Disclaimer: To view this disclaimer, send a mint-condition Dragoon Galaxy Turbo with a genuine Tyson Launch Assist from G-Revolution signed by the Click and Clack brothers to 551 Turnabout Street, Riverton, Wyoming, 82001.
Insert Self, Beyblade By Ryu Himora
***
Chapter Five: Here We Go...
***
"98! 99! 100!" Kenny said. "Alright, time for sit-ups now!"
The Bladebreakers groaned. They had been doing exercises since the crack of dawn down at the beach, in response to a formal challenge by Team Psykick. They had a week to prepare - starting yesterday. Ryu was having some difficulty keeping up, with no prior experience as part of a professional team.
"Come on, Chief, haven't we done enough already?" Tyson asked. "We've been at this for three hours!"
"No way! You all have gotten sloppy since the world championships. If you're to beat Team Psykick, you'll have to get back in shape fast. Now get ready for the next set!" Kenny reset his stopwatch.
The five beybladers groaned again, then grudgingly got in position to do situps.
***
A few hours later...
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One! LET IT RIP!"
Launch RPMs Draciel: 51000 Spirit Dragon: 38500
Spirit Dragon landed in the stadium and charged for Draciel. It impacted and ground against Draciel for a split second, but bounced off. Draciel swept around and hit Spirit Dragon hard, knocking it around the stadium!
"Is that the best you can do, Ryu?" Max asked. "I thought you fixed your blade!"
"Grr, try this on for size then!" Ryu said. Spirit Dragon recovered from it's momentum and hit Draciel several times, building up to a massive attack at the end. Instead of forcing all the energy on Draciel, however, Spirit Dragon took some of the hit itself. Max was caught off-guard, and Draciel was knocked off-balance. Spirit Dragon, however, sped toward the edge of the stadium, and launched off the side, generating its' white aura midair.
"Esper Slash!"
"Fortress Defense!"
To Ryu's surprise, Draciel managed to initiate its own special attack even while unbalanced. As Spirit Dragon approached,it got blown away by the intense pressure wave caused by Draciel. Spirit Dragon bounced off the side of the stadium a few times, then recovered.
"Lets get this over with!" Max said. "Draciel! ATTACK!"
"Go, Spirit Dragon!"
The two BitBeasts burst from their respective beyblades. They met in the center of the stadium, grinding against each other. After several seconds, Spirit Dragon began to be pushed back. He let out a roar, but even his best efforts were no enough to overpower Draciel. Spirit Dragon turned white, then broke into thousands of pieces of lights and retracted into the beyblade. Draciel did the same, then hit Spirit Dragon and they both flew back to their owner's hands.
"What was that?" Tyson asked. "You've gotta be kidding if that was your best, Ryu."
Ryu grimaced. Over the past two days, he'd fought against Ray twice, Kai once, and Max a good three times including this one. All of them had ended in dismal failures. He just couldn't get it going again - the feeling of harmony between himself and Spirit Dragon would not return. Nothing seemed to be able to activate it.
"Well, there's no use pushing him about it." Kenny said. "Tyson and Ray - You're up next."
"Alright, let's do this!" Ray said. He and Tyson walked up to the stadium. They got out their professional launchers, and slapped Dragoon Storm and Driger V into them.
"Three!" Tyson challenged.
"Two!" Ray responded.
"One! LET IT RIP!"
Launch RPMs Dragoon Storm: 53000 Driger V: 51500
Tyson and Ray had a very intense battle. They kept after each other, not letting either one gain a real advantage. Ryu watched with particular interest, trying to see if there were any movement patterns he screwed up, or something he missed. To his dismay, Ryu found he was doing it right - they were just that much better than him.
Eventually, Tyson's ability to deal more damage than Ray won out. Driger made a last ditch effort with its Vulcan Claw, but Dragoon's Victory Tornado countered it handily. Driger was knocked straight out of the stadium, and dug a good six-inch hole in the sand.
