Chapter 10-----With All My Heart And Soul?
Mai sat on the edge of her bed, her legs swinging back and forth in mid-air; she was thinking…about stuff…
'Two days more till the big battle…You think we can win Levian?'
Levian: If you want to, we can.
Mai crossed her arms behind her head and fell backwards, bouncing a few times on the bed before coming to a stop. She stared at the plain beige ceiling above her.
'If I want to huh…But why am I even going through with this? Do I really wanna join them? ... What am I thinking? Of course you do, idiot!' she rolled unto her side and let out a sigh.
Levian: You need them don't you? 'coz you don't wanna be alone…
Mai nodded her head, her cheek rubbed against the soft bed sheet. She really liked them; being with them made her feel secure… made all the loneliness inside her disappear. She felt like she belonged…a feeling that she had lost ever since her tribe had been eliminated. And no way was she gonna let it slip past her fingers again…it was too precious.
'Why do you always have to be so right Levian?' Mai teased.
Levian: It's a bit-beast thing. Besides, your conscience doesn't seem to be doing its job.
'Hey!' Mai playfully objected but she was happy to know that someone understood her.
She got out of bed, a new-found spirit within her. 'Let's go do some training shall we?' She put on her jacket and a pair of black gloves and strolled out of the room, twirling Levian in her hand.
'Now where can I train without being disturbed…'Mai's eyes trailed down the list of places on the floor layout plan beside the elevator. 'Heck, let's just go to the roof, no one goes there…' She entered the lift and pressed the 50th button. The elevator rumbled to life and started ascending. Mai felt herself getting lighter and lighter as the elevator advanced against the forces of gravity.
Bing- The doors slid open and a micro phonic voice sounded from within the lift: fiftieth floor. Mai stepped out and heard the doors close behind her with a: doors closing doors closing.
She looked around, the fiftieth floor looked more like a lounge cum observatory centre than a hospital. 'Maybe this is the waiting lounge…' she thought as she wandered around the level, looking for the stairs that led to the rooftop. She found it and pushed the heavy doors which made a creaking sound before gently closing behind her. She climbed up the musty staircase; the air around her was stale but had a kind of mint-y smell to it. She finally reached the top landing and pushed on the handle to open the door.
The wind hit her instantly as she struggled to close the door without slamming it. She scanned the place; the floor was cemented and the edges were fenced up with wire netting. 'Not bad, least I know Levian won't go flying over the edge if I mess up'
She was just about to roam the area looking for an ideal spot to train when she heard voices…
"C'mon Draciel! Just one more!"
"Alright Max!"
"It's my turn!"
Mai recognised the voices. 'Max? Guys? But what're they doin' up here?' Mai sneaked closer to where the voices were coming from and crouched behind a huge pipe. And there indeed, was Max, Tyson, Kenny, Kai…basically everyone.
Mai noticed a small object spinning on the ground and found out the answer to her question. 'So, they're here to train too huh…' She thought of joining them but decided not to… 'What if they think I'm spying on them?'
Levian: Umm…currently, you are.
'……….. Even so, I can't risk it…it'll be safer to make my presence unknown just in case…'Mai was acting all 007. (You guys know 007 right? Does James Bond ring a bell?)
She decided to watch from her hideout; who knows? She might even get a few pointers watching these guys in action.
"Ready Max?" Rei called out.
"Mm!" Max nodded.
"Ok, in THREE, TWO, ONE! LET IT RRRIIIPPPPPPP!" Tyson yelled.
The two blades spun out of their launchers and knocked against each other, sending them hurling backwards only to land firmly on the ground before proceeding to attack once more.
Mai watched in amazement at the skill and precision of the blades and bladers. Every move looked as though it had been carefully planned out, vital to achieving one's victory. The two blades' movements were so swift that all Mai could see were two blurry lines and a few sparks when they clashed head on. She thought she had seen everything, but the best or in Mai's case…the worse was yet to come.
"Let's finish this! Drigger!" Rei called out.
