Chapter 1: Beyblade Beginnings

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Welcome to the world of Beyblade. Where beys collide in the stadium alongside the passionate hearts of their bladers. This is the story of fearless competitors who follow their dreams on an unforgettable journey to the top. Their goal? To become the World Champion! The stage is set! The players are ready! Which challenger will claim the title of "The World's Best Blader"?

"Let it Rip!" shouted a voice.

A launcher was shown as the string was pulled back with great force and power. It launched a spinning metal top flying from the launcher into a stadium on the floor. It landed with the tip on the surface as it picked up and zoomed. It was traveling along the surface as its power was on full display.

The person who launched it was a shadow as his mouth was shown. He spoke some words as the bey seemed to react to his command, glowing in an aura. The boy himself was also resonating. Soon the bey raced up the stadium wall and flew into the air. Everything moved in slow motion as the bey kept on spinning. The boy stuck his hand out to grab his bey as time resumed. The mysterious person was now looking at the colorful thing in his hand as the glow it had continued to shine.

"Why do you blade?" asked a voice.

The morning sun was shown rising above the horizon. Within seconds, the darkness was soon enveloped in a bath of light as birds began to sing to signal the start of a new day. The city of Canterlot was already up as many cars were speeding down the streets with people walking on the sidewalks.

A house was shown as inside a room, and there lay someone. The person had the covers over them as they were deep in sleep. On the stand, there was an alarm clock, a few books, and a family portrait that showed a family of five. Soon the alarm went off as the time changed; it generated a loud buzz as a hand emerged from under the blankets. It was having a hard time finding the off switch for the dang thing, but it eventually found it and shut the noise off.

The hand then retracted as the person in bed sat up. It was revealed to be a 15-year-old girl. The girl had pale, light grayish mulberry skin with her eyes medium purple. Her hair was shown to consist of dark sapphire-colored with moderate purple and brilliant raspberry streaks. She yawned and stretched her limbs to get her body awake to start the day.

"Twilight, breakfast is ready!!" called out a woman's voice.

"Coming, Mom!" said the girl.

The girl tossed the covers of her bed off as she began to change. After a while, she wore a pale, light grayish mulberry t-shirt and matching shorts with a belt that matched her hair and purple boots that reached halfway to her knees. She quickly exited her room and came down the stairs as the smells of breakfast entered her nostrils.

In the kitchen was the girl's mother, as the table was littered with so many delicious meals.

"Glad to see you didn't stay up to do stargazing again," said the girl's mother.

"I know the rules, Mom. No stargazing past 10 and definitely not a school night, no matter how tempting it is," replied Twilight.

"Good. So, can you go fetch your brother and father? They should be out back." said the woman.

"Sure," said Twilight as she began to head toward the backyard.

In the backyard, there was a small boy shown. He had a purple t-shirt and green shorts with sports shoes, his skin was purple, and his hair and eyes were emerald green. However, the thing the boy was doing was of more importance as, for the past hour, he'd been outside doing what he loved most: beyblading.

"Concentrate, Draco. We can do this," said the small boy as he bent on a knee in front of the homemade stadium his father had built. He held the launcher in his hand steady as he had his hand on the string, ready to pull.

"Let it rip!" shouted the boy as he pulled the string and let loose.

The bey attached to it was flung and collided with the stage. It landed and began to take off as it was zooming off.

"Alright, Draco. That's what I'm talking about. Now let's see if we can get more power." said the small boy.

The boy picked up his bey and began doing more launches to increase his power. However, he suffered some mislaunches with him sometimes pulling back the string so much that his bey flew upward.

"Okay, let's do this. Let it..."

"Spike!" shouted Twilight.

The sudden shout got the boy to lose his concentration as he inadvertently pulled back the string and angled his launcher at a bad angle; the bey was launched and landed in the stadium but soon lost speed at how wobbling it was before coming to a complete halt.

"Spike! Mom said breakfast is ready. So put that stupid toy away and come wash up!"

"It's not a stupid toy, Twilight. Beyblading is the best thing ever. You just don't understand it."

"You're right. I don't. Now go wash up!" stated the girl to her younger brother.

"Maybe you should," said the boy to his sister, who was two years older than him. "Someday, I'm gonna be champion."

Spike muttered that to himself as he started to head into the house. Twilight was left alone with her thoughts as she saw her brother leave. She recalled what he said to her.

You just don't get it.

"You're right. And I don't ever want to," said Twilight; unlike her brother and everyone else who liked blading, she didn't seem to understand its point. "How can something as stupid as spinning tops bring excitement and joy? It just doesn't seem scientifically possible."

The teen girl then looked at the workshop that was in the backyard as the lights were on. Inside was the girl's father sitting at a desk with goggles on. Sparks were flying in front of him as he appeared to be working on something. The man then looked to his side as a computer screen with graphs and analyses was shown. He typed in some commands as new data was being projected, with the machine in front of him now stopping.

"Guess I may have to boost the output by 12%," said the man as he put his goggles up.

"Dad?!" called Twilight as she knocked on one of the walls.

"Twilight. My little sparkle!" said the girl's father as she ran to his arms and hugged him.

"Mom said breakfast is ready."

"Did she now? Well, thanks for letting me know," said Twilight's father as he turned on the computer screen and shut down the machine. "Come on, you and your brother must get to school on time."

The entire family was now at the dining table as they were enjoying the meals Spike and Twilight's mother prepared while discussing some stuff. Soon something was brought up.

"Hey, check this out!"

"Spike! What have I told you about electronics at the dinner table?!" yelled his mother as she scolded her son.

"Sorry. But look, Shining Armor is on!" said the young boy as he was referring to him and Twilight's older sibling and firstborn.

"Ladies and gentlemen, he does it once again. As Beyblade players know, district tournaments will begin nationwide within the next few months. And today's guest, one of the top bladers in the world and contenders for the championship, Shining Armor, is here in the studio with us."

A video was playing as it had a female announcer speaking as a video of their guest was shown. The guest was Twilight and Spike's oldest brother, one of the top Beyblade players to ever touch the game. Before either of the two younger siblings was born, their brother had a natural touch for the game at seven. Since then, he's worked his way and honed his craft to ascend through the ranks.

"Shining Armor's bey is Paladin Fortis," said the announcer as it showed an image of the young man's bey.

It was white and blue, with the attack ring purple, and the circuitry and performance tip of the bey was a mix of the two previous colors. The video then showed a recording from Shining Armor's latest battle as he and his opponent were bent in front of a stadium.

"3... 2... 1..." spoke the robotic voice.

"Let it rip!" said Shining Armor as he pulled the string on his launcher perfectly, and his bey shot out.

The two beys landed in the beystadium as they took off. Within moments, Shining Armor knocked his opponent out of the ring.

"Ring Out Finish!" said the referee.

"Paladin Fortis' power is unstoppable!" said the announcer.

"Did you see that?! With only one shot!" exclaimed Spike as he was in awe at what Shining Armor could do.

"Yeah, yeah, so he won. Big deal," scoffed Twilight.

"Big deal?! Come on, Twilight. This is a big deal. Shining Armor is the coolest big brother! He's unstoppable; I bet no one can beat him."

"That's not probably, Spike. Scientifically, there's no such thing as being undefeated. Everyone loses."

"Not Shining Armor! He's never lost a match!" responded the boy. "Someday, I'm gonna face him and beat him when I get stronger!"

"That'll be the day," muttered Twilight, as she didn't believe in her brother.

"Come on, Twilight. Why are you so quick to judge your little brother?" asked Twilight's father. "It's nice to have dreams and goals to work for. I'm sure you have yours."

"Dad, no disrespect. But my goals are realistic. I'm thinking about my future and what I want to do. I don't want to waste my time with those spinning tops! It's childish."

"It's not!" said Spike. "It's more than just a simple game. If you gave it a try, you'd understand. Just like Shining Armor and me."

"Well, for one. I'm glad beyblading skipped a generation," stated Twilight as she finished her plate. She then excused herself as she left to go pack her stuff.

Once Twilight gathered all her supplies, she and Spike said goodbye to their parents as they headed to school. The pair made it as they headed to their separate classes. At recess, Twilight was sitting by one of the bleachers of CHS, and a few meters away were some crowds gathered as they were watching some Beyblade battles in action. The bookworm scoffed at seeing the sight of the students and couldn't believe them.

"It's just pieces of metal banging into each other. What's so great about that?" said Twilight.

"Everything!" said a voice. "Sup, Twilight."

"Hey, Rainbow Dash."

The girl who interrupted Twilight happened to be one of her friends. She was a girl with light cerulean-ish gray skin color and rainbow-colored hair. She wore a t-shirt that bore a storm cloud with a lightning bolt out of it and a miniskirt that stopped at her knees.

"Don't tell me you're doing homework during recess," stated the chromatic-haired girl.

"Unlike you, I don't take naps during Biology," said Twilight.

"Hey, naps are important. You need your daily dose of rest," said Rainbow before she quickly fell asleep right then and there.

Twilight rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers, which got her friend to wake and fall backward off the bleacher. Rainbow quickly stood up as she pretended nothing had happened.

"So, anyway, what are you doing here, egghead? I assume you would be watching an incredible Beyblade battle with the others."

"I am not an egghead! I'm well-read!" stated Twilight, who didn't like her friend calling her that.

"Same thing," declared Rainbow as the girl rolled her eyes once again.

"Look, I just don't get it. What is it about beyblading that makes people lose sight of things? What's so great about watching two people yell at each other and yell at a piece of spinning metal trying to slam into one another?" asked Twilight.

"It's more than that. It's the feeling you get. The rush of excitement, the adrenaline that pumps in your veins. You know that feeling I'm talking about, right?" said Rainbow.

"No... I don't," stated Twilight firmly.

Soon the bell rang to signal the end of recess. The rest of the day went by as soon as school ended. However, instead of heading home right away to handle her schoolwork, Twilight was stuck grumbling as she had to wait for Spike. Apparently, her brother had to go have a battle with his group of friends. That alone annoyed the girl as she knew how often Spike hung out with his small group of friends, who all loved beyblading just as much as he.

A group of kids their age was gathered around the stadium on the ground as they were about to begin.

"Hey, Twilight."

Approaching the girl was a boy who had pale, light grayish-amber skin. His eyes were vivid cornflower blue, with his hair being two tones of moderate sapphire blue.

"Hey, Flash," said the girl as she greeted him.

"So what are you still doing here? Usually, you've gone home by now," said the boy, as he knew Twilight would go home today since she had no extracurriculars.

"Well, I would be. If a certain someone didn't decide to accept a battle. Honesty, this is one of the reasons why I don't get blading." said Twilight.

"Ah, so... how's Spike been? Has he been improving?" Flash asked, as he was also a blader.

"He woke up an hour early to practice. If only he put that much time into his grades as he does playing this stupid game, he'd be at the top of his class."

"Lighten up a bit, Twilight. The district tournaments are coming up. And no doubt, he wants to prepare as much as he can. Even I'm putting in some extra training." said Flash.

"I'll never understand how people like you and him just love this game," said Twilight.

"Well, maybe you just need someone to show you," Flash smiled at the girl.

While the teens talked with one another, the group that was gathered was shown. On one side, there was Spike as he had his launcher in hand.

"All right, let's do this thing!" exclaimed Spike.

"You sure you want to challenge me, bud?" smiled Spike's foe, who was one of his best friends, a boy named Button Mash. "That bey of yours, I'll crush it into a pulp."

"Nice to see that they're getting into it," said another boy who was the pair's friend; his name was Rumble.

"You got this, Button Mash!" cheered a girl whose name was Sweetie Belle.

"I got mah money on Spike," said another girl named Applebloom.

"Eh, I don't care who wins," shrugged another girl whose name was Scootaloo, as she just wanted to see some action.

"This is it, Draco! Let's show everyone just how strong you are!" said Spike to his bey.

"Breaker, let's have some fun," said Button Mash to his bey as he attached it to his launcher.

"Okay, the match between Spike and Button Mash is about to begin. Whoever scores two points first wins. First battle." said Rumble as he served as the ref for this match.

Both boys bent to a knee as they held their launchers tightly in their grips. They aimed them at the stadium with their other hand on the string, ready to pull once the signal was given.

"Ready... set!" shouted Rumble.

"3... 2... 1...!" shouted everybody as they counted down.

"Let it Rip!" shouted both Spike and Button Mash.

Both beys were launched as they entered the stadium. Spike's bey began to circle the outer rim while Button Mash's began to head to the center and took position.

"What are you waiting for, Spike. Breaker's got the center on lock!" exclaimed Button Mash.

"Easy. Draco, get in there!" ordered Spike.

The bey heard the boy's command as it began to pick up speed. It was starting to lose in on its target as it bumped into it; however, Breaker still got back into the center. Draco began to unleash a fury of attacks as Breaker moved in, holding the center and withstanding all of Draco's attacks.

"You simple attacks like those aren't going to cut it for the tournament, right, bud?" smiled Button Mash.

"Just you wait!" said Spike as he had his bey spin even faster.

The bey then collided with Breaker and pushed it out of the center. The bey then went up the wall as it flung Breaker out of the stadium.

"Draco Dragonheart with a Ring Out Finish. One point goes to Spike. Which makes the score one to nothing." said Rumble.

"Well?" smiled Spike.

"Eh, I let you get that," stated Button Mash. "This time, I'm not holding back."

"Yeah, you said that in the first round," said Spike as he put his bey back on its launcher.

"Second battle... ready! Set!" yelled Rumble.

"3... 2... 1..."

"Let it Rip!" shouted both Button Mash and Spike.

Once again, both boys pulled their launchers and flew their beys into the stadium. Both hit the surface and began to spin in opposite directions. This time Spike's bey began to ricochet off the stadium's walls all crazy-like.

"You'll never get past Breaker's tough defense," said Button Mash as his bey reached the center.

"Dragonheart, go at him!" said Spike.

Dragonheart began to collide with Breaker as the bey was being kept from reaching the center at first, but soon it took the position and was now spinning constantly. Spike's bey was now smacking into it as Breaker was using its touch defense to not be affected by any of its attacks.

"Dragonheart, let's do this. Dragon Fury!" commanded Spike as his bey began to spin around the stadium.

The bey was picking up power and glowing a bit as Spike thrust his fist out. Dragonheart quickly changed direction and headed for Breaker. The beys collided as their spinning was grinding against one another with sparks flying. Soon Breaker was pushed out of the center and knocked out of the stadium again.

"Dragonheart with a Ring Out Finish! With a score of two points, Spike is the winner!" declared Rumble.

"We did it, Dragonheart!" exclaimed Spike.

"Ah, well," sighed Button Mash as he appeared to have lost.

"Nice one, bud," said Rumble as he congratulated his friend.

"Thanks," smiled Spike.

"Looks like he has promise," spoke Flash.

"I just don't get it," said Twilight.

"Hey, Twilight. I was wondering if you're not doing anything in a couple of weeks. Do you want to go see a movie?" asked Flash.

For the boy, the relationship he had with Twilight was a weird one. While the pair had been on many dates before, they weren't an item per se. They sometimes hung out, had a solid friendship, and sometimes hung out. However, they never really shared a kiss. Regardless, for Flash, he felt like he and Twilight were slowly working their way up, and he was fine with taking their semi-relationship at a slow pace.

"Yeah, sure. I don't mind," smiled Twilight.

"Great, I'll let you in advance," stated Flash.

"Spike, it's time to head home!" stated Twilight as she waved goodbye to Flash and signaled to her brother.

The two Sparkle siblings were now walking home as the sky was starting to change colors.

Twilight was in her room as she was busy reading. The girl heard some noises as Spike practiced his launches and shouts of attacks. Twilight groaned as she put her book away and put her pillow over her ears to drown out the sound, but it didn't seem to work.

The girl then put her pillow behind her head as she stared at her ceiling. She saw the stickers on her wall and stared at the night sky wallpaper on her ceiling. She thought back to what Flash said about Beyblading. And how for her to understand what it was all about, someone should show her.

"Well, maybe you just need someone to show you."

"Some to show me?" repeated Twilight. "Psst. That'll be the day."

The girl reached over to her nightstand and pulled the string of her lamp. It shut it off as her room went dark, with the girl turning in for the night. The city of Canterlot was shown as on a hill, and there was someone shown. They stepped from the shadows into the light as everything, but their face was shown.

The boy was looking at the city of Canterlot as he had finally reached his destination. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold-colored bey with a black color scheme.

"Well, bud. We're here," said the boy to his partner as they began to head down the hill and into the city. The place where their journey would begin.

Chapter 2: First Burst

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Another day came as CHS was shown. With the upcoming district tournaments, many students in the school were putting in some extra practice. Which, for Twilight, meant having to listen to more of Spike's screaming. The girl was still not understanding how spinning small metal tops could be so much fun. To her, it was just a way for someone to inflammation their vocal cords.

During lunch, the girl was outside on the school's front lawn. In front of her were several small groups of people gathered to watch some Beyblade battles. One of the groups was some kids a bit younger than her as waiting for his turn, was Spike. The younger brother was cheering on his friend, who was locked in a battle.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she looked up at the sky. To think that almost everyone in her family was invested in this game. Her father worked for the Blading community as one of their lead scientists and data analyst. He also created the beys that Spike and Shining Armor used. Yet, for some reason, Twilight never saw the value or purpose of these small spinning tops. To her, they were just that. Just what was it that made so many people enjoy battling? What key factor could explain this scientific experiment.

The girl was then interrupted as Flash appeared.

"So, how many times did he scream?" asked the boy as he leaned against the wall.

"367," groaned Twilight as with all the noise Spike created, she couldn't finish the extra, extra credit for her teacher.

"He's determined, just like all the other kids thinking about entering the district tournament," said Flash.

"You know, sometimes I do blame you. If you weren't constantly showboating when we first came to CHS, I doubt he'd be this annoying as he is," said Twilight.

"I'll take that as a compliment," smiled Flash as Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Flash! You're up!" said Thunderlane to his bud.

"Be right there!" said the boy before looking back at Twilight. "Care to watch at least?"

"Sure," sighed Twilight, as she didn't see the harm in watching.

The two teens made their way to a small crowd gathered around a stadium on the floor. Twilight looked at the thing on the ground and eyed it. If anything, the stadium was the only thing she would admit seemed interesting about this whole game. The girl had seen the many designs and blueprints on her father's computer; she saw the many angles and calculations as it was one of the only things that kept her brain busy.

Flash approached the stadium as Thunderlane stood on the opposite side. Both teens had their launchers in hand with determined looks in their eyes. Most of the other groups that were practicing had now gathered around. Flash was considered one of the, if not the best, bladers in the entire school. In fact, many had their money on him to win the district tournament.

"Let's do this," said Thunderlane as he bent down and attached his bey to his launcher.

"Leonis, time to sink our fangs," said Flash as he tossed his bey into the air before grabbing it and attaching it to his launcher.

"The battle between Flash and Thunderlane is about to get underway. The first to score two points wins!" said one of the students who would serve as the referee.

Thunderlane and Flash moved their launching arms about as they got into position. They placed their hands on the string while waiting for the signal to start.

"First battle! Ready... set!"

"3... 2... 1..." shouted everyone.

"Let it Rip!" yelled both bladers.

The string was pulled back as the beys were launched. They landed in the stadium and took off in opposite directions. They avoided each other for the first few moments as they kept spinning. Soon both beys collided headfirst into each other as sparks flew. They were pushed back as Thunderlane's bey made it to the center.

"Alright, Storm Wyvern, let's hold the center for now!" said Thunderlane.

Storm Wyvern responded to Thunderlane's command as the bey made it to the center and kept spinning. Meanwhile, Flash's bey, Leonis, was still spinning around the stadium as it waited for its owner to give it orders.

"Leonis, let's get in there!" shouted Flash.

Leonis heard the command as it changed direction and headed for Storm Wyvern. It bounced off Storm Wyvern but didn't get pushed back as it was now attacking and bouncing off in a circle. Leonis was now doing what it was known for, unleashing a barrage of attacks with its incredible attack power.

"Look at those attacks! Leonis is super powerful!" said one of the students watching.

"It's just banging into another one. Sure it's pushing it back, but what's the big deal?" muttered Twilight to herself.

"Leonis, knock Storm Wyvern out of there!" said Flash.

Leonis then turned as it made another pass at its opponent. This time when Leonis clashed with Storm Wyvern, it knocked the bey away from the center. Leonis kept spinning in a circle and colliding with Storm Wyvern as it seemed the bey was looking to do what Flash said. Leonis was now directly clashing with Storm Wyvern as they slowly moved up the stadium wall.

"Storm Wyvern, move!" said Thunderlane.

The bey heard the boy's command as it quickly slipped to the left to escape Leonis trying to push it out. Leonis collided with the wall as it flung into the air and flipped before landing and taking off. It was now trying to chase down Storm Wyvern.

"Storm Wyvern, now it's our turn to attack!" said Thunderlane.

Storm Wyvern began to assault Leonis as he was using a barrage of assaults. Leonis was being bounced from both sides as Storm Wyvern was not letting up its assault. Eventually, Storm Wyvern collided with Leonis as it flung the bey into the air and out of the stadium.

"Storm Wyvern with a Ring Out Finish! Thunderlane scores one point!" said one of the students.

"Well, how about that, eh, Flash?" scoffed Thunderlane.

"It's only the first bout, bud. Plenty of time to make a comeback," responded Flash, knowing well that the battle wasn't over yet.

"Then what are you waiting for. This time I'm gonna burst Leonis," declared Thunderlane as he had his arm out with his bey.

"Second battle!" said a student as both bladers aimed their launchers. "Ready... set!"

"Three... two... one..." shouted the crowd.

"Let it Rip!" yelled Flash and Thunderlane.

Once more, both teens let their beys fly. The pair landed in the stadium once again as they took off. However, this time instead of going in a circle, the beys were crashing into each other. Over and over, Storm Wyvern and Leonis were crashing into each other while turning around and attacking with even more power each time.

"Come on, Leonis!" shouted Flash.

"Storm Wyvern, give it to them!" yelled Thunderlane.

Both beys came rushing back as they were holding and spinning in place. Each one was trying to overpower the other and even going so far as trying to burst the other. One big surge of power and the beys were thrown back.

"Storm Wyvern!" shouted Thunderlane as he began glowing with an aura. The boy's bey also glowed in the same color as the creature inside of the bey was shown. "Let's end this! Tempest Strike!" Thunderlane's left fist glowed as he then smashed it to the floor.

"Leonis!" shouted Flash in response.

The boy glowed in a blue aura as his bey did the same. Flames appeared as the creature inside was shown: a lion with a flowing main and armor roared.

"Flash Finish... Strike!!" yelled Flash as he thrust his fist out.

The bey heard the call from his owner as the out tip of its ring began to glow and get a bit bigger. Both beys collided with each other with even more force and power than before. A giant wind blew across the stadium as everyone in the crowd put their arms in front of their face. A pillar of light shot into the air as both Flash and Thunderlane kept looking at each other and the stadium.

Both beys kept on pushing through on the field, within the light. Soon something happened as the blades on Flash's bey found an opening and shot forward. It knocked Thunderlane's bey into the air as seconds later, it broke into three separate pieces. Thunderlane had a shocked expression as Leonis kept circling the stadium.

"That's game," said Flash with a cocky smile.

"Leonis with a Burst Finish. Flash scores two points and is the winner," said the student ref.

"Oh, yeah!" stated Flash.

"Amazing!"

"He really is strong!"

"No one can beat him!"

The students in the crowd were giving their praise for Flash as they were amazed by his skills.

"Eh, looks like you wing again, bud," responded Thunderlane as he had his fist out.

"Hey, you managed to knock out Leonis. Not an easy feat," smiled Flash as he put his fist out.

They both touched as the two friends gave a hearty smile. While everyone was clapping and giving cheers, Twilight had an unamused expression.

"I still don't get it," said the girl.

"Spike!" shouted Twilight.

"Give me a minute!" said the boy as he was wrapping up a battle.

"Ready, Spike?" asked Applebloom as she was his opponent for the match.

"Yep," nodded the boy.

"First bout!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Three... two... one..." shouted Rumble, Scootaloo, and Button Mash.

"Let it Rip!" shouted both Applebloom and Spike.

The beys were launched into the stadium as they took off. Applebloom's bey took the center first as it was spinning at a fast pace.

"Knock it out of there, Dragonheart!" shouted Spike.

"Laurel! Prepare yourself!" said Applebloom to her bey.

Dragonheart came rushing in as it bounced off Laurel before coming back and attacking nonstop.

"Almost there!" said Spike.

"Laurel, Bloom Barrier!" said Applebloom.

Her bey heard the command as it began to pick up some wind as a small cyclone picked up. It formed a wall as when Dragonheart attacked, it was repelled like two magnets. Whenever Spike's bey went in for an attack and got close to the barrier, it affected his bey's movement to where it began to wobble and lose some speed. With the barrier up, Laurel could protect itself from Dragonheart's power attacks and would be the last bey standing.

"Dragonheart, come on!" shouted Spike as his bey heard the command.

It glowed a bit as he resonated with the boy.

"Dragonclaw Strike!" shouted Spike.

His bey glowed as inside the creature awakened. A dragon with similar colors to him was shown as it roared. The bey returned as one of its tips glowed as it made contact. It broke through the barrier as the contact was like a dragon claw slashing at the armor of Applebloom's bey. Soon it managed to burst as it ran through the spinning top.

"Dragonheart with a Burst Finish! Spike wins!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Yes! That was my first burst!" said Spike as he finally burst a bey with Dragonheart.

"Pay up, Scootaloo," said Rumble to his friend as the girl grumbled and handed a five-dollar bill to the boy.

