Chapter 9: With Friends Like These

Lee uttered a growl and kicked at a nearby trashcan. The force of his kick sent it flying, a dent impaled in its side. A vein began to throb in his jaw from how hard he was clenching his teeth. How dare Kevin escape in the middle of the night and defy his orders once more? He was supposed to have a hold over the White Tigers, lead them when Ray wasn't around and this stunt that was pulled only further placed him in the mold of second-in-command. A place that he felt he didn't deserve.

"This is ridiculous!" He hissed. "We shouldn't be running around this island looking for Kevin. Gah. You should've been watching' him, Gary!"

A rumble sounded in Gary's chest but he remained quiet, following his leader down the street.

His hands were closed into fists by his side and his lips pressed into a straight line. There was no sense in fighting Lee. Lee was their leader, whenever Ray wasn't around anyway. He built them up when needed and toe them down when needed. He was very passionate about the team, Gary couldn't deny.

Sometimes a bit too passionate.

"We'll find him," Gary told him.

Lee didn't say anything in response but kicked at another piece of debris in his way. This couldn't happen again, he vowed. Not ever. If he were going to have any chance of becoming the next village leader he'd have to show that he could be the leader. And it seemed that that would only happen if he had a tighter hold on Kevin, which was proving to be nearly impossible.

"Grrrr! Think, Gary!" Lee roared, turning on him. "Do you remember seeing Kevin leave? Did he tell you anything? Anything at all?"

Gary's eyebrows lifted. His gaze dropped down to his friend's fingers which were being dug into the fabric of his vest. Gary, calmly, lifted his hand and put it down on Lee's head, pushing him away. "You're upset," he stated simply. "But not at me. Relax. We'll find Kevin."

Lee released a growl and curled his fingers into fists, his nails digging into his palms. He was supposed to have everything under control. If he was going to become the leader of the village whenever his grandfather passed he had to be able to control his own team.

It seems that he'd have to take on a new tactic to get that position.

"Just…keep looking!" He spat.

"Kevin!"

Mariah's voice echoed in the dark, vast alleyways. She kept her hands cupped around her mouth and called out to him again. She dropped her hands and strained to hear something, anything that would alert to him being around. As before she got nothing in response.

"Where is he?" She sighed.

"Don't worry, Riah, we'll find him," Ray told her. But his voice sounded noticeably flat. Not as convincing as it had sounded earlier but the drive was still there. They had been out for almost an hour and a half now and they were still looking in every corner they could find. "After all there can't be that many places he can be."

"He might be on another island by now," Mariah pointed out.

"D'you really think he'd just hop on a plane and leave us all?" Hilary asked, trailing behind them. She turned the beam of her flashlight this way and that to look in the darkest shadows.

"No, that doesn't sound like him at all," Ray responded. "I suspect there's foul play in here somewhere." He rubbed at his chin. "Maybe one of those bladers has something to do with it."

Mariah stifled a gasp. "You think they took him?" She asked, grabbing onto his arm. "But why?"

"To lead us to them. An ambush?" Ray suggested. "It certainly wouldn't be the first time."

"Ooh, those no-good, dirty, rotten…ugh!" Mariah seethed. She punched her fist into her palm and her shoulders began to shake. "Couldn't they have waited another week for this? I mean, your birthday—"

Ray stopped and gave her a look. "Mariah, I don't care about my birthday. That doesn't even matter right now! What matters is that we find Kevin, preferably okay and all in one piece. Not anything else as insignificant as that."

Mariah looked as if she had been slapped across her face. She gave her head a little shake and looked over to Hilary who only looked right back at her. "I…that's not what I meant, Ray."

He sighed. "I know. I appreciate you trying to give me the best birthday but, really, it doesn't matter. I just want to find Kevin, okay?"

"Okay," Mariah agreed. Her voice was noticeably softer than it was before. Hilary joined her side and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't take it to heart," she told her friend.

