A bit of a shorter one this time

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Chapter Sixteen: On the Road to Victory

Muscles burning, lungs aching, head spinning. But still he had to run. He was lost in a dark forest, running in an aimless direction, desperately trying to escape from whatever it was that was hounding him. But it didn't matter how fast he ran – the creature was everywhere, observing his every movement.

He continued running straight, but he didn't manage to cover a lot of ground before falling flat on his face. With a groan, he looked down and noticed his foot had caught the end of a root. Grunting, he forced himself up and spared a glance behind his shoulder. Dark. So dark. It was like being in his room with all, but one light switched off.

[You think you can run? There is no escape.]

Brooklyn tried to block out the voice inside his mind. He had to get out of this nightmare and find his way back to the light. He didn't want to be trapped in this mental prison of which he believed he had escaped months ago, but he could see no exits. Was this his fate? To be trapped inside this place forever running from a thing he could not see?

[You're afraid of the dark… Afraid of the darkness that surrounds you.]

He came to an abrupt stop. It wasn't my choice, but his legs refused to move. Then there was implosion of pain near his lungs. With a gasp, he dropped to his knees. He tried to breathe in, but it was as if his lungs stopped functioning. Hunched over on the ground, he gasped for air, desperately clawing at the dirt as if that would somehow help.

"What… what do you want from me?" he managed to speak in between ragged breaths.

[You're loyalty. You're one of the rare few who I can communicate with. I don't suppose you're the holder of Zeus? Don't look so surprised – I know where my children are always. How else do you think you were able to create another dimension? I want to thank you, Brooklyn. You along with Black Dranzer and Cerberus helped to weaken the seal allowing me to break free of my chains. What? Still surprised?]

Seal? Brooklyn didn't know what this creature was talking about. What seal? Gate? Black Dranzer? Chains? It all sounded like some horror fantasy movie. His lungs started to function again to his great relief. "I don't understand."

[Black Dranzer, Cerberus and Zeus are the three seals to my cage. The Fallen Phoenix, The Hound of Chaos, and The King of Darkness. By activating your powers, you released energy back into the world… allowing me to break free. Of course, if it weren't for the curious nature of you humans, I'd still be locked behind the Gate, but they freed me. I want to thank you.]

"I don't want anything from you."

[Ultimate power? To be the strongest blader on the planet?]

"No. Not anymore."

[Don't you want revenge on those who bested who? What about Kai?]

"That's in the past. Tyson helped me understand things better."

[You can't ever escape your past, Brooklyn. The darkness you think you left behind is a part of who you are. You can't ever escape from that no matter how hard you try.]

Brooklyn forced himself up. "I am no one's slave!" he spat.

[Are you defying me, the one who gave you a taste of true power?]

Zeus, a part of the Leviathan? No. It couldn't be... But how else could he explain his bitbeast's immense power? "I don't want it. I don't need it. That part of my life is over." He didn't have anything to prove to anyone anymore. Tyson beat him fair and square and Kai had triumphed over him. All that mattered now was keeping his teammates together and trying to get into a comfortable financial position.

There was a sigh. [You disappoint me, Brooklyn. Never mind. I will always be here should you have need of me.]

The vision ended, and Brooklyn found himself still in his room. Thankfully, his teammates weren't around. Most likely they were downstairs talking about him. Sitting upright, he turned to his blade, and curled his fingers around it. Strangely, the blade was warm to his touch. The Leviathan bitbeast had spoken to him. The connection with Zeus allowed it to happen. The beast had said he had been freed which explained why the visions were powerful enough to bring him to his knees in pain.

He picked the blade up and looked down at the bitchip. With the Leviathan freed Zeus was too dangerous to use. Powerful, yes, but unpredictable. If he used him in battle again what would happen? Would he faint again? Or worse, would he die? It was too much of a risk to take. "I'm sorry Zeus… But I can't take the risk." He removed the bitchip from the blade severing the connection temporarily. He then stashed the bitchip in a small box and hid it. If he kept his distance from the bitchip then the Leviathan wouldn't be able to reach out to him. At least he hoped not.

He picked up his blade and put it in his pocket then made his way downstairs, closing his bedroom door behind him. He headed downstairs and spotted his teammates talking to… Crusher? Monica was also there. Huh. A surprise visit. "Crusher, Monica, pleasure to see you both in good health," Brooklyn greeted, sauntering over.

