used to be. Some from the crowd started to boo again. Julie was too focused to pay any attention to them.
"Now go at Driger!" Julie commanded. Ray could only watch as her beyblade used its speed and power to slam at his beyblade, causing both of them to go through buildings in a split second. Everything in its path came crashing down.
"Wow! I have never seen a beyblade with so much speed and power in my life!" Brad Best exclaimed.
"Everything in the 9/11 bowl is going down!" A.J. Tupper exclaimed. "I don't think the crowd will like this!" At this, the crowd booed even louder.
"Did you see that, Chief?" Tyson asked astonished. "She has a Shield similar to that of Lucie!"
"I believe that all of the De Mornay sisters have a Defense Shield like that" Dizzy told them. "I have analyzed the data. It is similar to Lucie's own Defense Shield. If Driger does not show up, Ray's doomed."
The Majestics also noticed what was happening.
"Does your information says anything about a ball of light around a beyblade that can repel something like a replica of a building?" Robert asked Oliver.
"According to my information, all of the De Mornay sisters have a shield that can be activated at their command. I don't know what it looks like but I think that was the shield we just saw" Oliver replied.
"How much power does the Shield have?" Johnny questioned.
"All I know is that the Shield can repel any attack by a beyblade at an average speed. Of course I don't know what the average speed would be, but I'm guessing that it would be the average speed of a beyblade without a Bit Beast" Oliver told him.
"So if Ray has Driger back, he would have a chance of succeeding against her, right?" Enrique asked.
"Julie has a Bit Beast of her own," Oliver answered. "But I do believe that with Driger he would have definitely have a better chance."
"But even without Driger-" Johnny started to say.
"He's doomed," the French beyblader answered abruptly.
"Hey Julie!" Lucie yelled. "Win at all costs but be careful around the World Trade Centers! You should know that the crowd is sensitive about that!" Julie did not reply back but looked intensely at Ray's beyblade.
'I got to bring him down soon' Julie thought. She then saw that the replica of the Brooklyn Bridge was still intact. "Go to the bridge!" she shouted. Her beyblade complied.
"Oh no you don't!" Ray shouted. "Driger, go after her!" His pupils turned into narrow slits like a tiger's eye in the dark. His beyblade went after hers.
'I got to do it now! I'll put him down as soon as I reach the bridge!' Julie thought. Her pupils then went into narrow slits as well. "Serpentus, appear!"
"The lights had gone out!" Brad Best exclaimed.
"What happened?" A.J. Tupper asked. "Oh wait, I see something over the bowl! I think it's Julie's Bit Beast!"
"For the first time in your life, I think you're right," Brad Best said.
"Well I do my best- hey!" A.J. Tupper said before he realized that his co-announcer was making fun of him. "Wow! Julie's Bit Beast is huge! Remind me to bring a flute next time Julie is here!" There was now a long green snakelike form high above the bowl.
"I'll say. I don't want to be the mouse that gets caught in those fangs," Brad Best said.
"What's the matter, Ray? Don't worry. Serpentus doesn't bite…too hard," Julie said. In the meantime Ray-and almost everybody else in the stadium- watched in awe and shock as the long, serpentlike Bit Beast move all over the space above her beyblade.
'How do I beat such a thing?' Ray thought.
"Dizzi, is that a dark Bit Beast too?" Kenny asked his laptop/Bit Beast in the dark.
"I am not sure" Dizzi replied. "But it did brought the lights out."
"It's not as powerful as Lucifus" Kai said. "But I do feel a dark power from it."
"Unless Driger comes back, Ray is doomed," Dizzi said.
"I am tired of showing off Serpentus now! I shall show you its true power!" Julie said. She then pointed down at Ray's beyblade. "Serpentus, Electric Strike! Now!"
Before Ray could blink, the Bit Beast had struck his beyblade with its very long tail and gave it an electric shock. Ray went back as if he was struck. He went on one knee, trying not to fall down.