"You're really the strongest in our class, huh, Spike?" said Applebloom.

"You did well yourself, AB," said Spike.

"Spike!!!" yelled Twilight as her voice echoed.

"Alright, I'm coming!!" yelled the boy as he grabbed his backpack.

The boy soon met up with his sister; she rolled her eyes at how her brother was so obsessed with this stupid game. The two siblings then began to head home.

In an alleyway, something was happening. Some thugs were shown as they were all lying on the floor unconscious. A thug was sweating bullets as he was focused on what was in front of him. In the stadium, two beys were clashing with each other. Moreso, that one bey was constantly assaulting the other as it was bashing it back and forth with ease, allowing no escape for the bey.

However, the thing about the bey that was pulverizing the other bey belonged to someone. That someone belonged to a boy as their shadow was shown. To think this teen had managed to take down six thugs easily as he didn't even break a sweat.

The boy snapped his fingers as the bey knew what was said. The bey stopped bashing against its foe as it picked up speed. The bey was now going around as each rotation picked up momentum. Eventually, it got to the point where it was going so fast that it looked like it was going supersonic. Soon the bey was shown launching out from the massive barrier of movements as it bounced the bey all around the stadium.

The fast-moving bey then did another driveby as it burst open, and its parts flew, with the main part hitting the thug, and he flew to the ground and became unconscious. The bey in the stadium returned to his owner as he caught it. The boy now looked at the final thug as he was scared. After seeing this stranger show up and challenge all of them, the fear was starting to get to him.

The boy didn't say anything as he reattached his bey to his launcher. That got the thug to gulp as he did the same. He attached his bey as he prepared to battle. With a countdown said, the two pulled the string of their launchers, and their beys went flying. The bey of the stranger glowed as it was still in the air. Once it landed, a pillar of light emerged from the stadium as it went so high that it soared above the alleyway. Anybody who would have been nearby would have seen it.

Once the pillar of light died down, there was the scene. The thug's bey was shown as it shattered to pieces. The thug, unlike his comrades, fell o his behind as he stared at the boy who loomed over him. His shadow was shown as the eyes glowed.

"Please, I haven't done anything wrong. Please, have mercy," pleaded the thug.

"Stay out of trouble!" stated the shadow.

"You got it!" said the thug as he took off.

The boy was shown looking at his bey as he put it away. It wasn't long before he arrived at his home, where he opened the door and entered. Upon entering, he tossed his backpack on the couch and went to his room. The boy fell on his bed and let out a tired sigh.

On his nightstand were a photo and a pamphlet. The boy reached his hand over as he grabbed the pamphlet and looked at it.

"Canterlot High. Tomorrow, I get to see it," said the boy as he would be taking a visit to the place where he would be enrolling.

Chapter 3: Reality Check

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Morning came over the city of Canterlot. Birds sang their song as the city noise could be heard for miles. However, this particular morning, there was someone who was ecstatic as the thought of getting their very first burst had kept them up all night.

"What's up bladers. I'm Spike, and gonna be the best blader ever!"

The boy's voice was heard as his house was shown. In the kitchen down below, Twilight Velvet was shown kneading some dough as she was currently making some fresh bread. The woman swiped her forehead as the timer for the oven went off. She approached the oven and opened it as the latest tray of bread she had put in had finished baking.

Velvet went to grab the tray and pull it from the oven when a thud echoed throughout the house. She almost dropped the tray as a few pieces of bread moved from their initial spot on the tray. Some more sounds were heard as Velvet moved her head from the oven and looked up at the ceiling with an unhappy look.

"Dragonclaw Strike! Dragonclaw Strike!" shouted Spike as he jumped up and down on his bed while also repeating his bey's move that he used the previous day to burst Applebloom's bey and get the win.

As the boy kept celebrating, the door to his room opened, and there was Velvet, who was not pleased.

"Spike! What are you doing?!" stated the woman to her youngest child. "You're gonna be late for school?!"

Despite Velvet's warning, Spike didn't seem to hear his mother as he kept jumping and shouting. The woman looked irritated as if she was about to blow a gasket.

"Stop that right now!!!" yelled Velvet as her voice echoed around the house.

"Whoa, mom. What's the deal?" asked Spike as he stopped jumping and saw his mother.

Velvet quickly put her arm out as she grabbed Spike's ear and began to pull on it.

"Ow, ow, ow!!!" said Spike, as he was in pain at his mother, pulling his ear.

"Don't you, 'Whoa, mom' me, mister?!!!" shouted Velvet as she continued to pull on her son's ear to get her point across to her child. "Twilight already left for school ages ago!"

"Wait, she's gone already?!" said Spike as he quickly grabbed his bags and put on his shoes before rushing out the door. "I gotta go. Bye, mom!"

"Don't be late now!" yelled Velvet as she kept her angry look while watching her son leave the house. Her expression soon softly as she smiled. "Honestly, he's like this every day. Though, Shining was even worst."

The woman then walked into the hallway and looked at some pictures on the wall. One of them was of her eldest son, as it had him on a podium holding a trophy. Velvet put her hand on it as she recalled that day and how proud she was to see her son happy.

"They grow up so fast. Soon, it'll be Twilight's and Spike's turn to leave. But they'll always be my little babies. Oh, Shining. I'm so proud of you." said Velvet as she wished to see her son.

The school bell of CHS rang as it could be heard. Spike was shown running along the sidewalk as the small boy tried to book it as fast as possible to avoid being late.

"Come on! Come on! Almost there!" shouted Spike as he was sprinting. "Out of the way!"

Some kids heard that as they turned around. They saw Spike as he dove into the schoolyard like he was trying to steal a base.

"And he's in the safe zone!" said Spike with an exaggerated expression as he dived. "Whew, that was cutting it close." The boy stood up as he, wiped his forehead, and breathed.

"A little early to embarrass yourself, don't you think?" mocked Rumble as he, Buttonmash, and the CMC approached their friend.

"What can I say? Traffic was bad today. I almost thought I wouldn't make it." said Spike.

"Or you forgot what time it was," scoffed Scootaloo.

"Lucky for us, you did make it," said Applebloom.

"I do what I can," answered Spike nonchalantly.

"Don't forget. We got a group report to present for Ms. Cheerliee today," said Sweetie Belle.

"Hey, Spike. That battle you had yesterday was awesome!" said another kid named Pipsqueak.

"Do you think you can teach me to blade like you?" said a girl.

"Ha, ha! Easy!" declared the boy as he was now becoming the talk of the town for his class.

"Excuse me!" boomed a voice.

The group of kids all froze in fear as they looked ahead. Standing there was a woman with light phthalo bluish gray skin, moderate opal eyes, and hair that was medium sapphire blue and pale, light grayish persian blue, which looked like the night sky. She wore a blue shirt, a black mini-dress, and a matching set of heels.

"Aren't you all supposed to be in class?!!!" yelled the woman as her voice boomed.

"Yes, Vice-Principal Luna!" stated all the kids as they began to book it to avoid the woman's wrath.

"Kids, these days. No respect for rules" muttered Luna.

As the kids were jogging, watching all of this from the window of her homeroom class was Twilight. The girl had awoken, and to her surprise, her annoying brother was yelling and still riding the high from his victory the previous day.

"The last thing he needs is a win to feed his ego," sighed Twilight before turning to the front of the desk as the teacher came in.

Throughout the day, things seemed to go as usual. The principal's office was shown as it read: Celestia. Inside was the woman with light magentaish gray skin, moderate heliotrope eyes, and her hair was a mix of several colors. Gradients of pale, light grayish cyan to light arctic blue pale, light grayish harlequin to light aquamarine pale, light grayish cornflower blue to light sapphire blue, and pale, light grayish mulberry to darker mulberry.

Celestia was currently doing some paperwork when a knock was heard. In peeked a woman's head.

"Sorry to bother you, Miss. But the student that was supposed to meet with is here."

"Thank you, Ms. Raven. Send him in," stated Celestia.

The woman stepped to the side as in walked someone. Celestia put her papers to the side as she leaned back in her chair, as in front of her was a boy. She then reached to pull something from a drawer, took it out, and looked at it.

"Your name is..." spoke Celestia as the teen responded.

Moments later...

"Well, everything is in order. I'll have my sister give you a tour, and you'll start your enrollment here tomorrow. And here's your schedule." Celestia printed a piece of paper before laminating it and handing it to the boy.

The teen looked at it when the door opened, and Luna was standing there.

Ms. Cheerilee was currently going through her class lesson as all the students were looking at the blackboard with some triangles and a book in hand.

"So once we join up the corners of the triangle, we can see that the sum makes sense. You simply need to make sure that all the sides are at this length. Once you've done this, you'll have your answer. As you can see from the diagram, the angle formed at the top stays the same."

While Ms. Cheerliee was telling her students how to solve a math problem, one of those students was distracted. Spike had a concentrated look on his face. The boy was scribbling something down in his notebook as the sound of the pencil was hard at work. When he lifted it up, it was revealed that instead of paying attention, he was too busy drawing sketches and drawings of his bey.

Spike lifted his notebook as he was proud of what he drew; his attention was then turned to the window next to him. Clouds were rolling by as the boy looked at them. For a second, in Spike's mind, he saw the image of his bey in the cloud as he smiled. However, at that point, Ms. Cheerliee was standing next to his desk.

It wasn't until she took Spike's notebook that Spike sensed danger. He turned to look at his teacher as she was anything but happy, as shown by the irritated and grumbling expression on her face when she saw what Spike's notebook was full of. The boy's friends saw their comrade being given a lecture by Ms. Cheerilee about paying attention in class; they all shook their heads and sighed.

Twilight sat at a table as her tray made a decent sound.

"Trouble?" asked Rainbow as she was seated across from her friend.

"Spike! He wasn't paying attention in class!" stated Twilight as she was informed by Ms. Cheerilee about her brother's behavior. To make a long story short, she wasn't happy. "Another gripe I have with this stupid game. It's too distracting. Spike needs to focus on his education. You understand where I'm coming from, right Dash?"

"Sorry, what were you saying?" asked the chromatic-haired girl as she was fiddling with her bey. "Tell me what you think. I made the final adjustments to it last night. Rainbow Falki is set to soar above the competition."

"I forgot who I'm talking to," sighed Twilight as she put her head down. Rainbow shrugged as she began admiring her partner.

Soon they were joined by someone else.

"Not enough homework?" asked Flash as he sat down with one of his friends, Soarin.

"Oh, I wish," said Twilight as she lifted her head. "Spike was too busy lulling over his win yesterday to focus in class."

"I mean, he got his very first burst. That's a pretty big deal. I remember the first time I burst my opponent's bey." said Soarin.

"It's just... he should be focusing on more important things. The fact that he's spending most of his time fiddling with the game is a concern. My brother, Shining Armor, he's a tremendous blader. But he was able to keep up with his grades simultaneously." said Twilight. "If Spike wants to blade, that's fine. But I don't want him to fall behind in his studies."

"I get it. As his big sister, you have the right to be concerned. But you also have to have faith in him." said Flash. "He knows that keeping up with his studies is important, or else your parents are gonna be pissed."

"My parents would freak out," said the bookworm.

"Speaking of which, Rainbow? Did you register for the tournament?" asked Soarin.

"Huh? The tournament doesn't start for another month or two," responded the girl.

"Yeah, but they announced this morning that registration is open. And it's first come, first serve to secure your spot," answered Soarin.

"Shit!! Why didn't you tell me!!" shouted Rainbow as she grabbed the boy's jacket and shook him. "Gotta go!"

"Classic Rainbow Dash. Always on the move and never slowing down," chuckled Flash. "By the way, as for our hangout, I was wondering if you'd like to see a movie?"

"Yeah, sure," Twilight answered as she looked in a certain direction.

The lavender girl was seeing her brother and his friends at their table. As usual, Spike was standing up and making excessive noises while moving his arms back and forth. Twilight as she hoped her brother would get his stuff together, especially cause he and his friends were thinking about entering the district tournament.

The day soon came to a close as Twilight was again waiting for her brother. Her foot tapping could be heard as she had a soured look. Soon the doors opened, and Spike was shown running toward his big sister.

"Sorry, lost track of time," chuckled Spike sheepishly as he rubbed his neck.

"Let me guess? You were battling again?" stated Twilight with sarcasm in her voice.

"Yup. Scored 27 wins today. And I got half of them to be Burst finishes. No doubt, being at the top of the class regarding Beyblading rules!" exclaimed Spike as he felt he was on top of the world. His confidence was at an all-time high.

"Yeah, not to mention Ms. Cheerilee being very unhappy," stated Twilight as she crossed her arms.

"Please, don't tell Mom or Dad," said Spike as he feared his parents might take away his bey as punishment.

"I'm your big sister, Spike. I won't tattle on you," sighed Twilight as Spike smiled. "But Ms. Cheerilee might," snickered the girl as she turned to walk.

"Aw, man," groaned the boy as he put his head down and followed his older sibling.

Just as the pair were about to leave the school ground, a sound was heard. It sounded like a bey being launched. The two siblings turned, and a few meters away, there was someone. That someone was a boy about Twilight's age as he was bent down. His skin was brown, but one could say cameral even. His hair was darker; chocolate is the closest similarity. The boy's attire was a black V-neck t-shirt with white hemming and black shorts with gray pockets held on by red straps. His shorts were tight around his calves. He wore a long black hooded jacket with red hemming, gray pockets with white hemming, and red flannel flaps held down by a series of yellow buttons.

While Twilight was more focused on the boy, Spike was interested in what was in the boy's hand. The teen had a launcher in his hand with his other hand on the ripcord. The concentration was on the boy's face as he eyed the stadium in front of him. He was about to pull the string when something got his attention.

"Hey there!" spoke Spike.

The teen lifted his hand as the shorter boy approached him.

"Oh, man. You also blade?" said Spike with some excitement.

"Yeah," answered the boy in a genuine tone. "Though, I only just started. I was hoping to practice a bit."

"That's so cool! Hey, my name is Spike. And I'm the best blader in my class!" declared the boy as he pointed to himself with Twilight facepalming herself.

"The best blader in your class? Nice. Uh, you think maybe you can help me?" asked the teen.

"Sure thing!" stated Spike.

"Spike..." called out Twilight.

"This won't take long!" shouted the boy as he didn't face his sister.

Soon Spike and the teen took their position as they stood opposite sides of the stadium.

"By the way, I never got your name," said Spike.

"Oh, right. My bad, bud. My name is Emerald. I just transferred here."

"In that case, let me give you a warm welcome with an awesome Beyblade battle!" smiled Spike. "Whoever can burst the other first wins."

"Alright then," smiled Emerald as he and Spike bent to a knee.

"Mom is gonna kill us for not being home on time," muttered Twilight as she had no choice but to wait till her brother was done.

"Ready," asked Spike.

"Y-yeah," nodded Emerald as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Three... two... one... Let it Rip!" shouted both Emerald and Spike.

They pulled the ripcord on their launchers as their beys flew into the stadium. They landed as they circled each other. Soon Emerald's bey took center as it spun.

"Dragonheart, let's start with a series of rush attacks!" commanded Spike.

His bey heard the boy's command as it was heading toward its foe. Spike's bey collided with Emerald's bey, and it shattered into pieces in the blink of an eye.

"Huh?" said Spike as he was stunned by what he saw. Even Twilight was surprised at seeing how fast the battle was over.

"So... do I win?" asked Emerald with a curious look.

"Uh... Y-yeah. Good job, Emerald," said Spike as he picked up his pieces.

The boy was still trying to figure out what had happened. Just making contact had caused his bey to burst. Spike put that thought out of his mind as he reassembled his bey back.

"I was going easy on you. I'm not holding back this time," said Spike as he was raring to go again.

"Sure. Let's go again," smiled Emerald as he picked up his bey.

"Ready... set! Three... two... one... Let it Rip!" shouted both boys.

The beys were launched and landed in the stadium, taking off at high speeds.

"Dragonheart, let's attack this time, head-on!" said Spike.

Dragonheart heard the boy's orders as it collided with Emerald's bey while bouncing back and hitting with even more power. The teen's bey was starting to wobble as it was being pushed around by Dragonheart. It bounced off the stadium's wall as it took the attacks head-on.

"Nicely done, now let's hit them with special. Draco Dragonclaw!"

Emerald's mouth was shown as the teen smirked.

Spike's bey started to glow as the tips on it grew a bit bigger. His bey quickly did a U-turn as it was heading toward Emerald's bey.

"Let's do it!" shouted Spike as time slowed.

"Now," muttered Emerald.

As if on cue, Emerald's bey moved out of the way as Spike's bey missed.

"Huh?" said the boy.

Time resumed as Dragonheart missed its opponent by a mile and hit the wall before landing on its center. With Emerald's bey, it stopped and quickly turned as it was heading toward Dragonheart. The two made contact, and seconds later, Dragonheart was launched into the air and burst into pieces.

"No... way!" said Spike as he saw his bey in the air in pieces.

"Spike lost again," stated Twilight as she was now full-on interested and fascinated by what was happening.

"Hey, that's another win. Alright!" said Emerald as he acted like he was surprised. "Thanks for practice."

"We're not done!" said Spike as he returned his bey. "One more time."

"Spike, I think you should..." spoke Twilight.

"Battle me again!" declared Spike.

"Sure. I'd love to continue to battle," smiled Emerald.

What followed was something that nobody was prepared for. Emerald and Spike kept battling; however, Dragonheart burst into pieces each time they fought. Over and over, it was disassembled like it was nothing. However, each time the two fought, Spike's bey got in a bit more offense than last time, but it still suffered the same fate.

However, the real tale was on Twilight's face. The girl was eyeing the battle; for the first time in her life, beyblading caught her interest.

"One... more... time... This time, I'll win! I know I will!" said Spike as he panted hard.

"I'm down," smiled Emerald.

Both beys bent and held their launchers straight.

This time, I'm gonna burst it.

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

At that moment, Emerald tipped his launcher down.

"Let it rip!" shouted both boys.

Spike's bey flew; however, Emerald's bey landed on the stadium first with the angle. It landed and immediately took off.

"Dragonheart, attack!" declared Spike.

Spike knew that if he wanted to win, he had to launch the first offense. After battling so many times with Emerald, he knew the path that the boy's bey took. Emerald's bey was circling the outer of the stadium as Dragonheart was gaining on it. It caught up and bashed into the bey as it was launched into the air.

"Don't let it touch the ground!" said Spike.

One of the times Emerald burst Dragonheart came after it was launched into the air, then landed and crashed into Spike's bey. The boy prevented that from happening again as he ordered his bey to attack the spot where Emerald's bey would land and keep juggling it. It worked, but soon Emerald's bey landed a bit quicker than Spike anticipated as it held in place.

"Bounce off the wall and then attack!" said Spike.

Another instance of this happening was Spike ordering Dragonheart to charge head first. This time, the boy had his bey bounced off the wall to coil the spring and push it off with more power. It crashed into Emerald's bey as it moved and was starting to lose speed.

"Now, time for rush attacks!" said Spike.

That was the cue for Dragonheart to launch a series of attacks. It did that as Emerald's bey was stuck in the middle with Dragonheart, not letting it escape.

This is it. If I'm gonna burst it, it has to be now. Emerald will order his bey to escape by slipping through Dragonheart's small opening before it launches another attack. Then he's gonna say for it to go in a clockwise position. But I'll be waiting cause he won't bounce off the wall 'cause I'll have Dragonheart charge in with its tip leaned down. That will burst it for sure.

Then it happened.

As Spike explained, Emerald's bey escaped from the trapped center and moved in a clockwise position. It was heading for the wall to bounce off of it, but Dragonheart was looking to cut it off and collide with its side.

"Do it! Dragonclaw Strike!" yelled the boy as his bey and himself glowed in a green light. The creature inside emerged as it roared and spanned its wings.

The bey crashed into Emerald's bey; however, the teen's bey quickly turned direction and collided with Spike's bey head-on. Sparks flew as both beys were pushed back.

"But how!!! How did it change direction so fast?!" said Spike.

"You done?" spoke Emerald.

Spike looked up as his eyes widened. The look on Emerald's was no longer one of smiling but of seriousness.

"Lunor!" shouted the boy to his bey.

Lunor heard his command as it took off like a rocket. Spike was shocked to see it immediately gain back some speed, even more so when it crashed into Dragonheart and delivered a massive attack. It wobbled before Lunor was up against it and grinding the bey into the stadium wall.

"Dragonheart!" shouted Spike as he was concerned.

"This is what you call blading?" said Emerald as he got Spike to look at him. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

Spike gasped.

"You claim to be the best blader in your class. Boy, you ain't shit!" shouted Emerald as his eyes glowed and his body began to slowly do the same. "I've seen better people who are ten times better than you, and even you disgrace them with how you act. All high and mighty because you got one win. New flash, kid. One win doesn't mean anything."

Lunor then released Dragonheart and flung it upward into the air. Now it was Lunor's turn to juggle his foe; he did much faster and with ease, as Dragonheart wasn't allowed to touch the stadium. All Spike could do was watch as his bey was being tossed around like a rag doll.

"Since we began, I've been able to predict and study every single one of your moves, Spike."

"What?" gasped the kid.

"You're not a big fish. You're just a fish waiting to be swallowed whole by man-eating sharks. And you just ran into the biggest shark there is in the sea! Time to be eaten alive." stated Emerald.

Lunor then stopped and willingly allowed Dragonheart to touch the stadium. However, it didn't allow any moment of rest as it was now spinning in a circle while bouncing the bey against the wall and itself when it came around.

"Beyblading is about respect and being one with your bey. You are a disgrace to this game and everything it stands for. It's why I despise people like you." declared Emerald as he pointed at Spike. "Lesson to learn, kid. There will always be someone better than you."

Lunor then stopped its juggling of Dragonheart off the wall as it bashed into the bey to send it toward the center. Lunor was now rushing from all angles, not letting Dragonheart escape. Spike fell to his knees as he pleaded with his bey to cover up, but the attacks from Lunor weren't allowing him to.

"You claim to know your stuff. Boy, you don't know a goddamn thing. Every single win you've had has been but a fluke. And it's time I put you in your place. Lunor!" shouted Emerald.

The bey responded to the boy's command as it began to glow.

"I call on the moon's pale light!" yelled Emerald.

At that moment, the bey's glow shot out as the creature inside was shown. A wolf was shown as it howled at the moon. Emerald shined with a bright golden aura as he was now bonding with his bey and becoming one.

"Do it! Lunar... Whip!" yelled Emerald as he brought his arm out, and a slash attack shot forward.

Lunor felt the power as it flew toward Dragonheart. Upon contact, it was sent flying and burst into pieces. However, the force of the contact made some wind blow as a small pillar of light was shown. As for the pieces themselves, they were scattered in different directions. They broke apart into three separate ones, with one crashing into the school's wall. The other got stuck in the school gate, and the last came directly at Spike's face as it collided with the boy.

He fell back as if he had been hit by a ball. Spike landed on his back as a piece of his bey fell on his shirt. The pillar of light ceased as spinning in the center was Lunor as it kept turning. Spike sat up as he looked at a piece of his bey in his lap and picked it up; once he looked, he was overcome with fear and shock.

Emerald stood there surrounded by an aura, the same one that his bey shined. The teen stared down at the boy he had been toying with for half an hour.

"I've paid my dues, Spike. You... you ain't done shit! Reality check, boy. There will always be someone who is that much better than you ever will be. And until you learn the fundamentals and respect, you ain't gonna be champion, let alone a winner." said Emerald.

Lunor was in the stadium as he then hopped into the air. Emerald caught it as he looked at it.

"Nice work, Lunor. You showed them just how strong you are," stated Emerald with a smile. "Thanks for the battle, Spike." responded the teen to the boy with a genuine smile.

He then began to leave. Twilight was still in awe at what she had witnessed. She wasn't concerned about Spike as she felt he would bounce back, but moreso by Emerald. The boy was walking as he was about to pass the girl.

Just then, time moved slowly. Emerald was about to walk past Twilight when both teens turned their heads. In that very, very small window, the pair locked eyes and exchanged looks. Twilight saw the boy as she had a look of fascination. Emerald glanced at the girl he was passing before cracking a small, genuine smile. Time resumed, and Emerald looked back in front of him as he exited the school ground.

"Dragonheart," muttered Spike as he held the small piece of his bey in his hand.

The boy sniffed as he looked at his bey. The words that Emerald had said were getting to the boy. So much so that when Spike looked at his hand, it was shaking. Legit shaking. Safe to say, his once proud confidence was now shattered. In just a matter of seconds, everything he thought he was, all gone in the blink of an eye. Soon, some tears began to form as they rolled down the boy's cheek.

While Spike was letting some of his sadness out, Twilight was still looking forward. By now, Emerald had been long gone, but the girl kept looking ahead as if she knew where he was. Twilight didn't know it yet, but inside, something was happening. A small spark was lit, and it would only continue to grow. The girl's mouth was shown as she finally spoke.

"I want in," said Twilight.

Chapter 4: The New Kid

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"Dragonheart," said Spike.

The boy walked side by side with his sister as they headed home. The sun was starting to set behind them as orange was in the sky, slowly turning black and blue.

After getting and finding all the pieces of his bey, Spike had not once taken his eyes off it. The words spoken by Emerald still weighed on his mind. What started as a wonderful day turned into one of the worst days of Spike's life so far.

"Twilight..."

"Y-yeah, you'll bounce back," said the girl as she didn't bother to let Spike speak and just said a generic answer.

The bookworm was too distracted as well. Like Spike, she, too, was thinking about what went down with her brother and Emerald. But for different reasons. The way he commanded his bey and how he dictated how the battles would go over time. He manipulated Spike into thinking he had the advantage and then pulled the wool off his eyes at the last second and struck back. And the biggest thing that caught her attention was seeing the boy's bond with his bey.

