Disclaimer: Takao Aoki still refuses to give me the rights to Beyblade, therefore I still have to write this disclaimer so the lawyers can't take my car.
Hello everyone! Yes, updates are back on track for the most part. There's still one chapter I have to re-write, but hey, I'll go into full hermit-mode to finish it. BORDERLINE WILL BE DONE BY DECEMBER 31st! I want it done by the new year so I can focus on my other projects. If I need to take the day off work to complete it, I will.
In other news, I'm on a diet. I'm on MyFitnessPal, if anyone wants to join me in losing some weight, PM me and I'll give you my username so you can add me as a friend. I have roughly 60 pounds to lose. So YEAH! LET'S DO THIS!
Fun fact about this chapter...the beginning wasn't planned! Max vs Ray, Tyson vs Brooklyn and Tyson vs Max were all short 1 paragraph blurbs in the original chapter. When I decided to type this chapter out at 1am in the fricken morning, I started to see the glaring plot hole and my fingers did the rest. It's now 4:30am and I don't even know what I'm typing anymore...so yeah...it's an extra, extra long chapter for you guys!
Without further ado, enjoy the next chapter of Borderline!
Max and Ray's match was more intense than any of their previous battles. With their new abilities, it became an all out war between speed and defense, as the Lightning and Water Masters traded devastating blow after devastating blow. Not daring to blink, the spectators watched the conflict as the protective glass shaked and rattled under the sheer force of their attacks. After 30 gruelling minutes, Max used Ray's speed against him, knocking Drigger out of what was left of the dish, winning by a narrow margin.
"Good...battle...buddy." panted Max, as beads of sweat poured down his face.
"You...too." huffed Ray, as he laid down on the floor, and Max followed suit.
DJ Jazzman looked at the two in alarm. "Hey! Do you guys need a medic?"
Max waved his hand. "It's all good. We just need 5 minutes to catch our breath."
From up in the stands, Tyson smiled. "Now that was a real beybattle." He punched his hand. "Oh man! I can't wait to face Brooklyn!"
"Speaking of that, you should probably get ready Tyson! Your match starts in 15 minutes." said the Chief as he glanced at the clock.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." said Tyson as he stood up from his seat. "Wish me luck guys!" he said as he shimmied past Kenny and Hilary and started walking down the staircase.
"Kinomiya!"
The baseball-capped teen turned and looked up at his rival. "Yeah Kai?"
"Remember your promise."
Tyson smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry Kai, this match is in the bag!" With that he raced down the steps down to the arena.
"Now for our next epic battle, it's Tyson Vs Brooklyn! Give it up for these two awesome bladers!" shouted DJ Jazzman and the crowd went wild.
Tyson walked up to the beydish and stared into his opponent's emerald eyes. This was it. This was the rematch he had been waiting for. He withdrew his blade from his pocket. "You ready for this Brooklyn?"
"Oh I'm ready." His eyes narrowed. "But are you?" The wind shifted and suddenly Brooklyn's body began emitting a white light, blinding the whole stadium.
"Not this shit again!" Kai groaned.
The beystadium was encased inside a black sphere.
Tyson blinked. He was inside the world of Brooklyn's mind again, but...it was different. Where there was once grey, desolate skies, there was now a sea of blue. Once barren ground was now grassy meadows filled with flowers. The Dragon Master cast his gaze up to the sky to see Brooklyn airborne, a pair of shimmering angel wings gleamed in the sunlight.
"Hope you don't mind Tyson, but I don't like all the noise of the tournament. Plus I doubt that flimsy glass will survive our beybattle."
Tyson grinned when he realized what Brooklyn was offering- an all out beybattle with absolutely no limits. "Sure, I don't mind. In fact, I'm stoked!" He loaded his launcher. "3...2...1! Let it rip!"
From the outer dimension, spectators watched in awe as rays of light and blue lightning shot out of the sphere.
"Woah, it really looks like they're really going at it!" said Ray as the glass absorbed another wave of electricity.
"Arg! It's no use! I can't compile any data on that sphere!" panicked Kenny.
"I don't think we can do anything Chief, but sit and wait." said Max solemnly, looking at the black orb anxiously.
Kai gripped his elbows tighter. 'C'mon Tyson. Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself and show that lazy bastard what it means to be a true beyblader!"
