//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: First Round Victories 
// Story: Beyblade: Worlds Unite 
// by Seeker1 
//------------------------------//

After the pre-qualifying round, Emerald and many other bladers made it onto the tournament. And for the boy himself managed to make a statement by entering his first tournament and scoring the highest score on the launch. 

"Three... two... one... Let it Rip!" shouted Spike.

The boy pulled the ripcord of his launcher as he let his bey fly. It soared and landed in the stadium as it took off. The bey immediately clashed with its opponent as they were looking to gain control early in the match.

"Dragonheart!" shouted Spike as his bey was pushed back before coming back with even more power and knocking its foe into the air. The bey flew and landed outside the stadium.

"Ring Out finish! Point awarded to Dragonheart. And so, with a score of two points, Spike is declared the winner." said the ref.

"Yes!" said the boy as he easily passed the first round.

"Nice work, bud," said Rumble as he congratulated his friend for joining them in advancing to the next round.

"Thanks."

"It'd be embarrassing if you were the only one who didn't make it," stated Button Mash as he was knocked on the head by Sweetie Belle. "Ow!"

"That's what you get!" responded the girl.

"Quiet down. Rainbow's next!" exclaimed Scootaloo as she gestured for everyone else to be quiet so she could watch her role model in action.

"Ready... set!"

"Three... two... one... Let it Rip!" shouted the bladers.

Rainbow pulled the string of her launcher as her bey flew. It landed and quickly took the center as the opponent was circling it. It then began to crash into Falki as it managed to hold back the strikes.

"Now it's our turn!" said the chromatic-haired girl.

Rainbow gave her by its command as it moved out from the center just as the opponent was about to attack again. Now circling back, it had its sights set on its foe as it crashed into its target, and within seconds, the bey split into pieces that landed by the center as Falki kept on spinning.

"Rainbow Falki with a Burst Finish. With a score of 2 points, the winner is Ms. Rainbow Dash!" said the ref as he pointed in the girl's direction.

"Yes!" said Rainbow as she fist-pumped.

"That was... awesome!" yelled Scootaloo as she jumped into the air excitedly.

"Gees! Calm down, fangirl!" expressed Rumble as he covered his ears from how loud Scootaloo was screaming into his ears.




Twilight was pacing back and forth. The student president was mentally stressed as the thought of having her first official beyblade match was moments away. Her heart rate slowly rose as she tried to remain calm, but her anxieties were going through the roof.

"Focus, Twilight. Focus. This is it. All your training has led you up to this point." said the girl as she hyperventilated.

"Are you always this stressed out, Ms. Prez?"

Twilight stopped and turned as Emerald leaned against the doorway to the room she was preparing. The boy felt the girl would panic with her upcoming match and went to check on her. And he proved right as the girl was pacing so much that he was sure she'd put a hole into the rug.

"Now's not the time for jokes, Emerald," said the teen as she continued to pace.

"Don't tell me you're worried about your match?" said the boy as he sat on one of the couches.

"Of course I am! Aren't you?" expressed Twilight.

"No."

"No?"

Twilight blinked as she was confused. Out of everyone here, she felt like Emerald would care about winning. 

"No," confirmed the boy.

"What? Why aren't you worried about your match? What if you lose?"

"That's not gonna happen."

"But it's possible! What if you face someone better than you?"

"That's not gonna happen," said Emerald.

"But what if it does!!!" yelled Twilight.

The girl huffed a bit as she ranted at her friend. Yet, Emerald kept his calm look as he looked at the teen. Twilight took a deep breath and sat on the couch facing him.

"I'm not gonna lose, Twilight. It's not gonna happen."

"How... how are you so sure? Are you that confident?"

"Yes," answered the boy. "I've been in situations where I know when I've met my match and where I won't lose. And I can confidently say that I won't lose my match."

"It sounds like cockiness to me," stated Twilight.

"It's not cocky if you can back it up," replied Emerald.

Twilight looked at her friend as a sound got their attention. They turned to see the TV as it showed Flash winning his match just moments ago. The crowd cheered and roared, showing appreciation for the boy as he smiled. Twilight and Emerald were watching as they saw how the crowd cheered him on.

"C-Can I ask you a question?" asked Twilight as she looked at Emerald. "How did you know you could do it?"

Emerald took a moment to let the girl's question sink in. A few moments passed as he sighed before looking at the bookworm and answering.