When Emerald gave the command to Lunor to end the battle, Twilight herself could see the bond there was between the two. For the first time since she was exposed to the game, she saw how strong a blader's bond was with his bey. And it fascinated her.

"Twilight..."

The girl was lost in her own thoughts, but the smile on her face spoke volumes. Her attention was then brought back to reality by her brother. Twilight stopped in her tracks as Spike kept on walking. The boy stopped a few meters ahead of his sister with his head still pointed at the ground. Neither said anything for a good amount until Spike took a deep breath.

"Twilight... give it to me straight... am I... really that bad?" asked the boy.

The girl stood there as she didn't know what to say. Give her little sibling the honest truth of what she thought of him, or give a white lie to spare his feelings. Either way, she didn't say anything right away. Twilight was looking to her sides as she tried to come up with a reasonable answer. However, her silence alone confirmed something.

"I see... what was I thinking..." said Spike as he took his sister's silence as an answer.

At that moment, Spike took off as tears trailed behind him. Before Twilight could call out to her brother, he was already gone. The girl was now left alone as she put her hand down.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" muttered Twilight to herself as she looked up as the stars started coming out.

The girl arrived home; she stopped in front of Spike's door. Inside, she could hear some sniffs. Twilight was tempted to knock to see if Spike would allow her to talk but figured it'd be best if he had some time alone.

"He'll bounce back," stated the girl, as she had confidence that Spike wouldn't let his devasting loss to Emerald get to him.

She then made her way to her room, where she began to do something. The girl was on her laptop, looking over the footage from Spike's battle. More specifically, she focused on Emerald and his control over the entire fight since the opening launch. The girl then recalled the words that the teen had said.

"This is what you call blading? You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"You claim to be the best blader in your class. Boy, you ain't shit! I've seen better people who are ten times better than you, and even you disgrace them with how you act. All high and mighty because you got one win. News flash, kid. One win doesn't mean anything."

"You're not a big fish. You're just a fish waiting to be swallowed whole by man-eating sharks. And you just ran into the biggest shark there is in the sea! Time to be eaten alive."

"Beyblading is about respect and being one with your bey. You are a disgrace to this game and everything it stands for. It's why I despise people like you. Lesson to learn, kid. There will always be someone better than you."

"Hmm," said Twilight as she leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder... he said that he just transferred here. Maybe I'll have a chance tomorrow to ask him."

With that, the girl turned in for the night as the light in her room went off.

Canterlot High was bustling as usual. Students were just moments away from starting the day. One of those students was none other than Emerald. As he took in the giant building, the boy was near the front of his new school. He took a deep breath as he tightened his grip on the one sling of his backpack over his left shoulder.

The boy made it to where his locker was stationed. With Vice-Principal Luna's tour, Emerald knew where all his classes would be. The boy had just about gathered his things when he heard something.

"Found you!"

Emerald peeked his head from behind his locker door. To his surprise, there was Twilight as the girl managed to track down the boy.

"H-hey... uhm... do I know you?" asked the teen.

"We met yesterday. I'm Spike's older sister," answered Twilight.

Emerald then began to think. It took a while, but Emerald could recall Twilight's face. He recalled the small moment he had when he had just passed by the girl and flashed her a quick smile.

"Oh, yeah. You... Sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm Emerald. Nice to meet you."

"Please as well. So... I wanted to ask you something.

"What is it?" said the boy.

"I... I want you to teach me!" stated Twilight.

"Huh?" said Emerald as he shut his locker door.

"I want you to teach me. I want to learn to beyblade like you," stated the bookworm.

"Right..." said Emerald as he didn't fully believe what the girl was asking of him.

"I'm serious. I want to learn to blade like you. So, can you help me?" asked Twilight.

"No," responded Emerald as he began to walk away.

Before Twilight could respond or go after him, the bell rang to signal the students to head to their homeroom as school was about to begin. The lavender girl arrived at her homeroom class and made her way to her desk.

"Morning, Twilight."

"Morning, Fluttershy."

The girl greeted her friend, a girl with pale, light grayish-olive skin. She had moderate cyan eyes and pale and light grayish rose hair. She wore a pale, light grayish gold scarf, pants, and a white shirt. The girl was feeding a small bird that landed on her finger as it flew out of the open window.

"What's wrong?" asked Fluttershy as she saw her friend didn't have a happy expression.

"Nothing, just... was hoping someone could help me, is all," said the girl.

Before Fluttershy could ask for more, their homeroom teacher walked in, and she got everyone's attention.

"Morning, everyone. Now we have a new student joining us today. He just transferred from here yesterday, and today is his first day. So I expect you all to show some respect for our new classmate."

The students all nodded.

"Good. You can come in!" said the teacher.

The door opened, and in came the new student. While everyone was taken aback, Twilight was the most surprised person. The new student was none other than the boy she had confronted in the hallway. Emerald stepped in as he took in the room and his new classmates.

"Students, this here is Emerald," said the teacher.

"Hey," said the boy as he got some warm responses.

"Now then, Emerald. We hope that you'll have a wonderful experience being here."

"I'm sure I will," smiled the boy at his homeroom teacher.

"Excellent. Now then, you'll be seated between Ms. Fluttershy and Ms. Sparkle," said the teacher as she pointed to where his desk was.

The boy went to where his desk was as he saw the buttercup girl.

"Hey," greeted Emerald.

"Hello," said Fluttershy as she greeted the boy while hiding behind her hair.

"Why didn't you tell me that you and I had the same homeroom class!" shouted Twilight as Emerald looked at her.

"Oh, shit!" said the boy as he felt like the universe had it out for him by putting him in the same room as the bookworm.

If things couldn't get bad enough, Emerald was wrong. Not only was he in the same homeroom as Twilight, but as it turned out, almost all of their classes were together, and they sat next to one another. So as you can imagine, Twilight took every chance she could get to ask Emerald about having him teach her about beyblading.

The boy admired the girl's persistence, but he slowly lost it. Their latest class ended, and he quickly bolted out of the room. For the first half of their school day, Twilight had constantly bombarded him with having him teach her as he did all he could to say no.

The teen was sneaking in the hallways as he was getting ready for lunch. He kept ducking in and out corners, scanning his surroundings, looking for his target. Emerald then sneaked inside a broom closet, and he let out a sigh.

"Finally, I should be safe in here."

"Safe from what?" said another voice as the light came up, and there was Twilight.

Twilight had managed to find Emerald, but the broom closet was so small that both he and she were pressed against each other as they stared into each other's eyes. There was barely enough room to stand; Twilight held onto Emerald's arms.

"Ahhh!" shouted the boy.

Emerald was shocked by Twilight that it caused him to stumble and fall through the doors and onto his back. He then rubbed his back to ease the pain as he looked at Twilight, who peaked her head out.

"Jesus, Twilight! Can you give me at least some space?"

"Sorry." Twilight then stepped out and closed the door. "I really want to learn. Your battle yesterday was really something. How you command it to attack, how in sync you two were. It was so... amazing."

"Well, thanks for the choice of words." Emerald then stood up and straightened his back. "But honestly, your obsession with wanting to learn is going to get me hurt. And if that happens, then I'm not going to be in a position to teach anyone."

"So that means you'll do it?" said Twilight with an exciting look as she leaned in.

"No," stated Emerald.

"But why not?" asked the girl.

"Trust me. You don't. It's not that I don't want to teach someone. It's just... you're probably better off learning from someone else."

"But I don't want anyone else. I want you!" said the girl. Twilight then blinked at what she said as she turned red from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," said Emerald as he headed toward the lunch room.

Emerald was shown on the school's soccer field as he was in front of a stadium. The boy was polishing his launcher and his bey.

"How does that feel, Lunor?" asked Emerald to his bey as he held it up to the sky.

The bey responded to his partner.

"It's not that I'm against helping her; it's just... I don't know if I have what it takes to teach someone. Everything I learned, I learned on my own. I learned from the streets. She's... a girl who has everything. What can a street rat offer someone who's like a princess?"

The boy put his arms on his knees as he sighed. The bey was still in his hand as it spoke. Emerald nodded as he stood up. The teen approached the stadium in front of him as he bent down. He attached the bey to his launcher as he was about to pull the string.

"Hey!" shouted a voice.

Emerald broke his concentration as he looked up. Approaching him were two other boys. It was Thunderlane and Soarin; the pair noticed Emerald all by himself as he was bent in front of the beystadium.

"What do you think you're doing?!" asked Soarin harshly.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Emerald asked as he had a tough demeanor.

"Looks like you're using our stadium," said Thunderlane as he had a similar expression to Soarin.

"Listen. I don't want any trouble. I'm sorry. Nobody needs to get hurt here." said Emerald as he stood up.

Soarin and Thunderlane began to break down as they laughed at that moment. Emerald was confused as he expected the pair to get physical with him. Soon both boys finished letting their laughter out.

"We're just messin' with you, bud. No need to get violent," said Soarin.

"Soarin' is right. By the way, what's your name?"

"Emerald."

"I'm Thunderlane. You new here?"

"Just transferred. Today's my first day," answered Emerald.

"In that case, welcome. By the way, the bey in your hand? You play?" asked Soarin.

"Yeah," nodded Emerald.

"Then let's see what you got, kid," stated Thunderlane as he pulled out his bey and launcher.

"You sure you want to do that?" asked Emerald with a cocky smile.

"Confidence. That's good, kid, but it all comes down to skill," smiled Thunderlane.

"Very well," smiled Emerald as he bent down and attached his bey.

Both boys took a position in front of the stadium as they held their launchers straight. Soarin stood on the side as he would serve as the referee.

"First to two points win!" said Soarin as Emerald and Thunderlane nodded. "First battle! Ready... set!"

"Three... two... one... Let it rip!" shouted Emerald and Thunderlane.

The duo pulled on their ripcords as hard as possible; flashes of light sparked when they did that. Their beys landed and bounced on the stadium before they spun. The two were now bashing and colliding with each other as they tried to gain the upper hand in the opening moments.

"Give it to them, Storm Wyvern!"

"Lunor, strike back!"

Both beys were zipping in and out of frame as they crashed against the other. Lunor's two blades on it were clashing with Wyvern's tough outer shell as it tried to pierce through the defense. Both were pushed back as Thunderlane's bey took the center.

"You'll never get past Wyvern's defenses with those kinds of attacks," scoffed Thunderlane.

"Then I'll have to up the pressure. Lunor, Fury Rush!" shouted Emerald.

Lunor responded to Emerald's command as it was now delivering blow after blow to Storm Wyvern, yet the bey was tanking the attacks. Each attack was delivered with such power and fury there were times when Storm Wyvern moved from the center, but it soon reclaimed its position and continued to hold out.

"Lunor, Upper Launch!" shouted Emerald.

The bey quickly bounced off the wall as the coiled spring was pressed against the hard surface and then shot forward as it glowed with a golden aura. Lunor then collided with Storm Wyvern as sparks flew. Both beys pushed against each other as they flung back. The boys gasped as their beys touched the floor, with one touching just a millisecond before the other.

Emerald and Thunderlane looked at Soarin as they awaited to see what the call was.

"It's Storm Wyvern with a Ring Out Finish! Thunderlane scores one point!" declared Soarin as he saw Emerald's bey hit the floor first.

"Aw, man! There's always next time, Lunor," said Emerald to his bey as it responded.

That was close. Too close. No doubt, this kid has got skill. If it wasn't for Storm Wyvern's defense, he would have burst it.

"Second battle!" said Soarin.

"This time, we're gonna win!" stated Emerald.

"Thunderlane, you good?" asked Soarin to his buddy.

"Y-yeah, I'm good!" stuttered the boy as he looked at his bey. He began to adjust it so that it was a bit higher.

Both boys bent a knee as they held their launchers out.

He adjusted his bey's height.

Emerald saw what Thunderlane had done, but it didn't worry him.

"Second battle. Ready... set!" shouted Soarin.

"Three... two... one... Let it rip!" yelled both Emerald and Thunderlane.

Sparks of light occurred when they pulled their strings. The beys flew again as they landed. Like their previous bout, the boys had their beys begin with a string of rush attacks as they were moving at high speeds and ramming into each other.

With Thunderlane adjusting his bey's height, he reinforced its tough armor so it could stand toe to toe with Emerald's bey and its power attack, especially with how much more Lunor was hitting Storm Wyvern.

"Upper Launch!" shouted Emerald.

"Not this time, Tempest Break!" shouted Thunderlane.

Storm Wyvern began to glow green as its outer ring rotated and locked in place. It created a wave of energy surrounding it as the two beys clashed. Emerald's bey was under the tip of Thunderlane's bey as it was trying to launch it into the air. Both beys held their position as they tried to overtake the other. Soon Lunor was launched into the air as the bey was about to fly out of the stadium.

"Yes!" shouted Thunderlane.

The bey hit the rim of the stadium as it was wobbling and was about to fall.

"Lunor!!!" yelled Emerald.

The bey heard the shout as it changed its momentum and fell back in the direction of the stadium as it slid down the slope.

"No way!" said Thunderlane as he thought Lunor would have fallen out of the stadium.

Even more surprising was that Lunor gained speed and took off.

"It just got faster!" said Soarin, shocked to see that.

"Let's finish this!" said Emerald as his body began to glow. "I call on the moon's pale light!"

Lunor heard Emerald's command as it glowed in a golden aura. Soon the creature inside was shown as it howled at the moon.

"Not this time. Storm Wyvern shut them down! Tempest Strike!" shouted Thunderlane as his left fist glowed and smashed it on the ground.

Thunderlane's bey glowed as the creature inside was unleashed. The creature roared as it spread its wings, thunder going off in the background. Lunor was heading toward the center as the two creatures were shown and about to make contact.

"Do it! Lunar... Whip!" yelled Emerald as he brought his arm out, and a slash attack shot forward.

Lunor rocketed toward Storm Wyvern as they glowed with power. The blades on Lunor grew bigger as it spun with tremendous speed and momentum. The bey met as a pillar of light shot into the air. The wind blew from the stadium as Emerald and Thunderlane tried to transfer some of their energy to their beys. The two creatures clashed as Storm Wyvern was launched into the air and burst into pieces.

"A Burst Finish! With a score of 2 to 1, Emerald is the winner!" stated Soarin as he pointed in the boy's direction.

"Alright!" shouted Emerald in excitement. He then grabbed his bey as he looked at it. "We did it, partner."

"Man..." said Thunderlane as he picked up his bey's pieces.

"You good, bro?" said Soarin as he bent down to his bud.

"Kid's got heart and talent. The only other person who's given that same feeling is Flash himself," said Thunderlane.

"Then let me test him," snickered Soarin as he got up. "Hey, Emerald."

The boy got his attention as he presented his bey, a balance type.

"My turn. Me and Air Volcuris are gonna test your might now," declared Soarin.

"Bring it!" smiled Emerald as he wasn't backing down.

"Guess it's my turn to be ref. First battle!" said Thunderlane.

Emerald and Soarin approached the stadium and bent down.

He has a Balance-type bey, just like mine.

"Ready... set!" stated Thunderlane.

Emerald titled his launcher down.

"Three... two... one... Let it rip!" shouted Emerald and Soarin.

The boys pulled their ripcords as flashes of light sparked. The beys fell into the stadium as they took off. They each began to make some noise as they were rattling and banging against one another. However, with Emerald tilting his launcher, he not only gave Lunor a boost in speed and power, but he was implementing a strategy.

Lunor and Air Volcuris collided near the center as Emerald's bey then zoomed up the slope of the stadium. It dove as it went for another strike and collided with its foe.

"Impossible," said Soarin as he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Lookin' good, Lunor! Keep it up!" said Emerald as his bey was attacking over and over again, knocking Soarin's bey back a bit every time they made contact.

Of course, he titled his launcher so his bey could get a better grip on the stadium. Not only that, it narrowed his path. Huh, well played, kid.

Soarin smiled as he saw what Emerald's plan was. And it worked as the boy was looking to end this battle with one shot.

"Hang in there, Volcuris! We can still do this!" shouted Soarin.

"Lunor!" shouted Emerald as he began to glow. "I call on the moon's pale light!"

The bey heard the command as the creature inside appeared. It howled at the moon before charging ahead.

"Volcuris!" yelled Soarin as he called on his bey.

The creature inside showed a bird; it screeched before extending its wing as the wind blew all around it.

"Cyclone Spin!!" shouted Soarin as he moved his arms to do a full circle rotation.

Air Volcuris created a wind vortex around it as Lunor charged at it. The two met as the creatures were shown colliding with each other. The wind from Soarin's bey blew out of the stadium as the boys' clothes fluttered in the wind. The beys kept trying to hold on as Lunor soon broke through and smashed Air Volcuris into pieces.

"It's Lunor with a Burst Finish! Which means Emerald wins!" said Thunderlane as he pointed his arm in the boy's direction.

"We did it!" shouted Emerald as he was smiling. "Great work, partner."

"Well?" said Thunderlane to Soarin, who was picking up his bey's pieces.

"He's a contender, alright," responded the boy to his friend.

Emerald was talking with his bey as he was congratulating him on a job well done. Thunderlane and Soarin then approached him.

"You got game, kid. How about you hang with us?" said Thunderlane.

"Sure," said Emerald.

Twilight was walking in the hallway with some books in her arm. After her small discussion with Emerald about getting him to train her and his declining, the girl hadn't all but given hope. She was currently on the roof with Fluttershy as the buttercup girl was feeding some birds.

"Any luck?" asked the animal-loving teen.

"No. I can't seem to find him. Why did he say no? All I'm asking is if he can give me some lessons." said Twilight. "What he if thinks I'm not worth his time? What if he thinks I'm unteachable? Maybe he thinks that books are bad?!!!"

"Hey! Can you keep it down!" shouted a voice.

Twilight and Fluttershy blinked at what they heard. They soon peeked their heads from the roof's entrance, and to their surprise, there was Emerald. The boy Twilight was talking about was on the other side of the entrance. The teen was bent in front of a beystadium as he had his launcher.

"Hey, wait a minute!" said Twilight.

"Quiet, please!" stated Emerald as the girls approached him.

"Sorry," apologized Fluttershy.

The boy took a deep breath.

"Let it rip!" stated Emerald as he pulled the string of his launcher.

His bey shot out from the launcher and onto the stadium. It landed perfectly as it circled the outer slope before centering itself in the middle and keeping its spinning momentum.

"Yes!" said Emerald as he looked at Lunor.

"Listen, we need to... ew, gross!" said Twilight as she walked to Emerald and put her hand on his shoulder. But to her surprise, it was wet. Turns out the boy himself was full of sweat.

"How come you're so sweating?" asked Twilight as she wiped her hand on her shirt.

"'Cause I'm training with my bey. It's not easy," stated Emerald in a genuine tone.

"Wow, that's some workout," stated Fluttershy as she pointed at his feet.

Twilight looked, and to her shock, there was an actual puddle of water in which Emerald's feet were standing. If there was doubt that the boy was training hard, this was proof.

"I hope you brought some extra clothes," said Twilight as Emerald walked to grab a towel he had nearby.

"How long have you been practicing?" asked Fluttershy as the boy wiped himself of his sweat.

"Dunno. Maybe about two hours," said Emerald nonchalantly as he wrung out the towel to let a small waterfall occur. Once again, proving that he had been going hard at training.

"Two hours?!!!" yelled Twilight; some students looked up at the sky and all around to figure out where the voice was coming from.

"Gees, shimmer down, alright!" stated Emerald as he covered up his ears. "Anyways, I'm just finishing up."

The boy grabbed his things as he walked by the girls to the stairwell.

"Oh, and meet me in the park tomorrow at 4 pm sharp," said Emerald.

"Yeah, I'll... wait, what?" said Twilight as she was confused by what he said.

"You said you wanted to learn how to beyblade, right?" asked Emerald as the girl nodded. "Then don't be late."

"You're gonna teach me? Thank you... I... don't know... I mean, yes." said Twilight.

"Word of advice: Beyblade is a lot tougher than you think. You gotta have heart if you want to be any good or at least decent," said Emerald as he walked down the stairs and disappeared from sight.

"I guess you got your wish," said Fluttershy.

"Y-yeah, just... not how I expected. But nevertheless, I get to learn how to beyblade. Though..." said Twilight as she began to think.

"What is it?" asked Fluttershy.

"What made him change his mind?" wondered Twilight.

Chapter 5: Fundamentals

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The sun was ablaze upon the city of Canterlot. It shined down as one person was waiting patiently for who they expected to show up. Emerald was in Canterlot Park as he was currently leaning against a tree. After informing Twilight the previous day that he would teach her how to beyblade, he told the bookworm to meet him here. The teen looked at the giant clock lamp post near the park's entrance as there were only ten minutes left before it was four. This meant that soon, the principal of the student council would be here.

Safe to say, Emerald was a bit nervous. He'd trained and given pointers to other bladers before, yet, he was most unsure about this time. For one, all the people he advised in the past were male, so he was already going to be out of his comfort zone with Twilight. The second had to do with the girl herself. Twilight Sparkle was not only one of the, if not the brightest, student in CHS. A girl like her could have no problem accomplishing whatever she wanted if she put her mind to it. And here she was, a student council, a bookworm, an adorkable nerd, asking him... him... of all people to teach her. It just... felt so... unheard of.

Didn't she have other people she could ask? I mean, doesn't she hang out with that one boy? What was his name again? The one that almost everyone at school agrees is the favorite to win the district tournament. Flash something, if he could guess. Why didn't she go to him? I'm sure he would have agreed to teach no sweat and have a much easier time than she would have had with him.

But I don't want anybody else! I want you!!

Emerald recalled the words that the bookworm had said to him.

Still, what could someone like him, born and raised on the streets from where he grew up, could teach a girl like her. He was nothing more than a street kid, whereas Twilight was raised like a princess. Having a good life and a nice home, why risk all that to learn some beyblading from someone she probably wasn't gonna even remember later in her life?

The teen reached into his pocket and pulled out Lunor. The boy looked at his bey as it seemed to be talking to him. Emerald sighed as he began to recall something from his past.

(Memory)

"The fact that Emerald has taken a liking to Blading actually makes you happy, doesn't it?" said Emerald's mother to her husband as they sat across from each other with a cup of hot chocolate. "I know that you're concerned, but it seems like there's more to it. What's wrong?"

"Emerald has a strong resonance with his bey. I've honestly never anything quite like it before," responded Emerald's father to his wife while looking down at his mug.

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" asked Emerald's mother, as she didn't know much about Blading.

"When the resonance isn't too strong, but when it is, a Blader can be consumed by their Bey. I've seen them suffer because of it," said Emerald's father as he tightened his grip on his mug. One could see a hint of personal tone in that statement. "More than anything, I don't want Emerald to endure that pain."

"But dear, you're the one who allowed Emerald to make a Bey in the first place, remember?" said the woman to her husband as he sighed and looked down for a bit. "I think, in your heart, you honestly want Emerald to Blade."

(End of Memory)

"Right... promise," said Emerald as he closed his hand.

Just then, he heard some footsteps and someone shout.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" said Twilight as she was jogging toward the boy with some papers flying out of her backpack.

Emerald looked up at the clock and saw four on the dot, and the girl showed up. Not that he didn't expect her to, given how much of a freak she was about being organized and whatnot.

"Sorry about that; I got lost grading papers," said Twilight as she leaned over a bit to catch her breath from running from school.

"You grade papers?" Emerald said as he bent over to pick some off the floor.

"Not only am I principal of the student council, but I'm also a teacher's aid," said Twilight, taking some pride in that.

"Of course you are," snickered Emerald quietly as he found it to be cute in a way for the girl. He then collected all the papers before handing them to the bookworm, who put them away.

"Alright, I'm ready to train. So, what's the first thing we're gonna do? Oh, I brought some pens and paper. Not to mention flashcards." squealed Twilight as she reached into her backpack and pulled the materials out.

"Calm down, Einstein. Blading is much more than just holding a launcher and pulling the string. It requires dexterity when holding and aiming your launcher, athleticism when trying to get the best spin speed, and endurance when you're in the tenth round of a tournament or in a high-pressure situation. If you can master these three, you'll be a better Blader than when you walked in. Understand?"

"Yes," nodded Twilight as she wrote those three points down. She then showed them to Emerald as the boy rolled his eyes; seems the girl had her own way of studying.

"Alright, to start. We're gonna do some basic drills that anybody can do. So follow me," said the boy as he led Twilight to a park section where he had some stuff set up.

They approached a tree as it had a string wrapped around the base.

"This here is simple. You pulled back on the string as hard as you can. This is to work the muscles in your arm and to help build them. Core muscle determines how strong you pulled the cord of your launcher, which then translates to how much speed and power your bey will have when it's launched."

"I see. The speed of a bey depends on how fast you pull the launcher string. If you pull the string quickly, your Bey will spin much faster. However, it would be best if you had power to make it happen. A simple matter of kinetic and potential energy. The kinetic energy is the spin speed of your bey, and the potential energy is how much muscle and strength you put into launching it to give it power." rambled Twilight.

"Y-yeah. That's correct. Huh, well done. Not many people would get it like that on their first try, " said Emerald as he was impressed by Twilight's intelligence and how she worded it in a way that made sense.

"Well, I'm not just a straight-A student because I failed Physics," smiled Twilight with a hint of pride.

"Anyways, let me show," said Emerald as he approached the tree and grabbed the string hanging off the tree bark.

The boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them.

"Three... two... one... Let it rip!" shouted Emerald as he backed on the string as hard as he could. He then brought it back before pulling back on it again. The teen did a couple more pulls as Twilight watched and studied Emerald's form.