The battle raged on, and the fantastic light displayed continued until the black sphere abruptly shone a bright blue. The light slowly got more intense then suddenly the sphere burst.
Dust and smoke carpeted the arena, making the audience squint to see what the hell was going on. Slowly, the dust settled and the World Champion was still standing. His clothes were torn from battle, there were scratches on his chest, legs and face, but in front of him spun his little white blade. On the other side of the arena, Brooklyn was laying face down on the steal floor. Beside his head, his Zeus blade laid on it's side.
"And the winner is Tyson!"
Everyone in the arena rose to their feet in thunderous applause.
"I won?" whispered Tyson, as he looked up to the sea of faces, all of them cheering his name. He smiled. "I won." With that, he fell backwards onto the platform, that immediately starting descending down to the stadium floor...where Kai was waiting. Gingerly the dual-haired man picked up the boy's unconscious form.
"You did good Tyson." He looked up to the beydish. "Dragoon!" At once, the white blade obeyed the Phoenix Master and weakly jumped down from the dish, landed and came to a rest on Tyson's chest. The audience cheered as they watched the former Captain carry his roommate out of the stadium.
Kai brought his beloved to his dressing room and carefully laid him on the couch, before taking the Dragoon blade. "Unfortunately, you still have one more match, but we'll try to buy you as much time as possible." He stepped out of the room, surprised to see Tala and Bryan standing there with giant smirks plastered onto their faces.
"How can we help?"
Kai's lips curved upwards. He really was going to have to give Tala a vacation when this was all over.
"Our next match-up will be Max vs Tyson!" Screamed DJ Jazzman into the mic, making the audience go crazy with excitement. "Which will take place-"
"HOLD IT!" The voice boomed throughout the stadium, and the lights went out, making everything go silent. Suddenly a single spotlight shone on a lone figure in the middle of the arena. The audience looked at each other in confusion. What was Julia Fernadez doing?
The brown and orange haired beyblader raised her head to look up at the enormous crowd. "I know that you are all patiently waiting for the next match, but some of the former contestants and I had other ideas, so sit back, relax, and enjoy this special 'Beyblade Extravaganza'!". The stadium once more went dark, and when the lights came back on again, Raul had joined his sister on stage and both were dressed in their costumes. They pulled their ribbons from their robes and the soft melodies of "Here Comes The Hotstepper" by Yuksek started playing. At once the twins seemed to come alive with the music, twisting and turning their ribbons to the beat, then at the chorus, they pulled their ripcords and released their beyblades, both of the tops then started dancing and spinning on the ribbons. Raul and Julia were in perfect synchronization as they danced.
The audience loved it, and they clapped their hands in time with the rythym.
Deep within the halls of the stadium, Kenny was staring at the mangled, shredded remains of Tyson's Dragoon in disbelief. "There's NO WAY I can fix that! It's way too badly damaged! And I still have Max's blade to finish! Isn't there anyway we can hold the match tomorrow?!"
"Relax, chief! That's why we're here!"
Kenny looked to the doorway where Emily, Miguel and Mr. And Mrs. Tate were standing, with Tala, Spencer and Bryan pulling up the rear. Kenny looked up at Kai. "Yeah, but even the four of us couldn't fix it in-" he glanced up at the clock, "-in 20 minutes! Isn't there a way we can convince the judges to postpone the match until tomorrow, or have them call a draw?"
Judy stepped forward, "I have already tried, and so has Mr. Dickenson. They would just recognize Kai as the winner of the tournament since he's the only one who has already advanced to the finals."
"And you know I won't accept that." said Kai pointedly.
"We've rounded up the other bladers and let them know the situation, they're more than willing to buy us enough time to fix the blades." explained Emily.
"We just need to know what we're doing." explained Miguel with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Kenny looked up at the hopeful expressions of his friends, and he felt his eyes well up with tears. Everyone was coming together to make sure that the tournament was going to be fair as possible. He grinned and wiped his eyes. "Alright, tell everyone to stall for 2 hours. We'll split into teams. Emily and Mr. Tate, you can finish working on Draciel. I've done most of the work on the defense ring, but there's still some balance issues and it needs to be calibrated. Miguel you're going to help me basically rebuild Dragoon. We're going to pray that the core hasn't been damaged and modify some parts that I have saved just for this occasion." He looked around for his girlfriend. "Um, where did Hilary go?"
