Twenty-Seven

"Attention: the next match between BEGA and the G Revolutions is slated to start in ten minutes!" A woman's voice drifted out of the speakers of the BEGA building and around the immediate area.

I looked up from where Dricen was battling against Dragoon while Driger, Draciel, and Strata Dragoon. They were spinning around the dish, attacking each other now and then while Hopper bounced around the dish. I looked across the dish and into Tyson's eyes to see what his reaction would be to the announcement.

The expression in his face didn't change. He had his eye on the prize and this prize was saving the whole sport of beyblading. I let out a little sigh and held my hand over the dish. When I felt the weight of Dricen in my palm I closed my hand over my small blade. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I nervously tugged at my ponytail. This was it.

"I ask you now to return to your seats to get ready for the upcoming match. Again, I ask you all to return to your seats to get ready for the upcoming match. That is all."

"Are you ready?"

I nodded while pulling on the ends of my hair to tighten the grip the red scrunchie in my hair had on my ponytail. "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," I replied, turning around to face Max who was looking at me. "But no pressure," I added with a roll of my eyes and he chuckled.

"You'll do great," Hilary told me with a bright smile. "We all have faith in you."

I lifted a finger. "Ah, there's the pressure," I said with a little laugh. Then I let out a breath and rolled my shoulders. This was about as relaxed as I was going to get. "Okay, let's go."

"Are you sure you don't want to practice anymore?" Kenny asked.

"Chief, I'm not going to get any better than I already am if I add ten more minutes of practice," I replied with a little laugh and tugged on my bangs. "It won't make much of a difference. I'd rather just take the time to…I don't know, relax a little bit. As much as I can at least. So let's just go inside."

The rest of them agreed—Tyson, a bit halfheartedly—and we walked into the building. My chest tightened a bit as soon as we got inside and back into our training room and turned on the TV to see the little kids battling each other in the big dish while they waited for the next match. It was to give them a feel for what it would be like to battle in tournaments once they got older. They kind of reminded me of me when I was younger. Never did I ever expect to blade in a building as big as this, let alone a tournament. That was never my plan, to be a part of this. I just wanted to go around and learn everything I knew and avoid the tournament circuit as much as I could. But, of course, Boris got in the way and changed everything.

I smiled a bit while one little boy celebrated his win over his opponent. The match was very amateurish but they had some promise for the future. A few more kids battled it out before DJ Jazzman announced that the next match in the tournament was about to be underway and the shot panned over to the BEGA team. Garland was already up and ready to fight. I smirked a bit. He was so sure he was going against Tyson; we'd have a slight edge.

I just hoped it'd be enough.

"Come on," Tyson said with a bit of a sigh as he stood. We followed him out of the room and down the halls towards the floor area of the stadium. I gripped Dricen tight in my pocket and could almost feel his energy flowing through my fingertips. I could do this. As long as I had him with me, we'll be fine.

"It's time!" DJ Jazzman yelled to the hyped up crowd. The sound was almost deafening to my sensitive ears. "Will Garland be able to finish off this tournament and bring the ultimate victory to the BEGA league?" A surge of applause lifted as Garland stepped up to the dish, a confident smile on his face. I was itching to knock it right off his lips. "Will Tyson be able to show him what a true champion is made of?"

"Heh, not this time, Jazzman," Tyson laughed. "There's been a little change in plans."

"What are you talking about?" Garland demanded. From where he was standing I could see the annoyance in his eyes. "Get up here so I can defeat you and bring honor to the Seibald family name."

"He's a little on the cocky side, don't you think?" Hilary asked dryly.

"Let him be cocky," I replied. "Easier for him to make a mistake."

"Now don't you get too cocky," Ray warned me.

"Who? Me? Neverrr," I said with a wave of my hand.

"Come on and fight me, Tyson," Garland ordered.

"I'm not battling you," Tyson replied with a wide smile. "She is," he added and pointed in my direction. I tensed a bit under Garland's gaze as he swung his eyes over to me and then back to Tyson. I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't amused or ready for what Tyson was going to say.

"Quit joking."

"I'm not." Tyson crossed his arms over his chest and smiled smugly. "She's going to battle you next." Then he looked at me. "I know you can do it."

I smiled. "I know I can too, Ty," I told him and let out a deep breath. "I have to. Not only for you guys and blading as a whole…but for Kai and Tala and for my parents too."

"You'll do great," Hilary said while giving me a small hug. "Just keep your eye on the prize."