After a few more pulls, he let go of the string and turned to the girl.

"Simple. Now you give it a try," said Emerald.

Twilight stepped up as she looked at the tree. Emerald grabbed her hand as he guided it to the string.

"Remember, firm hand. Pull back; let your arm do the work," stated the boy, who was next to the girl with his hand over hers as he showed her what to do.

"Got it," said Twilight as Emerald removed his hand and stepped to the side.

"Alright. 3... 2... 1... Let it rip!" shouted the boy.

Twilight pulled as hard as she could on the string and reeled her arm back. She retracted it back and then pulled on Emerald's next command. The girl pulled more as the boy watched her and took mental notes. After a few minutes, he got the bookworm to stop.

"How'd I do?" asked Twilight.

"Okay, but there are some problems," said Emerald as he approached the girl. "You want to keep your back straight," stated the teen as he appeared behind the girl and put his hands on her waist. He straightened the girl's posture as Twilight turned a bit red, mainly because if anybody walked by and saw them in this position, it would raise some questions.

"Next, your stance. You want to make sure your legs aren't too spread apart but wide enough if you need to change your pose," stated Emerald as he bent down, grabbed Twilight's legs, and helped position them properly.

Once again, the girl was red from the boy touching her and feeling his hands on her exposed skin, but also because of the thought of people walking by.

"And lastly, don't be so tense," said Emerald as he stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders. "If you're tense, you're gonna overshoot how much power you're putting into your launcher, which will affect your bey. This is the most important part, so it's the one you want to make sure you have down perfectly."

Emerald had his hands on the girl's shoulders as he tried to get them to calm down while also adjusting them. Once again, Twilight couldn't help but turn red at their position should any wondering eyes see them. Not only that, but with Emerald's hands on her shoulders, the girl could feel the tiny bits of muscles in his fingers as they felt nice. Comfortable in a way. While Emerald wasn't giving her a massage, his fingers dug into her shoulder as he adjusted her stance, giving off that vibe as she seemed to enjoy it.

"You ready?!" said Emerald.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" stated Twilight as she was brought out of her small daydream and shook her head. The girl was now refocused on the task as she took a deep breath.

"Alright... three... two... one... Let it rip!" announced Emerald.

Twilight pulled the string on the tree as hard as she could. She brought it back before retracting it and pulling on Emerald's command. The boy watched the girl do the exercises, now with the adjustments, he made to her as he saw how much better she was getting.

In the Sparkle household, Spike was in his room. Since suffering his loss, he'd been in a rut as of late. The boy had his face buried in his pillow as his bey, Dragonheart, was on his desk. While the boy felt sorry for himself, Velvet was shown peeking into his room. The woman could sense her son was devasting after suffering a big loss; Shining was the same when he was Spike's age.

"Hey, Spike," said Velvet as she appeared by her child's bed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mom," spoke Spike's muffled voice.

"Why don't you help me make a pie? It'll cheer you up," said Velvet with a warm smile.

"Okay," spoke the boy as he removed his face from the pillow.

The woman smiled as she got up and left with Spike following his mother.

"The first thing is mopping! We need the floor cleaned. So strengthen your arms." said Velvet as she tossed the mop to her son.

"Alright," said Spike as he began to mop the floor.

The boy was putting some muscle behind mopping the floor as Velvet was shown smiling.

"Now, the windows. Put your shoulders into it! You'll need that shoulder strength, " the woman said to her son. "Use your arm muscles too."

"On it!" said Spike as he began to furiously scrub the windows, wanting to make sure they were sparkling and clean.

"Don't forget, strong core muscles are key to everything!" said Velvet as she watched her son pick up sacks of soil for her plants.

"Core workout! Got it!" said Spike as he struggled to lift and walk with the bags of soil.

Bags of floor were now dropped onto the kitchen floor as Spike let out a sigh of exhaustion and wiped his forehead.

"There! So, what do I do next?" asked Spike to his mother.

"That's all, my son. Now, go wash up and do your homework. Dinner won't be long!" stated Velvet as she rubbed Spike's hair.

"'Kay!" said Spike as he turned and walked up the stairs to his room.

Velvet turned as she was revealed to have a sneaky smile. What seemed like regular chores was actually some training. The woman had her son do all these chores to build up his muscles to have a better handle at launching his bey. And as a result, she could see the small muscles that were developing for Spike. It worked when Shining Armor was younger and in the same position as Spike, as it proved effective once again.

"Still got it," snickered Velvet as she was proud of herself for helping her son and getting him to do chores for her.

Emerald and Twilight were wrapping up their launcher pulls. They were now walking a few meters away as the boy had something else to show the girl he was tutoring. Twilight was taken aback as she saw an obstacle course of sorts.

"What is this?" said the girl.

"You like it? I made it myself," said Emerald.

"You... made this?" said Twilight, now taken aback by Emerald's creativeness.

She figured the boy was smart, given how he was in the same advanced math class as her, but to put together this course with nothing but his bare hands impressed her.

"It's nothing big. Enough for us to train on it," said the boy.

"Train?" stated Twilight.

"You heard me; this is where you'll be training alongside me. I run it before and after school every. Single. Day," he turned back and walked over to his backpack beside the course that Twilight hadn't seen. He picked up a small stopwatch from the box beside it, "We'll start out small. You'll run the course a few times when you're able, and I'll time it with this watch," he held up the small timepiece, then set it back down, "and once you've gotten the hang of it, we'll try beating that time, again and again, until I've deemed you good enough," he said, then gave her a wicked grin that sent shivers down her spine, "If you haven't given up by then," he intoned darkly.

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat, "I-I don't know..." she began, "How is this any better than before....?" she asked. Emerald's grin fell, replaced by a small smile.

"Because this time, it's all up to you," he said; Twilight tilted her head, not understanding, "With this course, your standard is set by your first run. Your goal is to simply beat that time," he explained, "Beating that time requires effort. It requires you to be able to run faster. To react quicker. To be better," he said firmly, "If you don't manage to beat it, then you keep trying and trying until you do. And after you've beaten that time, you can try to beat that one. And so on and so forth, until you've reached a point you're satisfied with."

Twilight blinked and glanced back at the obstacle course in a new light. This... this could help her. It was a perfect idea. A training regime set by her standards and at her pace. If she needed to do better, it would be evident how long it took her to run, and it would constantly keep track of her progress!

"Keep in mind, even though I'm willing to let you use this thing, I use it too. So please try to keep it clean and in one piece," Emerald said, startling her from her thoughts, "You can use it anytime you want," he stressed that part hard, "but I'd recommend a half-hour break between each run for you, at least at first," he added, "Understand?" he asked. Twilight nodded.

"Of course!" she said confidently, then gave him a gentle smile, "And thank you, Emerald. This.... this means a lot to me," she added sincerely. Emerald turned away suddenly, chuckling nervously.

"N-no problem. Now... I'll give it a go to show you how it's meant to be run, alright?" he asked, then held the watch out to her, "Mind timin' it for me?"

Twilight was running the course for the fifth time. Emerald was timing her as he could see the massive improvement in the girl. They soon stopped for a small break as the boy pulled out some sandwiches and water for them to snack on.

"Here," said Emerald as he offered a sandwich to Twilight.

"Thanks," said the girl as she took it. "So, how am I doing?"

"For someone just starting out. Not bad," stated Emerald. "Out of everyone I've helped and tutored when they began to Blade, you've definitely understood it and got the handle of it relatively quickly."

"Really? You're not just saying that to be nice, are you? I can handle constructive criticism. Don't be afraid that you might hurt my feelings." said Twilight as she tried to tell Emerald to be honest with her.

"Believe me, if I did tell you that you sucked. You've heard me say so about now," said Emerald as he held his sandwich in one hand and took a bite. "I don't sugarcoat shit, Twilight. I call it as I see it. It's one of the reasons why I said what I said to your brother. Um, by the way, how is he?"

"He's... doing okay. He loves to Blade as well, and no doubt a loss like that after gaining such confidence, really set him back a bit. But I have no doubt and full faith that Spike will be fine." stated the lavender-haired girl.

"Again, let me be clear. When we battled, I didn't mean to upset him or make him think he was inferior. I gave him a life lesson on reality. The world is cruel; what I said to Spike was more like a slap on the wrist. The world will be much harsher than what I said. Because we live in a world where most people don't care about your feelings." stated Emerald.

"That's a unique way of looking at the world," responded Twilight.

"Well, when you grow up on the streets, you tend to see things for what they truly are."

Emerald took a sip of his water as he finished the last bit. He then tossed it toward a nearby recycle bin, and it landed in the hole.

"So... why did you choose to tutor me? After rejecting me and my pleas? What changed?" asked the student council president.

"Well..." started Emerald as he rubbed his neck and turned away, trying to put his reasoning into words, "I... I... saw that you... had a big heart."

"Huh?"

"I had doubts that you could handle all it took to be a Blader. But the way you were determined to learn, I could tell this was something that you wanted. So I said yes to see if you'd quit after the first session. And well... you're still here with me. So that heart that I saw proved to be right. I told you, Blading is a lot harder than you think. But if you have heart, you can be a decent player."

Twilight to a second to register what Emerald was saying as the teen looked at the rest of her sandwich. A smile came on her face as she was glad to see that she could convince the boy to change his mind.

"Well, thank you. Truly. It means a lot to hear that."

"Don't mention it," replied Emerald as he turned to look ahead while Twilight finished her sandwich.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence and watching some kids play in the park, Twilight spoke.

"So, Emerald. How are you enjoying CHS?" asked the bookworm.

"Not bad. Then again, I've only been there for a few days, but everyone here is friendly. Almost too friendly in some regards, but I can tolerate it."

"Have you thought about joining any clubs?" asked Twilight.

"I'm not really the club-joining kind of guy," said Emerald.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to look. We have a club fair on Friday for any people wanting to join. You could look at it and see if any catch your interest. We got a Bey club." said Twilight, hoping that would entice the boy.

"Hmm, I'll see. Again, though, no promises," stated Emerald.

"By the way, what's next?" asked Twilight.

"Well, now that you've got the workout and obstacle course done to prepare you mentally and physically. This is the part where we start to make your bey."

"Make my bey?" said Twilight.

"Yup, I made my all on my own," said the boy as he pulled out his bey, Lunor, and handed it to the girl. "I envisioned what I wanted it to look, put a computer program over it, and voila, it came out better than I expected."

"Computer program, eh? So... that means you're good at technology?" asked Twilight as she leaned in and got really close to the boy's face with a huge smile.

"Eh, I dabble a bit," stated the teen, as he didn't think it was anything worth bragging about.

"Well, I can help you. I am the president of the student council. Not to mention I have some leeway regarding other curriculums."

"Anyone mention that you're a nerd?" said Emerald.

"Don't call me that!" shouted Twilight as she pouted.

Emerald couldn't help but snicker at how he got such a reaction from the bookworm. It was a cute reaction, he had to admit.

"So, when do we make my bey?" asked Twilight.

"Well, to do that, we need some special machines. Come to my house tomorrow once you're done with your council meeting. I'll help you in creating it. Tonight try to come up with some designs on what you want your bey to look like."

"Alright, then," nodded the girl. "By the way, you never told me why you transferred here? If it's not too personal."

"It's fine. Well, my grandmother lives here. And well... my parents felt it best if I moved here to sort of get away from all the crazy stuff I grew up with in my old home. I guess they just wanted me to get out of there and go somewhere happier. It's fine for what it is; my grandma was able to help me find a small place and a job so I could afford it. But she still checks on me once in a while."

"I see. What's your favorite color?" asked Twilight.

"That's a weird segway after what I just said," stated Emerald.

"I want to get to know you better. After all, if you're tutoring me, the least I can do is get to know who you are other than your name. I want us to be friends, not just acquaintances." said the girl.

"You sure you want to associate yourself with me? I'm nothing special, not like your other friends."

"So? That doesn't bother me. So... your favorite color?" asked Twilight.

"... Yellow," answered Emerald.

"Me too," said Twilight, "Favorite ice cream?"

"Plain vanilla."

"Wow. Same here!" stated Twilight.

"Okay, now that's just weird," stated Emerald at how he and the girl seemed to like the same things.

"Alright, this will prove if we like the same things. Favorite subject?"

"Really? Out of all the questions, you could ask me to see if we're similar; you go with 'favorite subject'? Really? That's what you ask?!" said Emerald.

Twilight started to turn red as she looked away. Hearing the boy's response embarrassed her as she seemed to reinforce Emerald's claim of what he said earlier about her being a nerd.

"Sorry. Got carried away," spoke the girl as she rubbed her hair.

"It's fine," smiled Emerald.

At that moment, a sound was heard. Twilight reached into her pocket as her phone rang.

"Hello?" said the girl as she answered her mobile device. "Hi, Mom. Yeah, I'm on my way. I was just... hanging out with a friend. I'll be there in 15 minutes. Love you."

"Let me guess, you're late," stated the boy.

"My mom says dinner is ready and where I was. Sorry," apologized Twilight.

"Nah, it's fine. I think it's best we call it for the day," said Emerald as he and Twilight stood up.

The pair grabbed their backpacks as they began to leave the park.

"So, tomorrow at your place?" asked the bookworm.

"Yeah. We'll get to making your bey then. Just come up with some designs or drawings on what you want it to look like," stated Emerald.

"Will do. Thanks. Oh, before I forget, let me give you my number." stated the teen as Emerald gave her his phone and she inputted her info. "There. If I have any questions, I'll text you for some answers. See you tomorrow at school!" stated Twilight as she waved goodbye to the boy before taking off.

Emerald just watched Twilight until she was gone from his sight. He then looked down at his phone as he opened up his contacts and saw the image of the girl.

"Moving to a new place and getting a girl's digits. Not a bad day," said Emerald as he put his smartphone away and began to head home.

Chapter 6: Predator vs. Predator

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Twilight was jogging along the sidewalk as she turned the corner. The girl's house came into view as she slowed down; the teen entered through the house's gate as she climbed up the small stairs to her home, and took out her keys. The door opened as Twilight entered and made her way to the dining table.

"Glad you could join us," said Velvet as she saw her daughter enter the house and take a seat.

"Sorry, mom. I lost track of time," stated the girl.

"It's fine. Your father is doing some work, so he told us to eat without him. Spike!!" shouted the woman.

A few seconds later, the boy was walking down the stairs when he saw his sister and mother and joined them at the dinner table. The three of them then began to eat, as Velvet's food was something to die for. After a few minutes, Velvet asked Twilight something.

"So, Twilight. Why were you home later than usual? I don't recall any of your clubs of curriculums happening today." said the woman, as she knew Twilight's schedule by heart and could tell when her daughter would be home later than usual.

"Sorry about that, mom. I was hanging out with a friend. He was teaching me some stuff."

"What kind of stuff? Should I be worried?" asked Velvet.

"Nothing illegal, mom. Don't worry. He was teaching me how to beyblade," the girl stated to her mother.

"Beyblade?" said Spike as he looked at his older sister.

"Ohh? So you're finally taking an interest in it?" smiled Velvet. "I thought you said it was a meaningless game, and your focus should be on your studies?"

"Yes, I said that," spoke Twilight as she turned red from embarrassment, especially now that she was eating her own words. "But... my perspective changed. He showed me that Beyblade battles are more than I thought."

"Well, glad Flash was able to change your mind," stated Velvet.

"It wasn't Flash, mom. It was... someone else," said Twilight.

"Ooh," smiled the woman at seeing her daughter talk about another boy other than Flash. "And who is he?"

"He just transferred recently. His name is Emerald, and he's pretty good," said Twilight.

"Emerald, huh?" said Velvet.

At that moment, Spike's fork dropped to the floor. The two females looked at the boy, who bent down to pick up his utensil.

"Can I be excused, mom? I still got some homework to do," said Spike.

"Sure thing, sweetie," stated Velvet as Spike got up, dumped his plate in the trash, and made his way upstairs to his room.

The door was heard as it shut.

"Hmm, I wonder what's wrong?" asked Velvet.

"I think I know," said Twilight as she looked at her mother. "See... Emerald... is the one who... beat Spike."

"I see," stated Velvet as she looked at her daughter seriously. "Twilight, I want you to answer me truthfully. Did he do anything to you?"

"What, no! Mom, Emerald didn't do anything to hurt me or take advantage of me. He's a nice guy. I can tell he's still trying to fit in, but he's got good intentions. He agreed to train me after I pestered him nonstop."

Velvet didn't say anything as she continued to stare at her daughter. Moments passed as Twilight felt like she was in trouble, given how her mother glared at her.

"Alright then. I believe you, sweetie. If you say this Emerald boy has a kind heart, I trust you're making the right decision by being associated with him. Just know if he does anything to hurt you."

"He won't, mom!"

"Still... if he does anything. Let's just say there's gonna be hell to pay," stated Velvet, as that was Twilight's first-ever hearing her mother curse in front of her openly.

Speaking of Emerald, the boy had reached his place as he entered through the front door. The teen tossed his backpack on his couch as he stepped into the kitchen. A sound of gas turning on was heard as it soon erupted into flames. A pot was settled over the small fire as it was filled to the brim with water.

A cutting board and some vegetables were shown as a knife went up and down, slicing the veggies into pieces. The cupboards were open as some seasonings were pulled out. The sound of the water boiling was heard as Emerald dumped all the seasoned veggies and meat into the pot. Once the timer was set, the teen made his way to the couch. His phone went off as he looked at it and saw who was trying to contact him.

"Hey, Grandma."

"Okay," said Twilight as she sat at her desk in her room. "Homework is done, and now to come up with some designs on what I want my bey to look like."

The girl pulled out her drawer and some paper and set them in front of her. Twilight inserted her pencil into her pencil sharper as she blew on it. She then brought the writing utensil down, stopping inches above the paper. An expression of hesitation and unsureness came across the girl.

"Maybe I just need some inspiration," said Twilight as she leaned back and began to think.

Time passed, and Twilight had crumpled balls of paper littered all over her room. The girl was starting to go insane at how her eyes twitched, and her hair was getting frizzled, as evidenced by her bangs. Her face was planted on her desk as she banged it up and down.

"Why is this so hard?!!!" yelled Twilight as she couldn't imagine how she wanted her bey to look.

The girl made one more bang of her head, hitting her desk as she sighed. She turned her head, and there was her phone. Twilight was thinking about messaging Emerald to see if he could give her some suggestions on how to properly sketch the designs for her bey. She was reaching for it when her hand stopped.

"What if he's asleep?" said Twilight. "Besides, he said for me to come up with designs? But I can't come up with anything."

The girl sighed as she looked around her room. While she didn't want to bother the boy with her problem of not coming up with something, it was evident that by the amount of litter that cluttered her space, she was going to make any progress on her own. The teen reached for her phone; she opened her contacts and tapped on Emerald's number as she began to type.

"Hey... are you... up?"

The girl read her message before she sent it. She took a deep breath as all she could do was wait. For a while, nothing was heard. Twilight looked at her messages, hoping that the boy would respond to her. After what felt like 20 minutes or so, there was still nothing.

"Guess he's not answering," said the girl as it was starting to get pretty late.

Twilight got up from her desk and flopped on her bed as she faceplanted into her pillows. The girl remained there as she felt like a failure for not being able to come up with a design for her bey. Her phone was shown in her hand, as the screen had nothing. Soon a notification alert was heard as something came on the home screen.

The lavender girl lifted her head as she read what appeared.

"Need something?"

The message was from Emerald as he responded to the girl's message. Twilight gasped as she opened her phone and turned her back as she began to text the boy.

"Sorry if I stopped you from going to sleep."

The message was sent as she got a response back, and for the next few minutes, a string of conversations was exchanged between the two teens.

"Don't worry. Anyways, what is it?"

"I was wondering if you could help me. I need help with coming up with a design for my bey. Any advice?"

"Sketch what comes to mind. Your sketch can be simple and simple. As long as you have a basic idea of what you want it to look like, everything else will be fine. Just sketch whatever inspires you."

"Inspires me?" said Twilight aloud as she read Emerald's message.

The girl then turned her head as she saw the many posters of stars, planets, and astronomy. She then looked at some of the books on her shelves as the girl's brain began to turn.

"I think I got it. Thanks. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"You too. Goodnight, Twilight."

Twilight read Emerald's message; it brought a smile to her face. The girl then made her way back to her desk and sat down. She picked up her pencil and began to scribble on the paper. After the small talk with Emerald, the girl had found her inspiration, as within minutes, she had something.

The next morning arrived as it was the start of another day. The students of CHS were shown as they were all over the building. Emerald was shown approaching his locker as he opened it.

"Hey, Emerald!" said Twilight.

The boy peeked out behind his locker door as the girl stood there.

"Oh, hey, Twilight. Did you manage to come up with something?" asked the boy.

"I did. And I can't wait to create my bey," stated the bookworm.

"Alright then, so we'll meet up after you're done with the club fair," responded Emerald as he shut his locker door.

The pair then began to walk to their classroom as they prepared to begin their school day. It wasn't long before school ended, as the students rushed out and headed toward the auditorium. Emerald was shown standing outside the auditorium doors as he could see the many people entering.

"Well, I promised her that I'd at least check it out," stated the boy as he took a deep breath and proceeded to enter the auditorium.

Emerald was passing by many tables and booths as students of all grades rushed toward them and checked them out. To his surprise, he saw many clubs that interested him as he thought about signing up. The boy noticed the student council booth as there was Twilight, the president of the student council herself, as she was doing one hell of a job trying to draw people in. He admired how the bookworm was trying to get people to join her club, even if what they did wasn't everybody's interest.

Emerald kept moving about as he made it to the middle of the auditorium, as there was a bey stadium. The sounds of beys clanging and banging against each other were heard as it got the boy's attention.

A massive crowd of people was shown as they were watching a battle go down. The two bladers were shown near the stadium as their beys were clashing against each other. Soon one of them burst as their pieces landed around the center where a single bey was spinning.

"Ha! That's all you got, rookie! Come back when you learn some new stuff!" said the girl.

"That's number 10 for Spitfire," said Soarin as he kept track of his friend's record.

"Who's next?!" said Spitfire.

"I am," said another student as they presented their bey.

"What's going on, Soarin?" asked Emerald as he appeared next to the teen.

"Oh, Emerald. Nice to see you, bud," said the boy as the two shared a quick guy handshake. "Just doing the annual tryouts for the bey club."

"Tryouts?" said Emerald.

"Yup, for the club fair, instead of running a booth. We hold actual beyblade battles. To see who's got what it takes. Spitfire here is the gatekeeper. If you can beat her, you got potential." responded Soarin as both looked at the girl just in time to see her win again.

"Sorry, rookie. But no shot," stated Spitfire with a cocky smile.

"Number 11. Damn, looks like we won't be getting any new recruits," said Soarin, as it seemed Spitfire herself was proving to be too much of a challenge.

"Come on! We're looking for the best this school has to offer! I want somebody to give me a challenge. Come on! Who's got the balls to take me on?!!" announced Spitfire.

The crowd of students who wanted to try out was now starting to think twice about taking on the girl, given how dominant she'd been. Spitfire glanced at the crowd while waiting for someone to step up. Soon, she got her answer.

"Let's battle!" stated Emerald as he appeared a few meters away from the girl with his bey out for all to see.

"Emerald, hold on!" said Soarin, as he didn't expect his friend to step up and challenge Spitfire.

"You know this kid, Soarin?" asked Spitfire to her friend.

"Y-yeah. I battled him the other day, and he beat me," explained the boy.

"Is that right? Emerald's your name, huh? I'll say this, kid. You got more balls than anybody right now. But don't expect this to be an easy battle. When Sky Striker and I are in sync, nothing stops us." stated Spitfire as she showed off her bey, which was an Attack-type bey.

"Then let's Blade!" smiled Emerald.

The crowd settled in as they were prepared to watch the two teens battle. Soarin stood off to the stadium as he decided to be the ref.

"The first to two points wins," said Soarin.

Alright, kid. Let's see what you got.

An Attack-type, huh? That means she's gonna come at us right from the start. So I should expect her attacks to be powerful.

"First battle Ready... set..." said Soarin as Spitfire and Emerald attached their beys to their launchers and bent a knee.

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

"Let it rip!" yelled Spitfire and Emerald as they pulled the ripcord of their launcher.

Their beys were launched into the stadium as they took off. As Emerald expected, Spitfire had Sky Striker immediately go for the attack. Her bey was hitting and clashing against Lunor as it tried its best to cover up against the attacks trying to pierce its defenses.

Striker let up as it circled back for an attack. Emerald took that moment to have Lunor zip out of the way as it circled back for its own attack. The two beys were repeatedly striking at one another, landing blow for blow as they tried to get the upper hand.

"You've lasted longer than anybody else, kid. I'll give you that," said Spitfire. "But don't think you're gonna win. Especially thanks to Air Blast!"

Spitfire commanded her bey to use its move as it was racing along the stadium, slowly picking up speed and doing laps around Lunor.

"Lunor, head to the center!" commanded Emerald.

"That won't work! Do it, Sky Striker!" shouted Spitfire as her bey reached its top speed creating a barrier due to how fast it spun along the stadium that it shot upward.

The creature inside Spitfire's bey emerged as it let out a fierce screech with the bird of prey spreading its wings out. It then began to fall as both gravity and momentum were on its side, as it turned into a huge ball of energy. The bey was heading right for Lunor as it was directly above it.

"Lunor, let's do this!" shouted Emerald as his bey quickly began to spin outward of the center in a half-circle.

