Author's Note: Time for another newly revised chapter. I left a poll at the end in case you want to vote on your favorite member of the Temporal Knights!
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. I only own my OCs.
Chapter 5: The Enemy's True Face
"Dranzer, attack!"
"Wolborg, don't let up!"
The two Russians each bore masks of total focus as their Beyblades continued to hammer away at each other, holding nothing back. Above their heads, Dranzer and Wolborg grappled with each other in a deadly dance of fang, beak, and claw.
Dranzer darted behind Wolborg and dealt a brutal slam that forced him to the edge of the dish. "Nice shot," Tala commented with a grunt as he felt the full force of the blow through his mental link with Wolborg. "Looks like you've been practicing."
"Heh, you're not looking so bad yourself," Kai replied with a cocky smirk. Training battle or not, the two friends were treating this match like a real one. The World Championships started three weeks, and despite the risks to their blades and each other, they needed to test their newly upgraded Beyblades at full strength.
"Blazing Gigs!" Kai ordered, tired of their stalement. Dranzer flew high to gain altitude on her opponent, shrieking a battle cry, and shrouded herself in blue flames. Tucking her wings, she plummeted back down to earth aiming for the prone Wolborg.
"Novae Rog!" Tala countered. Howling fiercely, Wolborg called up a savage gale of ice and charged for Dranzer from the eye of the storm, claws and canines bared.
Fire and ice clashed in a swirling tempest as their bit beasts drew upon their last shreds of strength. Kai and Tala's newly upgraded attacks made the old versions pale in comparison, and the two had to bring up their arms to shield their bodies. The smoke cleared to find their two Beyblades lying in the dish motionless, the bit beasts having spent their power and retreated.
Kai and Tala locked eyes in wordless communication, a smirk playing on each of their faces. Relaxing out of their battle stances, they turned to their team mates, who were watching from the sidelines. Each one answered with a confident nod.
They were ready.
"Lunash, finish him!" Sonja ordered. Her Beyblade picked up torque and charged across the dish to deliver a forceful slam to their opponent's gray Beyblade, sending it flying out of the dish to embed itself in the wall.
"And Sonja completes the Temporal Knights' winning streak by taking the third round!" DJ Jazzman announced. "The Temporal Knights have won the Holland qualifiers and will move on to compete for a spot in the World Championships!"
The deafening sound of applause and cheers accompanied Sonja back to her team's bench. "Nice one, Sonja! That poor guy didn't know what hit him!" Nakia complimented.
"Hehe, thanks," Sonja replied with a slight blush. She looked to her team captain and asked, "So when are we going to get some real competition? We've been fighting nothing but amateurs."
"Relax, we'll get plenty of good competition in the World Championships, but for now, what do you say we get out of here and grab some dinner?" Eri suggested.
"I couldn't be happier to hear that command," Hina replied jokingly. Eri had relaxed visibly over the past couple of days, which had in turn boosted the team's overall morale. Winning their second qualifier certainly didn't hurt their good mood either.
Two hours later, the Temporal Knights were sitting at a booth in a local pub overlooking the coast while picking at what remained of a hearty dinner. It had been quite a while since they had taken the time to go out to a nice restaurant, so tonight was a welcome change of pace. However, a certain team captain was ruining the mood.
"Okay, Eri, this is getting ridiculous. Must you pull out your laptop here?" Hina asked incredulously.
"What? This place is a wireless hot-spot!" Eri replied innocently.
"So is the hotel," Nakia pointed out.
Eri shrugged indifferently and said, "I have to book our next flights."
"And get the latest scoop on our competition, right?" Sonja teased good-naturedly.
"You know me too well," Eri replied, smiling fondly at her best friend. She turned back to her screen and continued to scour the BBA's website for upcoming tournament schedules. Sure, her team's victory today qualified them for the next round, but she still had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. 'There's just one tournament left in the qualifiers, and it's in Turkey in two days. I wonder…'
Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Pyrix asked.
