Author's note:
FINALLY! YES I have finally found my motivation to get this story up and running. I apologize for the long wait for this, and I do hope you all enjoy where this is going to go. Beyblade and it's characters do not belong to me, only the OC's that may appear here and there. This fic is rated M for many reasons. Expect deaths, blood, violence, harsh language and lemons in future chapters.
As always, enjoy the show and I'll see you in the next chapter!
Ray's POV
I'm cold, so cold, and beyond that I don't feel anything. What is wrong with me? Why can't I wake up? I hear voices, but they're being drowned out by something and I can't make out whose voices they belong to.
Where am I? Where are my friends, are they alright? What even happened? I wish I could remember but every time I try to concentrate it hurts my head.
I can only get flashes of the past, but some of these memories don't seem to be my own or through my own eyes. I can see Lee and Mariah and my village before I killed them all, but the next second, I'm in a dark place I've never been in and fighting and training.
The Abbey? I'm not sure. It's always cold and damp, the training is painful and rigorous, and no one looks familiar. There's always this man, a tall pale man with dark purple hair. I can never see his eyes as he wears some kind of black goggles, but the lenses are red and that's enough to terrify me; or whoever's memory these belong to. How am I even seeing someone else's memories? How long this has been going on, I'm not sure either.
I just want to wake up, make sense of everything going on in my head, but I'm not sure how to wake up or if I'm even asleep. Am I asleep, or am I dead?
I want to remember everything, but everything is just a mess, like pieces to a puzzle too hard to finish because there are too many pieces and they all don't fit together like they should.
I'm getting tired again, something that seems to keep me locked up and even though I try to fight it off, it never works. I'm too cold to bother fighting it now, I just want to slip off. Nothing makes sense now…
Bryan stood, like he had been the past two years, staring at the glass tube that held his best friend. Frozen in a block of ice he had created, attached to the neko-jin he couldn't help but have fallen in love with. His heart ached, seeing two people he cared for the most unable to wake up, unable to do anything for either of them.
For now, he was grateful that they were at least still alive, even if it was barely. He knew, from Kenny, that Wolborg was once again fighting against her host, Tala, and that keeping Ray and himself frozen was only going to cause more strain on himself.
With a deep sigh Bryan shifted his weight, keeping his arms crossed over his chest as he stared onward at the two. At least some good news had come down to him through the pipelines, Dranzer's Bit was successfully placed within Ray, but when she would be able to awake him was uncertain, but now they had a chance of him being with them all again. Even with this good news, there was always worse to follow, and it had.
The first month, after their battle against Kai and Black Dranzer, Voltaire and his elite forces had done what they could. Most, if not all, of their friends from the school and within the Capitol had perished in the attack. The news of Dickenson's death had hit the younger two of their group the hardest, Tyson was still inconsolable, and it didn't help that his own brother Hiro was a part of the downfall of their beloved headmaster; and still working for Voltaire.
It also being revealed that Brooklyn had been playing the part of Dickenson for some time now, but no one was certain for how long he had been in disguise, it was just a matter of time before they came out of hiding to do Voltaire's bidding. Now though the King of Darkness was on their side, but the damage done was irreparable, and with the headmaster gone and the school destroyed they had no choice but to flee with the other survivors to an underground bunker; left over from the last war in the South city.
Then, during the attack on the school, Max was injured beyond repair. The youngest of their group suffered losing his arm, and even in his Bit form, Draciel, his left arm was now rendered useless. Most days it just hung limply at his side and it hurt them all, to have that knowledge, but Max was just happy that he was able to save some of the other boys in the school from the collapsing building.
Bryan was fairing no better, having lost both his wings in the fight against Black Dranzer. Now, he was rendered useless to his teammates, his comrades, and if it wasn't for him needing to make sure Tala and Ray made it out of their deep-frozen sleep, he would have left the underground bunker a long time ago. Where he would go, he wasn't sure, but he felt like a burden on everyone around him now without the proper use of his wings or ability to even change. Kenny was looking into ways of healing him, but Bryan wasn't holding out hope that anything could be done for him.
Standing there, before the two sleeping boys, Bryan's ears perked as footsteps were coming down the barely lit hall. Turning to his left he stayed quiet as Tyson, Max, and Kenny came walking down to stand with him.
