It's time.

Safe, In Your Arms

Chapter 21: Her Final Blow

His weight was heavy against her arms and she was barely strong enough to support him. She felt so weak.

But I am weak.

One second he was in her arm, secure and relaxed, another he was lying on the white rigid stretcher and being carried away by Russian men dressed in white coats and masks.

"Farewell, Kai…"

She looked at her teammate and was glad that she wasn't alone; they were sad too. Tyson looked at Kai's limp body, now being carried away from the stadium, and Max was staring at his white sneakers. Ray had a thin smile on his lips, a smile full of pity and regret. Kenny was calmed by Dizzi, who was urging for Forrest to continue to fight. To fight for Kai.

"Go," Ray gave a commanding look. His raven braid was swung slowly from side to side as Ray tried to find words of concern to speak. But he couldn't find much. "Kai's going to be fine. Make his win worthwhile," the Chinese boy paused and grinned, his fierce tiger-teeth showing, "he chose you to win."

Forrest stood there, her knees so weak that it was a miracle that she was standing up. She could still taste Kai's blood on her lips. That taste of rust and death… No.

"Now for the second round of the semi-finals! Forrest from the Bladebreakers against Aurora from the Slayers!"

Slowly, she closed her eyes. This is my time to shine.

"I'll cheer you on," Ray muttered, "even if Aurora is my girlfriend." He winked but Forrest was too busy thinking to notice.

"Yeah," Tyson added, although not looking at Forrest, but she was gratified for his support, "we'll be behind you if you need help. Right, Chief?"

"Dizzi and I will make sure that we analyze all of her moves as soon as we can so don't worry. We have your back," Kenny didn't smile, but it was enough.

She took a step with courage towards the dish. It was like the spotlight was on her; just like when she performed. Only then she truly felt like she was at home.

"This is where I belong. My friends, my life, my everything. When this will be over, everything will be back to normal, like they should be."

The dish was changed; it was now silver with sprinklers installed in it.

"Are you done with all that soul-searching?" Aurora merely smiled, her glossy lips forming a perfect curve.

"Of course," Forrest replied, matching her sweetness.

"And we're set to go!" the host started once again. "Now this dish is extraordinary. Sprinklers were installed for obstacles and a mist creator at the center. Beybladers be ready to put all your trust within your blade and prepare for a battle of a lifetime! If the Slayers don't win this one, they will be out!"

"You will lose."

"Such confidence, heh?" Aurora was expressionless but Forrest could see the unusual flare in her eyes.

"Ger ready! 3, 2, 1, let it rip!"

"Full attack, Starlet!"

"Let's start with a little snowstorm, shall we?"

Aurora was bugging her, so much. That girl's simple pure and innocent voice, her woman-like body and picture perfect smile. She was shy, beautiful, knowledgeable, artistic, and a prodigy in every way. But when it came to beyblading, she was different.

What was a strong spray of water a second ago became icicles. The mist machine started working. Forrest didn't mind the mist at all, in fact, it calmed her. She could still feel Starlet moving, his every movement, spin, glide and attack. She could feel every collision against Aurora's silver blade and the pain was almost unbearable.

"Fire Tornado!"

"Haven't you learn, little spy? That fire doesn't work against ice," Aurora flashed a grin.

It was like the match was being replayed in slow motion. Forrest could feel the silver blade attacking her red one.

"You're down, little spy."

"I'm not… a spy," Forrest muttered.

But she knew that Aurora was right. Her own reputation wasn't better than one of a spy anyway. She only beybladed for fame; not friendship, nor for teamwork.

Aurora might have been an ice queen. But the girl was still a queen. Forrest was just a peasant, not good enough to even look into her opponent's eyes. Nothing seemed fair.

But Forrest did look into Aurora's eyes, just for a second.

They were ice blue, the color of winter.

"That's not possible."

Forrest blinked.

Aurora's eyes were back to the yellow-green of spring. It was so weird, so unusual, so… familiar.

She lost was in her thoughts, again and again. Her eyes looked blanked and she tried to concentrate on the battle, but it was so hard.

"Blizzard Annihilation!"

She jerked up at the pain, the cold icicles slashing across her stomach, she clutched it tight, groaning.

In front of her was not a mist anymore; it was a snowstorm, a blizzard and she couldn't feel Starlet warm presence at all.

"No..."

Slowly, Aurora smiled and closed her eyes innocently and just stood there, waiting. Her honey hair fell over her naked shoulder and Forrest gawked. She was jealous, so jealous of Aurora. She was jealous of how her hair resembled a waterfall, of how she could make any boy who passed by look at her, of how the girl, no, the woman's smiles were perfect and how she never lost her cool. And now, she just stood there, her head seemingly drooping over the scene, as if she was asleep. Forrest gritted her teeth.

Aurora was just... simply superior. There was no mistake about it.

As she snapped back to reality, the mist had cleared, the whirr-ing of the machine was gone and only the cold winter air flowed. Starlet was down, broken, but still reparable while the silver blade spun steadily.

"Aurora takes the match!"

