It's been about a week. I've been training nonstop since Boa got hurt, and studying flight mechanics to make sure that doesn't happen to anyone again. Every day I tried to talk to Alexander, I got shut down completely before I could even talk to him. This time, it's going to be different.

I slam open the doors, storming in like a force of nature. The three people in the well-lit room look up, masks showing none of their surprise- if they are surprised at all.

I am pissed.

No one gets away with attempted murder. And ripping Boa's glider counts. If you try to kill someone, you've got to do it right to hide the evidence. These idiots forgot to even think about use, the people who actually have a heart,saving Boa. Now I'm gonna teach it to them slowly. And keep them as silent as the grave for the rest of eternity.

"Ah, Kurenai," Alexander Gilten says smoothly. "Welcome back. I trust there were no... surprises during your flight?"

I clench my teeth. "Only a few. Someone's glider tore, and we found it was set to break at that time." My fasly polite voice changes to a growl, and nearly a roar. Another force besides me is upset, and it's not Alexander. This force completely agrees with me. "I had to rescue him, when I could have been training. That ravine would have killed him!"

His two lackeys stand up at the same time as I step forward. I roll my shoulders. If they're going to attack me, I should be able to knock them out, if I can make them turn around. Robin doesn't have anything on me anymore. "Do you deny that, sir?"

He stands up as well and motions for the others to back off. "We'll come back to this matter in a moment. For now," he fixes me with that intense cat-like stare. "Why didn't you let the person fall?"

I can feel the blood draining from my face. Let him fall? What?

"I can see your surprise."He smiles slowly. God, I hate that smile. "Allow me to explain." He settles himself on the giant seat that looks too much like a throne. "First, this team can only afford to have strong bladers. The weak ones would be weeded out. Second, developing...attachments is a weakness, one Lui Shirosagi was smart enough to forgo."

I can't think of anything to say. He... he turned the tables so fast, I can't do anything. I forgot about his incredible way with words. But he's wrong!

And the only one who can make us stronger.

"As for whether I deny it or not, I most definitely deny. This place has a talent for getting rid of the weak." He smirks.

These next words haunted me for the rest of my time in the Americas.

"I wonder... will you be next?"

---

I gasped as Robin sprinted out of the stadium. Barely anyone else noticed, but since I was facing the door and not Free, I could see her cover her face and flee.

Silas grinned. "Well, you're little friend's gone. Time to do the same to you."

I ignored him completely. "WAKIYA!!!" Honcho and I tackled him in a hug. "YOU'RE HERE!!!"

"Get off of me!" He squirmed, trying to push Honcho away before we flattened him. "It's only been a week, you know!"

"Aoi. Kiyama."

THe quiet voice got all of our attentions, weirdly. Free nodded toward the bench. "Sit down."

Alright! I jumped down and grinned. "So, how are we going to win this! Any super secretness you wanna share with us?!"

"Hmm..." Free tilted his head. "No." His voice was so decisive Honcho flinched.

"Aww... pleaaasseeee....." I begged. "At least let me go first!"

"No! ME!"
"No, me!"

Veins in his eyes suddenly glowed bright orange, and both of us shut our mouths. He hummed quietly, debating between the two of us.

"Please..." I begged again.

"The quiet one," Free decided, pointing at Honcho.

"FREE YOU BIG MEANIE!" I shrieked, while my other friend cheered. Betrayal!

Honcho practically bounced out of his seat and up to the stadium. "Behold! The great Honcho is here!"

Silas rolled his eyes and went back to his seat, scowling. Does he always frown like that? Does it take more effort to be angry all the time? He kinda looks like that one blond guy who has explosions coming out of his hands in a picture Robin showed me. That guy was angry too.

Wakiya stepped out and grinned. "Oh Honcho, you should really just go back to Japan."

"Absolutely not!" he growled.

"Oh, you'll be on your knees after what I'm about to give you," he smirked as his boyfriend turned bright red. The edge of a smile appeared on Free's face.

"Huh?"

He faced me, eyes glittering. The orange was nearly gone from his eyes. "Don't get it?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

That look in his eyes was amusion. "Good."

HOncho had apparently had enough, because he knelt in his launching position. "Shut up! I'll take you down in seconds! Bring it on!"

He smirked again and went into his launching stance. I saw his bey and gasped. "Woah..." GOD PURPLE AND GREEN SHOULD NEVER GO TOGETHER ITS SO UGLY HEELPP!

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it... rip!"

