World Beyblade Organization

“Toko! Toko! Wake up, sleepyhead!” Toko’s eyes opened slightly to see Nika shaking him. “Wake up! Raul is here!” Toko’s eyes shot open and he pushed her off his bed. Then he slid off the bed. He quickly realized he was just wearing his underwear and shirt and quickly grabbed the blanket. “Hey! Out of my room, Nika! I have to get dressed!”

Nika chuckled as she left the room. Toko sighed as he locked the door. Then he quickly changed and left the room. He was halfway out the door before he realized he forgot Screw Trident, so he spun around quickly and grabbed it. Nika was waiting outside the door.

“C’mon little bro!” Nika began running.

“Hey! I’m just as old as you! We’re twins!”

Nika shook her head as she ran.

Toko growled as he sped up and ran in front of her, going as fast as he could. Nika sighed.

“Showoff!”

Toko leapt into the air and seemed to float the rest of the way, before landing directly in front of Raul’s van.

“Ah, finally!” Raul opened the window and looked at Toko. His left eye, which was made of silver, lit up. A red light in the center appeared, like a red pupil. A thin laser shot from it and scanned Trident. “Interesting.”

He closed the window and then they could hear some shuffling around inside. When Raul opened the door, the van seemed much messier than usual. The floor was covered in wires and spare parts and there was a table in the center of the van. On the table was a large metal arm connecting a majority of the wires. The rest were connected to a computer that glowed brightly. Raul’s silver eye glowed red and shot a laser onto Trident again.

Suddenly, a blueprint of Trident appeared on the screen. Raul pulled out a stylus and began to write all over the screen. Nika burst through the door, breathing hard.

“Show, off” She panted.

Toko grinned. “What took you so long?”

Nika glared at him. “Come, on, lil, bro, be, nice!” She panted.

Toko laughed before he could help himself. Nika looked at Raul, who was watching them both. He grabbed the stylus again and added a few details to his drawing. Then he pushed a button and the mechanical arm grabbed Screw Trident and set it into a tank-like container in it’s core.

Toko looked at the arm in shock and then stepped towards Raul angrily.

“Hey, you wanted your bey evolved.” He responded. “And you, Nika! You need a bey too.”

Nika’s eyes widened. “Me?”

“Yes, you!” He quickly began sketching on the computer. He glanced sideways onto the wall, where a blackboard that they hadn’t noticed was attached to the van. Sketched on it were a few random creatures that Nika recognized as drawings of the beasts inside beyblades. Attached below each one was a small chip that contained the beast.

A pink one glowed to Nika. She pointed at it. “That is the one.” Raul chuckled. “Ah, Nyke. An attack type.” He began adding even more detail to the sketch on the computer before running to the board and grabbing the chip.

“Now go home, both of you! Go get some sleep and rest up. Tomorrow your beys will be ready!”

Toko sighed. “A whole day without Trident! Ugh!”

Raul grinned. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait.”

Toko left and raced Nika home. Separated from Trident, Nika easily best him home.

“C’mon lil bro, what’s wrong?”

“I’M NOT YOUR LITTLE BROTHER!” He cried angrily and stormed to his room. He lay on the bed and sighed. He couldn’t stand being separated from Trident. Troubled by thoughts, he fell into a restless sleep.

“Lil bro, wake up,” Nika said in a singsong voice. Toko yawned as he opened his eyes to see Nika in his room again.

“C’mon, get outta my room, sis,” he said, tired.

“You don’t look so good, lil bro. I guess I’ll go alone to get my bey.”

Toko quickly woke up as though she had poured cold water on him. He quickly realized he was still in his normal clothes instead of a shirt and underwear and slid out of bed.

“Let’s go get Trident!” He ran out the door, leaving Nika behind. As he ran towards Raul’s van, he noticed somebody else talking to Raul, so he quickly stopped and held out his arm. Nika stopped just before slamming into him.

“Wait, is that-“

“Valt! You’re back!” Toko cried happily as he ran towards Raul’s van. Valt spun around and seemed surprised at seeing Toko and Nika.

“I thought you two always slept in late like me!” Valt teased.

Raul grinned. “Ah, my other two customers.”

“Wait, other?” Nika asked, before they both realized at the same time what was happening.

“Valtryek’s evolving!” They both said in unison.

“Speaking of evolutions, here you go!” Raul tossed a small yellow object out the window, which Toko quickly caught.

“And one for the lady,” Raul said as he tossed another bey into the air, which Nika caught.

“Your beys are part of the Fusion system! That means that they feature specialized Core drivers and Fusion layers that have the ability to combine with other beys!”

“Fusion?” Valt, Nika, and Toko all cried in unison.

Raul grinned. “Yup, give ‘em a try! Oh yeah, I almost forgot about you, Valt!” He tossed a blue bey to Valt, who caught it. “Meet Hydro Trident, Victor Nyke, and Electric Valkyrie!”

Toko looked at Trident, and then the layer slid apart into two pieces, one larger than the other. “Raul, I think my bey broke!” He said as he handed Raul the parts. Raul grinned.

“That’s the Fusion part! Nika, toss me Nyke!” Nika tossed Nyke through the window to Raul, who slid the layer apart into two pieces. Then he grabbed the smaller one of Trident’s pieces and slid it onto Nyke and slid the smaller piece of Nyke onto the larger part of Trident. “Now it is Hydro Nyke and Victor Trident!” He proceeded to remove part of each tip and swapped them. “Now they are fused! All you have to do is switch them back!” Raul fixed them and tossed them both back to their owners.

“Toko and Nika, do you want to battle me?” Valt asked.

“Of course, big bro!” Nika responded. Toko wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic and responded, “Sure.”

Raul vanished from the window and they could hear shuffling before a wide grey disc went flying out the window. Once it landed they realized it was a stadium. Raul returned to the window. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

“Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” They all launched. Trident quickly glided into the center. Valkyrie and Nyke both shot around the stadium as though they were chasing each other.

“Go! Electric Rush!” Valt cried as Valkyrie began to shoot up and down the slope of the stadium, gaining speed as it began to launch a rapid series of looping attacks on Trident. Then it zoomed in for a final blow that burst Trident almost effortlessly.

Toko and Nika gasped in unison. “Now, attack Nyke!” Valkyrie zoomed around the stadium ridge and then struck Nyke from behind, flinging it into the air. Nika reached out to catch Nyke, but it burst midair and she only caught the disc.

Valt grinned at the victory. “Sorry, guys.”

Toko frowned. “Man, I was hoping for a win.” Then he smiled and gained a twinkle to his eyes. “But I’ll win next time!”

Nika smiled. “No, I will!”

Toko yawned as he sat up. “Is it morning yet?” He muttered as he glanced at the clock. It glowed brightly, almost too brightly for him while he was sleepy. He rubbed his eyes and saw it was 9:40 AM.

Toko realized how late he had slept in and quickly whipped the blanket off and began getting dressed. Then he remembered it was a weekend, so he was fine.

Three knocks rang out on his bedroom door. “Are you decent?” He heard Nika ask. “Either way, I’m coming in.” She came in with her hand over her eyes, but she was clearly peeking through. “Oh good, you’re decent. Did you hear the news?”

Toko looked at her, bemused. “You realize I’ve been asleep, right?”

She laughed. “Of course you wouldn’t know! The Primal Cup is beginning!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Primal?”

She grinned. “Oh right, you aren’t in the loop! The winner of the tournament gets to challenge Blair Pai! He is a famous Blader who uses Primal Betromoth, a vicious attack type, and the top Blader in Africa!”

“Primal Betromoth! Africa! Hold on! I haven’t even had breakfast!” He quickly made some cereal and swallowed it as fast as he could.

“Alright-“ he coughed, “where can I register for this?”

“Oh, registration starts at 10, so in about a-“ A loud beeping alarm cut her off.

“Ohmygosh! The registration is about to start without us! Race ya there lil bro!”

Toko growled as he ran after her. Thinking about being late, he leaned down and sped up, running as fast as possible.

“Hey, slow down bro!” He ignored her and as a result, nearly smashed into the building.

Toko noticed all the vibrant purple posters on the walls advertising the tournament and realized Nika had been right. Nika grinned as she sped past him through the door. “Looks like you lose lil bro!”

Toko glared as he entered the room, and then nearly slammed into a Blader. “Back of the line, losers,” someone sneered from in the line, and they both listened.

Toko and Nika were stuck in the line for quite some time, which was rather boring and slow. When they finally made it to the front they found a computer with a small camera attached. It flashed and took a picture of each, before sending out a laser that scanned their beys.

“Next.” An automated voice said.

They left the line and went to the waiting room and, well, waited. Minutes passed very slowly as everyone in the room waited. The room slowly filled up until it was finally 12:00 PM. “Welcome, Bladers and welcome all to the Primal Cup! Each match will be first to three points! First up we have Toko Aoi and his Hydro Trident vs. Drake Allen and his Assassin Deathscyther!”

Toko grinned as he began leaving. “All right Nika! Wish me luck!”

Nika smiled. “Nah!”

Toko glared at her before he left. Then he walked up to the stadium. “Alright, Drake! Think you can take on me and Trident?”

Drake walked up to the stadium, and Toko got his first good look at his opponent. Drake was slightly taller than he was, but he was also very scrawny and wore a black jacket and black jeans. Under the jacket was a grey shirt.

His eyes glowed evilly, his purple irises bright. “Not only can I take you on, but I’ll easily beat you!”

Toko glared at him. “Let’s start this match already! Three! Two! One! Let it...

“Rip!” And with that, they launched. Trident smoothly glided into the center, while Deathscyther was shooting around the stadium at extreme speed.

“That isn’t enough! Faster!” Deathscyther sped up even more, it’s vibrant purple trail glowing even brighter. “Now! Deathscyther! Assassin Strike!” It’s scythe glowed a sickly shade of purple as it struck Trident. They clashed for a moment. “Come on Trident! Hang in there!”

Trident was flung into the air, but it was not knocked high enough and bounced off the wall of the stadium, wobbling towards the center.

“Hahaha! We have him right where we want him! End this, Deathscyther!”

Deathscyther began quickly circling the center of the stadium, waiting for Trident to meet it. As soon as Trident wobbled in, Deathscyther quickly struck and burst it, sending its pieces flying.

“I told you we would win! You should just give up while you’re losing!”

Toko frowned as he looked down at the parts in his hand. “Trident? What’s wrong?”

It gleamed. “Oh, I see.”

It gleamed again. Toko gasped as he looked back up. “I know what I need to do!”

“Three! Two! One! Let it...”

“Rip!” Toko quickly angled his launcher. Trident began gliding around the stadium before taking the center again. Deathscyther began speeding around the stadium again as well. “It looks like we’ll have a repeat of last round!” Hanami announced.

Toko grinned. “Not this time! Hydro Launch!” Trident began to move, forming a quick and tight circle around the center.

“You think your little tricks can beat me? Hahahaha! Assassin Strike!”

Deathscyther’s scythe glowed a sickly shade of purple as it hit the ridge of the stadium, gaining speed quickly. Then it jumped off the ridge and shot towards Trident.

“Look at that amazing speed! I don’t even think a defense type could handle that attack!” Hanami cried, clearly impressed.

As Deathscyther drew nearer, Trident’s circling continued. They got very close, Trident appearing to brace for an attack. “Now! Go Trident!” Trident suddenly barely dodged Deathscyther, who became unable to stop and slammed into a wall.

“How did Trident dodge that attack?!” Hanami cried in surprise.

Deathscyther began wobbling back towards the center. Trident waited in the center for Deathscyther. When they finally collided, Deathscyther quickly rolled to a halt.

Drake quickly grabbed Deathscyther with a foul look on his face. “That was just a fluke.”

Toko grinned. “Nah, that was a victory!”

Drake frowned. “Just begin already! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Drake and Toko both tilted their launchers. Trident shot towards the center at an angle, quickly orbiting the center in a tight circle. This time, Deathscyther was moving in an erratic pattern. Then it swooped in and struck Trident, sending it up the stadium’s slope.

“Hang on, Trident! Pull back to the center with the Hydro Launch!”

Drake grinned evilly. “Your weak ‘moves’ can’t handle our power! Deathscyther, strike again with Assassin Launch!”

Deathscyther suddenly swung up the stadium, bounced off the wall, and shot towards Trident, sending it flying. Like before, it hung on, but this time it wasn’t wobbling as much. Then Deathscyther began shooting back in again.

“Hang in there! Counter it with our Hydro Twist!” Three of Trident’s wave-shaped protrusions glowed blue. When Deathscyther struck, the wave spun, diverting the force away.

Drake gasped. “Would you look at that folks! Trident is defending against those powerful attacks!” Hanami announced in surprise.

Each of Deathscyther’s attacks were diverted repeatedly, and it began to wobble back in for a final attack.

“End this, Trident!” Deathscyther struck a wave and was flung into the air, bursting midair.

Drake frowned. “You must’ve cheated!” He grabbed Deathscyther and stormed away.

“It looks like Toko Aoi progresses in the cup! Next up is Corey Sharp vs Nicholas Steele!”

Corey Sharp walked up to the stadium. He had short blond hair, wore a green jacket and pale yellow khakis, and had dull yellow eyes. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Corey and Nicholas both launched. “Let’s go, Cockatris! Screeching Bolt!” Corey called out. His bey, a yellow and green balance type, quickly sped up and struck Nicholas’ bey, easily bursting the generic bey.

“C’mon, at least put up a fight! Three! Two! One! Let it... Rip!” Cockatris bolted around the stadium. “Again! Screeching Bolt!” Cockatris quickly burst Nicholas’ Noctemis N3 1Glaive Accel combo.

Corey picked up his bey. “Well, that was easy!” He walked away grinning, while Nicholas sadly picked up the parts and left. “It appears Round 2 will start off with Toko Aoi vs Corey Sharp! That will be an interesting battle! However, our next battle will be...”

Toko stopped paying attention to Hanami as he waited with Nika. “When will I get to battle?” She said, bored. “Almost there, sis. Wait a little longer.”

Finally, he called her name. “Its time for the final battle of Round 1! Nika Aoi vs Ken Midori!”

Nika walked to the stadium. “Hey, Ken! A pleasure seeing you here!”

Ken looked at her. “Just because we are friends doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you! Meet Chain Kerbeus! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Kerbeus took the center, while Nyke shot around the stadium and struck Kerbeus, flinging it into the air. Ken easily caught it. “Interesting.” He muttered to himself, studying Kerbeus. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Kerbeus quickly shot into the center. Nyke zoomed around the stadium at a very high speed. “Nyke! Attack!” Nyke quickly swung towards the center and struck Kerbeus.

“Go, Kerbeus! Steel Wall!” Kerbeus was pushed to the side, before the metal wings on the driver hit the stadium, causing it to suddenly snap back upright, sending Nyke flying out of the stadium. Midair, it burst.

Ken picked up Kerbeus. “That was pretty easy!” Keru said from his hand. “Be nice, Keru. Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Kerbeus quickly took the center, while Nyke zoomed around the stadium. “Attack! Nyke!” Nyke swung in for an attack, slamming into Kerbeus, pushing it against the stadium. “Now! Counter that attack with Steel Wall!” Kerbeus snapped back upright, sending Nyke up the stadium slope. “Hold on, Nyke! Let’s attack again!”

Nyke swung back down the stadium, striking Kerbeus again. However, it still could not do any damage because of Kerbeus’ Steel Wall move. “Full power, Nyke! Victory Strike!” Nyke struck Kerbeus, one of its wings springing out as it clashed with Kerbeus, pushing it against the stadium slope. “Hang on, Kerbeus! Steel Wall!” They kept clashing for a moment, before both burst.

“Wow! What an exciting battle! What will the ref call?!”

The referee considered it, before coming to a conclusion. “Nika Aoi wins the round with a burst finish, making the score 3-2! Nika Aoi wins the match!”

“Alright folks! After those exciting matches, Round 2 will start off with Toko Aoi vs Corey Sharp! Go home, practice, and get rested up for tomorrow!”

Toko was leaving the building when Drake stepped in front of him. “You aren’t getting off that easily! In there, that was a fluke!”

Toko stepped back in surprise. “Hey! Don’t mess with my lil bro!” Nika leapt in front of Toko.

“Well, it looks like lil Toko needs a protector!” Drake said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Nika’s face began to turn a bright red. “I challenge you to a battle!”

Drake grinned evilly. “Alright, let’s battle!” He began running off, Toko and Nika following.

They found themselves outside a forest. “Ready to battle?”

“But there’s no stadium!”

“It’s in the forest, idiot.” Drake began running through the forest.

They barely managed to keep up and found a stadium in a small clearing. “Let’s begin this battle! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Deathscyther and Nyke began to chase each other around the stadium, Nyke moving faster. Finally, Nyke struck Deathscyther from behind. “Go! Victory Strike!” One of Nyke’s wings slid in for a spring-powered attack, when Deathscyther suddenly glowed and blasted through the center of the stadium.

“Hahaha! Assassin Boost!” Deathscyther looped around the stadium and quickly struck Nyke, easily bursting it.

“It looks like lil Toko’s guardian failed! Now, does lil Toko wanna battle me?”

Nika’s face got even redder as she picked up the now-dirty pieces of Nyke, before storming off. Toko looked at him. “That’s it, I’ll battle you! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Trident began gliding towards the center, Deathscyther zooming around the ridge. Suddenly, it began to glow and quickly changed direction. “Assassin Boost! Go!” Deathscyther began to glow brighter as it began to speed up. “Let’s end this! Assassin Strike!”

“Counter that attack! Hydro Twist!” Trident’s wave-like protrusions glowed blue before Deathscyther struck. When Deathscyther struck, the wave seemed to shift. However, the attack was too strong, and Trident went flying.

Midair, it burst. Drake grinned. “That tournament battle was a fluke! You’ll never make it past the second round! You should just go quit!”

Toko opened his mouth to object, before realizing Drake was right. He sadly picked up Trident and began to navigate the forest sadly.

He trudged out of the forest with his head down, slowly making his way home. When he finally got home, he ignored his mom and Nika calling him and went to his room.

He set down Trident and fell flat on his face into his bed. “Toko, Nika! Dinner Time!” Chiharu called.

Toko pushes himself off the bed and trudged to dinner, ignoring the scalding hot water as he washed his hands. Then he sat down. “So how was your day, Nika?”

“It was great. I defeated Ken and moved on to Round 2 of the Primal Cup!” She said between bites of dinner.

“Oh, so Ken is back! Valt, why didn’t you tell me that?!”

Valt looked up at her, his mouth very full with spaghetti hanging out. He mumbled something that was unintelligible. Valt slurped up most of his spaghetti and then tried again. “I didn’t know! Nika, why didn’t you tell me!”

Nika looked at him sheepishly. “I don’t know, maybe I forgot.” It came out more like a question.

Toko kept quietly eating his food, looking down at his plate.

“Toko, how was your day?”

“It was fine, I guess.”

“What’s wrong?” She asked, concerned.

“Nothing.”

“There is clearly something wrong.”

Nika quietly stepped beside him and poked him. “What’s wrong lil bro?”

“I AM NOT YOUR LITTLE BROTHER!” He yelled angrily, before shrinking down, leaving everyone surprised at his outburst, including him.

“Toko, be nice at the dinner table! Lift your chin up and tell me what’s wrong!”

Toko lifted his head up. “I realized that I’ll never be a good Blader and nothing can ever change that!” He ate another bite of spaghetti and left the table.

“Get back here right now and finish your dinner!" She yelled to him.

He trudged back. “Hey mom, remember when that happened to me?” Valt said.

“What happened?” Nika asked.

Valt grinned, preparing to tell a story. “Remember when I was in the District Tournament and I battled Wakiya? That was before we were friends, and we battled before the tournament. Wakiya easily beat me and he kinda crushed my spirits! I was unable to blade for a while and almost quit the tournament!”

“Well, what changed that?” Nika asked.

“With the help of my friends, I realized if I wasn’t strong enough now, I could practice and even then, I was good enough for me.”

Toko looked at him, smiling. “Really? I think I would remember that!”

Valt grinned mysteriously. “You don’t know everything about me.”

A loud knock rang out from the door.

“Who can that be?” Nika asked.

“I don’t know, I’ll go answer it!” Chiharu said as she walked to the door. Then she opened it to find-

“Xander! What are you doing here?!”

Xander looked down at her. “Can I come in?” He was very tall, so his hair almost scraped the ceiling. He was wearing different attire than the last time they had seen him, 2 years before. He wore a dark red jacket over a red shirt with a yellow flame pattern on it, and long black jeans with a belt. On either side of the belt was a sheathed sword.

Valt stood up. “Xander! What are you doing here?”

“Is there an echo in here?” He joked. “I heard Ken was in town so I decided to pop by! Valt, it looks like Valkyrie had an upgrade! You wanna battle?”

Valt grinned. “Sure!”

Valt stepped outside to where the stadium was. Xander pulled out his bey and his launcher, both of which featuring an upgrade. The launcher was longer and had a very long winder, with a small screen on top.

The Beyblade was bright red with a golden sword in the center and bright blue sparks of electricity on the outside. The sword seemed to be shifting back and forth. “Let’s begin this match! Meet my Thunderbolt Xcalibur! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Xcalibur began to shoot around the stadium extremely fast. Meanwhile, Valkyrie was looping around the stadium, struggling to gain speed and catch up to Xcalibur.

Xcalibur began to lean inwards toward the center, shrinking the circle it was traveling in and gaining speed. “Go Xcalibur! Saber Strike!” Xcalibur struck Valkyrie, clicking slightly closer to bursting and flinging Valkyrie into a wall. Xcalibur kept moving in a quick circle, continually knocking Valkyrie into the wall. Xcalibur clicked after each attack.