I nodded. "Thanks everyone," I said. I took another deep and turned to walk up the flight of stairs that took me to the playing area. Garland watched my every move, much like a lion waiting to take down his pray. I gulped and flexed my fingers a little bit while looking at him. This guy was big. Much taller than me and he had a lot of muscle to boot. If he was strong just from looking at him his blade would be strong as well.

Garland scoffed. "You shouldn't be here, little girl," he told me. "This is a battle that isn't meant for you. You might as well take your walk back down those stairs and bring Tyson up here."

I shook my head. "I have just as every right to be here as Tyson does. What you and the rest of BEGA are doing is wrong. Beyblading isn't a sport, it's a lifestyle. It's people's lives and now that you all are trying to take that away from the little kids…I can't let you do that. I won't back down and I won't get Tyson up here. This is my fight and you're going to either blade me or forfeit because I'm not going anywhere."

He gave a little laugh. "Whatever, you're going to regret not taking the chance to get out of here."

I ignored his statement while loading Dricen onto my launcher. I turned my attention to the revealed beydish which reminded me of Tyson's dojo. The Combat Temple Stadium it was called. It didn't look like there were any hidden bells and whistles to it. So it was going to be a straight up fight with strength and brains put to the test. I looked across the dish to see Garland getting ready for the fight. My eyebrows crinkled together at the sight of him using what looked like a nunchuck for a launcher. That was bound to give him a bit of advantage when it came to the force behind his launch.

As DJ Jazzman counted down to the start of our battle I took a deep breath and put my mind at ease, focusing it solely on the match. The audience collectively let out a loud "Let it rip!" and I tugged on my ripcord as hard as I could. Our blades smashed against each other in mid air before landing in the dish.

"Dricen, hit him hard!" I ordered.

I watched closely while my metallic blue blade started smashing into Garland's bright yellow one. I wanted Garland to see what kind of power I had without giving too much away. He needed to know that I wasn't just a girl he was blading with, I was a force to be reckoned with. I wasn't only a White Tiger, I was a great blader. I've learned loads from travelling around the world. That banishment, it was the best thing that's ever happened to me. And now was my chance to prove it.

"Keep going!" I called. Then I looked up at Garland and almost faultered. He wasn't even paying attention. He had his arms crossed and his eyes were closed. What's he doing? He's not even trying. He's just…standing there. He's making a mockery of my power and of Dricen. I let out a gasp when his blade hit Dricen back with a blow, as if he were a but that was swatted away by a hand.

"Siebald Family Principle # 1: Know your opponent as you know yourself," he told me.

I scoffed. "Hmm, so you're a girl? With that hair, it's not hard to make that mistake," I joked with a roll of my eyes.

He didn't even crack a smile. "You had your warm-up. Now, for Principle # 8: The opponent with the most powerful first strike wins the game!"

Oh man. "Dricen…Dricen, run!" I yelled out to my beast but he didn't stand a chance. Garland's blade smashed into Dricen and continued to hit him, blow after blow. Dricen didn't have a chance to go anywhere. "Dricen, hang in there!" With another hit, Apollon smashed into Dricen and he flew back in my direction. Dricen managed to get a grip on the bottom of the platform I was standing on and shot himself back at Apollon after flipping over and correcting himself. "Way to go!"

Does he ever stop talking? I mentally groaned when he started preaching about his family rules again. You'd think he'd blade more than he spoke. I shook my head when he turned his back to the dish. That conceited little blech!

"Apollon, climb!"

"You're not going to get away from me that easily! Dricen, jump! Don't let him out of your sights!"

I stayed still while letting my eyes watch the blades move. It just didn't make any sense. These Family Principles…what were those about? Didn't he know how to blade by himself or is he some sort of machine? I could feel my blood racing. He made me so angry, not even putting his heart and soul into beyblading.

Garland was tough. I could practically hear Dricen roaring in pain whenever he was attacked by Appollon. He didn't have any chance to escape at all. We were in way over our head but I knew Dricen wouldn't give up or let me down so I ordered him to fight back and gave it all he had. Appollon, admittedly, was strong. Far stronger than I expected, and I expected a lot. I could hold my own with Tyson, I've only scraped by with a win twice but this guy…he was tough. I could feel sweat rolling down the back of my neck while my mind raced to find a way out of this predicament. Dricen was beining to lose spin and I hadn't even used any of his attacks yet.

This was bad.