In an instant, a flash of white light revealed a white tiger with electric-green stripes on its back and gold armour around its torso. The sight of it caused Mai's breath to get caught in her throat. 'They have bit-beats too.' Her blue orbs widened; Drigger was so big that it consumed the sky around it with its size.
"Draciel!" Max responded.
A purple beast shot out of the green blade. Its size slightly smaller than Drigger but its power was yet to be tested.
"Draciel! Fortress Defence!" Max commanded.
Draciel started spinning faster and faster, creating a transparent wall of defence to block out Drigger's relentless attacks.
"You're wearing yourself out Rei!" Max smirked.
"Oh yeah? Let's see you block this! Drigger TIGER CLAW ATTACK!"
Drigger came charging straight at Draciel, its claws spread out to its full extent. Draciel took slash after slash, moving slightly backwards with every hit; Mai could tell it was weakening.
'No way am I gonna lose today, Rei' Max thought and with that he summoned up all his energy…
"DRACIEL! ATTACK!"
The purple beast glided swiftly to the side, dodging Drigger's attack. It came up behind the white blade, pushing it towards the wall. Sparks flew as Drigger came up against the hard concrete, leaving a long scratch as its attack ring dug into the grey wall.
Luckily, Drigger managed to break free from Draciel's attack and Rei made sure he took full advantage of this opportunity.
"AAAAATTTTTTTTAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!" both boys cried out.
The two blades clashed and repelled each other, sending them flying straight at their owners. Rei and Max caught them without much difficulty.
"Hahaha. Not bad Rei!" Max slung an arm around Rei's shoulder and gave him a pat on the back.
"Hahahaha, yeah. That Fortress Defence is really somethin'"
'What have I gotten myself into……' Mai bit her lip nervously. She had just witnessed what she was going to face in two days time… Could she beat a bit-beast that strong?
Levian: Hey, have a lil' faith will ya? The longer you stall, the less time we'll have to train!
'Yeah, your right. Let's go.' Mai clenched her fists with determination 'I won't lose!' She slowly backed away from behind the pipe, making sure that they were out of sight before dashing for the door…
Garden on the 7th floor-
Mai had experience battling with normal blades but never with a bit-beast, so you could say she was completely clueless with what to do with Levian right about now…
'So umm…do I call you out to summon you?'
Levian: Yup.
'When?'
Levian: Whenever you like.
'What about now?'
Levian: -slaps forehead- (haha, if bit-beasts could do tht, but in this case, they can) No! When you're using the blade!
'Oh…so what attacks can you do?' she questioned in her head. It felt kinda weird…asking questions in your head…
Levian: You'll see. –smirks- Just launch the blade.
'Hmm…let's test your speed then.' Mai launched the blade into a row of palm trees. Levian avoided the trunks with ease. 'Hey! You're not bad!'
Mai tested out various attacks and techniques that were passed down from her tribe. She found out that the attacks improved tremendously! The turns were sharper and quicker, the attacks were stronger and she could control the blade in any way she wanted!
'THIS IS SOOOO COOL!'
Levian: Deshyo? (Isn't it?) Now it's your turn.
'My turn?'
Levian: Yeah, fifteen laps around the garden, ten jumping-jacks by the fountain, water break then fifty sit-ups!
'What! That's too much!' Mai protested.
Levian: A blader must be strong together with her bit-beast. That is the key to achieving greatness.
'But its still…'
Levian: Do ya wanna win or not?
Mai finally gave in and started her laps… The people looked at her as if she was mad when she ran past them… who'd be running laps at a hospital? 'That girl's gone nuts...' they thought.
She ignored the stares people were giving her and continued running…with encouragement from Levian. She figured that winning was more important than crazy eye-boggling freaks…
Lap 6:
"Huh huh huh huh…" 'Can I take a break?' Mai pressed her sides to ease the stitch that had formed.
Levian: C'mon! Just 9 more laps to go…
'Pfht, don't make it sound like it's so easy…' but she ran on.
Lap 11:
'I can do this, I've trained since young…there's no problem!' She motivated herself… 'Ugh, who am I kidding? My freakin' legs hurt like hell! Levian! Need water now!'
