Hmm.... What does that mean? Finish reading the chapter to find out!

---

Daigo swore as the screen flipped to commercials. He got up and started pacing, growling to himself. Why wasn't Robin there? She had beaten Valt in tryouts, clearly, she had to have been on the team for the "friendly match." So where was she? Why wasn't she there? What did her new Beyblade look like?

Well, either she was hurt or held prisoner somewhere because no way she would get kicked out of first. Then again, Free de la Hoya and Andi were on the team, so they were an automatic two. But that didn't explain Honcho. He was the weakest of the six, and if he was stronger than any of those guys, that would be sad. So Robin wasn't there because...

"Calm down," Ruck said, standing up as well. "I don't see why you're getting so worked up about it. You're ruining the wall."

Daigo suddenly realized that he was doing quick backflips off the wall, kicking off the ceiling, and landing, while still wondering about his girlfriend.

The one we left back in Spain. We never should have gone.

He shook his head and consciously stopped the flips. "Damn it! I was just about to figure something out!"

Jean pocketed his notebook. He seemed to carry one around everywhere and was always writing in it. He wondered what it said and had tried to bring it up, but the blonde always dodged the question. Now he had a decent idea of what was in there: every person Jean knew had their weaknesses in there: strength, mentality, health... everything.

"Was it about...Azura Kurenai not being in the match?"

"No."

Jean watched him with those bright eyes.

His tail flicked uncomfortably. How did Jean know his girlfriend's name, much less her real name? How was that even possible?

"Yeah," Daigo admitted. Deciding to voice his concerns, he asked, "How did you even know her name?"

"You yelled, 'Kurenai!' in your sleep a few days ago, not that you get much of it, so I was curious. I don't have a lot of information about you."

Information... so he had been right.

"At any rate, I basically googled information about you and the Beigoma academy, and Wakiya Murasaki's blog came up. It was about you, so..."

"Pleases just stop there," Daigo begged, knowing that Wakiya didn't exactly post PG stuff.

Allen grinned fiendishly. "No, please continue."

"Oh, shut up." Daigo gave him a push and went back to doing flips against the wall. His phone dinged. Please be Robin, please be Robin.... It wasn't. The WBBA had sent a message to the captain of AS Gallus, which just happened to be him. He read it quickly, then started swearing again.

"What is it?" Allen checked. "You don't curse like that for no reason."

Daigo scowled at the ground. "Who wants to finish watching this, raise your hand."

Ruck raised his hand.

"Great. Get information about each participating member. I'll add my information. I'm going to try to contact Robin. The rest of you, go downstairs and start training. We need all we can get. The tournament starts in a few days, and I found our first opponent."

"Who?"

"BC Sol."

---

Robin stopped, gasping for breath. Acid burned her throat and she coughed. For the second time since she'd been in Spain, she'd run away for literally no reason. Silas had terrified her so badly, and she didn't even know why. That insane fear she felt of him- what was that? Phobia, fear, terrify, literally all synonyms, but it still didn't explain anything. She had broken under something and she ran like a useless coward. What would her boyfriend say about that?

Her boyfriend.

She whipped her phone out of her backpack, which somehow hadn't gotten destroyed in the run, and called Daigo.

The phone line crackled for a moment. She really needed to get a better wifi service. After a few painful seconds, it went through.

"Hello?" Daigo. That voice. Low and quiet and just a little rough, hiding his wilder instincts.

"Daigo?" Her voice shook. Robin was really and truly scared. It was so damn stupid, being scared. What did it even mean?

"Robin!" She heard the shuffling of papers and something heavy being dropped on the floor. "Hang on, let me switch you to the screen... and..."

Robin's phone suddenly turned to video. She saw a small room with a stadium, several lights, and random CD's everywhere. Daigo's hopeful face stood in front of the screen. His black hair wasn't being held up by that bandanna before, so adorable black ears twitched above his hair.

"We're alone right now, by the way. Oh, god, I missed you so much!"

Robin had that slight sting in her throat, and she started crying. "I-I'm scared, Daigo! I missed you too!"

He flinched back. "Scared?" His pale purple aura dropped to black. Dead serious. "What's going on."

It was more of a demand than a question, so Robin started telling him about everything that'd happened. "I don't know why!" she finally sobbed. "I shouldn't be this scared! I faced down Lui Shirasagi, and I wasn't scared then! Why am I scared of Silas?"

He thought for a long moment. "What about his power? Do you happen to know what that is?"

She shook her head, sniffling. "It won't matter. I've been able to resist most Descendant powers in my life."

"No you haven't."

Huh?

"Never mine, soul-reading. Never Lui's, fire. Zac's was enchantment, but you weren't exactly attracted to him because fame doesn't seem cool to you. You get affected by most of them, but I bet you're immune to a few because of your way of thinking."

