Whew. 12 pages, but worth it.

Also, forgot to mention: Amy Cosmina belongs to my good friend Warrior.

On to the chapter! Prepare for battles and feels!

Update: I was rereading through this chapter and realized that a major part of the fic got cut out somehow. So, I fixed that bit and updated it.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"You're about to battle your boyfriend why wouldn't we be looking at you in some way that conveys 'don't lose'?" Lucas deadpanned.

Amy glared at the redhead, "I'll have you know, I plan to go all out weather you think I will or not, Reynolds."

"Prove it, Amy. The EU has a lot to prove in this round," Nero commented, crossing his arms.

Amy rolled her eyes as DJ began to announce the next battle, "You lot have too little faith in me, I swear."

"I have all my faith in you, Amy!" King chirped.

"Only because you've known me the longest," Amy deadpanned, and jolted back to the present as DJ announced her name.

"And from Team Rinascinta, give it up for Amethysia Cosmina! Keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, this final battle will be the one that decides which team will move on! Will it be the EU team looking to seek a victory from their previous loss against the American team, or will the American team continue to wipe the floor with the EU team?"

Not a chance, Amy thought, vindictive as she made her way to the dish. Toby already stood on his side, grinning at ease.

"Honestly, I'm curious to see who King will cheer for, aren't you?" Toby asked, conversationally.

"If we're talking about the same King, he'll just cheer in general, you know that," Amy shot back, grinning.

"Waste not another moment Bladers, and let's get this battle started!" DJ's voice rang through the arena, "Three!"

Toby and Amy pulled their gear out and readied themselves for battle.

"Two!"

"One! Let it rip!"

Okay, so I can't meet Lyra in a head on attack, Amy thought, cradling her chin in one hand and observing as the two Beys circled around each other. Lyra's fusion wheel makes it tricky to get an attack in. Even with that in mind, as Lyra is a registered attack type, the defensive capabilities are actually stronger, and Toby knows how to bring those capabilities to the max… I know he knows how to do that.

Amy groaned, and rubbed her temples, "Damn Lucas, now I see what he meant."

Toby raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

"We're at both an advantage and disadvantage with the fact we're battling each other. We know each other's tricks and strengths and weaknesses," Amy sighed.

At that, Toby grinned, "Well, I guess that just means we'll have to push each other to our limits, right?" Then, he became serious, "Lyra!"

Amy frowned as Lyra crashed into her Bey, Clockwork Loki, and chewed on her lower lip.

Loki's a strong stamina type to Lyra's attacks. Our defensive abilities are almost matched. I think my best bet is to let Lyra's stamina drop and then finish him off with a single, strong attack.

"Loki!" Amy swept her hand out, "Special Move, Magic Matrix!"

"And Amy's the first to call move, despite Toby attacking first! And hotdog, would you look at that, Loki's done multiplied! I can't tell which one is real and which one isn't!"

"Interesting strategy," Toby commented. "Trying to throw me off?"

Amy hid a smile, "Something like that. Care to try your luck?"

Toby was silent for a moment, contemplating his thoughts. Then, he looked up at Amy with a half grimace, half smile, "You're trying to wear my stamina down, aren't you?"

And at that, Amy did smile, singing, "Guilty."

"Smart move. I don't have much choice if I want to find the real Loki…" Toby's voice changed, a sly expression crawling over his face, "But…"

"Oh no," Amy said, softly.

"Lyra! Special Move, Harmonic Divergence!"

Lyra stayed right where he was, and released a series of red colored energy blasts. Amy felt her jaw drop as she watched Loki's clones disappear, right up until a burst of energy collided with the real thing and sent it flying back.

"You haven't trained with the American team in a while! Go now, Spiral Lyra!" Toby shouted with a smile. In the dish, Lyra pulsed a bright red color, and charged forward.

"Loki!" Amy exclaimed, eyes wide as her partner was driven back, further and further towards the edge.

"Oi! Amy don't you dare give up now!" Behind her, King was shouting, "You know his tricks, don't fall for them!"

"Ey!" Toby peered around Amy, "King, whose side are you on, anyways?"