"Crys, you can't give up!" Hilary yelled at my back.

"As if that's even an option at this point!" I shot back without turning around, clenching my hands. There wasn't much I could do and that was a bitter pill to swallow. Dricen was backed up against the wall with no way to escape. Appollon wouldn't give him space or let up on his attacks.

"Can you feel it, Crystal?" Garland taunted. "That's the history of my lineage. The power of the Family Principles. You don't stand a chance!" He smirked as Appollon backed off. "Family Principle # 79: Swift end to honored opponents." He smirked. "You should be proud, Crystal. To be a part of the Siebald family tradition. It's over."

Appollon charged at Dricen, faster than I've ever seen before and it had a sort of glow around him that I knew it was packing a lot of power. "Dricen, hold your ground," I told him. I could hear my teammates protests but this was what I had to do. Something was off with him. He wasn't battling with his heart and for the sake of the game, he was battling with rules and preconceived ideas of war. That wasn't what beyblading was about.

And that pissed me off.

"Good job," I whispered when Dricen managed to dig his claws into the ground and keep Appollon from moving by ducking his head and using it to stop the other bitbeast. "Garland," I called across the beydish. "Why do you beyblade?"

"To win, of course," he replied with a scoff, taking his eyes away from the battle.

I'm sure he thought the battle was over soon. It had to be the only reason he finally took his concentration away. My chest was heaving and I could feel my energy levels going down but I had to win. I just had to. There was no room for errors but first I needed to get a hit on him… "Is that the best answer you can come up with?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. If I could distract him long enough…

"What?" He hissed. Then he let out a breath. "And you? What is your reason for beyblading?" He smirked. "Do you only blade for the attention?"

"No," I replied coolly. "I blade because I love it," I replied. "Ever since I was little I loved it. Everything about it is great. The awesome speed and mechanics behind the blade. The challenge from opponents as well as my friends to do my best and be better. The bond between you and your beyblade. The bond between you and your bitbeast, as if you share one brain, one heart, one soul…nothing can compare to that feeling." I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them. "I love it so much and I won't stand by and let you, your team, and Boris take that from me. I won't give it up without a fight."

"Heh," Garland scoffed. "You fool! You'd risk it all for a handful of meaningless ideals? When you beyblade or play any other sport what is the point if you do not win? Tell me?"

"I pity you," I sighed. "You and the rest of your oh-so-high-and-mighty family. If you think winning is what it's all about, I feel sorry for you all." I lifted an eyebrow when I saw that I struck a nerve. Without even having to say anything Dricen managed to push Appollon back to give him enough space to spin around. It was as if we were on the same wavelength now. "Winning isn't what it's about. It's the challenges, the growth, the heart of it all. The love and joy that the sport brings you, winning…it's a good feeling but it's a shallow temporary one that goes away. But…most of all…the big point…is fun. That's the point. I actually looked forward to battling you and I wished things would've worked out so it could have happened."

"You speak nonsense!" He growled. "We're beybattling right now."

"No," I said firmly. "I'm not battling you. I'm battling your family's principles. You haven't made a single move in this battle without justifying it with the Siebald principals."

Dricen let out a mighty roar and came out of my blade in a bright flash of light. His jaws gnashed while he arched his back and his hair stood up on end. Blood pumped in my ears and I suddenly felt strong, stronger than I've ever felt before. Dricen flexed his claws while crouching down, waiting to strike. I could feel his energy coursing through my veins. He was as pumped as I was, so pumped that nothing around me mattered anymore. Not Tyson, Kai, Tala, or even Boris. None of that mattered but getting Garland to realize how stupid he was being and to take this match into my own hands.

I could see a new fire in Garland's eyes and I had to say I was excited to see where this battle was going to go now. "Dricen, give it all you've got! Frozen Tundra!"

Give it all you've got, Garland. I want to show Boris and my parents and everyone else that I'm not just a small girl with a flash beyblade, that I can do this and I can stand on my own. And…especially…that I'm not afraid anymore…

Dricen slammed down on Apollon, a griffin, from above and bit down on one of his wings. Appollon let out a screech and tried to shake Dricen off but he held on tight. The bitbeasts fought hard with bites, scratches, stabbings from talons and claws, using the specific elements (wind and ice) to their advantages every now and then. Dricen was holding on strong, though, and I was really proud of him. I thought we would've been knocked out ages ago but he was still trucking. He must want this as badly as I do.

"Had enough?" Garland panted.