It made sense, but it was scary to think she was at the mercy of someone else. "I-I guess you're right. What do I do about it?"

"I don't know, but I answered part of your question. I bet you can figure out the rest."

She grinned in spite of herself. Her boyfriend was savage. "So, how've you been?"

"Good. AS Gallus is top-notch now!" He winked. "Can't give you the details, but you'll see!"

They chatted for a few more minutes, but a dragon crashing down behind them stopped it dead.

Daigo yelped. "What is that?"

The dragon morphed into Andi. "Excuse me, but I am not a that!"

He gulped. The wild girl in the black bodysuit was terrifying."Good luck, Robin! If you live, I'll see you back here!"

The video cut out. Jeez, was he that scared of the dragon?At least he was honest with himself.

Andi frowned. "Who was that?"

Robin hurriedly brushed away her tears. "How'd you track me? And what's with the bodysuit?"

"Dragon. And transforming sometimes ruins my clothes."

"Oh."

There was awkward silence. "If you're not going to participate, we should train," Andi suggested. "You should be able to beat my by the end of the week."

Robin internally screamed. How was she supposed to beat someone who had a lifetime of experience? She had only started a year ago! It wasn't even possible.

And that's the kinda thinking that holds you back, Despair Phoenix told her.

YOU AGREE WITH THIS CRAZY CHILD TOO?!

Yep.

Robin nodded instead. Politely, cheerfully, eager, just like she should be. And why would she be mad? She was learning from the third best blader in the world! One on one, no less! "You got it," she said. "But what about Free?"

"He'll make up for any mistakes your stupid friends make," she said offhandedly. They're not stupi... wait, yeah they are.

Andi suddenly synced with her bey, clothes morphing to armor and hair suddenly tipped with fire. "Practice!" she cheered, voice dark and wild. "Now die!"

Wow. Okay, then.

"But how do I sync and get a form like that?"

Andi synced back. "You don't know? Uh, we'd better save that for later. Theodore Glass is coming, and I'm not leaving Chris alone with that freak."

"Um... who's Theodore Glass?" Robin felt a little nervous.

"You'll see."

---

I watched Silas and Wakiya argue. "They're going to send out-"

"Broccoli next," Free finished quietly. He stood up.

Honcho did as well. "What about me?"

"What about you?"

Honcho growled, but then his face was dead serious. Really unlike him. "If Wakiya goes out again," he said. "Please, you have to let me go next."

He hummed softly, considering that. I suddenly understood why he was. He could get back any points we lost because he was on a different level than us. Free was so powerful, way more so than Lui. He didn't really care if Honcho went or not, probably not if I went out either.

But maybe he cared about what happened to the team, if not the individual members.

"Valt."

I glanced up. "Yeah?"

He almost smiled. Robin did that a lot too, when she was laughing about my innocence.

"Should your friend be allowed to try again?"

He's asking my opinion? But why? It's not like he needs it, and he barely talks anyways. But if he was actually wondering what I thought...

"Of course! Honcho's a great blader! After seeing what Wyvron's now capable of, he'll be able to defeat Wakiya!" I looked in Honcho's direction. "Right, Honcho?"

"Right!"

Free sighed lazily, running his right hand through the side of his hair. "I guess you can."

He threw his fist in the air. "Yes! You won't regre-"

"But."

That simple word, voiced so quietly with so much calculation. I wondered why.

"But if you lose, you're off the team."

Honcho turned pale, but swallowed. "Understood."

He looked in Silas's direction. The green-haired sorta terrifying guy gave us a predator's smile. And the strangest thing?

Free did absolutely nothing.

Surprising, right?

Silas and Free stood at the stadium. "You're going to lose," Silas snarled. "I've waited a long time for today."

Typical I'm-gonna-be-better-than-you stuff. I do the same thing, except way less rudely. I can never make it sound threatening, so everyone laughs at me. I don't mind.

Free just stared at him.

"Say something!"

He was silent for a moment longer, and just as he opened his mouth again, Free's voice echoed in the silent room.

"Something."

Everyone started laughing, myself included. I didn't realize he had Robin's sense of humor, and I added that to my mental list of stuff about Free. I did the same thing back when I met Shu. He was so polite and formal and I had to check if there was a person underneath that. If Shu's an actual person, then Free has to be too. Then they're not so scary.

Silas positioned himself for the launch, and Free took Drain Fafnir out. The other boy paused. "Wait, you're not using your launcher?"

He was silent.

"Fine! It'll just make it easier to destroy you!" I almost laughed at that, and knew exactly how Free was going to beat him. The exact same way he beat us.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it... rip!"

---

Chris was sitting at the top of the stands with Trad in what looked like a plush armchair. And also a throne, but it didn't lord over everyone. Robin guessed she used the same armchair for everything important.