"Are you feeling all right, Brooklyn?" Ming Ming said.

He nodded. "I'm fine. Just a migraine."

Ming Ming didn't seem convinced, but she didn't push the topic. Crusher smiled. "It's been awhile since I last saw you so I figured I should fly over and catch up on the latest news. Monica wanted to come as well." He gave his sister a smile and held her close. She smiled back. "Where is Mystel?"

"He's flown over to Australia to chase after a girl," Brooklyn said. "Mariah, you know, that girl from the White Tiger team."

"That's strange. I thought he had left Bega to join with the Bai Hu Clan," said Crusher.

So, the Bai Hu Clan had caught up with Mystel after all. Most likely they had forced him into joining with them for the tournament. He should've done more to stop Mystel from travelling by himself, but Bryan had stopped him.

Before he could speak, Garland spoke. "The Bai Hu Clan?"

"They're one of the new teams… Don't you watch the news?" Crusher said.

"We're not competing so we don't pay attention," Brooklyn answered. "But how do you know he joined?"

"The opening ceremony was yesterday. It was broadcasted on global television." Crusher was still frowning. He was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact they didn't keep up to date with the sporting world. "He's an official member along with a woman called Dohna, and two men called Kevlin and Master Li."

Rubbing his temples, Garland said, "So he left us. His excuse to chase after Mariah was just a reason to abandon us and like fools, we let him go. I should've known he was up to something when he kept looking at his phone."

"Mystel isn't a traitor," Ming Ming said. "Why would he leave us like this?"

"Why else? To further his ambition," Garland answered. "His reasons for joining were unknown to all of us. His background is a complete mystery. He probably joined with us because he thought he could make a name for himself."

"You've got it all wrong," Brooklyn said intervening before the conversation took a turn for the worse. "Mystel didn't betray us by choice. I was there when he encountered the Bai Hu Clan a few weeks back. Words were exchanged and a battle took place. Fortunately, I was there to help even the playing field. Their bitbeasts are old. Prehistoric. Mystel says they're an old clan who invented the 360 attack that he is known for."

Garland withdrew his hand. Poor guy looked stressed. So much had happened in the past seventy-two hours – Mystel departing, the disastrous dinner, and of course, his very own fainting spell. "Why did he not mention it?"

"I suppose he thought they would never come back for him, but here they are." He ran a hand through his hair. "I suspect their intentions for him aren't good. Mystel left them when he shouldn't have, and you know what these tribal people are like. They don't take 'moving on' well at all."

"We have to help him," Ming Ming said.

"That's nice of you Ming Ming, but how are we going to afford for all of us to fly over?" Brooklyn countered.

Garland looked at Brooklyn. "We can't forget to mention you're not in peak shape yourself."

He would have to bring that up. "Look, I'm fine now, all right? What happened is in the past."

"What happened to Brooklyn?" Crusher said.

Great, Brooklyn thought sourly. Let's have a round of twenty-one questions. "Like I said before – just a migraine."

"You collapsed on the ground screaming in pain and Zeus was out of control," Garland stated bluntly. "That doesn't sound like a 'migraine' to me. I know you want to travel and help, but health is far more important. You can't expect to beybattle when you're fainting."

"You need me on your side," Brooklyn retorted. "I'm the strongest blader on this team. You're going to need my power when we take on the Bai Hu Clan ourselves. I've seen a glimpse of their bitbeasts – prehistoric. Older than yours. Much older."

"Seems like I've missed out on a great deal then," Crusher said.

"I'm going to be fine, all right? I know what the problem is, and I've dealt with it. It won't happen again," Brooklyn explained, hoping the others would understand. To further convince them, he dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out his blade. "I removed the bitchip. There's something wrong with Zeus. If he's not in his blade, then the visions can't affect me because that's how the power is released – through the blade."

Ming Ming looked at him an eyebrow raised. "You're going to fight without Zeus?"

"How does that help us?" Garland said. "I'm not denying you're the strongest blader on this team, but without Zeus… without a bitbeast… how do you expect to survive?"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. I didn't always have Zeus at my side, and I was still leagues above the rest of my peers. Benefits of being naturally gifted," he said with a shrug. "What matters is that we need to get to Mystel before the Bai Hu Clan get enact their little revenge scheme."

"We don't have the funds."

Fair point. That was a problem. "Maybe we can compete in some local event and win some prize money," Brooklyn said.