"I don't know. I guess I just never thought about it," said Emerald.

Twilight let what he said sink in as she was impressed by the boy's ability and confidence never to ask himself that question.

"Heh. Wow... I wish I knew what that felt like," smiled the lavender-haired girl.

The pair smiled when a knocking came at the door.

"Ms. Sparkle, it's your turn."

"Right. Thank you," said the girl as the person began to walk away as their footsteps got quieter.

"Good luck," said Emerald as he stood up.

"Thanks," said Twilight as she stood up also.

She walked toward the door as it opened and headed down the hall. Twilight stopped as Emerald was concerned. Soon the student council president turned around and ran as she hugged the boy. Emerald was caught off guard as Twilight hugged him before he put his arms around her back. The hug was broken a few seconds later as Twilight headed toward the stage.




"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for our next battle!" said the MC.

Two doors opened up, and on the right was Twilight. The girl raised her hand to block some of the bright light on her face. Her eyes soon adjusted as she blinked and headed to the stadium in the center.

"Bladers, inspect each other's bey!" said the ref.

Twilight took out her bey and handed it to her opponent. The girl took her opponent's bey as she got a good look at it. It was a Stamina-type as the straight tip meant it was built to spin longer than most beys. With that, she handed her opponent's bey back and retrieved hers. Watching from the room he was stationed in, Emerald could see the worry on the girl's face.

"Focus," said the boy as he sat down to watch.

"The first player to score two points wins. A survivor finish or ring-out finish is worth one point. A burst finish earns two points." said the ref.

Twilight and her opponent attached their beys to their launchers and bent down to hold their devices above the stadium.

I'm counting on you, Magia. Let's show what we can do.

Twilight had a smile pop.

"Attagirl, be confident," said Emerald, watching the screen.

"First battle!" said the official.

Okay. Just remember. Fundamentals.

"Keep your launching arm steady. Get low to the ground. Plant your feet. And last but not least, summon all your strength and let it rip." muttered Emerald as if Twilight was listening to him.

"She's got the fundamentals down, but that's not saying much," stated Spitfire as she and the rest of her Wondercolt teammates watched the screen from Flash's room.

The blue-haired boy sat on a ledge as he stared at the screen. The teen eyed the student president, wishing she would win and move on.

I'm here for you, Twilight.

"Ready... set!"

"Three... two... one...!" countdown the crowd.

"Let it Rip!" shouted Twilight and her opponent as they pulled their launchers with all their might.'

A spark of light emitted when the bladers pulled their strings as their beys were sent flying. They landed in the arena perfectly as they kept spinning and using that momentum to move clockwise.

"All right! Excellent landing!" said Twilight to herself and bey for executing a good launch. "Go for it, Magia!"

Twilight gave her bey the command to go on the offensive as her opponent's bey had reached the center first and was intent on holding it. The bey spun as in came Magia, looking to use her power to knock her foe away from the center. It then came into contact as it clashed with its opponent before being knocked away.

"Yes!" exclaimed Twilight for making a direct hit.

"Your attack did nothing!" said her opponent.

Magia went for another attack; it knocked her foe back a bit but quickly reclaimed the center as it went for another strike and did the same. It went Back and forth as, despite hitting it, it seemed her opponent wouldn't let Magia push it from the center.

"Even with all of Magia's strikes, her opponent still has a tight grip on the center. Its heavyweight disk and sharply pointed tip keep the spin lightning quick!" commentated the MC.

"Alright, let's end this!" declared Twilight's opponent.

He gave the command to his bey as the creature inside stirred. It came alive and appeared as it saw Magia coming; it glowed with an aura and swatted the bey away with one swing of its arm. Upon crashing, Magia was sent flying as Twilight noticed it was going past her face, and seconds later, it hit the ground.

"It's a Ring Out finish!" said the ref as he awarded a point to Twilight's opponent.

"Using a fierce counter to knock Magia out of the stadium!"  said the MC.

"Don't fret, Twilight. It's not over. Just adjust and focus." said Emerald as he saw the girl pick up her bey.

This isn't good. What can we do to win, Magia?

"Second battle!" called out the ref.

Twilight's opponent attached its bey and got into their stance. Twilight did the same as a purple light shined through her arm as she bent down. Her aura was now different as it glowed a bright purple, and the spirit of her bey appeared behind the girl. With a tilt of her staff, she angled Twilight's launcher downward at an angle. It didn't go unnoticed as Emerald saw it and gasped.