Stop stating the obvious, you jerk, Forrest fumed. She blew some strands of hair from of her face and stepped away. She was ashamed, ashamed of losing and ashamed of losing the chance the Kai gave her.

"It's okay."

He really was sweet; his tiger-like features glowed softly as he leaned over the Chief's laptop. "You have a secret weapon."

"Really?"

"You need to learn to trust your bitbeast," Dizzi spoke.

And Forrest thought that, even though it was a simple sentence, it has been the wisest thing that she's heard in years.

Maybe I fight for trust?

No matter how cheesy it sounded, she felt like she was on the moon, her existence drifting away from the earth. But the thing was, she didn't want to go. She wanted to stay there, with her friends, with her passion, with trust.

As she felt a pat on her shoulder, she turned around and smiled, a smile perfect like Aurora's.

"It's time. We trust you and we know what you're capable of," Max grinned as he spoke; he never looked more confident. Forrest was so glad, so glad that they had confidence in her. She wasn't the weakest link anymore; she was part of the team and deserved to be.

"Just use your advantages and you'll be fine," the Chief gave thumbs up.

Without looking back again, Forrest turned around and walked to the dish, more prepared than ever.

"Players, ready?" There was no answer. "3, 2, 1, let it rip!"

"Starlet, Fire Tornado!" her lungs were burning from shouting so much. Her salty tears were completely dry over her cheeks and her bloodshot eyes flared.

"When will you learn?"

"Oh, but I shall teach you," Forrest smirked, "right now."

Aurora didn't retort back; she simply stood there, ordering her bitbeast with her frozen stare. Forrest kept attacking, hit after hit, but as she realized that Aurora wasn't even flinching, she stopped, confused, waiting for something to happen.

The crowd was mostly quiet, but some murmurs were spreading around. The host was confused himself and abandoned the mike as he looked over the stadium.

Then she spoke, her warm voice.

"It's time, for you to rise," her arms were stretched in front of her and it seemed that she was summoning a ghost, like in movie.

Soon, Forrest saw a shimmering silhouette, an image of pure silver and blue. A silver tail, light blue pointy ears, sharp silver claws, a light blue stomach. And bloody eyes. She flinched. A déjà vu, a clarification.

"It's you, it was you!"

"What?" her voice still sounded innocent, but her eyes, however, weren't.

Forrest knew her, she wasn't Aurora anymore. She was someone else, someone from a nightmare that she had months ago.

"Fire Tornado, Thunder Outrage!"

"You can't use two attacks at once, silly girl," the words flicked off of her tongue gracefully.

Forrest just glared and watched Starlet making his greatest effort to keep and launch a double-attack. Maybe I'm pressuring him too much.

Aurora shook her head in disagreement, her hair swinging from one side to another. Forrest could see the transformation, from the honey warm hair to the ice streaked hair. There was nothing left in the real Aurora, nothing at all. Everything now was all an illusion, the ice, the blizzard, everything.

"So this is it," Forrest told herself. She looked up, straight into the bitbeast's red eyes. "Who are you? Why do you carry so much power? Isn't a burden?"

"Power is never a burden," Aurora replied. Her voice, now, became different too.

Everything changed about her opponent. She was unrecognizable. "You're not Aurora, are you? You've possessed her."

"Took you long enough," Aurora—no, the bitbeast's eyes flashed.

Once honey brown hair danced in the wind, lightly, but now, icicles replaced them and looked sharp and dangerous. Her lips weren't curved into a smile anymore, one corner tugged in exaggeration. Aurora was smirking, and that smirk sent shivers down Forrest's body. Her nails seemed to have grown longer, and her features much sharper.

Scared, Forrest looked back at her teammates. There was something wrong. This was like the dream... except... except that someone was missing. She felt reality hit her hard and a whip strike against her back. She froze.

"I'm sorry, Kai. I'm so sorry."

She was truly sorry, the sorry that could replace a million years of other apologies.

Suddenly, she tasted blood.

A slash laid there, across her breasts and she backed. She touched her chest softly and gasped. There was a cough, and a splatter of blood on the floor.

No.

She looked at her hands, guiltily tainted with blood, her own blood, and then she looked at Aurora.

Why?

The ice queen laughed, such a familiar laugh.

But she cried. Every emotion flowed out of her, pouring over the beyblading dish and over all the people who were in the stadium. It was just her and her enemy, not one else. Well, maybe Kai is here.

Then, there was another attack, slow but powerful. She felt the effects immediately; she was paralyzed. Her eyes were wide-open and as she tried to move... nothing happened. She didn't collapse but she didn't seem to be able to stand.

"We need both fire and thunder, Starlet. Please, I have strength. I believe in you."

It was like the dream, those exact words enunciated perfectly.

"You don't have enough, Forrest Fan," the bitbeast said, its voice monotone.

"Oh, yes, I do."

In her mind, she pictured Kai smiling. That was enough to brighten up her whole day, no matter how horrible the blizzard was.

As Starlet stomped one more shot of electricity across the dish, Forrest concentrated.