'If you're thinking about a little field trip, then yes.' Eri abruptly closed the lip to her laptop, garnering the attention of her team mates. "You're probably going to think I'm crazy, but we've got one last stop to make before going home."
Two days later…
"You're right, I do think you're crazy," Nakia commented to her team captain as the girls pushed their way through the crowded stadium. "We've already cleared the qualifying rounds, so why do we need to come all the way to Turkey for the last tournament?"
"Call it a hunch," Eri replied simply. She finally found their seats and sat down, turning her attention to the battles taking place below. Thanks to the problems of booking a last-minute flight, followed by delays at the airport, they had only arrived just in time for the final match.
"Please welcome the teams for the final match of the Turkey Qualifiers, the Dutch Soldiers and Omega Platoon!" DJ Jazzman shouted into his microphone, drawing out yet another round of applause from the audience. The four boys of the Dutch Soldiers didn't seem to stand out as they entered the stadium; however, Eri's breath caught in her throat, and her pupils shrunk out of shock to tiny pinpoints of black as she caught sight of the four girls from Omega Platoon, or, more specifically, their captain.
'It…can't be. There's just no way…'
This is worse than we feared, Pyrix stated grimly.
'Raina Belikova…'
"Bladers, please take your stances for the first round!" A tall, imposing girl with dark blonde hair and bright green eyes stepped up from Omega Platoon and assumed her stance across from her opponent. She was the most well muscled one on the team, with an athletic physique that betrayed a rigorous weight-lifting regime. She wore a dark indigo sweater underneath a black leather jacket, along with black cargo pants and steel-toed boots. Eri scanned the roster of teams and found her name. Alannah Shevlin from Dublin, Ireland. "3…2…1…LET IT RIP!"
At the outset, Alannah simply crossed her arms over her chest and didn't even speak a word to her purple beyblade. However, it made a beeline for her opponent's blade and tore into it with cold-blooded savagery. She directed an icy glare at her opponent, who cringed and took a step backward, too frightened to even call out an order to his Beyblade. "Nithhogr, eliminate him," she called in a bored monotone. Her Beyblade dodged the next attack and countered with a brutal slam that shattered her opponent's blade and sent the pieces flying out of the dish. The boy she had been facing dropped to his knees and stared helplessly at the remnants of his blade.
"And…Alannah takes the first round for Omega Platoon!" DJ Jazzman announced, though his tone of voice was not as enthusiastic as usual. As if picking up on his shock, the audience's applause was somewhat delayed as well. For the second round, Omega Platoon sent out a brunette with curly hair that fell below her shoulder blades and gray eyes named Ramona Hlasek from Switzerland. Though she was only slightly shorter than Alannah, her build was slender, yet still toned from training. She wore a sleeveless yellow turtleneck with a bold black stripe running down each side along the seams along with faded blue jeans tucked into black boots. Her opponent's unease was written all over his face. Clearly, he didn't want to end up like his teammate in the previous round.
'Xhaiden's agents must have been working overtime in order to recruit bladers from all over the world like this,' Eri mused.
As the battle began, Ramona's beyblade, which was marigold with black decals, took up a position circling near the edge of the dish. "Attack now!" her opponent shouted. He was fighting scared now, trying to get the upper hand before Ramona could make the first move. His blade charged straight on, but Ramona's beyblade easily deflected it and slowly circled the edge of the dish, as if taunting the opponent. The way her blade moved reminded Eri vaguely of a cat stalking its prey.
"Gygax, make your move!" Ramona ordered. Her beyblade accelerated so quickly that it threw her opponent off balance, and one forceful slam was all it took to send the pieces of his blade clattering to a stop in the center of the dish.
"And the Omega Platoon continues to dominate this match as Ramona takes round two!" Polite, yet nervous, applause accompanied DJ Jazzman's proclamation of the winner. "Now it's time for the final round, and it looks like Omega Platoon is sending up their captain, Raina Belikova!"