Garland shook his head. "There aren't any kickboxing tournaments now either."

"We're banned, aren't we? That's just great."

"We have funds leftover from the charity," Crusher said. "We could use those funds to send you lot over."

Monica nodded. "Yeah. Bega helped me – now it's time to return to the favour."

"We can't do that. That's your money for your recovery," said Ming Ming. Trust Ming Ming to turn down the offer.

"If your friend is in trouble then you should be there to help," Monica said. "I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Bega. I can't help you directly, but I can send you over." She looked up at her older brother for some support. He nodded.

"Monica is right. I would come with you, but I can't leave my sister's side. You three need to go over and do what is right," Crusher said. "We'll be waiting for you back at home."

Garland looked hesitant, but he nodded. "Thanks Crusher. We really appreciate it, and we'll find a way to make it up to you. Stay safe."

"Don't thank me. We're a team. We look after each other. Now why don't you lot pack your bags and I'll transfer the funds and get the flights sorted."

Brooklyn didn't need to be told twice.

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The time had come to take to the stadium and blade for the right to qualify. Their opponent would be Spintensity which was made up of Luiz, Frankie, and Mario. They didn't have bitbeasts and therefore should be easy to knock out of the qualifying rounds. The All-Starz were due to fight against the Charming Princes straight after whilst the Majestics and the Demolition Boys would fight tomorrow.

Kai led his teammates out onto the stadium floor. The crowd was packed – he couldn't spot a single spare seat left. Suncorp was said to have a capacity of just over fifty thousand. Incredible that there were over fifty thousand fans keen to see them blade against a bunch of amateurs. "Sold out crowd," Max commented, looking around the venue. "Amazing."

"Just ignore them." When the battles started, the cries of the excited fans became non-existent.

"I'm worried about Kenny," said Max, casting a glance in Kenny's direction. The youngest member of the team had paled significantly. "He's pretty nervous about battling today. He feels we're a little undercooked so to speak."

Under-prepared. Kenny had a point – they hadn't managed to get a lot of practice in. The plan to train at the public park in South Bank hadn't exactly worked out thanks to fans trying to get autographs every couple of seconds. "We're just going to have to use this as a training match. We've beaten them before… Besides, they don't have bitbeasts. How challenging can they be?"

"They might be amateurs, but I'd keep an eye open for surprises. So… are you going first?"

Kai shook his head. "You're up first, Max. More than half of the people in this crowd didn't think we'd ever blade again – let's set the standard and show them we're taking this competition seriously. Kenny will go next – it doesn't matter if he loses. I'll win my round and we'll go through even with one loss."

Max nodded. "All right. Plan sounds solid. I hope Kenny doesn't faint halfway through."

"We'll keep him in line. Now go. Win this match."

Max started making his way over towards the stadium dish as DJ Jazzman called out his name. The announcer was just as energetic as ever constantly screaming into the microphone and encouraging the audience to cheer as loudly as they could. Kai looked forward to some peace and quiet. He was surely going to need it.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first official match of the qualifying rounds!" DJ Jazzman shouted into the microphone. His words were greeted with thunderous applause. "First up we have the Avengers blading against Spintensity! Straight after this, the PBB All-Starz will take on the Charming Princes! Tomorrow, the Demolition Boys and Majestics will do battle against the Spin Shephards and the Blade Sharks! Let me hear you give these bladers a round of applause as they begin their journeys to become the champions of 2016!"

Again, the crowd cheered. Kai had to give the man some credit – he sure knew how to work a crowd. He turned back to the bench. Tyson and Rei had decided to skip this match to focus their efforts on training. Of course, they had been reluctant, but both had given in eventually, knowing every opportunity to train should not be skipped.

"First up we have Max from the Avengers blading against Luiz of Spintensity! Long term fans may remember these two teams did battle during the early stages of the American Tournament! Who will emerge victorious today? Don't blink or you'll miss out! Bladers, please approach your positions! You'll be battling in the Standard Bowl today."

Kai and Kenny retreated to the bench as Max walked up the stairs. Kenny sat down and pulled out his laptop and began to load the stadium's streaming service. All battles were being broadcasted on global television offering the best camera angles of all the action. Battles were also available to be downloaded by competing teams for study purposes. Kenny also brought up Max's stats screen.