Kai raised his eyebrow. "We talked to her already, and she volunteered to modify the arena for the show, by logging into the system using your password."
"WHAT?!"
Bryan chuckled. "Yeah, she claimed she watched you test everything enough times, that she knew the system 'like the back of her hand' and told us not to worry about anything."
Kenny sweat dropped. Last he checked, the way Hilary did things was to press random buttons until something worked. Hoping that she really did have this covered, he rolled up his sleeves. "Well we're just going to need to get this done as fast as possible. Let's do it!"
Despite Kenny's fear, Hilary was inside the stadium's control room in complete control of the situation. She had spent hours watching Kenny prepare the system for the tournament. She didn't know how many times he had painstakingly raised and lowered each platform to make sure they were all functioning properly. While it was true she couldn't beyblade to save her life, she had grown fond of these boys who had welcomed her into their group. They had saved her time and time again and this was her way of repaying them. And while most of the time the jerks didn't care about their own safety, they did care about everyone else's. She had watched Tyson push himself to the point of total exhaustion trying to free herself and Kenny from a box that was ready to crush them alive. Kai had pushed her against the wall of a cliff when a surprise rock slide had nearly crushed them both, and had saved her from falling off a cliff on another occasion. Whenever a creepy dude had hit on her, Max was the first to pull her away and pretend that he was her boyfriend until the guy got the hint. One time she got her period by surprise it had soaked through her white shorts, and Ray not only went out to buy her a new pair of pants, pads and Tylenol, but he did it so discreetly that none of the other members of the Bladebreakers knew.
She saw that Julia and Raul were coming to the end of their performance. She tapped her communication device. "Alright White Tigers, you're next!"
Mr. Dickenson's eyes lit up as the music suddenly switched to "Dangerous" by Within Temptation, and the White Tigers took over the stage, starting an epic 4 on 4 beybattle. The judge that was next to him nudged him. "Please sir! We can't have this continue! We need to start the next beybattle right away or else the audience will get restless!"
His brown eyes swept through the auditorium, where all of the fans were on their feet cheering, watching the match in fascination. "Hmm, do they look restless to you?"
"Umm-"
"Exactly. Let the players have their fun. It's a nice surprise don't you think?"
"Well, I suppose so sir..."
"Good. So just do what Miss Fernadez recommended and sit back and enjoy the show." He chuckled to himself. The kids really were clever. Throwing together a show at the very last minute to give Max and Tyson time to recover? He couldn't be prouder of those kids. He only prayed that by the time the show was over, it would have been enough.
Tala and Bryan watched the TV as the White Tigers battle was coming to the end. Kevin and Gary had been eliminated and it was down to Lee vs Mariah. "How is it coming?"
"Draciel's done, but Dragoon still needs an attack ring." said Miguel, watching Kenny in awe as the little genius was cutting a ring with careful precision in a small square of titanium.
"Then it looks like we're up." grinned the silver-haired Russian.
Kai looked up. "You're going out there?"
Tala leaned down and whispered, "Anything to make you confess to your darling Tyson." The red-head smirked as Kai's cheeks coloured.
"Get the fuck out of here Ivanov!"
Grinning like the Cheshire cat, Tala practically skipped out of the room as he and Bryan headed towards the stage.
Slowly mahogany eyes opened and their owner found himself to be in that blissful world between dreams and reality as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He rolled over to shift closer to Kai, when he unceremoniously ended up rolling off the couch and landing on his side. "Ow! What the- THE MATCH!" He looked up at the clock and saw that it was nearly 4:00pm! Who the hell let him sleep that long?! "Crapcrapcrapcrap." he muttered to himself as he started leafing through his pockets searching for his blade. It was then that he realized how tattered his clothes were. He looked around and saw that there was a pair of fresh clothes neatly folded on the chair. His eyes widened and his face broke into a smile. Quickly he changed into the black jeans and purple shirt before racing down the hallway to find Kenny.
"Voila! Dragoon is finally finished!"
"And not a moment too soon!" Everyone looked to the doorway, surprised to see Tyson.
"Tyson!" said the Chief in joy. "Did you have a good nap?"