"Kristina," Andi said politely, transforming into an exotic bird and flying to her shoulder. "Has he arrived yet?"

Trad nodded, gesturing subtly to get her to be respectful. Not that she needed it. Any guy who made Andi nervous meant he was trouble. A show of strength was the best way. Also, Fire Emblem strategies. She stood next to the armchair, on the opposite side as Trad. They nodded slightly to each other, and the exotic bird chirped in warning.

"Well, it's nice to see you again, Kris."

The voice, strong and smooth and too self-satisfied made her glance up. She instinctively made herself look younger. Eyes open slightly wider, slight amount of air in her cheeks, shoulders curled in, and an expression of wonder and confusion on her face. By her guess, she should look like a seven year old.

The man had triple colored hair, brown, white, and caramel. His skin was really pale, and he wore an expensive suit. The most striking thing about him was that slight smirk and large blue eyes. Not like an anime girl's, more like... a proud, spoiled cat who tricked his prey into feeling hope before it was lazily snapped up.

Robin almost narrowed her eyes at this guy. He definitely shouldn't be trusted.

"And you, Mr. Glass," Kristina said politely. Her fist on Robin's side clenched. "I assume you came here to bargain for Free?"

He shrugged lazily, leaning in slightly closer. "He needs a more stimulating environment. People who are... equals to him. And I assure you that we have some who are."

At the bottom, Silas's bey burst. Free's launcher was still securely in his pocket.

"Have you heard what the other leaders say about Sol?" Glass pressed. That smirk grew. "They say you're just using Free. And to think he's your childhood friend, too." He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Maybe you should just-"

The bird squawked indignantly and took off at Glass's face. He pivoted calmly, and it flew past him. "Andi, Andi, Andi," he chided as she turned into a hissing tabby. "You must stop pretending you can do anything. It looks bad, to the point where I'm surprised you're the fifth most talented blader."

"Fourth," she spat. "Joshua had his fans vote instead."

He didn't deign to respond, instead turning back to Kristina's calm demeanor.

"Is there anyone else you might be interested in?" she asked, fist turning white. "Stimulating or not, my childhood friend will remain here unless he chooses not to."

He smiled even more, and Robin felt the urge to say something. Her little kid disguise should help her.

"Do that again?" her voice naturally pitched higher.

"Did you say something?" He moved close to the armchair and peered down at her. "Apologies, but the adults are talking, little girl."

She wanted to lunge forward, trip him, bite his throat and watch his blood spill on the ground, but she couldn't.

"Your smile," she repeated, pointing innocently. "You look like a cat." Her eyes grew bigger, wider, until she knew it looked like they were bigger than her face. Optical illusion, morons.

"Do I look like I mouse?" Robin asked. "Do we all?"

She moved forwards, and Theodore Glass took a step back. "Equals," she whispered, but everyone heard it. "Kris is better than you when she keeps the team together and Andi is better than you when she's teaching and Kit is better than you when he gives advice and what are you good at? Only stealing and pretending."

"I'm sure you know what your talking about, Kurenai. You seem to have suffered enough betrayals as it is."

SHe blinked. "Hmm?"

Andi lunged again, and this caught him by surprise. He stumbled and threw her off his arm, then turned and strode out.

Kris growled. "I hate that guy! He makes me so mad!" She angrily punched the ground. "He's such a jerk! Speaking of which," she turned to Andi and Robin. Robin too casually stepped behind the blonde. "You two shouldn't have gotten involved. Attacking people is a no, Andi."

She scowled.

"And Robin, no arguing. No one can beat that guy, and he can retaliate from insults easily. Find another way next time."

"Not to mention that was completely inappropriate!" Trad snapped. "Especially trying to scare him by looking like a creepy doll! That was so unprofessional, I can't even-"

"Enough," Andi said tiredly. "Everyone, enough. He's right, and we all know it." Everyone in the small box turned to stare at her. "I'll ask Free if he wants to leave. I know you haven't."

She turned and left before Kris could open her mouth.

---

Free returned to his seat like nothing had happened. I bounced up and down. "That's amazing! That's so cool!"

He shook his head, barely even acknowledging the compliment. "Kiyama."

Rantaro nodded. His face was a little pale, but he looked really determined. "Free, do you have any extra advice?"

"Don't lose."

"OH VERY HELPFUL!"

"Get to the center before him. It doesn't matter if Roktavor bounces a lot, you just have to aim for the center of the stadium. You opponent needs momentum to win, so he'll go for the outside. I don't care what else you do. Just win- fairly."

The color returned to his face and he nodded. "You got it, Free. I won't let you down!"