As the rest of the team conversed, Ryu felt something nagging at his mind. He slowly looked around, and saw someone familiar standing a good distance away. He didn't know if it was a good sight, though. As Honjo saw Ryu spot him, he leapt down from the concrete barrier and walked over. Ryu put his hand on his launcher - this didn't feel right.
"Heads up! We have company." Ryu said.
The rest of the Bladebreakers looked over. Honjo walked across the sand, leaving only light footprints. He stopped about ten feet from Ryu.
"Nice job joining the world champion team." Honjo said. "But shouldn't you be doing better? I already saw you enter Attack Mode once."
"I've been trying." Ryu said forcefully. "But the emotions won't come."
"Well then, let's try to coax it out." Honjo walked over to the stadium. "You need to learn how to do this. It's essential to Spirit Dragon's safety."
Ryu met him. He pulled out Spirit Dragon and his launcher. "You'd better be ready for me."
"I already know what you're capable of." Honjo got out a beyblade the same color as Spirit Dragon. The bit chip had a picture of a magnificent bird. He also pulled out a launch assist, the same type as Ryu's.
"Three!" Ryu challenged.
"Two!" Honjo responded.
"One! LET IT RIP!"
Launch RPMs Spirit Dragon 38600 Spirit Raptor 35000
Spirit Dragon landed and went to the center of the stadium. It waited there for Spirit Raptor to make a move, but nothing came. Spirit Raptor just circled the stadium in lazy arcs.
"Come on!" Ryu said. "You were so adamant about battling me, so come and get it!"
"I'm not the one being tested here." Honjo said. "Calm yourself. Focus your emotions."
Ryu didn't know why he wanted to follow this person's advice. His body just responded to the words - and he felt his anger fall. Ryu took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
Spirit Dragon made small circles to overcome its' momentum, then flew around the stadium. It hit Spirit Raptor hard, then doubled back to hit him on the ricochet! Spirit Raptor began to get knocked in every direction around the stadium!
"That's a good start! But don't get too cocky!"
Spirit Raptor managed to dodge one of Ryu's attacks. It got inside Spirit Dragon's attack pattern and began hitting back, two times for every hit hit Ryu scored!
"Grr..." Ryu grimaced. This was becoming difficult. He wasn't beaten, though, and had a few more moves up his sleeve.
Spirit Dragon caught Spirit Raptor on one of its' attacks and ground against it. The two beyblades pushed against each other, but Spirit Dragon was obviously superior.
"What's with this guy?" Max asked. "He seems so dominant, but Ryu's kicking his but!"
"Don't underestimate him!" Kenny said. "He's got the same power emanations as Spirit Dragon!"
"Alright, let's make this more interesting!" Honjo said. "Go Spirit Raptor!"
The bit-chip on Honjo's beyblade began shining, then a translucent blue raptor burst from it. Something was off, though - it was way too small. As Spirit Dragon erupted from its' beyblade, the scale became obvious - Spirit Raptor was a quarter the size of Spirit Dragon!
"You expect to beat me with that dinky thing!" Ryu said. "Spirit Dragon! ESPER BLADE BEAM!"
Spirit Dragon stopped in the center of the stadium again. It began glowing with the white energy aura, then blades of it began shooting off, following the curve of the stadium! Spirit Raptor dodged some of them, but it was ultimately being pushed toward the edge!
"Looks like Ryu has this in the bag." Tyson said.
"See how you like this!" Honjo said. Spirit Raptor stopped at the very edge of the stadium, waiting for Spirit Dragon's next wave of attacks. As it was hit, Spirit Raptor was knocked out of the stadium - but it didn't fall. Instead, it hung in the air, then flew and hovered above Spirit Dragon! The Bladebreakers all gasped as they saw this happen!
