Chapter Thirteen

When Tyson opened his eyes he was shocked. He'd expected to find himself lying on the floor of his Dojo or resting on the ground of a familiar place. Instead Tyson found himself to be lying flat out in a room that was pure white. His eyelids flickered quickly for a few seconds as he attempted to get his bearings.

Tyson pushed himself up into a sitting position and glanced around, his head feeling heavy but at the same he felt light-headed. Tyson glanced around at the room realising that it was circular in shape though it was difficult to determine as there were no lines to follow. It was as if he was sitting down in a void. Tyson coughed and lifted himself to his feet trying to make sense of his surroundings. A few steps was all it took for Tyson to walk into a wall. He shifted around the room, his hands pressed against the cold metal that encircled him. Tyson soon realised that the room was indeed circular and that there didn't seem to be a way out. He tried to think of how he'd ended up here after using the fifth Opal Beyblade to send himself back in time. Nothing made sense but then everything that had happened so far had been strange.

Just as Tyson prepared himself to charge at the wall to bash it with his fists in despair, a whirring sound – not totally unlike the spinning of a motor – was heard behind him. He spun around to see a small line appear in the wall which gradually became thicker and thicker until a hole was exposed; a doorway into another room if you will, one that looked friendlier than this one with a plush carpet and a patterned wallpaper. A lampshade hung down from the ceiling and there was the faint outline of a chest of drawers. But before Tyson could march over to the door and pass through, a figure appeared from the room and blocked the doorway, dipping its head and lifting its legs over the lip of the door, passing into the small white room. Behind its body the door closed until no sign of its presence could be seen.

The figure that had joined Tyson in the room was a complete contrast to the young Beyblader. Where Tyson had blue unkempt hair, the second figure had dark hair that was neatly brushed and parted. Where Tyson's face was young and fresh, this figure was bearded, his brow lined. A small scar decorated his cheek. Where Tyson was dressed in casual clothes that hung loosely off his body the other man wore a suit that was perfect in everyway from the creases in his trousers to the perpendicular positioning of his tie. Even the shirt collar was crisp. Tyson studied the man who chose to speak before him, his tongue rasping on his teeth giving his thick accent a nasally quality.

'Well well well. We meet at last Mr Grainger.'

'I don't believe we've been introduced.'

'We haven't. How rude of me! I'm Stony Gearring. The Bit Beast of the fifth Opal Beyblade, as you know it of course.'

Tyson quickly placed his hand in front of his mouth to stifle a laugh. He coughed and spoke.

'Stony Gearring…'

'Only idiots make fun of people's names Tyson Grainger. You won't be laughing when I reveal why you're here.'

'And where exactly is… here?'

'Why… you're inside the Beyblade with me. You see I've been wanting to talk to you about the events of the last few weeks for quite a while. It seems that you're attempting to undo my work by going back in time.'

'I am,' Tyson said, his attitude turning quickly from jokey to serious. 'The Opal Beyblades have caused nothing but problems and I'm here to rectify that.'

'Nothing but problems?' Stony scoffed. 'I don't think you really believe that… and neither would Dizzi I think…'

Tyson frowned and exploded angrily inside, his left fist that had been, up until this point hanging limply by his side, now clenched so tightly the colour had drained away from his knuckles.

'Don't you dare bring her into it…'

Stony now began to walk around Tyson as if to taunt him. Tyson let his pupils follow his adversary but didn't give him the satisfaction of turning to face him for the 180 degrees that Stony was behind him.

'For you the 'blades have brought you good things. You had the chance to prove yourself as a hero; they saved you from death. They brought you close to the one you love, so close that you could touch her, feel her… make love to her… and they removed your only competition for her. If I was you I'd be gushing praise on the Opal Beyblades for what they've done for you.'

'They also got a good friend killed and another badly injured.'

'Oh yes!' Stony said, smiling and acting as if he forgotten some important details. 'I'd forgotten about Kenny and Kai.

'It's not as if Kenny tried to kill you,' Stony began sarcastically, before adding, 'and Kai had treated like his inferior competition.'

Tyson felt a pang in his chest as he thought about the words Stony was saying, the meanings echoing around his mind and bouncing off all his thoughts. Worryingly for Tyson they were starting to make sense and he was becoming entranced by them. He had to shake his head to escape the thoughts which threatened to take him over.