Raina had straight, light brown hair that fell just past her shoulders and blue eyes, along with an athletic build, not quite as bulky as Alannah but still just as intimidating due to her height. She stood nearly six feet tall and wore a red, form-fitting sweater with the sleeves separate and attached to her upper arms with steel buckles, like arm warmers. She also wore black skinny jeans, held up with a black belt that had a holster for her beyblade launcher, tucked into shin-height black boots. Overtop of her outfit was a gray trench coat that flared out slightly at the waist. As the Russian approached the dish, she looked up and locked eyes briefly with Eri, giving her a knowing glare that sent a brief shiver down her spine.
'She knows we're here,' Eri commented to Pyrix.
"Bladers, take your stances!" Raina turned the same glare to her opponent, who trembled visibly from intimidation. Given the brutal defeats of his teammates, he obviously didn't want to even comprehend how badly Omega Platoon's captain would thrash him. "3…2…1…"
"LET IT RIP!" both bladers called as they sent their beyblade into the dish.
"ATTACK!" the Dutch boy shouted, his voice shaking in panic. He clearly didn't want to suffer the same fate as his teammates. His beyblade picked up torque and repeatedly slammed Raina's blade, but the attacks were wild and unfocused, bouncing off harmlessly.
"Magma Explosion!" Raina shouted. Her Beyblade spun furiously in the center of the dish, giving off waves of intense heat. A shaft of red light shot up from the bit chip, and a bit beast in the shape of a manticore materialized. Eri felt her blood run cold as she remembered that particular bit beast.
'Dregore…'
Dregore had the head, mane, and body of a lion, along with a pair of black feathered wings and wickedly sharp horns on top of his head. He let out a blood-curdling roar that drowned out Raina's opponent's cry of shock, and geysers of fire and lava erupted from cracks in the dish. When the smoke cleared, the beydish was completely destroyed, and the opposing Beyblade had been reduced to a small pile of molten metal.
"I…can't believe it," Hina whispered.
"And I seriously doubt she was using that attack at full power," Nakia remarked.
"We could be in serious trouble," Sonja said with a worried sigh. Eri stood up without warning, drawing the Greek blader's attention. "Eri? You okay?" She glanced down at Eri's hand, which was clenched in a tight fist. A single drop of blood trickled down her fingers from her nail digging into her palm. Instead of answering, Eri headed for the door, knowing her teammates would soon follow.
Eri led her team into the labyrinth of halls leading to the entrance of the stadium. She trusted her instincts, as well as Pyrix's guidance, to tell her where to go. Finally, they came to a hallway that was nearly pitch-black, save for a few bare light bulbs that still flickered, giving off an eerie, foreboding atmosphere. Standing in a circle of light cast by a solitary light bulb, in a line as if expecting them, was Omega Platoon. The Temporal Knights could finally get a good luck at the team's fourth blader, a girl from Iceland named Vala Arnardottir. She was the most petite one on the team, though she was still toned from years of training. She had short, spiky black hair and hazel eyes and wore a pale green sweater paired with faded denim shorts, black thigh-high socks, and combat boots.
"Raina…" Eri ground out the name between her teeth.
"Eri…" Raina returned just as bitterly. "I see time has not erased your hatred of me."
"Are you surprised? You nearly killed me when we were kids," Eri hissed.
Raina's expression became cocky to the point of taunting, and a wide smirk plastered her features as her next statements dripped with sarcasm. "Ah yes, I remember that incident quite clearly. Well, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I intend to finish what I started." Sonja, Nakia, and Hina tensed, their hands slowly moving toward their Beyblades and launchers. Raina saw this, and her teammates also moved to grasp their loaded launchers. Their captain's tone became deathly serious as she narrowed her eyes at Eri and said, "I never leave a work undone."
Suddenly, a shaft of red light burst out of the pocket where Eri kept her Beyblade, and Pyrix materialized in a physical form before her mistress in a protective crouch, hackles raised and teeth bared. She stood about twice the size of a normal wolf when in physical form and locked furious golden eyes on Raina. I will be dead before you touch her! Pyrix shouted savagely, projecting her mental voice for everyone to hear.
