Chapter Seven

Five years earlier…

It shall come to pass that for each generation that walks this planet, four men will be chosen to protect it with the powers of the elements. Four Beyblades, each forged by the power of Mother Earth, will stand aloft as protection. Four men of strong hearts and minds will protect these 'blades and keep them secure for they keep the balance. Should these 'blades get into the wrong hands then be afraid for the 'blades that stabilise the planet could also destroy it. As leader you were chosen by your blood for your lineage has forever been the protectors of the 'blades. You shall choose the four men you believe have the qualities to protect the world. You shall be either the planet's saviour or the planet's destructor. Remember that as you hold the 'blades. Remember.

The hooded figure flipped over a few more pages of the fragile book he was holding in his grasp. He came to another page.

Three score years ago there was leader of much bravery who wanted to find out more about the mystical Beyblades. He slaved away at researching the 'blades but still much of their power remained a mystery as it does today. But he found evidence; evidence that led him to the jungles and to the fifth. The power blackened him and he tainted the Opal Beyblades. Only the power of the four mystical warriors managed to overcome him for only they combined had the power. The evil 'blade was returned to the forests never to be looked at again.

The figure closed the book with a thud, a thick cloud of dust launched into the air. He placed it down by the side of the extinguished fire and looked away, pulling from the large pocket of his cowl a Beyblade. It was pure white save for a flash of yellow along the side. It was hot to the touch. The figure smiled. The mystical warriors were on his side and he wouldn't be stopped.

'Dizzara will be mine. Is mine. Will always be mine. And Tyson will die.'

Three years later…

Tyson's blade collided with Kano's with such force that it stuttered for a moment, returning to the centre of the stadium. Tyson bit his lip; that collision had been costly. Tyson's blade had now lost a crucial portion of its kinetic energy and he'd failed to make much of an impact on his rival's 'blade. He looked over to his friends hoping to find some strength but they were too busy starting at the stadium. Kenny was systematically biting the nails on his left hand. Tyson looked back to the action. He didn't want to look at the face of Kano as he knew he would see a look of satisfaction.

Tyson's blade hadn't given up though; it was still spinning powerfully around the stadium, occasionally making contact with Kano's 'blade and pushing it away. He knew, however, deep down that Kano had the upper hand. He seemed extremely experienced, though compared to Tyson he shouldn't have been. Tyson realised it must be the power of the 'blade and – like Tyson felt a strong bond with Dragoon – Kano must feel a powerful connection with the energy of his Opal Beyblade. It was with no surprise to Tyson that Kano's Beyblade spun around and knocked his 'blade straight out of the stadium and onto the bare earth, the last kilojoules of energy evaporating quickly as it came to an abrupt halt. Though he wasn't surprised, Tyson was still disappointed. He congratulated Kano through gritted teeth, watching as his rival bent over to retrieve his 'blade from the stadium. It was still spinning.

Kano thrust out his hand.

'My Beyblade please.'

Tyson bent over and picked up the fire 'blade and grudgingly passed it to Kano, who immediately sealed his hand as the Beyblade made contact with his skin. He dropped both 'blades into his kimono pocket and nodded his head.

'You are a good challenger my friend. But you had to lose. That's fate.'

'I am not your friend,' Tyson snarled. 'You're the enemy. The enemy to everyone.'

Kano shrugged.

'That's your opinion. But it's time I bid you farewell. I have battles to win and towns to dominate.'

And with that last sentence, Kano twisted around on his ankle and headed off in the other direction soon disappearing into the trees. Tyson was still stood there watching him walk off, his teeth still rooted together and an expression of anger and disappointment etched into his face. Ray approached him and put his hand on Tyson's shoulder.

'You did your best, Ty,' he said in a gentle reassuring voice. The others in the group were still stood where they'd always been, shuffling about with awkwardness with what to say or do. Kenny began tapping away at his laptop.

'Well it wasn't good enough!' Tyson snarled, forcibly removing Ray's hand from his shoulder and turning. 'Now I've lost the best Beyblade I've ever had. God knows what he'll do with it.'

Ray could only watch and sigh as Tyson stormed off with big and heavy strides back to his house.

