A/N: So, here's the next one. I am so sorry it's so long!!! Once again, I couldn't bring myself to split it.... I SWEAR, the next one will not be this long!! lol. Seriously. And, speaking of which.. I'll be working on that tomorrow so... I'm hoping to get it done either tonight or tomorrow. I'll do my best either way! Wish me luck, and I hope you like this one!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Breal and Villikosto.
Deep blue eyes scanned the faces before him, lingering on each one before finally speaking.
"You've had it easy up until now, but now's when things get hard."
Keisha kept a straight face as she starred at Breal, but inside her thoughts were incredulous.
"Easy? Who the hell's battle was he watching?? These last two rounds have been anything but easy, despite how we might have made them look!"
Obviously not hearing the redhead's thoughts, Breal continued without skipping a beat.
"This round you'll be facing G-Revolution. Now that The All stars and The Majestics are out of the way-"
"The Majestics got put out?"
Breal looked at Keisha, but there was no sign of impatience in his face or voice when he spoke.
"Yes. While you were taking care of your.... issues, the Majestics got put out by the White Tigers."
Keisha felt her cheeks burn slightly when she remembered her little, for lack of a better word, breakdown the previous week. However, her embarrassment was quickly forgotten when she noticed how tense Kage had suddenly become. Why? What had Breal mentioned that had set her off? The Majestics?.... The White Tigers?
Interrupting everyone's thoughts, Breal spoke again.
"As I was saying; the battles up until now have been relatively easy. But now you'll be facing the World Champions and it will most definitely be your biggest challenge yet."
Keisha swallowed and did her best to ignore the sudden flutter of butterflies in her stomach. This was the moment they'd been waiting for. They knew they'd have to face the World Champs eventually, but none of them expected it to be so soon. There was a lot of pressure riding on this round, mainly because it wouldn't look to good if the team who formed the surprise tournament didn't even make it to the final round.
"Alright, first up is Kage. Next will be Victoria and finally Keisha."
Keisha looked over at Demetra with surprise.
"You're not battling this round?"
Demetra tensed ever so slightly and the corners of her lip twitched unpleasantly.
"I feel it would be best left to you three." She said roboticly. "You can do it."
Keisha looked back at Breal in shock.
"But she's our star blader! How can you not have her battle during the biggest match of our lives?!"
Breal frowned.
"This decision was hard enough as is. Don't make it harder."
The young man looked around at the four girls and eyed them all carefully.
"By now the entire beyblade population knows Demetra is our strongest blader, including G-Revolution. Which means they'll be expecting us to use her. By not having her battle, I'm hoping to throw them off a little."
Breal turned around and walked away a few steps, looking out the locker room window a few moments before turning back to the girls again.
"Besides, if we can win this, if we can beat the top team the BBA has to offer without our top blader, then it will really show the world just how good our team really is."
Well, you couldn't argue with that logic.
"We can do this!" Victoria said suddenly, her fist raised in front of her confidently. "We're going to win!"
Victoria lowered her fist and held it straight out before her. Kage smiled and placed a hand over Victoria's. Keisha grinned and placed her hand over theirs. All three girls looked up then at Demetra.
Demetra starred at the three defiantly for a few moments until finally she sighed and walked over to them, placing her hand over theirs with the faintest ghost of a smile.
"Villikosto!"
Keisha's knees bounced nervously as she sat on the bench awaiting their battle. Across the stadium G-Revolution sat talking amongst themselves. She could hear the little redhead named Daichi ranting confidently while the one they called Chief seemed to be very stressed as he did his best to talk to his teammates. Tyson, for once, seemed to be listening intently.
"Hey Kage!"
Keisha looked up as Victoria whispered to the silent blader.
Kage, whom was standing watching the other team intently with crossed arms and a very concentrated look, tilted her head down slightly towards Victoria, her eyes not leaving the other team.
"How do you feel?" The brunette whispered a little shakily.
Still Kage didn't look at her teammate but she lifted her right hand from her chest and pressed her thumb and forefinger together to form a circle.
"A-OK, huh?" Victoria mumbled before looking over at the other team as well. "Figures."
Keisha smiled and stood up, just as Kage finally turned away from G-Revolution and looked down at the brunette.
"It'll be OK." Keisha said with a smile, wrapping her arm around Victoria's waist. Kage's arm slipped around Victoria's Shoulders as she gave the shorter girl a small smile.
Victoria sighed and smiled before wrapping her arms around her two friends as well.
"Alright, Kage. You're up."
Kage looked over her shoulder at Demetra and nodded. She then looked back to the two younger girls to her left, gave them a reassuring smile and released them before walking up to the dish.
