Chapter 16

"Titan Bladers, here we come!" Tyson yelled all the way to the Renaissance Dome in the BBA bus on the day of the tournament.

It took all in Jade's power to not kill him right now before the tournament. Instead she managed to grit out through clenched teeth. "Tyson, if you don't keep quiet right now, I'll never make breakfast for you again."

That shut Tyson up. From the corner of her eye, Jade saw Kai give her a look of appreciation. Her threat however only lasted until five minutes later the bus rolled into the car park of the Renaissance Dome. She sighed when Tyson started making loud comments of the place, joined in now by Max.

"Cool! This place is so awesome." Dragoon's master exclaimed.

"Wait until you see the inside." Dizzi said. "The Renaissance Dome was built specially for this event. There are the works of Leonardo De Vinci inside as well. It's like having a museum inside a stadium."

"Like how cool is that?" Ray said.

Tyson frowned. "Leonardo who?"

"One of the greatest artist in Italy." Kenny explained. "He painted the Mona Lisa."

"Oh." Tyson blinked. "I knew that."

Jade raised an eyebrow at him, skeptically. "I'm sure you do."


"What a crowd!" Jazzman yelled from his stand high above the roaring crowd that had come to watch the match between the Bladebreakers and the Titans. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the semi-finals of the World Beyblading Tournament!"

"Oh, man. Check out the crowd, A.J!" Brad exclaimed.

"Talk about bringing the whole house in!" A.J said in agreement. "Welcome back, viewers! I'm A.J Topper."

"And I'm Brad Bests live from the Renaissance Dome here in beautiful Florence!"

"Looks like half the world is here to bear witness of what maybe the greatest battle in Italian history. Today we have the legendary Bladebreakers fighting to compete in the finals against the rising stars, the Titan Bladers from Greece!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, waving flags with their favorite team name imprinted on them.

Even from their waiting room, the Bladebreakers could hear the noises from outside.

Kenny looked as though he was about to pass out. "I can't stand this!"

"Chill out." Ray said. "Don't worry, Chief. After all that training you gave us we're more than ready."

"What if something goes wrong? What if there's something we don't know about the Titans?" Kenny cried out in a state of panic.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Dizzi demanded. "I covered everything I can on the Titans."

"Alright. Everybody calm down." Max said.

Taking deep breaths, Kenny calmed down. "Okay, I'm okay. Now let's see who's battling first."

Tyson grinned. "Now we're talking."

"Well, I found out that usually the Titans will send Megan out first to kick start the fight for her team with her Bitbeast, Apollo." Kenny said.

Tyson grinned confidently. "It can't be as strong as my Dragoon. I'll take Megan."

"Alright." Kenny said. "Next is Juliana. Cute thing but don't be fooled by those baby blue eyes. Juliana's an angel is disguise."

"Sounds like my kinda girl." Max said.

"We don't have anything on Juliana." Kenny admitted.

Max held up Draciel. "No sweat. Draciel and I can handle her."

"And that leaves Ray, Jade and Kai." Kenny looked up at the remaining three bladers.

"Who's left on the other team?" Ray cut in quickly.

"Um...Chris, Nessa and their captain, Nicky." Kenny answered.

"I'll take on Chris. He sounds like an easy fry." Ray said. He glanced at Max for help.

Luckily Max caught the look and jumped in. "Yeah. And I think Jade should battle Nessa."

Kenny looked reluctant. "I don't know, guys."

Jade glared at him. "You don't know what?" she said with a hint of danger.

"The last time you battle Nessa, Draizer didn't stand a chance." Kenny reminded her bluntly.

Jade's eyes darkened dangerously. Ray started to step in but Kai, to the surprise of everyone, beat him to it. "Let her battle, Kenny."

Kenny glanced at Kai, just as surprised as everyone else. "Are you sure, Kai?"

Kai glared at Kenny, hiding the fact he himself was just as surprised as them. He shoved away whatever he was feeling right now. "Do I have to repeat myself?"

Jade walked up to him and laid her palm on his forehead. "That's strange. Warm."

He brushed her hand away from his forehead, gripping her fingers lightly in his. "I'm not sick."

"You're acting like it." she retorted.

They glared at each other before they became aware of him still holding her. As if an electric current ran through them, he dropped her hand quickly and grunted. "If you don't want to battle Nessa, I don't have a problem with that."

She tossed him a look. "Oh, I do." she said coolly. "It's payback time."

"So it's settled." Max declared with a clap of his hands. "Ray'll take on Chris. Jade'll beat the heck out of Nessa and Kai'll wrap it up."

"So are we ready go and let it rip?!" Tyson demanded jumping to his feet.

Women. Kai thought in disgust as he headed for the door. Can't understand them. You try and help them, they claim you mental...