"Amy's side!"

Toby snorted, rolling his eyes. Amy used the distraction for what it was worth and ordered Loki away from Lyra's assault. Toby looked down in time to see Loki come streaking around the dish and settle at Amy's feet.

I can't let this drag on for much longer. Even as a stamina type, if Loki can't land a hit… I need to end this, and end it quickly, Amy thought. If I don't, chances are, Toby will win, and the American team goes on. If I win, though… that means we have a tie breaker match. Amy glanced over her shoulder, at her team members.

Jasmine was focused on her laptop, and King was cheering her on- or maybe he was taunting Toby, Amy wasn't really paying attention- but her gaze caught Luke and Nero's blue eyes. Lucas narrowed his own, and Nero raised an eyebrow.

Amy smirked, and tilted her head imperceptibly. A wolfish grin spread over Nero's face, and Lucas nodded.

Amy turned her attention back to the battle, "Loki! Time to finish this!"

Toby grinned, "Getting a bit cocky, are you, Amy?"

"Magic Matrix!"

"I thought we just established that won't work!"

"You're right about one thing Toby!" Amy called over, smiling, "I haven't trained with the American team in a while! I've been with the European team… and I've picked up a few tricks along the way! Clockwork Loki, finish him off!"

Loki began to glow, before a flash of bronze filled the air. The god of trickery appeared in all his glory, the runes he was surrounded with glowing brightly. Then, he abruptly disappeared.

"What good do the clones do when you ultimately give yourself up by allowing the real thing to attack?" Toby called, observing the multiple clones of Loki in the stadium.

Amy felt her smile turn feral, "You would think that, wouldn't you?" She widened her stance, and took a deep breath, "Special Move… Clockwork Trickster!"

And just like, all of the clones surged toward Lyra. Toby yelped in surprise as Lyra was put under a barrage attack he'd never seen his girlfriend pull off before. Sparks flew, dust filled the air, making it hard to see. Toby squinted, trying desperately to see, before his eyes landed on a flash of bronze streaking through the dust, just barely seen.

"Lyra, Crush String!" Toby called.

A solid hit landed, Toby heard the moment the two Beys connected. A burst of gold and red light filled the air, before a streak of red was shooting through the air.

Toby stared, feeling a little shocked, before he grinned and caught Lyra out of the air, before she could streak by him.

"And Amy pulls off the win!" DJ announced, sounding excited, "And this means, ladies and gentlemen that both teams are sitting with one win each!"

Amy beamed, seeing her partner spinning steadily in the dish.

"We'll be taking a break, everybody!" DJ continued, "And when we return, we'll be getting right into the final, tie breaker battle! Teams, make your decisions on who battles, because it could mean the difference between weather you move on or not!"

"We're moving on to our tie breaker battle, ladies and gentlemen! Let's see who we got!"

"I'm going," Chris said, overriding anyone else who may have spoken. "No offense, but I've had the most time to recover out of all of us."

"None taken," Toby nodded. "Good luck."

Christina grabbed her brother's arm before he could step off the platform, "Hold on. Look." She pointed, and the American team paused, watching as both Nero Konzern and Lucas Reynolds took up position on their side of the dish, "Remember what Nero said at the panel, yesterday? He definitely implied it'd be a tag team match for the tiebreaker."

Chris regarded the duo for a moment, before looking at his sister, "In that case, care to join me?"

Christina grinned, wolfishly, "I thought you'd never ask."

"Looks like it's going to be a tag team match!" DJ exclaimed, "Between our resident Cadelle siblings, and the fire and ice duo, Nero Konzern and Lucas Reynolds!"

"This should be interesting," Tyler commented, rubbing his chin. "Lucas and Nero are known for being as good of a tag team duo as Wales and Sophie were, maybe even better."

"And Wales and Sophie beat the Beylin temple tag team technique in the last World Championships," Toby recalled. "But Chris and Christina are good partners too. They know each other's moves ahead of time."

"Any good tag team can do that though," Tyler replied. He went silent as the countdown began.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One! Let it rip!"