Over the past two years they had all grown a bit more, Tyson thinning out and losing his tan that he had before, mainly due to having to live underground for the past two years. His dark navy hair had grown out longer, still held in a ponytail behind his back and his trusty ball cap still planted safely on his head. Max had also grown taller, almost standing as tall as Bryan himself. His blonde hair was a bit more tamed, and even though he had lost one arm the other was looking well off and muscled.
Kenny, still the shortest and youngest of them all, looked really no different than when Bryan had met him. His hair was still unkempt, his thick round glasses awkwardly placed over his hair and almost on his forehead.
Bryan hadn't changed much at all either, more muscle due to training his body and his shoulders had widened due to the change. His lavender hair had grown out, reaching the nape of his neck, and height wise he had only really gained two inches more.
Tyson glanced to his right at the glass tubing, though nothing in his eyes or face showed what he could be thinking, and he turned back to Bryan.
"Dinner is about ready, wanted to make sure you were coming with us this time." He said quietly, not really knowing how to address the older member these days.
"Not tonight." Bryan answered quickly.
"You should eat something." Max piped in, standing just behind Tyson with Kenny to his left.
"I can't leave them, if they wake up they'll need someone here."
"Dude, the alarms will go off if they wake up." Tyson reminded, though even with this reminder he knew Bryan would still object.
The tall lavender teen just stood there for a while longer in silence, then shook his head no to the younger boy. "I can't leave them."
"Leave Tala or Ray?" Tyson asked, his voice getting a threatening tone into it.
"Tyson." Max warned quietly behind his best friend.
Bryan glared angrily at the younger boy, a tight frown on his lips. "They will both need medical attention in the end, so both." He snarled out.
"Yeah, whatever you say Bryan." Tyson sneered, his nose upturned at the other. "Tala's your best friend, yet we all know you can careless about him right now."
"Tyson." Kenny's small voice wavered, hiding behind the tall blonde beside him who braced himself in order to separate the two before things got worse.
"You don't know what you're talking about Granger, so I suggest you take a step back." Bryan threatened, his fists clenching at his sides.
Though the threat fell on deaf ears. "I know exactly what I'm talking about. Ever since he came around, Ray's been all anyone's ever thought about. Since day one I watched everyone fawn over him like he was some hot-shot and look at what having him around has done for us!" Tyson shouted.
"What Hiro did was not Ray's fault, and you know that! Everything that's happened was out of all of our hands." Bryan bit back, causing Kenny to jump from his spot behind Max.
"I'm not even talking about that! During our fight you didn't care that Tala was lying almost dead in Max's arms, you jumped in after Ray through Brooklyn's portal to save him and got yourself injured, and for what?! Ray won't love you!" Tyson screamed, his arms shaking at his side while his brown eyes began to water.
It was so fast that none of them saw it coming, and before they knew it Tyson's body was lifted off the ground by the scruff of his shirt. Bryan holding to it tightly, bringing their faces close as his grey eyes bore down angrily into Tyson's.
"I'm warning you again Granger, back off!" Bryan seethed.
A coy smirk came to Tyson's lips, even if the rest of his body and mind were screaming out in a panicked frenzy. "And what if I don't?"
"That's enough!" Max yelled, stepping next to the two and pulling on Bryan's arm with his only good one to have him release his friend.
Bryan did as he was told, letting Tyson back down onto his feet and took a step away from them. "Don't take your frustrations out on me, just because Max turned you down."
Tyson's face lit up redder than any of them had ever seen, while Max looked down at his own feet and his blonde bangs hung in his eyes.
"That… That isn't the problem here!"
"Oh yeah? Then what is Granger?! All I see is you trying to pick fights with anyone you come across these days, and none of them can help the fact that this is where we are right now. Your brother betrayed us, betrayed you, Kai betrayed us, and no one here can help that. Taking it out on the only people you can trust right now, is not a smart move. So, I suggest you back off for now." Bryan answered calmly.
"Your best friend could die in there; do you not care?!" Tyson screamed out.
"That's why I'm here! Don't you get that?! I'm not here just for Ray, but for Tala as well!"
"He loves you, and yet you push him aside for that… That THING!" Tyson screamed out, causing everyone's eyes to go wide at his choice of words for Ray.
Bryan blinked a few times, unsure of what to say just yet as he watched Tyson's tears roll down his cheeks. Max stood beside them both with his mouth open wide, while Kenny just stood shaking in his spot speechless.
"I had to push him away…" Bryan finally managed to say, his voice low and his attention diverting back towards the glass tubing. His eyes solely on his best friend, looking so peaceful within his block of ice.
