Hilary gazed in terror at the sight before her. Sweat was standing out on Max's forehead as he poured all of his strength into Draciel, his clothes torn with the clashing powers in front of him.
"Draciel!" His yell sounded thin and insignificant, yet the massive water spirit turned its head towards him and waited patiently for a command. "Tsunami Barrier!" Instantly, a sheet of water thrust itself between the two bit-beasts, the constantly shifting surface making it doubly difficult to break through. Draciel moved backwards, its foot hitting the ground with a loud thud. Max wiped a strand of hair out of his eyes, panting heavily as he kept up the virtually unbreakable defence. "Hilary!" he shouted hoarsely. "Can't you make it stop?" Hilary shook her head frantically.
"How?"
"I don't know! It's your bit-beast!" For all the good it does me, it might as well not be mine, Hilary complained mentally. As if in response to her thoughts - and for all she knew it might have actually been able to hear them - the sphere of golden light began to pulse faster, the black eyes narrowing to thin slits. At that second, Max fell to one knee, giving up the barrier in favour of not passing out. Instantly, when Max was at his most vulnerable, the turquoise beyblade hurtled towards Draciel. Turquoise hit green with a sickening crack and Max and Draciel were sent flying backwards. Max landed in a limp heap against a tree trunk, a battered, splintered Draciel near his feet. Hilary screamed in panic, struggling to her feet. Abruptly, a hand on each of her shoulders pushed her aside and Kai shoved past her, his beyblade flying through the air to land squarely next to the unrestrained bit-beast. Dranzer materialised quickly, letting out a deafening shriek.
Suddenly, Driger joined Dranzer with a loud roar. Hilary spun round and saw Ray standing just behind her, his eyes glittering fiercely with the light of battle. Tyson was there too, just about to launch. Seeing Hilary staring at him, he gave her a confident grin and a wink, releasing Dragoon. Hilary smiled back weakly.
The three powerful bit-beasts circled the golden sphere, restraining it with relative ease.
"Driger, Voltage Claw!"
"Dranzer, Solar Flare!"
"Dragoon, Cyclone Tempest!" The three ancient spirits unleashed their most powerful attacks.
"Guys, are you okay?" Hilary called shakily. "Will it go back in the bit-chip now?"
"We're restraining it, Hilary. There's a difference." Kai called back, his voice hostile. Anger powered Dranzer, and anger was what Kai was very good at. "Only you can send it back in."
"But I don't want to! I can't!" Her bit-beast let out another unnatural howl and flung itself at Driger. Ray let out a loud curse as blood started flowing down his arm.
"Yes you can, Hil!" Tyson yelled encouragingly.
"You can do it, Hil!" Ray agreed through gritted teeth. Hilary shook her head, shrinking away, her eyes fixed on the terrifying sight before. Suddenly, Kai appeared in front of her, his eyes incandescent with fury. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, hard. His hands were burning hot.
"Control it, you stupid little girl!" he snarled. She shook her head again. Tears of sheer terror streamed down her face. "You're the only one that knows its name! Call it back!" He shook her again.
"But-"
"Do it!" Swallowing, Hilary pulled herself out of Kai's grip and took a hesitant step forwards. She opened her mouth to yell, but nothing came out. Suddenly she caught sight of Max, still unconscious, his face horribly still and pale. Anger and fear rose up inside her in equal measures, fighting for dominance. Eventually, anger won.
"D-Dyler! Return to your beyblade!" she ordered, her voice trembling, yet loud and clear. Silence fell. The bit-beast's shapeless form turned towards her, black eyes blinking in astonishment. Slowly, it began to dematerialise, showing hints of its true form. Peaceably, it disappeared back into the bit-chip. The turquoise beyblade slowed and stopped spinning. Hilary stared at it blankly for a few seconds, then stood up and stumbled over to Max. Tyson and Kenny, who had been crouching just inside the doorway recording everything, followed her, leaving Kai to grab Ray and pull him away to stop his arm bleeding.
Timidly, Hilary patted Max's arm.
"Max?" she whispered, scrubbing at her wet face with her other hand. "Max? Wake up, please…" Max's eyelids twitched. Slowly, his eyes opened and he blinked sleepily. Hilary beamed fresh tears trickling down her cheeks. "Oh Max, you're all right!" She flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"Hil? This is nice…but air would be good…" Max mumbled, making absolutely no effort whatsoever to push her off. Hilary giggled hysterically and sat up.
"Sorry." Max nodded, his eyes closing.
"'s 'kay…" he mumbled, before dropping off to sleep.
"Hilary?" She turned around to see Kenny holding out her beyblade. She stared at it, suddenly feeling sick. "Go on, it can't hurt you." Hesitantly, she reached out and took the damaged blade. "I'll fix it, if you like." Kenny offered. Hilary didn't react, gazing intently at the bit-chip. The blur over it had faded slightly, she could almost, almost make out the outline of her bit-beast.
"You okay, Hilary?" Kai asked, jogging up to them minus his scarf. She nodded vaguely. The three boys exchanged looks.
"How's Ray?" Tyson asked in a effort to change the subject.
"He's fine. It was quite a bleed." Kai replied curtly.
"Which is why you needed to use your scarf?" Kenny asked curiously.
"Only as a temporary measure. I've sent him back inside to find a decent bandage." Kai looked over at Max. "Is he all right?"
"Yeah, he's just exhausted." Tyson replied. Kai nodded. Striding over to the sleeping boy, he scooped him up in a fireman's lift and walked back inside, calling for Kenny to show him the footage of the battle. Kenny scuttled after him obediently.
The beyblade fell from Hilary's hand, and the girl stared vacantly at it. Suddenly, she dissolved into noisy, hiccupping sobs. Unexpectedly, Tyson put his arms around her and held her tightly, resting his head on hers and whispering comfortingly. She leant her head on his chest and relaxed into the security of his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
It's just because he's comforting me, she rationalised. I don't really fancy him. I like Max in that way.
Or does she...hehe... please, please review! I'm begging you! (stops and coughs in embarrassment) Okay, I've stopped now. Seriously, even if you don't like this fic anymore, could you at least review and tell me why?