Yet when they exited the room he was sure she had given him a glance of gratitude.


"And here they are!" Jazzman shouted as both teams stepped into the arena and came up to the benches. "On my right, the rising stars of the Beyblade world, the....Titan Bladers!"

The audience cheered.

"And on my left the one the only...Bladebreakers!"

If the cheers for the Titans were loud, the roar this time was deafening.

"The tension in here is so thick you could slice through it with a butter knife!" A,J exclaimed.

"That's my butter knife." Brad told him.

"Sorry, man."

"Ah...I can never get enough of this." Tyson said with a sigh as he acknowledged his fans. "Hey! People! Let me hear you say something!"

The fans roared.

"Wait until I put my foot in his ass then we'll see what he has to say." Jade muttered.

"YO, LITTLE DUDE! OVER HERE!" a familiar gruff voice hollered across the arena from the from row seats where Grandpa Granger was standing on his chair waving his kendo stick.

"Yikes! Who let him in?" Tyson gasped at the sight of his grandfather.

"HEY! OVER HERE!" his grandfather continued to yell.

"I think he better get his blood level check soon." Max said hoping Grandpa Granger wouldn't hurt himself.

"Can we get back to beating the Titans?" Kai asked irritated. He sat on the bench with one foot on the bench. He prompted his arm on his knee, looking across at the other team.

"Kai's right." Kenny agreed.

"Like always." Jade said under her breath earning a glare from her captain.

"I'm so stroked!" Tyson said running up to face his opponent from the Titans.

"First up, we have Tyson of the Bladebreakers versus Megan of the Titans!" Jazzman introduced.

"Tyson is known for his unpredictable attacks along with his powerful Bitbeast, Dragoon." Brad said.

"And his feisty opponent, Megan is said to have some real fire power packed in that Beyblade of hers!" A.J said.

"Shall we check out the stadiums for today?" Brad called out.

"I have a feeling the bladers are going to love this one." A.J commented as a stadium emerged in the center.

"Oh man...wow..." Tyson breathed staring at the arising dish.

The stadium was of the city of Florence, a perfect miniature duplicate of the city. A small stream of water ran through the dish representing the river that flowed through the real Florence.

"Bladers'll not only need speed and strength to win this one but skill to maneuver through this city of maze. And watch out for the river!" Jazzman said. "All five matches will be held in this outstanding dish, provided it doesn't get trashed."

"Oh, this battle is so mine." Tyson muttered holding up his launcher.

Megan chuckled under her breath. This battle will be a snap.

"Bladers, ready!" Jazzman hollered. "And 3, 2, 1! Let it rip!"

With a yell, Tyson released his Dragoon. "Go, Dragoon!"

"Alright, Apollo!" Megan cried. "Let's show him what we got!"

Both blades landed on the streets of the dish and started making their way to the center. They collided in the middle of the city, causing a cloud of dust. As it cleared the two blades were pushing at each other for all its worth.

"Apollo, I call you!" Megan yelled.

Her blade started to glow in an orange light as her Bitbeast appeared.

"Whoa!" Tyson let out a yelp at the sight of her Bitbeast.

The Bitbeast was as huge as Nessa's Poseidon. It was a man holding a spear and on his head was a five spiked crown. It shone bright orange and yellow and radiated heat.

"Man, is the air-conditional on?" Max gasped, wiping his forehead.

"It's her Bitbeast!" Kenny exclaimed. "It's causing the heat waves!"

"Like duh." Dizzi said. "In the Greek myth, Apollo is the Sun God. Hence the fire and heat attack."

"Is there any way we can help Tyson?" Ray asked.

"Um...not yet." Dizzi said. "Until Megan attacks, I can't analyze a way to deflect her power."

"What?" But I thought you said you done all the homework!" Kenny scolded his laptop.

"I did." Dizzi protested. "But there's nothing on the team's attacks."

"So for the moment...Tyson's on his own." Max summarized.

Time to bring in the secret weapon, Tyson thought. Pumping his fist, he shouted an order to his Bitbeast. "Dragoon! It's show time!"

In a flash, Dragoon appeared, roaring.

"That Bitbeast is no match for mine." Megan declared. "Apollo, Heat Slice!"

Waving its spear, Apollo brought it down on the ground, causing a ripple of fire to flare around it. Dragoon slammed into the wave of fire and it let out a roar in pain.

"Oh no! Dragoon!" Tyson shouted. "Phantom-!"

"Tyson, wait!"

Surprised, Tyson glanced over his shoulder. "Kai?"

Kai was on his feet. "Listen to me." he said. "You don't want to do that. Remember your first battle with Jade?"

