A/N:OK, so... here's the next one guys. I've had it nearly done forever but I've never had the chance to finish and post. Anyway, I'm really sorry and I'm not even going to say this time that I'll have the next one out soon cause I have no idea =( .... lol. Sooo, without further Adieu, here's ch5, hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer:I do not own BB or any of the characters.... except Breal and Villikosto lol.
"You all did well last week. This week you'll be battling first, so there's no time to practice or observe. Are you all ready?"
The four girls in the room nodded at their coach. Keisha was sitting on a table, her hands resting on it either side of her while she kicked her feet back and forth below her. Victoria was curled up in an armchair with her feet pulled up around her and her arms on either side of the chair. Kage was sitting on the love-seat with her arms and legs crossed and Demetra was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed as well; as usual, hanging on to Breal's every word.
"Who will we be fighting?" The silver-eyed blader asked.
Breal turned to his sister and watched her for a moment before his gaze moved to fall on Keisha.
"The All Stars."
Keisha tensed and her smile froze on her face. All eyes turned to her and a thick silence fell over the room.
"Do you think you can handle it?" Breal asked tonelessly.
Keisha lifted her chin in the air and forced herself to relax. She felt Demetra's eyes boreing into her but she trained her eyes on Breal and nodded.
"I know I can." She said confidently.
Breal watched her for a moment, then nodded once. He turned again to look at the rest of the girls and looked them all over.
"I don't want Keisha to battle today."
Keisha's mouth dropped open and she jumped off the table.
"What!?" She shouted in disbelief. "You've gotta to be kidding me! I didn't battle the last round either! That's not fair Breal!"
Breal turned his head back to the redhead and locked eyes with her. Her emerald orbs glared back defiantly.
"I know you want to battle, but it's too risky. You've already made friends with that team and we can't risk feelings getting in the way."
"I haven't made friends with the whole team, just Max! I can battle any one of the others! I want to battle!"
Breal frowned and lifted his nose in the air, starring at Keisha as if starring right through her very soul. She pulled herself up to her full height and starred back defiantly until finally Breal turned away.
"I'll leave it up to your Captain." He said as he walked away.
Three egar faces turned towards Demetra as Breal exited the room. Her arms were still crossed and her eyes were now closed. When she finally opened them, she uncrossed her arms and pushed off the wall.
"Well see." She said simply. And with that she walked to the door and left as well.
Kage looked over at Keisha, who was fuming by the table, before standing up and walking over to her to place a hand on her shoulder. Keisha looked up into the amethyst eyes and sighed.
"I know." She said simply. She knew what Kage wanted to say.
Kage gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and smiled before turning to Victoria. The blonde-streaked brunette walked up to the redhead and gave her a small hug.
"Don't worry copper-top!" She said cheerfully. "There's still two more rounds after this one! You'll be in both of those if not this one! You know they're not doing this to be unfair... we just wanna win."
Keisha sighed and looked away from her friends with a sour look.
"Right." She said moodily.
Victoria placed an arm over Keisha's shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze like Kage had. The two then turned and left the redhead to her thoughts.
"This is so unfair!" Keisha said angrily to herself once she was alone. "I shouldn't be punished for making friends!"
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Keisha pulled herself up to her full height again and turned to leave the room as well.
"Alright, first up is Victoria, then Kage, then me."
Keisha pouted as she sat on the bench and listened to Demetra speak.
"The All Stars have already lost to the Blitzkrieg Boys in the first round, so we've only got to beat them two out of three matches to eliminate them. They've seen Victoria and Kage's moves and bitbeasts but they haven't had a change to collect any data on mine. In any case, you're both going to have to use different attacks and strategies and watch out for them."
The girls pulled away from their little huddle as the voices over the speakers were heard.
"We're here in beautiful Virginia where the next round of the American tournament is about to get under-way!"
"That it is, AJ! And I've gotta admit, I'm pumped!"
"Me too, Brad! This round promises to be a good one because this time, two teams will be eliminated!"
"That's right! After Friday, only four teams will be going on to the next round! Who will they be?!"
Demetra looked up into the stands and locked eyes with a set of brilliant blue orbs. Breal nodded at her and the silver-eyed blader nodded back.
"Alright, Victoria." The tall girl said. "You're up."
