Miles and Cloud walked back to the group after their discussion.

"Everything alright, guys?" Shawn asked.

"Uh, yeah, or course!!!" Miles replied.

The eight got their beys ready.

3! 2! 1! GO SHOOT!!!

All eight landed in the arena, each person going after another...

Orojya went after Phoenix,

L-Drago went after L-Drago,

Corona went after Byxis,

and Pegasis went after Eagle!

All eight beys were colliding nonstop with each other.

"Go Pegasis, Wing Starbreaker!!!!!" Miles shouts.

"The attack lands a direct hit to Eagle, but it doesn't budge an inch.

"Nice try..." Shawn replies. "Now it's my turn! Eagle, Twin Turbo Smash!!!"

Eagle flies up and also lands a direct hit on Pegasis, but it doesn't move either!! Then, the rest of the two teams got involved.

"Corona, Rainbow Gemstone!!!"

"Orojya, Orojya Spear!!!"

"L-Drago, Dragon Fire Rampage!!!!"

The three special moves charge together towards Eagle.

"Byxis, Ultimate Destiny Destroyer!!!!"

"L-Drago, Ultimate Roaring Dragon Blast!!!"

"Phoenix, Burning Firestrike!!!"

All three of those special moves charge at Pegasis. All Land, but still, not a bit of weakness from either of the two beys. Miles and Shawn look at each other, then look to the sky. They have the same idea. Both beys jump into the air.

"EAGLE, MEGA TORNADO BLASTER!!!"

"PEGASIS, OMEGA STAR NOVA!!!"

Both beys collide in an explosion of epic proportions. The smoke and the explosion knocks all eight of the bladers off their feet. When they get up, a giant smoke cloud is in the stadium. Pegasis is on the ground beside Miles. Eagle is by Shawn's feet. Orojya and L-Drago had been slung to the bench beside them, and Phoenix and the other L-Drago were dropped from the sky...

"Wait..." Miles said. "One...two...three... Pegasis...Orojya...L-Drago... Where's Corona???"

"Same with me!" Shawn says. "Where's Byxis???"

The smoke cloud clears, and both beys are wobbling, out of energy. It would come down to which bey had more good spirit left in them.

Then, one of the beys trip and fall...

It was Byxis...

Devin falls to his knees in astonishment. "YEAH!!!" He yells to the sky, raising his fists in victory. His friends surrounded him and gave him a big group hug.

Devin then hopped up and walked over to Alfred. He held out his hand. "That was a hell of a match!!" Devin said. "Good job!"

Alfred smiled and took his hand.

"Good luck, guys..." Shawn replied. "We've been in the situation you're in before. I know you guys can do the same thing we did... We'll be in the stands, watching and cheering for you.

Then the bracket popped up on screen:

SEMIFINALS

1: RUSSIA VS 5: JAPAN
3: ANTARCTICA VS 2: EC USA

"Cool! Antarctica!!!" Bri said, and they walked over to their stadium.

"No need to introduce yourselves, guys! We know who you are!" the captain said. "I'm Kei Hollins, and my bey, MF Quetzalcoatl 90WF! That's Jeremy Yang, and he uses Meteo L-Drago DF105LRF! That's Richard Dyson, and he uses Wing Pegasis S130RB! Lastly, that's our sub, Richard's brother, Derek! He uses Jade Jupiter S130RB!"

"Cool!!" Miles said happily.

"Why don't we get another free-for all started?" Jeremy asked.

"Sure!!" Cloud replied, and all eight readied their beys.

3! 2! 1! GO SHOOT!!!

As the eight beys landed, all started circling in unison, waiting for each other to strike. After several rotations, the unison was broken.

Jupiter burst and charged after Corona. Soon enough, everyone was fighting each other.

"Come on, Quetz!!" Kei commanded. Quetzalcoatl charged right at Pegasis.

"Block it, Pegasis!!!" Miles shouted. Pegasis did block it, but was sent back several feet to the wall.

"What the?" Miles said, intrigued, "How can such a light bey do that much attacking?"

"That's a secret for me to know and for you to find out!" Kei replied.

Cloud was able to get the KO's started quickly after that phrase.

"Orojya Spear!!!" he shouted, and Orojya clashed right onto Richard's Pegasis, KO-ing it instantly.

