As the Bladebreakers walked out of their locker room and headed out to block two to continue the rest of the tournament, they admittedly had some doubts about fighting the Barthez Battalion. Of these doubts, one was whether or not our heroes would be able to make their former friends see what was happening, not to mention trying to get them to help after Miguel had refused already.

But their biggest concern was the matches themselves. As Boris decides the battles, the Bladebreakers themselves had no clue as to who was going to battle against who. They just knew that they not only had to win, but to be prepared for whatever opponent they faced.

They soon arrived at the arena itself, and waved and smiled at the audience as the team walked over to sit down at their bench, waiting patiently for their opponents to walk out as well, not to mention Boris' appearance as well.

"You worried, Tyson?" Kenny asked.

"I'll be fine, Chief." Tyson sighed. "I just... I think that this would be easier if it wasn't them. For the longest time when we fought them, they used nothing but cheap tricks and dirty tactics to win. Now they're using their own skill, but they're like mindless robots..."

"Yeah, it really doesn't make it any easier," Ray agreed. "But they're still our opponents, and we still have to beat them if we want to get to Boris quicker."

Soon, the opponents in question walked out as well, sitting on their bench without so much as a word to the audience around them as they stared at the Bladebreakers, Miguel's eyes locked with Tyson's.

"You think a look scares me?" Tyson asked.

Miguel chuckled. "I doubt it, but apparently must be doing something right if I got this kind of reaction out of you."

Tyson was about to respond, but kept himself restrained. "I guess we'll just keep it in the dish, then..." he muttered under his breath.

Soon, Boris arrived from his hidden elevator in the floor. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to block two! This time, we have the Bladebreakers against the Barthez Battalion!"

The audience cheered for both sides, and Tyson smiled to himself. "At least it's good to hear that one thing hasn't changed..."

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked.

"The fact that the people just want to see a fight."

"In that case," Kai said, "we can't let our emotions get in the way. If we want to get through to them, then we have to be calm about it."

"That's pretty easy for you to say," Ray said with a smirk.

Kai chuckled, then Boris spoke up. "Our first bout in block two of the semifinals will be Aaron from the Barthez Battalion against Ray from the Bladebreakers!"

Ray stood up, walking out to the dish. As he did, he thought back to what Kai said about keeping calm. He knew that his friends was right and that losing his cool would be a bad thing to do, but like Tyson, Ray was also tired of whatever Boris and the others have done while they kidnapped not only team Barthez, but their other friends too.

Shaking his head, the former White Tiger focused on the battle at hand, seeing Aaron across the dish from him just staring at him blankly. It wasn't the angry, more antagonising stare that Miguel gave to Tyson earlier on; this one was much more... empty. It didn't shake Ray's confidence, but it did reassure him as to how important the situation was.

"If looks could kill, then we wouldn't be calling this match!" Brad said from the commentators' booth. "Hello again, folks! I'm Brad Best, and I'm here with AJ Topper, as always! This is the first match to kick-off the second half of the semifinals, and what a showdown we have for you!"

"There's no denying that one, Brad!" AJ replied. "Our bladers today are Ray, one of the quickest and most skilled bladers around! Him and his Driger bit-beast work perfectly together, and are practically inseparable!"

"And his opponent is Aaron from the Barthez Battalion, who is known for his aggression and is arguably his team's toughest blader in terms of just pure grit and work ethic, not to mention his touch as nails Rushing Boar bit-beast!" Brad said. "That just makes the match all the more exciting, especially given the Battalion's absolute domination earlier in the tournament!"

"Let's see the dish!" Boris said as the doors over the bey-dish opened up.

"This one looks interesting!" Brad said.

"Interesting it is!" AJ replied. "This is the castle dish, and while its old-school horror design might appear dated, our bladers still need to be careful in the dish and keep their wits about them!"

"All right bladers, are you ready?" Boris spoke as both bladers prepared their launchers. "3... 2... 1... let it rip!"

"Go for it, Driger!" Ray said as he launched.

Aaron remained silent as he also launched, and both beyblades stayed at a fair distance away from each other in a graveyard-like section of the dish before Aaron made the first move, his Rushing Boar beyblade strafing from side to side as it aimed for Driger.