The aqua-marine eyed blader stood up from the bench and made her way to the dish. When she got there, Jazzman was standing ready to introduce her and her opponent.
"First up is Victoria of Villikosto versus Emily of the All Stars!"
Emily's eyes never left Victoria as she set up her blade and launcher. Victoria's eyes were locked on her opponent as well as she set up her own gear. When they were ready, their hands shot up in front of them in unison and both took up their positions.
"Bladers, on your mark!"
Both girl's eyes narrowed in concentration as Jazzman counted down.
"Three! Two! One!"
"Let it rip!"
Neither girl wasted any time as they both immediately called forth their bitbeasts.
"Trygator!"
"Tallope!"
Victoria's teeth clenched as she starred at the alligator's razor sharp fangs.
"Keep away from it's mouth, Tallope!" She yelled warningly. Emily smirked.
"It's not his mouth you have to watch out for! Trygator, Water Smash!"
Victoria gasped as the alligator made a mighty swat at the huge brown horse, knocking the green and brown blade high into the air.
"NO!" Victoria screamed in horror. Her eyes were wide as she watched her blade fall, seemingly in slow motion, towards the ground again.
"Why does this seem so familiar?!" She demanded in her head. Then something clicked and her eyes widened further. "Of course! My match with Enrique! Oh man, now I know how he felt!"
"Heh. Over before it began." Emily said smugly. Victoria growled.
"I don't think so!" She snapped angrily. "You All Stars think you're hot stuff! We'll this match isn't over yet!"
Victoria's teeth and fists clenched tightly as she starred up at her blade.
"Tallope! Gallop!"
The green and brown blade suddenly began to spin at an incredible speed and shot towards the ground in nothing short of a colored blur. Much to the crowd, and Emily's, surprise, the airborne blade landed on the edge of the dish and tipped back down. Unlike Victoria's match with Enrique however, this time there was no hesitation as the horse flew at the gator with lightning speed.
"Tallope! RKO!"
Emily laughed.
"That tired old move again? Please. Why don't you just give up?"
Victoria's blood was boiling.
"Tired old-?! Who the hell do you think you are!? I'll show you 'tired old move'!"
Tallope charged at Trygator and stopped just before they reached each other. When the huge reptilian beast stopped to blink in confusion, the horse turned around and kicked it hard with it's hind legs, sending it out of the dish and causing it to land some feet behind Emily.
Victoria's chest heaved as she glared at Emily with something akin to an extreme hatred.
"Not bad for a tired old move huh?!" She spat bitterly.
Emily said nothing as she simply gawked open mouthed over her shoulder. Victoria snorted humorlessly and bent down to pick up her still spinning blade. Lifting her nose in the air, she turned on her heel and stalked back to her team's bench.
"Well done, Victoria." Demetra praised approvingly as the girl sat down.
Keisha simply smiled and shook her head. When it came to battling, one thing you didn't do with Victoria was provoke her or her bitbeast. For such a pretty pair, they sure packed a powerful punch. Would she ever walk away from a match with a new friend?
"And there you have it folks!" Came AJ's voice over the speakers. "Villikosto is on fire! So far in this tournament, this new and rising team has yet to be defeated!"
"That's right, AJ! These girls are smokin'! Can Kage keep up the streak, or will she give her team their first loss?"
"That remains to be seen, Brad. But one thing's for sure; this girl is one tough customer! And before you get too picky-choosy over who you're gonna cheer for, let me remind everyone that this silent power house has only ever been beaten once."
"Alright! Bladers take your positions!"
Kage stepped up to the dish and readied her launcher while across from her, Rick readied his.
"Next up we have Rick of the All Stars and Kage of Villikosto!"
Kage ignored Jazzman as he introduced her and instead concentrated on setting up her blade.
"Bladers ready! Three! Two! One!"
"Let it rip!"
"I saw your last match." Rick told Kage pointedly. "You're pretty good. But you know somethin'? I'm better! Hate to tell ya this, but here's where your near-perfect winning streak comes to an end!"
Kage didn't seem the least bit affected by this taunting as Rick charged at her with full force.
"Woah! And a close call for Kage!" AJ exclaimed excitedly. "Looks like Rick isn't gonna take this lying down!"
"Neither is his bitbeast!" Brad added. "With these two powerhouses in the dish, we'll be lucky to have a dish at all once it's all over!"