“Now, Xcalibur! Triple Impact!” The layer’s sword, the disc’s sword, and the frame’s sword clicked together, increasing the power from the attack, before striking Valkyrie, flinging it into the air. Midair, Valkyrie burst.

Valt grabbed the parts. “Hey Valt. Do you wanna have a Duo Battle against Toko and Nika?”

Valt looked up at him. “What’s a Duo Battle?”

Xander grinned. “As clueless as ever. A Duo Battle is when two bladers form a team and both fuse their beys! Then they face an enemy Duo!”

Valt slid his layer apart and removed the driver chip, before tossing both pieces to Xander.
Xander tossed a piece from the layer and the driver chip. “Alright! I guess this match will be Thunderbolt Valkyrie and Electric Xcalibur vs Victor Trident and Hydro Nyke!”

Toko and Nika quickly fused their beys and prepared for battle. “Three! Two! One! Let it... Rip!” Trident began zooming around the stadium at an angle in an odd, erratic pattern. Nyke was wobbling into the center. Toko and Nika were confused at their beys odd behavior. Meanwhile, Valkyrie and Xcalibur were both side-by-side and chasing Trident. “Full power! Ultra Thunderbolt Crash!”

Valkyrie and Xcalibur both attacked Trident from either side. “Absorb it, Trident! Use Hydro Twist!” Trident’s wave-like protrusions glowed blue and absorbed some of Valkyrie’s attack, however Valkyrie’s attack was too strong to be resisted. Plus, Xcalibur was striking from the other side which had no wave-shaped protrusions since it was replaced by the fusion, meaning a full Saber Strike’s worth of attack was striking alongside Valkyrie. Trident easily burst under the extreme pressure, while Xcalibur clicked.

Valt realized something. “Valkyrie! Attack Xcalibur!” Valkyrie attacked Xcalibur, causing it to click and knocking it into the wall, causing it to click again. “Xcalibur! Quadruple Impact!” The Metal Sword on the layer slid forward, lining up with the plastic sword, the disc’s sword, and the frame’s sword, focusing all it’s power onto one point.

Then Xcalibur shot forward and struck Nyke, flinging it into the air and causing it to click three times. Then Valkyrie shot into a wall, bouncing into the air. Midair it struck Nyke and burst it.

Valt high-fived Xander. Toko and Nika looked at them. “Oh! I just figured this out! Our beys are different types and we were trying to use them as their original types and original moves! We need to work together!” Valt and Xander grinned.

“Do you want a rematch?”

Toko grinned. “Sure! Three! Two! One! Let it... Rip!” Trident began zooming around the stadium, while Nyke took the center. Xcalibur and Valkyrie were both zooming side-by-side again, chasing Trident.

“Trident! Victory Wave!” Trident suddenly looped around and struck Valkyrie. It’s spring-loaded wing depressed inwards and then it’s wave-like blades twisted, lessening the damage Trident took. Then the Beyblade spun and the spring wing sprung out, sending Valkyrie zooming into Xcalibur. Valkyrie and Xcalibur both lost a click. “Valkyrie! Attack Nyke! Electric Thunderclap!” Valkyrie shot towards Nyke and struck. “Victory Repel!” Nika cried out.

Valkyrie struck a spring-loaded wing and was flung away, losing a click before striking Xcalibur and losing a third click. Xcalibur also lost a click.

“Valkyrie! Electric Cutlass!” Two long swords extended out of the driver as Valkyrie began to shoot towards Trident. Valkyrie struck Trident and then a sword from the driver hit Trident’s driver. Trident burst.

Then Valkyrie and Xcalibur both attacked Nyke. “Let’s go! Maximum Thunderclap Rush!” They both clashed with Nyke, bursting it. “Yeah!” Valt high-fived Xander again.

“How did we lose?” Nika asked.

“You are both younger than us and we worked together better, so we were at a clear advantage. I’m surprised that you did so well in the first place!” Xander said, grinning.

“Tsk tsk. What’s taking them so long?” A young boy wondered out loud. He wore a zipped up deep blue coat, darker blue jeans, and black shoes, and was sitting on a long bench with a faded blue paint job that may have once been pretty.

He checked a small watch on his wrist and saw it was 1:12 pm. They were supposed to arrive at 1:00. Bored, the boy began to twirl his curly brown hair.

Suddenly, a figure bounded past to a stadium, followed by a walking girl. “Alright, where’s this Rian guy?”

“Patience, idiot."

“Hey! That’s rude!”

She grinned.

“I’m this Rian guy! What took you two so long?”

The girl looked at him. She wore a thin white jacket over an ice blue shirt and plain black jeans and sneakers. The boy was finally still enough for Rian to see him. He wore a thin black jacket over a deep maroon shirt, long black pants, and dark red boots.

“You’re younger than I thought, kid. Your bey probably can’t handle Drake! Go home.” The girl, who he realized was Misuki, began to walk away.

Misuku jumped and flipped over Misuki and landed in front of her. “Don’t leave yet! He might be a good Blader!”

“As if.” She began to step around him, but he reached out and blocked her.

“Wait, don’t leave yet!” Rian called to her. “Another Blader will come too and he’s older than me!”

A freezing cold wind seemed to pass through as Misuki turned around, her eyes glowing a bright shade of blood red. “You mean a 2 on 2?” An evil grin spread across her face.

“Alright! When’s this other person coming?” Misuku asked.

“He seems late like you too were.”

“We weren’t late, we were just, um, not here in time.” It came out more like a question.

Suddenly, somebody jumped down from a tree. “Hello! My name is Colin and I’m here to battle you!"

“Is this the other guy?”

“Probably.” Rian responded.

“Alright! Let’s begin this battle!”

They all stood around the stadium, Misuki and Misuku on a team against Colin and Rian. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Drake began to shoot around the stadium, while Draco quickly locked down the center. “Burning Fortress! Go!” Misuki roared, eyes a vibrant red that matched her glowing Beyblade. The bottom of the driver glowed as red cracks spread through the stadium like a spider’s web coming from Draco’s tip.

Colin’s Crusher Beyblade was spinning extremely fast and circling the stadium, clearly in its stamina mode. “Go! Ultimate Launch!” A tornado began to form around Crusher as it began to glide towards Draco. Crusher struck Draco, causing more and more cracks to spread throughout the stadium.

“Inferno Fortress!” The stadium suddenly exploded, sending every bey into the air. The stadium had become a dark red color with bright lava flowing over it. Rian grinned. His Beyblade, Revenge, which had quietly been circling the stadium ridge, was sent flying higher than all of theirs. “Go! Revenge Smash!” Revenge turned and smashed on top of Drake, bursting it. Revenge’s momentum caused it to crash into the stadium, where it quickly began to circle the stadium. When Draco landed, it perfectly took the center.
Crusher was falling very slowly because of it’s personal tornado.

“Crusher! Use Ultra Zeta Shift!” It’s Zeta driver quickly changed modes into Attack. It’s tornado disintegrated. It struck the stadium and bounced into the air. “Go! Ultimate Slash!” The beyblade landed so that the underside of the layer hit the side of Draco. “Revenge Strike!” Revenge shot towards Draco and quickly attacked its other side.

The three beys kept clashing. “Draco! Fortress Counter!” Draco’s fortress side glowed as it spun. Suddenly, Revenge and Crusher were both flung into the air. Misuku grinned. “Drake! Frozen Revive!” Crusher burst midair, while Revenge struck the stadium. The parts of Drake were flung into the air by the impact, and they landed directly on top of each other. The parts glowed as the beyblade began to wobble back upright before speeding up. “Drake! Dragonic Whip!” Drake struck Revenge, flinging it up into the air. Rian’s eyes glowed a bright shade of blood red as Revenge’s beast appeared around him.

It was a large Warrior with glowing red skin and dark maroon armor. Revenge wielded a long golden-edged red broadsword. Both Revenge and Rian slashed their arms down as though swinging a sword and they together roared, “Ultra Revenge Smash!” Revenge smashed on top of Draco, using it’s angled driver like a hammer, before bouncing onto Drake, and then bouncing back. It continued the rapid attack, both Drake and Draco losing stamina from the attacks and shifting to their last clicks. Then Revenge dropped between the two, striking them both rapidly, eventually bursting Draco. It was just Drake against Revenge.

“Let’s go! Frostbite Blast!” Drake shot towards Revenge and struck it with it’s jagged edge, sending Revenge shooting into a wall, knocking Revenge onto it’s last click. Misuku grinned as Drake’s beast formed around him. Drake was a long blue dragon with white eyes, and long white wings. It reared back, claws ready for attack. “Now, Drake! Frozen Claw!” Drake shot towards Revenge for a final attack. “Go! Revenge Counter!” The two beyblades clashed for a long time, before both of them burst. Colin and Misuki both had opposing reactions. Colin seemed sad, while Misuki grinned. “Drake won! That means our team won!”

Misuku and Rian both looked at their teammates oddly. “No, Revenge won!” They both said in unison.

Misuki raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“His bey burst after mine just slightly!”

Misuki rolled her eyes and her and Misuku both began to walk away. “Well, that was a fun match!” Misuki’s eye glowed brightly. “Perfect.”

“Go, Cockatris! Screeching Bolt!” Cockatris struck Trident and easily burst it. “Hahaha! It looks like I will fight against Blair Pai!”

“Noooo, Trident!” Toko cried as Trident disintegrated in his hand. Then the world began to spin and get blurry...

Toko woke up in a cold sweat. “Oh jeez, that was a bad dream. You’re still alive, right Tri- Noooooo!” He looked to his left and saw an urn that said Trident on a white label.

Toko woke up again in a cold sweat. “Man, that was a bad dream. This time, you’re alive, right Trident?” He looked to the side and saw Trident sitting there. “What time is it?” He looked beside Trident at his clock, which said in bright blue lettering that it was 3:14 am.

“Ugh.” He rolled to his side and tried to go back to sleep. Toko couldn’t get back to sleep for a while and eventually gave up on the prospect, at which point it was 3:52 am. He rolled out of bed and quietly left the house with Trident and his launcher.

Toko carefully crept across the lawn to the nearest stadium, preparing to practice. “Three! Two! One! Let it... Rip!” Trident glided towards the center. “Again! Let it... Rip!” Trident took the center again. “Stronger! Rip!” Trident took the center again.
“Faster! Rip!” Trident took the center.

“Haaaah! Let it... Rip!” Trident shot towards the center with extreme speed. “Whoa! What is that power?!” Trident glowed a deep blue. “Amazing.” He murmured. “If I can harness that power against Corey, I can easily win!”

He noticed the sun was rising and quickly yet still stealthily, he crept home to his room and fell asleep. “Beep! Beep! Beep!” The alarm clock chirped. Toko yawned as he got up.

An hour or so later, he was at the tournament, prepared for a heated battle. And he was going to get one.

Corey and Toko both stepped up to the stadium. “Alright! Let’s begin this battle, Corey!”

Corey grinned. “Okay, let’s! But be warned, because you will not leave with a victory! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Toko had played it safe with an angled launch, sending Trident into a tight circle around the center, while Cockatris began to glide around the stadium in a wide circle. “Go! Screeching Bolt!”

A spike on Cockatris’s driver hit the stadium, causing it to instantly change direction and speed up. Then it struck Trident with it’s jagged green side. “Counter that attack, Trident! Use our Hydro Twist!” Trident’s wave-like protrusions glowed Blue. Then each wave seemed to shift, repelling the attack. However, Cockatris was too strong and Trident burst.

“Whoa, look at that power! How is your bey that strong?”

Corey grinned. “It’s called skill, child. You should get some. Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Toko went for a steeper angled launch, causing Trident to quickly pull into the center. “Trident, lock down the center with our Hydro Twist!” Trident’s Wave-like protrusions glowed blue. “Cockatris, use Screeching Bolt!” Cockatris quickly changed direction and sped up, attacking Trident and being repelled. Then it quickly looped back in for another attack, and another, and another, until it was nearly out of stamina. “Hang on, Trident!” Trident barely managed to wobble longer than Cockatris, meaning Trident won. “Phew, I barely won that.”

Corey’s eyes, which were usually a pale green, quickly turned to a white eye and a bright green eye. “You aren’t going to win this.” Cockatris formed around him, a vicious green dragon covered in white feathers.

“I will.” Toko said simply, his own eyes turning golden as Trident formed around him, a golden armored warrior wielding a long golden staff with three long blades at the end. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Corey gave a sudden cry of pain as his launchers’ string snapped and whipped his shoulder from the strength of his launch. Cockatris began to form a tornado when it touched the stadium from it’s high spin speed. Trident zoomed into the stadium with high speed at an angle, moving like an attack type. “Let’s unleash our full potential, Cockatris! Use Tornado Eye!”

Cockatris directly attacked Trident with it’s blunted beak-like blade, sending Trident into the air. “Trident, use Tsunami Shot!” Toko jumped into the air, slashing his fist down as if he was holding a sword. Trident struck Cockatris from above, and they clashed for a long time, Trident barely managing to stay on top and clash without being sent flying away by the tornado. “Send it away, Cockatris!”

“End this, Trident! Full power!” They clashed, and in a sudden explosion of energy, Cockatris burst, cracks spreading throughout the stadium, destroying it. “After that explosive battle, it looks like our stadium is destroyed, and Toko moves on! The tournament will have to be postponed until tomorrow!”

Corey was frozen with an expression of surprise on his face. Toko grabbed Cockatris’ parts and carried them over to Corey, breaking him out of his trance. “You aren’t that bad, kid. How about you join my Bey Club?” Toko grinned. “What Bey Club?”

“We’re BC Sol International!”

Toko smiled. “My brother was actually in that group 2 years ago! I’d be glad to check it out! Aren’t they in Spain though?”

Corey smiled. “I’m the leader of the A-Team in the Japan division! I think you could be a great addition to our team!”

“Alright, I’m in!”

Corey began to lead Toko to BC Sol’s Japanese headquarters. “Follow me.” He lead Toko through the front door.

Standing in the front room was a boy with spiky black hair, wearing a thin blue jacket over a black tee-shirt and black pants. “Ooh, a new Blader! You found more talent for us!” A cockatoo flew off his shoulder and grabbed his beyblade, before tossing it into the air.

“Carl, give it back! Whoa, that’s a nice bey!” The boy jumped into the air, grabbed Trident from Carl’s beak, and tossed it to Toko. “Thanks, but who are you?”

“My name’s Cuza, Cuza Ackermann! Who are you?”

“Toko Aoi, and that’s my bey, Trident!”

Cuza looked at him curiously. “Where do I know Aoi from? Oh, are you related to Valt?”

Toko grinned. “He’s my big bro! I just beat Corey in the Primal Cup and he invited me here!”

Cuza looked at Corey. “Did you tell him about the test?”

Corey smiled sheepishly. “Um, no.”

Toko looked at them both. “What test? Will there be math?”

Cuza and Corey both laughed. “No, everybody wanting to get in battles in a tournament-type deal.”

“Alright, I think I’m ready for this ‘test’.”

“Luckily for you, we have one every month, and it happens in about 10 minutes, so be prepared!”

Roughly 10 minutes later, he was escorted into a large room with 16 stadiums. “This is usually where we train, but it’s perfect for the test.” The room filled up with 31 other people, and then the test began. It started off easy, and Toko was paired against a young Blader who was using a Garuda G3 7Meteor Atomic.

Toko launched at an angle, and used the Hydro Launch to easily outspin their bey, meaning he moved on. At that point there were only 16 bladers left (including him).

He was paired against another Blader who used a Guardian Kerbeus 4Star Orbit combo. The Guardian Kerbeus bey took the center while Toko used Hydro Twist to repeatedly knock the Kerbeus off balance without taking any damage.

Kerbeus kept scraping, unable to right itself before it was attacked again, and it quickly ran out of spin, meaning Toko moved on again.

His next opponent used Drain Fafnir 0Bump Atomic. They used a weak launch to steal spin, but Toko used his Hydro Twist to prevent it from stealing spin, and the Fafnir combo easily was knocked to the side, meaning that Toko moved on again.

Now there were only 4 bladers left. He was battling against a Blader who used Legend Spriggan 7Star Xtreme. Toko used Hydro Launch to take the center quickly, while the opponent tried to rapidly attack Trident.

Toko quickly switched to the Hydro Twist, allowing it to prevent itself from taking damage from Spriggan‘s rapid attacks. Spriggan, unable to deal damage, ran out of stamina quickly, meaning Toko moved on to the final battle.

Corey walked over. “I know I’m supposed to be unbiased and fair, but you are almost there! I believe in you!”

Toko found himself standing in front of Drake Allen. “Well, it looks like we meet again!”

“Ugh, you. Let’s just begin this battle so I can join BC Sol like my brother. Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” “Trident, lock down the center with the Hydro Launch!” Trident took the center, while Deathscyther rocketed around the stadium. “Assassin Boost!” Deathscyther instantly changed direction and increased it’s speed exponentially. “Now, hit him with the Assassin Strike!”

Deathscyther struck Trident, flinging it into the air. “Haha, it looks like I won already!”

“It isn’t over yet! Hit Deathscyther with our Tsunami Shot!” Trident smashed down on top of Deathscyther, bursting it in one hit. Toko grabbed Trident and jumped up. “Yes! I’m joining BC Sol International!”

Drake glared at him, his eyes solid black. “I don’t want to join whatever terrible group accepts terrible bladers like him!” He stormed out of the building.

Corey grinned as he walked over. “Man, what a sore loser! He takes salty to a new level! Anyways, let’s go to the main room, where all the bladers hang out. Let me just grab something first,” he rushed over to a desk and grabbed a megaphone. “Alright, let’s go in there!”

Corey lead Toko into the room, before holding the megaphone to his mouth and then speaking into it. “Hello, bladers! Please welcome our newest Blader! His name is Toko Aoi and he uses a Stamina-type named Trident! There was no nepotism involved! Well, mostly none!”

There were a few quiet laughs at his joke. “It’s a good thing I’m not a comedian.” He whispered to Toko.

Toko stepped into the room and smiled. He was going to love being a member of BC Sol.

While Toko was off joining BC Sol, Nika was anxiously training for her next battle. “Hey Nika, need a training buddy?” Valt asked, coming over to the stadium beside him. Nika grinned as she grabbed Nyke and leapt over the stadium, spinning so she landed facing Valt.

“Alright, let’s battle then!” They prepared to launch. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Nika launched at an angle, causing Nyke to zoom around the stadium in a looping pattern, similar to Valkyrie’s Rush Launch. “Nyke! Attack Valkyrie with the Victory Strike!” Nyke turned in and slammed into Valkyrie, the spring-loaded layer compressing.

“Valkyrie, use Nyke’s momentum to gain speed! Electric Whip!” Valkyrie rocketed up the stadium, quickly gaining speed, before striking Nyke with one glowing wing, easily bursting it in a single hit. “Looks like you need a little bit more practice, lil sis.”

She was looking at Nyke’s parts in awe. “B-but we almost had him! How did he do that?”

Valt grinned. “That was a technique I learned 4 years ago! It is where you charge all of your bey’s power into one point! Do you want me to teach you how?”

Nika’s eyes widened. “Really? Of course!”

“Alright, first you want to launch at an angle for your maximum power!” They both launched their Beyblades at an angle. Nyke began moving at a quick speed, fast enough for a strong attack.

“To pull this move off, you’d have to have a strong bond with your bey!” Nika focused on Nyke, trying to strengthen her bond with it. All of a sudden, something clicked and Nyke began to glow as she became synchronized with Nyke.

“Wow, that’s a strong bond! Next you’ll want to attack the opponent at full speed and then quickly bounce away!” Nyke quickly bounced off Valkyrie, flinging it into the air.

“Perfect! Since it’s your first time, you don’t have maximum power, but all you have to do is practice and you can master it! Let’s try again! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Nyke shot around the stadium at a steep angle towards Valkyrie. Nyke glowed as it prepared to attack Valkyrie, a Wing glowing bright golden. “Burst Valkyrie! Victory Slash!” Nyke struck Valkyrie. Valkyrie burst, while the force of the impact sent Nyke flying.

Nika jumped to the side and caught Nyke. “Yeah! I just learned a new move!” She yelled out happily. Valt grinned. “You will still need to practice and harness that move. Had I used it to counter, your Beyblade would have burst.”

Nika frowned. “Well, once I master it, I will win the tournament!”

Valt seemed to be ignoring her, as he was realizing something. “Nika, if you and Toko both keep winning, you’ll have to battle each other!”

Nika’s eyes widened as the truth of what he said sank in. “Then I’ll just have to practice so I can beat him!”

Valt laughed at her enthusiasm. “Anyways, it’s getting late, and Mom probably has dinner ready! Let’s go home!” Valt leapt into the air and quickly dashed home, Nika following.

They got home to find their mom waiting for them. Toko had not returned yet either. “What took you two so long?” She said sternly. “And where’s your brother?!”

Toko slid in the door. “Hey mom, guess what? I just joined BC Sol International!”

She looked at him sternly until what he had said sank in and she smiled. “Really? You’re gonna be just like Valt when he joined BC Sol!” Valt and Nika both sighed in unison that Toko had distracted her from all of their lateness.

During the confusion, they hadn’t noticed the smell wafting from the table, and they all turned in unison to find dinner, which was no longer hot and was just lukewarm, except for the empty plate where their mom usually sat.

“Now, eat your dinner!” She pointed at the table and they all sat down to eat. Their dinner was delicious, but it would’ve been more so if it was hot.

The next morning, they returned to the tournament. Nika tapped her foot impatiently as she waited to battle against her opponent, who she had heard was called Horace Snae.

She was almost asleep when the words, “It’s time for Nika Aoi to battle against Horace Snae!”

Her eyes shot open and she bounded to the stadium before Horace. A few moments later, her opponent seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of the stadium. He wore a green tuxedo with dark green stripes on his back and a vibrant purple bow tie.

