Twenty-Nine
"Alright bladers, here it is! The beystadium is ready! Are you?" DJ Jazzman yelled into his microphone.
"I really wish that guy would stop yelling," I muttered over the noise of the anxious audience. Not that my comment was even relevant with what was going on but the others were so quiet—too quiet—that I had to say something to break the silence. It was beginning to make me nervous. I felt my fingers twitching by my side as I looked around the stadium.
I felt my heart lurch a bit when I locked eyes with Boris. He had a large smirk on his face which made him look more sinister than usual. I clenched my hands into fists. You won't beat us, Boris, I thought while glaring at him. Tyson won't let you. With this win, it'll prove that I can ruin your life just like you ruined mine! You didn't beat me Boris, You may have taken my family away but you didn't beat me because I have friends that will always have my back!
"Are you okay?" Hilary asked while putting a hand on my shoulder.
I tore my eyes away from Boris and swiveled my head around, locking my blue eyes with her red ones. "Yeah," I replied with a nod. "I'm just a little nervous," I admitted, while looking over at Tyson. "This is pressure that no one should feel, least of all Tyson."
"I know," Hilary agreed. "He's always the one who steps up and helps us out of trouble." She sighed a little. "He doesn't deserve this. No one does. The only thing we can do now is support him."
"I hate not being able to do anything."
"I do too."
As the dish was revealed I looked at Tyson to see what his reaction would be and was taken aback. His jaw was set and he had the most determined look in his eye that I've ever seen in my life. He was ready, that was for sure. He was ready to give and maybe sacrifice it all just to protect beyblading as we knew it. I clasped my hands together and pressed the tips of my fingers into the backs of my hand while silently praying that he'd be able to pull this off.
He had to.
"Whoa!" I uttered as soon as their beyblades were launched. "Kenny, did you see that launch?" I asked, turning to him.
"That power…!" Kenny gasped. "I've never seen a launch like that!"
"Hey, what do you think Brooklyn was waiting for when he launched his beyblade so late?" Max asked no one in particular.
"Who knows? That creep! Maybe he's just showing off for the rest of his team," Daichi replied.
"Anything's possible, especially with Brooklyn," Hilary reasoned.
"Tyson, watch out! Brooklyn's up to something!" Kenny advised.
Tyson played to his strengths—going on the attack—like he usually did but all Brooklyn did in response was laugh. No matter how many times Dragoon attacked Zeus it didn't seem to do much damage to the BEGA blader's blade. No matter what, Tyson wouldn't back down. Dragoon kept attacking head on. Hit after hit, Dragoon attacked but nothing worked. Zeus was just too powerful.
"If Tyson keeps this up Dragoon is going to use all of his energy right off the bat," I spoke up.
My words fell on deaf ears as Daichi, Max, and Ray were all so enthralled in the match. Couldn't they see that Tyson was digging himself an early grave? This is probably what Brooklyn, Boris, and Hiro expected. It was Tyson's main game plan, to hit them hard with as much energy as he could muster and as quickly as possible before the opponent could attack him back. It was like Kai's plan but a little bit different. With Kai he used a large part of his energy in the first strike, especially on those he didn't think were worth his time to fight, but he'd still have energy left over in case a battle went on longer than he thought. At this rate Tyson would be finished with one blow.
"Something's not right," Ray muttered.
"Tyson's not letting up on his attacks and Brooklyn's still pushing him around," Max noted.
"I think it's his beyblade," Kenny reasoned. "Its super speed spin rotation easily evaded Dragoon's attack…and that's why all of Dragoon's blows are just bouncing harmlessly off of it!"
"Do you think he stands a chance, Kenny?" I asked.
"Hard to say."
Come on, Tyson. You can do this. You can do this, I encouraged mentally. Almost as soon as the thought crossed my mind I let out a scream at the explosion that rocked the building. Red electricity shot out everywhere as the ground underneath Tyson crumbled and everything was swallowed in dust.
"Ty…Tyson," Ray uttered in shock.
"Tyson no…" I whimpered. He was getting such a beating. I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't see what was happening. I hated feeling so helpless.