"Three… two… one… Let it Rip!" Jazzman cried out jumping into the air to perform a throwdown. The crowd surged to their feet. Kai sat down next to Kenny and watched the action taking place. He pulled out some earplugs and stuck them in to drown out DJ's annoying commentary. Max's launch had been a little wobbly, but Draciel landed without fault. Thankfully, it was just a plain bowl or there might've been a few problems.

"His launch wasn't straight," Kenny noted, moving his cursor over to Max's stats. "But his energy levels are sound. Dizzi can't pick up anything that would raise a red flag." To further analyse a blader's performance, wristbands were worn that calculated blood pressure levels. The information was then fed back to the blader performance database which Kenny then used to create his own stats comparison chart.

"Max will be fine. Luiz doesn't have the advantage of having a bowl designed to his talents." He turned his attention back to the battle. Luiz's blade was attacking Draciel from all directions, giving the blade an absolute hammering. Fortunately, Draciel was quite the formidable bitbeast and none of Luiz's attacks were doing much damage. "I just can't grasp why bladers without bitbeasts even bother competing in these big tournaments. They know they don't stand a chance so why bother?"

"Exposure, Kai. The experience too. How many bladers ever make it to this level?"

He rolled his eyes. Of course. Still, it would save a lot of time if non-bitbeast owners weren't allowed to compete in such an important event. "Luiz is in way over his head. His blade is already starting to weaken," Kai noted. Secretly, he was glad. Dranzer was itching for a fight. "Finish him off, Max! Don't hold back!"

The battle went on for a few more moments when Max finally went in for the final blow. Draciel rammed into Luiz's blade and pushed it back until it was knocked out of the dish. An effortless victory. Kai removed his earplugs for a moment.

"…and victory goes to Max of the Avengers!"

Max jogged over, a wide smile across his face. "Draciel and I were on fire!" He then glanced down at Kenny. "So, how did it go, Kai? How am I looking?"

"Your launch was weak," Kai interjected. "If the dish hadn't been a standard one, you would've lost some balance and your blade would be the one sitting out of the dish." He drew in a deep breath and exhaled. "... But I know this won't happen again. First major battle of the year after months of nothing."

Max's smile didn't fade. "Understood Kai. It won't happen again."

"Now it's time for round two! Kenny of the Avengers will blade against Mario of Spintensity!"

Kenny's face was ashen pale at this point. Even his knuckles had turned white. "Come on, Kenny. No time to get cold feet now. This isn't the first time you've bladed before a big crowd," Kai said, trying to provide some form of encouragement in his usual Kai-like way.

"You'll do fine, Kenny," Max added, throwing a fist in the air. "You've bladed against the likes of Tala. Mario isn't on the same level." He patted him on the back.

Folding his arms across his chest, Kai added, "Even if you lose, we're guaranteed to go through. I will win my match. Just go out there and play your role. You only need to blade one match now. You can even throw in the match if you're really that worried – just make a weak launch."

Max lifted a brow. "That's bending the rules a bit."

"I've done it before against Daichi. There's no law that says you can't."

"Would Kenny of the Avengers please step up to the dish? You have sixty seconds."

Kai gave Kenny a gentle shove. "Go. Your laptop will be fine."

The boy nodded and hurried up towards the dish. Kai was amazed that he didn't trip over himself in the process. "Thanks for joining us Kenny," DJ Jazzman said. Kenny's face flushed red. The announcer threw his hands up in the air. "Bladers, are you ready? Three… Two… One… Let it Rip!" Again, he made another throwdown.

Kenny launched his blade. Immediately, Hopper was pushed back. "Come on, Hopper! Go!" Mario's blade made a dash for Hopper, but Kenny's blade activated its special ability and hopped out of the way. So, Kenny still had the spring attached. Why he didn't remove that Kai did not know. How could he ever win if he never attacked?

"Attack!" Mario said, thrusting a finger forward.

"Oh no, Hopper! Dodge!" Hopper's jump ability might look like a good idea on paper, but it made him more vulnerable. Every time he landed there was a short delay which gave the opponent an opportunity to strike when he was at his most vulnerable. Like now. Within seconds, Kenny's blade was knocked out of the dish. A pitiful performance, really, but Kenny wasn't a blader.

"…And the victory goes to Mario of Spintensity! We are all now wrapped up at one all! The victor of the final round will determine who goes on further!"

Kenny picked up his blade and returned to the stands. "It's all right, Kenny," Max said. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Kai will win."