He had striking purple eyes that glowed with a dark light. Horace grinned menacingly, revealing two sharp rows of teeth, and his black hair was spiky with green tips. He looked his opponent up and down, before preparing for battle. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” His Beyblade, which was a dark emerald color, seemed to be a balance type, since it was moving around at a moderate speed that would be unacceptable for an attack type and too fast for a defense or stamina type.

“Hydra, let’s show this weak bey our fangs! Venom Strike!” It began to wobble at an odd angle as it moved towards Nyke, who had been circling the stadium since Nika was hoping to play it safe with the Victory Strike. Hydra struck Nyke, and there was a sickening click as a very sharp blade chipped off a piece of Nyke. Because of Hydra’s steady speed, it was able to continually grind Nyke’s layer. “No, Nyke!” Nyke counterattacked, sending Serpent flying. Midair, it burst.

Horace gave another menacing grin. “Perfect!” He muttered, before picking up his bey. Nika looked at Nyke, which had been scraped into an odd and jagged bey except for one spring-loaded wing. “I know what we need to do.” She said, a tear rolling down her face slowly. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!”

Nyke began to shoot up and down the stadium, since Nika had launched at an angle, while Hydra circled the stadium at a moderate speed. “Hydra, attack! Venom Fang!” Hydra struck Nyke, pushing the spring and sending it into a wall. “Hydra, attack again!”

Hydra quickly moved at an angle, gaining speed. “Hydra, use our Serpent Bound!” Hydra slammed into a wall, losing stamina but gaining speed. It shot into another wall, gaining more speed and losing more stamina.

“Hydra! Use Hydra Boost!” Hydra struck another wall and with a loud click it’s layer changed shape and it got shorter. “Now, let’s end this with our Serpent Smash!” Hydra suddenly gained a burst of speed and rocketed towards Nyke, who began zooming towards it.

“Nyke, counter that attack and send Hydra flying with our special move! Use Victory Whip!” Nyke appeared, a female warrior in golden armor wielding a long whip. After Nika called out, Nyke’s beast snapped the whip towards Hydra as Nyke struck Hydra, one wing glowing.

Hydra burst. “Noooooo!” Horace cried out as Nika picked up Nyke, another tear rolling down her face. She sniffled as she left. As soon as she left, she ran to where she knew Raul would be waiting, to find his van empty. There was a little piece of paper taped to the shut metal window. Scrawled in blue pen was a note:

To anybody coming here in search of a bey trainer, I, Raul, am gone somewhere, which depends upon whom you ask and who this note concerns, and I will not be back for a while. If you need a Bey Trainer, contact Taiga Akaba and tell him Raul sent you. He will be usually accepting. I’ll return later.

~Raul

Nika yawned and was about to set off until she realized she didn’t know where Taiga lived. She remembered Valt went to get Winning Valkyrie created, so she went to ask him.

“Hey Valt, do you remember where Taiga lives?” He looked at her and grinned. “Of course, why?”

She sniffled. “What’s wrong?” She held up the now-destroyed Nyke. “Ouch, that looks painful. Follow me.” He led her to a computer, which he set to Google Maps and punched in an address. Then he printed it out as a large map and scribbled a red path on it. “Here you go, little sis. Just follow the route and don’t get lost!”

She left to begin her quest. At first, the route was pretty easy and it was just a curvy road. But then her route ran her into the woods, which were dark. She shivered as she stepped under the tree. The forest became very cold around her, and she had to resist the urge to leave.

“As long as I just follow the path...” she muttered to herself as she tried to follow the map, hoping she would leave soon.

She was so focused on the map that she didn’t notice where she was walking, and she stepped onto a slippery rock. Nika slipped and fell flat into the mud, which she slowly began to sink into. Nika quickly righted herself and began to call for help, because she recognized that she was in a bog and the only escape was to be pulled. She sank further and further, filled with a gut-wrenching sensation, and she called as loud as she could.

Then her head was swallowed up, leaving only her arm sticking out, and for her, everything went black.

She woke up to see a young girl with blue hair looking down at her. “Dad, she’s awake!” Nika muttered something as her vision faded, and she fell unconscious again.

Nika was shaken awake by the same girl, with an older man standing over her. Seeing she was awake, he spoke. “Are you okay? We heard you calling for help, so Naru here began to run out and save you-“

The young girl, who Nika thought was Naru, interjected, “He didn’t hear you, I did, so you can thank me for saving you.” She said proudly.

Nika looked around and spit mud into a nearby trash can. “Do you guys have a shower?” She asked.

Naru giggled, while her dad pointed Nika to the bathroom. “There will be fresh clothes for you right outside the door!” He called, before setting a spare pair of Naru’s clothes outside, since they seemed to be around the same age and height.

After a long, hot shower to wash the mud off of her, she was clean, so she dried off and put on the clothes outside the door, which were slightly too small, but they mostly fit.

Nika noticed that Naru had come in and taken her clothes to wash. She burst out the door and cried out, “Don’t wash my clothes yet, Nyke is in there!”

Naru’s dad grinned and tossed her Beyblade back to her, in perfect condition. “Naru spotted your bey in the washing machine, so we took it out and I decided to fix it up.”

“But someone named Taiga was supposed to fix it! Now it’ll probably fall apart!”

Naru burst into a fit of laughter.

Her dad smiled and clearly had to try to keep from laughing. “I am Taiga! Taiga Akaba!”

Nika’s eyes widened. “You’re Taiga? I’m sorry!”

“I could tell your bey was strong, so I was considering adding the-“ Naru poked him in the shoulder and then, on her tiptoes, whispered something to him.

He quickly realized his mistake and said, “Nevermind.”

Nika knew that he was hiding something. “Adding what?”

Taiga realized he had slipped up. “I’m working on a special project, but it is a secret! Now I have fixed your bey like you wanted, so you’d best be on your way!”

Nika sighed as she left, carefully avoiding the bog this time, until she was out of the forest and almost home. Then she skipped home, wondering what Taiga’s project was.

“Welcome back to the semifinals! Our four battlers remaining are Clio Delon, Toko Aoi, Nika Aoi, and Olivia Heart! The first match will be Toko Aoi vs Olivia Heart! Toko uses Hydro Trident, a stamina type, while Olivia uses Heaven Ouranous, a defense type!”

Toko walked up to the stadium, prepared to battle against Olivia. She walked up to the stadium. Olivia had long light blonde hair, and wore a simple long white dress. She had striking blue eyes.

Toko was nervous, since he was near the end and all the remaining opponents had to be skilled, or at least he assumed that was why he had butterflies in his stomach. “Let’s do this battle! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Olivia had a high and soft singsongy voice, and she launched hard, sending Ouranous gliding towards the center, barely even touching the stadium. Trident shot towards the center, moving slightly faster than Ouranous, so it took the center faster. “Just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean I’ll take it easy on you! Trident, use Hydro Twist!”

Trident easily knocked Ouranous back up the stadium once they made contact. “Ouranous, use Heaven Spin!” Ouranous’ wings extended out, causing it to spin faster. Ouranous glided back in, using it’s wings like cushions so both beys took little to no damage. The butterflies in Toko’s stomach seemed to flutter more. Ouranous glided back in and struck again, still not taking any damage.

Both beys began to wobble, Trident wobbling slightly less. “Hang on Ouranous! We have to outspin it!” Ouranous suddenly seemed to become stable, still with low stamina, but it was wobbling less. Ouranous barely managed to hold on longer, meaning Trident rolled to a halt first.

“Trident, what just happened?” Toko leaned down to pick it up. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to win this match. You seem skilled and all, but I want to battle Blair more than you.” Olivia said to him, an expression of genuine sadness on her face. “Now let’s begin the match. Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” She jumped into the air, sending Ouranous hovering over the stadium for a few seconds, moving directly over the center, where Trident was sitting. “Ouranous, use Sky Spin!” Ouranous’ wings extended out, causing it to spin faster, forming an airflow around it. For some reason, Toko felt good about the match, even though he had a nervous butterfly feeling in his stomach.

“Trident, use Hydro Launch!” Trident began to tilt and then began moving in a quick circle around the center. Ouranous had formed a miniature tornado around itself, and seemed to be losing its hover. “Ouranous, Tornado Crush!” She sang out, twirling around elegantly. Her dress and her hair spun around her, sending her hair into her eyes when she stopped. Toko’s butterflies swirled around in his stomach.

Ouranous began to fall down, landing on the side of Trident, flinging it into the air. Midair, Trident began to glow. “Trident, attack Ouranous with the Tsunami Shot!” Trident fell back down on top of Ouranous, sending them both flying out of the stadium. Ouranous burst a moment before Trident struck the floor. Toko picked up Trident and jumped up triumphantly. “I just need to win one more time!”

Olivia was looking at Ouranous sadly. “We can still win if we burst Trident! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Olivia twirled around right before launching, sending Ouranous curving towards the wall at an angle. Suddenly, it twisted back around and gained a sudden boost of speed. Trident quickly took the center. “Trident, use Tsunami Twist!” It began to speed up, spinning faster than ever before.

Ouranous seemed lighter than before, and Toko noted its lack of a frame, when it suddenly struck Trident. Trident’s wave-like blades glowed, and because of how fast Trident was spinning, the whole bey seemed to glow, and Ouranous was flung straight up.

“Ouranous, come back down!” Ouranous shot down on top of Trident, hitting Trident where the wave blades could not save it. Because of that weakness, Trident lost a large amount of stamina, and Ouranous, who bounced off easily, began to circle the stadium while Trident began to wobble.

Ouranous was still going strong when Trident rolled to a halt. “It looks like we’re tied, Olivia. May the best ma- Blader win. Three! Two! Let it...

Rip!” Trident began to glide around the stadium. Toko had read Olivia’s launching angle, and Trident was closely following Ouranous, who tried to take the center. “Trident, full power! Take the center and push it away!” Trident’s beast formed around Toko, and Trident knocked Ouranous into the air.

“Ouranous, attack from above!” Ouranous’ beast formed around her. Ouranous was a blue skinned woman wearing a long rippling white dress. She had solid white eyes and held a long whip made of solid black metal. Ouranous snapped the whip towards Trident as Ouranous attacked.

“Trident, counter it!” Trident’s beast swung its trident towards the whip, knocking it back towards Ouranous’ beast. Trident sent Ouranous flying into a wall, causing it to lose stamina. It began to wobble towards Trident.

When they clashed, they both burst at nearly the same time, Trident’s parts being flung towards Olivia while Ouranous was flung towards Toko. The referee began to consider it for a while, before coming to a conclusion.

“Two points to Toko with a burst finish! Toko wins 4-2!” Toko grinned as he grabbed Ouranous’ parts and walked towards Olivia, who was bringing Trident’s parts too. They traded the parts, but they both lingered there for a second. Suddenly, Olivia leaned in. Her hair smelled like strawberries, and suddenly they were

Jake yawned as he clicked the volume up again to drown out the noise of Roan’s music. “Roan, I’m trying to watch the new episode of The Big Blade Theory! Sheldo is using science to defeat his friend Rajes in a battle!” He yelled.

Roan couldn’t hear him and kept training in the garage, while listening to every Beyblade theme song ever in a row. Jake sighed and turned the volume up more. “Mom, could you turn the temperature down? It’s so hot!” His mom, who was making dinner, looked at him, disappointed. “You can do it yourself! I’m doing something!”

Jake stuck his tongue out at her and walked to the thermostat, dragging his feet all the way. Then he returned to the couch. “Dinner’s ready!” His mom stepped outside to tell Roan. The music stopped and Roan came in, walking to the table.

Their mom set down dinner and then glared at Jake. “Get up and eat your dinner!” He looked at her, bored. “Can’t you just bring it here?”

She frowned at him. “We went over this yesterday! Now get up and eat dinner!” He sighed deeply and dragged his feet as he walked to the table, before sitting down.

Jake slowly ate the spaghetti and meatballs. “Hey, Jake, do you want to battle later?” Jake sighed. “I guess.” He shoveled another bite of spaghetti down his throat.

Unbeknownst to them, a small drone was outside, scanning his Zombie bey. Marked on the top was a blood red M. Then it buzzed away, back to its owner.

After dinner, Jake trudged behind Roan to the stadium as they prepared for battle. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Jake used a moderate launch, slowly sending Zombie to the center. “Zombie, use Turn Shield!” Revenge bounded around the stadium, before landing on the side. “Go, Revenge Smash!” Revenge hit the very outside of the layer, knocking Zombie off balance. However, Zombie was still perfectly stable, and the outer ring seemed to have tilted, before slowly moving back upright.

“Attack again! Revenge Strike!” Revenge bounced back to attack as the same drone flew by. A small metal arm extended from the bottom, revealing a gun-like object. Neither Jake nor Roan noticed as a small laser shot from it that hit Revenge, causing it’s shape to suddenly change. Jake didn’t notice Revenge suddenly stop bouncing and began to glide around the stadium. “Revenge, what are you doing! Attack!” Revenge didn’t seem to listen, and it began to wobble.

“Revenge! Speed back up!” Revenge fell to a halt. He reached down to find his bey. It was not Revenge. It was red, just like Revenge, but the design was clearly off. Where have I seen that before? He wondered to himself, before looking at Jake. Jake was holding Zombie, which he realized was what Revenge had turned into.

“Jake! My bey has turned into yours! Do you mind explaining why?”

Jake sighed and looked at him. “That’s not tru- oh, jeez, your bey has become mine! What happened?”

They looked around, Roan catching a small glimpse of the drone flying far away, but it vanished and he dismissed it. “I don’t know! Maybe it’s just a dream and I’ll wake up in the morning?!” The sun was setting and the moon was rising.

As he was walking home, he noticed a small letter on the porch addressed to him. He picked it up.

Dear Roan Jamieson,

I would like a rematch with you with my bey, Drake. Meet me at the stadium at 10:00 am tomorrow, January 13th. This time I will win, without any argument.

~Misuki

Roan took the note inside, set it on his nightstand, and went to sleep.

In the morning, he got dressed, and carried Revenge (which was still a Zombie) to the stadium, to find Misuki waiting for him. “What did you do to my bey?!” He said angrily.

Misuki slid her sunglasses off (she was wearing sunglasses for some reason) and looked at him as if she knew everything. It was a condescending look. “I did nothing.” She said simply. “Now let’s battle. Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!”

All of a sudden they were kissing, her lips soft against his. The kiss seemed to last an eternity, although it was probably closer to a few seconds, and then Olivia pulled away, leaving Toko’s heart racing. She gave him a nervous grin and skipped away, leaving him wondering what had happened as he left. On his way to the waiting room, he realized Nika was never going to let him live that down.

Nika had an odd expression on her face as he entered the room. “What was that?” Toko’s heart was still beating fast, and he couldn’t keep a euphoric grin off his face. “I don’t know, it just happened!” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Why, are you jealous?”

They both laughed, but Nika became serious. “It looks like I might have to battle you. I won’t go easy on you.” He looked at her. “I won’t either.”

“After that, um, shocking display of emotion, our next battle will be between Nika Aoi and Clio Delon! An attack and stamina match!” Nika stood up. “I will see you in the finals, lil bro.” She began to leave. “I’m not your little brother!” He called to her right before she left. He could hear her laugh through the door.

Nika was still surprised that her little brother had just kissed somebody. That was not something to be taken lightly, but her conflicting emotions of jealousy and pride would have to be pushed aside because this was a serious battle.

Nika stepped up to the stadium, looking around for Clio, when he suddenly dropped from the ceiling. He had an extravagant grey hairstyle, and wore a light blue button up shirt with a long black cape behind it. The rim of the cape was an alternating red and white diamond pattern.

Clio gave an evil grin, revealing his sharp teeth, and his magenta eyes glowed with an evil light. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Clio’s bey, Chaos, quickly took the center. “Chaos, use Levitation Launch!” Chaos glowed a sickly shade of green. Meanwhile, Nyke was zooming around the stadium. “Nyke, use Victory Slash!” Nika was unable to focus, and Nyke didn’t strike with full power. Chaos’s spring-loaded layer quickly sent Nyke flying back into a wall.

“Nyke, hang on and attack again!” Nyke bounced off and began to shoot towards Chaos, striking it and bouncing off, without doing any damage. “Full power, Nyke! Use Victory Slash!” One of Nyke’s wings glowed gold and it struck Chaos. “Chaos, counte-“ Clio was interrupted by Chaos bursting. “What?” He cried out, surprised.

Nika grinned, forgetting about Toko’s kiss. “Yeah! We just need to win one more time! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Clio leaned forward and then dropped backwards as if he were laying down as he launched, before popping back upright. “Use Chaos Warp!”

Chaos landed at an angle towards the wall, and it’s specialized driver kept it right there, while Nyke zoomed around fruitlessly, unable to make it to Chaos. “Nyke! Use Victory Slash!” Nyke shot up the stadium, one wing glowing bright.

When it struck Chaos it pushed Chaos against the wall. “Now, use Mist Counter!” Chaos rolled around in a full circle, the spring loaded layer flinging Nyke back into a wall. Then Chaos glided into the stadium, still perfectly stable. “Chaos, lock down the center with the Levitation Launch!”

Chaos glowed a sickly shade of green as it continually bounced Nyke away. “Nyke, end this!” One of Nyke’s wings glowed golden as it put all its remaining energy in an attack. It struck Chaos.

Nyke was flung away, and it burst midair. “It looks like we’re tied. May the best Blader win.” Clio said, grinning. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Clio dropped backwards again and then popped back up. “Go, Chao- Huh?” Nika had leapt forward, sending Nyke up the stadium, so it was able to quickly hit Chaos before it could use its Chaos Warp. “Nyke, use Ultra Victory Whip!”

One of Nyke’s wings glowed golden as it struck Chaos. “Hang on Chaos! Use Mist Counter!” Chaos rolled around to counterattack, but Nyke was too strong and Chaos was flung into the air. Midair, it burst. “Chaos, no!” Clio jumped up, caught Chaos, and then glared at Nika. Then he spun around and was gone.

Nika was celebrating until Hanami announced, “Alright, it looks like Nika Aoi and Toko Aoi will be battling tomorrow! A sibling battle!”

Toko was excited for the match, even though he would have to fight against his sister. However, he had some business to attend to. “Where is Olivia?” He muttered to himself. Toko searched the building, before deciding that she wasn’t in there, so he exited the building.

He eventually found her training at a stadium. “Olivia!” Olivia turned to look at him. “Oh, Toko!” Instantly, the butterflies returned to his stomach. “So, um, about what happened in there, um,” he tried to stutter out, but for some reason he couldn’t get the words out.

Olivia grinned. “Oh, you mean the kiss? You obviously had a crush on me, and, well, I had one on you, so I decided to go for it. I think it was a good decision.” Toko, still unable to speak well, wondered how she could talk fine around him. He began to speak. “Okay, you’re right. I do have a crush on you.”

Olivia smiled, knowing she was right. “I could tell. Would you like to watch a movie with me on Friday at four o’clock?”

Toko was surprised. “Sure! Do you want to train with me since I have the battle tomorrow?”

Olivia’s eyes brightened when she remembered the battle. “Oh yeah, because if you win you can battle Blair Pai!”

“Alright, so your sister uses an attack type bey while you use a stamina type. That means that you are at a disadvantage, and you’ll need to be able to defend against Nika’s attacks. My bey is a defense type, so I’ll help teach you how to defend against attacks. Defense types use high weight and high friction to hold steady. Your bey has relatively high weight, but you will need to change the friction. Because of that, I will lend you my Defense tip for the battle. Here.” She handed him the tip.

Toko switched the tips and set his tip in his pocket. “Okay, then what?”

“That’s half the battle right there! Now all you have to do is use a strong launch and take the center first. One of the things I do is push the launcher forward and at an angle parallel to the stadium. That way, the bey moves to the center much faster. Hand me the launcher.”

Olivia took the launcher and then launched at an angle while pushing it forward. Trident quickly took the center and then held it down. “See? And then if you use your Hydro Twist, you should be able to keep Nyke from doing any damage.” She reached into the stadium and tossed Trident to Toko. Toko tried the launch.

Trident went flying into a wall. “I believe in you. Keep practicing and you should be able to do it, and then you’ll be able to beat Nika! I’ve got to go, but keep trying!” She gave him a little peck on the cheek and left, sending a warm feeling throughout his body. He grinned as he tried again, still to no avail.

He kept trying until he was almost able to do it, but at that point, the sun was about to set. It was 5:00-ish. Toko launched again, trying to no avail to take the center.

Suddenly, something clicked in his head and he launched, sending Trident perfectly into the center. “Yes!” He said happily as he launched again and again, continually making it perfectly into the center.

“I think I have perfected the Tsunami Twist! I’m almost ready to battle Nika!” Toko saw the sun was setting, and some strange force seemed to pull him to the nearby beach. He sat on the sand, waves lapping at his feet, and looked at the sky.

The sunset was sending streaks of purple and pink and orange through the sky over a dark backdrop. Streaks of black and darker purples shot through the sky too, eventually turning the sky black. Stars slowly twinkled to life above Toko, and for a moment, one beautiful, prolonged moment, everything was calm and still.

Meanwhile, Nika was using the restroom. She had just defeated Clio and really had to pee. A few moments later, she was ready to go train at the nearby stadium. Nika ran out and left the building. She had been the last person in the building.

Nika was walking to the stadium when she bent the corner to see Toko was at the stadium. Then he noticed Olivia standing by him, leaning over, and then she kissed him on the cheek. Nika’s heart stopped, and suddenly she hated that horrible girl and her guts.

Nika turned on her heel and ran. She didn’t care where, or when, she just needed to leave.

Nika found herself beside a forest. Notably, two trees seemed to have been bent slightly away and the path between them was slightly worn. She wondered what could be within and walked through.