"Hey! Check that out guys!" Daichi called out in excitement. I opened my eyes to see that he was pointing up at the jumbotron. Could it be…? Yes! "It's Dragoon! Still spinning! Tyson's still in the game!"
"Yeah, but where is he?" Max asked, his voice laced with concern. "I can't see him."
We all waited, holding our breaths as the dust slowly cleared from the screen. I gasped when I saw him. He was lying against boulders, his arms and legs askew and covered in dust and a few scratches. I felt my body starting to shake as I covered my mouth with my hands in shock. This was going too far!
"Oh no…" Daichi uttered.
"TYSON!" We yelled in unison.
"Get up, Tyson!" Max called.
"C'mon dude!" Ray begged.
"Tyson!" Daichi called.
"Tyson! Tyson!" I screamed. I didn't even realize that I had started running for the battle zone until I felt myself being restrained around my waist. "Let go! I have to get to Tyson!" I yelled while struggling against my captor. Tears burned the corners of my eyes and I did my best to keep them from falling. I had to get to him, I just had to!
"Crys, stop," Ray said as he held onto me tighter to keep me from getting out of his grip. I fought as much as I could but Ray was far more stronger than I was.
"Ray, we have to help Tyson!"
"We can't do anything! This is his battle, let him fight it!"
"No, Ray! Tyson's hurt! Brooklyn's taking this too far!"
"Guys, look!" Hilary exclaimed, grabbing my attention.
I turned my tear-filled eyes to the destroyed battle dish and let out a little laugh of surprise. Tyson was steadily getting to his feet while Dragoon still continued to spin triumphantly.
"Y'see? Tyson's a fighter, he'll make it through this," Ray said into my ear as he let me go. I reached out and grabbed onto the crook of his elbow and stepped closer to him.
"I hope you're right," I told him.
"Every blader on Earth is counting on me…" Tyson addressed Brooklyn. "…to stop you and BEGA once and for all. I won't let you or Boris ruin something that makes so many kids so happy! Go Dragoon!"
Brooklyn merely laughed at Dragoon's attempt at attacking him. Suddenly a wave of energy shot out from Zeus and sent Tyson flying backwards and smacking into a boulder before he slumped to the ground. I bit my lip har to keep from crying out Tyson's name while simultaneously tightening my grip on Ray's arm. Wordlessly, he brought his free hand over and rested it on top of mine, giving it a squeeze without tearing his eyes away from the battle. The audience was going crazy at the spectacle that played out before them.
Tyson managed to get back to his feet and continue the battle. How could he keep getting back up? He was being thrashed but he still kept going…. He's a better blader than I gave him credit for, I thought in amazement. Even I knew when to pack it in but Tyson…he'd keep going until the ends of the Earth.
"Atta boy!" Brooklyn laughed and added tauntingly, "I can't decide if you're brave, Tyson, or just foolish enough to match beyblades with me after what you just experienced." He let out another soft laugh. "Whatever. It doesn't even matter that the beystadium is devastated." The smile slipped off of his face as he tilted his head down, his hair casting a shadow over his eyes. His whole demeanor seemed to have changed in an instant. "With my mind power…I can create a new way to blade. I can create a whole new world! An alternate bey dimension existing in the depths of my mind!"
I brought my free arm up to cover myself from the strong wind that seemed to come out of nowhere. Electricity started to spark from Brooklyn's blade the more he yelled.
"I REFUSE TO TAKE PART IN THIS OUTDATED OLD FASHIONED METHOD OF BEYBATTLE!" Brooklyn screamed. The wind picked up and managed to knock Tyson over but Dragoon still spun. It was as if the wind was making him spin faster, being that Dragoon's element was the wind. "WEI'LL DO THIS MY WAY!"
"No! Tyson, get up!" Kenny yelled over the wind.
"Brooklyn's too powerful," Hilary admitted.
"What is this? What's going on here?" Ray asked as he looked around.
"It's like a bad disaster movie," Max commented.
"Okay, so you're strong enough to blow the stadium to bits. Big deal! You and I are here to beyblade! SO LET'S START BEYBLADING!" Tyson yelled as he, once again, got back to his feet.
"Brooklyn's losing it!" I pointed out. "What's he doing to his blade?" I asked even though I didn't expect an answer. Something weird was going on. It started to glow a strange purple color. The wave of energy expanded before shooting straight up into the ceiling and busting a hole in it, arching towards the sky.
