Disclaimer:...goddammit! I don't even own a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

My excuse this week: Well my daughter started school, I got a new job, might be quitting the other one due to piss-poor management, and the latest chapter of Twisted basically delayed everything. So this week I'm playing catch-up, but the good news is I have a whole bunch of stories to update. Plus this chapter is huge.

Thank you to Senseless, Tyka's Flower, Violet Hiwatari, Demons of the arch angel, KiraFox and Tammy Wisswell for all your reviews that keep me sane and keep writing.

Warnings: So this chapter we're returning to the Tournament of Death, so of course...ALL THE WARNINGS!

Announcement: This, I believe, is the start of The Last 10 Chapters of Borderline!


"C'mon boys! Harder!"

Sweat poured down their faces as the former Bladebreakers concentrated on pushing each other's blades back. It was a 4-man battle royale and they were all pushing each other beyond their limits. Sparks were showering across the beydish as their blades grinded against each other. Gritting their teeth, adrenaline pumping through their blood streams...they were going all out. Up in the sky, their bitbeasts were locked into battle, their blades mirroring their every movement.

"Arg! Enough of this! Dranzer!" shouted Kai, his blade following his orders and breaking from the pack, using the dish as a ramp to fly into the air to carry out an aerial assault. "Hellfire Arrow!" Blue flames surrounded the beyblade.

"DRAGOON!"

"DRACIEL!"

"DRIGGER!"

The three beyblades just barely avoided the attack as Dranzer crashed into the ground like a meteorite, creating a huge crater in the centre surrounded by a wall of blue fire.

"Woah, that's sweet!" commented Max in awe.

Kai chuckled and gave a challenging smirk. "Are any of you brave enough to take me on?"

Tyson was impressed, unless you wanted to take your chances with Dranzer's scorching flames, the only way to attack Kai now was by air, unfortunately for those brief few seconds that your blade was airborne, it was completely defenceless. He exchanged an uneasy look with Ray. It was a stalemate.

"My pleasure." grinned Max, surprising them all, "Tsunami Maestorm!" Draciel started encircling the ring of flames and a stream of water poured out of Max's blade, picking up speed. Around and around the spinning top went, until it was nothing more than a blurr in a powerful tsunami. The waves crashed down on the flames and flowed into the crater.

Kai poured his energy into Dranzer to increase it's spin. "Fiend Blaze!" Fire sounded the blade, evaporating the water before it could make contact.

Seeing an opening, Ray made his move. "Howling Claw!" Suddenly there were now sixteen Driggers instead of one! Half of the Drigger army attacked Draciel, while the other half went after Dranzer.

Tyson pulled back his Dragoon to the very edge of the dish, and waited. He watched the frenzy carefully. He smirked. "Dragoon!" Before anyone could blink, Dragoon navigated a path through the chaos and hit all three blades, sending them all out of the dish.

"Tyson wins!" announced Hiro. The others looked at the champion, their mouths hanging open in denial.

"Better luck next time guys." Tyson winked, recalling his Dragoon to his hand. "If you want, I'll take all three of you on at the same time!"

"No."

"Wha-?" Tyson looked to his brother in question.

"You guys are all exhausted." said the coach, gesturing to their weary forms and tattered clothes. "We've been at it for 6 hours now and you all need to be in top form for the tournament tomorrow. Go home and get some rest. You guys are more than ready for those bladers."

The boys all sighed. "I hate to say this, but Hiro is right." said Max as he wiped a few droplets of sweat off his brow.

"Yeah, not only that, but they haven't faced our new blades yet!" said Tyson, holding up his Dragoon Storm Heart. "They won't stand a chance."

"Yeah." said Max with a smile. "All of their data would've gone down with the fortress. They have no idea what's coming!"

"Don't let yourselves get too cocky." said Hiro warningly.

"It's not the fact that we're cocky, we know that they can pull a sly trick at anytime to change the tables, but we have an edge on them that should keep things even." explained Tyson.

"It's true!" confirmed Kenny. "By my calculations, with your new skill level combined with the power of the new blades, it should give you guys an advantage over the enemy."

Hiro nodded. "Alright then. You have your blades, but watch it. These bladers are still highly unpredictable and are playing by a different set of rules. Stay sharp. Show no weakness and play to your strengths."

"Awwww right! The Bladebreakers are back in action!" cheered Tyson. He glanced to the side and his eyes grew wide as saucers as he spied Hilary and Kenny holding hands. "No way! You two finally got together?!"