The trail deposited her at a secluded stadium in a clearing. Nika knew nobody except the owner of the stadium would find her there, and she wanted to meet the owner of the stadium. Until they came, she would have to train alone.

Nika launched, and she launched, and she launched, each time launching a different way, a different angle, etc. Suddenly, she launched, channeling all her anger and jealousy and passion for blading into one powerful launch.

Nyke was sent rocketing around the stadium so fast it was practically a golden blur. Nika suddenly heard a person and stepped behind a tree, before realizing that Nyke was still in the stadium. She stepped towards the stadium. A boy around Valt’s age backflipped towards the stadium, before noticing Nika and her bey.

“Hey, you found the trail! Wait, why do you look familiar?” He asked. The boy had black hair that spiked to the left.

Nika thought for a moment. “Do you know Valt?”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah, why?”

“I’m Valt’s little sister, Nika!”

“Nice to meet you, Nika! My name is Cuza Ackermann!”

“What are you doing here in Japan? Your name sounds like it is German!”

He frowned. “You know BC Sol? I joined a few years ago, but when they went international they didn’t form a German division. I decided to join the Japanese division instead, so I came here!”

“Did you create this battle area?”

Cuza thought about it. “Partially. I found the path and it led to this clearing, where there was just a broken desk with scribbles of paper and blueprints that’s ink had faded long ago. I removed it and decided to put a stadium here! I call it the Secret Training Area!”

“I saw the way your bey was moving! I’ve never seen a bey move that fast! What did you do?”

Nika grinned. “I don’t know, I just channeled my emotions and bam! Nyke was zooming around!”

“Wanna train? My bey is called Gear Chronos! It’s a balance type.”

Nika grinned. “Sure! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Chronos took the center in defense mode. “Chronos, use Gear Wall!” A deep blue bubble formed around Chronos. “Nyke, use Victory Slash! Break that shield!” One of Nyke’s wings glowed golden as it struck Chronos, bouncing off harmlessly. “Attack again! Victory Rush!”

Nyke began to move up and down the stadium’s slope, gaining speed. Then it began to loop around the stadium, beginning a rapid attack on Chronos. Chronos remained untouched by the constant attacks. “When Chronos and I decide on a mode to pick, we’re untouchable!”

“Nyke, I believe in you! Break through that shield!”

Nyke struck with what little energy it had left, only to get flung out of the stadium. “Let’s try again! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Cuza had switched into Attack mode. “Now, use Warp Launch!” Chronos shot up the stadium and then struck Nyke in the center with full force. “Nyke, use Victory Strike to counter that attack!” One of Nyke’s spring-loaded wings sprang inwards, allowing it to mostly absorb the impact, and then the wing shot back out, sending both beys back up the stadium.

“Nyke, full force! Victory Slash!” One of Nyke’s wings glowed a bright golden as it focused all of its power into that one point. Then it struck Chronos. “Chronos, Gear Warp Launch!” Chronos used the momentum from the impact to gain speed and hit the wall. Then it swung back down the stadium at full force and struck Nyke, wings glowing bright blue.

Both bladers called out their beys name as the two clashed. Each of their beasts formed, a golden warrior fighting against a hooded humanoid wielding glowing golden clocks. Eventually, Chronos burst. “Yes! We won!”

Cuza frowned. “Aw man, how did you do that?”

Revenge began to hop around the stadium, while Trident quickly took the center. “Trident! Take the center and use Hydro Twist!” Trident’s wave-like protrusions glowed blue as it locked down the center, prepared to absorb an attack. And it was quite an attack. Revenge went flying towards Trident.

It smashed into Trident at an angle, spinning the wave blade and bouncing off. Trident kept the center locked down, even through Revenge’s constant attacks. “Go, Revenge! Use Revenge Crush!” Revenge slammed into Trident from above, where it could not defend.

“Trident, use Hydro Counter!” Trident leaned to the side, causing it to strike Revenge with the blades, sending Revenge flying straight up.

“End this! Strike from above with our Ultra Revenge Slash!” One of Revenge’s blades glowed as it smashed down upon Trident, channeling all of its remaining energy in one strike with one blade.

Trident and Revenge both burst almost simultaneously, but Revenge burst slightly beforehand. “Dang it, how did you beat me?!” Roan cried out.

Suddenly, they noticed two people coming towards the stadium. One of them wore a bright blue shirt and a puffy white jacket and a thin white scarf. His blazing blue hair seemed to move. The other one had white hair that covered up his right eye, and he wore a thin black jacket over a deep red shirt.

“Hey, move out of the way! This is our stadium!” The blue one said. The other remained silent. Toko noticed a red tattoo on the silent one’s face that he was certain hadn’t been there before.

“Our names are Roan and Toko, and we have as much of a right to blade here as you! Who are you anyways?”

The blue one spoke up again. “My name is Lui and this is Suoh. Now scram, we don’t battle against the weak!”

Toko stood up. “Well your lucky that we aren’t weak then! Let’s begin this match! Three! Two! One! Let it…

Rip!”

The boy rolled his head to the side, bored. His white hair fell over his eyes, one red and the other blue. Another boy walked into the room. He had crazier hair with pink edges. “How are you holding up, bro? It seems to be your birthday! How are you going to celebrate this big occasion?”

The boy in the red robe looked at him. “I don’t know Hearts, I don’t know! Everybody expects this stupid birthday thing to be amazing! Hoorah, you’re a full year closer to dying! Yay, you’re older, and you get more expectations! Life is tougher! You have to abandon all of your kid-like hobbies! Everything about a birthday is wrong, wrong, wrong!”

Hearts stepped back. “Man, Phi, that’s dark! Why can’t you just celebrate like a normal person?”

Phi sighed as his head lolled back to the side. “148.” He muttered.

Hearts arched an eyebrow. “What?”

“That’s how many of these stupid birthdays have passed since we came to this Hellish land called Earth!” Phi closed his eyes as though going to sleep.

“Well, I brought you a present anyways. If you don’t want it...” Hearts began to leave, and Phi noticed a small box wrapped in red and gold.

Phi sighed, pretending his curiosity wasn’t piqued.

Eventually, he was too curious. “Fine, bring it here.”

Hearts laughed at Phi as he set the present on the table and left.

Phi tore it open very precisely, ripping each seam apart perfectly. Under the wrapping was a small cardboard box. Phi, noticing how flimsy it was, put his fist through it and then tore it apart. Inside was a small red and gold object with a dark black outer rim. Under it was a note.

hey Phi, it seems you’ve opened my present. ta-da! ain’t it so underwhelming! i took your Phoenix for a little bit and got it an ‘upgrade’, whatever that means! meet Ashes Phoenix!

~Hearts~

Phi shook his head at his brother’s insanity and picked up his new Phoenix. It was rather hefty, and the outer ring came off like with his old Phoenix. However, other rings came in the box for different modes and different battle strategies.

Phi gave a rare smile as he studied the different rings. The rings were labeled as Ashes Mode
Blaze Mode
Armor Mode
Dead Mode
Heavy Mode
Revive Mode
Force Wall Mode (For Emergencies and Strong Opponents Only!!!!). The Ashes Mode was missing, so Phi assumed it was the one on the layer.

Phi tiredly called “thanks!” to Hearts, masking his excitement at his present. He was totally and finally alone in that big room, and he could stop masking his emotions.

Everything was bland and boring, leading them. It was like being the Ringleader of an endless parade; it sounds fun until you try it. Finally, he was alone, and he could have a little fun using his new bey. Phi stealthily grabbed a stadium and dragged it into the room. “Three. Two. One. Let it...

Rip.” He whispered as he sent Phoenix into the stadium. Phoenix took the center quickly. Phi looked around and realized Hearts had left Hades in the room too, so he walked to it, grabbed it, and then launched it into the stadium so he could practice. “Ash Armor, go!” Its outer ring glowed black as it began to parry Hades’ attacks.

Hearts, sensing his bey was battling, stormed in. “Nobody launches my bey except me! Grim Impulse!” Hades used it’s outer weight to deliver a powerful attack, sending the Ashes ring off. “Wait, he’s gonna attack! Hades, dodge the ring with our Grim Trap!” Hades shot around Phoenix in a circle, it’s trail glowing a dark purple.

A wide circle formed around Phoenix from Hades’ trail. Tendrils of Black shot from the inside, turning the circle a dark purple and black color that trapped Phoenix in the middle. “Phoenix, break free! Ashes Press!” The ring from Phoenix shot towards Hades, slamming into it. Hades’ speed allowed it to knock the ring away.

Hades’ circle slowly shrank onwards towards Phoenix until it was rapidly striking Phoenix. “Attack! Double Ashes Press!” Phoenix’s ring, which was still bouncing around, slammed into Hades, so Hades was being hit from both sides simultaneously. Hades was unable to take the double attack and burst. Phi smiled. “Thanks for the Present! It’s very strong!”

Hearts grinned. “The Great Phi has shown emotion! What a rare event!”

Phi tossed Hearts a small black object. “Haha, very funny. Now put this on. We have an organization to take over.” Hearts sighed.

“Okay, Phi.”

Nika yawned as she woke up. Her alarm clock had reminded her that she was about to battle against Toko. She sighed as she got up, preparing to battle him. A few minutes later, she was heading to the building.

Meanwhile, Toko was preparing, enthusiastic about his battle against Nika. When he was ready, he left, closely behind Nika.

About ten minutes later, Toko and Nika were at the tournament building, prepared to battle. “Nika, good luck.”

Nika grinned. “Thanks, but I don’t need luck! I have skill!”

They prepared for launch. “Three! Two! One! Let it... Rip!” Nyke began to rocket around the stadium at full speed. Trident quickly took the center. “Trident, use Hydro Twist! Block out Nyke’s attacks!”

Nika grinned. “You’ll have to make a stronger defense than that to block us! Now Nyke, attack with the Ultra Victory Slash!” One of Nyke’s wings glowed with golden electricity.

Then, moving so fast it became a blur, Nyke smashed straight into Toko.

Trident went flying into the air, clinking gently as it hit the ground. Toko remained staring into space for a moment until he realized that he had lost the first round.

He leaned down, picked up Trident, and prepared for battle. “That was a fluke, Nika! This time Trident and I will defeat you!” Toko lifted Trident up to eye level and then removed the tip, switching another tip with it. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” The world went silent. Nika found herself in a blank wide space, alone. “Where am I?” She thought aloud.

Curled up in a ball was a small, hideous and misshapen creature. Another creature, a feminine humanoid wearing lightweight golden armor. “Welcome to your mind. I am Nyke, the spirit within your bey. We have a strong bond, you and I, and you have finally let me in.”

“B-but the battle!”

“Time is stopped while we are, I guess, thinking.”

“Well, what is that-that-that abomination?!”

Nyke very carefully lifted the creature up and stroked its back. “This ‘abomination’ is a being of your emotions. You have been suppressing your emotions and forcing them back. And this is what happened.”

“S-so if I try not to suppress my emotions, or if I try to release them, my mind and emotional status will strengthen?”

Nyke nodded. “Help your emotions flower and grow and you will do the same! Now get out there and we will annihilate him!”

Nika channeled all of her emotions into her launch, letting that odd creature free. “RIP!” She roared as Nyke hit the stadium and became a golden blur, forming a golden circle around the rim of the stadium. “Nyke! Use your Ultra Victory Annihilation!” She bellowed. Nyke’s circle quickly shrank until it was grinding against Trident, pushing the layer sideways. “Trident, hang on! Tsunami Shot!” Trident was sent flying straight up.

Then it smashed down on top of Nyke. Nyke’s speed and force easily sent it flying out of the stadium. Nika grinned. And somewhere in her mind, a small shivering being was awakened and became strong.

Suoh’s eye glowed as it turned red. “Salamander, drain Lui’s power!” Salamander was wrapped in a dark purple-red aura as it struck Longinus.

Longinus’ blue aura seemed to weaken as Salamander’s grew stronger. Suoh flipped his hair so it covered his right eye instead of his left, revealing a dark red mark on his face. It was glowing with an unearthly light. “Salamander, use Corrupted Flame Boost!”

Salamander used the friction from the rubber on the driver to create a tornado of flames around it. Then it slashed inwards at a steep angle to attack Trident, who was holding down the center. Salamander sent Trident up the stadium into the wall. “Roan, his attack is too strong!”

Roan smirked. “Let’s see about his defense. Go, Revenge Crush!” Revenge, who had just bounced high into the air, slashed down on Salamander. “Block it! Use Berserk Blaze Wall!” The force from Revenge’s attack switched Salamander into defense mode.

A red bubble formed around it, keeping Revenge from even slightly harming it. Revenge kept bouncing on top of Salamander, Roan desperately hoping it would do damage. “I cannot get through its defense either! It’s a monster!”

Lui’s face lit up. “Suoh can’t defend and attack at the same time! It’ll have to compromise, allowing us to defeat it!”

Roan and Toko both looked at Lui in surprise. “I thought you were on his team!"

Lui shrugged. “He’s trying to drain my power. I’d rather be on your team for the time being.”

“Alright, that makes since, but how do we make him try to defend and attack?” Toko asked, confused.

Roan’s face lit up as he realized what Lui had meant. “If Longinus and Revenge both attack while forcing Salamander to attack Trident-“

Toko interrupted, realizing what they meant, “then Salamander won’t be able to defend the attacks!”

Lui rolled his eyes. “Now you get it. Longinus, use Dragonic Spiral!” Longinus slammed into Salamander, pushing it against Trident. “Trident, use Hydro Twist!” Salamander was sent straight up into the air. “Revenge, delivers the coup de grace! Revenge Strike!”

Revenge struck Salamander midair. For a moment, they were hovering and clashing against each other, and then Salamander and Revenge burst at the same time. “Now Longinus! Draco Spiral!” Longinus quickly sped into Trident and burst it. Lui laughed. “So easy! Now leave our stadium!” Toko’s eyes widened as he realized their deal. “B-but you were-“

Lui posed so that his foot was hovering over Trident, a manic grin across his pale face. “Go away!
Now!” Lui’s foot swung down and Toko lunged, grabbing Trident and getting his finger stepped on instead. Toko and Lui both howled, Toko howling in pain and Lui laughing, his laugh like a hyena’s. Toko shook his pink finger as him and Roan sadly left.

Toko stared at Trident. ‘With that kind of power, how can we defeat Nika?’ He wondered to Trident. Trident did not respond.

Toko sighed as he prepared for battle. Suddenly, he got an idea. Valt sometimes ran up to the stadium for extra power and speed. Valt called that his ‘Sprint Boost’. What if Toko did that but spun around at the end?

That could give him added spin speed and allow him to lock down the center easier. So, Toko walked six steps back from the stadium. “Three!” Toko leapt forward. “Two!” Toko leapt again. “One!” Toko jumped to the stadium, spinning midair. “Let it...

Rip!” Toko hit the ground and launched at the same time, sending Trident to the center with extreme speed. Nyke was a blur around the stadium, both beys spinning at full speed. “Nyke, use Ultra Victory Annihilation!” Nyke became a shrinking circle around the stadium until it was constantly grinding against Trident.

“Neutralize the attack! Use Spiral Tsunami Twist!” Trident’s perimeter glowed blue. Trident had managed to mostly absorb the attack, and they both remained spinning strong. However, Trident had lost its massive spin boost and was spinning at its normal rate. “If he absorbed that attack, he won’t be able to handle this one! Ultra Victory Slash!”

One of Nyke’s wings glowed golden as it slammed into Trident, flinging Trident into the air. “Trident, hit her with the Tsunami Shot!” Trident fell directly on top of Nyke, sending them both flying out of the stadium. Toko grinned. “Looks like our new move worked well! If I can add just a smidge more power I should be able to beat her!”

Toko picked up Trident and stepped back six steps. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Toko used his special launch again. This time, he managed to launch full power, straining his arm to far. Toko’s arm burned, but he ignored it, set on defeating Nika. Trident was spinning at full force. “Trident, disrupt Nyke’s speed with our new Spiral Tsunami Shield!” Three glowing blue shields formed around Trident as it rolled up the stadium. Nyke, who was a golden blur, slammed into one of the shields, and instantly all of its velocity caught up to it as all of its force and momentum was turned on itself.

Nika realized her grave error a moment too late, and Nyke burst, its parts being sent flying out of the stadium. “Haha, sis! It looks like we are tied! One more win and bam! you’re defeated!”

Nika smirked. “I don’t think you realize that I have two points too! I just need one more win and I will defeat you instead!”

Toko’s eyes widened as he realized that they were tied. “You’re right, but I will get the victory! Now let’s do this battle! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Toko used his special launch again. Nyke was a blur, but Nika had used a differently angled launch to send Nyke in a star-like pattern. Toko launched Trident so that it moved in a circle around the stadium. “Trident, use Spiral Boost!” Trident sped up, forming a circle around the center.

“Nyke, use Ultra Victory Star Launch!” Nyke glowed as it formed a star in the stadium. However, it could not create a perfect star pattern because Trident’s rapid motion formed essentially a circular wall that blocked Nyke’s attacks.

“Hold on, Trident! Knock Nyke out of the stadium!”

“Nyke, break through it! Ultra Victory Slash!” One of Nyke’s wings glowed golden as it struck Trident with full power. They both clashed, and then they were both flung into the air from the power of their attacks. “Nyke, attack him in midair!”

Nyke struck Trident, a spring loaded wing flinging Trident sideways, over the edge of the stadium. “Yes!” Nika cried out happily. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a burst and a clink almost simultaneously. Nika opened her eyes to see Trident on the ground and Nyke’s parts in the stadium. The ref thought about what had happened before deciding who won. “Simultaneous burst and ring out finishes! Because of burst priority, Toko wins with a burst finish 4-2! Toko won the Primal Cup and will challenge Blair Pai!”

Toko grinned as he pumped his fist into the air. “Yes! I won!” Nika quickly picked up Nyke and ran out of the room at full speed. Olivia quickly hopped over the fence keeping the audience from the stadium and gave him a hug. Then she pulled away and grinned.

“See you later!” Olivia said, and she was gone. Meanwhile, Toko’s friends had been coming over the fence too. Corey waved him over. “Good job! You won!” After that, everything was a blur.

Toko vaguely remembered getting many pats on the back and fist-bumps. He showed everyone his Beyblade, easily beat generic bladers, and slowly made his way home. Dinner was another blur, filled with food from all of his neighbors and friends that had accumulated. Full, Toko went to bed.

In the beginning there was nothing. One day four beings came into existence. The first was a powerful knight named Valkyrie. The second was a red-skinned demon-like creature with a large mane named Spriggan. The third was a flaming demon-like creature named Ragnaruk. The final being was a three-headed dog named Kerbeus.

Valkyrie, knowing it was the strongest, quickly challenged Ragnaruk to assert its dominance and become ruler over them. Valkyrie noticed Ragnaruk had strong armor (Heavy) and Ragnaruk wanted Valkyrie’s sword (Accel). So, they made a deal and began the fight.

Ragnaruk knew the sword was very sharp and strong, so he would have to go defensive and use his armor to block the attacks. Valkyrie slashed at Ragnaruk, only to be deflected. Ragnaruk used the armor on its arm to deflect attacks as it ran towards him, smashing into Valkyrie, knocking Valkyrie into the air.

The wind was knocked out of Valkyrie, leaving Ragnaruk sneering over it. Valkyrie groaned as she forced herself upright and then began to attack Ragnaruk again. This time, Valkyrie slashed against Ragnaruk’s leg, knocking it down. Ragnaruk roared as it stood up and decided to go on the offensive.

It engulfed its arms in flames and then through a punch towards Valkyrie, who dodged it. While Ragnaruk was off-balance, Valkyrie quickly hit Ragnaruk in the head with the hilt of the sword, knocking it to the ground. Then she planted a foot firmly on Ragnaruk’s chest, pointing a blade at its head.

Ragnaruk frowned as it realized it had lost and then gave her the armor, being left with her light-weight armor (Wing). The new armor quickly changed shape to fit Valkyrie, and stronger than before, Valkyrie went to challenge Kerbeus.

Valkyrie slashed her sword against Kerbeus, but it’s hide was like armor, and Valkyrie couldn’t get through. Valkyrie attacked again, and this time, Kerbeus swung a paw at her, sending her flying into a wall.

Valkyrie stood up, dizzy. Her older armor wouldn’t have been able to take that attack and she would’ve lost, but Ragnaruk’s armor was much stronger and heavier than her old armor, and she began attacking again. Her sword was unable to pierce the hide no matter how many times she attacked, and Valkyrie was unable to find a weak point until it roared. It’s gaping maw was not as strong as iron, and she could get through.

She slashed her sword into its mouth, sending black-green blood out. It collapsed. Suddenly, it’s mouth wound healed and Kerbeus walked away. Valkyrie realized that any damage sustained during battle heals instantly as soon as a battle ends.

Valkyrie just needed to defeat Spriggan and then she could be the champion and rule over them all. So, she challenged Spriggan to a battle. Valkyrie made a deal with the other four. If she defeated Spriggan than she would become the ruler over them all.

Valkyrie slashed her sword upwards against Spriggan’s axe, the force from the attack knocking them both backwards. They both ran towards the center to attack again.

Valkyrie leapt into the air, slashing the sword down on Spriggan’s chest, knocking it down. Valkyrie landed on top of Spriggan, pointing the sword at its head. Spriggan swung the axe upwards, knocking Valkyrie off, and then it struggled upright. Spriggan began to wildly swing its axe, keeping Valkyrie from coming near it.

Valkyrie spun around and seemed to run to the nearest wall, using its momentum to run up the wall a few steps, and then it sprang off the wall, sending it flying over Spriggan’s head. Valkyrie smashed the hilt of its sword on Spriggan, knocking it unconscious.

Valkyrie stood tall and strong as the others bowed down, including Spriggan who had instantly healed. Valkyrie sat down upon a throne happily, as it was the strongest and controlling the Meta.