"Rock Bison, Drop Rock!"
Kage watched intently as the huge beast towered down on her. Just when everyone thought she was done-for, Kage's blade pulled back and dodged to the side, causing Rick's blade to collide hard into the side of the dish.
"Huh? Where'd ya go?!"
Suddenly the black and white blade was behind Rick's yellow one and the dark blader gasped.
"What? No way!"
Kage's eyes flashed dangerously as they flickered from her blade to Rick's. With that, a bright purple light emitted from Kage's blade and the familiar huge hawk emerged and shot at the yellow blade like a dart.
However, Rick was ready for her this time.
"Rock Bison! Get him!"
The huge horned beast reared it's head and struck the black hawk head on, sending it flying into the air.
"Oooo! And this could be the end for Kage!" AJ exclaimed.
To everyone's surprise, the hawk turned over in the air and out-stretched it's claws, grabbing a hold of the Bison's horns.
"Will you look at that!" Brad said in astonishment as the rest of the crowd released a collective gasp.
"I guess she's thinking; 'if I'm goin' down, you're goin' down with me'!" AJ added.
Everyone in the stadium, save Kage's team, all watched in astonishment as the hawk was sent soaring out of the dish, a tight clutch on the bison, causing it to leave the ring with him.
There was silence all around the stadium as the two blades landed at Kage's feet.
Kage crouched down and picked up both blades. After examining the yellow one for a moment, she smirked and looked up before tossing it across the dish to her opponent.
Rick easily caught his blade, his mouth slightly agape as he struggled to work out what had just happened. When he looked up into Kage's face, she winked at him and lifted her free hand to give him a thumbs up and a smile. Finally he grinned and returned the gesture.
"Heh! You too! Good battle!"
The crowd erupted into a deafening applause as both bladers made their way back to their teams.
"It's all up to you now, Max." Rick said simply as he sat on the bench and crossed his arms and legs. Max grinned.
"Don't worry guys, I won't let you down!"
The blonde headed up to the dish and waited with a smile for his opponent to approach.
Across the stadium, Keisha was silently feeling very grateful now that Demetra had decided not to have her battle. Not that she'd ever admit it, but she was sure that if she'd had to face Max, she wouldn't have quite been able to give it her all.
"Well, let's see what you've got."
Keisha's eyes widened as she turned a disbelieving look on Demetra.
"Excuse me!?" She blurted. "You're kidding right!? You said you didn't want me to battle today!"
"I changed my mind." Demetra said bluntly. Keisha felt her panic rise.
"Demetra! We just went through two whole battles and you couldn't decide before now to let me play!? I can't battle Max!"
Demetra turned a harsh stare on her.
"Why not?" She asked coldly. Keisha swallowed hard.
"B-because...."
"Because he's distracted you." Demetra said icily. Keisha clenched her teeth.
"No.. it's just.... Please, can't you take this one?"
"Nope."
Keisha clenched her teeth and fists, her left hand closing tightly around her launcher.
"Please, Demi!" She begged desperately. "I... I don't know if I can-... I don't think...."
"You don't think what?" Demetra replied, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You said you wanted this Keisha. You got angry earlier because you wanted to battle. Well, here's your chance. Show them what you've got. If you can't beat this kid just cause you hung out once, then how can you honestly say you wanna be the best? Besides, if he really is your friend, don't you think he'd want you to give it your all?"
Keisha bit her lip.
"Yes, but..."
Demetra uncrossed her arms and stood up, looking down her nose at the redhead in her shadow.
"Can you do this, Keisha?" She asked dangerously.
Keisha closed her eyes tightly and clenched her teeth and fists, the knuckles around her launcher and blade in her hands growing white.
"Can I do this?" She asked herself desperately. "Or more importantly.... am I ready to let my team down, just because I've made a new friend? Demi is right, Max would want me to do my best...."
Keisha relaxed and opened her eyes, looking up at Max with a confident expression.
"Yes! I can do this! This is our team's first real competition and we haven't lost yet! I won't break that streak!"
Keisha stood up.
"Yes." She said without looking at her captain. "I can do this."
Without another word, the redhead walked up to the dish and stood in front of it, trying to avoid Max's steady gaze. But it deemed impossible.
"Good luck, Keisha!" He said cheerfully.