The couple blushed and looked to each other lovingly before Tyson's statement finally sunk in. "Wait! What do you mean by 'finally'?" demanded Hilary.

"Oh c'mon! You guys were so obvious! I saw the way you two would look at each other in class." grinned Tyson cheekily.

Both brunettes blushed bright red. "WHAT?! You knew Kenny liked me and you didn't tell me?!" the woman bellowed.

Tyson pretended to inspect his nails. "Gee, for being president of our class, you really are dense sometimes."

"Arg! That's it!" Hilary snatched the kendo stick that was in Hiro's hand and raised it over her head. "TYSON!"

Tyson was just barely able to dodge the weapon as he jumped to the side. "Jeez Hilary, it was JUST A JOKE!" But the woman wasn't listening as she took another swing at him, just narrowly missing his head.

"I'll show you whose dense!" promised the woman as she began chasing him around the room.

Max and Ray looked at each other with wide eyes. "Did you see that one coming?" asked the blonde.

"Nope, I thought Kenny liked Ming Ming." replied the neko-jin.

("Ow! Hilary- Back off!)

"Does this mean Tyson clued into something we didn't?" asked a baffled Max.

"I guess so." said Ray, his eyes landing on Tyson's secret admirer, silently wondering how the apparently perceptive Tyson, could be so blind to Kai's love-sick looks.

Max followed Ray's gaze and caught on, silently nodding in agreement.

Unbeknownst to the pair, Kai was discreetly watching them, unsurprised that they couldn't see Kenny and Hilary's relationship coming, considering how much they were pussy-footing around each other. He chuckled to himself. 'Clueless.'


"And here's the Top 10!" announced DJ Jazzman as the top bladers in the world rose up from the ground on pedestals, as the crowd went wild, shouting out their names.

The lights dimmed and a podium rose up in the middle of the stadium, carrying Mr. Dickenson. The BBA director cleared his throat and a hush fell over the audience. "Now that the top ten players have been determined, there's so few matches left before we declare the winner. So from now on, there will only be one battle going on at a time. We shall call out the beybladers for the next battle and while the match is taking place, the other players will have the choice to stay and watch the match or leave and prepare for their own match. Like the other matches, each pairing will be selected at random. Any questions?" His brown eyes darted to each of the contestants, each of them shaking their heads. "Then let the games begin!" The mega screen lit up each player's name before they started scrabbling across the screen. When it finally stopped, Tyson's eyes went wide.

"Maxie." he whispered.

Max was going up against Pam.

Ice blue met azure as the blondes stared each other down across the stadium, the tension solidifying the air.


"You got this Max!" encouraged Tyson as he clasped a hand around his friend's shoulder. They were now inside one of the private locker rooms in Phoenix Stadium, and the former Bladebreakers, plus Rick, were helping the American prepare for his match. "Just remember all of the people her and the rest of those creeps hurt. Don't let them get away with it."

"Not a chance. Draciel and I will win this." said the golden haired teen determinedly.

"Then perhaps I can be of assistance."

Everyone looked to the door and Max brightened. "Mom!" He rushed up to hug her.

"Hey sport." Mr. Tate appeared behind his wife.

"DAD!" Max rushed into his father's arms and looked up at him. "Don't you have a shop to run?"

"And miss my boy play? Not a chance." said Taro, ruffling his son's hair.

"We have something for you Maxie." said his mother, handing him a briefcase.

Perplexed, the Draciel-weilder sat down on the couch and opened it, his eyes lighting up when he saw what was inside. "No way!" He shouted, his mouth dropping in awe of the shinny new beyblade that greeted him. "But- the chief just made me a new blade..."

"We know that, but this one is especially made for this match." explained Judy.

"Your mom got worried that this would happen, so she asked me to make a custom beyblade for you." said Taro.

Max picked up the blade and examined it closely. "Wait...is that rubber on the sides?"

"You bet!" confirmed his father proudly. "It's made to absorb high-voltage attacks so they don't do any damage to your blade or it's core."

"Wow! That's perfect!"

"Also..." Judy pulled out some strange green and blue cloth that looked a lot like a wetsuit from the bag she was holding. "This is a special rubber suit. It's durable, and like your beyblade, its meant to absorb high-voltage attacks."

Max accepted the suit with a huge smile plastered onto his face. "Thanks mom. Wow! You guys really do think of everything!"

"Anything for our little Maxie." said Taro. Max gave each of his parents a huge hug before leaving the room to go to the adjoined bathroom to change.

