Chapter 12
The Winds of Change are Blowing
Around an hour later, Oliver and I were sitting in the stands again, waiting for the next match between the Bladebreakers and the Windwakers. The team had said that they would be a little late, and not to wait on them. I hadn't seen the Windwakers battle, but I did know what their Bitbeasts were. They seemed powerful, but, all their Bitbeasts were the same types of animal, and if the Bladebreakers could figure out how to beat one, they could beat the others. But, they were all different elements too, so that would make it hard, depending on what the dish was.
"Got something on your mind?" Oliver asked me.
"Just thinking about the battle." I said, "Who are you betting on?"
"The Bladebreakers." Oliver said.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah." He said, "Those guys really have something special, they'll be the ones to beat."
"And the Demolition Boys." I said.
"Yeah." Oliver said, "That power was almost unreal."
"Yeah." I said nodding a bit solemnly. Oliver noticed my sadness and looked confused. Then he seemed to understand.
"Oh!" He said, "I'm sorry!"
I laughed, "It's okay, Oliver."
He laughed nervously as he turned a shade of red.
"No really." I said, "I'm fine."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yeah." I said, "Let's just watch the match."
"Okay." Oliver said with a smile on his face.
I sat back and waited for the match to begin. I saw the two teams take their seats at their benches.
"It's time to begin round three!" The Jazzman said as Mimiru and Rei walked out to where the opening of the dish was, "Let's meet our first competitors, Rei and Mimiru!"
"First let's take a look at Rei!" A.J. Topper said, "This guy is usually a calm Blader, but only because he lets his tiger Bitbeast, Driger, do the talking for him in the dish!"
"Now give it up for Mimiru!" Brad Best said as the crowd cheered loudly.
"A lot of Polish fans must be here." I said to Oliver.
"This girl is the pride of Poland, and has won almost every battle with her powerful fox Bitbeast, Aquame!" Brad Best continued.
"Sounds like she's one tough Blader." Oliver said.
"Changing your mind about the outcome?" I asked.
"No," He said, "The Bladebreakers will still win. I'm sure Rei will either tie or win this match. For him, losing is not an option, as all of them."
My thoughts over Oliver's statement were interrupted when the floor started to open to show a large dish with a dark purple colored forest inside it with a large thicket of twisting branches. Near the middle of the forest was a large lake that was an inky black color with a large purple tree in the center.
"Welcome to the Black Forest Stadium!" the Jazzman said as the two held up their Launchers,"3,2,1, let it rip!"
The two fired their blades into the dark stadium. Rei's blade immediately started weaving between the branches with Mimiru right behind him. Rei's blade spun up a large branch as Mimiru went on a branch below him. Rei suddenly slowed down and let Mimiru speed ahead of him.
"What's he planning?" I asked, thinking about Rei's strategy.
"I'm not sure- whoa!" Oliver said as he saw Rei's blade jump onto the lower branch and knock Mimiru to the ground, but she didn't seem to care. Her blade still kept going forward.
"What's with Mimiru?" I asked, "Her strategy seems too obvious, all she's doing is going forward. Wait—her Bitbeast is a water type! She's heading for the lake!"
"That's right!" Oliver said as her blade buzzed into the clearing where the lake was. She started to go towards the lake. Suddenly, a tree fell in her path. I looked over to see Driger out of its blade standing next to the sliced tree. The green and white graceful tiger had slashed through the tree like a toothpick, blocking Mimiru, or so he thought. Mimiru's blade rammed against the tree, and started to slice through it! Her blade made it through the trunk and it went into the lake.
"I wonder what her blade can do in the water?" I asked. Suddenly, my question was answered when a large wall of water suddenly rose up from the lake and formed a miniature typhoon. A bright blue light shone in the middle. Suddenly, the typhoon lowered to show a bright and dark blue fox with a water mane and tail. It had water armor on its face and legs. The water swirled around it as it looked down on Driger.
"Aquame, attack!" She said, "Morning Dew!"
Suddenly, the fox shook its long mane and tail as water scattered everywhere. It clung to the trees and the ground.