The two beys collided as their power was fully displayed for all to see. The two creatures were shown clashing as they didn't once let up. Both were pushed back, with Sky Striker touching the stadium and moving back, as some of its speed was lost. Lunor was pushed back and looked to do the same, but its tip stopped before spinning in the other direction.

"Emerald reversed the spin!" said Soarin as even Spitfire noticed that with the two being shocked.

"Now you'll understand the power and agility of Lunor! Let's go!" shouted Emerald with his hand thrust out. "Counter Break!"

Lunor came around with more power than before as the wolf was shown with its jaws ready to lunge. The bey came crashing into Sky Striker, and within a second, it was burst clean.

"He burst!" stated Soarin as he was in disbelief at seeing Spitfire lose.

The girl herself was shocked as her grip on her launcher fell and hit the ground to signal how surprised she was. Everything was moving in slow motion as Spitfire looked at Emerald, who had a confident expression. The girl had her mouth wide open as her bey burst into pieces in the air in front of her. Time resumed as the pieces fell to the stadium and made a noise as Lunor kept spinning.

"Emerald wings with a classic Burst Finish!" stated Soarin as he pointed in the boy's direction.

"A Counter Break, huh? I hate to say it. But this guy is legit." muttered Spitfire to herself.

"Good game, guys. Good game," said Emerald as he held Lunor in his hand and smiled at Spitfire.

"Hey, don't get too comfortable, rookie. Cause you're not done!" said Spitfire as Soarin looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Alright, if you want to join the Bey Club, all you have to do is beat this guy!"

"What?!" said Soarin as he approached the girl.

"Beat him in a battle, and you're in!" said Spitfire as the crowd started to like that idea.

Soarin appeared behind Spitfire as he grabbed the girl's shoulder and turned her around to address her.

"What the hell are you doin', Spitfire?" asked the boy.

"Duh, what does it look like. I'm getting us new members. I'll admit, I was a bit too much for these guys. But hey, he's an easier challenge."

"Yeah, easier if you consider him beating you," said Soarin.

"Shut up, Soarin. Remember your place among the team!" the girl told her friend. "Besides, this is also a test. If the kid is as good as he shows, we may ask him to join the club. So either way, it's a win-win for us."

"I feel like you're just trying to get some anger out for losing," stated Soarin.

"Shut it!" said Spitfire, as that was partially true.

One by one, Emerald was now forced to run the gauntlet. Each student that wanted a chance to join the bey club took Spitfire's words to heart, seeing as how she was one of the best bladers in the school. Soon it was underway, one by one, battle by battle; Emerald was tearing through the competition.

Each of his battles ended in a Burst Finish, which shocked everyone around, especially cause now the crowd of people had gotten bigger. So much so that the students running the many booths all left to see what was going on as they saw Emerald and Lunor run roughshod.

"Well... don't stop. Keep'em coming," said Emerald as he had just defeated his latest challenge.

The boy kept taking the next of challengers that Spitfire managed to convince him to fight that Emerald was taking them down faster than they could line up. At the same time, one of their friends, High, was shown outside in the back of the school. The girl was running toward Flash, who was with Thunderlane.

"Hey, Flash!" said the girl as she jogged and came to a stop. "You might want to check this out. Someone is running roughshod among the entire school in the auditorium."

"It's no use, High. Flash is concentrating, so he can't hear you anyway," stated Thunderlane as he was off to the side with his arms crossed.

The pair were watching Flash Sentry, who was preparing to launch his bey.

"But Thunderlane-"

"Let it rip!" shouted Flash as he launched his bey into the stadium, as it took off.

"Nice!" said Thunderlane as he saw that Flash nailed a perfect launch, and his bey spinning was incredible.

Flash was shown sweating as he wiped his forehead. At the same time, Emerald was still strong as he defeated another batch of bladers.

"Any more?" asked the boy to Spitfire, who he now figured was out to get him because she lost.

"Oh, Spits. Your plan backfired," chuckled Soarin as he looked at the tablet. "Emerald already defeated 85 Bladers."

"So, who's my next opponent?" asked Emerald as he looked at Spitfire.

The girl was seething at how the boy in front of her was still going and managed to win consecutively. As for Emerald, he had started to pant a bit heavy as the battles were starting to catch up to him. He wasn't the only one who saw how tired he was becoming as a certain person who noticed the massive crowd formed had also been watching and was concerned for him.

"That makes his total 99," said Soarin to Spitfire as the girl was this close to battling the boy again, just to shut him up.

Before she could do that, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Step aside, Spits. I got this," said another one of their friends as she approached the stadium.

Emerald saw the girl as he took in her features.

"My name is Misty Fly. You're gonna be battling me next!" stated the girl with a cocky smile.

"Alright then," said Emerald.

"I'll defeat you using my Spiral Stratos," declared the girl as she showed off her bey to the boy.

"Ready... set..." stated Soarin.

"3, 2, 1..." countdown the crowd.

"Let it rip!" shouted both teens.

Both beys were launched as they landed in the stadium. Lunor circled the outer lane as Spiral Stratos had made it to the center and was spinning.

"Let's finish this in one blow!" stated Emerald to his bey.

Lunor went for the attack as it made contact with Stratos. However, instead of bursting as Emerald wanted, it held the attack as the part it made contact with glowed for a bit before knocking back Emerald's bey and kept spinning.

"It's not gonna be easy. Your Bey is strong, but Stratos can convert attacks from any direction into spin power!" stated Misty Fly as it showed Lunor constantly attacking Stratos, only for it to absorb the attacks to boost its own power. The tip of Misty Fly's bey was shown as it was perfectly spinning along the stadium's surface.

"Alright, Stratos, Spiral Counter!" shouted the girl.

Her bey heard the command as it began to spin outward from the center and collided with Lunor, who was coming back around and knocked the bey out of the stadium, to the surprise of everyone.

"All right!" said Misty Fly as the crowd cheered, especially Spitfire, as she felt like she got some revenge on Emerald for beating her.

"Gees, you're a sore loser, Spits," stated Soarin at how the girl was acting like she beat Emerald. "Spiral Stratos earns one point with a Ring Out Finish."

"Heh. Not too shabby," smiled Emerald as he picked up his bey.

"Got that right. The next one's gonna be a Burst!" declared Misty Fly.

"Second battle!" announced Soarin.

So it can absorb attacks from any direction, huh? I got an idea.

Emerald's hands fidgeted as his bey's parts clicked to indicate that he did something.

"Huh?" said Soarin as he noticed Emerald's hands move.

"Ready. Set!" said Spitfire as Soarin was too distracted and trying to figure out what Emerald did.

"3, 2, 1..." countdown the crowd.

"Let it rip!" shouted both Misty Fly and Emerald.

The beys were launched as they landed. Immediately, Spiral Stratos made its way to the center, looking to do the same strategy.

"This time, we're ready!" said Emerald as Lunor collided with Stratos. Instead of absorbing and converting the attacks into spin power, it was pushed back.

"Why isn't Stratos absorbing the attack?" asked Misty Fly as she saw her bey being knocked about.

"What the hell did you do, cheater?!" shouted Spitfire to Emerald.

"He's not cheating, Spits," stated Soarin.

"Huh?"

"Take a look."

Soarin showed his friend his tablet, which had an image of Emerald's bey and the schematics. He had a side-by-side comparison of how Emerald's bey was in default mode and how it looked now.

"He changed something on his bey. By lifting it up, it can attack its opponent from above," explained the boy as Spitfire was stunned to learn and see that.

"Lunar Whip!" shouted Emerald as he gave his bey the finishing command.

Lunor raced and crashed into Stratos as it burst. Misty Fly gasped at what she saw, as did Spitfire.

"Lunor claims it with a Burst Finish. The winner is Emerald!" said Soarin as he smiled at his newly made friend.

The crowd began to murmur at that what was announced.

"That makes 100 wins," said Soarin to Spitfire, who was about to blow a gasket.

Emerald panted a bit more as the signs of exhaustion were more than present on the boy. Soaring could see that Emerald had been through a lot and was about to end it there, mainly because it was getting late. Spitfire was starting to pull out her bey once more to challenge Emerald to one final battle when footsteps belonging to someone were heard.

The shoes of someone were shown as they stood in the doorway of the auditorium.

"It's Flash!" said Misty Fly as she looked toward the entrance.

Everyone heard that, and they all turned as well to see the teen who was being flanked by High and Thunderlane.

"So, you're Flash Sentry?" said Emerald as he heard Twilight mention how he was considered the top blader in the school.

Flash walked in as everyone stepped aside and allowed him to walk through. He saw Emerald as he glared at the teen.

"So, you're causing a ruckus?" said Flash.

"My name is Emerald. They say you're the strongest Blader. Let's see how strong you really are!"

"Very well. I'll shatter that confidence of yours!" declared Flash.

"Interesting, Flash doesn't usually take challenges from new students," said Thunderlane, as he knew how strong Emerald was. To think that his buddy, Flash, was willing to accept Emerald's request must have meant he saw something in the teen.

"Well, Spitfire, you said Emerald had balls. He just challenged the big dog in the yard to a fight," said Soarin.

"I don't know whether he's stupid or he's brave. Maybe both. But if he thinks he can beat the top predator in this jungle, he's got another thing coming." stated the girl as Flash approached the stadium and looked at Emerald.

"Please check each other's Beys before we start," said Thunderlane as he substituted for Soarin to be the ref.

Both boys handed their beys to their opponents as they began to inspect them.

Leonis. An attack-type, but with incredible defense. Time to see if this predator becomes our prey.

Emerald looked at Flash, eyeing and inspecting Lunor.

"I made Lunor myself."

"You actually made this Bey yourself?" said Flash as he was shocked to learn that from Emerald.

"Yup," smiled Emerald as Flash and he traded their beys back.

"What's the old saying? The irresistible force meeting an immovable object," said Misty Fly as she and the rest of the Wondercolts were set to watch a fierce battle between two top predators.

"First Battle!" said Thunderlane as both teens attached their beys and got into position. "Ready. Set!"

"3, 2, 1..." countdown the crowd.

"Let it rip!" shouted Emerald and Flash as they pulled their ripcords.

Their beys were launched as they took off.

"Leonis, take the center!" shouted Flash.

"I don't think so!" said Emerald.

His bey crashed into Flash's, stopping it from reaching the center. A brief stalemate occurred as both beys tried to push the other back before Leonis managed to get the upper hand as it took the center and held its position.

"Leonis, use Flash Shield!" instructed the teen.

Leonis heard Flash's command as the blades on it shined, and soon a barrier was formed as it spun. Emerald's bey crashed into it, but Leonis held its ground, not once wavering from holding the center.

"He's about to face Flash's perfect defense," snickered Spitfire.

True to the girl's word, Leonis deflected every attack Lunor was throwing at it as Emerald expressed concern and struggle.

"Now the real battle starts, Lunor!" shouted Emerald as his bey shined.

The boy let out a cry as his aura awakened his partner. The bey glowed as the wolf inside was revealed and howled at the moon above. It was heading straight for its target.

"Leonis!" yelled Flash as he did the same.

His aura was being tapped in as it transferred to his bey. The lion inside growled as it roared through the jungle behind him. The two beys collided with each other as the two creatures met in the middle, trying to see who was the top predator.

"Upper Launch!" yelled Emerald.

The two beys poured more power and strength into this struggle before being flung back. The two were soaring out of the stadium, and everyone was shocked. However, as the beys were falling, it showed a side-by-side screen in slow motion, showing Leonis touching the floor by a mere second.

Even Thunderlane was shocked as he saw the result of the battle with a clear eye. Knowing he had to do his job, he hesitantly pointed his arm toward the winner.

"Lunor with a Ring Out Finish. The score is one to zero!" said Thunderlane as he acknowledged Emerald scoring a point on Flash.

A massive gasp was heard over the crowd as even Flash's eyes widened.

"The first one to two points wins, right?" asked Spitfire as her friends nodded. "Then Emerald must be tired after battling 100 Bladers. But... he's still going. This kid is insane."

"Are you panicking that he might beat Flash?" snickered Soarin as Spitfire didn't answer, which was more than enough proof for the boy.

"Emerald," muttered Flash as he acknowledged the teen as a powerful foe.

"Time to win this," said Emerald as he adjusted his bey once more as the parts clicked.

"Seems he made his bey a little taller now," replied Misty Fly to her friends as they could see that Emerald was looking to burst Flash's bey in this battle.

"Second Battle!" said Thunderlane as both teens attached their beys. "Get ready! Set!"

"3, 2, 1..." countdown the crowd.

"Let it rip!" shouted both Flash and Emerald.

Both beys were launched as they landed and took off. Like before, they were opposites circling each other as soon as Leonis took the center.

"Let's end this! Fury Rush!" instructed Emerald as his bey was attacking from all sides and angles to either burst or send Flash's bey flying.

"Flash Shield!" instructed the boy to his bey.

The bey heard the command as it tightened up its defense power. Now it was tanking all the hits and attacks that Lunor was dishing out while holding its position.

"Lunor!" shouted Emerald.

"Leonis!" yelled Flash.

Both beys shined with the aura of their masters as they were unleashed. They collided with each other once more as they held their position.

"Unleash, Lunar Whip!" said Emerald as he waved his hand in a slash attack.

The bey put more into its power as it was starting to overtake Leonis. However, underneath them, Leonis was titling itself so that its spring tip center was pushed against it as it stored some energy. Soon it released it as it slid out from Lunor's attack and managed to avoid being burst.

"What the?" said Emerald as he was shocked to see Leonis escape while glowing.

"Finish this with Flash Drift!" shouted the teen.

The bey heard the command as it spun but then did some sharp corner turns as it circled back quickly and collided with Lunor. In a matter of seconds, it burst.

"Leonis claims it with a Burst Finish. Flash Sentry wins!" announced Thunderlane.

The crowd erupted into cheers as they celebrated Flash beating Emerald.

"I knew he couldn't beat Flash and win," scoffed Spitfire, as it felt good to see Emerald lose.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Soarin to his friends as they all looked at him.

While Flash may not have heard what Soarin said, he knew what the boy was referring to as he saw Emerald bent over as he breathed heavily.

He used up a lot of energy battling 100 opponents already. If I'd face him when he was in perfect condition...

At that moment, Emerald began to sway from side to side. From the boy's perspective, his vision became blurry as he soon felt himself fall back.

"Emerald!" shouted someone as it belonged to a familiar bookworm who watched the whole thing go down.

Soon Emerald's eyes closed as there was nothing but darkness.

Chapter 7: Emergence of a New Blader

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Space that was what all it surrounded the person. For them, they had been drifting apart slowly in this ever-lasting void inside of some barrier. They had been drifting along casually without a care in the world as they had their eyes closed; all around them was nothing but darkness.

"Emerald... Emerald..." called out a voice.

The boy slowly opened his eyes as he could see the darkness, but it was still fuzzy.

"Emerald... Emerald! Time to wake up!" shouted the voice.

"Who's there?" asked the boy.

Soon something happened; a small portal opened up, filling the space with a bright light that the whole view went white.

Eyes opened up as they began to let the light enter their vision of sight. The first thing that Emerald saw was Twilight as she was looking down at the boy.

"Emerald!"

"Twilight?" responded the boy, still having the effects of waking up.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright," sighed the girl as she was worried for a sec that the teen wouldn't wake up.

"I don't understand. Where am I?" said the boy as he sat up slowly.

"You're in the principal's office," spoke a voice.

The boy turned to see Principal Celestia standing behind Twilight as the woman had a straight look on her face.

"What happened?" asked Emerald.

"After Flash beat you, you passed out," explained the lavender girl.

"I lost?" said Emerald as he put a hand on his forehead.

"Well, yeah. You were tired after defeating 100 Bladers. So, of course, you'd be worn out! And that was stupid of you!" shouted Twilight as she hit Emerald in his arm. "How can you be so careless?!"

"Yeesh, calm down, Twilight! I just woke up!" responded the boy, as he didn't need a lecture from her.

The girl began to go on a tangent as Emerald tried to silence the girl's voice. All the while, Celestia was watching how the two teens acted, and she couldn't help but giggle. It warmed her heart to see Twilight caring for her friend's safety.

Twilight was now standing outside Celestia's office as the principal had called Nurse Redheart to come in and check up on Emerald. The student president was worried for her friend.

(Flashback)

"Emerald! Emerald!" shouted Twilight as she was by the boy's side as he had just fainted from his battle with Flash.

Most of the crowd was already leaving as Fluttershy, who was also among them, rushed through the students and bent down with her friend.

"Fluttershy, help me get him to Principal Celestia's office," said Twilight as she and the buttercup girl began to lift Emerald up as they had his arms over their shoulders.

"Twilight?" said Flash as he saw the girl help the boy who was his opponent.

"Flash."

The two teens looked at each other as Flash wondered how Twilight knew Emerald.

"Fluttershy, can you take Emerald for me?"

"Sure," said the girl as she began to lead Emerald away.

"You know him?" asked Flash.

"Yeah. He's teaching me how to Blade," answered the girl.

"To Blade? That's great. Seems you finally came around. I'm glad for you." said Flash as he was happy to see that Twilight was interested in Blading. "But wait, Emerald is teaching you? Not that I got anything against that, but if you wanted to learn, why didn't you ask me? I wouldn't have minded teaching you."

"Well, it was after school when I met Emerald. Not to mention, I annoyed him that I didn't think he was willing to tutor me. But he changed his mind at the last second." said the bookworm.

"Well, I'll say this. He's got skill; I can respect that," said Flash.

"Look, Flash. Mind if we discuss this later? I got a friend to check up on." said Twilight.

"Sure thing," said the boy as Twilight hugged him to say thanks before she took off.

(End of Flashback)

The girl had finished recollecting when the door to Celestia's office opened, and Emerald and the principal herself came.

"Now go home and get some rest, Emerald," stated Celestia.

"Will do," stated the boy.

"Twilight, can you keep an eye on him?"

"I don't need a babysitter, Principal Celestia,"

"Yes, well, better safe than sorry. Besides, I was once rebellious like you," smiled the woman. "Twilight?"

"You can count on me, Principal Celestia," Twilight said, assuring the woman she would do her job.

The two soon left as Emerald was anything but happy, as he didn't need someone to watch over him like he was a kid. Eventually, the two exited the school as they were in front of the building.

"So, I guess that means we're going to your place?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah, either way, we were gonna head there to create your bey," said Emerald as he began to lead the girl in the direction of his place.

After a fair walk, the two teens arrived at Emerald's place as it was a small house. The boy opened his door and allowed Twilight to enter first as he followed by.

"Wow. It's a nice place," said Twilight as she took in Emerald's place.

"It's decent enough," stated the boy as he took off his shoes, as Twilight removed her boots. "Make yourself at home. What anything to drink?"

"Some water is fine," said Twilight as Emerald made his way to his kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out two water bottles.

"Here," said the boy as he handed the bottle to the girl.

"Thanks," said Twilight as she took the bottle from the boy and brought it to her lips.

"So, apart from you watching over me? Did you actually do what I asked?" said Emerald.

"Yeah, I was able to come up with a few designs," responded Twilight as she reached into her backpack and pulled out some papers.

The bookworm handed them to the boy as he glanced at them. Emerald was looking at the many designs that Twilight had been sketching the previous night as he managed to paint a picture of what the bey might look like when it was done.

"Well?" asked Twilight.

"Not bad, but we'll see how it really looks when we build it. Follow me," said the boy.

Twilight got up and followed Emerald. They soon entered a room as the boy flipped a switch. The whole room lit up a section of the room; there was a computer along with machinery that was also present.

"Wow," said Twilight.

"Well, ready to make your bey," asked Emerald with a smile.

"Yes."

"One thing though, do you know what type of bey you want?"

"Type?" said Twilight.

"There are four types of bey: Attack, Defense, Stamina, and Balance. Each one has its own specialties. Attack does well against Stamina, Stamina does well against Defense, and Defense does well against Attack."

"So, it's like Rock, Paper, Scissors?" asked Twilight.

"A l-little," stuttered Emerald as Twilight chose to word the entire game. "But unlike Rock, Paper, Scissors, you can turn a disadvantage into an advantage. It all comes down to what a Blader's strategy is."

"You mean like how you could score a point against Flash when you were tired, and he used his special move?" asked Twilight.

"Exactly. Beyblading is also a mental game. Think of it like Chess. You gotta think twelve steps ahead while also keeping in mind what your opponent may do to change up their playstyle." stated Emerald. "But enough of that, let's get to making your Bey."

Twilight inputted her sketches into the computer as she uploaded the images. They soon came across the screen as Emerald's program began to run diagnostics and overlays. Soon the image of her bey and how it actually looked was shown in code and boxes as it rotated for both to see. The pair nodded as they began to get to work.

Twilight was typing some commands to the computer program as the machines inside a glass case began to move. Sparks flew as they began to implement Twilight's specs. Emerald soon led Twilight to a workstation where he showed the girl how to use the tools to put the final prints on the pieces of her bey. With a set of goggles, Twilight got to work.

Safe to say, the boy was impressed by how much work and dedication, Twilight was putting into creating her bey. With it getting late, Emerald offered Twilight a slice of pizza as a break, but she was determined to make her creation come to life. Even if it took all night.

Almost there. Just a little bit longer.

After much work, it was soon completed. The pieces of her bey were on a table in front of the bookworm. Twilight took off the goggles as he wiped her forehead. She began to reach for the pieces and began to assemble them. A surge of energy flowed through the girl upon putting the final piece on. In her mind, she was shown floating in space as all around her was white. Soon a shadow stood before her as she gasped. It soon revealed a figure as they were grey-colored.

"Are you..." said Twilight.

The figure nodded as she put her hand out; Twilight did the same as the two soon joined themselves in a blinding white light.

"Well?" asked Emerald as he stood behind the girl.

"It's finished," said Twilight as she turned and showed off her bey.

Like Emerald, the girl had decided to make her bey a Balance-type as she thought it to be the most strategic given her personality. While not a bad decision, the boy warned the girl that being a Balance-type meant having to be much more technical than most Bladers. But for Twilight, she took that as a challenge.

Emerald looked at Twilight's bey as compared to his; she had gone with three blades as they were positioned in a triangle formation on the bey itself to give maximum power and strength. The colors of Twilight's bey matched that of her hair; in the center was a sparkle that looked similar to the one on her notebooks that she often wrote in.

"Be honest," said Twilight as she wanted to get Emerald's opinion on her bey.

"Not bad. However, looks aren't just everything. It's how you can handle your bey that counts. Care to give it a test." stated Emerald.

"Yeah," nodded Twilight.

"But first, you're gonna need this."

The teen pulled something from behind his back as it was a launcher. The color and scheme matched her bey as Twilight was in awe.

"While you were busy, I took the time to make this for you. I... hope you like," said Emerald.

Twilight grabbed the launcher from Emerald as she looked at it. She then attached her bey to the end as the weight of it felt right.

"I love it. Thanks," said the girl.

Emerald was rubbing his neck when he didn't expect what would come. Twilight leaped forward and hugged him as her way of saying thanks to Emerald for all his work in helping her. The boy was stunned by this show of affection that he didn't know what to do or how to respond correctly. Soon the girl let go of him and looked at her bey and launcher.

"So... what do you call it?" asked Emerald.

"Hmm..." hummed Twilight as she tried to devise a name for her new partner. "Magia!"

"Magia. What does that mean?" asked Emerald.

"It translates to Magic. You know, as in the Magic of Friendship. The same friendship you showed me by helping me to understand beyblade and help me build my own." said Twilight with a smile.

"Huh, nice," smiled the boy. "However, there's one more thing."

Emerald gestured for the girl to follow him as he led them to where a small beystadium was set up.

"You have to learn how to truly command your new bey first. Then... it'll be complete," stated the teen as the student president nodded. "Try launching your bey."

Twilight approached the stadium and bent to a knee. The girl rotated her bey as she steadied herself and took a deep breath. Twilight tuned her mind to be one with her new partner as she had a steady grip on the ripcord.

"Here we go!" declared the girl. "3, 2, 1! Let it rip!"

Twilight pulled the string back as hard as she could, and power surged through her launcher into the bey as it shot out. The bey was launched as there appeared to be magical sparkles surrounding it that were forming. Twilight's bey landed in the stadium as it took off, with magic sparkles trailing behind it. However, the real story was on Twilight's bey as it was moving at high speeds, all while showing its power.

"Wow," muttered Emerald at the sight before him.

"Let's take it up a notch! Faster, Magia!" instructed Twilight.

The bey heard the girl's command as it picked up even more speed. It was moving in all directions, once again showing its strength. The bey bounced off a wall, leaving a mark behind due to the blade connecting with the rim. It kept bouncing off the stadium walls as the magic particles dazzled and spread out to add a visually appealing.

Emerald was amazed by what he saw before looking up at Twilight. To think, he saw a sight that brought him joy and happiness. The smile on Twilight's face, the way it lit up, the literal magic that emitted from her. It made him... feel warm and comfy. Seeing the girl be happy gave him some purpose.

Twilight's bey bounced off a wall before flying into the air. It soared as the girl caught it with one hand and looked at it.

You are worthy of my power.

The spirit inside Twilight's bey flashed in the girl's eyes as it showed a priestess who wielded a staff; she had long flowing hair that matched Twilight's and held a spellbook in her other hand as her beauty was on display.

"Congratulations. You're finally done it," said Emerald.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks again, Emerald. You've opened my eyes to seeing that Beyblading is more than I thought it was. I'm glad to have met you and... for being my friend." stated Twilight as she looked away for a bit while twirling a strand of her hair as her face lit up in red.

"Well, that means it's time for everyone to see how strong you are. And the's only one stage for that. I signed you up for the district tournament as well." said the teen.

"You could have told me before?! I need time to prep!" said Twilight, panicking.