Dregore's dark, foreboding voice echoed through the halls next, like a specter haunting its victims. I would be pleased to arrange that, he stated in a dangerous undertone. Pyrix snarled viciously at the unseen manticore, only to receive a warning growl in return. For several long seconds, Pyrix remained motionless between Dregore and Eri, her unbroken snarls ripping like a hacksaw through the tense silence. Her muscles were taut like a rubber band, trembling from the effort needed to keep from launching herself at Omega Platoon. If Raina so much as moved…
"Dregore, enough," Raina ordered, dismissing her bit beast with a wave of her hand. The manticore fell silent, and his unseen presence vanished from the air. Pyrix glanced back at Eri and, with an approving nod from her mistress, retreated to her bit chip. "There will be plenty of time to settle old scores later. Just know this, Eri: Xhaiden knows exactly what your team is up to and why you're entering the World Championships. In fact, I'm looking forward to facing you again."
"It won't turn out the same as last time, trust me," Eri said resolutely.
Raina "hmphed" and replied, "We'll see about that. Until next time." With that said, her team turned and left, vanishing into the deep, ominous shadows that filled the hall.
A long, uneasy silence fell upon the Temporal Knights as they watched their rivals walk away, obviously unfazed by their presence. Sonja, Nakia, and Hina turned their gazes toward Eri, wordlessly awaiting her command. Said Russian sighed heavily before turning on her heel and walking the other direction. "Let's go," she whispered.
"In the world of Beyblading, the regional qualifiers have just finished, and the World Championships are ready to begin again. Long-time fans will remember the BBA Revolution, Blitzkrieg Boys, White Tiger X, PPB All Starz, F-Dynasty, Majestics, and Barthez Battalion, now re-named Tetra Battalion. In addition, we have three teams making their World Championship debut: the Justice 5 from BEGA and two unknown teams, the Temporal Knights and Omega Platoon."
"Hey, I can see land below!" Nakia exclaimed excitedly from her window seat on the airplane. "I've always wanted to go to Japan!"
"It's a beautiful country. I'm sure you'll love it," Hina replied from her seat next to Nakia. After being away for so long, she was excited to return to her home country, even if it were temporary. Mr. Dickenson had summoned all the teams to Japan, the site of the BBA global headquarters, to discuss the format of this year's tournament and attend the mandatory social niceties and receptions that accompanied such an internationally renowned sports event. It also meant that the Temporal Knights could finally meet and size up the competition.
Or get reacquainted, Arashi interjected, picking up on Hina's unguarded thoughts. You already met the Blitzkrieg Boys.
'True,' Hina replied. Her thoughts drifted briefly to Spencer, but she blushed and quickly slammed shut that train of thought. She glanced at the rest of the team. 'I hope they'll be okay. Everyone was shaken up pretty badly after running into Omega Platoon.'
And what about you, mistress? Arashi asked. Are you well?
Hina smiled, both on her face and mentally. 'Thank you, Arashi, but I'll be fine.' The white eagle nodded in acknowledgement, but his presence shifted closer, offering reassurance and comfort.
"Attention, passengers, please fasten your seat belts. We will be landing shortly."
Eri roused herself from a light doze and propped her chin up on her hand, staring absentmindedly out the window at the land that was slowly growing closer. "Eri?" She turned to Sonja, who had just spoken. "You okay?" Concern was written across her features.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Eri replied, giving her best friend a genuine smile. Life had settled down quite a bit in the weeks since the tournament in Turkey. After moving on to the next round and winning a spot in the World Championships, the Temporal Knights had spent their time training and preparing for the tournament, occasionally moving from one country to the next to keep their location a secret. They had heard nothing from Raina or Xhaiden, but the silence couldn't last forever.
Two hours later, the team was settled into a hotel room a few blocks away from the newly reconstructed BBA World Headquarters. All the teams were staying here, but the Temporal Knights had managed to catch an early flight and arrive first, thereby avoiding most of the paparazzi and any unnecessary introductions.