"I wonder why she did that?" I asked, suddenly, I saw Rei's blade wobble, "Oh, I get it, she's making the ground slick so Rei can't control his speed or turns as well! But, how's she avoiding the dew's effect?"
"Take a look at her base!" Oliver said, as I looked closer. I saw water coming out of the bottom of her blade.
"Her blade must process the water through her base so it won't affect her!" I said.
"Take note you two." I heard a voice say. I turned to see Robert; the rest of the team had arrived. He sat down. "We fight the Windwakers in our first match of the second round."
"We can beat them." Johnny said.
"The way we're battling, we'll be great!" Enrique said.
"No getting cocky." I said, eyeing Mimiru's blade and Bitbeast, "We may end up eating our words at the next round."
"Lighten up." Enrique said as he flopped into the seat next to me, "You have to at least have a little faith and determination if you want to get anywhere."
"Alright." I said, turning my attention back to the battle.
I saw that Rei was trying to break through the water barrier, but having no luck. Suddenly, I saw Rei speed up a branch and launch himself into the air towards the top of the typhoon.
"He's going into the eye of the storm where Aquame is!" I said, "He's taking a big risk. If he hits that wall at all, he'll go flying!"
"Come on Driger!" Rei said, "I know you can make it!"
"Tidal Wave!" Mimiru shouted. A large wave formed and headed for Driger.
"She's attacking!" I said, "He won't make it!"
"Hey Driger," Rei said, "let's go for a surf!"
"What?" I said; I saw Driger reach the top of the wave and start to ride it. He coasted into the eye of the storm. I barley saw through the swirling mass of chaotic water. Driger and Aquame were putting up a good fight towards each other, and neither Blader could do anything about it, except shout out attacks that only had a fifty-fifty chance of hitting head on.
"Go Driger!" Rei said, "Gattling Claw!"
Suddenly, I saw Driger multiply and start to knock Aquame around harshly.
"Aquame, Water Smash!" Mimiru yelled as her blade was surrounded by water. It collided with Driger, and they both went flying. I saw both Bladers become drenched by Aquame's attack, but my attention still remained on the blades. They both headed for the edge. Mimiru's took a lucky bounce on the edge and fell back in, but Driger wasn't as lucky. It hit the edge, but fell the other way and out of the dish. If her rotation had been about a second earlier, Aquame would have been out of the dish.
"And the winner by a hair is Mimiru!" The Jazzman said as her and Rei shook hands, "But Rei gave her a good fight and it could have been anyone's match!"
"Good battle." I overheard Mimiru say, "I've never had such an amazing fight!"
"Driger and I need to train more, and we'll give you an even better match next time!" Rei said.
"It's a bet!" Mimiru said.
The two walked back to the benches with a cheer from the crowd. I looked at Oliver, who was a bit shocked.
"Don't be so shocked, Oliver." I said, "If Mimiru's blade would have been a little off in rotation, she would be the one out of the dish."
"I guess you're right." Oliver said, still looking a little shaken at how Rei had lost.
'Rei did a good job, but,' I thought, 'maybe this will open our eyes and let us know not to underestimate new teams.'
"Let's meet our next battlers!" The Jazzman said, "give it up for Max and Remei!"
The crowd cheered as the two walked up to their positions. I saw Max with a smile on his face, but seriousness in his eyes, knowing he had a job to do. Remei had no smile to greet him with, only a dominating stare from her maroon eyes that flickered with anger in the light of the stadium. I saw her take a red and orange blade out of her pocket and attach it to her Launcher. I saw the Bit Chip glow with the energy of her Bitbeast. I then looked over to Max, who was attaching Draciel to his Launcher.
"This is going to be a good battle." I said, "Max's Bitbeast is a water-type element, while Remei's is fire."
"Yeah, it will be a good match." Robert said.
"Let's check out the next dish for our second match!" A.J. Topper said as the floor rolled back to show a collection of one large dish and two smaller ones near the outside, "Welcome to the triple dish stadium! In this stadium, a Blader must decide which dish to battle in. Will it be an advantage or disadvantage? We'll just have to see!"
"3,2,1," The Jazzman said, "Let it rip!"
The two launched their blades into the stadium. Max's took to a higher dish, while Remei's went to the bottom larger dish. Draciel then dropped down to her level.