Levian: Just a few mo—
'NOW!' Mai demanded in a forceful tone.
Levian: 0.o (haha, so funny! Thts how Levian looks like now) O-kay?
Mai raced to the water cooler and took huge gulps of the cool refreshing water. 'So she has the energy to run to the water cooler but not run a few more laps…' Levian thought.
"Ah!" She splashed some of the water on her face to cool her off and rubbed some on her arms to cleanse away the perspiration.
Levian: Ok, you had your rest but you still have 4 more laps, 10 jumping-jacks and 50 sit-ups! So dun slack!
'I'm goin' I'm goin…' With that, Mai took off to complete her torturous training…
The whole of the next day was spent on training and by the time Mai had done the day's work, she dragged herself to her room and collapsed on her bed.
"Argh…my whole body hurts…" Mai mumbled into the pillow.
Levian: But the training helped.
'Mmm…let's…win…tomorrow k?…' Mai drifted off to sleep.
Day of the Battle-
'Gotta train gotta train!' Mai replayed the words in her head as she jogged around the garden. She had woken up really early today just to train, much to Levian's surprise.
After a few laps, Mai got a drink from the water cooler and slumped down on one of the nearby benches.
Levian: Maybe you should take a break after this. Save up your energy for the match.
'Yeah, I'll take a break but you won't!' she grinned, got up from the bench and walked towards the pond.
'Get to the other side and back alright?' Mai launched her blade and it landed on a rock. Mai ran along the shore line as she followed Levian's progress. The diamond blade hopped from one rock to another; carefully manoeuvring itself away from rocks which had moss on them.
'Alright Levian!' Mai cheered as she caught her precious blade in her hand.
Levian: That was fun.
'There's more!' she wasn't done with Levian's training yet and raced off to find other challenging obstacles for her wolfy-friend to try out.
Little did she know that a pair of crimson eyes was watching her from the bridge over the pond. 'So, she's training…' Kai couldn't help but smile slightly at her efforts and left the bridge to go back to his ward…
Sheng-Li Beystadium, 3pm-
Everyone was gathered in the large battle arena. Mai and Max stood at both ends of the beydish, (its really really big, kinda like a huge bowl in the floor, not those small puny plastic ones…) while the rest watched from the stands.
"You guys ready?" Rei asked.
Max nodded, he had his 'game' face on. Mai took a deep breath, her heart was beating with trepidation. 'I can do this…I can do this…' "Let's go" she told Rei.
Levian: Relax. You've done this kinda thing before and I'm sure you've won a few of 'em so take it easy.
But Levian's words had fallen on deaf ears…Mai couldn't relax… she took deep breaths the calm herself down but it was of no avail.
"This'll be a best 2 outta 3 match. If you're ready then in THREE TWO ONE! LET IT RRIPPPPPPP!"
Both bladers launched their blades into the dish. The two blades seemed to be playing a game of cat and mouse, taking turns to chase each other. Occasionally they'd attack each other, trying to push the opponent out of the dish. Unfortunately, this round was a quick win for Max.
Mai snatched up her blade, feeling useless…Her nervousness had caused her to lose concentration. Could she really do this? 'Can I really win?'
'What's she doing? She's not even trying!' Kai cursed. The others looked on with worried faces.
Max sensed that Mai was not focused and he didn't like it…this was not the battle he'd wanted, not the way he wanted to win.
"Hey Mai."
Mai spun around at the sound of Max's voice.
"I might not know what you're going through right now but…whatever it is, dun let it hold you back. If you really love blading, you should blade with all your heart and soul."
'Max…' Mai was stunned. He saw right through her…
'If you really love blading, you should blade with all your heart and soul…' The words echoed in her mind...
'He's right! If I truly love blading, I shoudn't let anything hold me back! I'll blade with all my heart and soul!' Mai decided.
She lifted her head, her eyes met with Max. Max could see that her facial expression had changed; it looked more competitive, more intense…more determined.