"What was that?" said Fleetfoot.

"She tilted her launcher," responded Flash as they all saw the same thing. 

"Three... two... one...!"

"Let it Rip!" shouted Twilight.

The girl pulled as hard as she could on the string, sending her bey flying as it shined with that purple aura.

"And Magia is heading toward its opponent with a vengeance!" addressed the MC as it showed Twilight's Bey continuing to glow and beam toward its foe.

Magia made direct contact with its foe before zooming upward.

"What a hit! And now Magia is zooming up the slope of the stadium! What on earth is going on?!" said the MC as he couldn't believe his eyes. "Magia dives in for another strike."

"Impossible..." said Twilight's opponent. The entire Wondercolt team had surprised looks, apart from Flash, on their faces. Emerald saw this, and a smile appeared from his quarters.

Magia made contact with an even more powerful strike before it backed off and zoomed up the slope again. This time it was leaving a trail of magic particles behind it as it came down.

"Magia is attacking over and over again! I've never seen anything like this before!" shouted the MC.

"What's going on?!" said Twilight's opponent.

"Don't let up!" instructed Twilight as her bey got faster and delivered a 360 hyper attack from all angles, leaving no room for a counterattack.

"Good job, Ms. Prez," stated Emerald as he saw Twilight adjusting her angle, allowing her to get a better grip and increase its spin power.

"She improvised, heh... maybe... just maybe..." muttered Flash as he smiled at seeing Twilight shout commands to her bey on the screen.

"Hang in there! We can still win this!" shouted Twilight's opponent to their bey.

"Magia, I know you want to win this. I can feel how much you want it. Let's do this!" shouted Twilight to herself as she put all her energy into summoning her bey.

Twilight's bey shined even bright as the purple aura shot up in an energy shower. Her bey released its spirit as the priestess inside Twilight's bey was shown as she twirled her staff and powered it up while in her other hand, she held a spellbook. It then clashed with its foe as the two held for a bit before Magia was pushed back but immediately recovered and came back faster than expected.

It clashed again before being pushed back, but it used that momentum to do a drift slide around. It surprised everybody as Twilight's bey spun circles around its target while converting the pushback and speed into power for its strike.

"Sacred... Aura!" yelled Twilight.

Her bey then began to appear all around her target. It seemed like there were copies of her bey when it was spinning so fast that it appeared everywhere at once. Soon Magia began to shoot from all angles with a blinding speed that there was no time for Twilight's opponent to cover up. Magia stopped spinning in a circle before rushing out as the trail of its copies caught up, and the magic particles by its tip intensified. The sparkles added to the bey's shining aura as it rushed forward and gave a symbol that matched the sparkle mark on Twilight's backpack.

With one clash, it closed in on its opponent and pierced through. Twilight's bey smashed its foe as the pieces lay near the center. The girl's opposition was stunned as Magia spun effortlessly in the middle.

"Burst Finish! Two points go to Magia! Twilight Sparkle wins with a score of two to one!" said the ref, pointing his arm toward the teen. 

"A Burst Finish! Twilight manages to turn the tables to win!" yelled the MC.

"I... did it. I did it!" the student president said as she registered that she had won.

"I knew you had it in you, Twilight," said Emerald as he got up and prepared for his match.

"We did it, Magia. Our very first win," said the bookworm to her bey as she picked it up. "Let's keep it up... partner."




The next set of battles continued as the tournament was thinning out. Emerald was walking in one of the corridors when he noticed Twilight walking toward him. The pair stopped just meters away as they looked at each other.

"Hey," responded the bookworm.

"Hey," responded the boy.

"Good luck. Even though you don't need it," smiled Twilight while playing with a strand of her hair.

"Thanks... I appreciate that," smiled Emerald as he walked past the girl and headed toward the stage.

"Moving onto our next match! The Blader competing in this match is Emerald, who has been making some waves despite this being his first-ever tournament appearance. The highest to score on the qualifiers, he's a force to be reckoned with." stated the MC.

The boy was shown approaching the stadium as his opponent was waiting for him.

"Alright, Lunor. Let's make this quick," stated Emerald as he was already ready to win.

"Good luck with that. My bey is a Defense type. And it's got some serious protection. So don't think you're gonna get through." the boy facing Emerald scoffed.

