Chapter 34------Believe
"WE APOLOGISE FOR THE MINOR INCONVENIENCE BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, MAI AND RIYA WILL BE OKAY!" The crowd responded to the good news like beagles to a hunting horn. "AND THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR…… THE FINAL ROUND OF THE ASIAN BEYBLADING TOURNAMENT 2005!" The man's voice wailed through the speakers and as if it wasn't already loud enough, the spectators joined in too. The whole place became a mad cheering squad; with the atmosphere so vibrant and all.
But funny though, among all that excitement were two air masses of gloom; heavy and silent as they hung over the heads of our fellow competitors…
"Hey, c'mon. Cheer up guys. Sulking won't win this tournament." Kenny shifted in and out of the group, trying his very best to lift their spirits. Most of them didn't respond, the most Kenny got was a mumble from Hilary.
"Guys…" The boy whined at his lack of progress. His eyes trailed down the group, this was getting nowhere! "WILL YOU STOP BEING SUCH WHIMPS?" His outburst jolted the whole group and they stared wide-eyed at him (0.o like this). "Just because Mai's injured doesn't mean you can just give up like that! We've worked hard for this and you're just gonna throw it all away?" "HEY! We're just not feeling fine alright!" Max shot up.
"Max!" Tyson grabbed his friend's shoulder but he roughly shoved it aside. "You think we can just pretend nothing happened? Go on beyblading while you know your friend's lying in hospital? WE CAN'T EVEN HELP HER!" "THAT'S ENOUGH MAX!" Kai bellowed. The boy sat down, his chest heaving as he tried to blink back the tears.
"If you want to help her— then help her win that trophy." Kenny's voice eased up to a more understanding note.
The guys didn't answer. Was it hope? Guilt? Or sadness that was etched on their faces?
Dunno…Maybe all three…
"Yeah…" Tyson lifted his head, "Let's do this. Let's win this one for Mai."
-match-
"AND FROM THE BLADEBREAKERS, WE HAVE THE REIGHNING WORLD CHAMP, TYSON GRANGEEERRR! –crowd cheers- AND GOING AGAINST HIM, DREX DUREEEEIIIINNE!"
Both boys stood before each other; launcher in hand. No glaring, no words, just serious faces; their beyblades would do the talking. "BLADERS READY?"
'For Mai.'
'For Riya.'
The two of them nodded, "IN 3, 2, 1 LET IT RIP!"
-CLANG!- The blades slammed into each other, drilling at the opponent's defence ring as though it was a piece of chalk. They pulled back and went in for another go; in out in out. Dragoon sped away to the other side of the dish and Tyson was surprised that Drex's blade didn't go after him. "LET'S GO MAJURA!" The black blade began zigzagging around Dragoon in a teasing manner and like Drex had expected, Tyson wasn't going to stand for it. White chased black, 'Argh! He's playing with me! I'll show him.' "GO DRAGOON!" The blue dragon rose from the blade, "NOW!" Suddenly! The black blade whizzed towards Dragoon, Dragoon evaded but Majura didn't seem to be going for him. When white went right, black went left, white up, black down, every move was the opposite. 'Huh? What's going on?' Tyson watched Majura head for Dragoon, then suddenly swerve to the right, then chase him again, only to leap out of the line of attack again. And my! Were those turns and shifts sharp!
'Watch out, next one's for real.' Drex smirked to himself and waited for Majura to pull another stunt on Dragoon but this time, the dragon didn't budge. 'Perfect!' "DESERT FANG!" A huge creature appeared from the shadowy light, its fur was a silky midnight black but the shade was lighter under its belly and in the middle of its face. With piercing yellow eyes and a smoky aura about him, the dog pounced on Dragoon, sinking its long canines into the armour. "DRAGOON!" The dragon cried out in pain and trashed its tail about wildly, trying to get Majura off its back. But the dog's grip was firm and he stayed on no matter how hard Dragoon struggled.
'Fine! If you want it that way then –' "DRAGOON STORM!" The white blade began spinning, increasing its velocity with every rotation. Majura held on but the force was like a giant hand tearing him away. His claws scrapped at the armour, desperately trying to grip the exterior which proved to be an unsuccessful task and eventually, a gale of wind hurled him out of the tornado and the black blade smacked again the dish wall. "Yeah!" Tyson clenched a fist but the game wasn't over yet, Majura was still spinning and he didn't look to happy.
-CLANG!-
-CHING!-
-CHING!-
-CLANG!-
The attacks got more aggressive and Tyson furrowed his brow with irritancy. –CLANG!- -CLACK!- 'Why won't that stupid blade lose already!' "ATTACK DRAGOON!" The blue dragon swung its tail at Majura but he managed to dodge the attack, "AGAIN!" And again, the dog was too quick for the reptilian giant.