Demetra stepped up beside Victoria and watched as Kage set up her launcher and blade.
"You'll do fine." She said suddenly, making Victoria and Keisha jump a little before looking at her. "We can do this. They're tough but so are we. I believe in all of you."
Both younger girls blinked at Demetra before grinning wide and turning back to the dish.
Kage made sure her equipment was in tip-top shape before finally looking up at her opponent. She smiled in amusement as she watched Daichi doing some sort of comical warm-up, which consisted of knee bends and some wide swings of the arms. When finally he was done, he straightened and grinned confidently.
"O-KAY! Now I'm ready!" Daichi's finger shot up and he pointed at Kage. "And you'd better not underestimate me 'cause I'm a kid!"
Kage resisted an amused grin and shook her head as she lifted a hand to her heart in an 'I swear' manner.
Daichi scratched his head.
"I guess that means you won't, right?"
Kage smiled and nodded and Daichi grinned confidently again as he lifted his launcher and blade.
"Good! Cause if you do, you'll loose!"
"Bladers on your mark! Get set! Three! Two! One!"
"Let it rip!"
The two blades hit the dish in unison and instantly shot towards each other like magnets. Upon collision, the two struck each other causing sparks to fly.
"Woah! And neither blader is wasting any time trying to push the other out!" AJ exclaimed enthusiastically."
"Strata Dragoon! Attack!"
Kage clenched her teeth as Daichi's blade pulled back and collided hard with hers. Her teammates were a little surprised when the impact sent her sliding back a few feet. The silent blader tried to get her bearings back but Daichi kept coming at her with everything he had. All she could do was defend herself and keep from being knocked out.
"She's getting pummled!!" Keisha exclaimed with a gasp.
"No she's not." Demetra said bluntly, her eyes never leaving the match. When the two girls looked at her quizzically, she explained. "He's got her on the run but if you look close enough, you'll see he's not actually doing much damage. Yes, he's got her cornered for now, meaning she can't fight back, but if he keeps that up, he's only going to wear himself out."
The girls looked back to the match and watched carefully. It didn't take them long to realize that their Captain, as usual, was right.
And apparently G-Revolution realized this too.
The girls watched as Kenny seemed to be telling Tyson something urgent. When he was finished, the blunette smacked his forehead and turned to his teammate.
"Daichi!!" He yelled, sounding a little frustrated. "You're not doing a thing!!"
Daichi whirled around and glared at the older teen.
"Whatta ya mean I'm not doing a thing!? I've got her on the run? Are you blind?!"
Tyson scowled at him.
"Yea, but you're not actually doing any damage! All you're doing is holding her back!!"
"Oh buzz off!" The little redhead said angrily, turning back to the match again. "I know what I'm doin'."
Tyson looked ready to pull his hair out.
"ARG! Daichi! You're so stubborn!!"
Keisha and Victoria snickered at this.
So far, the match looked completely one-sided; Kage on the ropes, while Daichi made sure she stayed there. Right then, it all came down to who had the most endurance.
The girls continued to watched the match with barely a blink. Keisha and Victoria were on the edges of their seats, biting nails and wringing hands, total wrecks, while Demetra appeared as calm as she could possibly be. Eventually Victoria looked up at her.
"How can you be so calm?!" She demanded, her voice a pitch higher then usual.
"Because I know Kage can handle this." She said simply.
"Aren't you worried she'll loose?"
Demetra looked down at the two and raised an eyebrow.
"Guess not." Keisha added, blinking up at the taller girl.
Demetra looked back to the match again and the other two girls exchanged a look.
"Why do I get the feeling you know something we don't?" Victoria asked carefully.
Something strange sparkled in Demetra's eyes.
"I shouldn't." She said tonelessly. "I've already handed you the pieces. "It's up to you to piece them together."
The girls sighed and turned back to the match. They hated it when Demetra was so cryptic!
It was at that moment, just when the girls' eyes were back on the battle, that they realized what Demetra had been talking about.
Kage was on her feet again, appearing to at least have her bearings back. She still had her back against the wall but at least now she could fight back.
"Why... are her attacks so weak?" Keisha asked in confusion.
"Who says they're weak?"
A vein throbbed in Victoria's forehead.
"Because they look weak!" She snapped irritably. "Its like she's not even trying!!"
Demetra said nothing but there was a whisper of a smirk on her face. The girls looked at each other and blinked, then looked back at the match.
"She's not trying?" Keisha said, still confused. "Why?"
As they watched, once again, the girls caught on.
Kage was fighting back just enough to keep Daichi off her back. If one compared the two blades carefully, a truly experienced eye, they could tell that Kage's blade was spinning much faster and stronger then Daichi's was. That didn't count the fact that Kage looked as cool as a kitten while Daichi was now panting and sweating heavily.