"Inume, attack!" Remei shouted as her blade charged for Max's. Max took the hit and spun in a slight half circle. Then he hit Remei's blade with as much or even more power than her attack.
"Max's strategy reminds me of the waves on the seashore. They come in, taking the shores energy, then back out, gaining power, then strike with even more force," I said, "Max will be the one to beat with a strategy like that."
The others watched Max's blade as it spun to the center of the middle dish. Remei's blade charged for his.
"Are you ready, Draciel?" Max said, "Give it all you've got!"
Draciel suddenly went on the attack! Draciel pushed Inume back and the two kept clashing.
"What's he changing his strategy for?" Johnny asked, "That seems a little stupid to totally go one way, then the other."
"Don't you see?" I said with a smile, "This isn't an attack."
"It's not?" They asked.
"No." I said, "It's merely a defensive move to make Remei think she has the upper hand. He's not going to knock her blade out of the dish like that, but at least he can keep up with her. He's wearing down her blade too, so when he releases an attack, she can't fight back or defend it, but an attack is out of the question for her because Max is attacking her repeatedly, not giving her any time to charge up to her full power."
"He's really got some strategy!" Robert said.
Suddenly, I heard Remei shout out an attack.
"Inume!" She shouted as a large fox arose out of her blade. It was a glowing red with a fire mane and tail with red and orange colored armor,
"There's no way you can stop my Special Attack! Inume, attack, Pyro Inferno!"
The fox became a large blaze of fire and a heat wave flooded over the stadium. It became a large tornado of raging fire. It blew Max about four feet away from the dish. I saw Max slowly start to make his way back against the raging fire.
"You can do it Maxy." I said, "I know you can."
I heard Max let out a command.
"Engine Gear, full power!" He said. I was confused at what an Engine Gear was.
"What's an Engine Gear?" I asked.
"It's a new kind of engine." Oliver explained, "It's supposed to release a burst of unbelievable energy, but you can only use it once per battle."
"Engine Gear!" Remei called out.
I gasped.
"He knew this would happen!" I said in shock.
"What?" They all said.
"He planned his Engine Gear release!" I said, "He set it to release when Remei's Special Attack was used so that she can't use it again and he can overpower her attack! He planned this from the start!"
The team was in shock.
"You're right!" Enrique said.
"Draciel!" Max shouted loudly. Draciel raced through the fire and the two collided and flew back.
"Woah!" I said as Max flew to the upper outside dish. Max then suddenly came down to the middle dish where Inume was and set up in a defensive position!
"There's no stopping that kid." I said with a smile, "He knows the match isn't over and he's not about to let her have an inch of space to try to get the upper hand."
"If you think my last attack was something, try this!" Max said as his blade started to circle around the outside of the dish, forming a water typhoon, "Gravity Control!"
The typhoon started to circle Inume and the blade started to wobble.
"He's going the opposite direction of her spin!" Oliver said.
"Attack!" Max said as the wall of water pounded down on Inume as it got washed away in the waves. The waves rose up and hurled Inume out of the dish so quickly; it slammed into the stadium wall and left an indentation.
"And the winner is Max!" The Jazzman shouted as Max picked up Draciel and walked over to Remei.
"Good match." He said with a smile as he held out his hand. Remei merely held up Inume.
"You will lose next time we battle." She said in a cold voice, "I will assure you of that."
"How dare she insult Max like that!" I said, "He gave her a good fight and she can learn from it. She should be feeling honored instead of being such a jerk!"
"Settle down." Enrique said, "This isn't about how Remei acts, it's about how Max re-acts."
I saw Max smile, "You did a good job, and I was honored to battle you." He said, then walked away.
Remei turned around and just stared at Max leaving. Either she was in shock or annoyance.
"Either he got under her skin," Johnny said, "Or she's just surprised that someone would be so nice after she insulted him like that."
'Great job Maxy.' I thought.
"Our next battlers are Kai and Miriko!" The Jazzman said as the two walked up to their positions. Kai had almost no emotion on his face; Miriko had a stern look on her face as well.