Devin followed up in the action by dodging Jupiter's charge at the edge, causing Jupiter to self-KO.

Jeremy wouldn't let it go unanswered as he released his Special Move.

"Giga Drained Power!!!" he yelled, and the attack landed directly on Orojya and Corona, KO-ing them both.

It was now 2 VS 2, Pegasis and L-Drago, against Quetzalcoatl and L-Drago Absorb.

"Go Pegasis!!!" Miles commanded, and Pegasis charged at Quetz.

However, at the last second, he changed direction, and tackled right into L-Drago Absorb!

"Huh?" Kei said, confused.

"Go, Bri! Take him down!!!" Miles yelled.

"Okay then!!" she replied. "Special Move, L-Drago! Burning Fire Rampage!!!"

Kei had no time to prepare for the attack as he got smashed right on the facebolt, sending it flying.

"Yes!" Bri shouted in victory.

"It's not over yet, though..." Jeremy rang in.

She turned to see Pegasis has stopped spinning, and L-Drago Absorb was still spinning.

"Hmph!" she blurted out. "Let's go!"

"L-Drago, Giga Drained Power!!!" Jeremy commanded, and It charged straight for L-Drago.

"Flip!" Bri said, and with perfect timing, L-Drago flipped and changed the direction of L-Drago Absorb, sending it to a self-KO.

Bri jumped up and down in excitement. She hugged Miles...

"Great job, baby..." Miles said softly to her. "You did amazing..."

"Thank you..." she replied.

Jeremy picked up his bey and nodded. They then exited.

All four of the friends regained their seriousness and looked at the screen to see that it indeed was official:

FINALS!!!

1: RUSSIA VS 2: EC USA

"It's time, guys..." Miles said. "We need to prepare..."

The DJ gave both teams were each given eight hours to think, train, of do anything else before the finals.

As soon as they walked out the door, Miles received a call. It was from Dan Wheldon, the British Captain.

"Hello?" Miles answered.

"Miles, you and your team need to come to the hospital, NOW!!!" Several of the teams' captains have been injured, and me and the doctors need your guys' help!!!"

"Oh my god!! We're on the way there!!!" Miles hung up and the four ran for the hospital.

Once they arrived, they saw twelve different beds, all carrying a team captain and a ripped flag.

Bri and Devin ran to take care of some of the more severe cases.

"Miles, thank god you're here!!" Dan said, running to them. He was unharmed, except a small bandage on his face...

"Dan!" Miles replied. "What happened?!?!"

"Ambush..." he replied. "The other thirteen captains told me they were all individually ambushed by a Russian member..."

"Was it R-Dev? The captain?" Miles urged.

"No, he was nowhere to be found after he won over Japan. It was that Diablo beyblade. I know that blader's name..."

"What is it? What is his name??" Miles asked.

"Ivan Braginski. I fought him last year for Britain the year before the US team won. He was vicious. He was defeated last year by the other US team, and he made the team again, and boy, is he pissed!!! He even ambushed me! I was able to fight him off and escape, but these captains weren't so lucky..."

He was interrupted when Kei Hollins, the Antarctic captain they had face just minutes ago, came in on a stretcher with a giant gash on his left leg as the thirteenth patient.

"There's another one!" Dan said, rolling Kei into place.

Cloud then realized. He looked at each blader, each revealing the story of what happened through a flashback.

He looked at Dark Devin, the German captain. Dark was trying to explain to Ivan about their friendship, but Ivan fired his bey and took him out with a hit to the head.

He then looked at Argo Manuel, the Caribbean captain. Argo was trying to beg his way out, but Ivan had no mercy as he turned the fight physical by punching and kicking Argo on the ground.

It was an even more shocking story when he looked at the rivals from last tournament.

CD Collins, representing France, was backing away from R-Dev, asking what had happened to him and their alliance. R-Dev slugged him across the face and stomped his chest. He walked away, leaving him...

Then Gerrard-Asela Walton, for Ireland, going insane when R-Dev punched him. He fought back, but was outsmarted and thrown into a concrete wall, injuring his arm.

He then looked at Dan, seeing he was approached by both R-Dev and Ivan. The three launched their beys. He saw Dan get the nick on his face and run away.

The thoughts were running through Cloud's mind as he heard laughing and screams of terror.