'No!' he said confidently. 'That's not how it happened. They are good friends to me and I have to help them. Those actions were not controlled by Kenny; he had been possessed. You know that; you're using your influence of him against me. If there's anyone to blame for the events it's you.'

Stony ceased walking around Tyson in circles and stopped in front of him, sighing.

'It seems that no matter what I say you will not see reason. I only have one option now.'

'What?'

'That's to challenge you to a life and death game of Beyblade.'

'Really? That's your only option? How about admitting defeat and letting me go?'

Stony laughed.

'That's just not my style…'

From the inside pocket of his suit, being careful not to crease the tailored front, Stony took out a Beyblade that was incredibly shiny, everything around it reflecting in its steel exterior, even if that was mostly just plain white walls with the occasional stroke of colour from Tyson standing there with his bright blue hair and red clothing.

'This, my friend, is one of the most powerful Beyblades ever forged, even more than the Opal Beyblades themselves. This will be your undoing.'

Tyson was still facing confident even in the face of adversity.

'We'll see about that,' Tyson said, removing his Beyblade from the pocket of trousers without any fanfare. 'Talent will beat power any day.'

Stony shrugged, speaking with his head cockily on the side.

'Who's to say I don't have both?'

Tyson frowned, staring angrily in the direction of Stony who responded in the only way fitting.

'Let it rip!'

Instead of having to use a launcher, Stony's 'blade catapulted from his hand unaided, spinning through the air and in the direction of Tyson, who had no choice but to throw himself to the right, slamming shoulder-first into the wall. He didn't have time to rub his injury better. He just withdrew his launcher, loaded his Beyblade and fired it, all in the space of five seconds.

'Let it rip!' Tyson exclaimed, clambering to his feet and standing in a better position for launch. Tyson watched as his Beyblade flew at Stony who stepped to the right to avoid it. Tyson saw, from the movement of his 'blade that the room had a domed roof. Both his and Stony's Beyblade came to meet at the apex of the roof, the collision being incredibly forceful and knocking both 'blades out of kilter, sparks flying and Tyson's Beyblade falling to the ground before continuing. Tyson had seen the power of his opponent's Beyblade and how Stony had not been bluffing: his Beyblade was considerably more powerful than Tyson's. But he still wasn't going to give up.

Tyson dashed across the room, avoiding Stony's Beyblade which was spinning furiously around the arched room, grasping his opponent by the arm and forcing it back into a lock. Stony seemed visibly shaken but this emotion quickly melted into anger.

'What the hell are you doing? That's not in the rules.'

'We're not playing by the rules. I know what you've done to my friends, remember, and to me, and I just can't trust you.'

With all his strength, Tyson pushed his opponent to the floor and he slid slightly on the polished floor, coming to rest by one of the walls. Stony was quickly back on his feet though and soon issuing Tyson with return threats.

'So you want to play like a man then? So be it!'

Stony charged across the room, taking Tyson by surprise with a strong weight, pinning him against the wall and lifting him slightly with his hand to his neck. He still managed to remain smartly dressed though even in that position with his tie not moving a millimetre.

'I'd like nothing better than to squash you right here,' Stony said, the words pushed forcibly out of his mouth of gritted teeth, his body mass pushed hard against Tyson, pushing air out of the young man's lungs. 'You've tried to ruin my plan. Why shouldn't I? I should…'

But whilst Stony had been lecturing his enemy, Tyson had seized the moment and freed one of his hands, which he used to give Stony a quick jab in the ribs. Though the amount of freedom his hand had wasn't enough to get a great amount of force behind the punch it was enough to catch Stony off guard and allowed Tyson to squeeze free and run swiftly to the other side of the room, skipping athletically over the battling Beyblades as he did. He arrived at the other side out of breath but confident, even though there was still nowhere to hide in the room that seemed to be getting smaller as Tyson got used to being encompassed by the room's white void.

'Very good,' laughed Stony, turning to face Tyson and laughing, rubbing his hand over his mouth. 'I underestimated you.'

'Everyone does.'

'But still I cannot stand here admiring you. You are still the enemy after all and enemies have to die.'