"Hello Kai." She said, "I just wanted to say that I'm just honored to be in your presence, let alone battle you."
"Humph." Kai muffled. Without another word, He whipped out his Launcher and narrowed his eyes for battle.
"Fine." She said, her face shadowing, "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!"
"I'm terrified." Kai said sarcastically.
"Something tells me that Kai shouldn't get on her dark side." Johnny said, "Or she'll be a little scary."
"Why do you say that Johnny?" I said, "Taken a look in a mirror lately?"
"What was that?" He asked angrily.
"Forget it." I said, "But I do have a hunch that you're right."
"You're mine!" She said as she held out her Launcher, an icy blue glow coming from her blade.
"That must be Baltame." I said.
"Let's check our two Blader's stats!" A. J. Topper said as the stats appeared on the screen, "Kai is one powerful Blader, maybe even the most powerful member of the Bladebreakers, and he's not the social type either."
"And now for Miriko!" Brad Best said, "This girl has one fiery temper! But she can be as cold as ice, like her ice Bitbeast Baltame!"
"Let's check out the dish these two will be battling in!" The Jazzman said as the floor opened to reveal a blue dish with a misty mountain in the center that was surrounded by a lake.
"This is the Mist mountain dish!" The Jazzman said. "The mist surrounding the mountain can spread to the bottom lake and cause Bladers to be lost in the mist! Are you ready? 3,2,1, Let it rip!"
The two launched their blades. They both circled around the outside then headed to the middle and clashed together. They only bounced away for a second, then kept driving each other around the dish. They suddenly stopped by the lake.
"Dranzer!" Kai yelled as Dranzer started to glow a bright red. "Fire Arro- huh?"
Her blade had disappeared!
"Show yourself!" Kai said.
"Look up." She said as Kai looked up. Her blade had gotten to the top of the mountain, "Baltame!"
Her blade started to glow a bright blue as a small fox emerged. It was covered in pure white snow and shimmering crystals.
"Attack!" She yelled, "Crystal Freeze!"
A small frost started to cover the top of the mountain. It seemed to flow like water and covered the entire dish in ice. The bottom of Kai's blade also had frost on it, weighing it down. Suddenly, Kai's blade started to wobble across the slick ice.
"He can't keep his balance!" I said.
"Dranzer, let's heat things up a bit!" Kai said. But his Bit Chip showed no signs of power, "Dranzer?"
His Bit Chip was frozen solid!
"He can't release Dranzer until he bides himself sometime to power up, but now that the weather's in Miriko's advantage, he may end up losing." I said.
"We'll just have to attack the old fashion way then." Kai said, "Come and get me you coward!"
"Gladly!" She said as her blade easily slid down the mountain and hit Kai's blade, knocking it back. Kai began sweeping around the mountain. Miriko followed near the inside of him.
"What's wrong Miriko?" He said, "Can't catch up?"
"Watch this!" She said as she sped next to him, "what do you think about that?"
"I think you're about to get beat by your own game!" Kai said, "Engine Gear!"
His blade went extremely fast as he circled around the mountain again, "Now try and catch me!"
Miriko sped up, but fell a little behind.
"I'm still close!" She said.
"Not close enough!" He said, suddenly, the ice over the lake broke from Kai's Blade Base cutting through the ice, sending Baltame under the water.
"Now I can bide myself some time!" Kai said as he rushed to the edge of the dish.
"Not quite!" Miriko said as a large wall of ice shot out of the water, "Crystal Dimension!"
Suddenly, large crystals appeared around the stadium. They grew taller until they came to the Bladers' heads.
"Now!" She commanded as her blade released a wave of power that cracked the crystals. The crystals rained onto the battlefield, hitting Kai's blade.
"Dranzer, under a shard, quick!" Kai said. Dranzer went under the path of a shard. The shard hit home. Kai suddenly smiled.
"What are you smiling for?" She asked.
"Take a look at my Bit Chip!" Kai said. The shard had cracked the ice on the Bit Chip.
"Oh no!" Miriko said.
"Dranzer!" Kai yelled as Dranzer came out of its blade. All the snow melted and Miriko's blade was in the open, "Now you've got nowhere to run, Dranzer, Blazing Gig!"