"You'll be fine, Twilight. I know you will," said the boy as he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder.

Upon contact, Twilight felt herself looking at Emerald and staring into his eyes. The girl was lost as she gazed deep into his, amethyst meeting brown, as the pair stood there in silence. The feeling of Emerald's hand gave a sense of comfort to the girl as she felt all her worries being taken away by the boy himself. It was as if he could take away her troubles, as it brought a smile to her face.

"I believe you can do this," spoke Emerald softly.

The student president took a deep breath as she looked at her bey and addressed the boy in front of her.

"You're right. As long as I remember everything you taught me, I'll be fine."

"That's my girl," chuckled Emerald. "So, care for a battle?"

"Bring it!" snickered Twilight.

The two teens were in front of the stadium as they prepared to battle. They attached their beys to their launchers as they bent to a knee and prepared to battle.

"Hope you're ready, Twilight," said Emerald.

"I am," stated the girl as she placed her hand on the string of her launcher, showing she was ready.

"3, 2, 1! Let it rip!" shouted both teens as they pulled on the ripcord of their launchers as hard as they could.

The teens created a gust of wind as it showed their power. Their beys were launched and landed in the stadium as they took off and began to circle each other. Twilight's bey bounced a bit before landing and crashing into a wall. However, it was calculated by the girl as it sent her bey upward just as Emerald's bey was coming around. The girl's bey landed behind the boy's as it began to chase it.

"Show'em what you're made of, Magia!" said Twilight as her bey zoomed by Lunor and began to circle the center.

"Wow, that's fast," smiled Emerald at how much Twilight was using the training he gave her. "You're doing pretty good, Twilight. All right, Lunor, attack!"

Lunor heard Emerald's command as it crashed into Magia, which sent it back a bit, but managed to make Magia fall at the center as it spun.

"Hang in there!" said Twilight.

"Fury Rush!" stated Emerald.

Lunor began to pummel Magia with attacks from every angle as the bey was trapped and bounced back. Despite its defense power, Magia struggled to keep up with Lunor's assaults.

"Just hold out!" stated Twilight as she was banking on Magia's defense to allow the girl to see an opening for them to strike back.

An attack sent Twilight's bey out of the center as its tip was show dragging along the surface. As Lunor went for an attack, Magia quickly used the friction from its tip and the stadium to drift out of the way of Lunor's attack.

"What?" said Emerald as he and Twilight were shocked to see what happened.

"Yes!" said Twilight as she began to execute her counterattack. However...

"Let's end this! Lunor!" shouted Emerald as he felt fired up.

The boy felt himself pump up as he gave out a battle cry. His aura now glowed a bright gold as he transferred some energy to his partner. His bey also began to glow as the creature inside emerged and gave a snarl before howling at the moon above.

The bey bounced off the wall before taking a sharp turn and heading straight for Twilight's bey. The two collided as they made contact and held their position before Magia was sent into the air.

"No!" said Twilight in a worried tone as time slowed down for a sec.

So... that's her limit, then.

Emerald could see the expression on Twilight's face in that split second as he sighed. Just then, something happened. Time resumed and...

"Come on! Magia!" shouted Twilight as that did something.

Her bey shined with a purple aura, as did the girl, as the magic surrounding the bey itself sparkled the brightest it'd been. 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.

"No way!" muttered Emerald with wide eyes at the sight he saw.

Magia hit the wall held in place by it, constantly spinning against it before using it to slowly slide down and touch the stadium before taking off. Lunor was now spinning in the center as it barely dodged Magia's attack and zoomed by before coming back around. Lunor exited the center and circled the outer, as was Magia before the two changed directions and headed straight for each other. The two met in the center head-on as a giant wind blew. Thankfully, there were no windows in the room; had there been, they would have shattered the glass from the power of the impact.

Emerald and Twilight still had their respective glow as their monsters made contact outside and inside. Soon the beys poured everything they had as they were flung back with intense momentum.

"What the?" said Emerald as he was shocked cause Lunor flew by his head and was about to land on the floor.

"Yes," said Twilight as she saw Lunor fly out of the ring as her bey was still in the air in front of her. It looked like the girl was going to win when...

Her bey burst.

Twilight gasped when she saw this as Lunor hit the ground at that exact moment.

The two teens looked at all that lay before them as they tried to take in all that had happened. After a brief moment of silence, Twilight spoke.

"So... what happens? Who won?" asked the girl.

"Well... Magia burst a bit early. So... that means with a Burst Finish, Lunor wins," said Emerald.

Twilight slumped to her knees and had her head down. Emerald knew from the moment, Twilight's bey burst she had lost immediately. However, he didn't have the heart to answer the girl right then that she lost, but even with delaying the result, it seemed to pain the girl.

The boy looked at the girl on her knees with her head down. He could see that this wasn't how Twilight wanted her first win to go, granted Emerald held back a bit, as he didn't want to overpower Twilight.

"Hey, Twilight... it's okay," said Emerald as he slowly approached the girl.

He dropped a knee before the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Not everyone wins. Even I..."

Emerald didn't finish his statement as Twilight wrapped her arms around his neck. The girl lunged forward and embraced the boy; Emerald was caught off guard as he expected the girl to be sad, but she wasn't.

"Thank you," said Twilight, as she didn't mind the result of the battle. Just that she finally got to be a Blader.

"You're welcome," said Emerald as he wrapped his arms around the girl and returned the embrace.

For the boy, he was glad that not only did he help Twilight, but to help her awaken her bey. Now... it was all up to the girl to see how far she could go.

Chapter 8: Broadening Horizons

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The days followed as the district tournaments inched ever closer. In the schoolyard of CHS, a small group of people was gathered. They were huddled around a bey stadium as two bladers were going at it. One of them was none other than the student president, as word got out that she now had a bey. It shocked many, and even more shocking was how much skill she had after recently learning the game.

"Magia, let's finish this!" shouted Twilight to her bey as it was in the center, clashing with her foe.

The bey heard the girl's command as it pushed off its opponent and did a circle back as it was preparing to strike. Twilight's body began to glow as her aura shined. The girl snapped her finger as magic sparkles occurred; she winked as her hair flapped in the wind.

"Scared Aura!" shouted Twilight.

Her bey shined as the creature inside emerged. The sorceress appeared as she wielded her staff and had her book open in her other hand. The bey began to shine with Twilight's aura as it left sparkles in its trail and zoomed ahead. The bey was about to collide as the sorceress powered up her staff and fired her magic.

"Now!" shouted the girl.

Her bey collided with her opponent's bey, and moments later, it shattered. The girl's bey was shown spinning in the center as around it laid the pieces.

"With a Burst Finish, the winner is Twilight." said the student who was the ref.

"Excellent work," said the girl as she picked up her bey to look at it.

The group began to disburse as a few praised Twilight on her latest win.

"Not bad, egghead," said Rainbow as the chromatic-haired girl approached her friend.

"Hi, Rainbow. And for the 12,965th time, I am not an egghead! I am well-read!" shouted Twilight, as she hated her friend calling her that.

"Same thing," justified Rainbow, "Anyways, you seem to be making a name for yourself. How many wins have you gotten?"

"For your information, I just won my 13th match," said Twilight crossing her arms at her friend.

"So, what? Are you gonna enter the district tournament?"

"It would seem so," said the student president, not fully confident.

The girl was still unsure about Emerald's decision to sign her up for the tournament, as she felt she was nowhere near the level to compete on a big stage. But he believed that with all the stuff he spent teaching her and training, she was ready to make her grand debut.

The bell rang as that signaled the end of the free period. The two girls began to head inside to get to their next class.

"So, what made you get into Beyblading all of a sudden? And where did you learn how to play?" asked Rainbow as they walked to class.

"I had a tutor," responded Twilight.

Speaking of Emerald, the boy was at his locker examining his bey, Lunor. Hearing the sound of the bell snapped him out of his confusion. While he didn't like to dwell on past losses, the fact that Flash managed to beat him stuck with him.

The boy shut his locker as he started to head to his next class.

"Hello, Emerald."

"Hey, Fluttershy," said the boy as he saw the girl up ahead, and the pair began to walk together.

What do you plan on making when you get to art class?" Fluttershy asked, and Emerald stroked his chin.

"I'm not sure. I'll see what we get there," he responded, "What about you?" Fluttershy's response was the same as Emerald's, so until they arrived, they were still determining what to make.

They made it to class quickly and took their seats, waiting for their teacher to come in and the rest of the class too. The teacher greeted everyone as soon as everyone was present and accounted for.

"Alright, class. You will pick a painting easel and a picture for today's assignment. It can be anything, so get creative as long as it's appropriate for me to display. And when December rolls around, you can either take your art home with you in a portfolio or leave them with me. Now, please get to your easels and show me how creative your minds are!"

Soon, everyone was working on their paintings; some were rushing to get theirs done so they could have some free time to kill, while others were taking the time to create their pictures and ensure they were done just right.

Five minutes in, the teacher's curiosity hits him like bricks. He wandered around the classroom, checking out what kind of pictures they were painting. His first candidate was Fluttershy. She had already painted the head and face of a bunny rabbit with its eyes closed and a smile on its face.

"Ooh, a lovely piece of art. Keep up the good work," the teacher said, startling Fluttershy. "Oopsies, my apologies. I thought you knew I was here."

"It's okay. I, umm... thank you. That's my pet. His name's Angel Bunny. He makes me happy because he likes to cuddle when he's asleep. He's so cute!" Fluttershy cupped her cheek, flashing a cute smile.

"I'm sure he is. Keep up the good work," The teacher walked away and sighed. "That young lady could probably sell her art and make millions... if that was her choice," he said quietly. "Now, let's see what the other students are making."

The teacher moved around the classroom and again checked painting after painting. Some were pictures of memes, as some students put it; others were making video game characters or cartoon characters, but most were either elementary or middle school leveled. Soon, he walked up to Emerald. He hesitated to see what he was making for some strange reason but then shrugged off whatever was bothering him and approached the young man. The teacher blinked in surprise at the picture he was painting. In the 20 minutes that had passed, Emerald was painting a portrait of his bey.

"Well, well, well. Seems we have a blader on our hands? Care to explain why you chose this as your portrait?" asked the teacher.

"Hmm?" Emerald asked, not turning his attention away from his painting. "Well, I can't explain why or how, but something about blading makes me smile."

"Well then, I'll leave you to your painting," said the professor as he walked over to his desk.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, was nearly finished with her masterpiece. She finished painting her sleeping bunny, and now she was beginning to paint his comfy little bed. Fluttershy couldn't stop smiling and squeed with joy, making her friend Emerald jump.

The boy turned to Fluttershy and saw her adorable expression. He smiled and then added something to his painting to make it more perfect. It didn't take long for Fluttershy to become curious about what Emerald was painting, but she couldn't see what he was painting. She knew that whatever he was painting made him really happy, and she felt happy for him.

Soon...

"Alright, class, time's up. Sign your name on your pictures, so I'll know whose painting belongs to who, and then go ahead and form a single-file line."

Everyone followed their art teacher's instructions, lined up at the door, and got ready to leave. Right on cue, the bell soon rang.

"Alrighty, class, take care. I'll see you all tomorrow!" the teacher said. Mostly everyone waved goodbye and walked out of the classroom.

"Emerald, can we talk for a second?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure, what's up?"

The two started chatting as they walked toward their lockers. "I was wondering what kind of picture you were painting earlier. I'm very curious. O-Of course, y-y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Well... I think it'd be better if I showed you. When the time is right, that is," he said.

"Oh, okay then. What's your next class?" Emerald checked his daily schedule to find out.

"It says here my next class is drama class," he said.

"Oh, that's nice. Did you choose to be in that class because you want to be on stage?" she asked.

"Honestly, Celestia, just put it on my schedule. Not much of a stage kind of guy." answered Emerald.

"Oh. Well, I hope things go well for you in drama class. I'll see you later. I've got cooking class to go to. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Fluttershy."

After saying their goodbyes, both headed off to their respective classes. By the end of the day, everyone was finally heading home. Twilight had informed Emerald that she had some student council duties but asked if she could talk to him. The boy asked what it was, but she felt it best to tell him in person. So, while Twilight finished her duties, Emerald decided to head to the roof to get some extra training.

"Three... two... one... Let it rip!" shouted the boy.

He pulled the string on his launcher as his bey shot out. It spun and landed in the stadium with so much force and power as it took off. His bey circled the stadium before landing directly in the center as it spun.

"Nice," said Emerald as he wiped his forehead with a towel around his neck and bent down to grab his bey.

He looked at Lunor as he began to tinker with it, making adjustments when his attention was caught.

"Glad to find you here," said Twilight as she made her presence known.

"Hey, Miss Prez. Tell me, did you punish a troublemaker for something inappropriate on the blackboard?" joked Emerald as he attached his bey to his launcher and prepared to launch.

"Funny. Actually, I'd like to talk to you about something. Do you have a moment?" asked Twilight.

"Fire away," said Emerald as he launched his bey into the stadium.

"So... up until now, I've been the quintessential honor student. I believe I've been handling my position as student council president with ease as well. A-And I don't mean that in a boasting way; that's simply how I've thought about it." said Twilight as she paced back and forth on the other side of the stadium. Emerald was still on a knee as he kept his eyes focused on his bey spinning, but his ears were tuned to what Twilight was saying.

"... But in the end, I was unable to make any impact with other students who weren't in my circle of acquaintances or on the student council. People like you. Turns out there's no use for a rule-abiding honor student when things get rough."

Emerald looked up at Twilight when she said that as he could detect the tone in her voice changing. His bey was spinning in the stadium before it jumped into the air and caught it with one hand without looking. The girl took a deep breath and sat on the bench next to the stadium before continuing.

"Now that I'm a blader, I want to do everything I can to help. All my studying up to this point has kept me quite narrow-minded. I think... I-I will need to broaden my horizons somewhat."

"What brought this on?" asked Emerald as he stood up.

"Well, my Philosophy teacher was going over today's lesson. And he mentioned how people undertake activities to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and each other." explained Twilight, "I guess it got me thinking about my own relationships and how I view the world. I don't really understand the world surrounding me; everything I know comes from books I've read. But... not everything can be understood just by reading. So that's why... If I get out there and experience stuff for myself, then I'll have a better understanding."

"Smart plan, Advisor," chuckled Emerald.

"Advisor...? Hmph, all right," chuckled Twilight, laughing at the joke the boy made as it made her smile, "My first step will be to learn more about other people. But... I struggle with that. There seems to be a disparity between my tastes and those of my peers."

"Well, you're not wrong," responded Emerald.

"I knew it," sighed Twilight, "I don't even know where people like to go for fun... It would be nice to have a group of such concepts. Plus, the student council must be responsible for understanding the student body they serve, right? I don't mean that in a surveillance way; I just want to know them as people. I may be a blader now, but that's no excuse to ignore my presidential duties. Now, back to the topic at hand... Where do people usually go for fun?"

"You ever hear of an arcade?" stated Emerald.

"Ah, I often hear people talking about going to the arcade. To be perfectly honest, I've never been to one myself... Do you think you could take me?" asked Twilight. "I'm not sure if it will broaden my horizons per se, but simply studying won't get me anywhere."

"Consider it a field trip," joked the boy.

"Thank goodness... I think I would have been totally lost in there had I gone by myself," said Twilight, sighing in relief. "Well, let's get going."

Emerald soon packed up his bey and launcher as he grabbed his backpack. The pair then left school and headed to the train station.

"Let it Rip!" shouted Spitfire as she pulled her ripcord, and her bey was sent flying into the stadium.

It landed as it began to collide and pushback with Soarin's bey as the two were going at it.

"Come on, Sky Striker! Show'em how strong you are!" shouted the girl.

Her bey responded to the call as it pushed off of Soarin's bey and began a flurry of attacks attacking Air Volcuris from all directions.

"Stand your ground, Volcuris. Cyclone Spin!" shouted Soarin as he moved his arms to do a full circle rotation.

The bey created an air vortex around it as Strike came in for the attack. Both beys collided as Spitfire managed to break through the defense and landed a hit. The two met as the creatures were shown colliding with each other. The wind from Soarin's bey blew out of the stadium as the teens' clothes fluttered in the wind. The beys landed on the floor next to them as it was a draw.

"Another one?" asked Thunderlane as he was off to the side, with Misty Fly and Fleetfoot as they'd been watching Spitfire go at it for the 25th time.

"What's going on?!" shouted Spitfire as she couldn't seem to burst Soarin's bey. "Why can't I burst anyone?!"

"Seems the battle with Emerald is messing with you," mocked Soarin.

"That kid. No way!" shouted the girl at what her friend said.

"I mean, he beat you rather effectively. And he wiped out everybody else you pitted him against," said Thunderlane.

"Stay out of this, Thunder!" growled Spitfire. "Like I said, the kid got one lucky shot. The next time we battle, it'll be different!"

"All I know is that if he's as good as he showed, he's definitely gonna be a favorite to win the district tournament," said Misty Fly as she got up and pulled out her launcher, preparing to go against Soarin.

"Let's not forget our fearless leader. He's already got a win over him," spoke Fleetfoot.

"You guys talking about me?" said Flash as he arrived.

"Hey, boss," said Thunderlane as he approached his bud and did their guy handshake. "So, I heard your girl has been making waves?"

"Twilight's not my girl. She's just a friend," responded Flash.

"Sure, a girl that you wanna get close to," snickered Soarin as he and Misty Fly pulled their strings on their launchers and fired their beys.

"Okay, fine. But still, I'm glad that she's come around on Beyblading. Nice to see that she's taken an interest in it. Though I am surprised, she signed up for the district tournament."

"Guess she really wants to test her skills," said Spitfire, "Though, I gotta ask, you feeling a bit hurt that she didn't ask you to teach her?"

"What do you mean?" asked Flash.

"I mean, you ain't got any bad blood between you and Emerald. Twilight did go to him instead of you to teach her. I figured she'd trust someone she knew rather than someone who had just transferred. Makes me wonder if he's doing something to her." said Spitfire.

"Twilight can take care of herself. She's not a damsel in distress, plus she's smart to know if Emerald was any threat. And as for Emerald teaching her, I got no problem with that. The dude's chill in my book. Besides, he's good when it comes to blading."

"He almost beat you after going against 100 bladers," snickered Fleetfoot.

"Like I said, he's good. But I'm just better. Besides, shouldn't we be focusing on the tournament." stated Flash as everyone began to pair up and train.

Flash walked to the bench and picked up his launcher and bey. The boy was holding his bey, Leonis, as he recalled the battle with Emerald. The fight between two top predators was a display that many students were still talking about. Some even began to make assumptions that Emerald could be the one to win.

"So, Flash, want to train with me?" asked Thunderlane.

"Sure, bud," said the boy as he attached his bey to his launcher. "I'll be honest, Thunder. I am okay with Emerald teaching Twilight, or she went to him first. But... I can't help but be jealous that she's spending more time with him."

"Well, you still have that "hangout" you two have planned? Plus, if you win the tournament, that'll surely impress her. Who knows, you might get your girl, after all," said Thunderlane with a smile, trying to lift his friend's spirit.

"Thanks, bud," said Flash as they approached one of the spare stadiums and prepared to train.

The train pulled into the station as people got off. Among them were Emerald and Twilight as they walked up the station's stairs and came to the streets. They continued to walk, and they came to their destination moments later. The teens entered as they were welcome to an immediate sound of chatter and video game noises. All of this was normal to Emerald, but to Twilight, it was like discovering that there was life in space.

"So, this is where everyone comes to enjoy themselves... There are more girls here than I expected."

"What, you think girls can't be gamers?" mocked Emerald as Twilight looked away in embarrassment as she twirled a strand of her hair.

"Hey, over there..." called out Twilight, hoping to change the topic.

The girl was looking at the machine as the person at it was holding the gun to the screen as they were firing at the enemies that popped up as their score went up.

"You play by aiming the gun at the screen, right? That actually seems somewhat realistic."

"You can try it, you know," stated Emerald, seeing how Twilight's curiosity was piqued.

"I-If it's okay with you... Do you think you could teach me?" asked the girl to her male companion.

Emerald nodded as the person who was done playing put the gun in the holster. The pair approached the machine as he slotted in a coin and gave one of the blasters to Twilight. The girl felt out of place holding it until Emerald adjusted her stance and positioned her hands on where to hold the thing. Soon the screen flashed with words as the game began.

Emerald took the lead in showing Twilight where the enemies would come from and calling out where to shot. Soon the girl got into the game's rhythm as the pair made some decent progress.

"I did it!" exclaimed Twilight, "Huh? No way! Ahh!"

Just as Twilight was getting engrossed in the game, she failed to see how much health remained on her character as one of the enemies got a strike in as she was shooting the others and down she went. It wasn't long after that Emerald also reached his last bit of health before the game over flashed on the screen. The pair put their guns into the holsters, grabbed their backpacks, and began to head toward the exit of the establishment as it seemed the sun was starting to go down.

"Oh, so this is how it is," stated the student president as they exited the arcade.

"I'll admit. You got some skills when it comes to playing video games. You pick up on it fast." admitted Emerald.

"Thanks. Of course, that was just a game, but... I wonder if I could apply some of the techniques I learned here during battle," wondered Twilight as she had her hand under her chin.

"That might just work. You can find inspiration from almost anything. Even stuff that you generally think wouldn't work." said the boy.

"Perhaps going somewhere I don't normally frequent is what helped me come up with that idea. You know, it may only be a little bit... But I think I'm starting to understand how people pass time. Interesting. I would've never even thought about coming here before."

"That's a new side that I'd never thought I'd see," chuckled the male teen.

"I... Hey, do you think you could help me out again later? I might be able to come up with more ideas on strategies if I can gain increased knowledge outside of my studies." proposed Twilight.

"Sure thing. I look forward to it."

"I need to live up to your expectations now that I've taken up your time. It won't be immediately... but I can be useful."

Emerald gave one last nod as Twilight smiled.

"Well, it's getting late. Let's go home. Just because you helped the student president doesn't mean you'll get special treatment."

"It's fine. I don't need it," chuckled Emerald as he began to walk Twilight back to the train station.

They approached the platform just as the train arrived. They quickly ran to get on as the doors slid behind Twilight, almost catching her sweater as she was directly in front of Emerald's chest. The girl smiled sheepishly before pushing off and standing upright while holding onto one of the overhead hooks.

The train soon pulled into the station as Twilight got off. Emerald remained on as his stop was the next one.

"Thanks again. I really had fun."

"No worries, Miss Prez."

"You don't have to call me that. Just because I'm the student president doesn't mean you have to treat me like I'm some important figure. I get that from everyone else in school; I'd like someone who treats me as just a friend."

"So... does that mean I can skip school tomorrow?" asked Emerald.

"Nice try," stated Twilight.

"Well, it was worth a shot," smiled the boy, "Take care, Twilight. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," stated the girl as she waved and turned.

Emerald watched her until she ran up the stairs and the doors closed. The train kept chugging down the tracks as it left the station, and the boy was welcomed to a vision of blur.

Chapter 9: Trials and Tribulations

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"And so if you combine this reaction with the following chemical," said the teacher as she poured some contents in a test tube into another.

The students watched this as the reaction occurred. They were impressed by what they saw; a few made some sounds while others scribbled down some notes. Almost everybody was paying attention, apart from one person.

Emerald was shown at his desk as he looked out the window. The boy rested his head on his hand while gazing at the trees and clouds rolling by. He wasn't paying attention as Twilight was seated a few meters next to him. The girl was trying to get his attention as their teacher was making their way toward them.

The student council president cleared her throat as Emerald turned to look at her.

"What?" said the boy when another person cleared their throat. The teen then looked up as he saw their teacher standing before him.

"Well, Mr. Emerald. Since you rather look out the window than pay attention in class. Then maybe you can answer this question: What is the average atomic weight of silver?" demanded the teacher.

The other students made faces as they seemed to pity Emerald for being called on.

"Atomic weight?" responded the teen with some hesitation in his voice, "Uh, well, not very much. I mean, it is an atom." chuckled the boy, making a joke as he hoped to get a laugh, but that was far from the case.

The woman called for him to come to the front of the class. Emerald sighed as he got up and followed their teacher before they stood in front of the class and next to the board. Twilight dreaded this as she prayed that Emerald would find mercy from their teacher's wrath.

"Then solve it!" demanded the teacher to the boy as she presented the piece of chalk.

Emerald looked at the chalk before taking a gulp; he then turned to look at the blackboard. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, the boy recalling a memory that he was once taught.

"Alright. So... how do I find the average atomic weight of silver? Well, that would be 106.905 times 0.5200 plus 108.905 times 0.4800..."

As Emerald explained the answer, the other students were shocked that the boy was solving the problem. They thought he'd choke after being called out by their teacher, but he was proving her wrong. Even the teacher was amazed at seeing the boy staring out the window solve the problem she had asked like it was nothing. As for Twilight, she repeated his calculations as she saw he was doing the problem correctly.

"... which would give us 107.9 amu," said Emerald as he circled his answer while turning to look at the flabbergasted teacher.

"Amu?" muttered Twilight at how he said that as he pronounced it wrong.

"I see," said the professor, "I apologize for...."

"Underestimating me?" said Emerald as he finished the woman's train of thought. "Don't make the same mistake twice." The boy tossed the chalk back to her as he left to take his seat.

The other students in the class began to murmur at how Emerald got the last word from their teacher. The boy was glad to show that he wasn't as dumb as people assumed. He sat back in his chair and leaned back before he saw Twilight looking at him with a look.

"What?" said the boy to the girl.

"It's A-M-U. Not amu!" responded Twilight, taking a bit of offense that Emerald didn't pronounce the unit of measure correctly.