"I'm not," Mariah said with a shake of her head. "He's just worried about Kevin, that's all." She bit down on her lip and raised her flashlight, illuminating the space in front of her. She tilted her head back, rolling her neck and shoulders. Her eyes lifted to the moon and something blocked out a few of the moon beams. In the blink of an eye it was gone. "What was that?" She asked, lowering her head to see if Ray or Hilary had seen what she had seen.

"What?" Hilary asked.

"Something just…blocked the moon," Mariah responded.

"A cloud?"

"No. It was almost human-like." She looked over to Ray whose eyebrows lifted. "Might be Kevin. We should check."

"I agree," Ray responded, flicking off his flashlight and shoved it into his pocket. "Hil?" He held his arms out to her. A confused look crossed her face for a moment as she approached him. He bent slightly and lifted Hilary into his arms as if she were a bride on her wedding day. "Hold on," he advised her, bending at the knees. He jumped high into the air, Mariah following his lead. They pushed off of the walls, lightly touching down for a moment and jumped high into the air again.

Hilary clung to Ray, wind whistling in her ears, her stomach dropping at the initial jump. Her eyes grew wide at how effortless they made it look. A few seconds later they touched down on the roof and Ray set Hilary down on the ground. She held onto his shoulder and took a few deep breaths to offset the sudden rush of nausea that she felt. Her stomach slammed back into place with a sickening thud.

"Look! Over there!" Mariah spoke up, pointing across the roof top.

Ray squinted. "I see it," he stated and then, in the blink of an eye, he took off across the rooftops. With a leap he landed in front of the figure, which let out a yelp of surprise. He fell backwards and landed on his bottom.

"Geeze! Warn a guy!" Kevin yelped, shaking his fist at Ray,

"I don't think you're in any position to talk," Ray commented, crossing his arms over his chest. "Where have you been?"

Kevin blanched. "Er… I just went on a walk. That's all."

"A walk!?" Mariah cried out. She and Hilary walked over to the boy.

"Mariah! Heh, heh. I didn't see you there." Kevin gulped.

"If you were just going on a walk why didn't you tell anyone?" Mariah demanded, ignoring his statement. "You had us all worried sick! We've been searching the entire island for you!"

Ray slowly sank, resting his elbows on his knees and looked Kevin dead in the eye. "Kevin, tell me the truth," he said, an edge to his voice. "Where were you?"

Kevin gulped. "I went on a walk," he repeated. "Honest."

"You went on a walk," Ray repeated, rubbing his chin. "And why, then, didn't you tell anyone where you were headed? Gary? Lee? Mariah? Crystal? Myself?"

"I didn't want to bother anyone," he responded. "It's just a walk, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is you had us all worried that something happened to you!" Mariah responded. "If you were hurt we wouldn't know where you were or if you were even dead or alive!"

Kevin scoffed and stood, brushing off the seat of his pants. "As if any of you care about me," he mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Ray uttered. He lifted his eyebrows and stared hard at the little boy who was glaring at the ground.

"Nothing," Kevin responded. "Look, we just went to look for something—"

"I thought you went on a walk," Ray interrupted him. "What was it that you were looking for?"

Kevin's eyes shifted. "Er, nothing!"

"Wait, you said 'we'," Hilary spoke up. Kevin's head swiveled to look at her and he jumped at the expression on her face. She was glaring through half lidded eyes, bending at the waist to look at hm. "I thought it was just you that went on a walk."

"I, er…see—" Kevin started.

"Kevin, I'm going to give you one more chance to tell me the truth," Ray said sternly. "And if you continue to lie to me you will suffer the consequences."

Kevin gulped.

"Look at her!" Alicia laughed gleefully. "She's getting tired over there." A cruel smile formed on her face. "Aww, poor baby! Does the baby want to take a nap?" She taunted, her eyes trained on the sight of Crystal's eyelids fluttering as she tried to keep herself upright. The ice on her legs now reached her knees and continued its slow ascent. Her teeth were chattering and her skin had paled considerably. "Go ahead, go to sleep. It'd save you from having to watch your own defeat."