"Why won't you go down?!" He growled in frustration. Kage merely kept a straight face.
Now looking very angry, Daichi's fists clenched and he threw his head back.
"Strata Dragoon!!"
"DAICHI!!" Tyson and Kenny called in unison from the sidelines, looking horrified as the purple blade backed off considerably. "DON'T DO IT!"
"ATTACK!!"
The corner's of Kage's lips curled up ever so slightly as the massive bit beast appeared from the purple blade and hurled itself at her.
From behind her, Keisha and Victoria gasped loudly and jumped to their feet.
"Kage!!" They both screamed together. "Move!!"
But Kage's blade didn't move an inch.
Faster and faster the beast barreled down on her but the silent blader merely looked it in the eye like a bull fighter facing down his bull.
The beast was towering over her, mere moments from attacking when suddenly-
Nearly every being in the stadium gasped as Strata Dragoon suddenly disappeared. All except four people.
Kenny groaned and plopped back down onto his bench while Tyson smacked his forehead. Demetra and Kage both smirked.
Kage's black-gloved hand lifted in the air to catch her blade before turning and walking away from the dish.
"Hey!" Daichi exclaimed angrily, now panting heavily. "Where are you goin'?! This match isn't over yet!"
Kage stopped and turned around. She starred at Daichi for a minute, then pointed to the dish. Daichi looked down and his eyes bugged at what he saw.
"WHAT!!" He exclaimed loudly. "My blade!! It stopped spinning!!!"
"And there you have it folks!" Jazzman announced enthusiastically. "Villikosto wins the first match of this round!!"
Daichi dropped to his knees and pouted.
"Awe, man! I thought I was gonna win for sure!!"
Kage smiled slightly and walked around the dish to face him. When she was in front of him, she reached a hand down.
The redhead looked up and saw her hand. He looked about ready to smack it away when, to most people's surprise, he grasped it and stood up.
Kage shook his hand and lifted her free one to give him a thumbs up.
After a slight hesitation, Daichi's pout finally disappeared and he grinned wide as he shook Kage's hand enthusiastically.
"Just you wait 'til the World's!!" He said excitedly. "I know your tricks now! So next time you won't stand a chance!"
Kage's smiled spread to a full-out amused grin and she laughed silently. She nodded at Daichi and released his hand. Daichi held his other up to her and she smiled again before clapping hands with him.
"Alright!" Daichi said enthusiastically. "It's a deal! You and me at World's!!"
Kage nodded again before giving the short boy a mock salute and turning back to her team.
Keisha and Victoria gawked at Kage as she descended down the steps towards them.
"What just happened???" Victoria exclaimed. Demetra answered.
"Just like I told you. It's all a matter of who's got the greater endurance. Daichi is the perfect player for a sprint, but he's useless for a marathon. All Kage had to do was wait him out."
Keisha blinked in astonishment.
"So... when he called out his bitbeast, you knew he was running on empty and might not be able to launch the full attack?"
Kage nodded with a small smile.
Victoria's was in total disbelief.
"What if he'd had just enough energy left to attack you?!"
Kage shrugged indifferently before lifting her hands to speak. When she was finished, Victoria's eyes bugged in horror.
"You would have lost?!?!" She yelled incredulously.
This made the other's laugh, even Demetra cracked a whisper of a smile.
Keisha shook her head and smiled at Kage.
"I can't believe how gutsy you two are." She said in admiration, referring to Kage and Demetra. "That was such a risky move. I can't imagine being so calm and cool in the same situation. You really are something, Kage."
Kage placed a hand on her face and looked up, a playful gesture as if to say 'I know'. The girls laughed again until finally the announcers called forth the next bladers.
Victoria's face dropped and she suddenly looked like the mouse about to be eaten by the lion.
"OK, well... here goes! Wish me luck guys!"
The other girls watched as the brunette walked up the steps to the dish and stood in front of it as confidently as she could.
"You can do this, Tori!!" Keisha cheered enthusiastically. However, she nearly choked on her words when Victoria's opponent stepped up to the dish.
"Oh no..." Keisha said softly.
Victoria seemed to be thinking the same thing as she suddenly became very tense.
Tyson grinned at the brunette from across the dish and held a thumbs up.
"You guys were awesome so far! Good luck, OK!"
Victoria swallowed hard and nodded numbly, unable to say anything.
"Poor girl..." Keisha said with sympathetic expression. She then turned to Demetra. "So, what are her chances?"
"She has none."
Keisha blinked at Demetra for a minute before laughing a little nervously.