For a while, Valkyrie was the happy ruler over the others, who had created small huts, and everybody was fine. One day, someone new showed up in a burst of dark energy. It was a warrior wearing a skull helmet and a black cloak, wielding two long scythes.

“I am Deathscyther!” It growled in a low voice. “And I challenge the ruler to a battle!”

Valkyrie left her little hut when she heard this commotion. Deathscyther looked at Valkyrie’s armor (still Heavy) and decided that he needed the armor, so he challenged Valkyrie to the battle. The winner would get Valkyrie’s armor.

Deathscyther quickly slashed its scythes at Valkyrie, who dodged them and then jumped behind it to slash her sword against its back, knocking Deathscyther to the ground. Deathscyther rolled to the side and knocked Valkyrie over, before hopping upright.

Valkyrie stood up, an aura of blue flames blazing into existence around her. Deathscyther gave an evil grin under its mask as an aura of dark energy flowed into existence around it. Then it dropped both of its scythes and then created a ball of black and purple flames.

Deathscyther hurled the ball of fire at Valkyrie, who didn’t dodge in time and was blasted backwards in an explosion. Valkyrie stumbled upright, not willing to give up that easily.

Deathscyther threw two more dark fireballs, which Valkyrie knew would defeat it, so after wrapping the sword in its blue flaming aura, Valkyrie threw it straight at the black fireballs, which met in the center.

Everything was silent for a moment as time seemed to freeze. Valkyrie could see Deathscyther clearly, and both of their flaming projectiles had disappeared.

And then a wave of dark blue energy blasted out from the center, sending them both flying against the walls, unconscious.

The two both instantly woke up and realized that they had tied. Therefore, Valkyrie remained the ruler and kept its armor, and Deathscyther left to challenge Spriggan. Deathscyther noticed Spriggan’s Armor (Spread) was almost as strong as Valkyrie’s and challenged Spriggan for it.

Deathscyther started by quickly slashing a scythe at Spriggan, who swung its axe and sent Deathscyther flying back. Deathscyther quickly landed and then sped towards Spriggan, before jumping over Spriggan and doing a flip, positioning its scythes so that they hooked onto the axe as it flipped.

Deathscyther sent the axe flying away, where it buried itself in a wall. Then Deathscyther began to slash its scythes in X’s while pushing Spriggan back towards a wall.

Deathscyther’s aura flared to life around it as it created two dark fireballs. Then it flung the fireballs at Spriggan, which hit and in a massive shockwave, Spriggan was sent headfirst into a wall, knocking it unconscious. The axe returned to Spriggan as it became conscious, since the battle was over, and Deathscyther took its armor.

Deathscyther decided to challenge Ragnaruk for it’s gauntlets (Survive), knowing that if it won it would be able to defeat Valkyrie with its dark power.

Ragnaruk accepted and the fight began. Deathscyther quickly formed a massive black fireball and sent it towards Ragnaruk, noting it was stronger than when he had battled Spriggan.

Ragnaruk easily sidestepped, but the force of the shockwave knocked it into the air. It collapsed, and Deathscyther took the gauntlets. However, Deathscyther knew they would tie again if he challenged Valkyrie. Instead, Deathscyther decided to wait for someone to come who could defeat Valkyrie. Then Deathscyther would only have to beat them.

“Simultaneous burst and ring out finishes! Burst priority means that Toko wins, 4-2!”

Nika’s eyes widened as Nyke’s parts went flying towards her. Tears sprang to her eyes as she picked up Nyke’s parts and ran.

Nika eventually found herself at a stadium long worn down from battling. The pillars surrounding it and holding up the ceiling were overgrown in vines and moss. She sat down next to it so that she wouldn’t be visible to anybody unless they were at the stadium, and then she began to cry.

Nika was sitting there for a long time until she felt as if she had no tears left in her body to cry. Just as she was wiping off her face, someone was walking by. “Nika!” They called out.

She stood up and saw that the person was presumably a boy, but she was not 100% sure since he wore a black mask. “I’m Nika! Do I know you?” They had a familiar voice, but she couldn’t place where it was from.

The boy turned to her. “Ah, there you are! My name is Stealth Eye, and I saw you lose to Toko! I’m from the Shadow Organization and I’m here to invite you to join the group!” Stealth Eye spoke in a polite tone, yet Nika could tell he clearly didn’t want to be here.

“Shadow Organization? What’s that? It sounds dark.”

Stealth Eye seemed to think about the answer before finally deciding to explain it as, “the Shadow Organization is a group of bladers lead by a man named Dark. Our goal is to take in anybody who needs training and help them become stronger!”

Nika thought about it for a minute, before deciding. “Take me to this Dark person.” The eyes on Stealth Eyes mask (which were made of a dark grey glass) gleamed.

He led her to a tall building. “Welcome to the Shadow Organization!” He said grandly, his arms wide as if he was presenting the contents of the building.

Nika was about to reply when the words got stuck in her throat at the amazing sight before her. She was surrounded in stadiums and people all battling, some masked like Stealth Eye and some not. Stray Beyblades went flying as parts were scattered from burst finishes. Nika finally managed to choke out a “Whoa”, and even Stealth Eye seemed pleased at the sight before them.

“Isn’t it amazing,” He said happily, before leading her to an elevator in the back, constantly telling her to be careful, and that they would be mad if she broke one of their beys.

The elevator was rather large, considering the amount of people that she had seen. Stealth Eye pushed a button labeled as D. “The D stands for the Dorms. People only use the dorms if they feel as if they have no home to return to. Dark’s office is also on this floor. Be warned, it’s very dimly lit, so you’ll only be able to see his silhouette.”

There was a loud ding as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Stealth Eye led her through the dark hallway to an office and slid the door open. Somebody else was in the room, and was having a heated argument with Dark. “Isn’t going to work!” They were saying in a tired voice. Someone else in the room angrily responded, “Yes it will! It worked before on-“

A third person in the room calmly interrupted in a smooth voice, “Calm down, brother. Two guests just entered the room. I’d recommend for you two to leave.”

The first one responded, “Fine, but when it fails, you’ll have hell to pay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Someone bumped into Nika and quickly said, “Sorry,” as they left the room. Nika looked out the open door to see the silhouette of two people. One was tall and had spiky hair. The other was slightly shorter and had longer hair which she could vaguely see as lavender. Then the elevator doors closed and they were gone.

Nika turned around in surprise as the man spoke. Her eyes had finally adjusted, and the man sitting in front of her was tall with long hair.

“I presume you must be Nika. Welcome to the Shadow Organization. May I see your bey?”

Nika slid Nyke onto the desk. Dark picked it up and seemed to investigate it. “Ah, an attack type. Very overused. However, it has some ability there. Spring attacks. Almost like God Valkyrie. Lots of potential.” He slid it back across the table to Nika.

“You have officially joined the C-Team. If you can prove yourself, you can rise to the B-Team, and then to the A-Team, and from there you can reach the Elite Squad, which entitles you to an evolution of your bey.”

Nika grinned. “Now go, and train with the others.”

She was about to leave with Stealth Eye when Dark called something else. “Oh, I almost forgot. You have one more decision to make. Do you want to become anonymous like Stealth Eye or the others?”

Nika spun around, realizing that being anonymous might be a good idea. “Sure!”

Dark stood up and tossed her a small object. It was a black mask. “Welcome to the Shadow Organization, Golden Eye.”

The small glass eyes on the mask were golden colored, yet when she put them on, her sight did not become golden. Under the mask, she felt powerful.

Nika was going to- scratch that, Golden Eye was going to make her mark on the world.

“Toko, come here! There’s some mail here for you!” Toko’s mom called. Toko took the piece of mail and tore it open. It was a letter from the Primal Cup organizers, the WBBA.

It told him to go to the building where the Primal Cup was held to battle against Blair Pai. The battle would be held at 2:00 PM. The time went by very slowly, and every minute that passed when it wasn’t time to battle sent shivers up his spine and sent his skin crawling. Finally, the clock ticked to 1:55 PM, and Toko began to run to the building.

He barely made it in on time, and he realized that he probably should have left earlier. Blair Pai was a tall boy with tan skin and long dark brown hair. He sneered down at Toko. “It looks like I’ll be beating you today.” He said, each word making it painfully obvious he would rather be anywhere else in the world. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Behemoth was a very calm Beyblade, unlike its owner. Trident quickly took the center while Behemoth quietly circled it. “Behemoth! Use Primal Strike!”

Behemoth glowed as it slammed into Trident, managing to perfectly strike one of the blades that was unmoving on Trident instead of the shifting blades that repelled attacks. Trident was flung up the stadium where it bounced off a wall.

“Trident, pull through! Use Tsunami Twist!” Trident rolled back towards the center which Behemoth was currently occupying. Trident struck and neither took damage because of the wave-like blades. Instead, the attack forced Behemoth out of the center, allowing Trident to retake the center.

“Now use Primal Boost!” Behemoth seemed to change in shape and suddenly became shorter. Behemoth began to rocket around the stadium. “Now hit Trident with the Primal Claw!”

Behemoth slashed a long wing against Trident, sending it into the air. Midair, Trident burst. “How did you even win a tournament if you are that weak!”

Toko frowned slightly, sad he had lost. “Someday I’m going to beat you and when I do I will happily wipe that smug expression off your face!” Toko picked up Trident.

“Yeah, when pigs fly!” Blair sneered as he left. “What a waste of my time.” Blair muttered under his breath just loud enough for Toko to hear. Toko’s fists clenched tightly as he grew angry. He slowly walked out of the room, trying to mask his anger.

Then Toko checked his watch and realized it was 3:30. He only had thirty minutes to get prepared and dressed for his date. Toko ran home, showered, and put on nicer clothing. In his mind, it wasn’t that fancy of an occasion, but he shouldn’t just wear his standard attire.

He was finally ready at about 3:50, and he dashed to the movie theater where Olivia was waiting for him. Toko checked his watch anxiously and was surprised by a loud beep. It was four o’ clock. “Hey, Toko!” Olivia said nervously.

Toko’s eyes widened as he saw her. She was wearing a simple sea green dress and dark blue sandals, and her light blonde hair was down around her face, completing her look. “You look great!”

“Thanks, you too!” Olivia curtsied. “Now lets go watch our movie!” The movie was an hour and a half long, but it was boring and long, and they finished all their popcorn within the first twenty minutes. A few minutes later, they both quietly agreed to leave the movie.

“Man, I think we both learned a lesson from that!” Toko said as he walked towards home.

“Yeah, we need to look at Rotten Tomatoes before we see the movie!” They both laughed for a while, the sky turning into dusk. Olivia waved goodbye as they parted, and Toko ran down to the beach, sitting with his feet slightly in the water.

The waves lapped at his toes as he watched streaks of pink and black shoot through the sky. Then, Toko walked home, ending a perfect day with a long night of sleep.

Toko was startled awake by Nika. “Toko! There’s some guy outside who is trying to talk to you!”

Toko’s eyes slowly opened. “Okay, I’ll handle the problem. Please exit my room now, sis.” Nika frowned at him. “You’re no fun, you know that!” But Nika listened to him and left.

A few minutes later, Toko was dressed and ready to meet this person. Outside were four young adults. The one in the front had dark blue hair that was messy and spiky under a red cap. Behind him was the tallest and second tallest people. The taller one had messy black hair and wore a red headband with the symbol of Yin and Yang on it. The person next to him had spiky dark grey hair. The fourth person was struggling to get Toko to see him, and was constantly running around the other three, trying to find the perfect point to stand at. He had blond hair.

The person in front spoke first. “You must be Toko! My name is Tyson Granger and this is Ray Kon, Kai Hiwatari, and the guy constantly running around is Max Tate!” He pointed to each person as he said their names.

The one with dark grey hair- Kai, stepped forward. “We are the Bladebreakers, and we saw your battles. You have talent, and so, with the help of Taiga Akaba, we evolved our beys and created the new Supercharged Stadiums! Now we are here to, I guess, train you!” The last part sounded like a question.

Toko realized that training couldn’t hurt, so he decided to do their training. “Alright, let’s do this training!”

Tyson and the others led Toko to a group of stadiums. Ray stepped towards Toko first. “First you will go up against me and my Neo Driger Fang!” Toko looked at the stadium, which looked like a standard stadium. “What makes that stadium supercharged?”

Ray pulled out a remote and pushed a button. The stadium began to transform. The stadium seemed to split apart into two main parts. There was a very wide outer ring with a small rim on both sides. The other part was lowered below it and it was the central disc of the stadium.

The lowered disc in the center began to spin around. “Welcome to Driger’s Hunting Grounds! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Driger began to zoom around the outer ring of the stadium. Trident, who was used to taking the center, was bouncing off the small ridge, unable to cross over it. Finally, Driger managed to strike Trident, sending it up the stadium into a wall.

“Trident, use Tsunami Shot!” Trident bounced off the wall and gained speed before slamming into Driger, sending it flying into the air. Then it landed perfectly in the central piece of the stadium so that it could gain spin speed from the rotating core. “Trident, use Spiral Boost!”

Trident glowed blue as it began to speed up its spin. Eventually, it was spinning at an extremely high velocity. Driger finally leapt over the rim and attacked Trident, before being knocked straight into the air. Driger attacked again, before being deflected again. “Yes! Our defense is stronger then his! We’re about to win!”

Ray grinned sneakily. “Don’t count your chickens ‘till they’re hatched! Driger, use our Neo Evolution! Bloodfang Bite!” Midair, Driger glowed brightly as it changed in shape, becoming much more aggressive. Driger’s beast formed around Ray, a white tiger with green designs patterned throughout its fur. It roared and charged towards Toko as Driger fell on top of Trident. Suddenly, Trident burst and Driger’s beast slammed into Toko, knocking him backwards.

Ray picked up Driger. “You need to stop getting overconfident. The tables could turn at any time on you and you need to be prepared!”

Toko picked up Trident and frowned. “How did you do that?”

“Choose your weapon!” The floating disembodied voice said, startling John. “What do you- Ohh, that’s what you mean.” Midway through his sentence, an assortment of random parts had appeared in front of him.

John looked through them. He noticed a Spryzen, a Valtryek, Diomedes D2, and other parts. He thought about what he wanted for a while, before deciding on a Balance Type. He needed a defensive layer, an aggressive disc, and a stamina driver. Looking around, he finally decided on using Phoenix P4 12Lift Eternal-S.

“I’m ready! Battle me now, voice!”

“Meet Deep Caynox 7 Bearing! It will be your doom!”

They both launched, Phoenix quickly taking the center while Caynox circled, gliding around the stadium. “Now! Use Vampire Fang!” The voice thundered as Caynox was surrounded in blue energy and it struck Phoenix, knocking it out of the stadium.

There was a loud beep and John looked up. A floating bar above him that announced his bey’s spin speed had dropped. John suddenly got an idea. He ran and scooped parts up, forming a tall, makeshift pile. “What are you- Get down from there!”

John leapt up and touched the bar, which was solid like he had hoped. He jumped up again and grabbed it, pulling it down from the ceiling. He held it like a hammer as he began to slam the bar against Caynox, who burst under it.

Then he smashed each part with the health bar. “Hah, voice! I outsmarted you! Now you cannot fight back, so I win!”

“You beat the first challenger, now beat the second one! Meet Salamander S4 2Bump Atomic!” And this time, the health bar won’t be there to save you!”

John frowned as the bar dissipated. Then he launched again, Salamander appearing in the stadium. “Phoenix, use Revive Armor Press!” Phoenix glowed blue and began to attack Salamander rapidly. The voice laughed darkly.

“Salamander, use Rain of Swordfire!” Salamander bounced straight up into the air, surrounded in dark red blades. “Phoenix, use Revive Armor!” Phoenix was surrounded in emerald armor, blocking Salamander’s powerful attack.

Salamander burst. “Hahaha! Your challengers don’t stand a chance against my bey!”

The voice burst into laughter, a long, heaving, cruel sound. “You haven’t seen my final challenger yet! I use my Spryzen Requiem S3 0Bump Zeta! Mwahahaha!”

Max pulled out a remote and clicked a button. Another of the stadiums began to shift, a rotating circular wall forming around the center. The wall was very tall and had a small gap that a bey would barely be able to fit through.

A larger wall formed around that with a slightly wider gap. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Max aimed his bey perfectly so that Draciel quickly shot straight through the gaps and into the center. Toko’s launch, however, failed, and Trident bounced off the rotating wall. It leaned in again and was bounced away again, losing stamina each time.

“Trident, pull through! Hydro Twist!” Trident’s outer blades glowed blue as it began to slide around the wall, quickly making it through the gap in the wall. “Now claim the center!”

Trident slammed into Draciel, bouncing off. Trident struck again, being repelled again. “Draciel, use Superfortress Shield!” Draciel glowed as it’s gimmick activated and it’s design transformed.

The two beys clashed for a while, a golden blade against the green defender. Trident and Draciel’s beast formed around their bladers, a golden warrior striking against a tall purple turtle’s powerful shell. The golden and purple auras collided and mixed briefly, before Trident was swallowed up by the power of Draciel.

Trident’s physical bey was sent flying and it burst in midair. “How did you do that?!”

Max grinned, somersaulting over the stadium and grabbing his bey. “Here’s your second lesson in blading: Strategy can help the disadvantaged become the victors. Had you not improvised and been prepared, Trident could’ve easily won.”

Toko realized the truth in his words and frowned as he picked up Trident. The sky began to darken to a maroon.

“Aw shi- shoot, time flew! Our flight is booked tomorrow, so you might be able to battle me or Tyson tomorrow, but only one of us!” Kai swore quietly, before the four bid Toko farewell and left.

Toko returned home to find Nika waiting for him. “So what did they want you for that took so long?”

“Well, they saw that I had talent and we practiced blading, I guess. Their Beyblades were so strong too!”

Nika smiled. “I love seeing my little bro passionate about something!”

Toko smiled as he went up to his room, changing into pajamas and going to sleep.

—————————

Reeeeee! A loud screech blared, startling Toko. Standing nearby was a tall white beast with two long wings and blue eyes. Riding it was a young boy around Toko’s age with grey hair and a backward baseball cap.

“Dranzer, use Flame Rapid Fire!” Another boy said. He was riding upon a magnificent red beast with long, feathered wings. It opened its jaw and sent bolts of fire at the white dragon. The dragon turned so the fireballs were absorbed into it’s side, and then the boy atop it called out, “Dragoon, Rising Hurricane!”

His white dragon - Dragoon clapped its enormous wings together creating a massive storm that ripped Dranzer out of the air. “Hang on, Dranzer!”

Dranzer managed to land on its feet and then quickly took to the skies. “Now, Hyper Flame Rapid Fire!” Dranzer’s Red skin began to glow with an unearthly purple glow that started at the tail and spread up to its face.

It’s pale orange feathers began to glow a bright sunset orange as Dranzer opened up its maw. With an enormous roar that shook the earth, it blasted four massive purple-blue fireballs towards Dragoon. Dragoon clapped its wings together, but it was in vain, for the emerging tornado was far weaker than the blazing bolts of energy shooting towards Dragoon.

Dragoon was sent flying away at the power of the attack. “Tyson, it looks like you need more practice!” The boy atop Dranzer called. Tyson flew back over atop Dragoon and smiled. “Yeah, but that was fun! Nobody else is actually strong enough to challenge me except maybe Max or Ray!”

Toko rolled out of bed, surprised at his dream. After quickly changing, he went outside to where he had battled the day before. Tyson and co. were waiting for him. “I’d like a battle royale!” Toko said before Tyson could speak.

Tyson grinned. “We don’t have a stadium for that, but we can try!”

Kai spoke up. “How about we try in mine? It is a large stadium that can be easily modified.”

Max responded, “I’d be glad to help!” He pulled out a small wrench and quickly began to alter the stadium. A few minutes later, he was done. “Ta-da!”

Toko gave him an uncertain look. “It doesn’t look any di- Holy carp it’s changing!”

Kai had clicked a button and the stadium had begun to twist. Small spikes begun to protrude out of it as the stadium widened. Then the stadium began to spin around, slowly gaining speed. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Tyson launched, sending Dragoon into the stadium. It began to rocket around the stadium, expertly avoiding spikes. Dranzer, Kai’s bey, quickly took the center. Trident had managed to balance atop a spike and was very precariously balanced.

“Dragoon, attack Dranzer! Hurricane Attack!” Dragoon sped up even more to the point where it was a blur around the stadium. It quickly struck Dranzer, knocking it off-balance. There was a small click as Kai grinned evilly.

“Dranzer, Phoenix Blaze!” Dranzer was surrounded in flames as it began to speed around the stadium, quickly catching up to Dragoon. “Now take down Trident!”

Toko’s eyes widened as Dranzer struck Trident, flinging it into the air. Dumbfounded, he watched as Trident fell atop Dranzer again, being knocked into a wall. He finally got himself together and realized what to do. “Trident, Spiral Boost!”

Trident took the center and began to spin faster, glowing bright blue. “Dragoon, Phantasmagorical Attack!” Dragoon also began to glow, although it was a dark purple-pink. Then it began to seemingly shrink, before eventually disappearing, leaving just a blue trail, which also disintegrated.

“Now strike Trident!” Trident was suddenly knocked out of the center by seemingly nothing. As it attempted to retake the center, it was knocked away again.

“Dranzer, reveal the invisible with our Maximum Phoenix Blaze!” Dranzer was surrounded in flames as it began to zoom around the stadium, eventually striking an invisible object. In a blaze of flaming red and purple light, Dragoon appeared.

“Now take it out!” Dranzer struck Dragoon, flinging it out of the stadium. “Seriously! Why couldn’t you focus on Toko?” Tyson said, feigning sadness. “Ha, ha, ha.” Kai said dryly, before responding, “Now Dranzer, let’s end this battle!” Dranzer struck Trident again, sending it straight upwards.