"I'm…not…giving…up!" Crystal vowed, her breathing coming out quick and shallow.

Dricen continued to attack Hadenix, sending sparks flying, but its spin had visibly decreased over time. This fact got the others excited for they had crowded around to watch the battle, large grins on their faces.

"It won't be long now," Alex mused from where he was standing. "She's either going to lose or die trying to win."

"Either way the outcome is good in our favor," Thunder remarked.

Their casual conversation on the matter made a large wave of nausea cash around inside of Crystal. Or was it from her inner temperature dropping. Either way she knew, with a sinking feeling, that the battle wouldn't be going on much longer if she couldn't dig deep and find the strength to continue.

"Hit 'im again," Crystal called out.

Dricen dashed forward only for Hadenix to dodge easily and rammed into the tiger. Once, twice, three times Hadenix bashed into Dricen, not letting up on his attack.

Zeo watched with wide eyes as the battle continued. His fingers twitched by his side. He couldn't take his eyes off of the beyblades. He couldn't look anywhere else. Not at his new 'friends', not at the girl who was being encased in ice, nothing but the beyblades.

They were the only thing that mattered.

He let out a very soft grunting sound when the beyblade that was nestled in his body was yanked out by Alex who looked it over.

"Thanks," Alex said with a small nod. "This should give us the edge."

"You're…you're welcome." Zeo responded with a sigh. He bit down on his lower lip and flinched when Alicia shoved her beyblade into his chest.

"Let's speed this up, yeah? She's the only thing standing in our way of the G Revolutions. The only ones that matter," Alex said and he launched his blade. His blade and Hadenix surrounded Dricen and hit him from all sides, spinning around the solitary blade. "This is child's play."

"Fuck you!" Crystal spat, feeling as if she had been slapped from his words. "I matter. Don't you dare fucking say that I don't!" She swallowed thickly and looked down to see the ice slowly crawling up her thighs now. She couldn't feel her legs and if she didn't look she wouldn't be sure that they were still there.

And all of a sudden everything that felt cold on her body began to warm up. Her teeth continued to chatter hard against each other but a smile slowly blossomed on her face. She wouldn't be defeated. Not now.

"C'mon Dricen," Crystal said, her speech slower than it had been before. "Use…wait. Tiger Claw, use that one."

Kaoru laughed. "Not much longer now!" He said gleefully. "And then Dricen will finally be mine!"

"I don't think so! Go Dragoon!"

Crystal's movements slowed, as if she were underwater. She tried to look over her shoulder but, now, the only thing she could do was turn at the waist in time to see the White Tigers and G Revolutions coming down the alleyway.

"Damn," Thunder cursed.

"What's the problem? We wanted to fight them," Alex pointed out. "And they came to us. It makes everything easier."

"Oh my gosh!" Hilary gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth at the sight of her half frozen friend. "What have they done to her?"

"Kevin! You promised!" Crystal growled, her eyes roaming around before finally settling on the small boy who hid behind Gary.

"This is low," Tyson spoke up. "If you want to fight us then fight us! We're not scared!"

"No! Back off, Tyson, I don't need your help!" Crystal slurred. "I don't…" she shook her head. "I can do this myself. This is my…my fight. Stay back."

"She's turning blue!" Max noted. His eyes widened as he took in the scene. His eyes dropped down to Dragoon who based Alex's blade and Hadenix out of the way and jumped back over to Crystal who was bracing her arm against the brick by her side.

"I think its hypothermia," Ray said. "She's really suffering."

"Crys, c'mon! Let us help!" Tyson called out.

She shook her head, but the movement was so slow it looked as if she were merely looking one way and the other as if wanting to cross the street. "My…fight," she replied. "Need…to protect you guys. Need…to prove myself."

"Guys, what're we going to do?" Mariah asked. But no one answered her. On one hand taking out their beyblades and fighting back would be the easy choice but, on the other, they had to believe that she could hold out on her own.