"No…" I replied, wiping sweat off of my forehead with the back of my hand. "Keep it coming."

"Are you crazy?" Ray yelled. "You're on the brink of exhaustion, Crystal. You have to pull back!"

"Ray, the entire sport is at stake!" I reminded him. "I won't fail. I…we won't lose because of me." I fell to my knee, using a hand to keep me up. I was so tired. It was hard for me to catch my breath and everything began to tilt. I just wanted to sleep. But I couldn't give up. I just couldn't. Dricen, the others…they're counting on me. "I…I won't allow it."

"Yeah but—" The worry in his voice made a small smile come to my face and my heart jump a bit.

"Ray, let her do this," Kenny told him. "She's our only hope. She's all we have left."

"She can do it," Tyson said. "I know she can."

"Remember, you asked for it," Garland told me, causing me to try and lift my head. I could only rest it on my knee, I was so tired. "So brace yourself. Here I come! Radiant Thunder!"

"Dricen, Arctic Strike!"

Pressing most of my weight onto my knee, I managed to get back into a standing position. I swayed a bit while I watched Dricen. As Dricen ran forward what looked like a mini tornado surrounded him and ice shards formed as the water droplets in the mini tornado chilled. The ice spun around Dricen and seemed to mix in the with the electricity that came from Appollon.

A bright light emitted from the two bit beasts that hit each other, head to head, giving it all they've got. Shockwaves from the two bitbeasts moved through the stadium and, with each one, seemed to shake me to my core. I fell down to my knees and grasped at my chest while drawing in deep breaths to get some air. The light faded and everything fell silent.

Until…

"And that's the match!" DJ Jazzman yelled into his microphone over the sound of the roaring applause. "Crystal won the final game for G Revolution!"

"I…I won," I whispered as Dricen slowly stopped spinning and tilted to one side. "I won!" Despite how tired I was I laughed gleefully and punched my fists into the air. My first ever tournament battle and I win! Mom, Dad, are you proud of me?

"G Revolutions and BEGA are locked in a draw! What will happen next? Tune-in tomorrow for the tie-breaker showdown!"

I let out a breath and jumped down into the large dish and picked up Dricen, smiling at the cool metal pressing against my palm. I looked up when a shadow fell over me and tilted my head back to look at Garland properly.

"You did well," he said while holding out his hand. "I have to admit, I didn't expect much from you but you were a formidable opponent and I'm honored to have battled you. Maybe we could do it again sometime."

I smiled and grasped his hand. "Sure, that'd be great," I said with a nod. I gave him a little wave and turned to get out of the dish. I jumped up and landed on top of the "roof" part of the dish and walked over to the stairs, taking my time to go down them while the team ran up to me.

"See? I told you you could do it!" Tyson boasted while slapping my shoulder.

"You don't have to kill me to prove that you're right," I groaned while rubbing my shoulder. "But thank you. I just had to rely on Dricen, I know he could help me out and do his best."

"Don't be so modest, you were a part of that win as well," Max said with a kind smile followed by a hug. "You didn't give up even when the odds were stacked against you and kept us in the tournament."

"We're all very proud of you," Ray added, also giving me a hug.

"Thanks guys, but can we please go?" I asked and then paused to let out a big yawn. "I'm beat I feel like I can sleep for a week."

"You better wake up in time to see me take down BEGA in the last round," Tyson said as he swung his arm around my shoulders and used the other one to poke me in the cheek.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Ty. I don't want you talking my ear off about every single minute detail that further explains your self-proclaimed awesomeness," I replied with a bit of sarcasm and a smirk.

I squeezed my eyes tight to try and keep myself in a state of being asleep but it was hard when I could hear what I guess was supposed to be hushed whispering. I relaxed my eyelids and sighed before opening them all of the way and turning to look out the window. It was pitch black out there. How long had I been asleep?

I sat up and stretched, taking the time to arch my back and stick my arms into the air. I yawned while rubbing at my eyes and then squinted through the dark room to look at the clock. It was eight o'clock at night. I slept almost the entire ay away. The match had ended earlier that morning, no wonder I felt so hungry.

I pushed back my covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Groaning at the ache in my arms and legs I finally got to my feet and shuffled out of the room. I paused to go to the bathroom, the distinctive ache in my abdomen was signaling that the next couple of days would be hell for me. I knelt by the cabinet under the sink and frowned when the box of girl products that I had put under there disappeared.