"Wow, that's a little harsh, Demi. Seriously though?"
Demetra's expression didn't chance and Keisha's smile dropped from her face.
"You're serious..." She whispered. "She really doesn't stand a chance..."
Keisha frowned.
"Then why didn't you battle!?" She asked angrily. "You could have taken him! Even if you didn't win, you would have at least stood a chance!! You've never been beaten, Demetra!"
Demetra frowned too and her fingernails dug into her crossed arms.
"You heard what Breal said.." Demetra replied through clenched teeth.
Keisha knew it was forced and she knew Demetra didn't agree one bit. Demetra wanted to be up there facing Tyson just as much as Keisha and Victoria wanted her to. But Breal had said no, and he was Demetra's mentor, her idol. She'd never so much as think about going against anything he said. No matter what.
The redhead sighed and turned back to the battle. If Demetra didn't think Victoria stood a chance, then simply put, she didn't.
"Bladers on your mark! Three! Two! One!"
"Let it rip!"
"Keisha, can you grab us some hot dogs."
Keisha turned to Demetra incredulously.
"Excuse me??" She asked in disbelief.
"Hot dogs." Demetra repeated tonelessly, her eyes not leaving the match. "Or nachos. Hamburger. Whatever."
Keisha blinked at her Captain.
"Are you-"
"Just go!" Demetra said irritably.
Keisha starred at Demetra for a minute then looked over at Kage.
"Uh... Kage? Hot dogs or Nachos?.... Or a hamburger?"
Kage seemed to be fighting a smile. Instead of saying anything, she simply shrugged.
Keisha sighed before glancing at Victoria a moment only and bolting for the door.
"I can't believe her!!" Keisha thought irritably as she bolted down the corridors as fast as she could. "I know she's not hungry and she doesn't even eat junk food so what's she up to?!"
The redhead's eyes darted every which way as she flew down hallway after hallway, looking for some sort of food. Unfortunately, every vendor was either blocked full of people or sold out.
"Come ON!!" She thought in frustration. "Gimme ANYTHING!!"
She glanced at her cell and her eyes bugged.
"Ahhh! Almost ten minutes already!! I'm totally missing the match!!"
Keisha poured on more speed as she shoved her cell back into her pocket. Unfortunately, she didn't look up in time to keep her from colliding head-on into someone.
"OOMPH!"
The redhead rubbed her backside as as looked up from her place on the ground to see who she'd banged into.
"I'm so sorry!" She blurted quickly. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Obviously." The person across from her said bitterly.
Keisha blinked at the boy she recognised as Brian and watched him stand up and brush himself off. She waited for him to extend a hand to help her up -- not that she needed it -- but the hand never came. Instead he merely looked down at her with a scathing glare.
"Clumsy aren't we?" He growled angrily. Keisha blinked again before giving him a defiant glare.
"No! I was in a hurry! And anyway, I said I was sorry, the least you could do is accept it! And what kind of gentleman doesn't even offer a hand up?"
Brian raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.
"Well, if you need help up after a little tumble, how can you honestly expect to get up after the beating we'd give you?"
Keisha's glare intensified.
"I don't need it." She hissed angrily. "I can get up on my own well enough. I only said it would be the polite thing to do!"
As if to prove her point, Keisha hoisted herself up, dusted herself off, and crossed her arms before glaring at the Russian teen in a very Demetra-like way.
Brian snickered.
"You and your team are so pathetic." He taunted with a smirk. Keisha bristled.
"Pathetic?" She repeated briskly. "Is that so? Well then, we'll just have to see come next week, won't we?"
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the redhead instantly bit her tongue.
"Way to totally jinx us Keisha!" She thought, mentally smacking her forehead. "We haven't even finished battling G-Revolution yet!"
With this thought, Keisha's eyes widened-
"AH! The match!! I completely forgot!!"
- which, of course, made Brian smirk.
"What's wrong girlie? Picturing your defeat?"
Keisha opened her mouth to retort, now bouncing back and forth on her feet impatiently, when suddenly another voice cut her off.
"Leave her alone Brian."
Both faces turned to see three boys walking towards them.
"Awe, I was just havin' some fun, Tala." Brian said dismissively.
"Well that's enough." The redhead said simply.
Keisha blinked at him. Was Tala Ivanov actually defending her? What happened to the bad-boy reputation that preceded him? Perhaps it was all for show because apparently, he actually had a heart.
A small smile began to form on Keisha's lips until the blue-eyed redhead spoke again.
"It's not right to put them down any more, they'll be humiliated enough if they actually get to face us next week."
"Right..." Keisha thought bluntly. "Well, so much for that idea."
Obviously not hearing her, Tala spoke again.
