Prologue

Mr Dickenson placed down the papers he was holding and laced his fingers together on the desk in front of him. Resting his chin upon them, he stared into the air with a slightly troubled expression on his face. Upon the desk were files of various beyblading teams and their current locations.

He didn't know if initiating this tournament was the right thing to do. It was around one and a half years since the World Championships at Moscow, and he was sure that all the teams he'd planned to invite would be thrilled at the prospect of competing. But, Mr Dickenson had to admit that he, once again, had an ulterior motive. He didn't feel good at all about deceiving the young bladers like this, but he wasn't sure what else he could do.

He picked up the file on his desk that read Bladebreakers and sifted through it. The report was all about the rookie team that took the world by storm – winning the Asian, American and World Championships all at once was no small feat. At the top of the page was a huge, red, bold stamp printed across that read, 'Disbanded.' After that was an informative profile on each blader, stating their name, age, location and other physical attributes.

Kai Hiwatari, age 17; location – Japan, Tokyo. Attending Whitford Prep. School
Tyson Kinomiya, age 15; location – Japan, Bakuten district. Attending Bakuten High
Max Tate, age 15; location – Japan, Bakuten district. Home-schooled
Rei Kon, age 16; location – China, Hong Kong, remote mountain regions
Kenny, 'the Chief,' age 15; location – Japan, Bakuten district. Attending Bakuten High

Mr Dickenson smiled fondly as he remembered the young, ragtag team. They were full of vigor for the sport, and despite their differences they all bonded well together (eventually) and beybladed like seasoned professionals quicker than he would ever have imagined. He'd had high hopes for those young men right from the start, but they'd done him proud nonetheless. He felt a little bad about using this team as a means to bring down the Abbey – they were too young to have such a burden on their shoulders, and Kai wasn't yet ready to face his past – but he'd received word that Boris' plans would be put into action that year, and Dickenson had to take the initiative and beat him at his own game. It all ended well, and Dickenson could only thank the heavens for that.

Of course, Kai had been the first to disband after the Championships were over and done with. He had never been one to admit weakness, even if that 'weakness' was a growing fondness for his team. Dickenson was aware that the former captain wasn't keeping in contact with the rest of the boys, and this saddened him a little. Still, there was only so much he could do for them. Rei had gone back to his home village in China, but he knew the Chinese boy had no qualms in admitting friendship and that he e-mailed the other three regularly. Tyson, Max and Kenny all lived in the same district, so he assumed they saw each other frequently enough. He could only hope they were all getting along well.

His eyes then shifted to another file on his desk. This one said Demolition Boys on it and it, too, had a bold red stamp emblazoned across it that read 'Disbanded.' He picked it up and browsed through these bladers' profiles as well.

Yuri 'Tala' Ivanov, age 17; location – Russia, Moscow, attending Moscow High
Bryan Kuznetsov, age 17; location – America, Michigan, attending Detroit School of Arts
Spencer Petrov, age 18; location – Russia, St. Petersburg, attending International Academy of St. Petersburg
Ian Papov, age 15' location – Russia, Moscow, attending Moscow High

Mr Dickenson sighed over the two teams who had separated since the Championships. He recalled the trouble he and the other senior members of the Global BBA had in attempting to locate the families of all those boys from the Abbey after it was shut down. He was glad each of the Demolition Boys had somewhere to call home. Ian's family could not be traced, and after many failed foster homes, Tala's new found parents had offered him a place in their family. Mr Dickenson could only hope they had settled in by now. Mr and Mrs Ivanov were truly a lovely couple, overflowing with love and gratitude that they had been reunited with their long lost youngest son. He had no doubts that their warmth would eventually begin to heal whatever scars the Abbey had left on these teenagers, and mould them into the young adults they were always meant to be.