"I'll finish this match in ten seconds," declared Emerald.

"Did you hear that, folks? Newcomer Emerald is predicting a ten-second burst! Can he do it?" said the MC.

"Hey, that's my gimmick!" shouted Rainbow to the screen for Emerald stealing her line.

"Simmer down, Crash. There's no way he's gonna do it," said Spitfire.

"Is it possible, Cap?" asked Thunderlane as Flash just sat silently and glared.

"Ten seconds? Get real! Are you seriously trying to insult my skills?!" said Emerald's opponent as he felt disrespected.

"I'm only telling it like it is," responded Emerald. His comment got his opponent to seeth.

"No way," said Scootaloo as she and her friends were looking to see if Emerald would do as he said.

"The stakes are high, and tempers are flaring! The battle's heating up before it's even begun!" said the MC as the ref reviewed the rules between the two bladers.

"First battle!" shouted the ref.

Emerald attached Lunor to his launcher.

"Ready! Set!" stated the official.

"Three! Two! One!" counted down the crowd.

"Let it Rip!" shouted Emerald as he pulled on the ripcord and sent his bey flying.

"Go for the center!" shouted Emerald's foe.

"One... two... three..." whispered the boy.

Lunor was spinning about before heading to the middle, where its target was.

"four... five... six..."

Lunor crashed into its foe, and it burst the bey apart, sending two of its pieces out of the stadium.

"Nine..." said Emerald as he finished counting.

"A Burst Finish!!!" shouted the MC at the top of his lungs. "And with just one strike!"

"Lunor with a Burst Finish! With two points, Emerald is declared the winner!" stated the ref as he pointed in the teen's direction.

A wild applause erupted. Nearly all the Wondercolts lost their mind at what they saw. Spitfire was left speechless, as well as Dash, as Emerald finished the battle with one second to spare. Flash's glare deepened as he saw the boy smiling after sweeping his opponent and taking in the affection like a hero.

"Amazin'!" said Apple Bloom.

"It's just as he predicted. He beat his opponent in ten seconds!" said Spike as he was at a loss for words.

"That's a new record!" said Button Mash.

"That's two records that Emerald has set in this tournament. If you're a betting person, this is the competitor to put your money on!" stated the MC as Emerald grabbed his bey and walked away.

Upon hearing that, Flash slammed his fist into the arm of his chair. The other heard that and looked at their leader as the boy's glare intensified. Emerald was walking to the back when he saw Twilight waiting for him.

"That was quite the theatrics," snickered the bookworm.

"Yeah, well..." said Emerald as he started his response but found no witty comeback.

Twilight giggled at her friend for not having a response.




The tournament came to an for the day as the results were displayed. Spike and his friends all passed, along with Flash and the Wondercolts, and as shown, Twilight and Emerald made it past the first round. Now the remaining number of bladers had dwindled down to less than 100.

Twilight was exiting the building as she had her backpack on. She saw her little brother with his friends, talking about doing some practice tomorrow in preparation for the tournament. Rainbow was with the rest of her teammates as they discussed improving their training regiment. Flash noticed the bookworm and would call her when she walked away.

Twilight spotted someone walking away in the distance as she caught up to them. That someone was Emerald as the boy was heading home.

"Heading home?" asked Twilight as the boy turned to see the girl approaching him. "Mind if I walk with you?"

"Sure," responded the teen as the pair walked side by side.

"I doubt I'd need to ask you this, but... nervous?"

"No," said Emerald.

"Figures. You did well."

"Same to you. You were able to improvise on the fly. That's not something everyone can do." said Emerald.

"Well... I did learn from the best," smiled Twilight as the pair entered the subway and got on.

The ride was smooth for a few minutes before Twilight spoke up.

"So... I was wondering. Are you available tomorrow?" asked the student president.

"Why?" asked the boy.

"Well, my mom has a book signing tomorrow. And I was wondering, maybe you want to hang out at the mall?" asked Twilight.

"I got nothing better to do," said Emerald.

"Great!" stated Twilight as the subway slowed down and came to the stop that Twilight had to get off to get home. "I'll text you my address. Be there at 9!"

The bookworm got off before the doors closed and walked up the stairs. Emerald saw her leave as the train pulled ahead and rushed through the tunnels. The boy smiled as he'd been meaning to check out the town and figured this was the perfect excuse to do it. Training could wait. Emerald's only hope was that Twilight's mother would like him.