"By the way." He said seriously, all sense of teasing and taunting completely evaporated now. "You can tell your Captain from me that all her quiet observations and strategising won't do her any good if you amateur's do manage to make it to the finals."
Keisha thought about that. Well, first of all, she'd tell Demetra no such thing. Not unless she wanted her Captain arrested for murder.
Secondly, how did Tala know what Demetra was thinking? No one other then her team could look at her and read her thoughts.....
And lastly, which was the most curious part, for Tala to know Demetra had been observing, he not only had to have seen Villikosto watching the Blitzkrieg Boy's battles, Tala himself had to have been watching Villikosto's battles as well.... Which, come to think of it, was probably where the boys had been headed before they'd bumped into each other.
Finally Keisha opened her mouth to retort but again another voice cut her off.
"Hey, d'ya see the battle between Tyson and that girl!?" A random kid exclaimed as him and a friend ran past. "It's way intense! Come on!"
Keisha jumped and her eyes widened.
"Ah!! I'm totally missing the battle!!"
Tala smirked in a way that seemed so very familiar to Keisha.
"What kinda teammate doesn't even watch her own team's battle.
For the first time ever, Keisha had loads of really witty, snotty remarks right ready to fire at the redhead, but wasn't it just her luck that she was in too big a hurry to used any of them?
Flying past the Blitzkrieg Boys, she saw a random chip and hot dog vendor with only a small crowd of people. As she ran towards it, she noticed the man holding out a pile of nachos and hot dogs to this one guy.
"YES!" Keisha cheered in relief.
On her way past, she snatched the food out of the vendor's hand and threw a wad of cash at him.
"Sorry! Thanks! See ya!"
Keisha skidded to a stop in front of her team's bench, eyes darting every which way.
"What'd I miss?!" She blurted.
"Everything."
Keisha turned to see Victoria descending the stairs and walking towards them, only she didn't look very upset. Keisha's heart jumped a little. Was it possible....?
"Sweet! Food!" The brunette exclaimed, taking the food from Keisha's arms. "Thanks Keish'! I'm starved!"
Keisha gawked at Victoria in anticipation as the brunette plopped down on the bench and munched happily on the chips and hot dogs. Finally she couldn't take it any more.
"Well??!" She questioned anxiously. "Did you win?!"
Victoria took the time to take a mighty bite of the hot dog in her hand, chew and swallow before replying.
"Nope. I bombed."
Keisha fell over.
"And you're not the least bit bothered by it?"
"Nope." The brunette said over a mouthful of nachos. "It was a pretty close match and really intense. I had fun."
Keisha gawked at Victoria for a minute then sighed.
"Whatever." She said in defeat. She then looked at Demetra. "Anyway, there's your food. You better have at it before it's all gone."
Demetra gave her a blank stare.
"What are you talking about? You know I don't eat junk food."
Keisha's jaw dropped.
"You're kidding!!" She exclaimed in disbelief. Another blank stare.
"Do I ever kid?" Demetra asked pointedly. Keisha turned to Kage.
"Kage???" She asked desperately.
Kage shook her head with an amused grin and patted her stomach, a gesture to say she was full. Keisha was ready to pull her hair out as she turned back to Demetra.
"Then why did you make me do all that running around, in the middle of a match, for nothing?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Victoria answered instead over a mouthful of.... something. Thankfully she chewed and swallowed before continuing.
"She knew this was our toughest battle yet and she knew you and I were a bit nervous. She also knew I didn't stand a chance against Tyson and that I'd loose. So, instead of watching me bomb and loosing your nerve, she got you to do something she knew would take a lot of time, so that you'd miss the match."
Blinking a few times, Keisha looked over at Demetra.
"Is that true?" She asked blankly.
Demetra closed her eyes as the faintest of smirks appeared on her face.
"My, aren't we smart." She said teasingly. "Better not get used to that."
Victoria laughed, knowing it was all in good fun. Keisha closed her eyes and sighed.
"Well... I guess that makes sense." She finally admitted.
She opened her eyes then and looked up at her Captain with a small smile.
"Thanks, Demi."
Demetra opened her eyes and looked at the redhead, giving her a whisper of a smile.
"Sure."
It was then that Keisha finally remembered something.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" She exclaimed, straightening up. She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly remembered her resolve not to tell her Captain. Too bad it was too late.
"Yes?" Demetra said suggestively. Keisha sighed, knowing it was too late now.
"I bumped into someone on my little excursion. He told me to give you a message..."
Demetra raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so?" The silver-eyed blader replied, narrowing her eyebrows.
Keisha nodded.
"Yea. I bumped into-"
"Will Villikosto's blader please step up to the dish."