"Okay, so we've got a stamina and attack type going up against an attack and defensive type," Jasmine muttered. "But the thing is… Orion's high in defensive power as well, and Khione is high in attack power too. Their best bet is to avoid Orion and just go after Neith."

"Khione!"

"Furie!"

The two Beys split up, the left rotating Furie and the normal rotating Khione circling the dish, circling Orion and Neith, before both rocketed down the slope and towards their opponents.

Furie collided with Neith, sending her into the air, as Khione began a barrage attack on Orion.

"What are you thinking?! You don't stand a chance against Orion's bearing drive!"

"That's what you think," Lucas smirked. "Khione! Special Move, Black Ice!"

"And just like that, Lucas manages to throw off both Orion and Neith's balance! Are the fire and ice wonder duo planning to wait our favorite siblings out?!"

"Dammit," Christina growled, watching as Orion and Neith wobbled on the ice, "Any ideas?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Chris muttered, hands curling into fists, running his eyes over the dish. "Khione can attack, but our defenses are good. Luke will be wearing out his stamina. Furie, though, can't attack, cause then they'll get caught in Luke's trap."

Across the stadium, Nero laughed, settling a hand on his hip, "Oh, you poor fools If only you thought before you foolishly accepted our challenge!"

"Huh?" The Cadelle's chorused.

"Hellfire Furie! Special Move, Hellfire Blast!"

"Snowstorm Khione! Special Move, Black Ice!"

"Wait- What are Nero and Lucas up to?" DJ wondered aloud, "Oh, wicked! Furie's flames are burning away the ice, giving Nero a clear path to attack! Khione's coming in behind to refreeze the ground and keep Orion and Neith off balance!"

"That's… a damn good strategy," Toby winced.

"Whoo! Go boys, you got this!" Amy cheered.

"Dammit! I can't maintain a strong defense if they keep this up!" Christina exclaimed, "Chris!"

"Pay attention!" Chris hissed, "He can only attack one of us at a time, and then there's a few seconds before Khione comes in! One of us just needs to take the attack while the other cuts Lucas off!"

"Let me take the attack then," Christina said. "You have the stronger attack power, you can send Khione out of bounds! Only one of them needs to be thrown out for us to win!"

Chris nodded, "Got it. Just don't get thrown out yourself."

"You worry about you, I'll worry about me," Christina smirked, and turned her attention back to the dish.

"Furie! Hellfire Blast!"

"Neith! Chameleon Cloak!"

"Khione! Black Ice!"

"Orion! Star Bolt!"

The crowd's cheers reached a crescendo as the four Bladers called their special moves. Furie came barreling through the ice, only for Neith to disappear and dodge. Nero squawked in surprise, eyes wide as Orion came in between Furie and Khione, and met the icy Bey in a head on attack. Lucas reeled back, jaw dropping as he watched Khione fly through the air.

"Air time!" DJ exclaimed, "Orion sends Khione flying! Is this the end of the EU team's run in the main round?!"

"Yes! A direct hit!" Christina cried, pumping her fist into the air.

"Khione!" Lucas shouted, a drop of sweat running down the side of his temple.

"Furie!" Nero swept his arm out, adjusting his stance, "Get Khione!"

In the dish, Furie pulsed red, and rocketed up the slope of the stadium, intercepting Khione's trajectory and clanging with the blue Bey. Everyone watched with bated breath as the two Beys soared through the air, only to land back in the dish.

"Aw, c'mon!" Christina groaned, "We were so close!"

"I think it's time we finish this," Lucas growled. "I'm getting sick of all these close calls."

"Agreed," Nero nodded, serious. "You got enough power left for our joint move?"

"Yeah, do you?"

"Just enough," Nero grimaced. "If this doesn't work, Lulu…"

"It has too," Lucas muttered, desperate. "It has to…"

Nero didn't comment, only straightened his spine and took up a stance. Lucas did the same.

"Hellfire Furie!" Nero called out, sweeping his arm up over his head, "Special Move, Hell Raiser!"

"Snowstorm Khione!" Lucas shouted, throwing his arms out to his side, "Special Move, Blizzard!"