'Let's end this Majura.'
Majura: As you wish.
The black blade spun to the center of the dish and an eerie aura wafted about its person. "SHADOW REALM!" Instantaneously, the smoky aura shot out of the blade and a black sphere of ectoplasm engulfed the whole battle arena. "NO WAY! TYSON AND DREX HAVE DISAPPEARED!" The announcer leaned out over the railing to get a closer look; but no, his eyes weren't deceiving him and his expression was just as baffled as the rest of them.
-stands-
"! TYSON!" Rei ran towards the strange structure with his team right behind him, 'What is this?' He cautiously stretched out a hand, "Itai!" A burning sensation singed his fingers and he immediately pulled them away. "It seems we can't get through," Kenny studied the swirling black in front of him. "Of course you can't. It can only be broken from the inside." Mit-chan said smugly as she and Copellia emerged round the corner.
"Whaddya mean 'only be broken from the inside'! Then how would we know who won?" Rei demanded, but the flaxen-haired girl just shrugged, "Usually it's ni-chan who breaks through, I haven't seen the losers do it before." Copellia squeezed her friend's shoulder, a warning that she was going too far with the remarks.
'The losers? Tyson…' Max looked distressed at the sight before him; he hoped Tyson would be alright…
-shadow realm-
"Where am I?" The bluenette wandered through the thick miasma. He knew his blade was still spinning; he could hear it. 'Dragoon? Dragoon where are you?'
Dragoon: I'm right here. There's something strange about this place…It doesn't feel right.
'Yeah, I can't see a thing; I don't even know what the hell's happening.' Just then, the boy felt something move behind him, he spun around but it was gone. 'Huh? I'm sure I fe— There it is again!' Tyson swore he heard something moving, he heard its claws tap slightly on the floor. "This isn't funny Drex! I know you're there so stop playing and come out!"
Majura: You're nervous
Tyson felt something whisper in his ear, he jerked his hand to his ear but the thing had slithered away into the darkness. "Wh-who are you? Where's Drex?"
The dog smirked, 'Name's Majura. Welcome to MY world.' Suddenly, the darkness in front of him began to shatter and the figure of Hilary crystallised before him. "Hilary? How'd you get here?"
"I found a way in then followed your voice. Oh Tyson! I was so worried!" The girl flung her arms around him. 'Hi-Hilary!' He didn't expect that coming and wasn't sure what to do— 'RAAAAAAAWWWWWRRR!' The roar snapped him out of his thoughts as he remembered Dragoon and suddenly, Hilary's image began to morph into something frightening. Tyson jumped back and was certain he caught a glimpse of Majura's eyes before the image faded into smoke. 'Wh-what the hell's going on here?' Fear was starting to get to him as the boy strained his eyes to see into the darkness. 'Dragoon! WHERE ARE YOU?'
Dragoon: You…mustn't be— rraaawwwwwrrrr!
'DRAGOON? DRAGOON!' Tyson knew Dragoon was in some sort of pain but what? Was he still fighting with Majura? But where were they? He couldn't see a thing! 'Argh! Damn this stupid darkness!' He began running, calling out Dragoon's name ever so often. Hey, if he didn't find Dragoon at least he'd run to the end of this place right? Right?
'Dragoon, you still there? What's happening?'
Dragoon: Yeah… you have…to go on battling… It's…not over yet
Tyson could sense the strain in his bit-beast's voice, Dragoon was growing tired. 'Ok, just hold on a while longer.' "DRAGOON STO— DREX!" He caught sight of the familiar white hair and ran up to him, "Am I glad to see you! Get us outta this place will you? Gives me the creeps." He rubbed his arms and glanced worriedly at his surroundings. "Sure, follow me." Drex smiled and grabbed his hand but suddenly! Tyson felt a sharp pain, he glanced down to see a pair of yellow eyes staring back at him, its teeth clamped shut over his hand. He grew pale and shot his head up at Drex who had red eyes; he opened his mouth to reveal two pointed fangs. Tyson jerked his hand out of Majura's bite just before Drex could sink those teeth into him and ran for his life. He couldn't take this anymore! He was scared! He didn't want to play anymore!
'Help! Somebody help me!' He ran and ran; he didn't care where he was going, afraid that if he stopped, some monster would get him.
Dragoon: Tyson!
'Someone please help! Please!'
Dragoon: Tyson!
'I don't wanna be here! Someone get me outta—'
Dragoon: TYSON! Tyson listen to me!
The boy stopped in his tracks as Dragoon's voice tripped a switch in his brain.
Dragoon: Don't believe what you see, they're all just illusions. Majura's using them to get closer to you so that he can get closer to me
'What? But where are you?'