"Yeah, but what about mine and Max's match? I thought it was supposed to start right after I was done moping the floor with Brooklyn?"
"Well after the match, you, Dragoon, Max and Draciel were in no condition to beyblade. So everyone got together to stall for time so you guys could rest and we could fix your blades."
Tyson blinked. "Everyone?"
Kenny grinned. "You'll see." He then presented the newly-made blade. "Tyson, meet Dragoon Hurricane. He's stronger and faster than your old blade, but you should have no problem with it!"
"Woah, Dragoon Hurricane!" The Japanese teen looked down at the small silver blade with pride. "You're the best chief!"
"Go get 'em Tyson!"
Tyson nodded then turned to leave, when he noticed Kai standing there by the door with his arms folded over his chest, looking as broody as ever. The pony-tailed teen approached the enigma. "Thanks for the clothes Kai."
"Hn. I don't know what you're talking about." said the Russian, looking away to hide his blush.
"Yeah, yeah, be that way sourpuss. Wait for me in the finals!" Before Kai could reply, the teen had already left the room. When Kai opened his eyes he could see everyone in the room staring at him with knowing smiles.
"Say one word, and I'll annihilate you all with Dranzer." Immediately everyone's face paled and they resumed whatever they were doing.
Tyson was just blown away as he watched all his friends go at each other in this massive dish! The White Tigers, the PPB All Starz, the Blitzkrieg boys and nearly every person from the tournament was here! He watched as their blades teamed up in groups of twos and threes to knock out certain players. It was raw, it was brutal...and it was amazing. These guy were playing for the pure love of the game! This. This is why he loved beyblading so much. He closed his eyes and listened to the sweet sound of metal clashing against metal.
"Hey Tyson."
Said teen opened his eyes and turned and smiled at Max. "Hey Maxie."
"It's really amazing that everyone came together for us isn't it?"
"Yeah, I really wish I was out there though. This is getting me fired up!"
"Yeah, I know what you mean buddy." Max placed his hand on Tyson's shoulder. "Let's just have a great match, and not worry about anything else, ok?"
"Sounds like a good idea to me Maxie." They turned back to the match, just in time to watch Tala knock Mariah's beyblade out of the dish and win. The crowd jumped up on their feet and clapped fervently as all the players took a bow. Julia eyed Max and Tyson in the stands and took the mic.
"Well that's all for us! Hope you enjoyed our 'Beyblade Extravaganza'! Without further ado, enjoy the next match!"
The lights dimmed and the next time they came on, Max and Tyson were standing in the middle of the arena, on opposite sides of the beydish, launchers at the ready.
"3...2...1! LET IT RIP!"
"Oh man, this sushi is so good!" declared Tyson as he crammed another California roll into his already full mouth.
"Hey! That was mine!" whined Daichi.
"Well beybattling is hard work!" insisted the Champion.
Max lost the match, after Draciel lost spin due to Dragoon's 'Hurricane Devastation' attack, and being as good-natured as he was, offered to take their little group on his dime out for supper,"for old times sake". Currently Tyson and Daichi was on their 5th course, Max had drenched his food in mustered to ensure that nether of the little shit-disturbers would touch it, while Ray and Kenny tried to shield their plates with their arms, while Kai sat back and sipped on his coffee.
They didn't have to worry about being kicked out because Max had booked a private table at a 5-star restaurant so no fans could harass them for autographs, and tipped the waiter extra to basically pretend he didn't see the chaos.
Kenny looked around the group and a wave of nostalgia hit him. Once upon a time, they had done this nearly everyday while they were backpacking through Europe during the first world tournament. It had been the first year that they had been a team. Tears pricked the mechanic's eyes as his emotions bubbled up deep inside his chest.
Ray saw Kenny's shoulders tremble. "What's wrong Chief?"
At once the table went quiet and everyone stopped what they were doing to make sure their friend was doing alright.
"It's really nothing guys. I just realized that you're all the very best friends I could ever hope to wish for, and how we never get to be like this anymore."
Everyone paused as the statement slowly sunk in, Max and Ray looked at each other guiltily before opening their mouths to speak-
"Don't even think about apologizing." All eyes turned to Kai. "Don't you ever apologize for going off and chasing after your own dreams. You know what you want in life, and you're doing it. Don't ever apologize to anyone for bettering yourself or making yourself stronger."
