A/N: I figured I'd treat all of you to chapter 2 tonight as well. The next chapter is going to be the battle between Ian and Megan. The two battles I've always planned for were the one between Ian and Megan (to show off Shadow) and the battle between Tala and Megan near the end after Tala had his 'tweak' with Boris before the final round with all the teams. So ... I hope I'll be able to upload Chapter 3 sometime tomorrow after work.

Why Me?

Megan stared at the four boys who sat across from her at the table. She sat beside Mr. Dickinson - at least she had one comfort in the room. The old man gave off an aura of calm and grandfather-like emotions. She looked over all the boys in the room before staring at Ian. His nose was a bit off-putting, but she wasn't focused on that aspect of the boy. No, she was contemplating his height. She topped at 5'1"; however, he seemed to be shorter than her. The girl hid her mouth behind her hand before whispering, "Shrimp."

Ian's eye twitched as he seemed to hear her mumble. Megan found out how sensitive he was about his height as his hands slammed onto the table. His eyes held fire behind them as he spoke to her, "What did you say?!"

The girl stared at him before removing her hand from her mouth. "I was wondering how it felt to call somebody a shrimp. It had always been my nickname, so I thought it would be fun to try it on somebody else."

Ian fumed at her, but he didn't say much else as a glare from Tala seemed to silence him. He sat in his seat before making a noise of irritation. Bryan stared at him before snickering a bit.

"It's not her fault that you are a shrimp, Ian."

Ian glared at him going to open his mouth to retort when Boris cleared his throat. He would not tolerate them acting like children in the presence of somebody of importance such as Mr. Dickinson. They quieted before staring at their guests once again. Mr. Dickinson rose from his seat before he clapped his hands in a fond gesture.

"Now, why don't we have a small introduction?" he asked them. "Though, I doubt you will have to introduce yourselves to Megan."

"No, they do not," she said. "I know who they are."

Everybody knew who the Demolition Boys were - it wasn't as if they were the reigning champs from the previous two Beyblade World Championships. Mr. Dickinson nodded. "Then, I'd like to introduce your chosen help for this year's championships. This here is Megan Schatten. She's the captain of the current American high school title holders. I figured all of you could learn something from each other."

Megan was starting to wonder why he only invited her and not her teammates as well. Wouldn't it be a bit more efficient if he brought the whole team to help prepare for the final round? She shook her head to bring herself back to the current conversation. Right. She was being introduced to the Demolition Boys.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. "And, thank you, Tala, for catching me in the hallway. It would have been a nasty fall for my nose." She rubbed it as a phantom pain appeared. It would have hurt. She paused as she didn't hear a reply to her thanks. She made a noise before giving him a dark look. Of course he wouldn't give a 'your welcome' to her. Why would he do such a thing? Boris said they wouldn't bite, but, golly, they did sting.

"Anyway," Mr. Dickinson continued. "We have agreed she would stay with you for the time being, correct, Boris?"

Boris nodded. "Yes. I shall allow her to use one of the empty rooms for the duration of her stay."

"Wait, wait," Megan said as she stood from her chair. "I had no inclination of me staying here."

"You are to help my team with the preparations for the final round of the World Championships," Boris spoke. "It would make sense you would stay here to speak with them about it."

She stared at Boris with a look of disbelief. They expected her to stay in this abbey without her consent. She went to open her mouth before closing it. No, she shouldn't be surprised. It would seem Mr. Dickinson hadn't given her all the details of this trip anyhow. She sat down before pouting a bit. Nobody seemed to care how she was feeling at the moment - not at all.

"Fine," she said with a sigh as she gave in. "But, it doesn't mean I have to like staying here."

"Believe us," spoke Tala for the first time. "We're not going to like you staying here either. Do us a favor and don't get in our way."

Megan's nails dug into her own skin as she bit her lip from making a retort at the captain of the team before her. He had no right to agree with her and say the things he said at that moment. She snarled a bit before taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Good," she replied after a bit of thought. "I'm glad we're on the same page." She stood from her chair before grabbing the handle to her suitcase. She stared at Boris. "Where's my room for the next two weeks?"

Boris nodded to her as he opened the door for the girl, "Of course. Follow me."

She followed him out of the room to find her room. Megan would have to remember to memorize the way to the room so she wouldn't get lost. The abbey was huge, and she didn't want to lose her way in the building. Her suitcase squeaked through the hallway before the sound disappeared as she turned the corner following the man to her room. Tala sighed before turning to Mr. Dickinson. He gave the man a glare.

"We don't need help preparing," he said to him. "Bringing her here was pointless."

Mr. Dickinson smiled at Tala before speaking, "I believe this will help Megan decide if she wishes to become a pro beyblader or if she wishes to stop competing once she graduates high school. Please, Tala, don't push her in that direction. She's a phenomenal beyblader. Give her a chance to help you with the tournament final."