"Just go battle." Demetra said briskly, though the girls knew she wanted very badly to hear the rest of Keisha's sentence. "You can tell me later."
Keisha nodded and turned to the dish. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself forward and walked up the stairs. Once at the top, she looked across the dish to see Tyson again standing there with a grin on his face.
"Hey there!" He greeted cheerfully. "Ready?"
Keisha nodded.
"As ready as I'll ever be." She teased.
Tyson smiled and held up his launcher. Keisha mimicked him, ready to battle until a voice behind Keisha made them both advert their attention.
"What are you still doing there?" Demetra said bluntly, looking at Tyson.
Tyson blinked at her.
"Uh... getting ready to battle?" He stated, thinking it was obvious.
Demetra smirked.
"Don't you remember the rules at the beginning of the tournament?"
Tyson blinked again.
"Sure. They're the same as any tournament. What about 'em?"
A familiar glint shone in the silver eyes as Demetra starred up at the blunette.
"Not all of them." She stated simply. "The last think Stanley Dickinson said was that there would be no double-ups unless all of the members of a team had fought. Or did you miss that one?"
Both Tyson and Kenny's eyes bugged at this.
"Awe man!!" Tyson exclaimed in a panic, his fingers reaching up to tangle in his hair. "I completely forgot about that!!"
Behind him, down by their bench, Kenny was in a panic as well. Though Daichi seemed completely at ease as he snoozed on the bench.
"WHAAAT!! I can't battle!!" The short brunette cried in a panic.
Demetra was wearing the most obnoxiously smug expression she'd ever produced.
"Too bad." She said bluntly. "You cocky brats have been so confident you'd get through this with just two top bladers that you didn't even consider what would happen if one of you lost. Remember what happened in your match with the Blitzkrieg Boys?"
Demetra closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Don't you learn from your mistakes?"
Tyson pulled his long hair as he danced back and forth on his feet nervously.
"Ahh! Man, she's right!! It was the same thing with Tala's team! I won my match and Daichi and Kenny lost!!"
Demetra snorted in amusement and turned to walk back to the bench.
"See you at Worlds, champ." She mocked as she walked away.
Tyson looked ready to pull his hair out. After a few minutes he finally calmed down, took a deep breath and turned around. Very calmly, he descended the stairs towards his team, placed his hand on Kenny's shaking shoulder and spoke to him.
After a while, Kenny straightened up, appearing confident, but still shaking slightly. He held his head up high, spoke a few words to Tyson, handed the blunette his precious laptop and bravely approached the dish.
Keisha smiled at the brunette across her.
"Good luck." She said kindly. Kenny gave her a weak smile.
"Thanks." He said a little shakily. "Uh... you too."
Keisha smiled again before lifting her launcher. She had to be careful with this one, she'd missed the last of G-Revolution's previous match because she'd gone to the bathroom. When she came back the match was over. Seeing as the boy had gone up against Tala, there was no telling how good he was -- Tala ivanov could give both Tyson and Demetra a run for their money.
"Alright, bladers on your mark! Three! Two! One!"
"Let it rip!"
Keisha immediately sweat dropped as Kenny released his blade, only to have it bounce around like a jack in the box.
"Oh boy..." She thought awkwardly. "That's just pathetic...."
Glancing over her shoulder at Demetra, Keisha gave her a pleading look. Demetra actually looked ready to smile. The silver-eyed blader knew they would beat the champion team and the thought was making her giddy enough to actually make her want to smile.
Keisha turned back to the battle with a sigh.
"This is an embarrassment all around. " She thought, feeling just that. "To both my skills and the champion team..."
The redhead watched in disbelief as she watched her blade spinning in the dead center while the spring loaded blade continued to bounce around the dish.
"Hey Kenny..." She began slowly. "Any chance that fancy blade does more then bounce?"
Kenny sweat dropped too, looking like he felt just as pathetic as he was made out to seem.
"Uhm..." He began. But after a moment he sighed miserably.
"No." He moaned pathetically. "No it doesn't."
Keisha sweat dropped again and sighed.
"Well, in that case, I'm really sorry I have to do this..."
Kenny sighed as well and gave her a lopsided smile.
"I understand. Just do what you gotta do."
Keisha gave him an apologetic smile before calling forth the beginning of the end.
"Totori!" She called loudly. "Hurricane!"
The huge swan arose from the purple blade and spread it's magnificent wings. Starting off slowly, it continued to beat it's massive limbs until it had built up a considerable gust.
The power of the gust reached well up into the stands and many people had to shield their faces as well as hold onto their seats to keep from being blown over.