Dranzer burned a brilliant red and struck Baltame, sending it into the air.
"This is my last resort!" Miriko said, "Out of reach attack! Aurora Beam!"
Baltame started to glow and emitted a large multi-color beam straight at Dranzer. It hit Dranzer and sent it flying. Both blades landed out of the dish, both out of spin.
"And it's a tie!" The Jazzman said. Kai looked a little shocked that he had tied. He picked up his blade to see Miriko.
"I was going to say 'I told you so,' but you put up a great fight, and, I'm sorry I got a little mad at the start." She said.
"I underestimated you," He said, "But that's all the credit I'm going to give you, because I'll be even better the next match."
"That's what you think Kai." She said as they walked back to their benches.
"With a win for each team," The Jazzman said, "the final match will be held between Tyson and Skylar!"
"I really hope Tyson wins." Enrique said.
"Why?" I asked, then I realized what he was talking about, "Oh, you're not Skylar's biggest fan."
"Right." He said sternly as he put his arm around my shoulder.
"Enrique." I said, "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
"I know." He said, "That's the point."
I laughed, "You know," I said, "You're sense of humor has it's good times-"
"Yeah, I know." He said.
"And bad." I finished.
"Oh." He said.
I laughed, "Just kidding Enrique." I said, "Oh, Enrique?"
"What?" He asked.
"I've been watching the battles, and," I started.
"What?" He asked.
I bent over and whispered in his ear, "I think you and I should challenge the Windwakers in a tag-team match."
"What!" He said loudly. The rest of the Majestics looked at us strangely.
"Sorry," I said turning to them, "Strategy."
I turned back to Enrique.
"So?" I asked.
"I don't know," He said, "It would take training and synchronization and--"
"Enrique," I said, "What haven't we overcome together?"
"I know but-" He started.
"Why is this any different?" I asked.
"What about the team?" He asked.
"I just need to get their permission." I said, "Oliver said he'd take me somewhere tonight, so I'll talk to him about it there."
"Just do what you can." He said, "But if they don't go with it--"
"I'll drop it." I said.
"Okay," He said, "fine with me."
"Thanks." I said as I saw Tyson and Skylar take their positions. Their stats must have already been shown because the dish floor began to open. It fully opened to reveal a dish with a model of a beach in it and an island in the center of the blue ocean. There was also a palm tree forest on the island in the middle.
"Welcome to the Bay Beach dish!" The Jazzman said, "3,2,1, Let it Rip!"
The two pulled their Ripcords as their blades zoomed into the dish. The two clashed together then bounced away. Tyson charged for Skylar's blade, but it moved out of the way and buzzed against his.
"Tyson may be fast," Oliver said, "but compared to Kagome, he's standing still!"
"So your blade is faster than mine, big deal!" Tyson said, "Dragoon, I call upon Phantom Hurricane!"
Dragoon was released out of its blade. It was a large blue and white dragon with blue and white armor. A powerful aurora surrounded it.
"So that's the Champion's BitBeast." I said.
It formed a large hurricane as it went towards Kagome.
"Kagome!" Skylar shouted as Kagome came out of it blade, "Rapid Tornado!"
Kagome was surrounded by a large gust of wind and launched it at Tyson's blade. I suddenly saw the huge hurricane Tyson had unleashed turn into nothing than a light breeze; it stopped Tyson's attack!
"That attack stopped Dragoon's attack in its tracks!" Johnny said.
Dragoon was tossed into the air and then slammed into the sand. It recovered and went into the forest.
"He's trying to ward off Kagome's attack by blocking the wind with the trees." I said.
"Think you can hide?" Skylar said, "I think it's time to show you what I can really do!"
He reached for his flute necklace and started to play. The melody floated over the stadium and the battlefield. Kagome seemed to glow.
"He's powering up Kagome!" Enrique said, "Batten down the hatches! This is going to be a windy ride!"
Suddenly, the ground in the dish started to rise! It split into small chunks of sand and the water started to swirl.
"Kagome!" Skylar yelled as the fox ran towards Tyson's blade.
"You think that's something?" Tyson said, "Dragoon!"
Dragoon started to glow a bright white.
