A/N: Aaaaargh! I hadn't noticed how short my chapters were getting. Chapters 8 and above average only 20kb on my computer, while earlier chapters reached more than 50kb! (moans) What's happening to me?

Anyway, on with the fic!

Disclaimer: If I owned Beyblade, would I be posting on this site?

oOo

Chapter 9: The Final Match

Team BBA stood up quickly. "'ZEUS'!"

Hiromi put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, no..."

"Calm down, Hiromi," Rei gave her a quick, reassuring hug. "I'm sure there's no need to be worried,"

Back in the stadium, Shinji's blade had landed back in the dish, but in a very precarious position: it was balanced - quite unsteadily - very near the rim of the dish.

Aika smirked, seeing her chance. "Dranzer MS, finish this match! Aerial Axe!"

The dark blue blade made its way across the dish from the Zeus blade, spinning faster and faster and driving itself up the slope. Once it hit the rim, however, it didn't spin out, but rather seemed to leap into the air and quickly turn onto its side.

"Hey! She modified Kai's attack!" Takao commented, watching Aika's blade plummet back into the dish, still on its side, and spin quickly towards Shinji's. "If only he could see how talented his kid is..."

"Don't get sentimental," Hiromi said, smiling a bit. Perhaps there was no cause for worry. "It doesn't suit you..."

There was another thwack! as Dranzer connected with its opponent once more, this time effectively knocking the purple blade out of the dish.

All were silent for a few moments, shocked at how quickly the first round (as was customary in tournaments, the Semi-Finals and Finals matches would have three rounds each) had come to an end. DJ Jazzman, as usual, was the first to recover.

"And what an jaw-dropping finish, folks!" the announcer exclaimed. "Barely a minute into the match and already Shinji is knocked out! You'd better watch out if you challenge this gal, bladers; she's certainly living up to the Hiwatari name!"

Aika turned towards the bleachers, spotted her mother and her companions, and waved, grinning widely. Hiromi waved back, and mouthed, "Go get 'em!"

Aika giggled, and mouthed back, "I will,"

"All right, everyone; let's get down to the second round!" DJ Jazzman said, just as excited as the crowd to witness the outcome of this battle. "Bladers, take your positions!"

"Nice technique," Shinji called from across the dish as he went into position.

Aika grinned. "Thanks. You've got great blade control, by the way; not everyone can get their blade to land within millimeters of the edge of the dish like you did back there."

"Thanks."

"3...2...1...Go, shoot!"

Once more, the two preteens yanked on the ripcords. This time, Aika went for the middle, and Shinji aimed for the opposite slope.

"Okay, Dranzer, you know what to do!" Aika called. Dranzer seemed to spin faster in response, and then headed directly for Zeus. The only problem was, it was no longer there. "Hey! Where'd he go?" The slate-haired girl glanced around the dish quickly, then spotted what looked like the shadow of a blade. "Dranzer, over there!" The azure blade moved quickly to comply, but the blade seemed to vanish once more. Aika glanced up. "Playing hide-and-seek, are we?" Shinji just smiled in reply.

"All right, then...Dranzer, Flying Flame Shadows!" At once, the stadium seemed to be engulfed in flame. Aika smirked; she spotted the flickering silhouette of her opponent's blade. "Mitsuketa! Dranzer, now!"

The blue blade moved to attack, but seconds later it was knocked out of the stadium, and the flames extinguished themselves.

"And Shinji wins the second round, ladies and gentlemen!" DJ Jazzman yelled in order to be heard above the din. "Looks like we're going to have to go on the Round 3!"

Aika quickly got over her shock as she retrieved her blade. "Very nice counterattack," she commented, setting the blade in place on her launcher. "You're going to have to try harder, though, if you want to win this..."

"I'd say the same to you..." Shinji replied, a mysterious grin on his face. Aika blinked, unnerved by her opponent's smile, then shook her head as though to clear any negative thoughts from her mind. She decided quickly to use the Fury launch, one of the few launching techniques she'd mastered, positioning her arms above her head just as she'd seen her father do in the video.

"She's going to use it!" Max exclaimed, noting the girl's position.

"Yes! That's one of Kai's most powerful launches!" Takao cheered, feeling the cloud of doubt - which had weighed heavily on his heart since the start of the match - begin to slowly drift away into nothingness. Perhaps there was no cause for worry, after all.

"Okay, bladers! 3...2...1...Go, shoot!"

Shinji merely yanked powerfully on his ripcord, his blade a blur as it entered the dish. Aika brought her arms swinging downwards, and here was where she modified yet another of her father's techniques. Instead of releasing her blade directly, her arms came swinging down in an arc from the top of her head, landing at her left hip. This was quickly followed by a swift pull on the launcher, effectively combining Kai's Fury launch with Takao's Storm launch. As a result, the Dranzer MS was nowhere to be seen, but a strong vibration could be felt a split second later, telling of its entrance into the dish.
"Now you're the one playing hide-and-seek..." Shinji observed, the unsettling smile still on his face. "But I don't think that's going to work with me..."

"How so?" Aika cocked a slim gray eyebrow, dubious. He's scared... she thought, trying to ease the anxiety rising in her chest. He's just bluffing... Aloud, she said, "Dranzer, Volcanic Explosion!" Almost immediately, rings of fire surrounded Shinji's blade, but Aika's still could not be seen. Suddenly - and surprisingly - the spiralling flame vanished, and Zeus remained unscathed in the center of the stadium

Aika gasped. "How did you-"

Shinji smirked. "Escape? That's something I'm not telling. But nice attack, by the way; didn't see that coming." Once more, he smiled that unnerving smile "Zeus! Volcanic Explosion!"