Max smiled when he saw this. 'That's right. Don't let anything hold you back Mai'
"This is the second round. Mai, you know that if Max wins this round then he becomes the winner of this match?" there was a trace of worry in his voice.
"I know." Mai nodded her head firmly and returned to face Max. 'Nothing's gonna hold me back, forget the nervousness, forget about winning…I blade for myself, because I want to.'
"THREE TWO ONE! LET IT RRRRRIIIPPPPPPPP!"
Once again, the two blades clashed head on in the dish, this time with more force. There was more pushing and attacking; the two blades grinded against each other, neither of them giving up the fight. The match was getting intense and Max saw the need to call out Draciel.
"DRACIEL! ATTACK!"
Draciel emerged from its blade in all its glory and spun towards Mai's blade.
'Let's go Levian!'
Levian: Mm!
"LEVIAN!" Mai yelled.
A magnificent white wolf with a blue gem on its forehead rose from the blade; around its ankles were blue flames of different shades that were wavering intensely as if showing its rage.
Everyone, including Mai was in awe. 'I didn't think you looked this good…' Mai thought. The Bladebreakers and Kenny couldn't believe it! Mai had a bit-beast all along? NO WAY!
Levian evaded the attack from Draciel and swerved to the right, tackling Draciel form its side. The wolf sunk its teeth into Draciel's armour, making it cry out in pain.
"Draciel! Fortress Defence!" Max shouted.
Immediately, Draciel began building up its shield. As it spun faster, Mai noticed that it was actually preventing Levian from attacking. The velocity was so fast that it only allowed the attacker to bounce off it.
'Levian, don't waste your energy breaking through the defence. It's using speed to create a force which will only repel your attack. Let it wear itself out a bit, then attack when it starts to slow down' (wow, Mai's smart when she's focused ain't she?)
Levian: Right.
The white blade circled Draciel. 'Hm? What's she doing?' Max thought as he glanced at Mai; she looked deep in thought.
Levian kept avoiding Draciel and its attacks, it was back to cat and mouse again… The distance between Levian and Draciel was getting further and further apart.
"NOW! LEVIAN! ARTIC FLARE!" Mai didn't know why she yelled that attack…it just came out of her like it was instinct.
Levian charged at Draciel; the flames around its ankles grew stronger that it now engulfed Levian. The impact sent Draciel flying and amazingly, out of the dish.
Tiny sparkles fell from above as Levian's flames died down. Mai stuck out her hand to find that it was snow.
"Alright Mai!" Hilary cheered from the stands.
She looked up at her bit-beast and smiled. 'You were great!'
'So were you' Levian bowed its head and disappeared back into the blade which flew back into Mai's grasp.
Max picked up his blade and walked towards Mai, a big smile forming on his face as if ready to burst any moment…and it did.
"Oh man! That was awesome! I never knew you had a bit-beast!" Max was talking very animatedly, hands moving wildly as he retold the battle to Mai. Suddenly, Mai put a hand on his shoulder which made him stop talking instantly.
"Thanks Max" She smiled warmly, her blue eyes full of sincerity. He had made her realise...realise why she had become a blader in the first place. It wasn't because of her tribe...it's 'coz she loved blading. She had forgotten the feeling of having fun, battling like there was no tomorrow, the intensity, the challenge...everything. And Max made her remember...remember how it felt to blade again...
Max blushed a little when he saw those mesmerising deep blue orbs but managed to cough out a "You're welcome" (haha, so cute)
"One more match to go" Mai said.
"Yeah! Let's give it all we've got!" Max replied.
The both of them walked back to their positions, ready for the last round that would determine Mai's future.
"It's getting interesting don't cha think, Kai?" chief asked.
Kai nodded in agreement. 'The battle has only begun……'
Ah, finished. K, this has gotta be the longest! HAHA, I've become so addicted that when I start writing, I can't stop. Ahaha, oh well, tht's English Language for ya.
Anyway, PLS REVIEW if ya wanna find out what happens in the last round!
Readers: Pfht…Mai's gonna win duh…
blu: I wouldn't bet on tht ;P
REVIEW! Thx!