“Crash down and destroy Dranzer! Tsunami Shot!” Trident fell atop Dranzer, flinging it into a wall. Kai smiled as Trident struck a spike at the perfect angle to send it upwards like a ramp. Dranzer quickly struck Trident’s driver, sending it flying and spinning away, out of the stadium.

Toko caught Trident, attempting but failing to glare at Kai. Eventually, him and Tyson couldn’t contain it anymore, and they burst into laughter. Kai clicked a button, turning the stadium back to normal. “Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitake mushrooms, our plane is due in an hour!” Ray said, tapping his watch. They began quickly running away, except for Kai.

“Jeez, they’re all idiots.” Kai said to Toko, before casually strolling behind them with his hands in his pockets.

———————
Now let’s go back a day or so, and let’s watch Nika. Toko had just left with the people who had showed up at the door, and a small letter had somehow found itself outside the door. It was printed on black paper with a small white seal with an ice-blue S emblazoned upon it.

Not only that, but the envelope was addressed to Nika Aoi in white lettering. She eagerly ripped it open, to find that it was a letter from the Shadow Organization. Dark was holding a Ranking Tournament that if she won, she could become a member of the B-Team.

Nika readily made her way to the Shadow Organization’s HQ. Once there, she went to Dark’s office. “Hello, Nika. The Ranking Tournament was about to begin, since everybody else was here on time. I suppose you can join.” She could tell he was vaguely pointing towards the door.

Nika watched as everyone else battled, each person getting a chance, until finally she was up against Stealth Eye. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Nika/Golden Eye noticed that Stealth Eye’s voice was oddly familiar, and when his Beyblade touched the stadium she realized why. It was Drake under the mask!

Stealth Eye and Golden Eye both gasped as they simultaneously figured out the identity of the other. Nyke began to zoom around the stadium at full speed, quickly catching onto the ridge. Deathscyther had also quickly caught the ridge, and was quickly catching up to Nyke.

“Nyke, dodge it!” Nyke quickly curved and dodged the attack in a small loop, allowing it to catch back onto the ridge again, faster than ever. “Now attack with full power! Use Ultra Victory Whip!” Nyke was surrounded in a golden aura as it began to speed up, before quickly striking Deathscyther from behind.

Deathscyther slammed into a wall and then curved back into the center. “Now use Assassin Break!” Deathscyther’s tip glowed as one of it’s spikes struck the slope of the stadium and it began to speed up, zooming up the stadium. It struck Nyke, flinging Nyke into the air.

“Nyke, attack!” Nyke slashes down atop Deathscyther, pushing it against the stadium. Then Nyke sprung upwards, using the spring loaded wing to gain speed. It began gaining more and more speed, bouncing up and down. “Ultra Victory Crusher!”

Nyke went flying straight up, springing off the ceiling so fast it was a golden blur. Then it smashed into Deathscyther, instantly bursting it. “Haha, yes!” Nika cheered, pumping her hand in the air. Drake frowned, looking down, and Nika could tell he was unhappy and about to cry.

She darted around the stadium and quickly wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. Drake lifted up his mask to wipe tears away, and then slid it back down, smiling through teary eyes.

“I was always mean to you, why are you comforting me?”

Nika let go of him. “I don’t know, it just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Drake let out a shaky laugh. “Well, thanks anyways.” The two of them left the stadium, a new friendship between them.

They sat down on a bench, Nika waiting for her turn and Drake wishing to watch. Nika watched as countless other people came and went from the stadium, some masked, some not.

For some reason, she felt disconnected from the scene, as if she was a spirit, watching from afar. Eventually, her name was called, against a masked boy named Bullet Eye. He wore a sharp metal mask with clear glass, showing bright red eyes that shone with intelligence.

“I’m going to be the best Blader in this whole organization, even better than Burning Eye and Hearts!”

“Who are they?”

Bullet Eye seemed slightly surprised by the question. “Nobody knows, but they founded this organization, removing Ashtem from his tyrannical rule! But that’s all in the past! Now we will start this battle!”

“How long have you been here?”

Nika’s bombardments of questions surprised him. “Not very long, maybe a few months. Now let’s start this-“

“How do you know all this?”

“Rumors! The boys dorm is full of storytelling and trickery and madness! Now will you begin this freaking battle!” He said impatiently, stamping his feet.

Nika smirked. “You seem impatient and irritable. Is that a potential weakness?”

“Just shut up and start battling!” He roared, red eyes bright and cheeks red.

Nika grinned, a laugh coming to her throat. She realized Dark was watching her and disguised it as coughing. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!”

Bullet Eye’s bey struck the stadium and was then sent flying straight up into the air. “Nice job, Revenge!” Revenge began bouncing around the stadium in an erratic and unpredictable pattern. Meanwhile, Nyke was running smoothly around the stadium.

“Revenger Crush!” Revenge fell onto Nyke, before bouncing away. Nyke was unperturbed. Bullet Eye’s eyes widened at the resistance to his attack. “Revenge, strike again!”

Revenge attempted again to defeat Nyke, but to no avail. It was spinning too strong and moving too fast. “Our attack has to be stronger! We have put in so much training!” Revenge attempted to attack again.

Nika grinned. “Nyke, speed up!” Nyke began to speed up, dodging Revenge’s attack. Bullet Eye groaned at his failure. “Come on Revenge! Maximum power!” He was surrounded in a red aura as Revenge landed on the stadium and then struck Nyke.

“Nyke, Ultra Victory Whip!” Nika smiled, getting a sadistic satisfaction from the power of her attack which effortlessly burst Revenge.

She hated herself for it.

Bullet Eye ripped off his mask and tossed it away. “I give up! You told me I could be powerful and strong, and I train and do what you say, but it never works! This is the fourth time I have been defeated! Goodbye, Dark!” He angrily stormed away, kicking his mask.

Bullet Eye had seemingly been addressing the ceiling, so Nika looked to where he had been looking. Dark’s office overlooked the training area, and Nika could tell the slim silhouette was there, watching everything.

Nika walked back to the bench, where Drake was waiting for her, still masked. “Man, what was his problem?”

“I don’t know, but I kinda want to investigate.”

Drake looked at her, trying not to smile. “You’re an odd person, you know that?”

Nika responded, dead serious, “Yes, yes I do.”

Something about how straightforward and serious her response was caused them to both burst into laughter. A few minutes later, when they had stopped, they realized the next round was starting.

About a half hour later, it was finally her turn to battle against someone. She had long snow white hair and light blue eyes bursting with energy. She also had very pale skin. “Oh that’s a problem.” Drake said to her.

“What do you mean?”

“Your opponent is Krystal, Dark’s daughter. She is one of the strongest bladers here.”

“Why is she in the C-Team then?”

“Rumor has it she doesn’t like being in actual tournaments so she convinces her father to let her practice on us, the weakest or the newest to the organization.”

“That’s an oddly specific rumor.”

“You’re an oddly specific person.” He retorted, grinning.

She smiled as she walked up to the stadium.

Krystal’s blue eyes scanned her opponent. “Becoming friends with the weak, I see.”

Nika opened her mouth to protest, but Krystal responded first. “Don’t even say it’s false or something similar, it’s true. Helping the weak turns you into one of them.”

“No, it doesn’t, and he isn’t weak!”

Krystal smiled and tilted her head. “You aren’t very good at that, you know.”

“I’m not good at what?”

“Defending yourself. Logic is very important for rationalizing and defending yourself, so an incapability to do so leads me to believe you lack logic and reasoning.” Nika glared at Krystal. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Nyke began to shoot around the stadium. Krystal’s bey took the center with perfect grace. “Nyke, use Ultra Victory Whip!” One of Nyke’s wings glowed golden as it struck her bey.

Krystal’s odd smile widened. “Khione, use Snow Shield!” Khione’s four blades glowed pale blue as it bent the attack away. Nyke slammed into a wall, bouncing away.

“Nyke, try again! Ultra Victory Whip!” Nyke struck again, a glowing blade slamming against Khione’s defense and being parried away again.

“Now let’s end this! Khione, use Frostbite Hammer!” Khione began to spin around the center in a circle, gaining speed fast. Then it swung up the stadium, sending Nyke out of the stadium.

Nika gasped. “How did you do that?”

Krystal sighed. “It was easy. I used my beyblade’s defense so as to not take damage while also using it’s speed to knock you away without taking any damage.”

Nika was speechless at her response, and attempted to respond, but couldn’t.

“Shut your mouth, you look like a fish.”

Nika responded angrily, “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Krystal smiled at how angrily and forceful Nika’s “Rip!” was. Khione took the center, spinning strongly.

Nika had pulled out the strongest move in her arsenal, and had launched Nyke at a steep angle.

Nyke shot up the stadium, bouncing off the wall and gaining speed. Then it bounced off another wall and gained more speed and repeated, glowing golden. A golden star was formed by how fast it was moving.

“Ultra Victory Star Launch!” Nika roared.

Nyke’s star changed as it began to rapidly strike Khione. Krystal seemed slightly surprised at how Nyke was managing to damage Khione. “Smart, a rapid attack. Not quite smart enough, though.”

Her light blue eyes glowed a deep purple-blue. “Khione, Blizzard Wall!” Khione’s four blue blades parted, turning most of the perimeter blue. It began parrying the attacks that had once harmed it away.

Nyke began to wobble. “Now end this! Blizzard Hammer!” Khione swung up the stadium and burst Nyke.

Krystal smiled, but it was not a friendly smile. It was the cruelest, most heartless smile Nika had ever seen.

Krystal picked up Khione and walked away. “Meh, if that’s all this tournament has to offer, I’m leaving! Nika can go on!”

Nika’s eyes widened in shock. “What?!” Her and Drake said simultaneously.

Krystal simply laughed, a long, malicious, calculating laugh that rang throughout the building. Still shocked, Nika sat back with Drake. “Oh God, she’s a terrible person.” Drake said.

Nika smiled. “I know, but at least I’m moving on!”

“Yeah, but if she was able to resist your strongest attack, someone else could be able to do that as well.”

Nika frowned. Her strongest move could still be defeated by a strong enough defense, so she had to fix that soon.

While her and Drake were talking, they hadn’t noticed the battles going on, and all of a sudden it was her turn.

“Because of a, uh, slight miscount on my part when Golden Eye joined, there are three bladers moving on instead of two!” Dark’s voice came over the intercom, smooth and cunning.

Nika walked up to the stadium. Standing before her was Shade and Sola, her opponents. Shade had pale blue-white hair and held up a purple, intricately detailed masquerade-style mask over his face. Shade also had a small streak of dark purple through his hair.

Sola had dark orange hair with a light orange streak through it and also held up a masquerade-style mask, though hers was a bright red-orange with yellow details.

Shade smirked. “Hey sis, it looks like we’re battling again.” He clearly directed this to Sola.

Sola responded in a bitter, mocking voice, “You don’t need to battle, since I’ll easily beat you again!”

Shade grinned, and Nika stifled her laughter. Both of them looked at her.

“Sorry, you guys remind me of me and my brother.”

Sola arched an eyebrow, but decided to ignore it. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Sola’s bey was a bright yellow bey with small red details, and Nika noticed something off, but she couldn’t place it. Shade’s bey was a dark-purple blue with white details.

“Artemis, Paradox Bolt!” Artemis, the purple one, went flying towards Sola’s bey. “Easy, dodge it, Apollos!” Apollos, the yellow one, expertly dodged the attack. “Now claim our center!”

Apollos took the center, and Nika noticed what was off. Apollos was spinning counter-clockwise instead of clockwise like a standard bey. Surprised, she immediately called Nyke to use Ultra Victory Whip on Apollos.

Nyke rolled off Apollos, sending Apollos spinning faster. Nyke struck again, bouncing away. Nika reaches deep within herself, summoning all of her power in a final blow.

“Maximum Victory Whip!” Nyke used all of its force and channeled it all into one point, and then smashed into Apollos. Though Apollos specialized in sheer defensive ability, it could not withstand such a powerful attack, and went flying into the air.

Shade smirked. “Artemis, Moonlight Blow!” Artemis’ four blades glowed with an eerie, almost magical purple light as it struck the now-wobbling Nyke in the center.

Nyke rolled to a halt. Apollos fell back into the stadium, rolling down the slope and striking the stopped bey.

Nika realized what was happening and laughed. “An artificial launch should be able to take you two out! Drain her spin, Nyke!”

Nyke began to wobble, dragging along the slope of the stadium. After a few moments, Nyke was spinning upright, as if it had just been launched, and Apollos was spinning much weaker than before.

Sola was frowning. “Hang on, Apollos!”

Shade grinned darkly, black fire surrounding him. “Go, Artemis! Use Black Velvet Inferno!” Artemis was surrounded in black flames as it struck Apollos, easily bursting it.

“Shade, what did I tell you about using your dark energy? Don’t summon it if you’re battling me!”

Shade’s eyes widened as the dark flames vanished and he realized what he did. “I’m sorry, it just happened!”

“Nyke, let’s end this! Ultra Victory Whip!” One of Nyke’s blades glowed golden as it struck Artemis. Without any energy supporting it, it was unable to resist, and the purple parts were scattered throughout the stadium. Nika pumped her fist in the air.

“Yes! I am moving on to the B-Team!”

There was a loud, high pitched beep as the intercom reactivated. “Because of how well she performed and managed to take out two opponents, Golden Eye will move past the B-Team to the A-Team if she can beat a member of the A-Team!”

Nika ran from the stadium to the bench, where Drake high-fived her. “Nice job!”

There wasn’t anything there. Everyone nearby would swear that for years to come. But all of a sudden, he was.

He was a strong figure, masculine and wielding white armor and a long blue spear. Everyone regretted it later, but Kerbeus went up and growled at Odin, questioning who he was.

Odin swung his long blue sword and challenged Kerbeus for it’s steel-like padded paws (Defense). Odin slashed his blue sword, but it glanced off Kerbeus’s natural armor-like fur.

Kerbeus roared and spun around, striking Odin with it’s face with so much force that Odin was sent flying, and the wind was crushed from his lungs.

Odin stumbled upright and raced towards Kerbeus, sending his sapphire saber through the back of the beast’s neck, defeating it. Wielding a stronger sword, Odin challenged Wyvern for the purple dragon’s armored scales.

Odin roared and slashed his long blue saber on Wyvern’s heavy scales, which parried the attack. Wyvern opened its gaping maw and let out a massive sonic boom, ripping apart brick and sending Odin flying, his ears popping painfully.

Odin managed to stumble back to his feet and decided to try a risky move. He flicked his wrist and sent the sword flying towards Wyvern. It opened its maw, preparing another sonic blast, but no noise came out as the sword embedded itself in Wyvern’s throat.

Then Odin took the armor and challenged Valkyrie for the crown. It began as most, with a few metallic clashes, spraying sparks.

Odin slashed at Valkyrie’s leg, but Valkyrie dodged expertly. Then she used the hilt of the sword to knock Odin back, but Odin wouldn’t give up. He darted forward, sending the sword towards Valkyrie’s chest.

Valkyrie parried the blow away and then slashed back at Odin, who blocked the attacks with his white armor.

Then Odin summoned all of his power and sent a blast of blue energy at Valkyrie, knocking Valkyrie down. Before she could get up, he pointed the saber at her throat.

“I won.”

Valkyrie’s eyes widened in surprise under her blue helmet. Odin smirked as he took the crown and sat atop the throne.

Deathscyther challenged Odin for the crown shortly after. Odin stood up, summoning his blue energy.

Deathscyther quickly flung a black fireball at Odin. The white warrior easily dissipated it with his own blue blast. Then he threw the long blue saber at Deathscyther, pinning Deathscyther to the wall by its cloak. Deathscyther slightly lifted the hood of its cloak back.

Whatever Odin saw was so terrible that it briefly stunned him, and Deathscyther managed to remove the sword and cast it away, before pulling out its scythes and charging Odin.

Odin came out of his trance and partied with a white gauntlet and then blasted Deathscyther back, taking the opportunity to pick up his saber.

With two long slashes, Deathscyther was on the floor. Then, Odin pointed his sword at Deathscyther’s throat, meaning he won and protected his title.

Deathscyther didn’t accept defeat yet, however, and used an attack of pure energy so powerful and terrible that it couldn’t be described.

It split the earth below Odin, sending Odin falling to his demise in a move known as the Quake Launch. Deathscyther had won, and it took the crown.

“For Golden Eye to become an A-Team member, she will be facing Quicksilver Eye tomorrow!” Excited, Nika dashed home. The novelty of the idea wore off pretty fast, and soon enough, it felt as if every minute was an hour, slowly dragging along.

Nika went to bed as early as possible, deflecting and avoiding questions from Toko. Toko was worried about where his sister kept going, especially after she began dodging Toko’s questions.

However, his pursuit proved fruitless, because Nika simply ignored him. If she didn’t ignore him, it was a vague answer, like, “Oh, just around” with a vague hand motion.

Toko was determined to find out where she went, so he sent Valt to find out. He returned ten or twenty minutes later, grinning a sheepish grin as he shrugged.

“She keeps secrets better than Shu!”

Toko glared at him, feigning anger at Valt’s lack of results.

Valt slipped past Toko to his room. In reality, Nika had told him about the Shadow Organization, and how she was only staying to figure out what was off in the Shadow Organization.

Toko heard the tell-tale click as Nika’s door locked. “No no no no no!” He leaned on her door, eventually sliding down into a sitting position.

Then a noise came from the room. Followed by another. And another. And another. This continued, slowly growing louder and closer.

Nika was snoring.

Toko realized how late it was and quickly slid into his bed after throwing off his clothes. Tossing and turning, he eventually fell into a restless sleep.

————————

Toko slid out of bed and checked on Nika. Gone.

Nika had got up early and ran down to the Shadow Organization, finding Drake waiting for her with a large bag of popcorn. She reached in and stole a piece.

“Hey, that’s not for you!” Nika laughed.

Drake grinned. “This is for me, since your battle should be exciting!”

Nika fake-glared at him as she stepped in, quickly putting her mask on.

Dark spotted her, since his office overlooked the stadium area, which was where the entrance was. “Ah, Quicksilver Eye, your opponent approaches.”

She almost didn’t notice him until he appeared. Quicksilver Eye had been swinging from rafter to rafter, and they were so high above she assumed it was just a bird that had came in.

Then he dropped down from the rafters, kicking off the wall and going flying towards the ground. At the last second, he tucked into a roll, clearly not taking injury or harm from his landing.

Quicksilver Eye sprung to his feet, brushing dust off his pants and shirt. He wore a silver mask with mirrored eye pieces, and a grey pinstripe suit that somehow fit him perfectly. Under it he wore a white shirt and a silver necklace with a water droplet-shaped charm at the end.

Nika knew about the necklace since he was fidgeting with it and pulled it out of the suit. Eventually he looked up from it at his opponent. Quicksilver Eye looked about thirteen or fourteen-ish, and he was a few inches taller than Nika, but she knew his height and appearance didn’t factor into his skill at blading. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Nika zoomed around the stadium, while Quicksilver Eye’s bey took the center. “Meet Mercury Orichalcum, the only bey that can absorb any impact!”

“Let’s test that theory, Nyke! Ultra Victory Whip!” Nyke attacked Orichalcum with a golden blade. Orichalcum was knocked away from the center, and Nika grinned. “Can’t absorb my impacts!”

Quicksilver Eye smirked. “Orichalcum, Toxic Mode!” Orichalcum’s two main blades, which were long and smooth, extended out and turned a dark blue color.

“Nyke, Ultra Victory Whip again!” One of Nyke’s blades glowed golden as it struck Orichalcum again. This time, it bounced off harmlessly. “Again!” Nyke struck again, bouncing off again.

A loud crunch interrupted her. She spun around to see Drake, frozen halfway to eating a piece of popcorn. He gave a sheepish grin and slowly slid his hand back in the bag.

Nika blinked at him.

Drake smiled.

Then Nika spun back around to the battle. “Who is that kid?”

“That’s Dra- Stealth Eye, my friend.”

“Okay. Now Orichalcum, use Toxic Quake!” His voice suddenly got intense again. Orichalcum began to wobble, but it was still spinning, which looked very confusing. Nyke came back towards the center, striking Orichalcum.

Suddenly, Orichalcum swung around, smashing Nyke into the stadium. Nyke bounced straight upwards towards the sky. “Now, use Ultra Victory Dive!” Nika jumped into the air, slashing her arm down.

Nyke’s beast formed around Nika as Nyke struck Orichalcum from above, slashing with full power. Quicksilver Eye’s eyes widened as Nika struck the top, where he couldn’t defend as well.

However, Nyke’s attack wasn’t stronger than Orichalcum’s defense, and Nyke was flung away, bursting in midair. “Sadly, Golden Eye loses, and she will not join the A-Team!”

Quicksilver Eye looked up at Dark’s office. “I think she should move on!”

“What?” Nika, Dark, and Drake all exclaimed in unison and surprise.

“Did you see how well she did? I believe she has potential, and being relegated to the B-Team wouldn’t help her become stronger!”

“Are you sure you want to do that? You are the leader of the A-Team, so you could overrule that, but are you 100% sure?”

“Yes! Golden Eye will join the A-Team as my apprentice, meaning she will count as a team member in any team tournament!”

Dark sighed. “All right, Golden Eye will join the A-Team as Quicksilver Eye’s apprentice/understudy!”

Nika beamed in awe and wonder. She rushed over to Drake, who was also grinning. Then she peeked into the bag of popcorn. It was empty, save for a few kernels that collected at the bottom and one piece. She stole it.

Drake’s jaw dropped in mock surprise. “How dare you!”

Nika laughed as she sat down on the bench. All of a sudden, she was comfortable and happy. Sitting next to Drake in a building built for beyblades, she never wanted to leave, just watching the battles, and enjoying Drake’s presence.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and the day began to draw to a close. Nika had to return home, so she bid Drake farewell and left.