Dragoon: In your heart Tyson. I've always been in your heart. If you believe in me, I'll always be there
'But the battle? You mean Majura's been attacking you all along by attacking me?'
Dragoon: That's right. The battle is within you
'Me? Then how do I fight him?'
Dragoon: Believe in yourself; believe in me. Do you want to win?
'Of course I do!'
Dragoon: Then we shall win, believe me…
Tyson finally understood what was going on, 'I do…the battle is within me…' he closed his eyes and relaxed, he had to picture everything, he had to open his heart; he had to believe that they could do it…
-CHING!-
-CLANG!-
-CLANG!-
Majura was head to head with Dragoon. The blue dragon looked exhausted, but who wouldn't after holding out for so long? Tyson could see the battle but he couldn't see himself, it was a though he was dreaming everything up in his head; he could see Majura, Dragoon and Drex but no Tyson.
Dragoon: Ready?
'Ready! GO DRAGOON! PHANTOM HURRICANE!' The blue dragon broke free from Majura's attack and stared glowing a faint blue. The white blade stared spinning faster and faster, creating a force so powerful that the darkness around was getting sucked into the howling mass of wind. "MAJURA!" Drex watched as his bit-beast got pummelled by Dragoon's attack. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO EXIST HERE!" Drex hollered over the wind.
Tyson let a smile spread across his lips, 'That's 'coz I believe I can do it…and that's something you can't do.' "!" Drex mouth froze in mid-air.
"You think you know everything about your opponents just by studying them and from there you plan your attack. You portray yourself to be so strong, but in reality you're just hiding behind a mask of illusions and trickery; truth is… you're scared of being weak."
That did it. The whole realm crumbled down around them and specks of the real world started to appear through the gaps.
-Real world-
The Bladebreakers and half of team Freedom watched in anticipation as beams of white light blasted through the black spherical mass. Bit by bit the shadow realm disappeared and the whole stadium was engulfed in a blinding white light…
Tyson opened his eyes to the sound of loud cheering, he was about to look into the beydish when someone tackled him from behind, "YOU DID IT! YOU WON!" Hilary exclaimed and pretty soon the whole group was on top of him, showering him with praises and congratulations.
"AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE OF THE ASIAN BEYBLADING TOURNAMENT 2005 GOES TO THE BLADEBREAKERSSSS!" The crowd went wild as people cheered and shrieked, for Bladebreaker-fans, it was a moment of pure joy.
Tyson was finally allowed to stand up and enjoy the praises from his fans as he scanned the whole beystadium. 'Thanks Dragoon. You're the one who deserves all this glory.' He rubbed his blade with his thumb and it shone a faint blue colour, 'As long as you believe…'
"Tyson."
The voice tore Tyson away from his thoughts ad he turned around to see Drex holding out his hand. He took it and they shook hands like presidents during a meeting, all warm and friendly. "Great battle. You deserved to win." " Hey, you're not so shabby yourself, that place really freaked me out." Drex gave a light laugh. "Oh, and the things I said to you before, it was just so I could break your concentration, I have no right to call you weak, sorry."
"No. You're right." Drex fumbled with his fingers a bit, "I take advantage of people's weaknesses. You could say it's a bit like cheating, going for the weak ankle when you know your enemy has injured it, but yeah, you're right, I don't want people to know that I'm weak… 'cos I know I am… But I don't want to be."
"Hey, just believe in yourself ok? If you can believe in yourself, you can believe in your bit-beast's power and if you do that, the both of you will be unstoppable." "Thanks, I'll remember that." Drex's mood seemed to lighten up a bit.
"Yo Tyson! We're thinking of going to the hospital to see Riya and Mai, you guys wanna come along?" Copellia jogged up to the two boys. Tyson looked at his group who nodded their heads, "Yeah sure." "Good! 'Cos last one there has to pay for the medical bills!" She said in a sing-song manner while waving the check Mr Yamashita had given them. "Hey! Where'd you get that?" But Copellia had already run off with the rest of her team.
"She took the check! How'd she get the check?" Tyson barked and turned to the chief for an explanation. Kenny patted his chest pocket and emptied out his shorts, "Uhh...opps?"
"GET HER!" Max shouted and the whole team ran out of the beystadium.
"HEY! WHERE'RE YOU GUYS GOING? WHAT ABOUT THE AWARD CEREMONY! HEY! WAIT!" But the friends ran on, bearing good news and hope for their slumbering team mate…
Finally! Actually, I finished this chapter two days ago but was too busy to post it up so I'm doing it now, don't wanna procastinate any longer haha XD Hope you readers really enjoyed this one!
Oh, and HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to my fellow chinese readers! GONG XI FA CAI!
blu: Let's all get sore throats! WHOOPEE! -chomps down on new yr goodies-