"Oh, now what?!" Chris exclaimed, eyes wide as the two spirits appeared- the goddess of snow, and one of the guardians of the Underworld- in the air.

"Joint Special Move!" The two EU Bladers called in sync, "Fire and Ice Devastation!"

"Booyah! There's no way that they can stand up against that!" Jasmine cried, as a bright white light filled the air, accentuated by the sound of explosions.

"Hot dog! What an explosive show of power! But was that enough for the EU team to pull ahead with their win?!" DJ called, peering through the dust. His eyes went wide, "Hold up! We've got two Beys out of commission and those Bladers are- Oh, Nero Konzern and Christina Cadelle!"

A shocked silence fell over the stadium, as Nero and Christina both stared in shock, at their partners who lay fallen and defeated at their feet.

"Ah, damn!" Christina fell to her knees, "Chris, you gotta-"

"Finish him off, Luke! Now!" Nero whipped around, "While you've got the chance!"

"Khione! Send him flying!"

"Bring it on, red! You don't stand a chance! Orion!"

"Despite the fact that their partners are down for the count, Chris and Lucas are still in this! Look at them go, ladies and gentlemen! Again and again, Khione and Orion meet in head on collisions, neither of them giving an inch! With the thought of moving on to the next round of the World Championships weighing heavy on their minds, it's really anyone's game!" DJ paused, taking a breath, "And look, Orion goes in for a barrage attack, driving Khione further and further towards a stadium out!"

"End of the line, Reynolds!" Chris smirked, settling a hand on his hip. "Orion! Send him flying!"

"You wish, Cadelle!" Lucas growled back, "Khione!"

"Hm?" Jasmine glanced down as her computer began to beep wildly, "Wicked! Khione's spin speed has picked up!"

"What? But shouldn't it have slowed by now?" Amy and King both moved to look over Jasmine's shoulders.

In the dish, Khione sent Orion flying away from the force of wind of alone, and quickly took up a stance in the center of the dish. Chris' lip curled back in a snarl as he ordered Orion to begin a barrage attack.

"Yeah!" King nodded, "Khione's taken a lot of hard hits!"

"Well, the scans don't lie," Jasmine huffed, frowning as her computer picked up something else, "Stamina and defensive stats have doubled as well…"

"How's that possible?" Amy asked.

"I don't know! Honestly, the only time I've ever seen anything like this is when-" Jasmine cut off, eyes going wide, "Oh… oh no."

"What? What's oh no?" Nero had climbed back up on to the team platform, "What's going on?"

"I…" Jasmine gulped, "I think we're about to find our first member of the Elemental Seven."

"Huh?"

"Who?!"

"Enough," Lucas said, coldly, his voice rising through the air. "I'm done playing, Chris. It's time for you to go home."

"You're all talk and no show, Luke," Chris snapped back. "How do you think you can win?"

"You've used most of Orion's stamina to power your attacks," Lucas said, spoke, calmly. "That's why you keep attacking, because if you try to turn this into a stamina battle so late in the battle, you'll end up losing, am I right?"

Chris grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

"Your silence is answer enough. Don't worry. I'll make this quick," Lucas smirked, as an icy blue aura appeared around him and Khione, "Snowstorm Khione!"

Jasmine squeaked, eyes on her laptop, "All stats are maxed out…"

"Oh boy," Amy murmured.

"Everyone, hit the deck!" Nero suddenly exclaimed.

"Ultimate Move… Winter's Wrath!"

Just like it had with Khione's Blizzard, a snowstorm came roaring in, but this one was far more intense, with thunder rumbling in the distance and sleet and ice raining down instead of snow. Wind howled, causing the bits of ice to bite viciously at any exposed skin.

With a loud boom of thunder- or maybe it was an explosion, it was hard to tell- and a bright flash of blue-white light, the storm lulled. Cautiously, spectators in the crowd peered out, the silence thick and heavy.

DJ, thankfully, found his voice first.

"And the winner of this match i… is Lucas Reynolds! Ladies and gentlemen, the first round of the World Championships goes to the EU- Team Rinascinta!"