Since it was the middle of summer in Japan, the first thing they did was change out of their heavy winter attire into lighter clothes. Eri now wore a short-sleeved, form-fitting green shirt with a slight, one-inch turtleneck collar fitting snugly around the base of her neck. She still wore the wolf pendant, while her leather belt hung loosely at an angle around her middle. Her black cargo pants fit closer to her legs, and she had swapped footwear from heavy snow boots to lightweight hiking boots. Instead of a winter coat, she kept a black trench coat, which came down to her knees, handy in case of rain. Sonja wore dark wash skinny jeans and brown boots but swapped to a sleeveless cobalt blue shirt underneath a gray, long-sleeved jacket. Nakia wore a sleeveless red shirt with a neckline that left her shoulders bare, along with loose-fitting long sleeves attached to her upper arms and wrists with black buckles. In addition, she wore blue denim shorts and lightweight, knee-height gray hiking boots. Hina's outfit was mostly the same, except she had swapped her black pants for black cropped capris.
After changing, Eri stepped out of the bathroom and headed for the door. "All right, I'm going to head on over for the meeting."
"Heh, have fun," Sonja said teasingly. The meeting was mandatory for all team captains and coaches, and Mr. Dickenson was going to divulge details regarding the format, locations, and travel plans for the tournament.
Eri rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises. Hold down the fort while I'm gone, Sonja."
"Will do."
Once Eri had gone, Nakia flopped down on her bed and asked, "So, what are we supposed to do for two hours?"
"Hmmm…anyone up for some room service and Pay-Per-View?" Hina asked mischievously.
"It's on Mr. Dickenson's tab, right?" Nakia asked.
"Oh yeah," Hina replied with a smirk, reaching for the remote.
'Hmmm… 4:25. Good, I'm on time,' Eri mused as she checked her watch. The elevator came to a stop, and she got out to find a group of Beybladers and coaches waiting in front of the closed door of Mr. Dickenson's conference room. They were conversing quietly in small groups, but the conversations abruptly died as multiple sets of eyes swiveled towards Eri. She returned their stares with an even glare of her own. She already recognized everyone based on their photos and team profiles online – Hiro as BBA Revolution's coach, Rei as the captain of White Tiger X, Judy as the coach of the PPB All Starz, Romero from F-Dynasty, Robert of the Majestics, Miguel from the former Barthez Battalion, Garland from the former BEGA league, and…
'Tala…' The captain of the Blitzkrieg Boys stood apart from the rest of the group, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pants pockets. His eyes widened slightly in recognition when he saw Eri. 'I can't believe it's been nearly two months. Time sure flies…'
Mistress, are you blushing? Pyrix teased.
'Zip it.'
You do know that I can read your thoughts and hear your heartbeat.
Eri cut off Pyrix's teasing when she noticed that someone was missing. 'There's no one here to represent Omega Platoon.'
You're right. This is unusual.
Tala pushed himself off the wall and started to move toward Eri, but just then Mr. Dickenson opened the doors of the conference room to let everyone inside. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he apologized. "Please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable."
Everyone filed inside and took seats around Mr. Dickenson's oval-shaped conference table. All of them except Tala cautiously observed Eri, who, as far as they were concerned, was the new kid on the block. She expected their stares and knew the look all too well; they were sizing up the new competition. Much to her surprise, Tala took a seat beside her. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "It's been a while. Looks like you've kept yourself busy to make it this far."
"You have no idea," Eri whispered cryptically. However, any attempt at conversation was cut short as Mr. Dickenson called the meeting to order.
"I would like to thank all of you for coming here today. As you know, the World Championships are upon us yet again, and we at the BBA have decided to make a few changes to the format of this year's competition."
"Hey, wait a minute. Where's the captain from Omega Platoon?" Rei asked.