Thinking back, Tyson remember it clearly. The bruise of that fight still stung but that was beyond the point. I used Dragoon's Phantom Hurricane and it didn't work against her. In fact it only made her attack stronger. So if I did the same thing here, I would be making the same mistake. Great. Now what do I do?

Dragoon's roar of pain broke his thoughts. "Dragoon!" he shouted to his Bitbeast. I have to do something! A.S.A.P! Hold on... "I got it!" he said suddenly. "Dragoon, break away and head to the river!"

Heeding his order, Dragoon nodded and speeded down the road towards to the river. Megan gave chase, catching up as Dragoon drew closer to the river.

"That's right...Follow the leader." Tyson muttered with a smug grin.

"Apollo!" Megan commanded.

Her blade slammed into Dragoon sending it flying into the watery depths of the canal.

"Now let's see how long you can last underwater." Megan sneered.

"Perfect. You fell into my trap!" Tyson gloated. "Come on, Dragoon!"

"What?" Megan gasped.

In the center of the canal, a watery whirlpool swirled. Without warning, Tyson's blade leapt from it, souring over Apollo.

"Evade!" Megan cried franticly.

Dragoon was coming down on it. Sprinkle of water fell on Apollo putting out its fire. Dragoon landed heavily on Megan's blade, throwing it off-balance.

"Go, Dragoon!" Tyson ordered.

Dragoon let out a growl and lunged forward, slamming into Apollo. The impact sent it flying into the canal. It sank to the bottom and with a hiss, stopped spinning.

"And Tyson wins the first round!" Jazzman shouted.

"Oh, yeah! I'm good!" Tyson crowed as he retrieved Dragoon.

"Maybe you shouldn't have helped him." Jade told Kai warily.

He nodded his agreement and deep regret. "Yup." he started to turn when he realized Jade was still staring at him. "What?"

"You still remember my first battle with Tyson?" she asked her tone somewhere between amused and touched.

"Every battle is a lesson learnt." he said shortly sitting down.

"Is that what you were taught, Kai?" she asked softly. Is that what they taught you?

Kai just grunted, choosing not to answer her question. She didn't expect him to anyway.

Tyson came running up then, looping an arm around Max. "Alright! Win this one for us, Maxie ma' man!"

The Titan's captain wasn't pleased with the outcome of the battle. He had his arms crossed when Megan returned to the benches.

"Sorry." she muttered.

"Megan!"

Nicky didn't shout but she flinched all the same. She looked at her captain, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Mind telling me what the hell happened out there?" he demanded. "How could you loose to that...kid?"

"I...I don't know." she stammered. "I thought I was in control but...I guess I underestimated him."

He stared at her, letting her feeling his anger. "I'll deal with you later." he said dangerously. "The next person on this team would does that same mistake will pay the consequences to me."

Silently they nodded.

Juliana rosed to her feet. "Well, I'm up."

"Good luck, sis." Chris said. "I have a feeling you'll need it."

Juliana strolled forward, taking out her launcher and blade. Max stood on the other end with his launcher ready.

"Hi there, cutie." she said.

That caught him off-guard for a moment. "Um...hi..."

Max was introduced by A.J as a solid defense user aided with Draciel's metal defense powers. Juliana was revealed as a mystery along with her Bitbeast.

"Fighters, ready! 3, 2, 1! Let it rip!" Jazzman shouted.

"Draciel, go!" Max shouted. "

Juliana smiled as she launched her red blade into the dish.

"What are you smiling about?" Max asked.

"You'll see." she replied. "Ger ready, Aphrodite!"

"Defense up, Draciel!" Max commanded, embracing for an attack.

But none came. Juliana's blade was just circling his blade without making any means to attack.

"Hey, what gives?" Max frowned puzzled by Juliana's technique. "Attack me already!"

But Juliana shook a finger at him. "Patience, Max."

"Hey, Maxie!" Tyson shouted. "Quit stalling and attack her already!"

Realizing Tyson was right, Max nodded. "Okay, Draciel! Move it!"

Draciel left its position in the center and lunged at Juliana's blade. Draciel appeared, screeching. That was when Juliana struck.

"Go, Aphrodite! Show yourself!" she ordered.

Her Bitbeast in the form of a beautiful woman dressed in robes, armed with a bow and arrows emerged from its Bit in a pink ray of light. Everyone gasped in awe at the sight of it.

"Wow..."Max murmured in a daze. "That's the most beautiful Bitbeast I have ever seen..."

"Pretty..." Tyson muttered dreamily.

"I think I'm in love." Kenny muttered turning deep red.

"Excuse me! I'm still here!" Dizzi huffed. "Hey, it's that Bitbeast, people!"

"What about it?" Ray muttered in a dreamy tone.