"We wait," Ray responded, kicking at the ground.

"Where's Kai?" Hilary asked.

"We couldn't find him," Tyson replied, his fingers curled into fists. He called Dragoon back and glanced over at Ray, as if saying 'this had better work'. Ray shifted his eyes back to the battle and pressed his lips together.

"Dricen, keep going," Crystal called out to her beyblade. There was a slight wobble to its spin now as it lazily tried to get to Hadenix and Alex's blade. Every attack it tried missed. Its movements became sluggish and every attack from Dricen's opponents landed fast and hard. The tiger didn't have a chance to defend itself.

"This is over," Alicia commented. "There's no way she can last much longer. Look, the ice is already up to her belly button."

"Crys, come on! Let us help!" Tyson yelled. "We're not going to let you go down on your own! What're you trying to prove?"

"I think," Hilary started, grabbing everyone's attention. "She's trying to prove that you choosing her to be on your team wasn't a fluke."

"Yeah, but at the sake of her life?"

"She's stubborn," Lee stated simply. "Always has been. She wants to prove that she can do it on her own. That she's strong enough to handle things on her own and hold her own on the team and she's a worthy teammate who doesn't need help getting out of her messes."

"Hadenix, finish her off!" Kaoru ordered. "Raging Darkness!"

Hadenix started to glow and spun even faster. The dark beyblade backed up, like a rearing horse, and then charged. It landed a strong hit on Dricen and sent him tumbling against the ground. Everyone watched, holding their breaths, as Dricen flipped over a couple more times but still managed to land on its point, but now its spin stopped and it was wobbling instead.

"We have to do something, guys!" Mariah said. Her hands were clasped together in front of her and she was biting down on her lower lip. "We can't just leave her!"

"Let them help you!" Hilary called out. "Please!"

They watched as Hadenix went in for the kill. Mariah clung to Lee, Hilary covered her eyes, and Tyson gritted his teeth. Bright, red light illuminated the dark alley. The light shot past Crystal's still form, shattering the ice which scattered on the floor. She stumbled a few paces and fell to her knees. The light shot past Hadenix, making it fly into the brick around them, past Zeo, making the electric source in his chest short out, off a wall, and then back.

"Was what—?" Max gasped.

"Oh yeah!" Tyson responded with a grin. "Kai!"

The captain dropped down from the sky and landed on the ground, one knee bent and a palm down to steady his landing. He stood at full height and his hard, violet eyes peered at the group in front of him who, for the first time, looked scared.

"What're you waiting for?" Kai barked at his teammates.

"Ooh, now this could be fun," Alicia all but purred, stepping up and releasing her beyblade. "Show us what you've got, Kai."

"Listen up," Ray addressed his team. They all snapped to attention to surround him. He ran his hand across his chin and then sighed. "Take care of her," he told them. They nodded. "Get her to a hospital as soon as possible. We'll get there when we're done."

"N-no," Crystal uttered weakly from the ground where she continued to kneel. "L-let me fight."

"You're in no position," Ray told her sternly. He walked over to her and lifted her off the ground, taking in a breath at how cold her skin was to the touch. He carefully deposited her into Lee's arms. "You have to remember that we're a team and you need to rely on us sometimes. We're thankful for you to try and protect us, but let us protect you now." He looked at his team again. "Get her to the hospital now."

"But Ray," Mariah started. He held up his hand to silence her.

"I'll be fine," he reassured her. "Just get going. And Kevin." He turned to the smallest boy who looked up at him with wide eyes. "You did the right thing for telling us. She'll understand." He nodded and looked down at his feet. "Now go."

He watched as the White Tiger team ran off until they disappeared into the shadows. Ray turned back to his friends, taking his beyblade and launcher out of his pockets and yanked on the cord. Driger spun on the ground with Dragoon, Dranzer, and Draciel. Across from them Alicia, Alex, and Thunder launched their beyblades to join Hadenix.