This time, the flame that filled the dish was a dark, sinister purple, the same aura that had surrounded Zeus during Brooklyn and Kai's match.

A screech resounded in Aika's head, indicating that her bit beast had been injured, and then she gasped and clutched her left arm, which had suddenly began to throb with pain.

Once more, the members of Team BBA stood up from their seats, the tension apprehension returning with frightening speed.

"Shinji just copied her attack!" Max said, hardly daring to believe what he had seen.

"Aika's hurt!" Hiromi, one hand at her mouth, the other tightly gripping the railing. "What if it gets worse?"

"Don't think like that, Hiromi..." Rei admonished gently. "We have to think positive, let Aika know that we still believe she can make it." In a louder voice, he called. "Go, Aika! Fight!"

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Amethyst orbs narrowed.

He did not like the way this battle was going.

Not one bit.

At first, he had been confident that Aika would prevail, but now...

I'd hoped the child wouldn't have the same abilities as the father...but he does. And now Aika is in danger...

He sighed, got up, and walked over to where he knew 'the door' - something of a portal to reality - would be. It had been shown to him before, and he had been cautioned that he could leave this 'sanctuary' for only a short span of time, and then only if it was an absolute necessity. The nature of this necessity had not been specified, however; if there was a time he ever needed to make an appearance in reality, it was now.

His daughter needed him.

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In the stadium, the ruby-eyed preteen slowly let go of her arm and stood up straighter, her jaw set. "Is that all you've got?" she asked, her voice as cold as steel. "Try copying this one! Dranzer, Ultimate Destruction!"

This time, the dark blue blade showed itself, but only momentarily. At once, it was engulfed in a large fireball, which divided into hundreds of smaller ones that screamed down towards their target.

"'Ultimate Destruction'?" Takao looked puzzled. "Is that one of Kai's attacks? I never knew he had that one..."

"No, I think it's an offensive technique Aika devised on her own or with the help of her friends..." Kyouju replied.

In the dish, Dranzer MS had disappeared again; the fireball had dissipated, and Zeus was looking decidedly more damaged than it had been at the start of the match.

Shinji looked unperturbed, though, much to Aika's dismay. "Another excellent technique," the raven-haired preteen commented, still smirking. "Mind if I copy it again?"

"You wish!" Aika shot back. At the same time, something knocked Zeus to the side. Shinji, meanwhile, seemed to have been pushed backwards quite a bit, and he held his stomach gingerly. It was Aika's turn to smirk.

Perfect!

This, however, didn't faze her opponent; in fact, he looked a little disappointed. "Don't you know that imitation is a form of praise?" he asked, glancing at the dish. "Zeus!"

In an instant, Zeus was enshrouded in sinister purple flame again, and once more it flawless copied Aika's attack. Purple fireball after purple fireball rained down all over the stadium; thankfully, though, since Dranzer MS was hidden, only a small percentage of the flaming orbs actually connected. That didn't make it any less painful, however; each time her blade got hit, Aika let out a little cry of pain, but made no sign of giving up or forfeiting the match.

Dad...is this...what happened when you fought this guy's father? She thought, trying to keep focused on the battle.

"Uh, oh...looks like we're really going to need the medics for this match!" DJ Jazzman commented, looking slightly worried. "Both competitors - especially Aika - are looking slightly injured! Someone inform the medic team in the back room! We certainly don't want anyone dying from this tournament..."

"Shinji...don't you have any original attacks?" Aika was slighly put off by the fact that her opponent kept copying her techniques - and so effortlessly, too!

The aqua-eyed boy only grinned that grin again, causing Aika to shudder inwardly. "I'm glad you asked..." Here he glanced towards the bleachers on his side of the stadium and smiled at someone somewhere in the crowd.

Hiromi and her friends followed the boy's gaze and spotted the familiar form of Brooklyn. "So...his dad's watching..." Takao observed.

"Apparently, he trained his son personally..." Max added. All four young adults turned their attention back to Shinji just as he turned back to the battle at hand. "Zeus! King of Darkness!"

Hiromi fairly leapt out of her seat. "NO!" she cried, ruby orbs wide with a mixture of fright and surprise.

Takao gulped. "That...that attack..."

Rei, Max, and Kyouju were thunderstruck; neither said anything. All five were hoping that it would be a less dangerous version of the original, but at that moment, their fears were confirmed: at first, it was only a small, dark, whirlwind emanating from the center of Shinji's blade. But within seconds, it had evolved into the familiar, tangible vortex of darkness, shooting out in the same terrifying, ever-widening spiral towards Aika and threatening to engulf her.

Aika stood stockstill, frozen by shock, uncertainty, and fear. She'd seen this happen in the video of her father's battle with her opponent's father, but she never imagined it would be this frightening to have it happen to one's own self.

Quick as a flash, the dark swirling mass fulfilled its threat; almost too soon, it seemed to have swallowed Aika completely. There wasn't even time for the girl to scream in fright, if she had wanted to.

"AIKA!"

oOo

A/N: Noooo! Is Aika doomed to suffer the same fate as her father, at the hands of the same bit beast? XP but seriously, what do you think's going to happen? Dare you to leave a review before going to the next chapter (yeah, I've posted the next chapter to this already...)!

Dewa mata, minna! Peace out!