Ear splitting squeals and cheers filled the Konzern mansion, originating from the living room. The staff of the Konzern mansion shared looks and smiles, and wisely decided to leave team Excalibur alone.

"That's right! Moving on to round two of the World Championships, thanks to the hidden powerhouse of the EU, Lucas Reynolds, is Team Rinascinta! Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen, as we'll be getting a post-match interview to see what they think about this turn of events!" The American DJ grinned at the camera, and as he finished his statement, the show cut to commercials.

"Did you know Lucas had a move like that?!" Sophie exclaimed, rounding on Wales.

Wales threw his hands up, leaning away, "Nope! That's new on me!"

Julian's phone began ringing, Nero's picture and name showing up on the Caller ID. With a slight roll of his eyes, Julian answered, flicking speaker phone on, "Yes, Nero, we saw. Congrats on the win-"

"Lucas is the water elemental," Nero interrupted, without preamble. He sounded breathless and maybe just a bit panicked.

Excalibur froze, eyes going wide.

"… What?" Julian asked, "I… We must not have heard you correctly, did you just say-"

Nero huffed. There was a crackle of static, and then the foursome heard through the speakers, the audible voices of King and Lucas.

"-didn't think I was actually one of them!" Lucas cried, panicked.

"Little dude, just calm down! It's alright, everything's fine!" King tried to placate.

"Calm down? Calm down?! How can you tell me to calm down when I just found out I'll be fighting some form of ancient evil?!"

"It's not that bad, really-"

"You're a Legendary Blader, King! Don't look me in the eyes and say that when I know you came back from that battle against Nemesis with some form of trauma!"

"Okay, rude, really. You're making a big deal out of nothing! For all we know, Nyx is no where near as bad as Nemesis was!"

"Nope, no, no I'm not dealing with this! Oh, oh, god when Wales finds out…"

"He'll be fine! It's not like he can change fate!"

"You don't know Wales! He's a stubborn, petty bastard who can and will find a way!" There was a beat of silence, "Son of a bitch. Oh fuck. Oh no, no, no, no…"

"Now what?" King groaned, "Nero can you stop standing there and help?!"

There was another crackle of static, and then Nero was back on the line, "You think I'm still playing around? Wales, you there?"

"I… yeah, yeah, I'm here," Wales shook his shock. "Are you guys sure that-"

Sophie's phone pinged. Blinking in surprise, she picked the device off the coffee table and opened her messages. Her expression twisted into a grimace, "Yeah, they're sure. Check it out."

Sophie passed her phone to Wales, Klaus and Julian leaning in from either side to look over his shoulders. Klaus' eyebrows went up and Julian winced, "Aha. Evolution, huh?"

"Yep. Jasmine's already running scans. Apparently, this evolved Khione is high in attack power and stamina, though we don't yet know just how powerful those abilities are," Nero sighed. "Amy's putting the word out to the other teams, so at least they all know what to look out for now." Then, more to himself than for the benefit of who he was talking to, "I'm pretty sure that the American team is flipping out. I don't blame them. This came out of nowhere…"

"Not… exactly," Wales shifted, running a hand through his hair. He handed Sophie her phone back, "We knew the trajectory of the comets… Dammit, I should have realized it sooner. The London one came directly over our own damn house…"

"You know, when you put it like that," Klaus commented. "We should mention that to the others."

"I'll pass the word along to Amy," Nero said. There was some noise in the background, "Hey, I gotta go. Lucas is still spiraling and we got that post battle interview yet to do."

"I'll be calling him later," Wales told the younger Konzern. "Tell him that."

"Honestly, he probably needs to hear you more than anyone else," Nero agreed. "Alright, I'll call later. See ya!"

The line went dead before anyone could reply, and Excalibur was left in silence. After a moment, Wales stood up and shuffled out of the room, silent as a mouse. A few seconds later, there was a shout, followed by the crash of something glass hitting the floor.

Julian twitched.

"I've got him," Klaus sighed, and stood up to follow his friend.

Sophie glanced over at Julian, raising an eyebrow at the worried look on her friend's face, "Julian, are you okay?"

Julian startled, "Huh? Oh, yes, Sophie, I'm fine."

