1, 2, 3! 1, 2, 3! I pushed my arms, along with the 50-pound weight in my hands, up and down. 1, 2, 3! 1, 2, 3! I set the weight down and slid out from underneath. It had been a few weeks since I had joined, and a few weeks since I talked to Free. I sighed, and took off my hoodie, revealing a dark blue undershirt. Grabbing my phone from my hoodie's pocket, I tied it around my waist and checked the time. It's almost lunchtime. I think as I stuff my phone back in my pocket.
As I got in the elevator, the door opened revealing a couple of other bladers I had met. Bruce Code, the kid I had battled against on my second day, along with his friend Dylan, and Sarah, were talking animatedly.
"Where are you guys going?" I asked. I had never seen them all go down at once.
"You didn't hear the news?" asked Bruce.
"Uhhhhhhh no?" I said.
"Geez Jing," Sarah facepalmed. "You really need to check the internet more often."
"Look, can someone tell me what I'm missing here?" I asked annoyedly.
"Joshua Burns is trying to join the Raging Bulls," Bruce told me.
"Oh right," I said, recalling the article I had skimmed a few weeks ago while trying to find when Free joined the Raging Bulls. "I forgot about it."
"How could you forget about it?!" demanded Sarah. "He's one of the most famous people on the planet!"
"I was looking for something else at the time," I told her. "Besides, I really don't follow celebrities anyway." Before she could continue, the elevator opened up, to reveal an unusually empty lobby, until you looked up at the 2nd floor. Tons of cameras and a director in a chair, so you could barely make out the iconic white and hilariously tall hairdo.
"You want to take a look?" asked Bruce. "Dylan volunteered to battle him." I considered it for a moment. I didn't really want to get involved in what would probably be a mess, but it could be a chance to battle one of the Big 5.
"Sure, why not?" I said.
"Is there anyone in this goddamn bey team present at least a challenge for Joshua?" asked the director angrily at Theodore Glass.
"I'm trying my best!" said Dylan.
"I assure you that….." he began before noticing Jing and a few other bladers walk over. "I have the blader just for you." He smiled.
"Where's Free boss?" asked Joshua. By this point, he had sat down on one of the nearby benches.
"Free follows his own…..schedule," said Glass, "But I have a feeling this is going to be a challenge for you." Joshua glanced at the large screen currently showing Free.
"Just you and me," he said to himself.
"Uh, hello," said Jing. She had appeared behind the director's chair. Her short black hair, with the exception of gold streaks blended in with all of the black cameras surrounding the stadium.
"Hello mam," said the director, "Would you mind battling Joshua here?"
"Uh...sure?" she replied.
"Excellent!" he said. "Now just stand on the opposite side of the field, and you," he pointed at Dylan, "get move on!" Dylan looked angrily at Jing before stomping offstage. She was starting to wonder if this was such a good idea.
"Alright, so what we want you to do is to take the first round," explained the director as Joshua was taking his place.
"So this is all a giant act?" Jing asked. "Then Joshua, 'backed into a corner' manages to defeat me?"
"No!" The director said. Then he looked around for a moment, then said quietly, "To a certain degree, yes. But Joshua actually does burst his opponents. He's not all just show. That's what sets him apart from any other actor."
"We starting now?" asked Joshua. He looked a bit bored. The director scurried back to his chair.
"Ready!" Calls the referee. Both bladers got into position, with Joshua throwing his launcher into the air.
"3!" yells the crowd. "2! 1! Let it rip!" The beys fly into the stadium. Jinnius, Joshua's bey, began to circle towards the center.
"The center is mine!" announced Joshua.
"Oh no, you don't!" Jing yelled back. Wu Kong, who had been circling the stadium this entire time, began circling in for an attack.
"It's action time. Cyclone Wall!" Joshua orders. A wavy ring below the contact points began to rise, parrying Wu Kong's attack. So that's his special move, Jing thinks as Wu Kong regroups to attack again. So much for this being a challenge. Joshua decided. She can't even win this first round. Why can't I just battle Free already?
"Already writing me off?" Jing asked suddenly. Wu Kong had begun spinning faster and faster, circling the stadium. Wu Kong began to glow a bright gold and dark red, along with Jing. Her hair, aside from the golden streaks, turned red. "Go! Immortal Defense!" The bey slammed into the wall, causing the slightly jutting out tails to flatten from the impact, creating a smooth circle. Wu Kong soon started to move down the stadium, gaining more momentum as it moved. Like a battering ram, it blasted Jinnius out of the ring, landing next to the superstar's feet.
"Tch-" Joshua scoffed. He kneels down to pick up his bey. "You may have gotten a lucky break, but I'll come back stronger than before!" Jing knit her eyebrows in concern. This next round is going to be much tougher. She realized.
"Ready!" The ref says. "3! 2! 1! Let it rip!" The two beys fly into the stadium again. Instead of racing for the center, Jinnius came in like the wind, shadowing Wu Kong's circular movement. So he did change it up. Jing realized.
"Don't think it'll end the same as last time!" Joshua laughed. "Cyclone Wall!" Just as Joshua's bey hits Wu Kong, the protective ring rises, pushing Wu Kong a bit further, straight into the wall.
"Hold in there!" Jing encouraged Wu Kong. I need to end this quickly. She looked up to see Joshua grinning smugly.
"Panicking?" he asks. "Because the hero comes out on top in the end."
"Go!" She ordered. Wu Kong circles into the middle. "Immortal defense!"
"Showtime!" Joshua exclaims. He began to glow a light blue and green. "Cyclone Counter!" His bey circles into the middle, slamming into the center staff's edge. Unlike the rest of the bey, the two points slightly stick out. Jinnus forces Wu Kong to tilt down, creating a vortex of wind. That sends the gold and red bey flying out of the stadium. Jing's mouth was pursed, as she went to pick up her bey.