"I will defeat you, Tyson. Even if that means moving the battle into a different dimension," Brooklyn announced, a sort of manic tone coming to his voice. "Into the world inside my mind." A chill ran down my back as I watched in horror as a sort of black hole formed in the sky. "Then we can be free of annoying announcers, pestering crowds, ridiculous bey stadiums…and suspicious team members. Yes! That sounds very good. Doesn't it, Tyson? And of course, I can have free reign over all the powers in my mind. Watch this!" I blinked rapidly to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Did Brooklyn actually grow black wings? No matter how many times I tried to clear my vision they didn't go away. What kind of power did this guy have? "Look how I can transform myself into a creature from one of your nightmares!"
With a powerful downstroke Brooklyn took off into the air, Zeus following him, and backed towards the giant black hole that swirled and sucked in anything that wasn't stable behind him. I looked over at the large box that Boris had been standing on to see that even he looked shocked at what was going on.
"I don't care about championships or BEGA," Brooklyn announced from high above us. "All I care about…is finishing this match and beating you Tyson…once and for all! GO ZEUS! Welcome to my new dimension!"
Over the roar of the wind I locked into the trembling beneath my feet. Daichi seemed to have felt it too for he had jumped on top of Max and clung to him for protection. The rumbling grew louder and louder, taking over the strong whistling sound in my ears. With a sudden lurch, as if in an elevator, we all fell to the ground as the trembling got stronger.
"Everyone okay?" Kenny asked as he slowly got back to his feet. "Huh? Ahhhhh!" He screamed. I lowered my arms from my head and pushed myself up so I was on my knees. I quickly brushed dirt off of my clothes and then turned to see what he was screaming about.
"Oh my God!" I gasped when I saw what looked like Tokyo. Buildings, cars, and plants were floating in the air as if there weren't any gravity left.
"Crusher, tell me this isn't happening!" Ming-Ming begged as soon as she was uncovered from a rock-like tomb that she and Crusher had been covered in.
"I don't know what's going on here," he replied.
"Listen to me," Garland spoke up. "All this is simply a reflection of Brooklyn's mind. Brooklyn has made a perfect recreation of this world including this arena and now he's changing it to suit his own needs."
"That's incredible!" Kenny gasped.
"Guys, we gotta get outta here," Max said once we were all near Tyson.
"Well, if you know how we can do that I'm all ears," Hilary replied while helping Kenny to his feet.
"Forget it!" Tyson stated. "I'm not leaving until this battle is over."
"What?" Hilary cried out incredulously. "How will you ever be able to stop him now?"
"I can't just give up, Hil!" Tyson protested, turning to look us all in the eye. "I've got to try my best, no matter what! I can't just leave Brooklyn here!" At our dumbfounded looks Tyson continued. "I know you all think Brooklyn is our enemy but we're all beybladers. And if we fight with all of our strength we'll finally be able to understand each other. This freaky dimension of his is completely make believe anyway, but if this is Brooklyn's mind this is too sad!"
I sighed. "The boy's got a point."
"We were fighting until now to bring back the kind of beybattles we believe in but it isn't enough to win! Unless I can show Brooklyn and make him understand the true spirit of beyblading. Until then we haven't won this! I have to try. Right guys? This is why I…I still have to finish this battle with Brooklyn."
"Well that's it then. Do it, Tyson. Do it."
My ears perked up at that voice. I knew who it was but…it couldn't be! Could it? Tyson's head swiveled around until he spotted a lone figure standing on top of a large piece of rock that jutted from the wrecked a few feet away.
"Is that…?" Max whispered next to me.
"Kai!" Tyson gasped.
"Just follow the path you believe in, Tyson. No matter what happens. Beyblade. No matter if you win or lose just keep your spirit strong," Kai advised.
"Who knew he had such a way with words?" I couldn't help but chuckle. It was such a sight to see Kai giving Tyson advice, willingly.
"Go Tyson!" Ray urged.
"We're all behind you," Kenny said.
"Thanks guys. Now, do you think we can use Brooklyn's world against him?" Tyson asked with that smile of confidence he always wore and a thumbs-up was thrown our way.