Keisha weakly returned his smile as she set up her blade and launcher.
"You too.." She replied, silently adding; "Please don't hate me when this is all said and done, Max..."
"Alright, bladers on your marks! Three! Two! One!"
"Let it rip!"
Both blades landed in the dish and instantly flew at each other like magnets. The force of the impact sent out a shock wave strong enough to push both bladers and Jazzman back a few feet.
"Woah!" Max exclaimed as he starred at the battling blades with a huge grin. "Guess it's true what they say, opposites really do attract!"
The blonde looked up at the redhead, still grinning, but started in surprise at the serious expression on her face.
Keisha's face was set in a serious and deeply concentrated look. She looked as if she were a war general egging on her troop. There was no longer any warmth in those brilliant emerald eyes, no compassion on that once-cheerful face. Now, it was easy to see, that empty shell of a person had one goal and one goal only: to win no matter the cost.
"Is she... serious?" Max asked himself in shock. "She can't really be that cold can she? I mean... this is Keisha I'm talking about. Sweet, cheerful, kind, compassionate, Keisha."
Looking from the emerald-eyed blader to their battling blades, Max noted with surprise how much trouble Draciel was having.
Surprise? Why was he surprised?
Perhaps because he hadn't expected her to actually be that fierce. Thinking of her as the sweet, innocent one, it had been impossible to imagine her to be even remotely similar to any of her teammates. Even Victoria, kind and funny as she was, was a force to be reckoned with in the dish.
But there was no way Keisha was like them. It was impossible. She must be trying to impress someone or to prove herself. She's not really that cold and emotionless.
Max gasped as his blade struck the side of the dish hard and winced as he watched the purple and black blade grind his green one into the side of the dish.
"If this keeps up, there's not going to be anything left of Draciel!"
Max smiled and looked up at Keisha.
"Alright, Kei. If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!"
The blonde laughed lightly to himself as he noted the fact that Keisha didn't seem to heed his comment at all. He looked back down at his blade again and clenched his fists.
"Draciel! Attack!"
Suddenly the green blade was off the wall and fighting back. It took much effort, but eventually Max managed to force Keisha back off him.
Now the battle was on.
But instead of smiling, or looking up, or even acknowledging Max at all, Keisha simply retaliated.
"Totori! Attack!"
Max braced himself as the purple blade flew at his green one with incredible speed. His arms shot up in a cross to shield his face and he clenched his teeth as the purple blade collided hard enough with his to send him sliding back a few feet. Much to the crowd's surprise, however, when the blonde lowered his arms again, there was a huge grin on his face.
Max had to admit, he was impressed. Sure, she might not be the most cheery person while blading, but she had warned him hadn't she? She'd warned him that she was a serious blader in the dish. Besides, outside the dish, she was the same, sweet, innocent Keisha. That's what he had to remember.
"I'm glad I got to battle you Kei!" Max called to the redhead across the dish. "You're an amazing opponent."
Keisha's eyes narrowed and the words that flew from her mouth not a moment later shocked the blonde speechless.
"You won't be glad in a few seconds! You should never have underestimated me, Max!"
Max's eyes widened in shock as he saw the fire in Keisha's own emerald orbs. Her fists clenched and her face contorted angrily in a way that made her adorable face look almost frightening.
"Totori!! Swan dive!!"
Had the situation been any different, the attack would have been comical. Swan Dive? Seriously? Was that really the name of her attack?
But as it was, the situation was not different and it was not comical at all.
Max watched as a beautuiful purple swan arose from the purple blade. It had a choker around it's neck and an elegant piece around it's head, each set with a shimmering stone.
The following events played out in seemingly slow motion for Max.
Totori stretched it's massive wings in the air and with a mighty downward stroke, it struck the side of the dish and flew high into the air. A blanket of silence fell over the stadium as each and every eye was turned up towards the rising purple blade.
It was in that one moment, while Totori rose high above the dish, that Max received his moment of clarity.
"Demetra was right." He thought suddenly. His eyes were locked unblinkingly on the purple blade above him as his thoughts finally came to him to little to late. "She told me to be prepared... she told me this would happen. She warned me and I ignored it. Keisha really is just like them........ she doesn't give a damn about me!"
Suddenly time sped up again and everything else flew by in such a blur that Max barely had time to register it.