Ray smirked and retaliated, his Driger beyblade turning and cutting through Rushing Boar's attack, appearing unscathed as it passed by its opponent before it then doubled back, drifting around a corner and hitting Rushing Boar from the side.

"What a move by Ray!" said Brad. "His aggression is really paying off well in these early goings!"

"He's as smart as he is dangerous, Brad!" AJ replied. "He waited, took his opportunity, and then struck back twice as hard!"

"Good move..." Aaron mumbled, just loud enough for Ray to hear him. "But can you dodge this one?"

Before the Bladebreaker could react, Rushing Boar stood its ground against Driger before pushing it back with a short, sharp slam, following that up with a tough grinding battle, the two beyblades pushing hard against each other.

"You're doing pretty well, Ray," said Aaron. "But you're not strong enough to take me out."

"Trust me, I am," Ray replied. "In fact, I'm even stronger against you now than I would be if you weren't some brainwashed freak!"

"What do you mean by that?" Aaron replied, his Rushing Boar beyblade keeping up its offense. "My thoughts are my own! Nobody owns me!"

"You just proved my point!" Ray then sighed, his Driger beyblade pushing back harder. "Is there one original thought in there? Is there one thing going through your mind that isn't being controlled by Barthez?"

"Barthez?" Aaron said, shocked. "He has nothing to do with this!"

"I see what Ray's trying to do," Max said. "But he's got to be careful. I know that he wants to get a rise out of Aaron so that he can try to get through to him quicker, but Ray can't say too much in case we all wind up getting caught out."

"Prove that he's got nothing to do with it!" Ray said. "Whatever's going in your head, I know that you're strong enough to let it go! You could do it the first time, and you can do it now!"

"Nobody's controlling me any more!" Aaron replied. "Nobody is in my head! Why can't you just see that?!"

Before Ray could speak again, his opponent suddenly screamed and fell forward onto his hands and knees, taking a deep breath before standing back up. He looked directly at Ray again, although his look was much more menacing than it was earlier.

"I don't listen to Barthez..." Aaron said coldly. "I don't listen to anybody... and I especially don't listen to traitors like you!"

"Traitor?" Ray said, his beyblade slipping up a bit in the grinding battle. "I'm not a traitor!"

"Oh, really?" Aaron chuckled. "First you left the White Tigers, then when the Bladebreakers were getting back into the swing of things, you left Tyson behind too to rejoin your old team!"

"It was for more than just that!" Ray said. "I did it because I wanted to fight and beat Tyson! I wanted to prove to myself that I was strong enough!"

"And how'd that go?" Aaron grinned. "Oh, that's right. You only beat Lee and Claude."

"I don't like where this is going..." Kai said, worried for his friend.

"And then, after you beat BEGA, you all went your separate ways!" Aaron said. "Explain that one to me, Ray!"

"It was because we thought that the worst was over!" Ray replied, his beyblade carrying his aggression into its grinding battle. "I wanted to spend time with my old friends! Tyson, Kai, Max... everybody understood that, and that's why they all went their separate ways too!"

"It doesn't change the fact that you left them all behind! Face it, Ray! You claim I don't have one original thought in my mind, yet you're the one who's jumped the most teams!" Aaron's Rushing Boar beyblade clashed head-first with Driger. "You're the one who not only left behind a family, but also your current fiancee!"

"Don't you dare bring her into this!" Ray growled. "People like you don't have the right to judge people like me! Sure, I might have left some behind, but they all took me back and they all still care about me!" His eyes suddenly sharpened, appearing more catlike. "And it's that care, that bond, that makes me strong! It's what makes me human, which is more than I can say for you!"

"I am human!" Aaron said, feeling some anger grow at that.

Ray then smirked. "You're one to throw stones too, by the way. First, you let Barthez control you, and the only way that you ever won was by cheating. Sure, you might have only won that way, but at least your actual losses were honourable. And somewhere along the way, you lost that honour again!"

"Then why don't you give me another lesson in honour, turncoat!" Aaron challenged. "Hit me with everything that you've got!"

"Don't do it, Ray!" Tyson said. "He's trying to goad you!"

"He did that the moment that he brought Mariah..." Ray paused, "and the rest of you into this."

"We know that you didn't betray us, Ray," Max said. "I never felt like that when I left to rejoin the All Starz."