'And I've lost my chance to be with Dizzi,' he muttered to himself as the true implications of the loss hit home. A tear dripped from the corner of his eye as he let himself into his house and stormed up to his bedroom, slamming the door shut. Tyson flung himself onto his bed, turned over and tried to sleep. He couldn't. He just burst into tears as he thought about Dizzi. Tyson wasn't concerned with the world. He just wanted love… he wanted Dizzi.

One week later…

Tyson hadn't been seen by any of his friends for a week. When Kai, Ray, Max and Kenny decided to go out for an ice-cream Tyson didn't come. When they decided to go to the cinema, Tyson didn't answer his phone. When a big Beyblade battle kicked off in the town Tyson was nowhere to be seen. His phone remained unanswered, his presence unfelt. The four friends kept thinking they'd see him bounding excitedly round a street corner at some point with his Beyblade in hand to battle them but he never appeared. They found themselves sitting on a brick wall seven days after his last sighting mooching around and wondering what to do. Ray decided it was time to break the silence.

'I think I should go round to Tyson's, check he's alright. I think that last battle really shook him up.'

Kai responded with a small grunt. Max and Kenny nodded. Dizzi stayed silent but remained thoughtful. Though she enjoyed being in the laptop and helping out she was still suffering from a strange glitch in her programming code. If she had been in her human form Dizzi would have realised this to be a void left be love. She sighed to herself.

Ray got up from the brick wall, dusted down the back of his trousers and began to walk down the street towards Tyson's house, his hands slotted into his jean pockets. He began to whistle a tune but he soon lost the rhythm as he knocked on Tyson's front door. There was no reply but Ray found the door to be unlocked so he cautiously let himself in.

The door led into the kitchen which Ray found to be deserted. The hall was in a similar state of quietness, as were the stairs which he began to climb. Ray came up to Tyson's door and knocked gently.

'Tyson?' he asked, speaking at the crack of the door. 'Are you in?'

There was the sound of shuffling from the other side.

'Go away!' said the voice, muffled by the sound of a pillow. Ray sighed and tried the handle it was locked.

'I said… go… away,' the voice said. There was the sound of a pillow hitting the door. Ray coughed.

'I'm only here to talk. We're worried about you.'

'I'm fine,' came the response a few seconds later.

'Well you don't sound like it. I'm here to help. Let me in and we can talk. Is it about Dizzi?'

There was the sound of movement from inside the room and then, after about thirty seconds, the door was unlocked and opened. A pale looking Tyson with limp hair and creased pyjamas, looked out at Ray through the slightly ajar door. Ray gave a weak smile.

'I won't stay here long.'

Tyson pulled the door open and stood back to allow Ray to enter the room. Ray immediately saw that the room was in a terrible mess with plates lying about – their contents now reduced to crumbs, half-full glasses on almost every surface and a strange musty smell as if the door or window in the room hadn't been opened since Tyson had entered a week earlier. Ray sat down at Tyson's desk, being careful to remove a half eaten chocolate bar before sitting. He watched in silence as Tyson once more locked his bedroom door and clambered into bed. Then he spoke.

'We're all worried about you. We haven't seen you for a week now.'

'I'm fine.'

'You keep saying that, but I don't think you are.'

Tyson decided to move the conversation on.

'How did you know about Dizzi?'

Ray laughed.

'I'm not blind you know. I saw the figure you were talking to after that battle with the giant 'blades. I saw where she went and I saw your reaction when you kissed. I'm not completely naïve, Tyson. That was Dizzi.'

Tyson bit his lip before he spoke.

'Who else knows?'

'Well they saw her but they don't know who she was. You never told us and you know Kai is hardly likely to pry. You're both very secretive individuals. No one really knows what either of you is thinking at any time.'

Tyson thought about Kai but dismissed the thought in exchange of his brief relationship with Dizzi.

'I miss her, Ray. And that 'Opal Beyblade' was the only way for me to share time with her again. I've messed up completely.'

Ray could see Tyson was on the verge of tears but also saw how he was choking them back. Ray waited a few moments before speaking again.

'Well staying in here like a recluse isn't gonna help yourself or Dizzi. You need to do something.'

'Like what? You've seen me. I've gone to pieces since I met her; I can't even win a stupid Beyblade battle.'

'You're just going through a new experience.'

'What?'

'Love.'

'And what do you know about love?'

'Plenty. And I know that staying in bed – at least without Dizzi there – is not going to achieve anything.'

Ray laughed before stifling his giggling.