She should’ve known Toko was waiting for her. Of course he was. It was a very Toko thing to do. Nika understood his concern, but it was annoying, especially since Nika was perfectly safe.

“Where were you?”

Nika gave him an understanding smile. “Not important.”

She made a move towards the door, but he blocked it. “Not until you tell me where you went.”

Nika composed herself for a few moments, crafting a perfect response. “That’s not a very good question. Asking it gives you a small answer, a worthless one. Look at the bigger picture and ask me.”

Toko was speechless, and Nika slipped past him to the comforts of home.

He was not speechless for long, and Nika had just opened her door when he was behind her. “Okay then. Here’s a better question: What were you involved in?”

Nika grinned. “See, now you’re getting it! An answer to that can lead you to the roots of a much bigger entity, or at least I hope it will!”

“So you don’t know what you were involved in?”

“I do know perfectly well, but I have yet to find the more powerful entity pulling the strings!” Toko hadn’t noticed her slowly retreating into her room, and was startled by a slam as he was shut out. Puzzled, he returned to his room, letting sleep wrap him in its warm embrace.

————
It felt like it was only a few seconds later when he was shaken awake by Nika.

“There’s a new team tournament!”

“Huh?” Poor Toko was still half asleep and couldn’t understand.

“The WBBA is hosting a brand new team tournament! It will be held aboard the Kraken, a long and powerful ship!”

Toko’s eyes widened. “Seriously? When does it take off?”

Nika checked Toko’s clock. “Oh, about an hour.”

Toko shot out of his bed, pushing Nika out of the room and closing the door. Then he got dressed and began packing for the journey ahead.

He finished around 45 minutes later, meaning there was very little time to make it there. Toko departed, carrying his luggage as he ran. He was surprised that Nika wasn’t waiting for him on the ship as he climbed up.

A man was at the entryway to the ship. “Who are you?” He asked Toko, checking his clipboard.

“Uh, Toko Aoi.”

The man flipped a few pages and then found it. “Ah, Toko! Your team is in room 5A, which is right over there.” He pointed to a corridor.

Toko walked down and found himself in a long hallway. On his left was 5A, which had BC Sol’s logo over the window. He entered the room.

Toko and Corey were the only people who had arrived so far, but the room quickly filled up. The last person to arrive was Shu Kurenai, surprising Toko.

“What’s Shu doing here? Wasn’t he possessed?”

Corey looked at him. “No! Shu leads BC Sol!”

This surprised Toko even more. “How did that happen?”

“After Kris-“ Shu, with a new appearance, held a finger to his lips, instantly silencing the room.

Shu’s white hair had remained at about the same length since his appearance with Cho-Z Spriggan, though it seemed to Toko as if his hair had grown out since he hadn’t seen Shu then. This time Shu wore a long golden coat with a ruby-red trim over a white shirt and dark jeans, and a small badge of BC Sol’s logo was pinned to the coat.

Toko noticed how he managed to hold their attention far better than any leader he had ever met or heard of. And then Shu began to speak with complete conviction.

“We are here to defeat our enemies. On this boat right now there are 14 other teams, and 5 more will come on soon. We are stronger than they are! We will defeat them! I will only be sending out our A-Team’s strongest, and if you want to become one of them, you must battle me to determine if you will go out there!”

Now that was something interesting. A battle with Shu to see if he could battle the others seemed exciting. Then Shu picked up a clipboard and silenced the muttering that had risen to a crescendo with a single movement of his finger.

“Now I will be sorting you into rooms. There are five rooms allowed to us, and each has two bunk beds on either wall, meaning 20, plus a room for me. Since there are nineteen of you, I will group you into rooms.”

Then he began grouping people, Toko noticing that though he went in alphabetical order, Shu skipped him. The room that Corey was in also had two empty beds.

Shu finally called him over. “I will put you in room 5, but before you go I want to tell you something. You are Valt’s brother, so I’m sure people will think that you got in just because he’s my friend. Therefore, if you challenge me, the whole of BC Sol will be watching.”

“W-wait, I don’t do well in front of crowds.”

Shu smiled, his demeanor of a stern and strong leader melting away. “I know, but you’ll do great. I don’t want the public to think it’s unfair, since there are already rumors about you joining the A-Team.”

“Besides, it’s not a crowd of strangers. It’s a crowd of friends, and teammates, and acquaintances (since I’m sure you don’t know everybody).”

Reassured, Toko walked into his room. He was lucky enough to be in the room with an empty bed, so he slid into the bottom bunk. “Hey, Toko!” Corey said from the top of the bunk across from Toko.

“Oh hey Corey!”

“Meet Alexander Gonzalez, the leader of the A-Team!”

The kid in the bunk under Corey stuck his head out from the shadows. He had dark skin and bright orange eyes that sparkled with skill and intellect. Alexander also had straight black hair and was fairly handsome by most people’s standards.

“Nice to meet you, Toko! Also, I prefer to be called Alex, or the wielder of Amaterios, but Corey just likes to mess,” he said, jabbing a finger at Corey.

Corey laughed at this.

All of a sudden, the door burst open, a boy Toko didn’t know peeking his head in. “Shu says now that everyone is situated, people can begin challenging him. Not you, Alex, since you are already secured.” Alex grinned as he stepped out.

“I’d like to watch anyways.” He said, dodging Corey as he slid off the top bunk.

—————

Toko hadn’t seen Nika there and assumed she wasn’t there because she wasn’t in a team. In reality, she was waiting for him to go up so she wouldn’t notice.

Then she walked up the bridge, quickly slipping her mask on. When the man asked her identity, she responded with Golden Eye, and he allowed her to pass, pointing her to room 1A. There were about 19-20 bladers in the room, but no Dark.

Eventually, a thundering, deep voice that sounded oddly familiar to Nika came from somewhere within the crowd. “Everybody move over a little, would ya?” The crowd dissipated into two groups near the walls with somebody standing in the center.

He had long, lavender hair and did not wear a mask. He also wore a purple bodysuit with small block and gold plates over it, and a small black spiked collar around his neck. “Dark could not come, so he sent me, his second-in-command, the one and only Hearts to lead you into battle!”

Hearts held up a clipboard and looked at it for a moment. “All right, it says here that-“ He lifted up his knee and then snapped the clipboard in half, ripping the papers on it. “Meh, Ph- Dark has too many rules, but I prefer a more, uh, what’s the word?”

“Free?” Someone chimed in.

“Free? No. I prefer a more anarchist and chaotic approach! Therefore, go, get in your rooms! Just don’t sleep in my room! Or roam the ship! I don’t care! Just don’t do anything stupid!”

Nika left the room, wanting to explore the ship she would be on for the next week or so. The ship was far bigger than she had expected, and she was lost after a few minutes.

Eventually, she found her way to the front of the ship, where somebody was steering the ship. When she recognized him, Nika gasped in surprise. Four years had passed since she had seen him, and he was a muscular, handsome figure.

“Free!” Nika ran forwards to Free, who was leaning on the wheel, a tired expression on his face. He looked at her. “Who?”

Nika realized she still had her mask on and quickly discarded it. “Oh, Nika! What was up with that mask? And what team are you in?”

“I’m in the Shadow Organization as the apprentice of the A-Team’s leader!”

Free’s expression soured. “The Shadow Organization isn’t safe, Nika. Leave now. As soon as possible.”

Nika was surprised at how tense he had become, the muscles in his handsome face tightening.

“Why?”

“The things they do” He shuddered, “are inhumane and terrible, far too terrible to know.”

His words ignited a spark of fear within Nika, spreading throughout her until she was utterly terrified.

Free shook his head. “And the A-Team participates too- oh no, why did you have to do it?”

It took Nika a moment to realize what he was saying. “I didn’t suspect they were evil until it was too late!”

Free sighed. “Fine, you can stay there, just be careful.”

Nika smiled. “Wait, what are you doing here? You aren’t in BC Sol?”

Free’s eyes widened. “How do you not know? Does Valt never tell you anything?”

“I suppose not, but that doesn’t answer my question.”

Free laughed. “I’m the leader of the WBBA!”

Nika gasped. “Seriously?”

“Υep! And Valt has been a very useful second-in-command, alongside Kris!”

“Valt and Kris are your second-in-commands? How did I not know this?”

“Not only that, but the WBBA’s representatives, because according to Kris, ‘I’m too eccentric’.”

Nika laughed.

“Yeah. Anyways, go on, go join your group again. We’re in for a patch of nasty weather, and I’m going to need to focus to drive this ship through.”

Nika walked back to the Shadow Organization after an interesting conversation with Free. Hearts was waiting in the main area with a few other people. “Finally, you’re here! I was hoping to go do some battles to determine who will be battling in the team tournament, but little ‘blue eye’ over here insisted he needed his apprentice!” Quicksilver Eye grinned sheepishly at that.

“Let’s go!” Hearts began to lead them to the stadiums on the ship, occasionally lurching to the side at a rough wave. Eventually, they made it to the stadium, Nika’s face a little greener than before.

Somebody had just made their way to the stadium as well. Nika recognized it as Shu, in a fancy golden coat, with his team behind him. Of course BC Sol would want to do the exact same thing as the Shadow Organization at the exact same time.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Hearts cried out.

“We’re here to determine which of us will battle in the tournament, what are you doing?”

“Same thing! But there’s only one stadium, and I want it more!”

Shu seemed surprised at Hearts’ pettiness. “No!”

“How about I battle you for it? You know, mano a mano?”

“Alright, but you won’t stand a chance against Royal King Spriggan!”

“We’ll just have to agree to disagree! Three! Two! One! Let it...” Shu, who had been holding his launcher vertically, twisted it around lightning-fast.

“Rip!” Shu pulled the launcher, sending Spriggan into the stadium. “Let’s go! Royal King Launch!” Four small blades extended out of Spriggan, glowing bright blue, as it quickly took the center. Hades, Hearts’ bey, began to shoot around the stadium.

“Hades, Grim Trap!” Hades quickly began to create a bright circle from its trail as it zoomed around, trapping Spriggan inside. “Spriggan, Royal Counter Break!” Spriggan glowed as it twisted, the flat part of its driver striking the stadium and speeding up.

Then Spriggan struck the Grim Trap, bouncing off and remaining stuck inside. Shu smiled. “Ooh, a strong opponent!” Spriggan struck again and again and again, none of its attacks breaking through the Trap. “Go, Royal Spriggan Slash!” Spriggan was surrounded in a dark blue glow as it smashed into Hades at full power, breaking through the Trap.

Hearts’ eyes widened as he glanced at the many bladers watching. “Let’s give them a battle they won’t forget, aye Hades? Grim Impulse!” Hades was surrounded in a dark purple glow as it shot towards Spriggan.

“Spriggan, Double Shot!” Spriggan struck Hades with its layer and frame simultaneously, while Hades did the same thing. The two clashed for a few moments, before one of them burst, scattering its parts.

Shu and co. cheered at Hades’ parts scattered throughout the stadium. Hearts growled as he left, bringing the Shadow Organization with ;him, except for one.

Nika snuck up to the bleachers and hid so that she could watch. Shu was first challenged by Corey, who wielded Screech Cockatris. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Shu used the same launch as before, while Corey spun around before launching. “Royal King Launch!” Spriggan took the center, spinning fast. “Reveal our new move, Cockatris! Screeching Tornado Launch!” Cockatris rocketed around the stadium, spinning nearly as fast as Spriggan.

“Now let’s end this! Attack Spriggan!” Cockatris turned and zoomed towards Spriggan. “Spriggan, counter that attack! Royal Upper Launch!” Spriggan’s flat part of the tip hit the stadium and it began to zoom around in a tight circle, before striking Cockatris next to the center.

Cockatris burst. “Seriously? We took out our strongest move and then you still annihilated me!”

Corey picked up his parts and walked to the bleachers as Shu jotted something down. “Next challenger!” He called.

Toko walked up. “I challenge you!” Shu’s eyes widened in surprise. “Alright! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Shu used the same launch again, while Toko swung his launcher into the air, sending Trident flying up. “Trident, use Tsunami Shot!” “Spriggan, Royal King Launch!” Spriggan took the center, spinning even faster than before.

Trident began to fall down towards Spriggan, striking and bouncing off the top, almost harmlessly. Spriggan did seem slightly off-balance, so Toko commended himself for that, but Shu soon fixed that. “Spriggan, use Royal Counter Break!”

The flat part of its driver struck the stadium's slope and it began to zoom around the stadium. “Now attack!” Spriggan shot through Trident, sending its parts flying into the air. Shu picked up Spriggan as Toko walked away sadly. Then, Shu jotted something else down.

Nika watched as more and more people challenged Shu, each having their bey scattered into the stadium. Near the end, Hearts came back, bringing the rest of the Shadow Organization. The only person left to challenge Shu was Cuza. “Alright, you guys have to be done now.”

“Nope, we’ve got one more!”

“Too bad, get out of here! I challenge you again for the stadium!”

“I still need to battle, please wait.”

Hearts’ eyes lit up. “How about a 1v1v1! That way you can see how good he is and I can beat both of you!”

Shu sighed. “Fine, since you won’t stop pestering me otherwise. Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Shu used a different launch this time. He had his launcher upside down and then flipped it over while stepping forward and launching. “Spriggan, Ultra Royal King Launch!” Hearts had used a different launch as well. He had slashed his launcher in an X shape before launching. “Hades, use Underworld Boost!”

Even Cuza had done a special launch, doing a backflip right before launching. “Backflip Boost!” Chronos was in attack mode, racing around the stadium with a slight wobble, Hades following closely.

Spriggan had formed a tight circle around the stadium, keeping any opponent away. “Chronos, get Hades off our tail! Gear Warp!” Chronos twisted around and then began following Hades, speeding up enough to strike it from behind.

Hearts smirked, his eyes sparkling. “Hades, Underworld Counter!” Hades countered Chronos’ attack, sending it flying into the air. Cuza’s eyes widened. “How is Hades powerful enough to counter my attack without even gaining momentum?” However, Chronos was not nearly done yet.

“Chronos, switch to defense mode! Cannonball Crush!” Chronos fell into the center, crashing into Spriggan’s side and sending it flying into a wall. “Now lock down the center! Gear Wall!” A blue bubble formed around Chronos, shielding it from harm.

“Hades, use our Grim Impulse!” Hades shot through Chronos, sending its parts flying. “How is Hades that powerful?” Then Hades turned its power towards Spriggan, zooming towards it. “Go! Royal Spriggan Slash!” Spriggan, who had been balancing on the ridge, fell off and shot down the stadium’s slope.

The two clashed in the center, before both burst, Spriggan bursting slightly before. Shu’s eyes widened. “H-how?!” Hearts smirked as he pointed away. “I believe I won, so get on out of here!”

“Now who wants to challenge me?” Hearts shouted shortly after Shu and BC Sol left.

Nika hurried out of her hiding place, only making it to Hearts after Quicksilver Eye. Quicksilver Eye challenged Hearts first, and they began the battle. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Quicksilver Eye stepped forward right before launching, sending Orichalcum into the center. Hearts used a very steeply angled launch, almost totally vertical to the stadium. “Hades, Grim Boost!” Hades began to zoom around the stadium, it’s disc scraping against the stadium. “Orichalcum, lock down the center! Mercury Wall!”

“Now Hades! Grim Spirit!” Hades tilted even further, sending sparks of green and purple flying. The number of sparks began to increase as it was wreathed in a growing, eerie aura. Eventually this aura began to writhe, forming distinct ghost-like spirits, as Hades began to right itself. “Spirit Attack!” One of the small spirits launched itself into Orichalcum, slightly destabilizing it.

Then another.

And another.

And another. Eventually, Orichalcum was surrounded in a crown of spirits, each dragging against the stadium and slowing it down. “Now use Grim Impulse!” Hades shot directly through Orichalcum, dissipating the spirits and sending its parts flying.

Then Nika went to challenge Hearts. “Three! Two! One! Let it... Rip!” Hearts did not use the same launch, instead using a standard launch. “Easy! Grim Impulse!” Hades shot towards Nyke. “Nyke, Victory Dodge!” Nyke tilted and struck the slope, a spring-loaded wing hitting the stadium and sending it darting away.

“Hades, Grim Impulse again!” Hades shot towards Nyke again. “Nyke, Victory Dodge!” Nyke dodged again, but did not escape nearly in time and was clipped by one of Hades’ blades. “Nyke, Victory Escape!” Nyke tilted and sped up, constantly springing of the stadium’s slope in an erratic pattern.

Hearts tilted his head, his eyes glowing red and green as Hades’ beast formed around him. “You like dodging my attacks, huh? Well then, dodge this! Grim Trap!” Hades began to zoom around in a wide circle, trapping Nyke inside. Then, the trap began to shrink, and Nika came up with a risky idea. “Nyke, Ultra Victory Star Launch!”

Nyke glowed golden as it rocketed towards the outer circle of Hades’ trap. Nyke’s aura formed around her and her eyes turned golden. The golden bey shot through the circle, since it was moving fast enough to dodge Hades. “What?!” Hearts said angrily in surprise. Nyke had begun to try its luck and bounced off the wall, shooting through the circle again and forming its star shape.

“How are you dodging them?!”

Nika smirked. “Oh, but I’m not! Nyke isn’t dodging any of those attacks! After all, you aren’t attacking!” Hearts’ eyes widened as he realized what she meant. Hades had tilted slightly off-balance after Nyke had hit it once and sprang away, and it’s disc had changed into defense mode, sending it into a tight circle in the center.

Hearts had somehow not noticed this until Nika pointed it out. Eventually, Hades and Nyke began to wobble, the two nearing their end. “Full power, Nyke! Victory Whip!” Nyke wobbled towards Hades, striking with a glowing golden wing. The purple and the golden beyblades both burst simultaneously, startling Hearts.

“I told Dark she had potential!” Quicksilver Eye said excitedly. “I suppose you can be in the tournament!” Hearts said, with a mixture of anger and delight. “Now the next challenger!” Eventually, everybody had battled Hearts, nobody else thinking of a plan to work around Hearts’ specials, and nobody tying or defeating him.

Shortly afterward, there came an announcement from Beyeen 2.0, the upgraded Bey Queen, and AI designed specifically for the occasion. “Now that everyone should be settled in and all, the team tournament is officially beginning! Our first battle will be BC Sol International vs the Thunderhawks! So get rested up for an exciting battle!”

The next morning, Toko hopped out of bed, pulling on his outfit and preparing. Then, he realized that Shu had yet to tell them who would be battling in the tournament. “Hey, Shu, you never told us who would be battling in the tournament!”

Shu picked up a clipboard. “We’re sending out Alex, Cuza, you, and Corey, and Simon, Simon as the backup!”

Simon stepped out of his room and waved shyly. He had very pale skin and peach eyes, and wore a black and red jacket. “The first battle is beginning, so get on down there and go battle!” Beyeen said energetically.

The five bladers, led by Shu, began to walk to the tournament area, which was actually a different place than the stadium area. The white-haired Blader led them all to a bench area designated for them and then he left to the seats. The bench across the room from them was empty for a few minutes, before the Thunderhawks finally arrived.

“Alright,” Alex said, taking the role of leader, “I vote we send out Toko first, then Corey, and then we send out Cuza. If we haven’t won by then, I’ll go out there. Everybody agree?”

The four bladers nodded their heads. Alex held his hand out in a ‘go team’ kind of gesture, and they all placed theirs atop his. “Go BC Sol!”

The room had steadily got louder as the other teams filled up the stands, until Beyeen came back onto the screen. “Everyone, silence! Our very first battle is beginning!”

Toko walked up to the stadium as the Thunderhawks sent up a dark-skinned Blader Toko didn’t recognize. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” He was wielding Vice Leopard 6Cross Accel, an attack type combo, although the layer was a dark red, instead of the standard deep blue. “Trident, Hydro Twist!” Trident took the center, wavy blades glowing blue. “Burnbird, use our Burning Wing!”

Leopard, no, Burnbird seemed to grab Trident and drag it around in a circle with how fast it was spinning, creating a glowing red circle around it. Then it dragged Trident up to the wall, slamming it into the wall and releasing it. “Trident, Tsunami Crash!” Trident rolled down the stadium, smashing directly through Burnbird and bursting it.

“Yes!” Toko exclaimed, pumping his arm into the air. His opponent glared and walked away, abandoning the red Leopard. Toko picked it up. “Hey, you forgot Leop-Burnbird!” The floor under him opened up all of a sudden, dropping him down a long chute and out of the boat.

Toko’s eyes widened. “If that happens every time you lose, I need to be on my A-game!”

After Toko had claimed victory, Corey went out and was pitted against a Blader wielding Air Knight Zenith Keep, but a dark brown version with glowing red details etched into it. “Meet my Magma Vulcan! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Corey instantly understood the reason for the name, as the Air Knight had begun to glow red from within, similar to a volcano. “Use Magma Root!” Vulcan’s rubber ball tip glowed red as it held down the center, forming a red shield. Vulcan also began to glow even brighter.

“Cockatris, Screeching Bolt!” Surrounded in crackling blue energy, Cockatris shot through Vulcan easily, bursting it and making the score 2-0. Then, Corey returned, and Cuza was sent out.

His opponent was wielding a metallic golden God Valkyrie Hurricane Nothing combo. “Even though you defeated my teammates, you will not defeat Thunderhawk!”

“You’ll have to see about that!” Cuza laughed. “Three! Two! One! Let it...” Cuza did a backflip, sending Chronos rolling straight up into the air. His opponent launched by slamming his launcher downwards.

“Rip!” Chronos quickly pulled into the center. “Chronos, use Gear Wall!” Chronos was surrounded by a dark blue bubble as it locked down the center. Thunderhawk began bouncing up and down, springing into the air and then becoming shorter, into the air, and then shorter, and etc.