"You can do it, Ty!" I replied.
"Just trust me guys," Tyson said before turning around to look at Dragoon. "Now let's test drive this dimension!"
And all we could do was wait. Wait and watch as Tyson someone mananged to get up into the air and become a part of Brooklyn's crazy dimension. Every nerve inside of me was telling me to try and get up there with him, to protect him as much as I could for he didn't deserve the pressure put on him but I knew, deep down, that I couldn't do anything but watch and wait on bated breath for one of my dearest friends to come back to us safe and sound.
"Tyson will be okay," Kai said from behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a breath. "He has…the heart and the passion for beyblading. And nothing…not even true talent can beat that."
The battle was intense. I didn't know how Tyson still had the energy to fight but he kept going and going. The rest of us just watched in awe as the battle escalated until finally the sky turned a strange purple color and seemed to be sucked into the black hole-like dimension that Brooklyn had created.
"No! If Brooklyn uses his attack while he's still in the darkened state of mind…!" Hiro gasped. Then he turned to us, urgency etched into his face. "Everyone! Get out, now! Don't make me say it again! Brooklyn's powers are still a mystery! It's too dangerous for us to stay here!"
"Yeah, but…" Hilary muttered.
"We can't just leave Tyson here like this!" Kenny protested.
"I think he'll be okay, guys," Max said with a small smile. "He's gonna win."
"Sure is!" Diachi agreed, punching a fist into the air. "And we'd be the ones to know!"
"Right," Ray agreed with a nod. "Because he's got us on his side!"
"And we're not going to leave a teammate behind," I finished.
We turned our attention back up to the sky in time to see Brooklyn call on Zeus. That bitbeast…it was by far the biggest one I've seen in my life and equally scary, especially coupled with the power that Brooklyn had. Dragoon was doing his best but Zues was too strong for him. We had to do something to help him, we just had to! I felt a strange surge of energy in my pocket where Dricen was sitting and, in the back of my mind, I heard him growling. He was getting restless.
The other bitbeasts must've been feeling it too because, in the next second, two jets of water started to spin in the tornado that Dragoon had created. Draciel was coming out to help! Then, one by one, our bitbeast powers were being transferred to Dragoon as well: the ice element from Wolborg and Dricen, the electric element from Driger, the wind element from Daichi, and the fire element from Dranzer.
"Tyson, attack!" Kai called. "Don't hold back! Give 'im everything you've got!"
"What's happening to his balde?" Ray asked.
"It's responding to the feelings of his friends!" Kenny gasped. "Our strengths have all been combined into one force. Dragoon has evolved into the strongest beyblade the world has ever seen!"
"Whoa," I whispered at the magnificent fight. The two beyblades charged at each other and, as soon as they crashed, emitted a very bright white light and a rush of wind. When I lowered my arms I squinted at the bright sunlight that was peeking through the slightly cloudy sky. Wait…the sky? I lowered my arms completely to see that we were now standing outside of what was now a torn down BEGA building surrounded by rubble and debris from the other surrounding buildings. I sighed with relief when I saw the rest of the Bladebreakers team were kneeling on the ground by me and they all looked relatively unharmed.
I placed a hand on my chest and let out a long sigh of relief and then let out a gasp of disbelief when I saw that Zeus and Dragoon were still spinning. I managed to get to my feet and brushed some dirt off of my clothes. "I wonder…" I muttered, letting my eyes scan the field until I saw the shocking purple head of Boris so I started in his direction.
"Where are you going? The match isn't over yet," Hilary said in confusion.
"I know, I have something I need to take care of really fast," I replied, not taking my eyes off of Boris's form that had been crouched on the ground. By the time I had reached him Hiro was there already talking to Boris.
"…Things are out of your control now. Nobody, not even you can stop all of them, Boris," Hiro said firmly. "
"You couldn't be more wrong, Hiro," Boris said while grabbing Hiro by the front of his shirt. I lifted my eyebrows in amazement. Boris was actually…begging Hiro to tell him that he was wrong. I let out a loud, gleeful laugh. Boris was finally out of power! He had no hold over me or anyone from the Abbey anymore. I was free! "This isn't possible!"