"Kai's right." smiled Tyson, taking another bite of a California roll. "After all, whenever you guys need a break from everything, you can always come home." He glanced at Kai. "No matter how old we get, or what happens between us, we'll always be there for each other. The world isn't that big."
Max, Daichi, Ray and Kenny looked up at Tyson with misty eyes. "You're right Tyson. This is home."
"And we are family." affirmed Daichi.
"Forever." added Ray.
Tyson smiled softly and turned back to Kenny. "So don't worry about a thing, we'll do this again."
Kenny dried his eyes. "Yeah."
"Hey, when we're done here, does anyone want to go down by the river?" suggested Ray.
Tyson quickly wolfed down the last pieces of food on his plate before hailing their waiter. "Cheque please!"
After the teammates went down the river to beyblade and reflect on old times, they decided to head back to the dojo and crash there for old time's sake. When Tyson could hear the soft snores and sleep mutterings of the others, he slowly crept from his bed, opened the sliding door, stepping outside to stare at the full shimmering moon. He relaxed as he felt the cool wind brush along his tanned skin, and looked to his blade that was in his right hand. "This is it Dragoon. One more battle and we're the World Champions for the 4th year in a row. The only thing standing in our way now is Kai. We need to bring our best tomorrow and play our hearts out, because Kai and Dranzer deserve nothing less. Are you ready ol' buddy?"
The surface of Dragoon's bitchip gleamed in response.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Tyson turned as the door opened to reveal the person who was on his mind. He gave him a cheerful smile. "Hey Kai, couldn't sleep?"
"Hn." The enigma walked over to one of the dojo's support beams, crossed his broad arms and leaned his strong back against it. "I came to check on you." He gave him a pointed look.
It took the bluenette a second before he understood what the Russian was asking. "Oh. The nightmares. Don't worry, I haven't had one in ages." Mostly because I've been sleeping next to you at night.
"Good." The pair stared at each other for a long time, happily getting lost in the other's eyes as the night air gently tousled their hair.
"I think I needed today." said Tyson after a long while. "More so than Kenny even." He looked down and fidgeted with his blade. "It was really nice to sit back and think about everything that brought us here. To remember where I came from and just how much I've improved."
"Hn. To me, no matter how much you improve, you'll always be that mouthy brat that thought everyone owed him a match, no matter how many times they told you to get lost."
"Yeah well, you'll always be that moody jerk who never seemed to make up his mind." Somehow, there was a gentle fondness within Tyson's smile.
"Hn."
For a long while the boys stared up at the night sky, reflecting on their past. It was amazing, once upon a time they couldn't stand each other, now neither of them could imagine life without the other.
"Hello and welcome beyblade fans to the final match of the 2005 World Championship! It's the Mighty Kai Hiwatari vs The Unpredictable Storm Tyson Kinomiya! The history between these two runs deep, as they are sworn rivals and former teammates. These awesome legends of beyblading will take it to the dish to prove which of them is truly deserving of the title "World Champion"! Now a word from our Head Chairman and director of the BBA... Mr. Dickenson!"
The stadium roared in applause as the most respected man in the sport rose up on a platform. "Hello ladies and gentlemen! It is my pleasure to announce the last match of the tournament! Although; some of you may remember the match between these two powerful men back in 2003 and the destruction they caused."
There were murmurs from the crowd, and one little boy jumped up and shouted, "Yeah, that was awesome!"
The old man chuckled. "Well yes, it was indeed awesome, young man. But for safety's sake, you will all find that there handles on your seats so you can hold on to them and also-" Everyone watched as a second glass cage was placed over the arena. "-just in case. Jazzman, would you do the honours?"
"Well you heard the man! The final battle starts in 30 minutes, so make sure you buy your Tyson and Kai bobble-head dolls before they sell out!"
In a dressing room in the back of the building, Kai Hiwatari was putting the finishing touches of his war paint. Beside him, Dranzer laid on the desk, it was clear to see it had been freshly polished. Staring at his reflection, Kai's gaze hardened. This was it. After all these months of planning, training and sheer insanity- Everything came down to this one last battle. Once he walked into that arena, nothing mattered but him, Tyson and their bitbeasts.