Honcho ran up to the stadium, where Wakyia smiled sadistacally. The only reason I actually know the word was because I heard Stan mutter that about Robin earlier. It seemed to not mean something good, like the person enjoyed someone else's pain, maybe? But isn't that impossible?

Actually, I enjoy everyone's pain very much, Valkyrie noted, but please continue.

"I'm going to destroy you this time!" Honcho declared, holding out Beserker Roktavor.

The other blonde turned his back on him and turned to the benches. "Free! Come out and face me, you scaredy-cat!"

Free just looked at him, while Honcho's face turned red. "HEY! I'M HERE TOO!"

"You don't matter right now. Free!"

That was enough.

"Battle Honcho!" I yelled, standing up. "Everyone wants to battle Free, but when you lose this match, maybe you'll realize you should focus on Honcho!"

Free blinked once.

Wakiya grinned at me. "The score's two-two! You're putting all your faith in this guy?"

The number one blader looked up suddenly, fierceness in his eyes. The whole stadium went silent. "Wouldn't you?"

It was Wakiya's turn to flinch. "Fine! Let's make this quick!"

Honcho grinned. "I was thinking the exact same thing!"

They both knelt, and I could feel my heart pounding. Why had Free stood up for my friend when he was verbally shoving him around earlier? It didn't make any sense to me. It seemed to be a waste of time for the best blader in the world to be sitting on the bench half a foot away? Why wasn't he at another team? I mean, teams must be lining up to get this guy, and this team is amazing, but the De La Hoyas are the only ones who have supreme skill.

Not time to think about this, Aoi. Valkyrie was already scolding me. She was as wound up as I was.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it... rip!"

The extendable blades snapped out from the bey as it dropped. Roktavor missed the center when he launched, but swung around and stuck center. Wyvron's launch was solid, a smooth, straight line to the opposite side of the stadium. Wyvron spun an oval shape around the stadium before streaming in for an attack. Sparks flew from the driver, and I swear I could hear that wild bey's roar.

The orange and brown beserker spirit rose in the bey, flames erupting out of its skin. Flair and drama worthy of Zac. You've got this!

"Roktavor Zone!" Honcho yelled.

Wakiya was repelled sharply off the bey, but Honcho growled angrily. "It's not enough..."

As Wyvron blazed in for another attack, Free blinked. I don't know why it attracted my attention, such a tiny detail, but the world seemed to slow and his grey-black eyes darted from one detail to another. Then they snapped over to me. Those giant eyes widened and stared straight into- no, through me.

The world continued, and my best friend screamed, "Ultra Roktavor Zone!"

Wyvron collided with him again, seven more time and losing speed. The zone began to glow orange. Not Free's orange. It was slightly darker, a little less wild and a little more focused.

"Destroy him!"

The hurricane repelled Wyvron one more time, and Roktavor blazed forward, right out of the stadium.

As soon as it passed the outer boundaries in the stadium, the pieces fell apart.

"Beserker Roktavor with a burst finish!"

Honcho and I cheered, while Wakiya dropped to his knees. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Haha! Suck it, Wakiya!!"

Oh wait, Valkyrie added. He already did.

I smiled.ignoring what I assumed was the dirtiest joke in the world and waited to hear the words announcing our victory.

"The score is 3-2! BC Sol wins the match!"

Free stood up and left, just as the crowd began to cheer.

---

"Your friends are very energetic," Trad noted. Robin watched them excitedly wave and thank the crowd for coming- all in Spanish. She had no idea he had been practicing. Probably while she was training and dying slowly with Andi.

"Yeah."

He gave her a sideways look. "You were offered a spot."

"Yes."

"And you didn't take it." He turned around fully. Brilliant golden eyes met her normal brown ones. Normal, except for those tiny flecks of red and blue. "Kristina actually requested you be on the team instead of Andi. Do you know why?"

She shook her head, breaking contact with those stunning eyes. They were beautiful, but they didn't mean anything. Not like Daigo's.

"Because you were the first newbie to not go directly on the offensive. You had a plan, and those things are rare for bladers. Especially Descendants, who go with their gut. Why did you refuse?"

God, where was Kris when she needed her? "I..." I can't speak! If I said I was scared, they'd kick me off!

All the same, Despair Phoenix told her, Trad seems to have a way of knowing lies.

"I... didn't want to let anyone down. I've never been relied on for anything." She bit her lip, something she rarely did. Robin really needed to stop that before it became a habit. "I guess.... I don't know, I freaked out?"

Trad tucked his tables under his arm and turned back to their winning team. "I hope you don't do it again." He sighed. "Everyone's so energetic. Let's see if we can stay that way for long."

---

Thirteen is an unlucky number, but it was Valt's first big win this book. So it's really a lucky number today. Can someone tell me more unlucky/ lucky number? I wanna do Easter eggs on those!

Robin out!