Kai looked at the couple suspiciously. "How did you know?"

"After Hiro was sent to the hospital after that lightning strike stopped his heart, Taro and I didn't want to take any chances. We immediately started working on the suit and beyblade, with some help from Emily and Kenny, of course." Judy smiled at Kenny, making everyone look at the nerd in shock.

"YOU KNEW?!"

"Better to be safe than sorry."

"Alright guys, be honest..." came anxiety filled voice. "How much does this kill my chances with the ladies?" Max stepped out wearing the skin-tight suit. It was a dark green with blue accents on the torso, arms and legs, and in short...it left absolutely nothing to the imagination. It clung to his 6-pack and well tone arms and legs like a second skin. His cheeks were flushed pink.

Rick and Ray stood there gaping like fishes.

Tyson snapped his fingers. "I got it!" He pushed Max back into the change room and disappeared with him. There was some shuffling, noises and grunts before they emerged 30 seconds later, with Max fully dressed wearing the turquoise shirt and black sweats he was wearing earlier.

"What happened to the suit?" asked Judy lifting an eyebrow.

"Hehehe, right here!" Tyson lift the shirt slightly to reveal the green fabric of the suit underneath. "It's gonna confuse the heck out of Pam!"

"Yeah, and I won't feel like an underwear model!" laughed Max in relief.

DJ Jazzman's voice came over the speakers. "5 minutes before the players need to be at the dish!"

"Guess that's my cue." said Max, placing his Draciel bit-chip into his new blade.

"You'll do great Max." said Rick.

"We all believe in you." added Ray.

The Water Master looked over at his former captain. "Any last words of wisdom?"

"Show that bitch how to really play this game."


Max and Pam met at the beydish. "Oh great. Another weakling. Listen little boy, just do yourself a favour and forfeit this match. You're not worth my time." the woman said nastily, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Well if you're scared, feel free to step down. I would hate for you to break a nail."

From down below, the entire audience heard Tyson say "Oh yeah Maxie! Show that clown-faced Barbie doll a lesson!"

Her eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Your friend is annoying."

"So is your voice." He said, loading his launcher.

DJ Jazzman sweat dropped. He was used to this kind of trash talking from Tyson or even Kai. Max was usually the nicest one of the bunch. Then again, he knew that the Bladebreakers would feel strongly about all the injuries and bullshit calls that had taken place in this tournament. (Yes, he had been refereeing enough beyblade events to know the judgement calls from the higher ups were a complete joke and blatant abuse of power.) Right now the American looked like he would rather launch his beyblade at her throat than at the beydish...the murderous look in those baby-blues was bone-chilling.

He cleared his throat. "Introducing, Forest Stadium! Players will show their skills trying to navigate their blades through the thick vegetation and river as they do battle!"

Seeing the beydish of tall trees surrounding a small lake in the centre made Max relax slightly. There were plenty of places Draciel could go to hide from Pam's lightning strikes. It was the perfect dish for a defensive player such as himself.

"Players ready?"

He gripped and aimed his launcher.

"3...2...1!"

"LET IT RIP!" screamed Max as his pulled the ripcord, releasing Draciel into the thick forest. He couldn't see his blade, and that was ok...he didn't need to. At this moment he was one with his spirit guardian.

Pam's purple blade landed on the rocks near the water. She glared at Max. "Fight me you coward!"

Max gave a saucy wink. "As you wish. Draciel now!"

The turtle bit-beast arised from the middle of the forest, grabbing a tree and hurling it at the purple blade.

From down below Kai eyed the purple blade, trying to remember where he had seen it before. He wracked his memory before his mind flashed back to the that day where he, Tyson and Kenny were down in his shipping facility "testing security". He clenched his fist. He looked back at the blade on the mega screen and there was no mistaking it; the blades were one and the same. This woman was the one who had broken into his company, attempted to assassinate Tyson and who had shot him in the shoulder. Since her bitbeast was an electric type, she probably used its power to short-circuit his security system to break in. There was a part of him that sorely wished that he was the one who the one battling, just to teach the bitch a lesson. He took a deep breath.

This meant that Boris was responsible for Tyson's injury. He smirked. Oh his opponent would feel the full power of his wrath when it was his turn. For now though, he stepped closer to Tyson, his eyes scanning the audience for dangers. He would be damned if he let any one of those creeps lay another hand on his beloved rival.