"Tyson," I called while walking through the dojo looking for him. This was the fourth time since I've been here that he's moved my stuff. I don't know what it is about seeing my pads and tampons that he can't deal with it. Not that I really expected him to. "Tyson!"

"Whoa, you sound like Hilary," Ray said with a little laugh.

I paused where I was and looked into one of the vast training rooms in the dojo. Ray and Lee were sitting in what I guess was supposed to be a meditation position. Ray was sitting in that way at least. Lee looked as if he was trying to stick his foot behind his head.

"Don't know if that's a good or bad thing," I pointed out. Ray smirked and I flipped him off. "Lee, stop that, you're going to pull something," I told him.

"No, I can do it," Lee groaned, sticking his leg further back. "Just…a little more…"

"What kind of form of mediation is that?" I asked and then placed my hands on my hips. "As your fiancée I say you should stop before you hurt yourself!"

Lee's leg dropped to the ground and he gave me a peculiar look. "You…you know?"

"I told her," Ray explained. He shrugged at the look on Lee's face. "She has the right to know. It's her life too."

"Have any of you guys seen Tyson?" I asked, changing the subject. It was still too strange for me to talk about being engaged and stuff. I still didn't fully believe it and I was waiting for Ray to say it was all a joke or something. It didn't happen yet but I was still waiting for it.

"Not after we saw Tala," Lee replied, rubbing his sore leg.

I smirked. Serves him…wait, what? "You guys say Tala without me?" I demanded. Lee flinched under my tone but Ray held his gaze. He seemed to be the only one that wasn't afraid of me. "Why didn't you wake me? Did you see Kai too?"

"You needed your rest," Ray replied. "That battle took a lot out of you. You can see Tala later. Right now what's important is you getting your strength back."

"Yes Dad," I huffed.

"Why're you looking for Tyson?" Lee asked, changing the subject.

"He moved my tampons again–oh get over it, Lee! You have a sister for crying out loud!" I scoffed when he flinched at the word 'tampon'. Boys are all the same. "How're you going to deal if you ever get a wife or a daughter?"

"Ship 'em off to an island for a week every month. Then I don't have to deal with their mood swings and I have some guy time," Lee replied with the sort of grin that made me want to punch him in the face.

"Your face will have some quality 'guy time' with your foot in a second," I growled, moving towards him.

"Tyson might be with Max and Kenny in the den," Ray quickly jumped in. Lee was lucky he was in the way or else his blood would be shed all over the floor. "Oh yeah," he said while snapping. "Hilary called. She wants to know if you'd want to sleep over at her place with the other girls."

"Because being stuck in a house with Mariah all night talking about you is my idea of fun," I said while clasping my hands together and smiling innocently. "See you guys later. And Lee, don't try that again! If I find out you get stuck I'll make it my business to unstuck you and it won't be pretty," I warned him and then went to the den in search for Tyson again.

I frowned when I saw that Max, Kenny, Rick, and Daichi were the only ones in the room. I then growled under my breath causing them to turn around. "Well, good morning to you too, sunshine," Rick said sarcastically.

"How'd you sleep?" Max asked while smiling. I swear that boy never stops smiling. It was kind of strange but endearing at the same time.

"Slept like a rock," I replied, running my fingers through my hair. "Best sleep I've had in ages, I'd guess. Have you guys seen Tyson?"

"What'd he do to you now?" Kenny asked without looking up from his laptop. "By the way you were screaming I'd think he tried his shaving cream trick on you again. I can't fathom how you fell for it the first time."

"If Tyson tried that trick on me again I'd make him eat the shaving cream," I clarified.

"It wouldn't be the first time Tyson ate it," Daichi quipped.

"Why're you looking for Tyson?" Max asked.

"He moved my—"

My words were cut off by the loud sound of a wall breaking. In an instant the boys jumped to their feet and rushed out of the room. I followed as fast as I could but I was still a little woozy from my battle with Garland. By the time I made t outside I noticed that Grandpa Granger was through the floor and Ming-Ming and Crusher were taunting Tyson to get him to blade.

"Are you okay, Grandpa?" I asked as I grasped his upper arms and tried to pull him out of the hole. The guy was heavier than I thought. Must've been from the muscle from the kendo training. Or I was still weak from that battle.

"I'm all right, dudette. You should worry about the dawgs over there," he replied as he struggled to get himself out of the hole.