'For one second, I felt numb! I can't win without my Bit Beast' Ray thought. 'And if I don't do something quick, I might not be able to move!'
"Ha ha ha! Serpentus, now squeeze his beyblade until it breaks apart! Serpentus Death Grip!" Julie commanded. From the crowd gasps could be heard.
"I doubt that Ray has anything to free his beyblade from the powerful grip of Julie's Bit Beast!" Brad Best said.
"It really looks like it's really lights out for Ray unless he can pull off another miracle!" A.J. Tupper exclaimed.
At the other side of the bowl, Ray had sweat dripping off him like rain. He was still in his own mind, trying to think of a way to avoid doom.
'If only Driger was here' Ray thought. 'I need you right now, Driger! Please come back Driger! Driger!' All of a sudden he felt a power from above. He looked up.
"Can it be?" Ray asked himself. He then saw a green tigerlike form appear from above the bowl. "It is you Driger! You have come back to me!"
"Is that what I think it is, A.J.?" Brad Best's voice asked out loud.
"You bet! The cat's back, or the tiger in this case!" A.J. Tupper responded.
"Driger! You've returned!" Ray shouted. "I now have my Bit Beast back! Look out Julie!" He then laughed. "I will make you pay for your big mouth and for your reckless destruction!" Ray's fangs protruded from his mouth as he spoke. "Driger! Tiger Claw! Destroy her Bit Beast entirely!" His eyes were almost red.
"Wow! I never saw Ray so angry before!" A.J. Tupper exclaimed.
"I guess that Julie's taunting had an effect on him" Brad Best noted. "Let's hope that he doesn't lose his focus."
"Evasion, Serpentus!" Julie yelled out. The snake Bit Beast managed to dodge the blow from Driger.
"What the hell was that, Driger?" Ray yelled. "Go after her Bit Beast, dammit!" He jumped up and down obviously not pleased with his Bit Beast's performance.
"Um, Ray…" Tyson started to say.
"Never mind Tyson" Kai spoke. "I don't think he'll listen to you now."
"Uh, for young kids out there, Ray is very angry and is using words that one should never use in normal conversation-" Brad Best started to say.
"Brad, I think people can use those words on TV nowadays" A.J. Tupper told him.
"What the hell?" Brad Best said.
"I don't think we are allowed to say that!" A.J. Tupper became alarmed.
" Bleep " Brad Best said, obviously getting censored.
'I did it! I broke him down!' Julie thought. 'Now this is my chance for my final attack!' She then laughed out loud.
"What's so funny?" Ray asked. Julie laughed again and pointed to the bowl.
"Cretin! Do you not pay attention to my beyblade? Look!" Julie told him. Ray did as she said.
'Her beyblade is below the bridge! What is she planning to do?' Ray thought. 'I have a bad feeling about this!'
"Serpentus, strike at the legs of the bridge! After that, hit his beyblade out of the bowl!" Julie ordered. To his horror, Ray could only watch as her beyblade hit all four legs of the bridge, causing the entire bridge to crash down onto the ground.
"Whoa! Brooklyn Bridge just became London Bridge in a split second!" Brad Best exclaimed.
"Let's hope that Ray's beyblade doesn't stop spinning or it's over for him!" A.J. Tupper said. Just then Driger disappeared into Ray's beyblade. There was a collective gasp from the crowd.
"Driger!" Ray yelled in concern.
"C'est fini, Ray! Serpentus, finish his beyblade off! Serpentus Final Attack!" Julie yelled. The green snake Bit Beast used its full power to knock the other beyblade out of the bowl. It landed with a clank behind Ray. Julie's Bit Beast then disappeared into her beyblade. The darkness also vanished, revealing a stunned Ray.
The DJ Jazzman looked at the bowl, where Julie's beyblade was still spinning among the rumble. Only the damaged First World Trade Center and the undamaged Second World Trade Center was still standing. The DJ Jazzman then looked at Ray's beyblade. It laid a few feet behind the Chinese-born beyblader. The verdict was clear.