"I'll give it to you, you managed not to burst," Joshua remarked. "But I'll be ending this in the next round." Ignoring his comment, She stared at her bey. How am I supposed to beat him? Hate to admit it, but I can't beat him right now. A gleam bounced off the edge of the golden beam. She got a strange feeling, as another hand moved hers to the metal tip. Pressing down on it, the indent separated from the layer and extended further than before, about half an inch. Wait. She pressed on the other side, and it popped out like the first side. This might be the key to defeating Joshua.
"I wouldn't be sure," Jing replied as she stood up, revealing the new changes.
"Did it…..change?!" Trad said, shocked.
"It looks like it indeed did," Glass said, intrigued.
"A little change isn't going to help you," Joshua waves dismissively. Trad scanned the bey, examining it. With a longer point of contact, the bey essentially trades most of its defense for attack power. Interesting.
"Ready!" The referee says. "3! 2! 1!" Jing adjusted her grip slightly, tilting her launcher slightly downwards. "Let it rip!"
"You know the drill!" Joshua says. Jinnius begins to move towards the center.
"Let go!" Jing yells. Instead of circling the outside ring, her bey circles in and out of the center. Wu Kong manages to graze Jinnius as it manages to take the center. Joshua raised his eyebrows slightly. Looks like it might be a challenge after all.
"Go! Cyclone Wall!" Joshua ordered.
"Not so fast!" Jing countered. Her hair began to glow red. "Staff Attack!" Her bey suddenly stopped and dashed towards Jinnius.
"That won't do anything against my technique," Joshua brushed off. Jing grinned.
"You so sure?" She asked. Wu Kong had wedged in its staff between the energy layer and the protective ring.
"How did it go….?" Joshua asks, flabbergasted.
"Now toss it out of the ring!" She ordered. Jinnius lifts into the air. As Wu Kong continues to spin, its grip on Jinnius begins to loosen. Woosh! Joshua's bey goes flying, landing at Joshua's feet. But before that could happen, Wu Kong burst.
The ref raises his hand towards Joshua. "Blast Jinnius with a burst finish! Joshua Burns wins!"
I was standing alone in the stadium, thinking about all the events that had occurred. Everyone had gone upstairs for dinner. I still had a lot of room to grow. I pulled out Wu Kong and stared at it. I recalled the warm feeling I had. Talk to me. Please. Maybe I was going crazy.
"That was a close battle," a voice said behind me.
"Ah!" I said, startled while turning around. "Oh, hey Free." He was standing lazily, his face blocking the setting sun.
"Hey," he said, as he walked around to the opposite side of the stadium. "Your match with Joshua was…..different, to say the least."
I raised my eyebrows. "How?" Free smiled.
"You want to have a battle?"
"Sure," I said. He probably knows he is already going to win. So I wonder why he's asking to battle me? I looked back at Wu Kong. A glimmer shined on the staff tip as it did during my battle with Joshua. I extended the staff and readied my launcher. Free took out Fafnir and his launcher.
"3, 2, 1, let it rip!" we said at the same time. Instead of racing for the center, Fafnir circled the outside of the stadium, following my bey. It was quickly catching up to Wu Kong. I looked up to see him smiling. Well, I have a few tricks of my own. I think.
"Go, Staff Attack!" I ordered. Wu Kong dashed towards Fafnir.
"Drain Spin!" Free said. The moment Wu Kong made contact with Fafnir, Fafnir accelerated. My bey slowed down until it stopped completely. I sighed. There wasn't any chance that an offensive move like that would manage to burst Free, but it was worth a shot.
"Still good as always I see," I observed as I bent down to pick up Wu Kong. Then I paused. "How was your meeting with Joshua?"
He shrugged. "He's interesting, I'll give him that," Standing up, I turned to face him.
"You ever feel something?" I asked. "Like someone else is there, trying to say something?" I had a theory, based on a few correlations I had made based on some observations. The shadows from the beys that I've only seen when battling Free. The gleam of Wu Kong. They all point to a bond between bladder and bey. Free could probably see the thoughts on my face because he smiled like I was a dog that had learned a new trick.
"So you finally figured it out, huh?" he asked.
"Think so," I said. I looked down at Wu Kong. "During the battle, I think Wu Kong was trying to tell me something. Something important." The golden bey gleamed. I got the feeling that there was much more to him than I was currently thinking.
"You want to go again?"
"What are you doing here?" I asked her. I had decided to hang out on the fire escape after taking a shower and had found Sarah overlooking the city.
"What does it look like?" She responded. "I'm taking in the view." I leaned next to her.
"Said you're from D.C. right?" She nodded. "What's it like?"
"It's a lot more flat and sprawling than New York. The tallest building is the Washington Monument."
"I lived in L.A. before. It's also pretty flat."
"The nice part, or the..?" She didn't finish her sentence. Why was she asking this?
"The nice part?" I said tentatively. She looked away. Oh, so that's why. I suddenly noticed the slightly oversized clothes, with faded colors.
"Hey," I grabbed her shoulder. "That doesn't really matter, does it? We're all equals here." I suddenly realized how cliche and corny that sounded.
She giggled slightly. "That was….really bad,"
"Yeah," I sighed. "Well, my point is, those things don't matter here. It all comes down to skill and the will to win." Sarah looked up.
"I guess," she looked a bit sheepishly at me. "I…lived in the poorer areas of D.C."
"So, you came here to get away?" She shook her head.
"Well, kind of. I also came to try and help my family. They always said I had a talent for blading."
"It'll be fun watching you battle tomorrow." I smiled. "That'll be fun."
"My first ever match," she said dreamily. "Well, night!" Sarah began to walk back towards her room. Thus another day ended.
At least until Free was kidnapped.