Totori shot back down into the dish and with astounding precision, landed right on top of Draciel. The purple blade tipped to the side and the green one shot out from under it and landed with a sickening clatter at the blonde's feet.
As Max starred at his blade, not a sound reached his ears except a faint buzzing.
He starred at the hunk of green metal for a long time until finally, blue eyes lifted to look at the purple blade still spinning flawlessly in the dead center of the dish. Just then, the blade's faint buzzing seemed almost deafening to Max.
Two feet appeared in Max's field of view, soon followed by a fair-skinned hand which closed around the purple blade and silenced the insessive buzzing.
"Max.. I-"
"I don't want to hear it!"
"Congratulations." The blonde almost hissed.
Max looked up into Keisha's eyes and noted the returned emotion. But there was still no warmth in the eyes, no compassion on the face. However, she was no longer an empty shell either. Now the eyes were filled with sadness, the face was filled with pain and worry.
Too bad Max didn't care.
"Looks like your Captain was right, and so were you; she is a great friend and a good leader. Next time I'll take her advice."
Tears flooded Keisha's eyes as Max crouched to pick up his blade.
"Max!" She called as he stood and turned. "Wait, please!"
But the blonde didn't so much as pause as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away.
Keisha's chest heaved with the effort not to cry as she watched the blonde walk away from her.
"And there you have it folks!" Came Brad's voice over the speakers. "Villikosto advance to the next round! Good job, All Stars, better luck next time."
"I knew this would happen!" Keisha thought miserably. And suddenly something clicked in her head. "Advice.... what advice?!"
With breakneck speed, Keisha whipped around and shot a murderous, very Demetra-like glare at her Captain.
The deafening silence that had fallen over the stadium after the last match didn't lift as the red-head stomped over to her Captain.
"What did he mean advice?!" Keisha demanded furiously. "What did you say to him Demetra?!"
Though the considerably raised voice sounded like a thousand screaming people in the dead silence, Demetra seemed completely unfazed by the redhead's outburst.
"I told him not to trust you." She said simply. Keisha's eyes widened.
"Y-y-you-...."
Demetra lifted her eyebrow.
"What? Monster? Heifer? B***h?"
The tears finally spilled down Keisha's cheeks but her glare only intensified through the wet blurriness.
"No." She hissed angrily. "There are no words to describe how I feel about you right now."
With that said the redhead turned and left the stadium.
"I can think of lots of words to describe you!"
Demetra turned to Victoria only to find the aqua-marine eyed girl glaring a hole through her soul as well.
The taller blader crossed her arms and lifted her chin as she looked down her nose at the younger girl.
"Is that so?" She challenged. "Then go ahead."
Victoria's eyes narrowed dangerously. She walked up to Demetra until they were inches apart and starred up at her Captain bravely.
"You're cold and cruel and a complete and total-!"
A hand on Victoria's shoulder stopped her and both bladers turned to see Kage frowning at them both. The purple-touched blader looked at Victoria and pointed at the door with a serious expression.
Victoria's glare focused instead on Kage but after an intense stare down, the blone-streaked brunette adverted her gaze and snorted humorlessly.
"Fine." She mumbled angrily.
With nothing more to say Victoria turned one more glare on her Captain before finally turning and exiting the stadium.
Demetra looked at Kage.
"I knew you were on my side." She said simply. But Kage's frown deepened and Demetra mimicked her.
"What? You're upset with me too?" She said sarcastically.
Kage sighed and looked around at the crowd. When her eyes fell back on Demetra again, she starred at her Captain for a moment, then turned and walked away.
"Hmm.. Looks like there's some tension between the members of Villikosto!" AJ said suddenly, making many jump from the sudden break in silence. "I'm sure no one missed the yelling but it's hard to know exactly what was said. Hope they're not losing their nerve already! After all they've been through and how far they've come, it would be sad to see them fall apart now!"
Demetra rolled her eyes and turned her head to see Kage waiting for her by the stadium door. She knew what she did was right. She knew that Max would only distract Keisha and that there was no way she could remain friends with him and keep up her skill and training. It was impossible. Keisha would see the light, see Demetra's reasoning, soon enough.
She'd get over it.
Finally Demetra turned and walked over to Kage. When they were side by side, they left the stadium and the still deafening silence behind them.