Honcho's Beserker Roktavor hit the center immediately. No bounce or anything. He'd been practicing, that was for sure. I noticed Free's posture was really relaxed, but his eyes were narrowed at the stadium. Wakiya's bey hit the ground with hardly a bounce and speed after the middle.

"The center's mine!" Honcho recklessly declared. Well, reckless in my opinion. We don't know what that bey can do yet. Although I probably would do the same thing. "Roktavor Zone!"

Thanks to Valkyrie, I blink and can see the glowing vortex of orange wind dragging anything from the inner ring to the orange bey.

The ugly purple and green bey streaked down to the center, sending afterimages to my brain. Oh my gosh, his bey is so much faster! It gets pulled in pretty well, but only gains speed.

Free shook his head, frowning slightly.

Honcho recoiled. "Huh?"

Wakiya grinned. "Kill it!"

Kill? He never really said that to his bey before, right? Did it evolve?

I got my answer in a second, when the new and improved version of Tempest Wyvron exploded from the energy layer. It seemed less, 'sleek, dangerous ride,' and more, 'wild, deadly killing machine.' Paint was painted in swirls along his tail and wings, and armor covered his underbelly. Wyvron slammed into Roktavor and the orange bey was blasted out of the stadium. It shattered into three pieces.

Honcho fell to his knees, gaping. "O-one hit?"

"Told ya, baby," Wakiya grinned, scooping up his bey.

"Tempest Wyvron with a burst finish. The first game goes to Sunbat United."

The crowd cheered for Wakiya, and his eyes went huge. I heard him whisper something to himself, and remembered that his parents were never home. He had no one who actually thought he was amazing, even Honcho

Senor Hanami gasped. "IT ONLY TOOK ONE HIT TO BRING RANTARO DOWN! How will BC SOL recover from this?"

Free merely blinked once at Honcho as he came back, shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Free. I tried. I didn't realize he'd gotten an upgrade too!"

He nodded at me. "Go." Then looked at Honcho. "Wyvron is a defensive type bey, but has a pendulum-type attack. Keep him from getting momentum."

"Stop telling me what to do! I'm not a little kid!" he pouted, sticking a fresh lollipop in his mouth.

I took that as my cue to leave. Naturally, I'm up against...

Wakiya. What the heck? Is that even allowed? Can he go twice?

I said this to him, but he just smirked. "I'm the captain," he pointed out. Silas glared daggers, but Ataru just smiled innocently and went back to his tablet.

Welp, looks like I'm on my own.

What about me? Valkyrie protested.

That's right, I'm never alone. I have you, amazing chibi.

DON'T CALL ME A CHIBI!

---

"Raaargh!" I slam my fist into the wall. It goes straight through, wood and all.

Boa sighs. "Don't worry about it. You shouldn't have tried anyways, he'll always win." He glances at his bandaged body. "I think I'd better go train." He tears off the ones on his chest.

I growl at the wall, and swipe at it. How dare Alexander do that! Boa's my only friend here, if only because I trust him the most. How dare he! I want to club his head off. My vision's suddenly tinted red, and I hit Boa's wall again. And again. And again. I'm really upset, and I'm gonna destroy something before this is all over. The only reason I'm not training today is because murder does not need to go on my crime list.

Boa turns towards me. "Hey, Shu, try not to destroy..." his voice trails off. "The- the wall..."

I turn back and see the wall. It's been torn through, almost shredded, with something that looks like long knives. But I'm the only one who hit the wall. It was fine before. What happened?

My vision's still bright red, and I realize it's not anger.

"Shu," Boa says hesitantly. "Uh, you should probably look at your hands now."

I don't want to, but I glance down, and I'm not proud to say, I scream.

My hands aren't hands. They're red and rippling with muscles, furry and striped with orange. And in place of fingernails, there are long, silver claws that gleam.

I know these claws. Robin drew them for me, and I've seen them in my dreams.

Spryzen, the Crimson Chimera.

---

"Let it... rip!"

Valkyrie was a little wobbly when she hit the ground, bound for the center. She wouldn't let me fully control her (there's no skill in that!) so her new form was harder for me to use. She circled between the center and halfway past the inner ring in a long oval pattern. Now he can't get to the center.

Wakiya's bey streaked in towards the center, completely ignoring the fact that I was guarding it, and hit Valkyrie. She squaked indignantly, the weirdest sound I've ever heard out of that dirty mouth. You-

She continued to guard the center while calling him every name under the sun. Wakiya was scowling, while I grinned. "Knock him out of there! Winged Launch!"

But if-

Trust me!