I bit my lip and looked to see that Rick and Lee had interfered in Ming-Ming's and Crusher's attacks against Tyson. Sighing, I shook my head. When will those boys ever learn? "Lee, pull back! This isn't your fight!" I ordered. "You too, Rick!"

"Don't worry about me," Lee told me through clenched teeth. "It's Tyson and the BBA we gotta protect. I won't let them do to him what they did to you and Tala and Kai."

My lip twitched slightly at his mentioning of protecting me. It felt odd, a little out of place. Before he didn't even bat an eyelash if I stubbed my toe but now he was preaching about making sure I didn't get hurt? It felt fishy to me.

"Don't be bull headed!" I finally snapped, taking myself out of my thoughts. "Ming-Ming and Crusher were handpicked by Boris for a reason! Back down, Lee. Don't be rash!"

"Hey, come on, knock it off you guys!" Max called over the wind that was coming from the four attacking blades. "This battle's a total waste of time."

"Max is right. We're on the same side. We're bladders and to destroy each other like this isn't good for anyone. Except for Boris who wants to tear us apart!"

I threw my arms into the air. "Oh yeah, just ignore the girl over here who constantly speaks common sense."

Our words were ignored as they continued to block Tyson from being hurt. I felt torn. Part of me wanted to help them protect Tyson but the other part of me knew that this was his fight and that I had to rely on him and that he knew what he was doing. Crusher and Ming-Ming sounded torn over what Boris would do to them if they didn't finish with their jobs as planned and I couldn't help but feel for the little girl. How she got pulled into this mess was beyond me but I knew if she stayed in any longer she'd live to regret it. But she was scared and rightfully so.

Fear had a strong control over you, much stronger than any other emotion.

"Do you want me to say I told you so or…?" I asked as Ray and I helped Lee to his feet after being knocked off of his feet by one of Crusher's attacks. Crusher had managed to stop him from hurting Tyson and him and Ming-Ming seemed to realize what Boris was doing. Garland and Mystel showed up as well and warned us about Brooklyn and how he was being trained by Hiro to harness all of his powers to get more power in the upcoming match.

"Oh shut up," Lee shot back as he got to his feet. "I knew what I was doing."

"You should trust Tyson, that's what you should've been doing."

"Well excuse me for trying to help my friend, Miss-Always-Right!"

"Knock it off you two," Ray said coming in between us. I stuck my tongue out at Lee from underneath Ray's arm and then turned away from him. How I was engaged to that reckless idiot was beyond me. I needed to have a serious talk with Elder. "We shouldn't be fighting each other, we should be focusing our attention on BEGA and how we're going to beat them."

I rolled my eyes. Ray always has to be the one to continually look at the big picture. Suddenly I was over being around the boys and them being overprotective and, well, annoying. "I'm going to take Hilary up on that offer. I'm spending the night at her place."

"Wait? What?" Tyson asked, suddenly sounding really alarmed. "But…you won't be around to make me my good luck walnut pancakes in the morning!" He whined, kicking his foot at the ground. I laughed at his sudden switch of tone. It was amazing that only a minute ago he had a serious expression on his face while thinking about his tie-breaking BEGA match.

"Take an egg, milk, some bisquick, and nuts and there you have it. It's not that hard," I told him as I went back into the dojo to gather up my things. "'Sides, with this last battle…you boys are going to be moody all night and if you're not moody you're going to be loud and I need sleep."

Tyson scoffed as he followed me. "Girls don't sleep at sleepovers. They stay up all night talking about hair and clothes and boys."

"Goes to show how much you don't know about girls, Ty," I pointed out while shoving things into my bag. But I paused and slowed down while my thoughts began to wander and it dawned on me. What did I know about sleepovers anyway? I never stuck around in one place long enough to get to know someone enough to sleepover at someone's house. Now that I think about it, I didn't know much about a lot of normal teenage things because of my banishment. I always thought it was good, that I didn't have to deal with their strict rules, but now that I see it in a different light…how much of my life did I miss? "If you want pancakes so badly I'll come back early enough to make them for you, okay?"

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Tyson asked with an enormous grin.

"Not enough, Ty, not enough."

I almost jumped out of my skin as soon as I walked through the door of the Tatibana house and I was showered with glitter and confetti as well as noisemakers going off in my ears. My nerves were on edge as it hit me that it was a sort of surprise party for my BEGA win thrown by the other girls. Mathilda happily led me into the kitchen were a chocolate cake was sitting with Congratulations Crystal! written on it in blue icing.

