Author's notes: Hey there...I'm back with the 8th installment! Can you believe how much I have progressed and all thanks to ardent fanfcition readers like you. Thanks so much for your reviews! Here's the fiction: hope you love this one as much as the others!

Coming To the Conclusion

A week after Hiro's unfortunate wedding crash, the Bladebreakers found themselves lazing about near the river bank again. Since Maxi and Ray were both at home taking a break, Kenny decided on giving them today as a holiday. Hilary rather disapproved of this. It gave her less opportunity to study Tyson from close quarters and it annoyed poor Tyson as well. Because it meant he had nothing by which he could avoid Hil. Kai was lying on the grass, a single blade of grass between his lips. He looked quite a peaceful sight. None of them liked the lazy holiday and Daichi gave full vent to his feelings by yelling loudly, "I don't want a holiday! I wanna battle it out! Holidays are for those lazy old bones who can't even chop wood for the fire in the kitchen!"

He threw Tyson a really wicked look as he said this. But Tyson was too preoccupied with his own problems to take much notice of Daichi. Kai snickered but rather inaudibly. Daichi rounded on him at once.

"Oh you!" he shouted "You really should have a fight with me, okay? You lost to me on purpose during that time!"

A fleeting memory came to Daichi, when Kai seeing Tyson had been benched had lost to Daichi on purpose. He had knocked Hilary and Kenny over during that time.

"I know you did!" Daichi shouted "You undermined my talent! And you really had better make the score even...you better battle me."

Kai shut his eyes in reply. Daichi roared furiously.

Ray met his White Tiger team in their old hangout place...the waterfalls. There was Mariah, Lee, Kevin and Garry – all of them so very proud of him.

"Hey Ray" called Mariah "So, you'll be here for a while then?"

"Yeah" said Ray, smiling at her enthusiasm.

"So, Ray" said Kevin "This time you're gonna join the White Tigers for the World Championships I'll bet!"

Ray looked at his, eyes widened with shock. In the flush of meeting his old friends once again, he had totally forgotten he had to choose his team all over again: Bladebreakers or White Tigers? He turned away from his friends.

'Am I going to betray Tyson again?' he asked himself 'White Tigers expect me to join them and I'm sure Tyson will expect me to join the Bladebreakers again.'

"Are you alright, Ray?" Lee's voice sounded far away and distant.

'What will I do now?'

The question screamed itself hoarse in Ray's mind.

Max was faced with the same dilemma – more or less the same. His team mates of PPB All Stars were all asking him to join this team. This in fact was the problem which held poor Max up for longer than expected. He was spending a sleepless night alone, tossing and turning in bed. He had no idea what to do.

'If I don't join PPB All Stars, mum will be disappointed. And if I don't join Bladebreakers – Tyson will probably never speak to me again.' Max thought 'I've never faced such a dilemma in all my life. Last time it was an order...'

The memory of the letter arriving before the matches, the ticket falling out of his mum's letter and his immediate departure...they all came rushing back to him.

'Did I really want to go?' he asked himself 'Or did I just do what Ray did. Leave and challenge Tyson?'

He shook his head. What was he thinking? He did want to beat Tyson...he wanted to prove he was the best. But he failed to do so.

'Well, right now I'm confused' thought the poor boy 'I'll go to sleep now...I'll think about this tomorrow.'

He rolled over and fell asleep.

Hilary got up from the ground and walked over to the river. She could see her reflection in the crystal clear water. It looked so very peaceful to her.

"I wonder why we can't be like this..." she thought aloud "Without worries, decisions and flow in our sweet pace she thought."

Kai heard her and put himself to a sitting position. He looked at her and answered, "All's not sweet in this life."

Hilary looked at him over her shoulder and nodded at him. A ghost of a grin flickered across his face for a fraction of a second. Kai got up and walked over to her.

"Would you like to battle me?" he asked her.

All of them stared at Kai. He had never spoken to anyone in that tone before! Hilary shook off her surprise at once.