"Not you too, Ray!" Dizzi said. "And here I was depending on you to keep your head on."

"Dizzi, what's going on?" Jade asked. She realized that unlike the others, she wasn't mesmerized by Juliana's Bitbeast like they were.

"It's the Goddess of Love, isn't it?"

She glanced at Kai in surprise. "You're not affected by it?"

"No. Neither are you. But that isn't the case with Max." he said.

"It's that Bitbeast." Dizzi said. "It's working some sort of a love hocus pocus on everyone here."

Except Kai and me. Why is that? Jade thought. She shook her head, pushing the thought aside. Now wasn't the time to ponder on that. "Max, snap out of it!" she called out to the blonde kid.

Juliana smiled as her opponent's Bitbeast hesitated to attack. This was the power of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love, the power to trance into falling in love with it. Now was her chance to attack.

"Aphrodite! White Kiss!" she ordered.

That moment she felt her Bitbeast's power becoming in tune with a strange wave of emotions that wasn't familiar to her. It was also Aphrodite's power to be able to detect strong emotions. That caught Juliana off-guard momentarily, breaking her concentration.

Chris was shouting at her to stay focus and finish the match.

Jolting out of her thought, she glanced up to see Max recovering.

Max shook his head, shaking off the dreaminess that had clouded his brain. Man, what's wrong with me?

"Aphrodite! Arrows of Love!" Juliana ordered swiftly.

Her Bitbeast drew out four golden arrows and fitted them into its bow. It fired the arrows at Draciel, sending it rocking back.

"Oh no, Draciel!" Max shouted in alarm.

"Aphrodite, now! Attack!" Juliana shouted.

Her blade collided into Draciel, sending it flying out of the dish.

"And the winner is...Juliana!" Jazzman declared as he was coming out of trance too.

Sighing Max picked up his blade and returned to his team.

Tyson and those who were in trance were just coming out of it.

"Okay, what the heck just happened?" he mumbled.

"Max lost! That's what happened." Dizzi snapped. "Because you guys abandoned Max when he needed you guys the most."

"Chill out, Dizzi." Max said. "It isn't their fault."

"Sorry, Max." Kenny said rubbing his head in confusion.

"Great, now your backs are against the wall." Tyson mumbled.

"Not yet." Ray said standing up. "Leave this to me."

"I don't know, Ray..." Kenny said uncertainly. "Maybe Jade should take this one."

"Kenny, we've been through before. I'm taking on Chris." Ray said firmly.

"I suggest you be careful. Chris, I heard can be one mean competitor." Dizzi said. "His power is the opposite of Juliana's. His is the God of War, Ares."

"If it's war he wants, I'll give him war." Ray said determinedly.

He went up to meet his opponent.

"Ready to loose?" Chris sneered.

"After you." Ray replied.

"Ray of the Bladebreakers likes to make his battles fast. That proves no problem with his Bitbeast, Driger!" Brad said.

"And Chris from the Titans is known for his rough methods. That goes the same for his Bitbeast, Ares." A.J said.

"Your blonde friend lost to my sister and hers was the power of love. With my power of war, I'll destroy you." Chris said.

"We'll see about it." Ray said coolly.

They held up their loaded launchers.

"Ready and 3, 2, 1! Let IT RIP!"

"Go, Ares! Destroy him!" Chris ordered, yanking the rip coil.

Ray released Driger into the dish. "Driger!"

The White Tiger appeared, snarling as it bared its claws and lunged at the black blade.

"Ares! Heed my call!" Chris shouted.

His Bitbeast emerged in the form of a man in black armory and armed with a scythe. Darkness radiated from it.

"Call me when it's over." Dizzi gasped.

Alright, Ray. Stay cool. You can do this, Ray told himself, eyes closed. His eyes snapped open. "Driger, attack!"

Snarling, Driger lunged at the God of War.

"Tiger Claw now!" its master ordered.

Wielding its deadly weapon, Ares attacked Driger. Beyblades met and crashed. The impact sent both blades flying through the air. "

"Driger!" Ray shouted. To his dismay Driger landed outside the dish.

Chris couldn't believe it as his blade landed at his feet. "I...don't believe it..."

"And it's a tie!" Jazzman shouted. "Both blades have landed outside the stadium leaving us with no winners for this round."

Chris watched as Ray retrieved his blade and turned back to his team. That kid really has something going on...

"Sorry, guys." Ray said.

"Don't sweat it, Ray." Max said easily. "I know Chris did."

Kenny sighed. "Well, you're up next, Jade. Good luck."

She smirked. "I don't need it."

Sensing its master's anticipation and sharing it, in her hand, Draizer glowed faintly. Jade looked at it.

All I need is myself and Draizer.