Spencer, the eldest on the team, had moved to St. Petersburg to live with his Aunt. He'd been orphaned at a young age and was apparently taken to the Abbey by some concerned neighbors who thought they were doing the right thing. And Bryan… Mr Dickenson was ashamed to admit that he had sent the most troubled member of the Demolition Boys halfway across the globe, far away from his team mates, to live with a father who never even bothered looking for him after he'd ran away from home. He suspected that the young man's violent disposition was not only a product of his time at the Abbey, but also of his life before then. He was sorry to have sent him to America, but he'd had no choice. Since Bryan was still a minor and had a family to go to, he would simply have to stay with them until he came of age and could legally make his own decisions.

Mr Dickenson ran a tired hand across his face, before glancing down at the report that had him so troubled. There was a new corporation calling themselves the Beyblade Entertainment Global Association, or BEGA for short, that were causing quite a ruckus in the beyblading scene. The corporation had been holding all sorts of events over the past six months since their debut that advertised the sport of beyblading, as well as promoted their representative team, the BEGA Battalion. Now, this was of no concern to the BBA. It was still the bigger company, and anything that promoted the sport of beyblading was good in their eyes.

No, what concerned Mr Dickenson was the report about the dealings that the scientists at BEGA were taking part in. Every big company worth their salt had its own Secret Service, and the BBA was no different – even more so because of its dealings with entities as powerful as bit beasts. And the intelligence agents of the BBA had discovered some disturbing information, which was now laid out on the table in front of him.

Before there were only rumors, but right now, he had concrete proof. Proof of arcane experiments with bit-beasts, of attempted fusion with the bladers, of a process called 'splicing' and other seemingly impossible things.

Recently, Dr. Barthez, the chief Director of BEGA, had approached Dickenson and asked him for more information on the bladers he was charged with, particularly the winning team, the Bladebreakers. Dickenson was reluctant about revealing anything that would compromise the teams he was charged with, but he also knew that Barthez would not hesitate to approach them himself, if he'd wanted. Asking him for information was merely a polite formality. And so Dickenson had come up with the idea of hosting another tournament, under the guise of being a charity event, to gather all the teams together so he could keep a watchful eye on them.

He didn't know what Barthez or BEGA were planning, but he did know that he had a bad feeling about it.

Mr Dickenson gave one more heavy glance towards the stack of envelopes on his desk. There was a small pile for each team he intended to invite: the Bladebreakers, the Demolition Boys, the Majestics, the White Tigers and the All Starz – all were internationally recognised and had great skill in the sport. Two other teams, the Psykicks and the Saint Shields, were two teams of traveling bladers who Dickenson thought would have a lot to offer to the situation. And finally, the BEGA Battalion, who he was inviting so that Barthez might meet the other teams from the BBA under controlled circumstances.

With a heavy sigh, Mr Dickenson stood up from his leather desk chair and went to stand by the window. It was raining, and that did nothing to cheer his mood. The letters of invitation would be sent tomorrow, and he could only hope that the bad feeling he had in his stomach was just his imagination, and that this tournament would have as good an ending as the last.

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A/N: Well, here's the shiny new prologue. I figured I could make it a little more story-like, but still just as informative – and who better to take the spotlight and give out all the necessary details than Mr D himself, the brains of the operation! I know there are probably huge questions addressed in this that want answering, but trust me they WILL be answered later on in the story. :3
To cover a few quibbles, YES, I know that the teams were actually called the Barthez Battalion and BEGA respectively, but I have merged them together because I felt like it. So, the members of the BEGA Battalion are Miguel, Matilda, Mystel and Brooklyn. Ha, poor Brooklyn, he's the only member whose name does not begin with 'M.' I suppose I will just have to call him by his surname of Masefield, so he does not feel left out. ;)
Don't worry, the whole of the BEGA Battalion actually consists of all of the members from both teams, but only the four I've mentioned above will take part in the actual tournament. Garland, Crusher and everyone else all have a part to play, just much later on in the story. Anyway, enough of my rambling.

Updates: You can expect this story to be updated once a week, every Saturday, unless I state otherwise. If that happens, you can expect to be notified of any delays in advance in the Authors Note at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I'm going to go ahead and put this here, instead of tagging it on to the end of every chapter;
– Beyblade and all the characters affiliated with the series are copyright to Takao Aoki.
– The storyline and the few OC's that take part in the story belong to me.

That is all.

~Indie