"Whatever. I still got the right answer. This science class, not English class." Emerald said as he went back to staring out the window.

Twilight was at her locker as she was getting some books. She closed her locker as she saw Emerald at his. The girl saw the boy as she was looking to speak with him.

"Hey, Twilight!"

The girl turned to see Flash and a few of his friends approach her.

"If you're not busy after school, we wanted you to show up at the gym so that you can train with us in preparation for the district tournament," stated the blue-haired teen.

"Oh," said the bookworm, "Well, see I..."

Twilight turned to see Emerald but saw the boy was no longer at his locker. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen. The girl would ask him if they could have more private training sessions.

"Twilight," said Flash, as the girl hadn't finished her train of thought.

"Uhm, s-sure," said Twilight hesitantly.

"Great," said Flash, putting his arm around the girl and leading her away with the rest of the Wondercolts.

Emerald was currently walking through the hallway. He passed through an open door as he heard some sounds.

"Let it rip!"

The teen walked back as he leaned his head in. Inside were the CMC as they were taking their break time to get some practice in.

"Come on, fight back!" declared Apple Bloom.

"Don't let them push you around!" said Sweetie Belle.

The two girls were giving their beys command as they clashed in the small stadium. Emerald saw this and smiled at the slightly younger teens. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's beys clashed before the former was sent flying. Apple Bloom saw her bey flying by her as she looked to catch it, but it soared over her head. The bey flew but was caught by Emerald with one hand as he looked at it.

"Thanks, mister," said Apple Bloom.

"No worries," stated Emerald as he returned the bey to the girl. "So, you all entering the upcoming tournament?"

"Yup. Maybe one of us might win it," said Scootaloo. "Say... don't I know you from somewhere?"

"I doubt it," said Emerald.

"Thanks again, mister," stated Apple Bloom.

"No problem. Though word of advice might want to change the angle, you hold your launcher. The way you hold it, you're putting too much thrust into your bey that it becomes a bit unstable."

"Really?"

Emerald walked over to the small stadium as he bent down. Apple Bloom appeared next to him and looked over his shoulder. The older teen pointed to a skid mark caused by the farm girl's bey when it made contact with the stadium's surface.

"See that. When you launched your bey, it hit the surface a bit rough. Too much thrust, which meant too much torque was launched. And that expands to your whole bey. Which in turn means you lose power in a head-on collision."

"Wow..." said the three girls.

"Mind if I?" asked Emerald.

Apple Bloom handed the boy her launcher as he angled it as instructed and pulled the ripcord. The bey flew as it hit the surface and took off. It left no mark on its landing point as it spun around the stadium. However, it was spinning with tons of power and momentum.

"See the difference," said the teen.

"Yeah," responded Apple Bloom as Emerald handed her launcher back.

"Hey, can you give me some pointers?" asked Scootaloo.

"And me?" chimed in Sweetie Belle.

Soon all three CMC began to crowd Emerald as the older teen raised his hands. The girls were seemly interested in wanting help from him. While the boy was dealing with his triple threat, Twilight was being led by Flash as he brought the girl to their training place.

"Well, well. Didn't expect to see you here, egghead?"

Twilight cringed at hearing that, as she knew only one person called her that. She turned as there was Rainbow with a smile.

"Hello, Rainbow," said the girl, almost wanting to jump at her and strangle her for calling that.

"So, why's your girl here?" asked Spitfire to Flash.

"She's not my girl," chuckled Flash while rubbing his neck as Twilight looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Not yet... at least," the teen said that last part to himself. "Anyways, since she's entering the district tournament, why not have her train with us?"

"Whatever floats your boat," scoffed Spitfire.

"Okay, let's practice," said Flash.

Everybody began to pair up and approach some stadiums. Twilight felt out of place. Mainly because she'd only been used to training with Emerald in a one-on-one session. Here the girl had multiple partners from which to practice, and she needed help figuring out where to start or who to choose.

"So... Twilight..." said Flash as he cleared his throat. "Want to practice with me? I can give you some pointers."

"Uhm..."

"Sorry, Flash! She's taken!" said Rainbow as she appeared and grabbed her friend's hand to zip her away.

"Oh, well... okay then," sighed the boy, hoping to get some alone time with the girl.

"Rainbow!" said Twilight, finding it rude that her friend didn't let her answer Flash's request.

"Alright, spill it, egghead! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be training with your other boyfriend?" asked Dash with her arms crossed.

"First, I'm not an egghead! I'm well-read!" stated Twilight, not liking that her friend had that nickname for her. "And second, Emerald is not my boyfriend. He's a friend who so happens to be a boy. And third of all... I want to get some more practice in."

"Sure...." said Rainbow, still not believing the student president.

"What?" said Twilight.

"I'll find out what I need to know. Get your bey out!" said Rainbow as she pulled out her launcher.

Twilight took a deep breath as she took off her backpack. The girl set it on the floor and opened it to pull out her launcher. She also pulled out her bey and attached it to her launcher.

"Been wanting to see what you can do, egghead!"

"Don't call me an egghead!"

The two girls bent down before the stadium.

"3... 2... 1... Let it Rip!" shouted both girls.

They pulled on their ripcords as their launchers shot out their beys. They landed in the stadium with a bounce before each took off clockwise. Both girls didn't call out any moves to their beys as they were waiting to see what the other would do. The feeling-out process was shown as they glanced at each other and the stadium.

"Make a move, Twilight. Let's see what you learned from your boyfriend," taunted Rainbow.

The girl growled as she began to give her chromatic-haired friend what she asked for.

"Magia, head to the center!"

The bey heard the girl's command as it took the center of the stadium and spun.

"Please... Falki, attack!" shouted the girl.

Her bey moved and headed toward Twilight's bey, looking to knock it out of its position. The beys collided as Magia took the shot from Falki and held on. Soon it came back around as once again it held strong.

"Blitz Rush!" said Dash.

Her bey turned and skidded before zooming back. It zipped back and forth from all different angles; Twilight's bey was knocked about and wobbling in place as Rainbow's bey let loose a barrage of strikes. The light behind the bey was indeed rainbow-colored.

"Magia put up your defense!" instructed Twilight.

The bey heard the call from the girl as it began to shine. The blades on it began to lock in place as the snap was heard.

"Reflecto!"

Magia began to work its magic as the blades put up a small barrier around itself. Falki banged against its opponent as the barrier held up, stopping its foe from dealing significant damage. Twilight smiled, having activated her defense in time as Rainbow's momentum temporarily halted. Magia then pushed back Falki when it attacked its barrier and pushed the bey back.

"Now, switch to offense," stated the bookworm as her bey spun out from the center toward its foe.

"You gotta catch us first. Falki, Rainbow Burst!" instructed the chromatic-haired girl.

Her bey heard the command as it began to pick up speed, leaving a rainbow-colored trail behind it. Twilight was amazed to see how suddenly the bey gained speed as it was zooming and now doing laps around her bey. Rainbow smirked, seeing the student president was stunned by what her bey could do.

"Time to finish this, Falki!" shouted Rainbow.

Her bey heard the call as its energy gathered up. The creature inside was released as a falcon wearing a Greek helmet; on its wings and tail feathers, it wore rainbow-colored armor. The bird of prey let out a screech as it soared high.

"Sonic... Rainboom!" yelled Rainbow as she clenched her fist before thrusting it forward as the light shined.

The bey then collided with Twilight's bey to send it flying toward the center.

"Magia!" said Twilight.

Her bey shined a purple aura as the magician inside appeared. She twirled her staff and held her book in the other hand as she prepared for the attack.

"Do it!" shouted Rainbow.

Falki, after hitting Twilight's bey toward the center, then rushed forward. It collided with the stadium wall as it shot forward in a red light. It bashed against Twilight's bey before hitting the wall and ricocheting back now in an orange light.

The student president was now seeing Rainbow's finishing move as it was making a seven-strike attack, each having the bey emit a rainbow color. Soon Falki was coming in for the final strike as it collided with Magia. Both beys clashed as what was supposed to be the final blow was currently a stalemate.

"Counter Break!" said Twilight.

Her bey heard the command and tried to use the power of its foe against it, but soon its tip lost its footing on the stadium's surface. That slight slip allowed Falki to overpower it, and a second later, it burst the bey as the pieces lay near the center. Twilight gasped at seeing her bey being defeated.

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Dash.

Twilight merely looked at her bey as she reassembled it. The girl having the match's final moments play out in her head.

"I was off by 5 degrees," stated the bookworm.

"Hey, good job," stated Flash as he saw the battle between the girls. "You almost beat, Rainbow."

"Thanks," said Twilight, not focusing on Flash but moreso on figuring out what advice Emerald might give her to help perfect her Counter Break.

"It wasn't bad. You made me sweat at least," scoffed Dash. "By the way, what the hell were you trying to do?"

"I was trying to launch a Counter Break. It's something that Emerald has his bey do. A way to use your opponent's power against them. But... seems I miscalculated it." stated the girl. "Maybe he'll give me advice."

"Perhaps I can help instead. I don't know much about Counter Breaks, but I can teach you some of my tricks," offered Flash.

"Thanks for the offer, Flash. But I really want to learn this Counter Break," said Twilight as she declined the boy's offer as that seemed to affect him.

Back with the CMC, the girls were with Emerald as the older boy showed the girls some tips on getting a better grip on their launcher which would translate to how they launched.

"Remember, keep it steady. Firm grip on the launcher. Concentrate. Picture the angle at which you want your bey to drop." stated Emerald.

The girls presented their launchers and made the proper adjustment that the teen said. They each took a deep breath before looking at the stadium.

"Remember, the speed at which you pull the string will determine how powerful and fast it will take off," stated the boy. "You girls, ready?"

"Ready!" responded the CMC.

"Alright then... three... two... one. Let it rip!" instructed Emerald.

All three girls put their dominant hand on the ripcord and pulled as hard as possible while keeping their launchers steady. Their beys were launched and flew through the air; they landed in the stadium as they all perfectly landed and took off without leaving any marks. The girls were amazed by what they saw as their beys were now only spinning perfectly but gaining speed.

"Nice work," said Emerald as he smiled at them.

"We did it!" said the girls.

The older boy was then tackled to the floor by the girls as they all hugged his lower half. Emerald sat up as the girls thanked him for helping them out.

"Say, Emerald. Do you think you can teach us some more stuff tomorrow?" asked Apple Bloom as they were all heading to the door.

"Yeah, you teach us all your fancy tricks!" exclaimed Scootaloo.

"I don't know, girls...." said Emerald as he rubbed his neck.

"Please," said Sweetie Belle as she put on a pair of puppy dog eyes.

Emerald tried hard to not look at her directly. It didn't help that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom soon joined in as they also did puppy dog eyes. Seeing the trio with those expressions was enough to tug at his heartstrings. The older teen sighed as he had no choice but to submit to their cuteness.

"Alright," said Emerald.

"Yes!" exclaimed the trio.

"Hey, girls!" said a voice.

The trio turned as they saw Spike, Rumble, and Button Mash all appear after coming out from their latest practice session with each other.

"Hey, boys!" said Sweetie Belle as she waved at them.

"What are you all doing here? I thought you girls would have left," said Rumble.

"We were just receiving some help. Boys, this here is Emerald," said Apple Bloom as she introduced the boys to the older teen.

Rumble and Button Mash waved at Emerald. However, for Spike, he knew the teen directly as the moment of what happened when their first battle came rushing into his mind. In a way, the boy felt his hand clench as he looked to right that wrong. All of Velvet's special training helped the youngest Sparkle sibling as he found himself to be a bit stronger than he once was. Still, that moment Emerald beat him was one of the few things that kept him awake at night. As for Emerald himself, the older teen saw Twilight's little brother as he smirked a bit.

"Hey," said Emerald as he waved back at the younger boys. "Well, girls, it's time you and your friends get going. But we'll practice more tomorrow."

"Does that mean you're also entering the district tournament?" asked Rumble.

"Of course! Have you seen him battle?!" said Scootaloo, emphasizing how well of a blader Emerald was.

"Mind if we join tomorrow?" asked Button Mash.

"Eh," shrugged Emerald, "why not."

Rumble and Button Mash did a high-five while Spike kept looking at Emerald. Soon the CMC and the boys all began to walk, though Spike hung back a bit to talk with Emerald directly.

"What is it, kid?"

"Next time, I'm gonna win. Count on it." declared Spike, pinging his chest with pride and a cheerful smile.

"So you managed to put your bey back together, huh?" Emerald smirked, seeing that the kid found all the pieces of his companion when he scattered them. "Look, kid; I get it. Nobody likes to lose. But this is neither the time nor the place for us to do this. You say you're stronger. Prove it. Prove it at the tournament. We'll see if you actually learned a thing or two."

"Count on it," said Spike as he began to walk away to catch up with his friends. "Oh, by the way, my sister is looking for you. She'll be in the student council room. Third floor, the fourth door from the hall."

"Thanks," said Emerald as he saw Spike turn to go with his friends. Soon he let out one thing, "I did mean one thing after our battle. As good as you are, Spike. There will always be someone better than you."

Emerald turned and walked; he didn't see Spike stop to look at the older teen walking away. Emerald had a smirk on his face as he headed toward where Twilight was waiting for him. The teen was curious as to what the student president would want. The CMC and his friends called out to Spike as he turned and quickly ran to catch up with them.

Chapter 10: The Calm before the Storm

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After his small meeting with Spike, Emerald made his way to the student council room. The boy opened the door and entered as she saw the student president on her phone, paying very close attention to it.

"What's up, prez?" said Emerald, making himself known.

"Oh, Emerald, thank goodness you're here. I need you to look at something."

The teens sat on the couch in the student council room as Twilight watched Emerald replay her battle with Rainbow. The bookworm wanted to get some advice from her friend about the Counter Break that she tried to pull off to fend off Rainbow's attack.

"Falki, Sonic... Rainboom!" instructed the chromatic-haired girl.

"Counter Break!" said Twilight.

"Wow. Now that's power. She's got a powerful bey." said Emerald as he was amazed by Rainbow.

"Yeah, yeah, she's awesome. Join the club," scoffed Twilight, as she knew her friend would be impressed by Rainbow. "I want to talk about the Counter Break that I tried. I think I was off by a few degrees."

"Well, it moreso had to do with the tip of your bey. You couldn't get a proper footing from the angle at which Rainbow attacked you. And so all the pressure caused you to slide a bit, and as a result, it built up too much to push back, and boom." said the boy.

"I knew it!" stated Twilight as she turned and pouted.

"Aw, come on, Twilight. Don't beat yourself up. You're still learning how to play the game. Not everyone can get all the concepts of Beyblading from just one match."

"I know that, but... what if that was the tournament? I couldn't live with myself if I knew I could survive an opponent's attack but failed to stop it."

"You put too much on yourself. Come on, don't you already have alot since you're Ms. A+ Student and Council President."

"What's wrong with straight A's?!" said Twilight as she took offense to what her friend was saying.

"Only a nerd is worried about that," smiled the boy.

"Don't call me that!" stated Twilight as she was on her hands and knees and got in Emerald's face.

The boy kept his smile as he started to laugh. Twilight was shocked to see the teen go from taunting her to laughing.

"You're laughing at me?!"

"Yes, 'cause you're no longer thinking about your match."

Twilight went to say something but stopped. True to what Emerald said, she did forget how much the failure upset her. She didn't know what impressed her more: the boy managed to get her to forget her loss, or he was annoying.

"You feel better?" asked Emerald.

"Y-Yeah," said Twilight as she painfully admitted.

"Come on! Let's go," said the boy as he picked up his backpack.

Twilight got up and grabbed her backpack as she followed the boy. The pair left school as they were on the training heading toward Emerald's place. After a few stops, they arrived at the station and began to head up the stairs. It wasn't long before they arrived as the boy opened the door for the girl and let her in.

They made it to the garage as Emerald stood before the practice stadium.

"Ready?" said the boy as he attached his bey to his launcher.

"Ready," stated Twilight bending down to set her bag on the floor and pull out her stuff.

"Three... two... one... Let it Rip!" shouted the teens as they bent down to the stadium and pulled the string on their launchers with intense power.

After a few training rounds, Twilight was slumped in a chair as the girl was exhausted.

"I didn't realize that I could experience pain in places I didn't even know," stated the bookworm as she put her head on the table.

"Just don't drool on my table!" said Emerald as he was cooking something in the kitchen.

Twilight's nose began to sniff the wonderful and delicious scent. The girl picked her head up and saw the boy as there was a bit of steam in front of his face.

"What are you making?"

"Pasta. Hope you like it," said Emerald.

The boy then brought out two plates full of food and set one down in front of the girl. The scent was more intoxicating as she saw the food presented before her. Her mouth was starting to water just by the presentation of her plate.

"Here you go," said Emerald as he served Twilight a cup.

"I didn't know you could cook," said the girl as she picked up a fork and ate.

"Yeah, well, I learned from my grandmother. Plus, it helps when you're living alone," stated the boy as he sat down across from the girl. "So... what's your critique?"

"Amazing," said Twilight as she was munching a mouthful. "The seasoning well compliments the succulent meats and seafood. The al dente noodles are perfectly cooked, and the rich, flavorful sauce is a burst of savory goodness in every bite."

"I'll take that," chuckled Emerald as he somehow understood Twilight's over-detailed response.

"So, Emerald, you mentioned your family but never told me about them?"

"Well..." stated the boy as he spun his fork while taking a moment to think. "My parents are historians. They travel the world, looking at and exploring ancient history stuff."

"That's awesome."

"More like boring," stated Emerald as Twilight made a face. "But in your eyes, reading and studying is probably your dream heaven."

"Of course! Reading is not boring, and studying is even further from it! It's some of the most fun!" said the student president.

"Nerd," stated the boy as it caused him to chuckle a bit. He'd hate to admit it, but seeing Twilight's obsession with knowledge and reading was rather... cute. Adorkable, he'd even go further.

"What about your grandmother?"

"My grandma is a sweet person. She makes some of the best cookies. She used to be a writer."

"My mom is a writer. She's written tons of books in the past," responded Twilight.

"Heh, how about that? Any ones that I would know?" asked Emerald.

"There's a book that she's written about a boy and a girl going on this grand adventure. The girl needs to uncover a power that will help save her kingdom, and she's assigned a protector to watch over her, despite her resentment. Along the way, they meet new friends and have feelings for each other. Ultimately, they find the power needed to fight the evil as the girl combats it and manages to save her home."

"Sounds like an intriguing story. I'll have to check it out," stated the boy as he sipped.

"It's a good, compelling story. My mom has a wild imagination. I guess... my love of reading came from her." said Twilight as she finished her plate of pasta.

The girl looked at her friend as Emerald chuckled. The bookworm had some sauce around her mouth. Twilight saw Emerald laughing as it got her to raise an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" asked the girl.

"You uh, got little something," gestured Emerald to his mouth.

Twilight put her fingers to her mouth and felt the sauce as she gasped. The girl turned red at the embarrassment and raised her hand to wipe her mouth.

"Did I get it?" asked the student president.

"Here," said Emerald as he got up and leaned over.

The boy grabbed a napkin and wiped some of the remaining sauce Twilight missed. The girl could feel the boy's fingers as they touched her skin. The touch of the boy and how close he was to her face got her to heat up a bit as some of the red from before returned, but this time it wasn't from being embarrassed. With the small strokes he was doing to wipe the remaining sauce off of her, Twilight could feel the muscles of the boy's hand. She thought them to be rough from all his blading, but they were soft and strong.

"There we go," said Emerald as he finished cleaning off Twilight.

The girl didn't realize he finished. She felt slightly embarrassed as she got the red from her cheeks to go away to avoid him getting ideas or asking questions.

"Thanks," said the girl.

"Don't mention it. So, want to practice some more?"

Before Twilight could say yes, a beep went off. The girl reached into her pocket as her phone went off; she looked at her contact as it was her mother attempting to call where her daughter was.

"Hey, Mom," chuckled Twilight nervously, knowing her mother was wondering where she was. "Y-Yeah, I'm on my way. Sorry, I... got distracted. But I'm heading home now! Love you."

The girl ended the call as she looked at Emerald.

"Gotta head home?"

"Yeah, my mom was worried. It's past when I told her I would leave the council meeting."

"Sorry," apologized Emerald.

"No, don't be. It's my fault for asking for help when I told her I'd be home by a certain time. Thanks for dinner; it was lovely."

"Anytime, Ms. Prez," smiled Emerald at the bookworm as she returned the gesture.

The girl then got up and was about to pick up her plate.

"Don't worry, I got it. You go get your stuff ready," said Emerald as he grabbed Twilight's plate and headed to the kitchen sink.

The boy put the dishes into the sink as he turned to see Twilight slipping on her shoes and backpack. The pair approached the door as he opened it, allowing the girl to walk out.

"Thanks for welcoming me into your home."

"No problem. Are you sure you're okay walking by yourself? I can walk you home if you need me." said Emerald.

"I'm good. Thanks for everything. I'll see you tomorrow." said Twilight.

"Take care."

The girl gave a wave as Emerald did the same. He watched her until she was out of sight before returning home. The boy entered his living room as he sat on the couch, and sighed.

Twilight managed to make it home as she came barreling through the door and locking it behind her. She turned to see her mother standing there with her arms crossed.

"You're late!"

"Sorry, Mom. I was... at a friend's house."

"You know the rules, sweetie. If you're gonna be late, you call me!"

"I know, I just lost track of time, is all. Next time I'm running late, I'll call. I promise." stated Twilight.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," said Velvet to her daughter as she left for the kitchen. "So, where were you?" Velvet said with a much chirper tone while stirring a pot.

"I was at a friend's house," answered Twilight, taking off her shoes and leaning over the counter.

"Let me guess, that boy's?" asked Velvet.

"His name is Emerald, Mom. I wanted to talk to him about the upcoming Beyblade tournament."

"I see. So... when are you gonna bring him over?"

"MOM!" shouted Twilight as she knew what her mother was insinuating with that question. Velvet had a smug smile as she knew that would get a reaction out of her daughter. "He's just a friend."

"Yet you hang out with him quite a lot as of late."

"That's because the district tournament is almost here. So I want to get as many training sessions and pointers ahead of it. One slip-up, one mistake, and... it'll be over in a flash." said Twilight.

"Sweetie, just last week, you weren't even interested in the game your brothers love. Now, you're worried about not even qualifying," stated Velvet with a playful smile, the woman knowing what reaction her daughter had without looking as Twilight rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. "Seems this boy has more influence on you than you'd like to admit. Anyways, I left you a plate."

"Thanks, Mom. But I already had dinner at Emerald's place."

"Oh, you had dinner with him?" stated Velvet, her smug smile growing even bigger.

"It's not what you think!" stated Twilight as she pouted and began heading toward her room to avoid teasing her mother.

"She's growing up so fast," stated Velvet.

The rest of the night, Twilight watched the videos recorded of her practice sessions with Emerald. And speaking of the boy, he was currently doing his own work. The teen was sweating at a machine and pulling on the attached string. Emerald was pulling as hard as he could as the power of his pull was registered on the meter. It retracted as the boy grabbed it again and pulled back on it. Each time he pulled on the machine, it registered his strength power and tracked it down on the spreadsheet while calculating the boy's average power.

In Emerald's mind, he was picturing himself when he launched and his bey resonating. Another image that crossed his mind was that of Flash and his bey and how they beat the boy during their first encounter. Granted, he'd gone through a gauntlet of bladers and was winded when he took Flash on, but he almost beat him. It might have been a different story if he'd been at full power.

"Gotta focus," said Emerald, grabbing the handle and taking a deep breath. "Let it Rip!"

Days rolled by as the bladers from Canterlot High that registered for the tournament were putting in extra hours of practice sessions. Twilight kept coming later than usual as she often went to Emerald's place after school when she didn't have student council stuff. Soon the day for the tournament was upon them.

"Are you ready, boys and girls?!" said the MC as he addressed the huge crowd of bladers that had gathered before him. "The district tournament is moments away from beginning!"

"Hey, Ms. Prez," said Emerald as he appeared by the girl's side.

"Hey, Emerald."

"Nervous?"

"Is it that obvious?" asked Twilight, smiling sheepishly.

"With you. Definitely," stated the boy as Twilight sweated even more and began to play with her hair.

"It's just... what if I don't do good. Or worst, I don't even pass the prequalifier rounds. All that work and time you spent with me..."

"Twilight, come on! Get your head on straight!" stated Emerald as he grabbed the girl's shoulder to look her dead in the eyes. "You got nothing to worry about. You'll pass. I know you will."

"You're sure?"

"I stake my life on it," smiled the boy as that got the bookworm to smile. It was strange, but Emerald smiled at her; it was like he was taking all of her anxieties and worries away with his genuine smile.

Their attention was brought back to the MC as he began to speak.

"Now, the first round of this prequalifier will be determined by brute strength! In other words, they'll have to show off their launch power if they wanna win. Check these out!"

The MC directed to what was behind him as the lights revealed some machines. In fact, the machines were more advanced devices than the one that Emerald used to test his arm power. Everybody gasped and was confused by what they saw as chatter began to form.

"No way," said Flash.

"You got to be kidding," stated Rainbow.

"So, we're not doing beybattles?" said Emerald as he thought that was how these tournaments worked based on what he had read up about.

He and everybody else was stunned because they all thought the same thing.

"Alright, please direct your attention to the display above the evaluation machine," said the MC as he approached it and stood before a handle. "You have to pull this string, and if you pull it with everything you've got..." He pulled the string as the machine registered his power. The bar ticked up as it stopped just two bars below a blue line.