"And even though Kai won't admit, I don't think he feels like he betrayed anybody when he went back to the Blitzkrieg Boys," Kenny added.

Ray then chuckled before turning his attention back to Aaron. "You hear that, Aaron? We're a family! Everyone I've ever met, battles with, defeated and lost to... they're all family to me! I thought that you'd be in that family too!"

"Why would I want to be in a family full of betrayers?" Aaron grinned.

"Because you betrayed the sport of beyblading by cheating!" Ray retorted. "And now, I'm going to give you that lesson in honour! Driger, Thunder Slash attack!"

On command, Ray's mighty Driger bit-beast burst forth with a proud roar, beginning its attack as the beyblade itself suddenly became surrounded by green lightning that spun around the edge of it, the beyblade then charging forward as the Driger bit-beast rushed forward in time with the Beyblade, roaring and opening its mouth wide as it prepared for its collision with Rushing Boar.

"You're not the only one with big power, Ray!" Aaron said. "Rushing Boar, Spin Charge attack!"

With that, the Rushing Boar bit-beast rose from its beyblade and let out a loud grunting growl before starting its own attack, dashing forward for Driger and hitting it dead on, colliding with its opponent in an intense grinding battle as the Rushing Boar beyblade felt its opponent's extremely powerful attack start to dig into it.

"Oh my!" Brad said. "It looks like both bladers are looking to finish this here and now!"

"After all of that trash talk earlier, you can't blame them for wanting to end it quickly!" AJ replied.

Both bladers screamed as their attacks kept up, and the bit-beasts clashed against each other high in the stadium, growling at each other and swiping with fang and tusk, claw and hoof, both beasts roaring loudly as they clashed for one final time, causing a large earthquake.

"Whoa, it looks like our bladers' power levels are going off the scale!" said Brad.

"This isn't that kind of fight, Brad!" AJ replied. "It's also the wrong show!"

"My point is, I can't sit straight in my chair! I'll be amazed if either of us will even have chairs after all of this!"

"Stop being so shaky, Brad!" AJ said.

After the earthquake subsided, the dish was left as a pile of rubble, the castle having fallen down and the graveyards absolutely decimated, the miniature tombstones themselves cut in half or just completely obliterated.

"The dish is absolutely kaput!" said Brad. "But I still can't tell which of our warriors is standing!"

Upon closer inspection, after the smoke had finally cleared up, both bit-beasts had disappeared back into their respective beyblades, and Aaron's Rushing Boar blade was still seen spinning where as Driger was on its last legs, eventually spinning in place before it finally gave out, laying on its side as Ray breathed out a loud sigh of exhaustion, almost collapsing on the floor, holding himself up by a hand.

"Ray!" Tyson said, running over to his friend as Boris spoke.

"The match is over. Ray's beyblade has spun to a stop inside the dish!" Boris announced. "This means Aaron wins, and the first win of this semifinal match goes to Barthez Battalion!"

As the crowd cheered at the awesome fight, Ray struggled to stand up, needing some help from Tyson to remain on his feet. Still a little bit wobbly, Ray walked into the dish to grab his beyblade as Aaron walked away, having already called his back.

"Are you okay?" Tyson asked his friend.

Ray nodded. "I'll be fine. My only complaint is that I wasn't fighting the real him."

Tyson smiled. "At least you didn't let his words get to you too much."

"I couldn't," Ray said as he and his friend started walking back to the bench. "I admit, I got really pissed off at all that traitor stuff, but when he brought Mariah into this, I almost lost it..."

"I would have done the same if it was me and Hilary," Tyson replied. "Believe me, I understand that. Obviously, you've known Mariah for a lot longer, but it doesn't suck any less when your opponents start attacking your loved ones."

"Are you saying that because you're worried about Hilary?" Ray asked. "Or because of Hiro?"

Tyson briefly paused. "Maybe both."

The two then made it back to their bench, and as they did, Mariah arrived from the door a few feet away, having run down the corridors to reach Ray, jumping into his arms with a hug and making Tyson chuckle at the contact.

"Are you okay, baby?" Mariah asked, worried for her future husband. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine," Ray smiled, hugging back and kissing Mariah's cheek. "A loss is a loss. It happens to the best of us."

"I got worried that you were going to get overemotional when he started bringing the White Tigers in the mix," Mariah admitted. "But I guess that you're just too strong to fall for it, huh?"