"The winner is Julie of the Sisters Supreme!" The DJ Jazzman announced, pointing at the victor. A polite applause followed.
"They are in real trouble now! Max is nowhere to be seen and Tyson will have to play without a Bit Beast against a Dark Bit Beast! I don't think anyone is that good!" Oliver said to his fellow teammates in the crowd.
"The Bladebreakers faced almost impossible odds when they went against the Demolition Boys" Robert reminded him. "Yet I do feel concern for his chances without Dragoon right now." Oliver sighed.
" She did it again, leader, " the boy said to his female captain. " What do you think are their real chances at winning now that Ray has been defeated and Max is not here? " He then looked at the girl, who still had her white-sleeved arms folded. In reply, she simply closed her eyes.
" Don't worry, Bobby, " a girl with brown hair and glasses said. "Ray was just taken off guard by her mouth. The others will be more prepared ."
" I know nothing like that could work on Kai, but what about Tyson? " Bobby asked his teammates.
" You should not worry so much about the results of the battle, " the girl with the glasses said. "The plan is right on course. Be patient, Bobby. It will work out in the end. " The blonde-haired girl with headphones, two seats to his right, nodded. The boy noticed this but said nothing.
As for Ray, the world had practically shattered around him. He walked slowly to his beyblade, picked it up and went back to his teammates. He looked at Tyson.
"I am sorry, Tyson. I had failed you" Ray said. He then put his head down in shame.
"That's okay. Something told me that I will have to reclaim Dragoon by myself" Tyson said, smiling. Ray then turned to Kai, but by the look on his face it was apparent that he would not be as sympathetic.
Kai simply turned his head away.
"Kai! Ray did his best, even if he did get rattled in the end!" Kenny said to him.
"I promise not to be like that again," Ray said. "At least I have Driger again."
"If I knew you would be that upset over losing Driger like that, I would have had Max go first" Kai told him.
"It's too late now," Tyson said. "Though I do wonder what Max and Mr. Dickinson is doing right now." No one there knew that Max had just fallen out of his chair in shock after he watched Ray lose to Julie in Mr. Dickinson's hospital room. Mr. Dickinson was still asleep on the hospital bed.
"In any case, I have to go now" Kai said as he got up. "At least I now know what they are all capable of." He started to walk toward the battle area.
'That's right; Kai's turn is next. Don't lose, Kai. If you do, I may never get Dragoon back' Tyson thought. 'Good luck Kai.'
In the meantime, the De Mornay team was talking among themselves.
"Excellent work, Julie. Our plan is going smoothly," Lucie said.
"Marie-France, keep Serpentus until the next round. I assume that you took notes on Ray?" Julie asked as she handed her older sister her green beyblade. The girl with the glasses took the beyblade as she put her pen down after she finished writing in her binder.
"I did not find anything new in his technique" Marie-France told her. "But I did notice how he reacted when you used your tongue against him. By the time Driger returned, he was already frazzled. Your technique always works."
"I know" Julie said, smiling. She then turned to Lucie. "Are you planning to go next? I don't think we need a third battle."
"Don't be so quick, Julie. I like to save the best for last. Besides I have a feeling that they are thinking the same thing. I have decided to go third," Lucie said. At that Odette looked up at her. Lucie showed them her red and white beyblade. Do not worry, my loyal sisters. If I face Tyson, I'll show him my Bit Beast, or rather his former Bit Beast. I cannot wait until I see the look on his face when he sees it. Ce sera notre victoire!"
For my readers, I am sorry for the long delay. I had to check a few things and writing a beyblade battle into the story was harder than I thought. I hope I did everything right. As for the second season of Beyblade, I did watch some of it but I got so bored that I only watched a few episodes after Wyatt was out of the way. One can consider this story a semi-AU then. All original characters were created by Melinda-chan (Melinda The Digimon Poet). Beyblade was created by Takao Aoki. Only three (hopefully) more chapters to go! And do not forget to review!