"Zeo," Tyson growled, addressing the quiet boy who had been watching the whole exchange. "I can't believe you fell into their plans. I don't know what you were thinking but I believed you when you said you wanted to change. You wanted to be the best beyblader you could be on your own, despite what you are. But I see now that that was all a lie." Zeo visibly flinched at Tyson's harsh tone. Max even looked surprised at the way Tyson was speaking to their ex-teammate. "I believed in you. Hell, even Kai liked something about you to invite you to join our team. And you took that for granted! If there's one thing I hate it's being lied to."

"I didn't lie!" Zeo burst out. He clenched his teeth and curled his fingers into fists. "I didn't lie about anything! I do want to be the best beyblader! I want to take you down, Tyson! I want to prove that I know how to blade!"

"You did that before you got Cerberus you can do it again!" Tyson pointed out. "But you decided to align yourself with them?"

"They had a place for me!" Zeo shot back. "They wanted me on their team. They had a way to use me!"

"By cheating!" Max pointed out. "Using all of that energy you have stored inside of yourself. That's the only way you can beat us, it seems. Can't even blade with your own skill."

"Just because we have a little help doesn't mean it's cheating," Alex pointed out, his eyes narrowing. "We're not all blessed with the Sacred Spirits. Some of us have to get our powers from a certain rock."

Max, Hilary, and Kenny gasped. Tyson, Ray, and Kai however all seemed to get tenser at his confession. "D'you think it's the same rock?" Hilary asked.

"I'll get right on it," Kenny said as he knelt on the ground and opened up his laptop. "Dizzi, give us some readings!"

"Give me some time, Chief. I'm getting a little bit of interference," she responded.

"You're going to have to give her some time, guys," Kenny called out.

"You heard 'im. Let's go Dragoon!" Tyson shouted.

"Driger, c'mon!" Ray exclaimed.

"Draciel, back them up!" Max ordered.

"Dranzer!" Kai yelled.

The Sacred Spirits charged for their opponents and hit them head on. They didn't let up even as their opponents hit them back. They matched their opponents blow for blow, not letting up even when they were getting beaten hard. The tables turned and flipped time and time again, putting them on the offense and defense during the course of the battle. Flames and lightning bolts shot every which way within the tight area. Rain fell heavily from above them and wind picked up, pushing and pulling at them but the bladers continued to stand tall and press on.

"Do you have anything yet, Chief?" Hilary asked, her teeth working on her lower lip.

"Wait…wait…yes! Got it!" Kenny cried out. "It's the rock! They're using Zeo's energy, the same energy that helped control Cerberus, to power the pieces of the rock that's lodged in their blades. Thankfully they haven't been able to get enough handle over releasing the beasts. However the energy is strong enough that it neutralizes our attacks and can even use them against us."

"That explains the lightning and the cyclone," Hilary said while snapping her fingers.

"It's almost like Black Dranzer," Kenny mused. "When Kai took control of Black Dranzer he was able to neutralize Tyson's attack. Somehow they learned to do the same thing. But they have a flaw without being able to get their bitbeast to rise from it."

"But what about Kaoru?" Hilary asked.

"His bitbeasts isn't from the rock," Kenny replied. "That's not what these readings say. The wavelengths are different. But he was getting power from Zeo like the rest of them."

"So what can they do?" Hilary asked.

"Hit them hard. It may dislodge the rock pieces and give them the edge to be defeated. In short: don't give up, and give it all they've got. Don't let Crystal's hard work go to waste. Kaoru and Alex should be weaker than the rest."

Having heard the exchange Tyson nodded. He locked eyes with Zeo for a moment before focusing on Alex who stood smirking at him. "Dragoon, don't hold back!" Tyson called out. "We can beat them guys! We've beaten BEGA. They make these guys look like puppies!"

"I'm with you, Tyson," Max said and fist bumped him.

"We all are," Ray said glancing over at Kai who nodded and whose lips turned up into a very small smile.