"So you're a flyer too?" Ryu said. "Not my problem!" Spirit Dragon stopped generating the aura and made a swift spiral around the stadium. It launched off the side, in the same pattern as the Esper Slash special attack. However, it too defied gravity, and met Spirit Raptor in the air!
"What! How are they doing that?" Ray asked.
"Beats me," Dizzi said, "But from what I can tell, the BitBeasts are causing a small power buildup in their beyblades!"
"So that's it..."
"Let's finish this!" Ryu said. "Spirit Dragon! ESPER WING BLADE!"
Ryu's beyblade began emanating a fierce tornado. Spirit Raptor was being drawn in, and at first Honjo couldn't fight it. However, As it grew closer, Spirit Dragon began darting about in the air, then gained altitude and smashed Spirit Raptor in a massive dive!
Spirit Raptor fell out of the air. It landed in the stadium, and bounced around a few times, inching closer to falling out - but it recovered, sparking off the side, and making small circles in the center.
"What!" Ryu exclaimed.
"It's not over 'till it's over!" Honjo said.
Dizzi's screen displayed a WARNING icon. "Alert! Spirit Raptor's spin speed is going critical! Something's happening to it!"
"What? How could that happen this late in the match!" Kenny asked.
"I don't know, but you all might want to start backing up!"
Honjo closed his eyes. After few seconds of concentration, a thin white aura began to emanate from his body. An burst of energy built up in his right hand, and his ripcord turned deep red.
"That's..." Tyson began.
"Charge!" Honjo said. He put the ripcord in his launch assist, which turned the same shade of red, sans the rubber bits. "Spirit Raptor... ATTACK MODE!" Honjo ripped the ripcord out of the launcher again.
Spirit Raptor let out a cry. A massive gale of wind began sweeping through the area, and Honjo's beyblade and BitBeast both flashed, disappeared for a few seconds, and returned to the visible spectrum in the same shade of red. The beyblade lifted itself into the air and knocked Spirit Dragon back into the stadium.
"How's it look, Chief!" Max said over the din.
The WARNING message continued to blare in Kenny's face. "Not good! Spirit Raptor's power just keeps rising! It's over six thousand! Seven thousand! Over eight thousand! Over nine thou- It just shot off my own scale!"
Ryu and Spirit Dragon stood in awe before Spirit Raptor. Ryu felt fear creep through his body. The sight was almost too much - He knew what Spirit Raptor Attack Mode was capable of, having handled that same power himself. Ryu noticed he was breathing rapidly, and took a deep breath, holding it as long as possible, then letting it go. He concentrated all of his energy, remembering his fights with Ozuma.
A thin white aura appeared around Ryu.
The other Bladebreakers noticed this. "Check it out! Ryu's going for it!" Tyson shouted.
"Charge!" Ryu said. His ripcord turned red. As he put it in the launcher, the launch assist turned the same color. "Spirit Dragon... ATTACK MODE!" He ripped the ripcord out with enough force to punch through a two-inch thick oak board.
Spirit Dragon and its' beyblade shifted to a deep red color. The two BitBeasts stared each other down, as the wind somehow intensified.
"Here I come, Ryu!" Honjo said. "Spirit Raptor! SUPER ESPER DIVE!"
"Go Spirit Dragon! HYPER SPIRIT TORNADO!"
The two beyblades and BitBeasts clashed. There was a blinding flash of light, and everyone but Ryu and Honjo were forced to look away. When they looked back, Spirit Dragon had vanished, and Spirit Raptor had reverted from Attack Mode. Ryu was on his knees, the Spirit Dragon beyblade in hole two feet deep behind him.
Spirit Raptor broke into thousands of points of light, and retracted into its' beyblade, which stopped spinning mere seconds after. Honjo sighed and fell to his knees as well.
The Bladebreakers ran over to Ryu. He was exhausted, and had a few cuts and bruises, but otherwise seemed okay. Honjo eventually got up and retrieved Spirit Raptor, then walked over and got Spirit Dragon. He presented Ryu's beyblade to him.