"Guys…this is too much," I muttered, but it obviously fell on deaf ears.

"Nonsense! You won and, not only that, you proved that we girls are as strong bladers as boys are," Julia said as she elbowed me in the ribs. "No one else could've done it better!"

"Guys…"

"Make a wish and blow out the candles," Emily said while holding a stack of plates in her hands.

"But there's no rush. You don't have to worry about Tyson coming in here and eating the whole thing," Hilary added with a gleeful laugh.

I gave up and moved to blow out the candles that sat on top of the cake. The flames danced and bend, instantly grabbing my attention. The reds and oranges mixed together while flickering. The colors were hypnotizing. I couldn't tear my eyes away. It just felt too familiar… I could hear faint screams in the back of my head. I swallowed thickly and tried to think of something else to make the noises go away but it only got louder and louder. Screams and cries, yells of pain and wails of despair. It just kept getting louder and louder. The smell of smoke got stronger and it made my stomach turn with every intake of breath.

Make it stop, please!

"Crys." I flinched when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over and peered into the anxious golden eyes of Mariah who had stepped up next to me. "Are you okay?" She asked; worry mixing in with her words.

I nodded, "Yeah. I was just, uh, thinking of a wish," I replied with a slight lift of my upper lip. I closed my eyes, wished and blew out the candles in one short breath. I opened my eyes to watch as the gray smoke twist and turned like ribbons in the air before disappearing.

"That was some wish," Julia commented with a smirk. "What'd you wish for, a private jet?"

"No, I wished for something a bit more practical. Like a mansion with pink ponies and butlers to carry me down the stairs," I replied sarcastically, lightly shoving her. "But you girls missed something big that went down at Tyson's place," I said while snapping my fingers, suddenly remembering to tell them. "Crusher and Ming-Ming showed up at Tyson's."

"What did the brat want? To serenade him?" Hilary asked darkly while looking at her fingernails. I exchanged a look with Julia but decided to bite my tongue. I was a guest in her house and I didn't want to be kicked out.

"No, they were trying to spy on Tyson and the others. Boris's idea, of course," I replied.

"What happened? Are they alright?" Mathilda asked while clasping her hands together, her voice a bit more higher pitched than usual.

"They're fine. Well, except for Rick's and Lee's egos," I replied. "Crusher and Ming-Ming finally realized what Boris was doing and stopped their attack before they really hurt anyone, thank goodness. Mystel and Garland showed up as well."

"I'm surprised they didn't try to take you all out right then and there," Julia scoffed. "They had the perfect opportunity."

"It's not Boris's style," I replied as Mrs. Tatibana began cutting pieces of cake and putting it on plates and handed them out to us. "He'd rather win in the eyes of many based on power and skill than to use tricks behind the scenes," I explained somewhat bitterly.

"Hey," Mariah said while putting a hand on my shoulder. "Don't you worry about him, okay? Tyson will win tomorrow's match and Boris will be gone for good." She gave me what was supposed to be a reassuring smile but it didn't do much to lift my spirits. She was trying hard and I really appreciated it but…it just wasn't something that she, or any one of them for that matter, would ever understand.

"So…what do we do at these sleepovers?" I asked. I instantly regretted it when I saw the excited looks on the other girls' faces. "Oh no," I groaned at the peculiar look on Mariah's face.

"I didn't even say anything," she defended herself.

"Yeah, but I've seen that look too many times to learn to be worried about it," I explained begrudgingly.

"Oh, lighten up. We're going to have fun tonight, you'll see."

But of course their idea of fun was different than mine. A good part of the night was spent with them testing different makeup techniques on me as their guinea pig. When I asked why they didn't use each other they claimed it was because I had no experience doing anything girly and they needed to catch me up on such rituals. I went along with that. I went along with Hilary giving me some of her old clothes to wear. I even went along with manicures and spa treatments, but I was bored and felt a little out of place.

I sighed. Why was it so easy for them to do these sort of normal things but it felt like I had to put every bit of energy I had into it? Why couldn't I just be normal like the rest of them? But I already knew the answer to that, with how my life went I couldn't be even close to "normal" like I wanted, like I wished and longed for. How normal could one be when they were engaged at fifteen?

"So what do you guys think of Daichi?" Julia asked. Her head was tilted to the side and she was braiding her long brown hair. Somehow—though not surprisingly—our conversation switched to the boys. A topic that was received really well judging by how much the others could go on and on about some of them.