"Dragoon!" He yelled, "Galaxy Storm!"
A large hurricane surrounded Dragoon and it returned the fox's charge with one of its own, meeting it head-on.
"Engine Gear full power!" Tyson said, "Give it all you've got!"
The hurricane was whipping at everyone. It stung my face as I tried to shield my eyes with my hand. I saw other people clinging to seats, afraid of being blown into the eye. The whole dish was gone, all of it but the center of the base. I saw Skylar's blade being tossed in the windstorm. It was then thrown out of the dish, or what was left of it.
"And the winner is Tyson!" The Jazzman said, "which means the Bladebreakers win the match!"
"Wow!" Oliver said, "that was some attack!"
"By both of them," I said. I got out of my seat; "I'll be back in a minute. I'm going to go congratulate the Bladebreakers."
"Just meet us in our training room." Enrique said, "We'll go to my mansion from there."
"Your Mansion?" I asked, "You have one?"
"All of us do." Robert said.
"Rich people…." I said with a laugh as I walked out of the stands. I walked into a nearby hallway and ran into the Bladebreakers, "Hi guys!"
"Ayia!" Max said as he ran at me full-force. He tackled me to the ground.
"Max!" Rei said, "Get off."
"Sorry Ayia." He said as he let me up, "Did you see me, did you see me?"
"Yes Max," I said, "You were great, all of you were!"
"Thanks!" Tyson said, "There's just one question left to answer."
"What's that?" I asked.
"Who's the number one Blader in the world?" He chanted, "Tyson is, Tyson is!"
"Shut up." Kai said, hitting him upside the head.
"Ouch!" Tyson said as we laughed.
"Oh, I did have a question." I said, "What's an Engine Gear?"
"An Engine Gear is a new type of engine that releases an unbelievable amount of force during battle." Kenny said, "But you can only use it once. Ayia?"
"What?" I asked Kenny.
"May I see Orelin for a second?" He asked.
"Uh—sure." I said as I handed him Orelin, "Just give him back."
"I will." He said. He took the Attack Ring off and then opened the engine compartment.
"What are you doing to my blade?" I asked.
"Here." Kenny said, "I installed an Engine Gear. Here's a winder."
Kenny handed me a small winder that was blue and white. It was shaped like a wolf head on one end where two small pieces jutted out, looking like teeth.
"Just insert this part," Kenny said, pointing to the 'teeth' of the wolf head, "into the bottom of your base and turn it to the left. When it clicks, it's ready for battle. It will snap in whenever you say during a battle, but choose the time wisely."
"Thanks." I said, holding Orelin in my hand.
"Here." Max said as he handed me four more Engine Gears, "These are for your team."
"Thanks Max!" I said, "how can I ever repay you?"
"Don't worry about it." Max said, "My Dad owns a Hobby Shop, so it's really easy for me to get Beyblade parts."
"Thanks you guys!" I said as I left, "Seya!"
"Bye Ayia!" They said.
I walked out of the hallway when I caught a glimpse of the Windwakers.
"Hi guys!" I said to the Windwakers.
"Hey." Skylar said.
"Are you going to stay with us?" I asked.
"No." Mimiru said, "We found another spot, and we'll just move around through the different countries."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yeah." Miriko said, "Thanks for letting us stay."
"Anytime." I said, "Bye."
"Bye." They said as I walked into our training room to see the rest of the team.
"Hey guys!" I said, "Look what Max gave me!"
I showed them the Engine Gears.
"We could really use those!" Johnny said.
"Yeah!" Enrique said, "We'll install them when we get to my mansion."
"Okay." I said as we walked out of our training room, "Where's the next round at?"
"Cairo." Oliver said, "Cairo, Egypt."
"Seriously?" I said, jumping up and down. "I've never been to Egypt before! I can't wait to go!"
"Calm down." Robert said.
"Alright." I said, "Let's get to Enrique's mansion!"
"Wait," Oliver said, "What about the Windwakers?"
"They found another spot to stay and they'll move around from country to country."
"Then let's go!" Oliver said as we walked outside into the sunlight. I looked one more time at the stadium and wondered; how much longer until I would have to face Tala?