"Apparently, their flight was delayed, so they were unable to make it on time for the meeting. I have already made arrangements to send them the details that we will cover in today's meeting." Mr. Dickenson cleared his throat before continuing from where he had left off. "We are abandoning the tag-team format from last year, so each round will be the best out of three matches. Teams will send up three members, who will each compete in sudden-death battles. Like last year, we will move locations to different countries and use a round-robin system of score-keeping. The tournament will have four rounds taking place in New York City, Rome, Mexico City, and New Delhi, with the finals taking place here in Japan. In order to make the transitions between countries more efficient, the teams will travel together with all expenses paid by the BBA." He gave everyone a chance to process all that he had said before asking, "Now then, are there any questions or objections?"
"Not at all. Everything sounds positively splendid!" Romero exclaimed cheerfully.
"I have no objections either," Hiro added. The other captains and coaches responded with their own forms of assent as well.
"Well then, it's settled. We will be leaving in two days for the first leg of the tournament in New York City. I wish all the teams the best of luck!" Mr. Dickenson proclaimed.
After Mr. Dickenson went over the flight itineraries and a few changes in the rules, the meeting was dismissed. Eri stood up and quickly made her way out of the building, wanting to avoid any unnecessary confrontations. 'I'm glad that's over.'
"Hey, where's the fire?"
Eri turned around only to find Tala standing there. To her surprise, her heart fluttered slightly. The way he stood there, with his hands casually shoved in his pockets and the wind tousling his red hair, nearly made her cheeks turn red. "I beg your pardon?" she asked, raising one eyebrow quizzically.
"Well, you hightailed it out of there rather quickly," Tala observed, walking up to stand beside her.
"Heh, maybe I was just trying to get away from you," Eri joked, turning to walk back toward the hotel.
"Ouch. That hurt," Tala replied, playing along with her joke. Not unexpectedly, he swung into step beside her.
"Is there any particular reason you're following me back to the hotel?" Eri asked, but not unkindly.
Tala shrugged. "My team's staying at the same hotel, so you could call it coincidence. Besides, we're all going to be traveling together for the entire tournament, so you might as well get used to it."
"I suppose you have a point." They walked in silence for a few moments. "It's just…I don't do large crowds," she admitted, rather surprised that she revealed something that personal so easily.
"Heh, trust me, you're not alone in that regard," Tala replied. "Don't worry, they're a good bunch. A bit annoying at times, but they mean well."
Tala and Eri continued a casual conversation all the way back to the hotel. After growing up around all girls, Eri hardly had any experience when it came to interacting with the opposite sex. However, she had to admit that she enjoyed talking to him. Everything that Eri had heard about the Russian captain portrayed him as a cold, emotionless person, but talking to him like this showed that he could actually be quite charming. Before Eri knew it, they had arrived back at the hotel. She didn't even protest when he got in the elevator with her. She pushed the button for the second floor, but Tala remained where he stood.
"You on the second floor too?" Eri asked.
Tala nodded. "Small world, isn't it?"
As they exited the elevator and started to go their separate ways, Tala leaned in close and whispered in Eri's ear, "I'll see you around." His warm breath tickled her ear and sent a brief shiver down her spine. To further add to her discomfort, Eri felt Tala's hand brush lightly against hers as he turned to go. Once he had disappeared around the corner, Eri quickly snapped out of her stupor and hurried back to her room. All she wanted to do was get Tala out of her head.
Sonja, Nakia, and Hina looked up as they heard the door slam to reveal a rather flustered-looking Eri.
"Hey, welcome back. How was the meeting?" Sonja greeted her.
"It was fine. I'll fill you in on the details," Eri replied, trying to keep down the tremor in her voice.
"Um…Eri?"
Said Russian turned to look at Nakia.
"Why is your face so red?"
"Well…I…uh…"
"May heaven help us. Eri is at a loss for words," Hina stated. "Let me guess: does this have anything to do with a certain red-headed Russian?"
Eri's face turned even redder.
Nakia laughed and said, "I am going to have so much fun teasing you about this."
Oh hey, I made a poll! Feel free to contribute a vote in your review!
Which of the Temporal Knights do you like best?
Eri
Sonja
Nakia
Hina