"Uh, Cloud...?" Dan said, waving his hand in front of Cloud's blank stare.

"Cloud?" Miles asked, poking him.

Cloud stumbled. His eyes rolled back, and he face-planted on the hard tile floor, as the fourteenth patient...

I felt myself hit the floor. I could then feel my senses slipping away from my body. I couldn't tell if I was dying or not. I then entered A black "area" inside my mind. I was walking through it.

"How did I get here?" I asked myself. The question echoed around the blackness.

Then some purple began to rise from the blackness.

"Hello Cloud..." a voice said.

I recognized that voice from anywhere...

"Ivan!!!" I shouted. "What are you doing in here?"

He snickered. "I thought I'd give you another chance to "remember" the past..."

Thick strands of purple charged at me, planting my feet to what I believe was the floor, and constraining my arms. I looked in front of me as static appeared. I thought it looked like a TV at first, but no, it was...my memories...

"How dare you delve into my mind!?!" I shouted angrily. "These are my thoughts!!!" I tried to put them away, but they wouldn't go...

"Silly Cloud..." Ivan said, still unseen. "I have control of your mind now. If I wanted, I could even take control of your body. But...I'm going to save that for a more "fitting" time."

I then focused on the static as it cleared up. It was of me and Ivan running along the streets of Moscow. I was 7, half of my age now. Ivan was 8, and I couldn't remember how much younger he was than now...

We were playing tag, and he had caught me.

"You're it!" Ivan said, in the memory.

"Heh...heh..." I said. "Gimme a minute to catch my breath..."

"You're such a fun friend, Cloud!" Ivan said.

"You too!" I said. "I promise I'll never betray you!"

As we hugged, the memory faded.

"You and I were great friends, Cloud..." Ivan told me. "Even when we got our first beyblades."

As another memory popped up, I noticed the beys. I had my Shinobi Orojya S130MB at that time, and he had Diablo Pegasis WD145D. We were both 10 at the time. We were battling side by side in every match, and we won several tag team tournaments. The memory faded again.

"You and I were unseperable, until your 11th birthday..." Ivan said, pulling out the last memory.

"But, Cloud!!!" Ivan said in the memory. "What about us being partners, friends?!?!?!"

"I need to move on now." I had replied. "I have better things to do in life..."

"But, you promised me that you would never betray me or leave me!!!"

I had looked at the sky. "Promises are meant to be broken. This is another example..."

I had walked away. Ivan was on the ground crying, while I was on my way, going on a flight to Princeton, North Carolina in the United States of America. As the memory faded, a purple aura surrounded Ivan in the memory, and an evil growl rose as it disappeared.

Ivan then emerged from the darkness in front of me.

"Ivan!!!" I said, now struggling to get free. "Let me go!!! What do you keep asking from me?!?!?"

"I will give you another opportunity right now..." Ivan told me. "Come with me back to Russia, and leave your friends behind to join your best friend from the past..."

"NEVER!!!" I yelled. "I have friends who care about me and want be to stay by their side! I'm with them, and they're with me!! You are evil!!!" I would never go back with you, EVER!!!!"

"Fine then..." Ivan said, slowly reaching into his jacket. "If I can't have you..." He pulled out a pocket knife. "...nobody can..."

"Ivan...no! You wouldn't dare!!!" I shouted squirming to break free

Ivan pulled the knife over his head, ready to stab me.

"Don't do it, Ivan!!!" I shouted desperately. "Please, no! NOOOOOOO!!!!"

As he charged his arm forward, I jolted awake.

I was breathing heavily. I looked around. I was on a hospital bed, but, nobody else was there. None of the injured captains were in their beds, and none of the flags were there.

"H-H-Huh???" I said, confused. "Anybody...here?"

Miles, Devin, Bri, and Dan all emerged from around the corner, and all of them rushed to me in relief.

"G-Guys, is...is that really you??" I said.

"Sure is!!" Miles replied. "We're so glad you're awake!"

"After you hit the ground, me and Miles put you on the stretcher and then attended to the other patients." Dan said. "We got them all taken care of and out before you were able to wake up!"

"How...long was I out?" I asked.

"Only about an hour..." Devin said. "We still got five and a half hours before our finals match..."