"It is time—" she started.

"Yes, it is time for me...," Aurora muttered, "Final Desctruction!"

"Inferno!"

Her final attack came, a joust of sudden fire, a spirit reviving within her. It was warm like him, like his soft touch, his kind words, like how he used Dranzer to warm her, like how safe she felt wrapped in his arms. Those were the only cherished moments she had. But she had no choice and as she relived through them quickly, she could feel her body wanting to charge forward, in coordination with Starlet's. Flame wrapped around her and the heat was intense. She could feel the explosion of ice daggers slashing her knees, her arms, her head, her chest, her stomach, her ankles and every other part of her body that she could think of. But that didn't matter, because they trusted her.

They were still there, behind her, rooting her on. She could imagine the Chief typing vigorously on his laptop and Tyson telling her what she should have done and Max smiling to himself while shouting and Ray's tiger-featured face full of joy. She could imagine Kai, with his genuine smile, and being so proud of her.

"This is, for you, Kai."

An immense pain.

A crash.

A collision.

A slash across her thigh.

A scream from Aurora.

The ice and fire battled on.

But in the end, the fire ruled and the ice turned into cool water, shapeless and powerless.

Her eyes turned yellow-green then back to blue then... completely shut. Aurora felt backwards, her fallen beauty breaking apart and bringing her down with it. There was a howl, a lonely howl, and then mutters of hysteria.

The stadium exploded with confusion.

"Well—this," the host breathed hard into the mike and could not speak.

The sirens rang loud into the Bladebreakers' ears but no one cared. Their eyes focused on a silhouette, hidden by the disappearing blizzard. Ray stepped to the dish, his fists clenched. He was completely furious. What had Aurora done?

Forrest's hair was completely drenched, clumped together unattractively but a smile lingered on her lips, a light and soft smile. He didn't get a chance to check her pulse before men dressed in white pulled her away from him, just like they had pulled Kai away.

"I still trust you Forrest," Ray nodded to himself, "you battled well."

Of course, she didn't hear him.

No one knew what exactly happened in the world of fire and ice but the Bladebreakers had a big clue, seeing the state of Forrest's red beyblade.

"Well, the match goes to Forrest from the Bladebreakers, and," the host paused, "we couldn't locate Aurora's beyblade, so...," his voice trailed off. He gave a cough. "Alright, folks, that was very, very exciting! Tomorrow, the Bladebreakers will face the Dreams of Eden in the finals!" he sighed in relief, "if the matches are going to be this exciting, I'm going to faint."

There was a round of cheering and applauding. The cameras captured faces full of concern. Even the fangirls looked sympathizing. It was surprising how everyone was so compassionate.

Ray lifted his head slowly and sighed. His heart pounded heavily against his chest and ribcage. He looked at Aurora and waited for her to meet his eyes.

She did.

And it was really her, not the bitbeast. Her sweet honey hair was dirtied and her eyes dull. A white streak formed down her cheeks; her foundation was wiped away by the trails of tears that fell from her tired eyes. She was crying, sobbing, collapsing.

He rushed forwards and with his strong arms caught her.

He felt her against his arms and hugged her tight. She felt safe, in his arms, and only in his.

"I'm sorry that I brought you into beyblading," Ray murmured, his lips barely moving.

Aurora coughed, and blood came out. The red liquid dripped over Ray's white clothes but he didn't care. He supported her in his arms and it seemed like they were the only people in the whole entire world. He felt her heartbeat next to hers and her heavy breaths.

"It's my fault," Ray added, "let's forget about this, alright?"

Aurora closed her eyes and sighed.

"Wo ai ni, Kon Ray."

He smiled. She sure knew how to make him lighthearted and happy like a young boy.

"I love you too," he smiled softly but his features became serious again, "but this isn't the time. I need to get you to the hospital."

"I—"

She stopped speaking abruptly as she saw the men come over to her. She gave Ray a look with her eyes and smiled. With his help, she laid down on the white stretcher and waited for the doctors to carry her away. Her wounds were quickly nursed with some bandages and they carried her off.

He stared at her silhouette, evanescing. They all left him. His girlfriend. His friends. His unbelievable friends. Then it hit him. It was his fault all along.

"I'm so sorry, Kai, Forrest, and Aurora."

There was only so much that you could sacrifice, Forrest Fan. But you did more than you were meant to do. Maybe you'll be rewarded one day. Who knows.

Author's Notes: -takes breath in- Sorry for the wait. Well... it's over. The epilogue will be up when I feel like it. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tired to plug in motifs, themes, symbolisms and all that crap. I think that my English class is getting into my head. And all the civilization vs. savagery from Lord of the Flies is absolutely... disturbing.

I really, really, want a review on this chapter because, well, what the heck. All authors want reviews.

I know, it's sad. And if it wasn't sad for you, I'm sorry. But I tried to make it depressing. If you had no clue what happened, just wait for the next chapter and that should clear you up.

Thanks for the 30 alerts.

And I'm almost to the 100,000 words point. :) Love.