Ray smirked at that. "You think I'm going to let some empty trash talk like that bother me?"

Mariah pecked Ray's lips and smiled. "I think that depends on whether or not you think you really betrayed anybody."

Ray looked towards Tyson and the Bladebreakers, then up to the rest of the White Tigers still in the stands before shaking his head. "I don't ever think that for a second. If it wasn't for all of my choices, then I wouldn't be where I am right now. And I know that I wouldn't have you if it wasn't for those choices."

Mariah smiled and hugged Ray tightly, the white-clad Bladebreaker returning the hug before his pink-haired fiancée turned and ran back up the corridors to find her team, leaving Ray smiling as he sat back down on the bench.

"Now that the two love birds are finished," Boris spoke, "the next battle will be between Mathilda from Barthez Battalion and Kai from the Bladebreakers!"

Kai stood up, speaking. "Don't worry about your loss, Ray. I'll get through to Mathilda. I promise."

"I don't doubt that for a second, buddy," Ray replied.

Kai smirked and continued his walk to the dish, seeing Mathilda standing across from him, staring at him blankly and preparing her beyblade for launch. Kai didn't see any reason to hesitate either, preparing his own launcher.

"Mathilda looks ready to brawl!" Brad said. "This is easily the most serious we've seen her be so far, and that's not even counting her natural skill and Pierce Hedgehog bit-beast!"

"That's not to count out Kai either, Brad!" AJ replied. "He's easily the strongest member of the Bladebreakers, and his Dranzer bit-beast remains one of the most powerful that we've ever seen!"

"Let's see the dish!" Boris announced.

"What do we have this time, AJ?" Brad asked.

"This time around, it's the geyser dish!" replied AJ. "As you can tell from its design, all the little potholes could erupt at any minute, and it's always completely at random, so our bladers had better keep moving, or this could end up badly for them!"

"Bladers, ready?" Boris said. "3... 2... 1... let it rip!"

Both bladers launched at the same time, neither saying a word as their beyblades worked their ways around the geysers to clash into each other, both backing away from each other by mere inches before clashing again, staying in a harsh grinding battle.

"What's the deal, Mathilda?" asked Kai. "Why are you under Barthez's control again?"

"I'm under my own control," Mathilda replied, her Pierce Hedgehog beyblade slamming hard into Dranzer.

"Oh, so it's Boris then," Kai said, hoping that his words were loud enough for his former mentor to hear them. "He's behind all this, isn't he?"

As both beyblades backed off from their grinding attack, they both landed several feet away from each other, and just as Dranzer found its footing, a geyser underneath it activated, sending a huge gush up and causing Dranzer to fly upwards.

"Whoa, Kai needs to be more careful!" Brad said. "If that was a second sooner when he was still wobbly, Dranzer could have very well been flung out of the dish!"

"It's a good thing that Kai is known for his resilience!" AJ replied. "He's always been good at getting back up on his feet after taking a nasty blow!"

"Mathilda, I need you to listen to me!" Kai said. "You need to stop letting Boris control you! Him, Barthez, Doctor K... whoever is behind all of this, they don't care about you! They don't care about your team!"

"But you do?" Mathilda replied, her blade clashing hard with Dranzer. "I'm not going to take advice from the person who left his own team just so he could not only achieve a higher power, but almost got rid of his own bit-beast while doing it!"

"That wasn't my choice..." Kai said. "Voltaire still had control over me, and he used Boris to get to me!" Another geyser burst erupted, just narrowly missing Dranzer's side and causing it to stumble a bit before clashing weakly against Pierce Hedgehog. "But you don't have to fall for the same tricks! You don't have to be shut down by the same things that got me too!"

"I'm not being shut down! Barthez always cared about me!" Mathilda said, her eyes widening.

"Let me get this straight," Kai said. "The man who abused you and your team both physically and mentally, the man who used you to spread slander about other teams that you never hated in the first place... you're just going straight back to him? You're letting him control you again?"

"He's not controlling me!" Mathilda said, putting her hands on her head.

"I can practically hear him in your ears right now, Mathilda!" Kai spoke more. "You're still listening to him! You and your team are all still obeying him!"

"That's not true..." Mathilda replied. "Nobody is obeying anybody! He's just our coach!"