On the battlefront, Pam was running out of patience. "Raiju!" She called upon her bitbeast and a wolf, seemingly made out electricity, was summoned from her blade. Lightning sparkled around it, making the hairs on the back of Max's neck stand on end as the particles in the air were electrically charged. "Now it's my turn. Electro Strike!"

Bolts of lightning were released from the beast, shooting into the forest and in an instant flames started engulfing the trees- The only thing that was giving Draciel cover.

Mad had to do something. Using their bond, Max told Draciel to move closer to the water before launching his next attack. "Tsunami Maestorm!" His blade was able to manipulate the lake water to create a giant wave that washed over the entire forest, smothering the flames.

"Hahahaha, sloppy move. You've left yourself wide open!" Her blade attacked from behind, her bitbeast slamming into Draciel. The wolf hit Draciel with lightning, but it seemed to have no effect. "Hit him again Raiju!" Again Raiju attacked, and still Draciel held firm. "What the hell?!

"We figured out your little trick." said Max, smirking. "Look carefully at my blade Pam. Draciel is covered in rubber armour, meaning-"

"-My electric attacks won't be able to pierce through it." she said, hanging her head, her hair covering her face.

Confused by the action, Max asked, "Do you surrender then?"

A terrible smile split the woman's face and a high-pitched giggle escaped her lips, sending shivers up Max's spine. "Never!" Her bitbeast then turned around and launched an attack at him.

Max was barely able to put his arms up in time to shield his face from the attack, however the force of the attack set him off balance, he took a step backward and he could feel himself falling...

His fingers were able to catch the smooth, steal edge of the platform.

"MAX!" His friends rush up and formed a circle underneath him, ready to catch him at a second's notice.

Max looked down and smiled as a feeling of nostalgia washed over him. Still, after so many years, so many tournaments, after being on both sides of the beydish...they were still a team. This realization gave him strength and he started to pull himself back onto the platform.

"Go Max!" Rick shouted from below.

"You can do it Max!" hollered Tyson.

"Show her who's boss!" yelled Ray.

Kai watched with pride as the blonde swung his leg over the edge and slowly brought himself to his feet. "Go Max!" he shouted.

Max glared at his opponent. "Ok, no more Mr. Nice Guy. DRACIEL!"

The mighty turtle roared and tackled Raiju to the ground, their blades grinding against each other as Pam stared at Max in shock. "How are you still breathing?! The voltage alone from those attacks should have been enough to incapacitate an army!" She looked at his torn clothes, surprised to see another layer underneath. Her blue eyes went wide. "Don't tell me-"

"A rubber suit? You bet. I'm going to take you down Pam!"

She grit her teeth, before a mad smile spread across her lips. "Then it's your funeral! RAIJU! Finish him!" The bitbeast de-materialized from underneath the massive turtle.

From the ground, Kai could see what the woman was attempting to do. "MAX MOVE!"

But it was too late.

Pain exploded in Max's skull as lightning hit him directly, making his body convulse and his head pound and throb. Still his will was unshakable. As pain assaulted his senses, he screamed, "Draciel! Water Whip!" A rope of water wrapped around his exposed hand and he felt a refreshing coolness and felt much lighter as the lightning left his body, redirected by the water to go back into the ground. He was seeing double as he struggled to breathe. His entire body tingling, numb and just so painful. As he strained to focus, he saw that Pam's blade had almost completely stopped spinning.

Acting purely on willpower, he grunted, "Attack." using the last of his strength to knock Pam's blade out of the stadium.

Everything faded to black as he collapsed.


"Max! Max!"

Everyone looked at the descending platform in horror as they caught glimpse of the unconscious blader, Kai rushing forward ahead of the others, collecting the boy in his strong arms, searching for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found one. A strong one.

"Is he okay?" Rick asked with tears in his olive eyes.

"He's alive."

Rick delicately picked up the blonde. "You were so strong."

"Yeah he was." said Tyson, blinking back tears. He glanced over at Pam who was clearly shaken by her defeat running for the nearest exit. His eyes narrowed. "What should we do about her?"

"There's nothing we can do." said Ray bitterly. "She'll probably go running back to Boris. Let's forget about her and concentrate on Max."

Kai was about to go running after the woman himself, but he saw Spencer and Ian were already on it. They had risen out of their seats in the sands and were walking to the same exit. He decided it was best to let them deal with her for now, shifting his focus to his fallen friend.


Man, this thing was a huge pain in the ass to edit! I hope you all enjoyed and please leave a review!