She streaked out of the center, bouncing off walls at an extremely fast rate, and gained speed. Meanwhile, Wyvron took the center. Good. Now I just have to sync at the right time. Extra power is allowed in friendly matches, so...

Oh. Her voice changed from angry to surprised. Oh god. You're absolutely crazy.

Any better ideas?

Nope.

"Imbeciles," he sneered. "You just left the center open! Wyvron, guard!"

"Attack!"

Her speed was strong enough that I could barely see her as she zoomed toward the center, glowing brightly. I was able to see her armored form and gold mask.

Valt! Sync now!

I flipped the mental switch, that one time I went bike-riding with Shu. The key was my emotions, and that was the one time they were completely hopeful- nothing else in the way. Just pure hope, for a future with my Shu.

But nothing happened.

I frantically searched my memories for something else, but it was too late. Valkyrie hit Wyvron,bounced a little, then fell over. Thankfully, she was still in one piece, or else we would have lost the second game. That would have been pretty bad.

"Tempest Wyvron with a survivor finish!"

I blinked, still trying to access a hope-filled memory. None of the ones with Shu in it were working anymore! What was I supposed to do, if I couldn't sync and didn't have enough power?

Free waved me over, frowning ever so slightly. His eyes briefly flickered orange, then changed back to grey-black. He was annoyed at my performance.

"You did better than the idiot," he commented, taking Valkyrie from my hand. "Going for the center was a decent idea. You put your bey at a disadvantage, but nearly pulled it off. Something fell apart. We'll talk about that later."

I absorbed the information, suddenly understanding how Free was keeping his title. He noticed before I did.

"She says that she feels too heavy."

Both Honcho and I gave him confused looks, and he nodded to my beyblade. "You don't need an extra boost if you have the speed for it." Free blinked once and tilted his head to the left. "Well?"

He didn't need to add that. My mental gears were already turning. Too heavy, extra speed instead of power. Speed and power were the same thing, interchangeable. Science. Shu told me that once. So all I had to do was...

I pulled off the rubber armor, and Valkyrie was suddenly stripped of all unimportant armor. The horse didn't have any at all. Only her helmet remained, and her dark skin was covered with leather. Her broadsword was the same, but that was the only heavy-looking thing on her.

She rolled her shoulders and neck, examining her body and the change.

Is this alright?

I could get used to this, she declared, giving the sword an experimental swing.

Free nodded to me, a subtle show of support. Honcho gave me a thumbs-up.

"Hurry up!" Wakiya yelled. "Stop wasting my precious time!"

"Shut up!" Honcho hollered back. "Your face is stupid!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

I ran up to the stadium. "Sorry, best friend! I was just trying to focus. I'm ready to beat you now!"

He got into his launch stance, on arm behind him. The same way he launched last time, but I instinctively knew that he was going for one of those pendulum attacks. I just had to intercept it, knock it off course, and pin it between me and the wall. Strange. I was starting to think of my amazing Genesis Valkyrie as me.

That's the Descendant part of you finally kicking in, Valkyrie announced. I knew you had some power in you!

Huh?

Everyone has a little power in them. Sometimes it takes a little bit of prodding and poking with a stick. She smirked, way too satisfied with herself.

I'll have you know I've been working so hard, I haven't had time for churros!

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it... rip!"

Valkyrie landed it his side of the stadium, speeding across the outer ring, burning a trail behind her. Meanwhile, Wyvron balanced precariously at the edge of the stadium. As she got closer, the huge mass of winged muscle fell across the center to the other side and back, just like a pendulum.

Timing it! Valkyrie told me, narrowing her eyes as fire flashed behind her. I got an instinct out-of-Valt-body moment, and yelled, "Winged Launch!"

She hit the wall three times, speeding up just in time to crash into Wyvron, pinning him against the wall.

The sparks flew for a few seconds, then Wyvron burst.

I jumped in the air. "YEAAAA!"

He fell to his knees. "H-how did you..." Wakiya gaped. "That's...but you... wait, where's that armor piece?"

I held up my hand. "Right here!" The red band sat in my palm. I grinned. "Are you proud of me? Are you proud of me?"

"Game Two goes to BC Sol! The two clubs are tied! Will Wakiya go for his third time and risk another humiliating defeat? Will the Free de La Hoya come up? We'll be right back after this commercial break!"

---+

I m alive! Sorry, October's been a pain, but I swear I'll make up for it!!!! Promise, please don't hate me,five people who actualy read this crap!!!

Thank you I love you so much!!!

Robin out!~