"Tyson and his friends have been growing stronger. I tried training BEGA's best bladders. I tried to create an even higher standard for them to surpass and they did. Their improvement has exceeded even my highest expectations. It cannot be denied." Hiro tilted his head. Boris and I followed his gaze to the circle of spectators around Tyson and Brooklyn. "How things have changed, Boris," Hiro continued in a taunting voice. "Neither Tyson nor Brooklyn has any fancy attacks left. There's not even a stadium anymore but look how lively they are! Their spirits have been re-energized. There are no enemies and allies anymore. Anyone can enjoy the game anywhere—freely. The true essence of beyblading has finally returned to the world."
"Hiro's right," I finally spoke up. "Beyblading isn't about who's stronger than the other person. It isn't about how has the most powerful bitbeast or the best technology to go with it. Beylading is about heart and passion and drive and fun! Things that you've been trying to take away from us and the rest of the world. And you failed."
"They didn't need a professional league like BEGA," Hiro continued at the shocked look on Boris's face. "Never did. BEGA's team…is history, Boris."
Boris fell to his knees. "And so…are all my plans," he moaned in despair.
I watched as Hiro silently walked off, discarding his sunglasses along the way. I turned back to Boris and let out a little sigh. "I forgive you," I told him. He turned to look at me over his shoulder. "I forgive you for what you did. I forgive you for coming to the village that day, trying to take Dricen for yourself. I forgive you for killing my parents as a result. I forgive you for, ultimately, leading me to be banished. I forgive you for the way you treated me in the Abbey while I was there for a short time. What I don't forgive you for, however, is trying to ruins something that we all love, something that our world revolves around. I don't forgive you for being a power-hungry, dictator and ruining many kids' lives. For that, you deserve everything that's coming to you."
Boris let out a little bitter laugh. "I may be down but I'm not out. Dricen will end up in my possession, even if you have to go the way of your father!"
I glared at him but didn't bat an eyelash. "Dricen and I will be stronger and ready to take you on. I'm not scared of you, anymore. I'm free. Just you wait, Boris, just you wait."
I spun on my heel to join the others at the battle, pausing to pick up Hiro's sunglasses along the way. I held them by the arms and walked quickly to the battle, I didn't want to miss a minute. I pushed my way through the crowds and stood next to Max and Mariah.
"Is everything alright?" Mariah asked me hesitantly, looking at me out of the corner of my eye. I looked down at the sunglasses and then looked at her with a smile.
"Yeah," I replied with a nod. "Everything's alright."
She smiled as well. "Good."
"How's your head, Tala?" I asked as I adjusted the pillow that he was lying against. His head was still heavily bandaged from his battle against BEGA. He had a few bandaids on his cheeks as well as scratches and bruises on his arms and legs but otherwise he looked better than before. He seemed to be in better spirits as well because he had been talking nonstop trying to get Kai to crack.
Lying down on the hospital bed next to Tala was Tyson. From his waist up to his head was heavily bandaged, except for his left eye. His legs got away with a few bruises. He ended up having bruised ribs and a punctured lung as well as many gashes on his arms.
"I'm doing fine," Tala replied, bringing his hand up and lightly touching the bandages that were wrapped around his head.
I nodded and turned to Kai who had his arms crossed over his chest, as usual, and was looking straight up at the ceiling. "And you, Kai?" I asked, turning to him.
He moved his one good eye to look at me and gave a little shrug. "I'm alright," he finally replied while letting out a breath.
I laughed softly. "A little bored?" I guessed. I got a grunt in reply. "Don't worry. You'll be out in the next few days."
I then moved over to the last bed in the large hospital room. It was situated by the door and currently occupied by the navy haired beyblader who mastered the Dragoon bit. Tyson had his head turned towards the window, watching large cranes move pieces of steel as they hurried to rebuild the city. "Nice view," I commented as I sat on the edge of his bed.
Tyson turned to me and gave me a bright smile. "Best view in the whole place, if you ask me," he said with a little laugh and ran his bandaged hand through his messy hair. "Especially since my other option are the two sad sacks over there," he added, jerking his thumb in Kai's and Tala's direction.
"Watch it, Tyson," Kai uttered.