"You sure? You seem like you're thinking pretty hard about something," Sophie commented.

"Just the fact I'll probably have to buy more gym equipment to deal with Wales' temper," Julian waved it off, standing. "You know, I think the least we can do is clean up the mess we've made, and keep the maids' ire away from us."

Sophie didn't look convinced at Julian's excuse, but she let it go with a smile.

After having lunch with the American team, the group went their separate ways for the rest of the day. Amy, Jasmine, Christina, and Nero all decided to hit up Fifth Avenue, while King, Tithi, Tyler, Toby, and Chris went to meet up with Zeo and Masamune at Dungeon Gym.

Lucas decided to go back to the hotel and take a much-needed rest, despite his friends' protests. Still, they let him go without much fuss.

After a long, hot shower and a change of clothes, Lucas felt a bit more relaxed, but his mind was still wired, like the ball in a pinball machine that couldn't find the exit. With a groan, he threw himself on to the bed closest to the room door, sprawling out and closing his eyes. Maybe he could take a nap before the team got back, because he knew that when they did they'd want to talk about-

Luke's phone began to ring. He opened his eyes and stared deadpan at the high, white colored ceiling. He debated not answering, but upon recognizing the ring tone as the one that he'd assigned as Wales' tone, he sighed and fumbled for said device.

"What?" Lucas groaned, flicking speakerphone on. He buried his face into his arms, sighing again.

"Wow. For someone who just pulled off one of the biggest power moves I've seen a while, you don't sound very happy," Wales commented.

"Wales," Lucas said. "Cut it out. We both know why you called."

There were a few seconds of silence, a rustle of fabric and crackle of static, before Wales sighed.

"Yeah, we do. Never been able to bullshit you, have I? How you holding up?"

"Just fine,"

"Lucas, I heard you freaking the hell out when Nero called earlier. You're anything but calm right now, no matter how good of a front you have on,"

Lucas was silent for a while, trying to piece together what he could say. Wales wasn't wrong. He never was, when it came to reading his brother. Lucas had often wondered, when Wales hadn't known he existed for fourteen years, how that was possible. Sophie had once told him that Wales was just scarily good at reading people.

"I'm… scared, Wales. Except, this isn't the type of fear from… from living with father," Lucas finally said. "This is different. I'm not living day to day, wondering if I'll see the next sunrise or sunset, but… this is the world, we're talking about! The fate of it! On if anyone will be seeing the sun again!"

"It's not all on your shoulders, remember? There's six other people that have yet to be found," Wales assured.

"But I'm one of them!" Lucas exclaimed, finally breaking his cool, "And for god's sake, we don't even know who the others are! What if it turns into another Legendary Blader thing! What if we can't get our shit together?!"

"Luke,"

"The Curse of Death! Did you forget that one?! Supposed to feel the urge to turn evil?! What if that urge actually works and one our own ends up doing just that?!"

"Buddy,"

"And don't even get me started on father! He's found a way around Julian's damn legal team, being the damn mechanic for the Russian team! And as psychotic as he is, I guarantee you he's going to have some sort of hand in some sinister plot!"

"Luke,"

"And just- Wales, I don't know what to do anymore," Lucas' voice cracked. "I know… I entered this tournament to prove… something, and now I'm thinking it was the worst idea I've ever had."

"Lucas Reynolds," Wales said, firmly. "This is not a mistake, nor the worst idea you've ever had."

The door opened and Nero walked into the hotel room, shopping bags on his arms, shades over his eyes, a beaming smile on his lips, and some sort of to go box in his hands.

"The worst idea you've ever had was making friends with Nero Konzern," Wales finished.

Nero stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Lucas' phone. Lucas facepalmed.

"Uh, rude," Nero finally said. "How about you tell me how you really feel, Wales?"

Wales squeaked, "Oh fuck."

"And to think, after all I do for your brother, you treat me this way. For shame!" Nero dropped the to go box beside Luke's phone, then let all his bags fall to the floor, "A hot chocolate soft serve sundae with chocolate sprinkles, freeze dried strawberries, and extra chocolate drizzle. Enjoy, red."