A 'click' brought him out of his thoughts and he watched through the mirror as Tala and the rest of the blitzkrieg boys walked in.
"Are you done putting on your make-up Sunshine?" teased Bryan.
"Are you done with coming up with lame jokes?" Kai shot back.
"Don't tell me you're actually nervous." said Tala placing a hand on his hip, but quickly shut his mouth when those demonic eyes flashed warningly.
"You have no idea how long I have waited for this Tala. Our duel has been written in the stars and now the time has come to fulfil destiny."
'Fulfil destiny?' Tala's eyes widened in realization. He watched as the Fire Master grabbed his blade from off the desk and storm out of the room.
When he was sure Kai was out of ear-shot, Bryan turned to his lover. "What was all that mambo-jumbo destiny crap about? Has bird-boy finally gone batty?"
Tala blinked. "I think I know, but we'll have to wait and see. C'mon, let's go make sure no one has stolen our seats."
In a dressing room on the very opposite side of the building, Ray and Max were staring at Tyson with identical looks of disbelief. The rambunctious teen was actually meditating. Had aliens somehow kidnapped their friend?"
"Oh no need to worry about him guys, he finds it helps him focus before big matches. It also keeps him from going to the bathroom every 5 minutes."
Tyson opened one eye and growled. "Arg! That was supposed to be a secret chief!"
Ray and Max giggled. Same ol' Tyson.
"Awww screw it!" said Tyson as he stood up. "How goes the repairs to Dragoon Chief?"
Almost done, just reshaping the attack ring after it got damaged in the match between you and Max."
"Awesome, nice work chief. I don't know where I would be without you!" He glanced at the clock. 15 minutes before he had to be in the arena...
"Anxious Tyson?" asked Max.
"I just can't wait! Kai is such an awesome blader! I can't wait to get in there and give it my all!"
Max nodded in understanding. There was no denying that whenever Kai and Tyson squared off, they both seemed to get lost in their own little world. But not only that, but it was the only time they got see the bladers unleash their full power. Every other time, it was obvious that they were seriously holding back.
"Just go out there and do your best Tyson. You know we'll be cheering." said Ray giving the Dragon Master a thumbs up.
"And all done!" said Kenny as he handed the bluenette the newly repaired blade. "I'd tell you to be careful, but we both know that you won't listen anyways."
Tyson smiled and looked down at his Dragoon. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to win."
"Time's up Tyson. Are you ready?" asked Hiro walking into the room.
Tyson gave his championship smile. "Oh yeah, more than ready. Watch me beat the pants off Kai!" His hands suddenly went straight to his crotch. "Then again, one last bathroom break couldn't hurt!" he shouted as he rushed down the hallway.
Max laughed, "Oh yeah, he's nervous."
Ray chuckled, "We should be lucky it's not his scared farts, those were awful!"
"I HEARD THAT!"
"Give it up for the strongest bladers in the world Kai and Tyson!" The fans cheered as they watched the beyblading titans step out from their separate entrances and walk into the arena. Tyson was waving and blowing kisses to all his fans, while Kai just ignored them all.
They walked into the arena and their eyes met. "Ready Kai?!"
"I was born ready Tyson!"
"And now...BRING ON THE DISH!" Jazzman glanced over at Mr. Dickenson and the old man nodded. The stadium floor began peeling back to reveal a hidden level underneath. "This is what we call the 'Iron-will Dish'! As you can see, the entire beydish is 2 square miles of solid steel, so players and beyblades can move around freely!"
Tyson laughed and looked up at the BBA director. "You know that we'll probably end up destroying this dish too, right Mr. D?"
The crowd laughed and Mr. Dickenson wiped the sweat that had gathered on his face with his handkerchief. "I was afraid of that."
Tyson laughed once more before he turned to his rival and his face turned serious. "You ready Kai?"
"I'm here, aren't I?"
The men loaded their launchers and widened their stances, relaxed their shoulders and took a breath. Red met Cinnamon and that weird, physic connection washed over them and they could hear each other's heartbeat in their head.
"3...2...1! LET IT RIP!"
Well this chapter took over 3 days to write and edit and it's over 5,000 words. I really hoped you enjoyed it, I'll be back with more soon! Tell me what you thought and let me know who you think is gonna win!