"Heh heh, whatcha gonna do to me, Kai? Make me run laps? Practice my basic moves?" Tyson asked while pulling down one of his eyelids and stuck out his tongue. "The tournament's over. We won. Now it's time for Summer Vacation and I don't have to battle until the next tournament comes around. And who knows when that'll be?"
"Hn…wise guy," Kai muttered under his breath.
"Oh, don't worry about him," Tyson said with a wave of his hand. "He just hates being stuck in here. I'm trying to lighten the mood for him, but I don't think I'm doing to well."
I let out a giggle—a rare feat from me—at his teasing. "They're calling you a hero, y'know," I told Tyson, lightly touching his arm while I let my eyes travel over his bandaged hand to his bandaged chest. "It's in all the papers."
I expected Tyson to get that big dopey grin on his face. I expected him to gloat and to cheer about having more fans. I expected him to preach that it was no big deal and he'd be happy to do it again. It was why I was surprised when he said, "You're the real hero, not me."
I blinked. "I don't follow, Tyson."
"If it weren't for you coming when you came I don't think I'd have the confidence I needed to beat him," Tyson replied. "You always knew I could do it. The others…sometimes I felt like they gave up on me every now and then but you never did. And I want to thank you for that."
I shook my head. "Don't thank me, thank the fates. They're the reason why I'm here."
Tyson gave a half smile. "Even then they never said you had to stick around and deal with us and make sure we ate and had clean clothes and take on the responsibility of trying to master the new heavy metal system along with us." He winked and rubbed his stomach while adding, "Not to mention bringing us good food past visiting hours so we wouldn't have to eat hospital food."
"After the tournament ended I needed something to fill my free time," I replied.
The BEGA tournament ended with a bang. In the end Tyson won by outlasting Brooklyn when it came down to how much spin they had left. Brooklyn's Zeus toppled over and Dragoon stopped on its point at least two seconds later. Brooklyn and Tyson met in the center of the circle, giving each other handshakes and exchanged promises to battle again. The rest of the Bladebreakers and I shook their hands, as well as Kenny and Hilary, each saying how the battles were the hardest we've ever fought before.
Almost as soon as Tyson and Brooklyn turned away from each other the media had surrounded Tyson with microphones and video cameras and flashbulbs going off in his faces. If it weren't for Mr. Dickenson ushering them all towards the limo he had arrived in Tyson would've surely been overwhelmed with the attention. Mr. Dickenson had taken Tala, Kai, and Tyson straight to the hospital to get checked out and sent the rest of us out to have a celebration dinner. We didn't want to have it without those three so we just brought takeout back to the hospital and had the dinner with them.
Since then our days have been so empty we got bored. Max and Kenny decided to help Mr. Tate in his hobby shop, Hilary and I kept up with the garden at the Granger dojo. Ray and I helped Grandpa Granger out around the house, mainly him on the cooking front and me with the cleaning. Daichi basically sulked around the dojo all day, complaining about needing another battle with Tyson. The White Tigers and the PPB All Starz and the other teams came in every now and then to help out but otherwise they were taking their time to sightsee around Tokyo.
"Well, I really appreciate it," Tyson said as he lightly patted my hand and then gave it a squeeze. "Have you decided on what you're going to do? Whether you're going to go back to China or not?"
I sighed and shook my head. "Still no clue. The others aren't saying it but I know they want me to go back. But if I do I won't have the opportunity to go to a good school and I really want to go."
"Why?" Tyson wrinkled his nose. "You actually have to do homework."
"I know, but I haven't been in one place for more than three months and I actually want to interact with more people than just you guys."
"Psh, you love us."
"Uh-huh."
Tyson stuck out his tongue. "And anyway, I'm sure Grandpa can put forth the money for you to go to school. He must have enough if we can keep the dojo."
I shook my head. "I wouldn't be able to accept it. I already feel like a burden by staying there."
Tyson waved his hand as if dismissing her words. "Don't worry about it, I already told you Grandpa doesn't mind when I have company."
"So why are you spending your time cooped up in here with us when you could be outside at the river or watching kids blade or something?" Tala suddenly asked, grabbing my attention.