"Spoon?" Lucas asked, as he snatched the to go box and pried it open. The cold of the plastic didn't bother him, and he plucked the plastic wrapped spoon from Nero's hand when offered, "You godsend."

"Am I being ignored for ice cream?" Wales asked, idly. He sounded amused and exasperated, his question rhetorical because this was something that happened often.

"I'm hanging up on you, Princess Anna," Nero drawled, picking up Lucas' phone.

"Oi, don't you start calling me that, you pri-"

Nero hung up on him and looked at Lucas. Lucas, already a quarter of his way through his treat, just raised an eyebrow, "He said it, not me."

Nero snorted, and set Lucas' phone back down, "You're my best friend. We both know he was only teasing."

Lucas actually cracked a small grin at that, "True." He glanced at the shopping bags Nero had dropped on his bed and the floor, "So…"

"I got you a few things," Nero grinned, and began to rummage through the bags. The first thing he pulled out was actually a few different t-shirts, ones that he held up for Lucas to look at, "I found a whole bunch of band shirts, and you wouldn't believe the surplus of classics they had. Guns 'N' Roses, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Queen…"

"You know me so well," Lucas smirked.

"Got you a new pair of boots and sunglasses too, since you said you left yours back home," Nero said. "Oh, and a leather jacket!"

"Sounds like you spent more on me than yourself,"

"Oi, you know that I'll take every opportunity I can to spoil you-" Nero began. There was a knock on the hotel room door, and both teens stiffened.

"Nero, Luke!" Jasmine's muffled voice called, "I came to return Khione!"

"I got it," Nero said, and skipped over to the door, pulling it open, "Hey, Jazz!"

"Hello, blondie, where's Lucas?"

"Eating his ice cream, come on in," There was a shuffle of footsteps, and the other two members of the team filed in.

"Well, I've finished my scans," Jasmine said, as she set Khione on the bedside table. Khione was different now, not just in terms of looks. Lucas could almost feel the power she was putting off, sitting so close to him, "We already knew she was higher in attack and stamina, but after some research and studying, I've concluded she's five times stronger and could very well outlast Orion in a stamina battle."

Nero let out a low whistle, "Damn."

"Defense has improved too, my guess is you could hold your own against… hm, maybe even against Kyoya," Jasmine continued. "At least, based on my scans, your defensive capabilities are just a bit below his Leone's."

"So he could hold his own against Kyoya?" Nero asked, interested.

"Oh for sure," Jasmine nodded with a smile. She glanced down at Lucas, still sitting on the bed and furrowed her eyebrows, "Uh, Luke?"

Lucas paused with the spoon in his mouth, "Hm?"

"You mean to say you've eaten half of the mega chocolate frozen monstrosity and haven't gotten brain freeze?"

Lucas shrugged, and Nero cackled.

"Oh, he could eat a whole gallon and not be affected. You've got a lot to learn," Nero grinned, and ruffled Jasmine's black and neon streaked hair. "I'm jealous, actually."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, but refocused on Lucas, "Any questions about Khione?"

"How soon can I get back to training with her?"

"I'd say you and her both need to rest the rest of the day," Jasmine said. "You're a good Blader, but from what I've heard, all the Legendary Bladers had to adjust to the new power surge. Maybe tomorrow afternoon, you can challenge King."

"I can challenge King?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Okay fine, he's itching to battle you. And it'll be good to see how Khione goes against a defense and attack type, so I definitely want to sit in,"

"And don't think I won't take a crack at you, either," Nero pitched in. "I want to see just how powerful you are now."

"Of course," Lucas said, lightly. "I'd expect nothing less."

Jasmine rolled her eyes as the two teens stared at each other, sparks flying, "That's my cue to leave. Lucas, come get us tomorrow when you're ready to try out Khione's new abilities."

"Thanks Jazz… for everything," Lucas called as she went for the door. Jasmine paused, before turning and giving him a smile.

"Anytime, Luke. Anytime."

Whew! That was fun! Hm, what to say about the next chapter without revealing too much... oh! It's gonna be scorching hot!

Hope you guys enjoyed and will leave a review! Until next time, ciao!