"The kid is loud and annoying," I replied, reaching forward to swipe another cookie off of the plate that Mrs. Tatibana had brought up a few hours earlier. "And disrespectful sometimes. He's kind of like a mini Tyson, only worse 'cause Tyson has matured over the past couple of months."

"Daichi's downright rude," Hilary huffed as Mathilda pt pink nailpolish on her toenails. "Grandma my butt! I'll show him grandma…" she grumbled as Mathilda giggled.

"Oh, Hil. He's just a kid. He doesn't know any better," Mathilda reminded her.

"That shouldn't matter. He should have some sort of discipline. He won't go far in life if he keeps acting like that," Emily said as she held up her finger. "He doesn't have anyone to really teach him right from wrong. It's a classic case of trial and error. Sooner or later he'll figure out that his behavior is unacceptable and he'll change…I hope."

"I thought the same about Tyson at first. Admittedly, he has matured a bit more," Hilary noted. "I think it's this whole BEGA thing, it's putting everything in perspective for him. That it's not all about him anymore."

"I think…I think that's why Hiro switched sides," I said quietly.

"What? What do you mean?" Mariah asked.

"Well, think about it. Tyson knows he's a good beyblader. He gets a big head about it and he brags about it anytime he gets the chance. He jumps at the opportunity to blade someone new to beat them," I explained while tugging at a loose thread on the hem of my pajama pants. "Hiro knows this. Hiro thinks that Tyson's amazing. Hell, I think so too, but he also needs to be knocked down a peg. That's what Hiro's doing by coaching the BEGA team. He's trying to find a blader that could put Tyson in his place and realize that there will always be someone out there that's better than him." I shrugged. "Well, that's what I think anyway."

"That…strangely, that makes a lot of sense," Emily reasoned, rubbing her chin.

"God knows he needs to let the air out of his head," Hilary commented dryly.

"Wow, Hil, you're full of snark today," I pointed out, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. "You know, for someone who claims to dislike someone else you sure do talk about Tyson a lot."

Hilary spluttered in outrage as the other girls let out 'oooh's and whistled. "I…I, er, no! That's just…no! I don't like Tyson!"

"Never claimed you did, I just pointed out that you talk about him a lot."

"Ooh, girl, you're busted!" Mariah laughed.

"Shut up," Hilary growled through clenched teeth thought her cheeks were tinted a pink hue. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest as the girls continued to tease and poke fun at her. Finally she just grabbed one of her pillows and smacked Julia across the mouth to keep her from laughing. It then, naturally, escalated into a pillow fight. I have to say it was a lot of fun. Not just the pillow fight, the entire night. I never felt so close to them, to anyone, as I felt towards these girls.

As the night drew on we began to wind down and were laying on sleeping bags in Hilary's room, talking about anything and everything. Mariah and I talked a little bit about how our village worked and the rules and guidelines that went with it. For the first time my mind didn't flash back to my banishment, I could talk about White Tiger Hills without feeling like my heart was being bound. It was great.

"Crys, what do you want to do?" Julia asked me while kicking her legs in the air.

"You mean later in life or…?" I asked while playing with the end of my braid.

"Anytime."

"I want…actually, I want to go back to school," I replied hesitantly. "I miss the opportunity of being able to learn new things every day. I don't see myself beyblading for the rest of my life and I could get far doing anything with a proper education."

"You could go to school here!" Hilary suddenly gasped. "With Tyson and Kenny and me. You could go to school with us."

"I would but I don't know how I'd be able to swing the fees," I replied with a sad smile. "I want it so badly but, realistically, it might not happen so I'm not getting my hopes up too far." Being able to admit that with ease was astonishing and that's when it dawned on me. These girls were my friends. I could come to them with anything and that was something that I longed for for so long. Finally, finally I felt like I fit, like I belonged somewhere. That thought alone helped me sleep more peacefully than I had in a while. But the thought of the upcoming battle still loomed in the back of my mind. The next day…it decided everything.

And I wasn't sure that I could handle that.

Sorry for the long wait, I hope this long chapter makes up for it. You get to learn a bit more about Crystal in this chapter, her hopes and dreams and such. I hope you all enjoyed this one. The past couple of chapters have focused so much on BEGA that I wanted one to be more about more teenage things that Crystal could go through and that's how I got the idea for the second half of the chapter. Please read and review and thanks for being so patient. The next one should be up soon 'cause I'm on Christmas Break.

~C.M.