Of course, poor Kenny couldn't withstand such power, let alone keep his tiny blade in the dish. So, when he finally lost his grip and was sent flying backwards into Tyson, his blade went with him.
"Bye-bye, bitbeast!!" Jazzman yelled over the still raging wind. "Villikosto advances to the final round!!"
Keisha called her bitbeast back and held up her hand to catch it. As soon as the wind had died down again, she ran around the dish and stood before Kenny, whom was struggling to pull himself out of Tyson's arms.
"Well!" The small teen said, appearing a little flustered as he brushed himself off. "That was certainly a battle."
This time most people in hearing range sweat dropped.
"It... sure was." Keisha said with a sheepish smile.
She then crouched down and picked Kenny's blade up off the ground. Standing and dusting it off with the hem of her shirt, she handed it to it's owner with a warm smile.
"It's really cool that you were such a good sport. You're somethin' else, Kenny."
Kenny blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he accepted his blade.
"Awe, gee.. thanks."
Tyson stuck his hand out to Keisha.
"Wind attack, huh? Sounds pretty cool to me! I'd like to see how it would go against my Dragoon! Watta ya say we battle sometime?"
Keisha looked at him in surprise for a moment before grinning and shaking his hand.
"You're on!"
"What an awesome round!!" Victoria exclaimed excitedly as Villikosto made their way out of the stadium.
"I kinda felt bad during my match." Keisha said, sweat dropping as she remembered her match with Kenny. "It was.... kinda pathetic..."
"Who cares!" Victoria said with a grin. "We WON!! We're going to the final round!!"
"Yes. Against The Blitzkrieg Boys."
Three faces turned towards Demetra, whos familiar serious and concentrated look had reappeared.
"Awe, come on, Demi!" Victoria said lightly. "We just beat the world champs! We can beat those Russian snobs!"
Demetra stopped walking and focused an icy stare on the other brunette.
"Only because Tyson wasn't allowed to battle twice." She said icily. "That was a lucky fluke. If he had been allowed to battle again, we would have lost."
The two younger girls blinked at Demetra, not having considered this.
Kage stepped up beside her Captain and placed a hand on her shoulder. But before anything could be said, the four girls turned towards a set of voices.
"Hey! Villikosto!"
All except Demetra smiled as they saw the All Stars making their way towards them through the crowd.
"What a sweet battle you guys!" Max praised as he approached them. "I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!"
"Yea, way cool!" Michael agreed. "I guess you guys aren't so bad after all."
"Not bad." Rick said simply, making most roll their eyes.
"I thought you were awesome." Eddy added. "Definitely champ material."
"It was fairly impressive." Emily added, making Victoria wrinkle her nose and mock her.
Keisha once more remembered her battle and almost blushed. She hated to think it, and there was no offense meant towards Kenny, but... it had almost been a complete waste of her skills and time.
"Yea... really exciting stuff...."
Max looked at her and laughed.
"Hey, as usual, I'm impressed with your display of sportsmanship!"
Keisha smiled at this and actually did blush slightly.
"Thanks, Max." She said softly. "And everyone."
Just then another set of voices joined the crowd.
"Heeey!!"
The entire group turned again to see G-Revolution approaching them.
"You guys are so awesome!!" Tyson said enthusiastically.
"Why, thank you, Tyson." Emily spoke up teasingly.
Everyone laughed except Victoria and Demetra. The blonde-streaked brunette merely mocked the redhead again.
"Well, yea, you guys too." Tyson replied with a grin. "But I meant these guys. You guys..... girls, rock! I'll definitely be cheering for you next round!"
"Thanks, Tyson!" Keisha said cheerfully. "It'll be really cool to have the world champs in our corner!"
"We'll be there for sure." Kenny added.
"You bet!" Daichi insisted with his fist raised excitedly before him. "I wanna see all you guy's battles so I can learn as much as I can about how to beat you! And I will beat you next time!"
Everyone laughed at this and Kage welcomed him to try.
"Hey, so I was thinking-" Tyson began, but Max cut him off.
"Uh-oh, that's never good."
The others laughed again, including Tyson.
"Ha ha. Very funny." He said with a grin. "As I was saying; I was thinking we could all hang out, ya know, get to know each other and stuff. Well, the people who don't already know each other."
Once again, everyone except Demetra agreed. The silver-eyed Captain merely stood there with a sour look on her face. Finally Max turned to her with a wide grin.
"Aw come on, Demetra! Have a little fun. You just made it to the final rounds! How about a little celebration."
"There'll be time for celebration after the competition." She said briskly.
"Come on..." Max pried. "You know you want to!"
Demetra snorted humorlessly and turned away from him. That caused the everyone else, even the other teams, to pester and annoy her until finally she looked like she would murder them all.