"Really?" gasped the MC to himself, thinking he put more than enough power into his pull to at least get above the line, but according to the machine, he was rather weak in his pull. He quickly regained his focus to turn around and address the crowd.

"The bar will light up a different color depending on the power you put into your mighty launch. If you can get past the blue line, you qualify. Everyone line up in front of the evaluation machines and stand by."

A group of bladers all marched to the stage as they got on and approached a machine. They each put their hand on the string.

"Start up the machines now!" shouted the MC as he signaled them to pull.

The group pulled as the machines registered their power as the bars lit up. However, to everyone's surprise, no one from that group even passed the blue line.

"I can't believe my eyes! Not a single challenger in the first group of Bladers qualified for the next round. Will anyone be able to overcome this hurdle?" said the MC as the kids all groaned at failing before leaving the stage.

"So I just gotta pull this?" scoffed Rainbow as she approached the machine. "Piece of cake. Let it Rip!"

The girl pulled the string as hard as she could. The machine registered her pull and power as the bar lit up; it made it past the blue line and stopped at just three bars from reaching the max.

"Wow! The very first Blader to qualify has emerged!" said the MC as Rainbow's picture appeared on the big screen for all to see.

"Heh! Of course!" exclaimed Rainbow as her ego got a huge boost being the first to qualify.

Soon the rest of the qualifications began to take place. Pull after pull occurred as the results were tallied. For a while, most of the bladers from Canterlot High managed to pass the blue line and qualify, but no one came close to matching the score set by Rainbow. The only one to come close to Rainbow was Spitfire as she managed to tie with the chromatic-haired girl.

"Well, doesn't look like anyone's got what it takes to top my score," said Rainbow, boasting how none of her teammates could beat her.

"Okay, focus," said Twilight as she got on the stage and approached the machine. The girl began to put her hand out as it was shaking. She grabbed the string as the nervousness could be seen on the bookworm's face.

Focus! You got this!

The student president turned her head to see the boy as the smile returned to his face. She noticed that, and her nervousness soon faded away. The bookworm took a deep breath before recollecting herself.

"Rip!" shouted Twilight.

The girl pulled the string as the machine registered her power. The bar began to slowly light up as Twilight looked at it, the girl feeling like every bar that went up was the crucial decision between life and death. Tick by tick, soon it stopped. The meter had calculated Twilight's power as the girl began to open her eyes. There on the meter was her final result. The girl didn't pass Rainbow's score but got decently far past the blue lion.

The bookworm gasped before a smile formed on her face. She turned to look at Emerald as he gave a thumbs up. The girl gave an excited squeal as she got off the stage. Up next on the stage was Flash as he approached the machine. The boy was being cheered on by his teammates as he pulled the string. The machine registered his score as the bar began to tick up. His meter went up as he beat Rainbow's score and almost reached the max as he was just two levels away. His picture replaced Rainbow's as a new record was set.

"Amazing, Cap!" shouted Fleetfoot.

"Nice one, Flash!" stated Soarin.

"But how did he..." said Rainbow as she was astonished that Flash beat her score and knocked her off.

"Looks like we have a new recorder holder. Canterlot High's beyblade club captain, Flash Sentry, has just taken the lead!" said the MC.

"Let it Rip!"

The string was pulled as the machine registered the power. The bar began to light up as, tick by tick, it filled up. Soon the meter stopped as it beat Flash's score he had just set and nearly filled the entire meter as he was just one tick away from the max.

"Hold the phone! Newcomer Emerald has nabbed the top spot in his first official tournament! If he was trying to make a strong impression, I'd say he's succeeded!"

Everyone gasped when they saw Flash's image replaced with Emerald. The boy looked up at his photo as he smiled. He turned to Twilight clapping, knowing her friend just made a statement. Emerald then looked over to the rest of the Wonderbolts as it was a mix of expressions. Soarin and Thunderlane were smiling, knowing he got a high score; Fleetfoot, Misty Fly, Spitfire, and Rainbow glared at the boy for upstaging them. And Flash, he kept a defiant look at the boy he beat.

He then got off the stage as the next round of bladers looked to qualify. Among them was Spike as he looked at the photo of Emerald. Button Mash, Rumble, and the rest of the CMC managed to qualify, as he was the only one in their group yet. The younger sibling of Twilight looked at Emerald as he glared.

"Emerald... strong or not, I'm gonna surpass you," muttered Spike as he grabbed the string. "Let it Rip!"

The boy pulled the string as the machine registered his power. The bar went up tick by tick as Spike's score stopped just at the line. He was shocked at what he saw, thinking he had put more power into his pull. Nevertheless, Spike managed to just barely qualify.

"Nice going, Spike!" said Rumble as he patted his buddy's back.

"Yeah, you made it," said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, but barely," said the boy.

"So, what, we all got the same score," said Scootaloo.

"Except Button Mash!" said Spike as all five looked at their friend.

"What?" said Button Mash as he didn't like that his five friends were looking at him just because they barely made it to the line, and he only had one bar ahead of them.

"How did you get one higher than all of us?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Those video games I play aren't just for me button-mashing," stated the boy.

"And there you have it, folks. The qualifiers have officially wrapped up. And so, for those that have passed, congratulations! Starting tomorrow, the official tournament will begin! Now... who will claim the top blader spot!"

"ME!" shouted everybody from Rainbow to Spike as shot by shot, the Wondercolts, the CMC, and the boys all showed they were raring to go.

The final shots were of Flash, Twilight, and Emerald. Each had a different expression. For Flash, he clenched his fist as he was looking to prove his might and worth. Seeing Emerald natch the top spot from him added more motivation to the teen. Twilight was still nervous, but the hard part would begin now that she had passed. And Emerald... the boy had one thing on his mind. Making a statement in his first-ever tournament and showing everybody what he and Lunor could do.

With that... the district Beyblade tournament had officially begun.

Chapter 11: First Round Victories

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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.

Chapter 12: Hanging Out

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Twilight Velvet was up and about as she was humming to herself. The mother of three was in the kitchen as she continued singing to herself. Today was special for the woman. Because it was the signing of her latest book that she released, Velvet decided to take some time off to refresh herself and her mind after her latest hit-seller ended on a cliffhanger. After nearly two years of waiting, she came up with the sequel to her book.

The woman finished serving the plate she was holding and brought her fingers to her mouth. A loud whistle was heard as it rang through the house.

"Kids! Breakfast is ready!" shouted Velvet.

"Coming, Mom!" shouted Spike as the boy fell out of his room, trying to open his door quickly.

The boy struggled before going to the bathroom, hoping to get there before Twilight. Spike knew his older sister had a routine when it came to the bathroom as he hoped for once, he could get there before her, but that was almost impossible given how organized and timely his elder sibling was. To his surprise, Twilight wasn't inside when he approached the bathroom. Spike didn't question it; he was excited that he got dibs first.

As for Twilight, the girl wasn't there because she'd been up for quite a while. A little before her mother went downstairs to make breakfast, the bookworm had awoken and spent a good portion lulling over what would happen. The day prior, she'd asked Emerald if he wanted to go to the mall with her, given it was her mother's book signing. He agreed, and she left it at that. But once her mother found out, Velvet had Twilight ask the boy if he would like to come for breakfast before heading to the mall.

Twilight was hesitant about asking Emerald that, mostly because it would mean he would meet her parents. Thankfully, her father had been called to work to lessen some of Twilight's anxiety, but it quickly shot up once she figured out it would be just her mother. And knowing her mother was a woman who loved romantic novels, as indicated by almost all of her books. She had no doubt that her mother would comment about how he would be a fine catch for Twilight and try to get the pair together.

In the end, Twilight sends a message to her friend to see if he wants breakfast at her house. She hoped he would say no, but she accepted her offer instead. Twilight was pacing back and forth in her room that she'd leave a mark on her floor if she paced any harder.

"Okay, Twilight. Okay. Take a deep breath." said the teen as she tried to calm her nerves. "It's just breakfast. It's not like you asked Emerald to dinner to meet your parents. Just breakfast."

"Twilight!" yelled Velvet.

"Coming, Mom!" said the girl as she quickly straightened out her skirt of ruffles before exiting her room and descending the stairs.

"There you are! Your friend is about to arrive, and you're not here to greet him!" said Velvet to her daughter. "Not a great idea to upstage a date."

"It's not what you think, Mom. Emerald is merely a friend. And that's final!" said the bookworm, trying to ignore her mother and approaching the dinner table as Spike was already stuffing his face full of waffles.

"Spike! Chew your food!" said Velvet as she smacked her spatula on her son's head.

"Yes, ma'am," responded the boy as he began to eat properly.

Twilight approached her seat and twirled her fork a bit. Just then, the doorbell to their house rang.

"Ooh, that must be him," stated Velvet to her daughter with a big smile.

The girl sighed as she swallowed a gulp. Twilight pushed back so she could get up and approached the door. Flustered, she paused to brush the wrinkles from her dress and shared a final glance with her mother. Slowly opening the door, the teen inhaled sharply as she met a bright hazel gaze.

Emerald had awoken at the crack of dawn as the boy wanted to get some training in before heading to Twilight's house. He was surprised to hear that she had asked him to come to her place for breakfast before they headed to her mother's book signing at the mall, but he figured it would be rude to decline a generous invitation. So he accepted the girl's offer, not knowing what he set off between her and her mother.

After going on his morning jog and doing some situps, Emerald approached the stadium in his workshop and was training with his Bey.

"Let it... Rip!" shouted the teen.

He pulled the string on his launcher as his partner flew through the air. It landed in the stadium as it took off the second its tip landed. The Bey was spinning and keeping momentum as it did several laps around the arena. Lunor was responding to Emerald's aura as the Bey tapped into his owner's feelings. It gained even more speed as it moved in the blink of an eye; the Bey created a barrier as it zoomed up the side of the arena and was caught by Emerald.

The wind died down as the teen looked at his hand. His Bey seemed to shine as it looked like Emerald was communicating with his partner. Soon he looked over at the worktable as a clock showed the time.

"Well, time to head over to Twilight's place. Don't want to stand her up," stated the boy.

He soon arrived after freshening up and heading toward the girl's home. Emerald took in Twilight's home and neighborhood as he noticed how clean and nice it was. The home itself was a decent-sized house with a garage connected to it, along with a backyard. Emerald could deduce that Twilight's parents had good-paying jobs to afford something like this. The teen soon stopped his social-economic analysis as he approached the door.

With a shoosh, the door opened, as the boy was now looking into a set of moderate violet eyes. The two teens stood there as they looked at each other. Emerald dumbly blinked in response, sheepishly scratching his head while he glanced over Twilight's figure.

"Hey," said the boy.

"Hey," responded the girl, also sheepishly.

"Um… you look nice," Emerald murmured after a brief duration.

Twilight bit down on her lip, fidgeting until she recollected her nerve and straightened her posture. "And you... look nice yourself."

The girl tried her best to compliment her friend.

"Sweetie!" called out Velvet in a song-like tone.

"Come in, quickly," said Twilight as she gestured for the boy to follow her and not keep her mother waiting with her thoughts.

Emerald followed the student president as he came to a table filled with tons of breakfast foods. The teen looked about as he saw Spike and a woman coming out of the kitchen. Emerald saw the woman and, at first, glance, could already tell where Twilight got her looks from as she seemed to be an older version of her daughter. Though, despite her age, he couldn't help but admit the woman looked beautiful; no doubt, her husband was a lucky man to snag someone like her.

"Why, hello there. You must be that Emerald boy that my daughter talks about."

"MOM!" yelled Twilight as Velvet's smile grew even bigger.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sparkle."

"Please, just call me Velvet. No need to be so formal." said the woman as she approached the table and sat down. "You're just in time for breakfast, have a seat."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Emerald as he accepted Velvet's offer and took a seat.

Spike noticed Emerald as the older boy took a seat a few meters from his seat. The younger teen looked at his older sister's friend as he still seemed to be reminded of the words he said to him when they first battled. He ate his food silently and didn't want to upset his sister or mother.

"So... you're the one my daughter spends most of her time with?" smiled Velvet, with her hands under her chin.

"MOM!" yelled Twilight, knowing what she was doing.

"I'm not sure if that's an accurate statement. In terms of Beyblading, I guess I am," said Emerald, seemingly to defuse Velvet's hidden meaning without knowing.

"Funny. At first, my daughter despised the idea of Beyblading. Saying it was a childish game."

"Actually, I said it suits and tailors more toward children than other people," said Twilight, trying to save face in front of her mother and mentor.

"But then she meets you, and suddenly, she's interested. Has her own Bey and has made it past the first round of the district tournament. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've had quite an effect on her." smiled Velvet.

"Thanks?" said the boy, unsure if Twilight's mother was complimenting him.

The girl slumped in her chair, wishing she could hide from all her mother was trying to do.

"Alright, I'm done. Thanks, Mom!" said Spike as he hopped off his seat and quickly left out the door.

"Spike!" shouted Velvet, as he seemed to have forgotten to put his plate in the sink. She tried to call for him to return, but the boy was long gone. "I swear, he's gonna be in for an earful when he returns."

The group soon finished their breakfast as they had an hour to reach the mall. As Velvet gathered the dishes to put in the sink, Emerald offered assistance and helped Twilight's mother by taking the plates to the kitchen and immediately washing them.

"I appreciate the help, Emerald. If only I could get Spike to it from time to time," stated the woman, as she knew how Spike hated to do his chores, especially the dishes.

"It's no trouble at all, Ms. Velvet. I'm used to washing dishes," confessed the teen.

"Still, to think that you're living alone in your place. Doesn't it ever get lonely?" asked the woman.

"I don't really think about it much. My grandmother checks up on me occasionally since my parents are away. Plus, I've been able to take care of myself for quite a while. The way I see it, my parents are happy that I can fend for myself and don't need to worry about them." stated Emerald as he continued to wash the dishes.

"You're such a mature young man. Any girl would be lucky to have you. So... any eyes for someone?" asked Velvet, trying to get some gossip.

"No. And to be honest, I'm interested in pursuing a relationship. My passion is for Beyblading. And my focus is on winning the tournament." confessed Emerald.

"Yes, well... nothing everything is about Beyblading. Word of advice, try to enjoy other aspects of life." said the woman before looking at the grandfather clock in the living room. "Twilight, come dry these dishes. I need to go change."

The bookworm came down the stairs as Velvet went to her room to prepare for her book signing. She approached Emerald, who was washing the dishes, as she grabbed some on a stack and began drying them with a towel.

"Hope my mother wasn't bothering you too much," said the girl.

"Nah. She was just concerned since I live alone," the boy responded. "I see you inherited her smarts and beauty and her concerning nature."

Twilight's cheeks went slightly pink at hearing what the boy said, unaware of what he said and how it made the girl feel. She quickly put that thought out of her mind and continued to dry the dishes while Emerald continued to wash.

"So, what's going on with you?" asked Emerald.

"What do you mean?" retorted Twilight, having a slightly nervous chuckle.

"You seem, I don't know, distracted. Wanna talk about it?"

"Not today. It's my mother's big day."

"Alright."

Emerald chose not to press the matter further and honored Twilight's request. The boy then smirked as he swung his arm to splash water in the girl's face. Her friend's actions took aback Twilight before she reached into the other half of the sink and splashed some water on his face. The two chuckled before they began to have a little splash fight.

Velvet was watching the pair having their little fun as a smile came on her face. While Twilight might have just told her that she and Emerald were just friends, she couldn't help but feel there was something more between the two.

Soon all three began to get ready to head out. Velvet started the car as both Emerald and Twilight got in the backseat. It wasn't long before they arrived at their destination as people left the massive building. They entered the place and began to head toward the mall section, where Velvet would be signing and giving away her latest book. They soon found it as a huge line was forming that wrapped around the floor level she would be on.

"Woah," said Emerald as he was surprised by how many people were fans of Twilight's mother and her writing.

"Now then, kids. Go ahead and have fun. I'll be here if you need anything. Twilight, make sure you're back here by 5 pm so we can leave. Not a minute later." instructed the woman to her daughter.

"Yes, Mom," said the girl to her mother.

She then turned to Emerald as she smiled before reaching into her purse and pulled out some cash. The woman handed the money to the boy, surprised by the weight and amount he received from the woman.

"Here you go. Feel free to spend it on her and get some lunch," said Velvet as she winked at Emerald before walking toward the desk.

Some people in line noticed Velvet approaching the table, and they all made noises. The woman waved to her fans and sat down as some assistants began to get things settled in to begin the signing. From afar, Twilight and Emerald watched the first few books the girl's mother signed.

"Your mother is really talented."

"Yeah."

"Like you."

After hearing Emerald say that, Twilight turned her head and played with a strand of her hair. She didn't know why, but hearing the boy say that made her feel... something. The boy then began to walk away as Twilight followed him.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Emerald as he looked about the many shops and stores.

The two teens then began to traverse the megamall. The first stop that the pair made was a bookstore, as it caught Twilight's eye. It was no shock to Emerald as he knew where Twilight's love for books came from. It was a very big store, with dark green carpeting and white walls with green trim. It was all one large room with what looked like hundreds of bookshelves in it. They'd say they were in a library if one didn't know any better. Twilight quickly found herself in the adventure section, skimming through the stacks in search of her book.

Emerald went over toward the magazine section. Eventually, he got bored and went to where Twilight was and found the girl going through her tenth book. He was amazed that the student council president could read in that allotted time but knew how smart she was. After a bit, the pair approached the counter and soon exited with Twilight carrying a rather large bag filled with books.

"Wow, that's a lot of books," said the teen staring at the filled-up bag.

"Yeah, there was a sale in the classics section. Buy one get another half off. Plus, I got three A.K. Yearling books, including the new Daring Do." Twilight said as she gave a nervous chuckle.

Soon a growl was heard as Emerald looked at his stomach.

"Don't mean to be rude. But can we get something to eat? I'm starving."

The food court was on the second floor. Instead of waiting for an elevator, the duo ran up a spiral staircase. Emerald quickly ran up the stairs, only to hear a loud thud. He turned around to see Twilight on the floor by the staircase. Twilight, who was trying her best to keep up with the boy, tripped on the last step, which caused the contents of her bag to spill onto the floor. The teen glided over to his friend and helped her up.

"Woah, that sounded like it hurt. Are you okay?" asked the boy in a concerned voice as he helped Twilight to her feet.

"Yeah, aside from a little bruise, I'm fine," said Twilight as she rubbed her elbow. Emerald quickly knelt beside her and returned all the fallen books to the messenger bag. He picked it up to realize it was very heavy.

"Wow, these books are heavy," said the boy.

"Yeah, I think I may have gone a bit overboard." said a slightly embarrassed Twilight, who extended her arm to grab the bag.

Before Twilight could get it, Emerald quickly slung the bag over his shoulder and flashed her a grin. "Don't worry, Twilight, I'll carry these books for ya."

"Um..a-are you sure? They're really heavy." said a now blushing Twilight.

"Of course! They're not that heavy," said the boy trying to sound tough. "Plus, the restaurant is right over there. It's no problem."

"Thanks, Emerald."

"Don't mention it!"

The place the pair went to was one of those sports/bar-type restaurants with sports memorabilia and photos of sports teams lining the walls. Flat-screen T.V.s bolted to the walls showed different soccer, football, and basketball games. There were a few people there, but it wasn't busy yet. The two were quickly seated in a booth by the entrance.

"I never knew this place existed," said Emerald as he looked around and admired the restaurant's memorabilia around the restaurant.

"Rainbow Dash comes here all the time!" explained Twilight, knowing how her friend and the people she hung out with consider this their hangout.

A waiter came over as he took the teen's orders. Once that was taken care of, Emerald began to look around the place until the girl got his attention.

"So, how are you enjoying this, uhm, hangout?" asked Twilight as she smiled nervously.

"It's okay," responded Emerald as he leaned back.

"I'm sorry about my mo-"

"It's fine, Ms. Prez. No big deal."

Twilight was glad that Emerald wasn't bothered by how her mother acted.

"So, about the next round? I'm glad I made it, but I'm still nervous."

"Don't be. If you made it this far, then the rest is a piece of cake," said Emerald as he sipped his water casually.

"What's your secret? How do you remain so calm?" wondered Twilight.

"I'm just built differently," responded the boy. "But in all seriousness, I've been doing this for so long that it has become second nature. It's almost like a sixth sense where I don't need to think too much to apply it."

"Wish I had that," muttered Twilight.

Soon their food arrived, and they began to eat. After they paid, they went to a few more stores in the mall and bought a few different things here and there. They passed by Twilight's mother as she was still signing her books; she noticed the pair off in the distance and waved at them.

"Sweetie! Are you having fun with Emerald?!"

"Yes, Mom!" responded Twilight to her mother.

"Okay! I'll be here if you two kids need anything! Go on and enjoy your date!"

Twilight grumbled before walking off and pouted as Emerald just shrugged. The pair continued to explore as they passed more shops. The boy used the money given to him by Twilight's mother as he kept on paying for anything that she wanted. As they walked by a window, Emerald stopped and looked into it. The boy saw something that caught his eye as he entered the store. Twilight was so busy looking at the many windows that she didn't notice that Emerald wasn't following her. When she asked for the boy's opinion, she didn't get a response and turned to see he was gone.

"Emerald? Emerald?"

Twilight was calling out to her friend, wanting to know where he disappeared. The girl was looking about as many people passed her. She soon felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, Twilight!"

"Ahh!" said the girl, jumping at the sudden voice.

The teen looked behind to see Emerald standing behind her.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" expressed the bookworm.

"I've been standing here for two minutes," responded Emerald as Twilight blinked before smiling nervously. "Anyways, I saw something and figured you might like it. Here you go." The boy dug into his small bag and pulled out a box.

The girl took the object from her friend as she took the top off. Inside wasn't anything fancy, but a simple necklace. Twilight took the thing out and lifted it as she got a good look.

"You got this... for me?" said the girl.

"Figured it'd make a nice gift," stated Emerald. "So... you like it?"

"It's... nice."

"Nice?"

"Y-Yeah, n-nice."

Twilight was at a loss for words. She couldn't quite say what she wanted as she continued to eye the necklace her friend gave her.

"Look, if you don't like it, I'll just return-"

"No!" Twilight blurted out, pulling the necklace away towards her chest before the boy could hope to reach it. An awkward silence filled the room as Emerald stared dumbly at the girl's shift in demeanor. "It's okay. I like it. It's just... I didn't expect you to get me something, is all."

"Oh, well... hope you enjoy it," said Emerald as he kept on walking.

Eventually, the time came for the pair to head on back to Twilight's mother. Velvet was shown signing the last of her books as she gave them to a little girl and patted her head before waving goodbye. One of the organizers began to clean up. The woman stood up and slipped on her purse as she looked to see if her daughter was present. Five minutes passed, and the pair still didn't show up. Just then, some running was heard as Twilight approached the horizon as the teen was huffing and puffing.

The lavender-haired girl hunched over her mother as Velvet stood there with her arms crossed. The woman looked over her daughter as Emerald casually approached the escalator and walked over with his hands in his pocket.

"What did I say?" stated Velvet.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry for being late. Please don't ground me." pleaded the girl as she looked at her mother for not being here when asked.

Velvet looked at Emerald and began to approach him. Twilight was biting her hair as she feared what her mother might do. Velvet looked at Emerald as the boy kept his calm demeanor. The woman's gaze soon softened as she laughed slightly.

"Did you two have fun?" asked Velvet.

"Ehh, I enjoyed it," said Storm with a casual shrug.

"Good. And don't worry about being late," said the woman as she began to walk.

Twilight was stunned to see that her mother didn't do anything to Emerald for them being late.

"Come along, you two," said Velvet.

Emerald began to walk as Twilight was still processing what had happened.

It was getting late as the sun was starting to set. Emerald was in the back seat as he was staring out the window. The passing buildings zoomed by as Twilight was seated on the other side. The girl looked at her friend before looking at her hand, still containing the necklace he had gotten her. The car then stopped as Emerald was now looking at his home; Velvet had offered to drop him off after they stopped to get some dinner.

"Well, here we are."

"I appreciate you giving me a ride home, Mrs. Velvet."

"It's no trouble at all. It's the least I can do for a friend of my daughters," smiled the woman.

The boy unhooked his seatbelt and opened the door. He grabbed his takeout pizza box before the window rolled down to allow him to speak with Twilight.

"See you on Monday, Ms. Prez."

"Try not to be late," stated the girl as Emerald smiled smugly. "Have a good night, Mrs. Velvet."

"Good night, Emerald," said the woman before leaning over so that only he could hear her. "And thanks for keeping an eye on my daughter. She's in good hands."

"Uh-huh," responded the boy, not picking up on what Velvet was implying.

He turned and began to head toward his house. Velvet smiled before starting the car and taking off. Emerald watched the vehicle before it disappeared from sight and entered his home. Twilight looked out the window as they drove home, seeing the many houses passing by. She then looked down at the necklace before slipping it on. She tied the back of it and looked at the necklace as it dangled from her neck and rested against her skin.

"You seem to like it," said Velvet, keeping her eyes on the road while knowing her daughter was looking at her necklace given by Emerald.

"It's a nice thought, is all, Mom," responded the girl.

"It sure is," said the woman to herself as she noticed her daughter touching the necklace in the above mirror as a smile crept on her face.

Beyblade: Worlds Unite

by Seeker1

Chapter 1: Beyblade Beginnings

Chapter 2: First Burst

Chapter 3: Reality Check

Chapter 4: The New Kid

Chapter 5: Fundamentals

Chapter 6: Predator vs. Predator

Chapter 7: Emergence of a New Blader

Chapter 8: Broadening Horizons

Chapter 9: Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 10: The Calm before the Storm

Chapter 11: First Round Victories

Chapter 12: Hanging Out