"THAT was the best battle I've ever had!" Honjo said. The white aura around him focused to Spirit Dragon, and the pieces that had been broken off from the beyblade regenerated again. Ryu took his repaired blade as the process finished. "Your form and technique were impeccable. The only problem you seem to have is activating Attack Mode. And, in time, that hurtle will be overcome as well. You're well on the way to mastering your BitBeast."
"So wait... you're not an enemy?" Kenny asked.
Honjo shook his head. "My goals are to protect Spirit Dragon, and whoever it chooses to wield it. As of now, you can consider me an ally to the Bladebreakers."
Ryu stood up. He and Honjo looked in each other's eyes for several seconds, and after what felt like an eternity they slapped their right hands together. Ryu was still generating the white aura, which made the scene a bit strange to the other Bladebreakers. As they released, Honjo turned to them. "You all must have some questions. Now would be the time to ask."
The Bladebreakers looked at each other for a few seconds. Max spoke up first. "Why are you so interested in Ryu?"
Honjo sat down, and everyone else followed. "Ryu holds one of a limited amount of BitBeasts that can Mode Change. So far, there are four modes that we know of - Attack, Defense, Speed, and Mobility. You know how a beyblade with a BitBeast is nearly impervious to a beyblade without one? The same is true for Mode Changes. A BitBeast in any Mode Change can defeat nearly any BitBeast that isn't. Why Ryu is important, is because there is a group who wants to use these BitBeasts to take over the world. My team and I have been attacked several times by these people, but they never use their own team. All they do is brainwash others and give their beyblades temporary Mode Changes to combat us. In theory, they could defeat Ryu, take Spirit Dragon, and use it to capture our BitBeasts."
The Bladebreakers were silent. They didn't know what to say to that. Ryu eventually broke the silence. "So, what's with this white aura?" He asked, looking at his body.
Honjo smiled. "That is called the Energy Transferral State, or ETS. It's a state where your and your BitBeast are in exact harmony. They can use this link to Mode Change. How it's triggered is different for everyone - I think of my intense friendship with Spirit Raptor. You'll find a trigger someday."
"What's this team you keep talking about?" Tyson asked.
"The Spirit Warriors. There are four of us - I am obviously here in Japan, Kotegiri is at home in New York, Hocho is in Europe with his family, and Fudo... Well, we don't really know where he is. But when the three of us gather, he's usually not far behind."
"The blades of Masamune?" Ray asked.
Honjo laughed. "Yes. Those are our chosen names. Five years ago, when we all met our BitBeasts, our memories were erased after a truly epic battle. They've been slowly coming back, but none of us remembers who we were."
"Well, that must suck." Tyson blurted out.
Honjo laughed again. "It did at first. But we've come to accept it as the price for our BitBeasts."
"I thought you said Hocho was with his family?" Max asked.
Honjo paused. "We all... rediscovered our families after the incident. Fudo, Kotegiri and I... didn't really hit it off too well with them. Hocho, however... his family managed to adapt to the changes, and because of our circumstances invited us into the clan as well. We have yet to accept."
"What's the name of this other organization?" Ryu asked.
Honjo shook his head. "We don't know. Everyone they've sent at us has had their memories wiped."
"Wait, you said Kotegiri was in New York?" Max said. "That's where the PPB All Starz are based - my mom works for them."
"Hmm, I'll tell her about that." Honjo said. "Is there anything else? I do have some work to attend to."
The Bladebreakers thought about it, but all of their questions that had accumulated since they had met Ryu on Dr. B's island had been answered. They shook their heads, but as Honjo got up Ryu suddenly had a thought. "Oh, wait - when is this going to, y'know, end?"
"Oh. You'll phase out of ETS as the emotions linking you to Spirit Dragon subside. I think the longest it was active was about four hours - but that was in a... very specific situation. You'll be fine in, like, an hour." Ryu nodded. "Well, I really must be off. We'll be seeing you, Ryu."