"Yes of course" she smiled.

Kai held out his hand. Hilary took it and he pulled her to her feet.

As Tyson watched them, he felt a weird stab in his chest. Mouth slightly open, the question involuntarily rose to his mind: Why am I feeling this way? What are these stabs for anyway?

Clueless as Tyson is, I think he did realize that he was feeling jealous of Kai battling Hilary and making her day.

'Aw, shucks...I've battled her too' he shrugged a minute later.

Or maybe he did not realize it as yet!

Ray faced his friends again.

"Listen, I need time to think about this. Okay guys?" he said more cheerfully than he really felt.

"Okay" said Mariah at once "We won't force you, you know!"

Ray nodded. No one would be forcing him this time. When he had first met Tyson...back then both Tyson and Mariah had forced him to choose one team. He had chosen Bladebreakers. He returned by choice last year to the White Tigers. What would happen to him now? Where would he go...?

"Are you alright, Ray?" asked Lee, concerned about him "You look funny to me!"

"I feel all funny" complained Hilary, after about 27 minutes of the battle "You are stronger than me...just knock my blade outta the stadium and be done with it!"

"You're not weak" said Kenny "But Hilary if you keep saying such things to your opponent you're letting your blade down."

"Like I care" scoffed Hilary "Blading is fun to watch, for me Kenny. I'd rather Kai put me off the stadium!"

"Oh, come on Hil" said Tyson from the sidelines "That's so not the spirit of blading!"

"Whatever" said Hilary "C'mon Jules!"

"Jules?" echoed Daichi, Kenny and Tyson.

"Juliet actually" explained Hilary "It's supposed to be some river nymph or something my great aunt owned...but legend has it, the bit-beast was lost!"

"Oh" said Kenny.

"Are you playing at all?" asked Kai, suddenly.

"I told you already!" Hilary replied, offhandedly.

"Fine: Have it your way!"

With one sweeping movement, Kai knocked Hilary's blade out of the dish. Hilary reached out to grab it; but it grazed past her fingers and landed in the river.

"My Blade!" yelled Hilary, going over it the river.

She nearly jumped into the river, but Kenny and Daichi held her off.

"Let me go!" she cried "My family blade just fell in the river, you morons!"

"It's for your own good" said Daichi.

"There's a strong current in the river, Hilary" gasped Kenny "Tyson – Kai, help me."

Tyson immediately rushed to Kenny's side to help. Kai watched them from his position. Hilary was still fighting tooth and nail to retrieve her blade.

"Calm down" said Kai, quietly.

"Calm down?" shrieked Hilary "How can I calm down?"

Kai silently pointed out to the river. Something weird was happening. A portal was forming in the middle of the river… something misty and silvery was rising from the heart of the river. A vapory form was in front of them. Hilary stopped struggling and looked at this beautiful apparition with wonder and wide eyes.

"Juliet?" she whispered.

As if that was what it wanted to hear, it went down again. The water began to return to its usual rippling state. The portal slowly closed...and out of it shot out the lost blade: Hilary's family beyblade.

Hilary tenderly picked the blade up. In the front, was the beautiful picture of the nymph. It glinted once in the Sun. Hilary felt a certain power run through it once.

Looking up she saw both Tyson and Kai checking their blades. Nothing was wrong with theirs.

"Did you feel that power too?" she asked them.

"No" replied Kai.

"Weird" said Tyson "I remember when Maxi got his bit-beast all our blades seemed restless."

"That's because they belong to the same family, remember?" asked Kenny, clicking away on his laptop "The Saint Shields told us: these four were the sacred bit-beasts!"

"While mine's just as holy" Hilary screamed at him "And I'm sure Jules has a family!"

"So am I" said Kai "It must have a bond with someone!"

'Whoever you are' thought Hilary 'I just hope you're not my enemy.'