'But seriously, if you want to get Dizzi back then you need her out of the laptop and for that you need that 'Opal Beyblade'. It's time we used teamwork to get it back.'

Tyson swallowed heard and recovered the power of speech after his tears.

'What do I need to do?'

Ray smiled.

'Train!'

Two days later…

'Come on Tyson,' Ray said, towering over a Beyblade stadium whilst Tyson stood there holding his launcher, the colour back in his face and his hair once more standing erect on his head. 'Snap out of this depression and pull yourself together. This battle is for Dizzi. LET IT RIP!'

Both Tyson and Ray released their respective Beyblades and watched as they duelled it out in the stadium. Tyson comfortably won, his 'blade bashing Ray's own Beyblade out of the stadium. Ray picked it up from the floor and pocketed it.

'You see you're getting better… some more training and you'll be ready to win back Dizzi.'

Tyson smiled. He was getting back his lust for winning and with that his confidence. And, he hoped, this would also bring back Dizzi…

Over the next three weeks Tyson and Ray worked hard, meeting up every day in Tyson's back garden to practice Beyblading on the patio. It was a hard work and not always enjoyable but it was necessary to get Tyson's mind off Dizzi and onto his love of Beyblading. Soon he was back on form and Ray found himself no match for Tyson's skill. Even Kai dropped around one afternoon for some 'friendly' Beyblade battles. They were particularly heated battles but won evenly between the pair. As the sun set on the third weekend, Tyson slumped into his chair exhausted. He turned towards Ray who was stood at the edge of the room wiping his sweat away with a towel.

'Thanks for the help Ray. I'm ready.'

It was like a scene from a film. The sun was setting and casting long shadows on the ground. Five teenagers with one purpose were heading over the hill, just silhouettes against the bright sun. Tyson, Kai, Ray, Max and Kenny were there, walking swiftly and precisely, heading towards their planned destination. It hadn't be difficult to find out where the 'Mystic Warriors' had headed to. All they had to do was follow the stories of elaborate Beyblades and heated battles. This led them to the next town and there they found four men stood in a semicircle around a fountain, taking a refreshment break between battles. One of them – the tallest – turned around on seeing the five dark figures walking towards them. He nudged the man next to him and soon they were all watching the approaching characters with bemusement. Ray turned to Kenny.

'Time to help Tyson get back with Dizzi,' Ray whispered into Kenny's ear. Though still walking Kenny turned to Ray to question that.

'What do you mean?'

'Oh I forgot. You weren't there when I told the others. The one who saved us all from the Beyblade trap all that time ago. That was Dizzi.'

'Dizzi… but how…?' Kenny asked, gesturing to the laptop stored safely in his jacket pocket.

'It's a long story,' Ray said, swapping his gaze between Kenny and the men by the fountain. 'All I say is that if we get the Beyblades back then Tyson and Dizzi can reunite.'

Kenny swallowed.

'Reunite?'

He stopped. The other four turned to face him, their feet ceasing to move as well.

'What's up Kenny?'

'Er… I just remembered something… I have to go. Bye.'

And with that Kenny turned and walked speedily away. The rest shrugged their shoulders; they didn't need him for the battles – it was still four versus four. They all turned back in unison and continued to walk towards their rivals until they met at the edge of the fountain.

'Well well. If it isn't the teenagers,' Kano snorted, spraying Kai with water. 'Come to ask for your ball back?'

The four 'Mystic Warriors' laughed. Tyson, Kai, Max and Ray stood firm.

'In a way, yes,' Tyson said slowly and clearly. 'We're here to battle you for your Opal 'Blades.'

Kano just laughed this off too.

'And why should we accept? What have you got in return?'

'Nothing,' Tyson said bluntly, 'But we know you wouldn't refuse a challenge.'

Kano looked back at the others before looking back at the face of determined faces in front of him.

'Sure!' he said jovially. 'It's not as if you'll beat us. Even if your friends are twice as good as you are we'll win.'

'We'll see,' was all Tyson said. There were a few seconds of awkward shuffling. The sun was almost below the horizon and the shadows of the eight individuals stretched into the distance. All that could be heard was the gentle tinkling of the fountain water. The four warriors stood up firmly and formed a line, pulling their Beyblades from their pockets. The teenagers did the same thing, creating a stand-off in the setting sun.

'Well what are we waiting for?' Kano said, raising his arms. 'LET IT RIP!...'

To be continued…