"Oh how sweet. The team is bonding," Alicia said with a roll of her eyes. "But that won't be enough to defeat us!"

Tyson's lip curled up into a smirk. "It's worked before," he stated. The others tensed as the blades holding the Sacred Spirits backed off. "Don't hold back guys! Dragoon! Evolution Storm!"

"Aqua Shield!"

"Thunder Slash!"

"Spiral Fireball!"

G Revolutions' beyblades moved into a diamond formation and the whirring sound coming from their blades got louder, signaling a new kick in spin. Each blade adopted a trail glowing in their respective bitbeasts color until the glow took over their beyblades. The glow then molded into one bright white glow, resembling a comet heading straight for their opponents blades'.

"You're not going to take us down that easily," Kaoru vowed as his and his teammates' blades took on a similar formation and charged towards the G Revolutions.

They all collided with a bright flash of white light and a loud bang. It was followed by a roar that could be heard through their hands pressed against their ears. Wind rushed past them, pulling at their clothes, making any loose hem flutter and flap behind them.

The light slowly dimmed and the sound slowly muted until all that was left was the sound of a few spinning beyblades. Tyson slowly lowered his arms and peered through the dust cloud that had enveloped the group. He squinted and waved a hand in front of his face, coughing a little to clear the dust in front of him and spotted the spinning beyblades.

"Hooray! You did it!" Hilary cheered, punching her fist into the air.

Tyson grinned at the sight of his opponents' beyblades lying on the ground, the bit chips broken as if they had been stepped on. His shoulders dropped and a weight of drowsiness landed on his shoulders. Lifting his hat he brushed the back of his hand across his forehead and turned to look at his friends. They looked as equally tired as he did but happy for their success as well.

"I hope you all understand now that beyblading isn't about shortcuts," Tyson spoke up. He looked over at the defeat opponents. Squeezing water out of the hem of his shirt he locked eyes with Zeo. "Beyblading is about skill, talent, and heart. If you don't have the heart for beyblading, the love for the sport, you don't deserve to be called a beyblader." He cleared his throat a little and addressed Zeo head on. "As for you…I don't know if your father was behind all of this or if you felt like you needed to redeem yourself. Whatever. All I know is that I gave you a chance before for a reason. After you stole my friends' bitbeasts I thought that you would take my words to heart and change."

"I got jealous, Tyson!" Zeo burst out. "Seeing all of your success and knowing that I wasn't a part of the team. Knowing that I was my own reason for not being a part of that success. I hated seeing people coming in and out to join the team that I once was a part of. And, I don't know, I just wanted to be helpful somewhere."

"So you aided them," Tyson said, nodding at where Alex was pulling Alicia to her feet. "I'd like to say that I understand but I don't. I really don't understand you going back to your previous ways. I accepted you the way you were before, did you suddenly think that I wouldn't because of our wins?" He scoffed at his own question. "When I heard that you and your father were taking time away to focus on each other and you were playing violin I was happy for you, thinking that you would get back to the place you were in before. Back when you were a novice with great talent. Not this. I am disappointed but…you lost your way. It happens, when you see great things. You just have to get back to what you were like here." Tyson patted his chest where his heart beat against it. "That's all." He sighed. "I think you can do it. You just need more time to yourself, more time getting back to basics. And you'll be one of the better bladers that I've ever come across."

He let out a breath and turned to look at his friends. "We're done here," he told them. "Let's get to the hospital."

Pungent smoke filled Crystal's lungs and burned the inside of her nose. She brought an arm up to her face to block the smoky airflow but it didn't seem to do much to help. The dirt path around her was ignited in flames. Tree branches had fire wrapped around them. The bushes lining the path looked as if they were large candles. The heat that surrounded her made it hard for her to keep her eyes open.

"There she is! Don't let her escape!"

Shit!

Letting out a breath Crystal took off running. Her burning legs and lungs screamed at her to stop but she kept going as the shrubbery continued to go up in flames. Sweat trickled down the side of her face and her breathing became even more labored than before but she continued to push herself, continued to run.