"I know." He sat down on the bench and placed his laptop on his knees. Kai wasn't sure what thoughts were running through his head, but he couldn't just hang around and make the guy feel better. One, he had a battle to win. Secondly, making people feel good about themselves wasn't one of his strengths. He'd leave that to Max.

He walked up to the dish. Fans called out his name. Some people even had signs, many of them which were quite embarrassing. "Marry me Kai," and "I love you!" were just some of the signs people had brought along. Pushing the signs out of his head, he took his position and pulled out his blade, cord, and launcher.

"And the final round will take place between Kai of the Avengers and Frankie of Spintensity! We're in for a thrilling match, boys and girls!"

"Just get on with it," Kai said.

DJ frowned then nodded. "Bladers, are you ready? Three… Two… One… Let it rip!"

The stadium erupted into frantic cheers as he released his Dranzer. He suspected most of them were calling out their praise for him. Ugh. Fans. "Dranzer! Show no mercy! End this quickly!" Kai ordered. Dranzer responded by glowing however she didn't emerge from the blade. It was just to show she was listening. "Attack!"

"This has to be the first time you've battled against a girl, yeah?" Frankie said. She ordered her blade to evade Kai's dash. Kai grunted. That's right. Frankie was an agility based blader, like Rei. "I have to say, I'm honoured. Go! Attack!" Her blade sped forwards towards Dranzer.

"I'll let my blade do the talking," Kai said, ignoring her comment. "Dranzer, attack!" Dranzer pulled back up the slope then sped down, ramming into Frankie's purple blade. Her blade was pushed back to the centre of the dish.

"What? Are you afraid of engaging in conversation with a girl?"

Did she talk this much when she battled Rei? Did all females talk this much? No wonder he never bladed against females. "Don't take it personally, but I don't like conversing with amateurs. You shouldn't even be in this competition. Without a bitbeast of your own, how do you think you'll even advance?"

This was just a waste of his time. It didn't help DJ was screaming into a microphone over exaggerating every movement for dramatic purposes. Frankie ordered her blade to retreat then strike again, this time from a different angle. She had some skill – that he could grudgingly admit – the way she was able to make those sharp turns on command without fail was impressive. However, that wouldn't be enough to win her the match.

"…and Frankie's blade is chasing after Dranzer like a cat chasing a mouse! This is highly unusual from Kai. What game is he playing?"

Launch. Steady. Rotation. Good. Speed. Decent. Power. Solid. A little rusty, but that would be fixed by the next battle. Now it was time to end it. "I've had enough of your game, Frankie. Maybe if you had a bitbeast of your own, this battle might be competitive, but your journey ends here. Finish it, Dranzer!" Dranzer counter-attacked, forcing Frankie's blade to the opposite rim of the dish.

"Hold on!"

"…Kai has just joined the game, folks! He's pushing back Frankie's blade!"

"Now, final attack, Dranzer!" Dranzer gave one final push and it was all over for Frankie. Too easy, but what else could he expect from a bunch of amateurs? Frankie dropped to her knees as Kai recalled his blade. "It's not your fault," Kai said, putting his blade away. "Blame the organizers for matching you against us. There was never going to be a chance."

"…And Kai has just defeated Frankie! Kai's victory brings the Avengers to two points out of three meaning they will be the first team to advance!"

Kai walked down the stairs and re-joined his teammates. Max raised a hand to give him a high-five, but Kai didn't return it. Max settled for a thumbs up instead. "Good work, Kai. I knew you were going to win."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We won against amateurs. It's highly likely we'll be facing off against the Majestics in our opening match and that won't be so simple." Now the real fight began - a battle of the best blading against each other in a journey to become number one. The point system of last year had been scrapped in favour of the traditional tournament format. "Right."

"They were late for the tournament too. They'll be exhausted from the plane flight," Kenny said.

"The Majestics start their journey tonight. I take it you're going to watch?"

Kai nodded. "Of course. We must learn all we can. But I'm going to get Tyson and Rei first."

"I'll grab a seat then," Kenny said.

"And I'll get the popcorn," said Max.

"Grab me a coke while you're at it," Kai added just before Max left.

Max flashed him the thumbs up. "On it, Kai. See you soon."

With that said Kai turned his back and headed back towards the training room. Hopefully, Rei and Tyson managed to get a few hours of practice in because the match against the Majestics was not going to be so easily won.