“Now hit him with our signature move! Plasma Crash!” Surrounded in bright purplish-blue energy, Thunderhawk crashed onto Chronos, bursting it and making the score 2-1. The boy who wielded Thunderhawk grinned, not leaving the stadium. He was clearly going to be battling again, a decision he made as leader.

BC Sol ended up sending out Alex, since he had not battled and was likely to be their best bet. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Thunderhawk’s wielder, who was named Todd, used the same launch as before, but he jumped to gain even more altitude. Alex launched at an angle, sending Amaterios at full speed. “Golden Slash!” Surrounded in golden light, it struck the stadium’s wall and shot straight into the air.

Then it slashed a wing against Thunderhawk, spinning fast enough that four more quickly followed. Thunderhawk split into its three pieces silently as Amaterios fell down. Alex picked it up and walked back, settling amongst his teammates as Todd was sent hurtling out of the boat.

Todd was so startled that he ended up rolling down the chute and skipped across the sea like a rock, before the Beyeen picked him up with a long claw. The Beyeen was a boat automated by the original version of Beyeen, who had been relegated to saving those ejected from the ship.

BC Sol was sent up to the bleachers, except for Cuza, who managed to hang on with his feet. Then he used his feet and agility to pull himself back out of the chute moments before it snapped shut with a pop! Toko yawned, since he had not been able to get a wink of sleep the night prior.

Toko ended up dozing off into an uneasy sleep, missing most of the battles. Had he been awake, he would’ve seen her. Though he didn’t notice her, she noticed him in the crowd, bringing a smile to her face, before she resumed battling.

Toko eventually was shaken awake by Corey, who noticed his blank expression. Toko yawned and stretched as his senses eventually returned to him, near the end of the round. The Shadow Organization was facing off against the Black Knights.

The Black Knights all wielded the same Beyblade except slightly different. Their leader, Adam, wielded Grand Ashura Hurricane Atomic, which he named Green Knight. His teammates also used Grand Valkyrie and Grand Dragon, a.k.a Blue Knight and the Light Knight.

Adam went up first against Nika/Golden Eye (I’ll use Nika since it’s easier), who was eager to prove herself. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Nyke went rocketing around the stadium, and Toko noticed that it was a lot like Nyke, but did not come to the conclusion that Nika was Golden Eye. Instead, he assumed that Golden Eye had stolen Nyke since Nyke was strong. Nyke curved into the center and slashed at Green Knight.

“Root Armor!” Green Knight seemed to fuse into the stadium, making it nigh impossible to budge. “Nyke, Ultra Victory Whip!” Nyke struck Knight with a golden blade, and then they clashed for a few moments.

Then Green Knight gave in to Nyke’s relentless attack and burst. Nika beamed as she picked up Nyke and returned to the Shadow Organization, sitting down on the bench. Nika slowly began to doze off, before settling into a trancelike half-asleep state, unbeknownst to anybody else.

Either Toko or Nika had been unable to sleep, and their twin bond somehow kept them both up. It was odd because their minds were never linked in any other way, except for then.

Nika was shaken awake by Quicksilver Eye. “You missed my battle! Why did you fall asleep?” Nika yawned and rubbed her eyes. “I couldn’t get a wink of sleep last night, and I was basically just running on fumes!” Quicksilver Eye rolled his eyes (redundant, isn’t it) under his mask.

“Had you been awake, you would’ve seen my amazing talent in action! But instead, you just had to miss it!” “Yeah, yeah, let’s just get on with the next match!”

“Fine, but you’ll probably just fall asleep and miss Night’s battle!”

“Who is Night?”

“Night is one of our teammates. His real name isn’t Night, but only Dark knows what his real name is. He wields the powerful Omega Amaterios! Hey, there he is!”

Night was walking up to the stadium. Nika noticed a striking similarity to Alex, and if Quicksilver Eye was telling her the truth, they had to be related. After all, when two bladers wield the same bey’s beast and look very similar, it had to be a logical conclusion.

“Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Beta Amaterios was a stark gray, five pointed bey that looked almost exactly like its Alpha counterpart, although it lacked color. Amaterios went shooting around the stadium, far faster than its golden double.

His opponent was wielding the ‘Light Knight’, aka Grand Dragon. “Go, Light Wing Attack!” Light Knight shot in a glowing blue line at Amaterios, who darted out of the way.

“Now use Shadow Blaze!” He roared, his dull purple eyes brightening and the whites of his eyes turning black. Amaterios was surrounded in black flames as five of its wings glowed purple and it struck Light Knight at full force.

Then it shot straight through through, bursting its white opponent.

Night simply smirked as his eyes returned to normal and he walked back to the bench extravagantly. The Shadow Organization was moving on!

The next morning, BC Sol went back out against the Roaring Beasts. The team composed of Ken Midori, Blair Pai (the leader), and Ben Azuki. Toko’s eyes widened. “Ken?”

Ken saw him and grinned, and then he held up his puppets, who mouthed (as well as puppets could, I guess) ‘you’re Valt’s bro right?’

Their mostly silent conversation was cut short by the eager voice of Beyeen. “Hello, bladers! We have an exciting match coming up between two star-teams! It’s the Roaring Beasts versus BC Sol International!”

“Let’s do this!” Toko exclaimed, excitedly. Corey and Ken grinned.

They decided to send Toko out first like usual, although he ended up going against Ken. “Wow, it’s you again!” Keru said in its nasal, high voice.

That voice brought back good memories, and Toko smiled. Keru noticed this, of course, and responded, “Hey, it looks like little Toko is happy to see us!”

“I can imagine why!” Besu replied. Toko laughed at the two of them, before beginning the battle. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Chain Kerbeus went spiraling in a tight circle to the center, while Trident went looping around it. “Trident, use Hydro Twist!” Trident’s wave protrusions glowed blue as it rolled into Kerbeus.

“Hold him off, Kerbeus! Use your Steel Wall!" Kerbeus’ perimeter glowed green as Trident bounced off. “Trident, Tsunami Shot! Break through his defense!” Trident struck again and was bounced straight into the air.

Then, Trident went shooting straight down towards Kerbeus. The two beys clashed for a few moments, but then Trident burst against the green beys armor. “Ha!” Keru said, snapping its teeth together.

Then Ken shot around the stadium just as the floor opened up beneath Toko. “Ah shoot.” He muttered as he closed his eyes tightly, preparing for the bite of ice cold water.

A few minutes passed, and he opened his eyes. Keru and Besu had been discarded, and Ken had grabbed Toko’s hands to save him. Toko used his feet to shimmy back up, with Ken’s help, and was nearly out when Keru fell down.

“Uh-oh,” Ken muttered, but Toko was prepared and caught it on his shoe. Then he lifted it carefully back up, so Ken could grab Keru, and then Toko crawled out, both panting from the effort.

Christopher Grey yawned as he woke up. After a long stretch, he checked the clock. “Oh shoot!” He muttered when he realized it was 10:13 am. You see, that was his 11th birthday, and everybody gets their first Pokemon on their 10th birthday at 9 o’ clock, but he had clearly missed it.

Chris didn’t even bother to change or eat breakfast when he raced out of his house. At the last second he had the common decency to slip on flip-flops before leaving, running through the small, cozy village he lived in. Chris deflected questions and greetings from friends and neighbors as he raced to Professor Pine’s lab. Professor Pine was an eccentric man, with a thick white beard and a mustache that came to two points.

Professor Pine was waiting for him in the Pokemon Lab. “Finally! I have been waiting! Actually, you’ve probably waited longer, seeing as when you were born.” Christopher was born in 2008, and for the first ten years of his life, everybody got their first Pokemon at the age of 11. But then they changed it to 10 right after his tenth birthday, meaning that there would be more people needing a Pokemon than there would’ve been.

“I’m sorry, but you came too late. The three Pokemon have all been taken.” Chris mentally cursed himself from being stupid enough to think he would wake up on time for once. Professor Pine saw his saddened expression and went to grab something. “I don’t have any more Pokemon, but I do have Poke Balls! I can give you one and you can go catch a starter!”

And so, Chris and Professor Pine went out to the tall grass, where Pokemon were known to inhabit. Chris heard a whistle as a bird flew past his head and spun around, seeing nothing. “What was that for?” Professor Pine had not seen or heard the bird.

“There was a- there it is again!” The same bird flew past his face again. “There’s a bird!” Professor Pine’s jaw dropped as he pointed at a tree. There was a Pidgey, perched atop a branch. But it was not like any Pidgey Chris had seen before. The Pidgey had soft, snow-white feathers and golden eyes.

“That looks like a shiny Pidgey, but a shiny Pidgey has golden feathers! That is not a shiny Pidgey!”

“I don’t care if it’s shiny or not, it’s rare and the first Pokemon I could find, so I will catch it!” Chris readied his Poke Ball, preparing to click the button.

“Be careful, it might not want to be caught!” Chris stepped forward, reaching out tentatively. The Pidgey did not move as he stroked its feathers. It cooed, and Professor Pine gasped. “It seems to have taken a liking to you!” Chris pressed the button, sending a small bolt of red energy to Pidgey, who did not resist as it was engulfed in red light. Then, the Pidgey vanished into the Poke Ball.

The Poke Ball shook once, then twice, and then a third time, and then went still. “Yes! I caught my first Pokemon!” He clicked the button again, sending the white bird flying out, before quickly perching on his arm. “I think I’m going to name you Angel.”

Angel cooed softly and rubbed its feathered head against Chris’ face. Professor Pine whipped out a red rectangular object and gave it to Chris. “This is a Pokédex. It will log all Pokemon you catch, all moves you learn, and it provides a learning database of data that is built by everyone who owns one.”

“How exactly does that work?”

“Basically, it has scanners that can scan Pokemon and moves and you can log info in it, and then it sends the data logged and sent into a main receiver, which adds the data to its databases and then sends it back to you, so it is constantly being updated.”

“Cool! So if I scan Angel, will it give me Angel’s gender and moves?”

“Yep!” Chris pointed the Pokédex at Angel, pushing the scan button. Then he checked the small screen, finding that Angel was a female Pidgey that knew how to use Gust and Sand Attack. The Pokédex also said she was a Power Level of 10. “What is a Power Level?”

“A Power Level is basically a measure of how much of your Pokémon’s potential is currently being used. The highest Power Level possible is 100, so 10 means Angel is using 10% of its potential. Pokemon evolve when they have reached a certain Power Level.”

Chris ran away, looking for somebody to battle. Eventually, he ran into Mary Adams, the only l1-year old who had not been late, had not lost interest, and now had Charmander. “Hey, you want to battle me? I just got my first Pokemon!”

“Is that a shiny Pidgey?”

“Technically, no. Shiny Pidgey has golden feathers and Angel has white feathers. I honestly don’t know why, but we’ll still beat you!”

“Okay, let’s do this then!” She sent out her Charmander, and Chris scanned it with his Pokédex. Apparently, her Charmander was a Power Level 6 and knew Scratch and Growl. Angel flew off of Chris’ shoulder and hovered in the air, steadily beating her wings.

“Angel, use Gust!” Angel began to flap her wings, kicking up wind. Then she clapped her snow-white wings together, sending a small tornado towards Charmander. “Char, dodge it!” Char was probably what she named her Charmander. Char dodged the tornado. “Now use Scratch!”

Char leapt forward, slashing a glowing silver claw towards Angel. “Angel, dodge it!” Angel dodged, but was not fast enough to escape and earned three small cuts.

“Angel, Sand Attack!” Angel swooped down, using her talons to rake up a cloud of sand, and then clapped her wings together to send the cloud of sand at Char. Char began to rub at his eyes. “Now use Gust again!” Angel flapped up a small tornado and then sent it right at Char.

The small tornado blasted Char backwards into a rock. His eyes turned into small swirls as he fainted. “Haha, yes! We just won our first battle!”

Wielding his map and with Angel perched upon his shoulder, Chris set off on his journey, stepping proudly onto Route 1. “Let’s go, Angel!” Angel rubbed her face against his affectionately, bringing a smile to his face as he began to walk.

Chris walked carelessly, for he had not realized he was walking in tall grass where Pokemon were known to lurk. And one was definitely lurking. It was a small, purple rat-like Pokemon, and it was crawling around stealthily, preparing to pounce.

Of course, Chris didn’t know this, and was startled by the Rattata leaping up at him. He whipped out his Pokédex and clicked the small button.

“Rattata, the Mouse Pokemon. It will chew on anything with its fangs, and if you see one, you can be certain that 40 more live nearby. This Rattata has a Power Level of 3.”

Should be easy enough to beat, Chris thought to himself, before gently flinging Angel into the air. Angel’s silvery wings quickly caught the air and held it aloft. “Angel, use Gust!” The white bird clapped her wings together, creating a sudden burst of air.

The purple rat dodged and began darting around, gaining speed and momentum for a move Chris would later recognize as Quick Attack. Then it pounced at Angel, slamming into her wing with a pop.

Angel let out a horrible screech as she began to wobble down to the ground, her right wing bent oddly at the shoulder. “Hang on, Angel!” She hit the ground hard and nearly collapsed, but Angel was a tough bird, and she stepped upright. “Sand Attack!” Angel flapped her fine wing along the ground, sending up a cloud of dust and sand.

“Now use Gust!” Even though Angel had a wounded wing, she was still more powerful than Rattata, and she flapped the sand into its face. Rattata let out a horrible, bloodcurdling screech, as sand got into its eyes, stinging. Angel flapped a wing again, knocking Rattata back. It’s eyes turned into black swirls as it fainted.

Chris reached into his backpack, pulling out his only potion. Then he sprayed a few squirts of the purple liquid onto Angel’s hurt wing, which bent back into position with a pop. The white bird screeched for a while in pain, and Chris stroked her feathers the whole while.

Eventually, her pain seemed to subside, since she had stopped screeching, and he began to walk again. The tall grass, which had reached up to his shoulders, had begun to subside, before eventually depositing him upon a worn path, which he followed.

It winded in an s-shape between trees and tall grass, before eventually depositing him back in more tall grass. Small bugs flitted between long blades of grass, occasionally biting him. That patch of tall grass was longer than the other and curved up a hill, eventually putting him back on a worn path.

The split second after he stepped out, another Rattata darted after him, barely missing. Chris gently nudged it back into the tall grass and began to run forward, welcoming the unknown.

The unknown was not unknown for long, and he found himself standing on the edge of a green city. It was a small-ish city, surrounded in green trees and plant life, and most buildings had dark green roofs and light green walls. A small sign welcomed him to “Viridian City, the City of Eternal Forest!”

Chris jogged over to the Pokemon Center he knew would be there, returning Angel to her Poke Ball and handing it over to Nurse Joy. “Can you heal my Pidgey?” He asked, using Angel’s proper name instead of Angel.

Nurse Joy nodded, setting it into a small machine and clicking a button. The red ball glowed as Angel was healed, and then Nurse Joy removed it from the machine and handed it back to Chris. “Thank you!” He said, smiling as he left.

Chris grinned, feeling a spring breeze blow across his face. “Ah, what a beautiful day!” He said to himself, and he took a moment to savor it, before stepping off the porch of the Pokemon Center.

Then the black haired trainer began to explore the city, trying to find someone to practice against or something to do. While walking, Chris noticed a flash of motion from behind a tree.

Assuming they were a trainer, Chris spun on his heel and raced after the dark silhouette. As they came into the light, Chris saw that they were a guy, wearing a silver jacket over a black shirt.

All of a sudden, the man stopped outside the Pokemon Center that Chris had recently come from. Running up next to him was a tall woman wearing a similar outfit.

Standing between them was a small Pikachu-like Pokemon with icy white fur and deep blue cheeks. “Lucidissimouse, use Dazzling Gleam!” The Pokemon- Lucidissimouse’s fur began to light up, and a glowing white aura began to form around it.

Eventually, it became a dazzling white star that burned to look at. The white Pokemon remained like that for a moment, before the light exploded outward, ripping open the front half of the Pokemon Center.

Chris’ eyes widened and his expression became one of surprise at their less-than-pure intentions. “Nurse Happy, give us those Pokémon!”

Nurse Joy, flustered by all this, went back into the rooms with healing Pokemon, and began to gather them all up.

Chris steeled his nerves, took in a deep breath, and then shouted at the top of his lungs, “Her name is Nurse Joy, and stealing is wrong!” The two thieves spun around, startled. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

Chris’ courage seemed to fade from him, and he stepped back. “Aw, is da widdle kid a widdle bit scared?” The girl mocked. Chris frowned. “Angel, come on out!”

The younger trainer flipped his Poke Ball into the air, sending out a bolt of red energy that revealed his white Pidgey, Angel. Chris stepped back. “I challenge you to a Pokemon battle! If I win, you leave Nurse Joy and those Pokemon alone!”

The girl smirked. “Why not?” Lucidissimouse hopped in front of them. “We are the Team Prism Grunts, and we take what we want!” Chris quickly scanned the Lucidissimouse, but his Pokédex only beeped as if it didn’t recognize that Pokemon. He hit it with the palm of his hand, and eventually a message popped up on the screen.

‘Pokemon not recognized,’ it read, ‘Do you want to log this information as a new Pokemon?’ He clicked a ‘yes’ box and entered Lucidissimouse as the name. Another scan from the Pokédex revealed it was a Psychic type, it was male, and it was Power Level 9.

Chris' eyes widened with surprise at how close it was, Power Level wise, to Angel. It also knew the moves Dazzling Gleam, and Light Screen. “Angel, use Gust!” Angel clapped her wings together, sending a small tornado at Lucidissimouse.

“Lucidissimouse, Light Screen!” Lucidissimouse lit up, and a glowing translucent wall appeared in front of it. The tornado dissipated, and the wall disappeared. “Now use Dazzling Gleam!” Lucidissimouse lit up with white light and charged straight at Angel.

“Angel, dodge it!” Angel darted to the side, not quite escaping fast enough to avoid being clipped by the energy. The sleek bird went spiraling down into the ground. “Now that you lost, get out of here!"

Committee Aoi looked at his new bey, Valerius. “I can’t wait to show them how powerful we are!” Committee said, beaming. Then he looked up at his opponent, Lantujima Kiyama. “You’re going down!”

Lantujima smirked. “I’m not so sure about that! Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Lantujima launched, sending his Medlimsliv directly into the center.

“Super Shooooooooooooooooot!” Committee roared as he launched. However, his poor launching technique sent Valerius straight into a statue of his principal, cracking it.

“Valerius!” Committee dived forward and grabbed Valerius. “Uh, Committee, you might want to-“ Lantujima was interrupted by a loud crash as the statue split cleanly in half, the top piece falling backwards.

“Who would dare destroy the statue of Principal Shinoda and disrespect him?!” An angry teacher cried out as he saw the damage.

Lantujima sighed as the teacher gave them a hot glue gun and told them to put it back together or they would get their beys confiscated. “You got us in trouble!”

“My bey should’ve won, it looks and spins cooler than yours!”

“Yeah? Well, I at least have regard for the basics!”

“The basics?”

“You clearly don’t even know the basics!”

“Yes I do! You, uh, put the ripcord in the launcher, and then rip it and the bey starts spinning!”

“What a joke!!”

Committee fell to the floor. “The basics? What are the basics?” He wondered aloud.

Then, he raced out of there. “Hey!” Lantujima called out to him as he sped away.

An hour later, Committee was by a tree, wearing a tire on his back and with a thick vine wrapped around it. “I need to learn the basics! Let it Rip!” He yanked the vine.

“Again!” Committee kept at it for a while, before eventually training his balance on a bunch of tires. It seemed as if the sky turned dark within a few seconds, and he realized he had to get home, so home he went.

The next morning, he walked eagerly to the WBBA building, prepared to battle. The moment his blue eyes locked on the crowd, he realized how many people there were watching, and he stiffened and became white as a sheet.

Committee suddenly shrieked, “Ow, I bit my toungue!” and then proceeded to trip on each of the three steps up to the stadium. At the top was Lantujima, in his whole outfit.

“The victor of round one shall be yours truly, me! Prepare to be owned by Medlimsliv and I!”

All of a sudden, it came to him. He suddenly learned of all of the basics, as if Valerius was guiding him, which was probably true. Committee’s natural launching stance changed, because his original stance would never work, which startled Imyou Kurenai from the stands. Imyou was Committee’s friend from when they were young, and he wielded the fearsome Danger.

Lantujima also noted this and smirked. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” Medlimsliv and Valerius went spiraling into the center, smashing into each other. “Wow, you’re so fast, Valerius!” Valerius and Medlimsliv clashed for a while, before Medlimsliv looped away and then smashed Valerius, sending the blue bey flying out of the stadium as Medlimsliv’s spirit formed around Lantujima.

“Lantujima Kiyama wins with an Over Finish!”

“Hahaha! Medlimsliv’s super heavyweight disk allows it to take a beating and then dish one out that’s ten times as powerful!”

Committee frowned, squeezing Valerius tightly. And then a huge smile came to his face as he looked back up at Lantujima. “Yay! I’m all fired up and ready to go!”

Lantujima raised an eyebrow. “Uh, what now?”

Committee just grinned. “Three! Two! One! Let it...

Rip!” At the last second, Valerius seemed to guide his arm, tilting his launcher to a steep angle. Valerius went shooting in a straight line, slashing into Medlimsliv at full speed.

Then it curved away and struck again, rapidly slashing against Medlimsliv. “Go, Valerius! Archive Shoot!” Valerius was shooting around so fast it seemed as if there were multiple of it, and then all of them struck Medlimsliv from all sides.

Valerius’ beast slashed its sword down as its bey counterpart shot through Medlimsliv, sending the orange bey’s parts flying. “Committee Aoi gains two points with a burst finish! Committee wins 2-1!”

“Yay! We won! We will be the very best!”