I turned to look at him only to laugh. In his boredom he was raising and lowering the bottom half of his bed with the remote at different speeds and intervals. "Because every time I take a step out of this building or the dojo I get swarmed by these strange men asking if I want to be the female poster child for the BBA."
"….And that's a problem?" Tala asked while lifting his eyebrows.
"Yeah! You'd have your face everywhere!" Tyson said with stars in his eyes. "On t-shirts and coffee mugs and lunchboxes and everyone would look up to you and want your autograph and want to be you and—oof!" Tyson grunted as a pillow came sailing out of nowhere and hit him in the face. "What the—Kai!" He growled in mock frustration in Kai's direction just in time to see the smirk on Kai's face. "You could've told me to shut up."
Kai's smirk got larger. "This was more fun."
"Kai, don't be so mean," I admonished while wagging my finger at him. He shook his head a little while he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He changed the channel to a news station and leaned back against the pillows, immediately getting engrossed in the story.
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door of the hospital room door. Then the knob twisted and the door was pushed open. The first thing we saw as a bunch of balloons. As soon as they floated towards the ceiling Max's face was revealed. He walked into the room quickly followed by Ray, Daichi, Kenny, Hilary, Grandpa Granger, and Mr. Dickenson.
"Hey guys, what're you doing here?" Tyson asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion. "And what's with the balloons?"
"We thought we'd lighten up the place," Hilary replied with a smile. "It's looking very drab in here."
"How're you boys feeling?" Mr. Dickenson addressed Tyson, Kai, and Tala. They uttered different responses which caused him to chuckle and pinch on the end of his moustache. "Well, that's good to hear. Now, I have important news for you all. As we rebuild the BBA we decided to properly close this recent tournament in such a way that we're sure everyone will enjoy."
"Do you know what he's talking about?" Tyson asked me.
I shrugged. "I have no idea."
"The BBA would like to host its first annual Beyblade Ball," Mr. Dickenson. "It will be a time for all of the teams in the tournament to get together and celebrate the sport of beyblading. Also, I'd like to use it as a time for the Bladebreakers to hold a sort of press conference with the media to discuss their future plans in the sport, as a team, and individually. We'd also use the event to raise money to aid local children hospital's under the name of the Bladebreakers."
The room was silent as soon as his announcement was made. Tyson then made retching sounds, Hilary gasped in excitement, Max smiled, and the rest of the boys had apprehensive looks on their faces, save for Kai who's expression didn't change at all.
"What's a Ball?" I ventured to ask, breaking the silence.
"It's a formal dance where everyone dresses up!" Hilary gushed, her eyes sparkling in excitement. "Men wear tuxedos and coats and ties and women wear really elegant gowns and they dance the night away in the most beautiful ballroom!"
I pulled a face. "Ugh. I have to wear a dress?"
"That'll be a sight," Tyson snickered.
I rounded on him and glared. "What's that supposed to mean?" I snarled.
Mr. Dickenson let out a hearty laugh. "Now now, kids. There will be plenty of time to get ready for the Ball. It's not scheduled to occur until the end of next week. Now, I must let you boys know…" he added, taking the time to look at each other Bladebreakers before continuing, "…that it is highly recommended that you attend with a date."
Tyson's smile disappeared as soon as mine reappeared and I started laughing in his face. "Wh….why? Why, Mr. Dickenson?" Tyson stammered. "Why do we need to bring someone with us? Can't we just…blade all night?"
"It'll do well for your image," Hilary said with a laugh.
"Waddya mean, Hils?"
"I mean you five have been around each other for three years. I'm surprised that people haven't thought you each were involved with each other yet," she giggled with a mischevious gleam in her eye.
"Didn't need to hear that, Hilary," Ray said in monotone as Hilary flashed him an apologetic smile.
"As I've stated before, you have a week to figure this entire thing out," Mr. Dickenson laughed. Then he looked at me with a kind smile. "Now, Crystal, as I've been told there's something you'd like to tell these boys."
"Yes, that's right Mr. Dickenson," I said with a nod, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.
"Huh? You've been keeping a secret from us?" Max asked.
"Kind of," I replied. "Kai knows why I'm here. Ray and the White Tigers know why I'm here, but that's only part of the reason." I took in a breath and let it out slowly. "I have yet to tell you all the full story."