The speech petered away as the pair watched the Beyblades spinning around the room, colliding with each other and spinning in concentric circles, neither gaining ground. Tyson was prepared to launch his Bit Beast at any moment but was just waiting for the right time. Stony just laughed.

'I know what you're thinking and I wouldn't try. You're in my realm now and in this realm I've made up the rules. Your Bit Beast will not work in here.'

Tyson scoffed.

'Impossible.'

'I assure you it isn't.'

'We'll see…'

Tyson's eyes were now rooted on the duelling Beyblades, each spinning gracefully around the other, one occasionally tickling the other to gain a sense of its power before going in for the kill. When they were heading straight for each other Tyson knew it was time to act.

'Dragoon! Attack!'

There was a flash of light from Tyson's Beyblade but then a puff of smoke. Tyson watched with shock as both of the 'blades emerged from the clearing clouds with no sign of Dragoon. Tyson just let them spin around the room as he came to terms with this revelation.

'See? You should listen more to other people Tyson. Independence doesn't get you anywhere!'

Tyson was now growing weary of this situation and felt events needed to be taken in hand and dealt with. He stomped across the room, flexing his muscles, watching as Stony walked towards him at the same time, each step taking in unison. Tyson raised an arm to prevent a punch from Stony, using his free hand to deliver a punch to Stony's stomach but he had been ready and launched a counterattack on Tyson's neck which pushed Tyson off balance and he stumbled backward, narrowly missing standing on his own Beyblade.

'You want a display of strength? You are wanting us to behave as if we have proud peacocks displaying our fantastic tails? Well I can show you what I possess that will show you I mean business.'

Tyson was just staring at Stony when he heard a click. He looked warily over his shoulder to see Stony's Beyblade heading for him. But now it was different; poking out of each of the four corners was a shiny razor blade, reflecting the look of panic in Tyson's face. He just managed to jump out of its way as it went spinning underneath him, though it still managed to catch his trainer, ripping a considerably hole in the side and going through to Tyson's foot. Drops of blood were now decorating the floor of the room, dots of colour in an otherwise bland environment.

'May I introduce my Beyblade. Emphasis on the blade!'

Stony laughed as he stood out of the way – though this was largely fruitless in the confined and circular room – and watched Tyson dancing around the Beyblade that seemed less interested in the other 'blade and more in Tyson. Back it would come from another attack to attack Tyson once more; soon Tyson's legs began to ache with all the movement and he realised action needed to be taken before the Beyblade succeeded in ripping into him.

By studying the movement of the Beyblade as it span around and above Tyson, he found a pattern. Taking a deep breath and swallowing hard, Tyson dropped hard to the floor as the Beyblade passed and picked it up in his hand, the razor cutting into the flesh of his fingers. As soon as he picked it up he threw it, throwing it in the direction of Stony. Stony wasn't expecting this. It spun right at him and hit his chest, plunging through his ribs and imbedding in the wall behind.

Tyson got to his feet and inspected his hand. Even though his encounter with the Beyblade had been less than a second it had already done considerable damage, blood spurting out of numerous cuts on his hand. Tyson quickly ripped off his shirt and made a makeshift bandage which he wrapped around his hand to try and stem the flow of blood. It was still painful and it was with great courage and effort that Tyson managed to cross the room to where Stony was. On the way Tyson picked up his own Beyblade which did not administer any injuries. He slipped it into his trouser pocket and spoke to Stony.

'I'm sorry it had to end like this.'

'I bet you are.'

Stony's words were punctuated with grunts of pain as he looked down to see a razor from his own Beyblade that stuck in his chest. He watched as blood flowed onto the floor and onto his beautiful suit. Strangely he still looked smart.

Stony's eyesight was becoming hazy.

'Now how do I get out of here.'

'Why should I tell you?'

'Because just like Kenny, even when you'd managed to turn him into something evil, there's that little bit of humanity deep down. You should know that people aren't either good or bad. There's shades of grey in everyone. Now how do I get out.'

Stony snorted.

'Here.'

He flicked his hand in a nonchalant way and the door through which he had entered previously opened from what seemed like no indentation.

'Thank you,' Tyson said, nodding. 'I'm sorry.'

'Me too.'

'It didn't have to end like this, you know.'

'It did.'

Tyson shook his head.