"Fine!!!" She yelled loudly. "Just shut-up!"
The others cheered playfully and turned as one towards the exit, ready to go and have some fun while they got to know each other.
Max and Tyson pushed the front doors open, ready to walk out into the chilly air, when they were stopped a third time by yet another voice.
"Congratulations, Villikosto."
The entire group stopped and turned to see the Blitzkrieg Boys standing before them, all looked very smug.
"You girls did well." Tala said, causing Demetra to scowl at his emphasism on 'girls'. "But luck can only get you so far."
Demetra's teeth bared and her fingernails dug into her crossed arms.
"I take it you didn't get my message?" The redhead addressed Demetra without missing a beat.
"What message?" Demetra seethed through clenched teeth.
Tala glanced at Keisha and smirked. This caused Demetra's blood to boil.
"You're the one she bumped into in the hall." She growled at him.
"Actually, she bumped into Brian." Tala replied smartly. "Took quite a tumble too. But I was the one who asked her to deliver a message. Apparently she forgot."
It was apparent Demetra had more to say but she held her tongue when Kage stepped forward and spoke instead.
Tala raised an eyebrow at the silent blader and Keisha spoke up to translate.
"She said; if you're so confident then you can prove yourself in the dish. There's no need to start a war here and now."
Tala smirked again and lifted his nose in the air.
"I'm not trying to start anything." He said simply. "I'm just stating facts. But you're right, why waste my time here when my blade will say more then enough next week?"
A sadistic grin crossed the redhead's face then.
"Good luck, girls." He said sarcastically, laughing as him and his team turned and walked away. "You'll need it!"
Demetra's face was red with furry and she looked like she was going to shred Tala's hide.
Sensing an explosion, Tyson spoke up.
"Ah, forget him." The blunette said dismissively. "Tala's such a kill joy. He just wants to get you riled up."
"That's right." Max added comfortingly. "He's only trying to psyche you out. I've never seen him act like that before, he's usually so uncaring and indifferent. I think he's scared. He knows you guys are good and that makes you a threat to them."
Demetra turned on her heel and stormed past everyone as she headed for the door.
"Have fun." She seethed venomously to her team. "I'll see you back at the hotel."
The girls frowned at their Captain as she opened the door and left.
"How much you wanna bet we'll have to change rooms tonight?" Victoria asked her team absently.
"Uh... why?" Tyson asked dumbly. Keisha sighed.
"Cause chances are, that room will either be shredded to pieces when we get back-"
"Or burnt to a crisp." Victoria finished.
Everyone else, save Kage, blinked at the two in disbelief.
"Serious?" Tyson asked. The girls nodded.
"As a heart attack."
There was an awkward silence for a while until finally Max spoke up.
"OK!" He said rather loudly. "So how about the amusement park at the mall?"
This got agreements all around so finally everyone ventured outside. Once out of the building, Kage tapped Keisha and Victoria on the shoulder.
"Alright." Keisha said with a nod once the taller girl had stopped speaking.
The purple-touched blader turned and went the opposite way of the others and the other girls continued on.
"Hey, where's Kage going?" Max asked as he pulled back to walk with them.
Keisha sighed.
"Back to the hotel to prevent our prediction from coming true." She said with a frown.
Max watched the redhead for a few moments before finally speaking again.
"Hey. You're really worried about all of this aren't you? About Demetra and what Tala said?"
Keisha didn't look at him as she nodded, she simply kept her head forward and lowered slightly as she starred blankly ahead of her. She jumped a little, however, and looked up at the blonde when she felt a hand cup hers.
"It'll be OK." Max said softly. "You know better then I do that Demetra's a big girl. Kage's gone to help her. And as for what Tala said, well, I'm sure you can all hold your own. There's nothing to worry about."
Keisha starred up at Max for a moment before finally smiling and intertwining her fingers with his.
"Thanks, Max." She said for what felt like the hundredth time since meeting him.
Max smiled back and nodded.
"No problem." He said softly.
The happy little moment was ruined when Keisha felt a snowball on the back of her head.
"Hey!" She yelled, whipping around to see who'd hit her.
Not surprisingly, she saw Victoria standing behind her laughing.
"You are SO gonna regret that!" Keisha promised, releasing Max's hand to chase her.
"Yea, well, can't be much worse then that display!" She teased. "Talk about sickeningly sweet!"
"Hey!" Max said with a laugh, grabbing his own handful of snow from the ground.
Keisha laughed as she and Max chased Victoria through the crowd.
Now this was what they needed, some good old fashioned fun to get their minds off of the stress and tension that lied ahead.