Honjo got up, dusted his pants off, and left the beach. Kenny got up and returned to his vantage point of the stadium. "Well! That was a fine battle, but I'm not going to let it interrupt your training!"
Everyone else but Ryu groaned. They got up, and as Kai and Max went up to the stadium, they heard a "RYYUUUU!"
Ryu sighed. This couldn't get much worse. He recognized the voice as Ozuma's. He turned around but was slightly scared at what he saw - It was Ozuma alright, but he was alone, and his eyes had changed to a blood red color.
"Oh great, what now?" Tyson asked. "Ryu already kicked you out of the city, why would you come back?"
"This is different. I have his abilities now." Ozuma walked over and opened his hand - Flash Leopard was also red. "I challenge you, Ryu! And this time, I WILL have Spirit Dragon!"
"Fine then!" Ryu said. He reset Spirit Dragon in his launcher. "Three!"
"Two!" Ozuma set up Flash Leopard.
"ONE! LET IT RIP!"
Launch RPMs Spirit Dragon: 54500 Flash Leopard Attack Mode: 54000
Flash Leopard was instantly all over Spirit Dragon. It kept hitting, a merciless barrge of attacks that left Ryu with no opening to evade or counter. His ETS aura flared with the big hits.
"Come on, Ryu! You can do better than that!" Ozuma said. "If you won't fight on your own, I'll FORCE you to!" Ozuma put the ripcord back in his launcher. "Charge! FLASH LEOPARD ATTACK MODE!"
Ozuma's BitBeast burst from his beyblade. They both roared. The fangs grew longer, the claws sharpened, the tail became more muscular, and the coat turned blood red. Flash Leopard stared Ryu down.
"You asked for it! Spirit Dragon, ATTACK!"
Ryu's BitBeast appeared in a brilliant display of lights. Spirit Dragon and Flash Leopard clashed, pushing against each other with massive amounts of strength. As Ozuma got fired up, the winds started to return. Spirit Dragon was fighting with his entire will, but Flash Leopard Attack Mode had far too much power. Ryu's beyblade was pushed all over the stadium.
Kenny poured over his laptop, making sure to record every bit of information. He constantly squelched the warning signs that kept popping up.
"How's it look, chief!" Tyson asked, fighting the roar of the wind.
"Ryu is getting pretty beat! He'll lose if he doesn't go into Attack Mode!"
Ozuma tried to go back into his super-fast attack pattern, but Ryu amazingly blocked him from disengaging. The two beyblades kept grinding against each other, though Ozuma was pushing Ryu back all the way.
"You're just making me mad!" Ozuma said. "Flash Leopard! CROSS FIRE!"
Flash Leopard was enveloped in its' black flame, then Spirit Dragon shot away from it. Now free from Ryu's defenses, Ozuma began hitting him hard again.
"Then let's do this!" Ryu said. "Charge! SPIRIT DRAGON ATTACK MODE!"
Spirit Dragon once again turned red, his claws and scales now looking more vicious. He roared, and caught Flash Leopard on one of his attack arcs. They ground against each other again, but this time neither one could gain ground!
"This kind of power isn't something you can play around with, Ozuma!" Ryu shouted. "I WILL defeat you!"
"That's just your bark! Let's see your bite! FLASH LEOPARD! SACRED FIRE!"
"SPIRIT DRAGON! HYPER SPIRIT TORNADO!"
The two beyblades broke off from each other, then clashed in the middle yet again. They bounced off, and flew through he air. Both landed on the very edge of the stadium - but Ryu kept moving. Spirit Dragon made fast circles around the stadium, but Ozuma just lazily hung in the center. Eventually, Flash Leopard reverted to its' normal color, then broke into thousands of points of light and retracted into the beyblade, which immediately stopped spinning. As Ozuma's beyblade fell, so did he, his eyes flashing back to their normal color before he fell unconscious.