A boy with brown hair and a heart warming smile, walking down the streets of Japan felt warmth in his trouser pockets. He reached inside and pulled out his blades. It glinted once and he felt as though his bit-beast seemed restless.

"What's the matter, Jupiter?" he asked his blade "Why are you so restless now?"

He looked over at the setting sun. This cute and cool boy's name was Eric.

Max wearily opened his eyes in the morning. He felt so tired today. Something was wrong...what was he thinking about the night before he had fallen asleep? Oh, yeah. Whom to join for the World Championships this time!

'I still don't know' he realized 'And I'm supposed to give them my answer today!'

"Huh?"

He looked at his bed side table on which lay his Draciel. It was glowing. Max picked it up and examined it.

"What's going on?" he questioned aloud "Why is Draciel behaving so strangely?"

He got up and walked to his computer. He'd send Kenny a mail. He was a genius...a computer whiz. He'd definitely help Max out.

Max wrote an e-mail and sent it off at once. When this work was over, he lay back on his chair and watched his desktop. The wallpaper was off his Bladebreakers time. All of them looked so happy there: Kenny, Kai, Tyson, himself and Hilary. It seemed as if yesterday this had happened. Those were the untroubled times.

'Wait a minute' Max leant closer to the computer screen 'Why was Kai looking so grumpily in the direction of – of – Hilary?'

Max fell of his chair as the truth suddenly came home to him. The crash made his team mates come rushing to his room.

"Are you alright, Max?" asked Emily.

Michael pulled him to his feet. "What's up?"

Max shook his head and made his announcement.

"I thought it out..." he said "And I think I'm gonna go back. I may not be able to beat Tyson in a tag-team format, but I might be able to help my friends while I'm there. I think they need me. I know they do!"

"We-we understand" said his mother.

Max closed his eyes in answer to her permission.

Ray may not have realized anything about Kai, as had Max. But he too came to the same conclusion. He remembered what Tyson had told them, when they had left.

"Remember we'll always be friends!"

Ray smiled to himself. 'You were right Tyson, nothing can be more important than friendship! And I, for our friendship, shall join you in battle!'

Ray smiled to himself, in spite of the sinking feeling he had in his stomach. Was he going to betray his old friends again?

"Well I have no choice!" he declared "I am leaving!"

Mariah came into his room just then and seeing his things packed looked at him sadly.

"Don't look at me like that!" said Ray, turning away from her "I can't stay. I am sorry!"

"Well, you might" said Mariah "And besides, they haven't even announced the format it. How do you know it won't change?"

"And how do you know it will?" Ray shot back.

He shouldered his belongings and walked past her. He stopped for a moment. Not meeting her eyes, he said, "Good-bye Mariah. But remember we'll always be friends!"

"Good-bye Ray" said Mariah, looking away from him.

When she did turn around, he was already gone. Mariah fell onto the ground.

Beep-beep.

It was so late at night when Hilary's pager went off. She had forgotten to switch it off for the night. She opened her eyes and pressed the read button. It was a message from Max.

"Maxi?" whispered Hilary. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. It was another short message.

Hey Hilary...just thought I'd let you know. Coming home day after tomorrow. Will be in time for the Championships. Hope you're training hard. See you guys soon. Yours Max.

"Oh good" sighed Hilary "At least someone sensible will be coming back!"

She messaged him back. No sooner had she hit her send button, she slumped onto her pillows and fell asleep. Her pager slipped from her fingers and dropped to the ground.

"Good night!" said Hilary, in a very low and broken voice.

Her blade which was next to her bed lamp glinted fiercely again. Then it remained like any other beyblade. Stationary and normal all through the night.

End notes: Hope you liked this chapter! It took a while to figure out. And if any fact goes amiss please don't mind. I am no researcher see...but I kinda made up that Hil-Eric-Max blade connection made from some basic facts and assumptions. Next chapter you'll see why! And hopefully I'll be able to make the characters confess. Couldn't seem to do so this time! That's it: love from Misty Elizabeth.