'We'll have to disagree on that point.'

Tyson began to walk away towards the door when Stony spoke for the final time.

'I will have the last laugh Tyson. Just remember one name. Vladislav.'

Tyson shrugged his shoulders dismissing the last insane words of the dying man.

With a few more heavy breaths Stony was gone, his body no longer taking the weight and giving into nature, his head dropping and his arms falling limp. Tyson turned to see this, sighed and walked away once more, stepping through the door. As he did his world began to spin into a vast palette of multicolour that encompassed him totally. The next thing Tyson knew was that he was lying on the floor of his Dojo, out of breath and his hand still pulsing with pain.

Tyson got to his feet, stumbled over to his front door and opened it, passing out onto the busy street with locals on their way to work or to shops. The bright sunshine above glared down on him and made him smile. He didn't have long to take in the sight of the beautiful morning in which all the trees seemed alive with birds and everyone around had a reason to be happy; Kenny came bounding up to him with his laptop.

'Alright Tyson!' he said jovially, looking at Tyson through his thick bottle-lens glasses. He noticed his hand. 'What did you do to your hand? And – erm – where's your shirt?'

'Oh that,' Tyson said, adjusting his makeshift bandage and realising with embarrassment that he had opened the door without a shirt. 'It was just a little accident. Come in, and I'll get properly dressed.'

The day meandered by without anything major happening but Tyson wasn't bored. In fact with everything that had happened over the last few days he was glad to be at a loss for things to do. In the afternoon Kai, Max and Ray had turned up to join him and Kenny in a game of Beyblade, though Tyson sat out for most of it due to his hand, which had now been properly treated and bandaged by his grandfather, who incidentally didn't believe his grandson's excuse of cutting it on a knife while cooking.

'Cooking?' he said. 'Cooking! You don't even know how to toast some bread!'

The afternoon soon drifted on and as the sun slowly made its way below the horizon Tyson said his goodbyes to his friends and retired to bed with a sandwich and a glass of apple juice which he left on the floor as he lay thinking on bed.

They're all oblivious to everything that's happened – which is a good thing – but I just wish there was someone I could talk to about it. But there's no one. I've erased the events completely.

Sitting there watching Kenny talking to Dizzi brought it all back. There he is with his friend when I had more with her. Much more. It's just not fair. I saved Kenny's life and stopped Kai from injury but what have I got in return? Nothing. I only wanted to spend time with Dizzi. To feel love with someone. Is that too much to ask?

Tyson sighed and got to his feet, walking over to the window of his bedroom, staring out over the houses and thinking; thinking mostly about Dizzi and how she made – and was still making him – feel. His eyes cast a routine glance over the street and that's when he saw her. Dizzi's words came back to him.

Though he was dressed in his pyjamas and the night was cold outside, Tyson didn't care. He bolted down his stairs, into the main room and out of the front door, bumping into her as he dashed onto the street with only a pair of small slippers separating his feet from the cold ground. Saki was taken by surprise.

'Tyson!' she exclaimed, taking a few seconds to assess his appearance. 'What are you dong out here?'

'I had to see you.'

'You… had to see me?'

The usually verbose Saki had clammed up. She fiddled nervously with the tips of her hair.

'Yes. I had to ask you something.'

'What?'

'Would you like to – erm – come with me to the park tomorrow, maybe have a picnic or something. I'd love it if you could come.'

Saki giggled.

'I'd love to.'

Tyson smiled and exhaled, invigorated that she'd said yes. He shuffled nervously as Saki smiled back at him waiting for him to say something else.

'So, erm, I'll see you tomorrow then,' Tyson said nervously, taking a few steps backwards towards his house and warmth.

'You will. About 2?'

'Yes.'

Saki took a few steps towards Tyson and smiled, her rosy cheeks from the cold rising as she smiled.

'Night Tyson.'

As she said the words she planted a light kiss on Tyson's lips before walking off down the street to her own house. Tyson just stood there for thirty seconds as he watched Saki walk off into the blackness of the night. He was only disturbed from his chain of thought by his grandfather appearing behind him.

'Tyson, would you close that door. It's freezing. And what on earth are you doing out here at this time in your pyjamas.'

Tyson just smiled and sighed happily.

'Nothing, grandfather, nothing…'