Tala grunted as he heard Mr. Dickinson before watching the man stand up then leave the room. He, more than likely, was leaving to head to the BBA headquarters that is located in Moscow. He placed his head on his head before staring out the open door to the empty hallway. Bryan whistled before he placed his hands behind his head and leaned against the chair.

"Guess we'll have a guest with us this time around," he said as he stared at the ceiling. "Doesn't seem too bad. Anybody who's willing to call Ian a shrimp is good in my book."

Ian kicked his leg causing Bryan to yelp and fall backwards on the chair. He glared at the midget before growling a bit. "Do you want a repeat of when I viciously beat you in our last Beyblade battle, shrimp?"

Boris reappeared into the room before giving them all a look of disappointment and anger. The boys winced before they looked away from them. Spencer sighed before he spoke, "This is why we're told to behave and not act like children."

"It was only Ian and Bryan who seem to have an issue with listening to such an order," Tala muttered.

"Your words to our guest were uncalled for as well, Tala," Boris explained. "She is to be treated like a guest. Is that understood? She will help you prepare the for the finals of the tournament. You do not have to be friends with her by any means. All you have to do is tolerate her."

Ian made a noise. "Tolerate her? Have you seen the way she spoke to me? She called me a shrimp!"

"It's because you are a shrimp," countered Bryan. "Why don't you admit it already, Ian?"

Spencer stood between them before picking Ian's chair up, with him on it, before sitting it where his chair once was to keep Ian and Bryan away from each other. It would seem that being their barrier was the only way to make them behave. He nodded to his own plan of action before looking at Boris as he cleared his throat. The man had been grinning for a few minutes now.

"Now, now, I didn't say we couldn't have some fun with her."

The boys perked at his words. What kind of fun could Boris be talking about at the moment?

"You heard Mr. Dickinson," he explained. "She's the captain of the American High School circuit's top team. Which means she has some skill. You should test her strength."

Ian grinned before throwing his hand into the air. "I volunteer! I volunteer 100%. I want to put her in her place right here, right now."

Tala waved his hand at Ian. "It's not a bad idea. You should be plenty enough to handle a high school circuit blader." He was curious about her strength as well now that Boris reminded me what Mr. Dickinson had said about her. He hummed before standing. "Do you wish for me to invite her to one of the arenas in the training room?" He stared at Boris as he waited for an answer.

Boris nodded before answering him, "Yes. Do invite her to the training room, Tala." He left soon after to begin to record the battle to gather data about the girl Mr. Dickinson had decided upon to watch and help them.

Tala stared at the door that was the entrance to Megan's room. Did she have any reason to accept his invitation to the training room? They weren't on the best terms after their first impressions of each other. He knocked on the door either way. Boris wanted her to battle Ian, so he would carry her there kicking and screaming if he had too.

"Go away," came the reply of the rather grumpy girl as she opened the door only to slam it in his face. "I don't want to talk to you - not until I have to anyway."

Tala sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Boris has invited you to battle within one of the areas in the training room. He wants to test your strength as you are also a beyblader."

Megan opened the door to stare at him. "Why would he want to test my strength? I'm not going to be battling anybody during my stay here."

"Oh, but you are," Tala said a smirk beginning to appear on his face. "In fact, right here, in a few minutes, you'll be battling somebody."

"I refuse," Megan snarled as she went to close the door on him.

Tala swung his arm out to catch the closing door before he placed his foot in the doorway to keep it open. Why did she have to be so stubborn? He forced the door open before staring at her. She stared at him with fury in her expression. She was not going to go to battle for Boris' own amusement.

"I can't believe I'm going to battle somebody for Boris' own amusement," she muttered as she walked with Tala to the training room.

Tala watched her as she crossed her arms as they walked. Her pout indicated she was acting like a child who had their toy taken away from them. He chuckled a bit before going to turn the corner that lead to the door to the training room. Megan went to follow before she made a noise as a rogue beyblade flew past her feet. Her arms flailed outward to catch herself. She grunted as her fall was stopped quick as Tala managed to grab her arm to keep her from falling completely. He pulled to level her causing the girl to crash into him instead. He wrapped her arms around her to steady both of them least he ended up on the floor rather than her.

"Listen," he said. "You really need to stop falling."

Megan huffed as she moved to untangle herself from him. "It's not as if I ask for things to appear in my way to fall. I'm the definition of graceful." She moved to open the door to the training room before blinking. Why were there so many people in the room? Why were they all waiting for something to happen?

"Why am I going to have an audience?" she asked Tala as she turned to him.

He shrugged. "We're a training facility. Therefore, they will watch to learn."

Megan glared at him before heading to the specific arena everybody was standing around and watching. She stared at them before noticing Ian across the stadium. She pulled her lip back in a snarl.

"Oh, so, this is a joke, right? I'm not seriously going to fight you - a professional beyblader."

Ian placed his beyblade in his launcher before getting ready to launch it into the stadium. He smirked at her.

"We never joke."

Why me? was all the girl thought as she prepared her beyblade for launch as she connected the parts to her launcher. Why me against Ian?

Why me?