"And your puppeteer too," Kai growled. "And I'm sorry, but I've got to cut the strings, Mathilda." He then closed his eyes. "Please, forgive me..."

Kai then silently willed his Dranzer beyblade to retreat, spinning back towards its owner. Seeing it as Kai quitting, Mathilda sent Pierce Hedgehog to attack Dranzer, slipping behind it and attacking with quick pushes, forcing the phoenix beyblade back into the dish.

"You're not going anywhere..." Mathilda said.

Kai smirked. "I wasn't planning on it..."

Before Mathilda could reply, a geyser erupted under Pierce Hedgehog, causing it to float up in the air for a little while before landing back down, wobbling on its tip as it landed. But before it could recover, Dranzer slammed right into Pierce Hedgehog, not giving any remorse.

"Looks like Kai's playing it pretty rough down there!" said Brad. "I know that he's not in too much danger, but he could try taking it easy!"

"I don't think that those three words are in his vocabulary, Brad!" AJ replied. "When Kai gets mad, he can get pretty brutal, and owing to some of the things that Mathilda said earlier, it wouldn't surprise me if some of it got to him!"

"Did I hit a nerve earlier, Kai?" Mathilda asked with a grin, despite her beyblade being attacked.

Kai grunted. "You know, I've had just about enough of blading with you. You're right; I did try to leave earlier. Do you know why?"

"Because you know that I'm going to win?"

"No." Kai smiled. "It's because I wasn't facing the Mathilda I know. I'm still not. The sooner I beat you, the sooner I can hopefully finally beat some sense into that flushed-out brain of yours."

"So, you won't even try?" Mathilda asked, feeling her resolve starting to slip. "Even if it means losing the tournament?"

"If I can't get through to you, then what's the point?" Kai said.

Mathilda's expression softened slightly, and she shook her head. "I... I can't..."

'Come on...' Kai said in his mind. 'Please, open your eyes, Mathilda. Let me know that you're in there. Let me know that you're listening.'

"I... I won't..."

Mathilda's eyes then closed as she reached behind her, touching the back of her neck and feeling something there. But before she could do anything about it, her body jerked as her eyes rolled back and she fell forward, her beyblade also losing its balance.

Kai instantly jumped in as well, saving Mathilda from the rest of the fall. He helped her back up onto her feet, the sound of his own beyblade spinning to a stop a mere drop in the water as he looked at Mathilda.

"Please tell me that got through to you..." he said.

But instead of the answer that he was hoping for, Kai was instead pushed away with a grunt. Before he could apologise, Mathilda had already picked up her beyblade and walked out of the dish.

"Wait!" Kai called.

"Wait for what? I lost," Mathilda said, her more controlled self appearing again. "Congratulations. Go celebrate with your team."

Kai shook his head at her heavy sarcasm, picking up his own blade and jumping out of the dish, walking back over to his bench and peeking behind him to briefly glance again at Mathilda as Boris spoke.

"While both blades fell, Mathilda's fell first. As a result, Kai wins, and the Bladebreakers take the second win of the semifinal match!"

"Are you okay, Kai?" Tyson asked as his friend sat down.

"I'll be fine," Kai replied. "I won, didn't I?"

Kenny frowned a bit, feeling sorry for his friend. "Dizzi, did you catch anything important there?"

"I think that I got some camera footage of the fight. Would you like to look at it now?" Dizzi replied.

"No. Save it for later."

"You got it, Chief."

Tyson laid back a bit. "I just wonder what's next..."

Boris smiled as he spoke. "The next match up will be Tyson from the Bladebreakers against Miguel from Barthez Battalion!"

"You had to ask..." Max joked.

Before Tyson stood up, he turned to Kai. "Don't worry about Mathilda, okay? We'll end this. I promise."

The blue-haired blader nodded with a smile, sharing a fist-bump with his friend. Tyson then stood up and walked out to the dish, Miguel soon joining him on the opposite side, smiling at Tyson, whose only reply was a glare and a smile of his own as he readied himself for what might just be the toughest battle of his life.

And that does it for another one of these! I hope that you all enjoyed it, because I had a lot of fun writing it. Oh, and I'd like to wish a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all my American/Canadian pals out there. I hope to see you all in the next chapter. Stay tuned.