"Really? Only that long?" I said, shocked. "It felt like it was longer..."

"C-O-P-Y--"

"Dammit, Devin, I'm gonna kill you!!!" I said, angered.

"Aw, I'm messin...." He replied.

"Anyways...Miles...Can I...talk to you for a sec?" I asked.

"Sure..." he replied. "Guys, if you would..." Dan, Bri, and Devin all exited.

"What is it, Cloud?" Miles asked.

"Ivan.." I started. "I think...he...was in my mind while I was passed out..."

"No way!!!" Miles said, surprised.

"I think he was..." I told him. "He was showing memories of our friendship and me leaving him. He pulled out his knife and was going to stab me. As soon as he almost hit me, I woke up...."

"Oh my god..." he said, covering his mouth...

"I don't know if it was real, or if it was a dream..." I said. "But I do know one thing..."

"Yeah?" Miles asked.

"I'm scared..." I said, hugging myself, shaking a little. Miles hugged me and comforted me, and we just sat there, holding onto each other for protection...

Cloud just sat there with Miles for hours, thinking about what was going on. He was unsure of himself after what was supposedly a dream.

Then, Devin came around the corner. "Guys... It's time..."

Cloud, scared but eager, stood up, ready to go. The four friends, along with Dan Wheldon, went to the arena.

The Russian team was waiting. Cloud stared at Ivan's purple aura. He shook a little, but stood firm.

Meanwhile, Miles and R-Dev were also in a stare-down. Miles focused hard towards R-Dev, who was stern with his left eye illuminated in white...

Miles finally spoke. "What will we do...? Free-for-all?"

Ivan, Antoine, and Vladimir all whispered behind R-Dev. R-Dev pondered for a moment, but shook his head.

"Best of three?" Miles then offered.

This one took more thought for R-Dev. Miles watched him. He knew in there, the R-Dev he knew was fighting his evil conscious to help the American team win. After about a minute, R-Dev slowly nodded.

"Okay..." Miles said. "Who's out? We sit out Bri..."

Bri knew what Miles wanted. He wanted to make sure that even if he went down, he did not want the love of his life to go with him. She didn't argue, and stepped back...

R-Dev pondered for a second about his decision. He motioned Ivan forward, who then whispered an answer to him. R-Dev nodded and waved Antoine Lenkun forward, sitting Vladimir Tasseno out.

"Okay, lastly..." Miles said. "Who fights first?"

R-Dev made the decision first, waving Antoine forward. Devin stepped up to the challenge. He attached his Corona, while Antoine attached his monster of a bey, Saramanda Saramanda E230MB.

3! 2! 1! GO SHOOT!!!

Corona and Saramanda landed. Saramanda went to the center, while Corona slowly circled. Both teams stayed silent as they anxiously awaited the first move.

A few minutes later, Corona charged. Saramanda didn't budge, but it did knock the disk up for a split second. Devin took note of this as he tried a few more hits. No budging, but the disk rose with every hit.

Devin pondered a strategy. "I have to be quick if I'm going to wanna weaken that giant tank..."

He kept attacking head-on to make sure. All of the attacks moved the disk up, but didn't budge Saramanda.

Devin glanced up at Antoine. He was quiet and had a blank stare.

After his several attempts, Antoine went for his chance. "SARAMANDA< SLICK SOVIET SMASH!!!!!" he commanded.

Saramanda went into the air, and charged up an orange aura.

"GO CORONA, RAINBOW GEMSTONE!!!!!" Devin yelled.

Corona's red aura, with a large trailing rainbow, charged into the fiery Saramanda. Both clashed with maximum power. A giant explosion ensued.

All of the members on both teams ducked, and as the smoke cleared, they stared into the stadium to spot the beys.

Miraculously, both Saramanda and Corona sat in the center of the stadium, stopped completely. They turned to the replay screen, and it was confirmed. The attack stopped both beys completely...

"A tie..." Devin said, out of breath. He picked up Corona and went back to his team.

Miles started talking. "So, who's ne--"

"Me and Ivan..." Cloud rang in, stepping forward, as confident as ever. R-Dev widened his eyes a little in astonishment. He turned to Ivan, who looked desperate to fight him. He turned around and nodded.

Both walked to the arena for the second match. It was USA zero, Russia zero...