Finally the tree line broke…only to form a circular dead end. The flames had beaten her to the end, seemingly jumping from one branch to another, creating a ring of fire.

"Damn," Crystal cursed, bracing her shoes against the ground to stop her momentum. Her chest heaved from the exerted energy. She brushed her hair out of her face and glanced over her shoulder when the shouting got louder.

Her hands went to the launcher that sat on the waistband of her shorts when a loud cracking sound made her freeze. Her head shot up just in time to see a high hanging branch, ablaze, crack and finally separate from the trunk.

She hardly had time to scream, move, do anything when it plummeted and she was enveloped in heat.

A strangled gasp inflated her previously paralyzed chest allowing Crystal the ability to open her eyes. They shifted around the darkness that wrapped around her and, slowly, they adjusted to the dark room. A steady beeping sound reached her ear, making her eyebrows lower in confusion.

She took a moment to focus on getting her breathing back to normal and then realized that her entire body was warm. Warmer than usual. It was a great contrast to how cold she remembered feeling previously. However, it was still uncomfortable, especially after the nightmare she just had.

It was then she realized that she was flanked on either side and pinned under a foreign weight. She turned her head to one side to come face-to-face with Ray's sleeping form. Her facial muscles briefly twitched and finally settled on a small smile forming. Turning her head to the other side her smile dropped and was replaced with an expression of surprise when she saw that it was Kai on the other side.

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She closed her eyes briefly only to see the strong images of flames dissolving into the darkness. Lifting herself up on her elbows she looked down and found herself having been heavily wrapped in blankets, almost swaddled like a child. Her eyes moved around the dark room to see the dark shapes of sleeping figures.

She settled back against the pillows and released a long, slow breath. Finally her heart rate went back to normal and sleep took a hold of her once more, pulling her back into dreamland.

Thank you, my friends.

AN: Whew, that was intense, wasn't it? But of course our favorite beybladers would come out on top. I hope my explanation of how they were able to use Zeo to power up their bitbeasts/beyblades made sense. I worked hard to be sure that it was as clear and concise as possible. So, what did you all think of this chapter? I think my favorite part was Tyson at the end. His little speech shows how mature he can be when he sets his mind to it. Thanks for being patient with me during the time it takes for me to update. I've been working on this chapter for a while now and I didn't want to get it up without it being the best it can be.

Now to the reviews/thank yous!

Aldamonburst - I love TysonxHilary. I love KaixHilary as well but I like the dynamic of TysonxHlary so much. As much as they fight I see them pushing each other to be greater than they are. Yes, sometimes to prove themselves to the other but the point is they're growing together and that's a couple dynamic I'd love to expand on (and I will). I hope my tech meets magic explanation made sense!

Shiningheart of ThunderClan - Ding, ding, ding we have a winner! It was their opponents using their powers against them. However, it was both Zeo and the rock behind the quantities of power that was being used. Zeo just needed to give the blades extra power to trigger the power of the rock to get to greater heights so, after they used him (figuratively and literally) he didn't have to be there for them to be able to use the power.

Cat - Glad to see you again! Thanks for you kind words!

and Guest (2x) - Thanks for the review! Crystal still has a bit of a way to go, it seems, with her stubborn attitude as well as learn to play with/rely on her team.

Thanks to each and every single one of you that takes the time to read this story. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my work and tell me what you think or putting it on your alert/fav list. It means a lot.

The next chapter, as far as I can see right now, will be the last one and then we'll finally get to the proper sequel! It's called Crouching Tiger II: Yin and Yang and so far that's how the title is staying but I'm also looking towards naming it Crouching Tiger II: Tiger Stripes. It all depends on what I think fits better. Also it may be a bit before the proper sequel is up. However if I get good enough inspiration/get all of my ideas organized in a timely manner it may be up even by next month!

Once again, thank you!

~C.M.