"Don't you get it… I had to push Tala away… The reason we even came to the school was because of me."
Tyson blinked the tears away, while Max had become just as speechless as Kenny behind them all.
"What… What do you mean?" Tyson finally managed out, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"I was ordered to kill him by Boris, back when we were in the Abbey… I was the reason he was hurt so badly to the point of death. All because of them forcing Wolborg inside him… I almost followed through… Even then I knew he loved me, and that's why I couldn't finish the job. The reason we left the Abbey, and Dickenson found us and brought us to the school…. Tala forgave me, understanding that I was just following an order… But I've yet to forgive myself, that is why I pushed him away."
"I… I didn't know…" Tyson said shakily, eyes slightly wide and red from the tears that did fall from them.
"No one knew, besides Tala, myself, Dickenson, and Kai…" Bryan said quietly, crossing his arms back over his chest.
"I'm… I'm sorry Bryan…" Tyson said sheepishly, hanging his own head and looking away in shame while rubbing his arm in a nervous twitch.
"It's alright Tyson, I get it. We've all been stuck down here for two months with no word from anyone we've sent out. It was bound to happen." Bryan shrugged, not really looking back down at the other.
"I'll bring you some food from the hall then, so at least you can stay here and get something to eat." Tyson said, turning away and starting back the way he and the other two had come before.
"Thanks." Bryan smiled at his back, watching Max go after him and then focused on the shortest of them all as he stayed back. "What's up Chief?" Bryan asked, causing the small boy to jump in his spot.
"Oh, um… I wanted to know if you wanted to do this experimental treatment Emily, the Director, and I came up with or not?"
Bryan looked to be in thought for a moment, looking to the glass tubes once more before back to the shabby brown head. "I think I'm done trying to get better. Continue seeing what you can do for Max's arm."
Kenny adjusted the glasses that sat over the mess of his hair. "Those tests are still yet incomplete… I'm unsure if we're able to fix the trauma that was caused to him at all."
"As long as we keep trying, that's all that matters." Bryan answered.
Kenny nodded. "I agree. We'll continue doing what we can. Until then, I figured it best to tell you that we finally got word from the west city." At this Bryan raised a brow at the small boy, turning so he could give him his full attention.
"Did they find him?"
"I believe they did. It's taken some time to convince him to come here, but they'll be here with him in a few days." Kenny answered.
Bryan nodded, turning back towards the glass tubing, this time focusing on the raven-haired boy stuck in the ice next to his best friend. "Let's hope it helps him then."
Tired and exhausted, his black coal colored wings dragging limply behind him, Kai walked down the corridor of the grand home he was given by his grandfather. Sweat and blood mixed on his face, the scars on his left eye open from the fight he had just returned home from. Too weak and tired to retract his wings, he fell down on the couch in the sitting area of his home on his stomach with an oomph, his wings falling about him and covering him where the left hung slightly off and touched the floor.
Day in and day out, it didn't matter how tired he was or how tired his comrades were, his grandfather was relentless in ordering more and more attacks. Already Voltaire's forces had taken the Capitol, where Kai's home was now perfectly situated inside the boarders of. The South city was taken shortly after his battle with his ex-friends, and now they were moving to the East city, where plenty of resources for weapons lay. It was a constant battle though, and even though his own forces were relentless, it was as if they weren't making a dent in reaching the weapons they desperately wanted.
The rebel forces were just as tired, he was sure, but he knew he was stronger and the only part of it all that bothered him was that he wasn't home as often as he liked. Secluded and alone, that's how he liked it, but within a three months' time he was to marry Wyatt, and he knew once that was done and over with he would no longer be able to come home to his silent home.
Everything had already changed so much, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it all, not with the dark beast within him that seemed to take control over every aspect of his humanity and being. Inside he was screaming for an end, to him or the wars, he wasn't sure as there wasn't much of a difference to him; but he knew he wanted it all to end.
Slowly, almost as if he was afraid, he reached up and touched the dip between his neck and shoulder. His fingers barely brushing over the old and almost forgotten marks, a name on his tongue but not sure if it was the right name at all. So much was a blur to him these days, not only did he not feel like himself it was as if didn't know who he was either; beyond being Voltaire's number one human weapon.
Like always though, that scar didn't tell him anything. It didn't warm under his touch, like he felt like it should, it didn't hurt like the scars on his eyes; which he knew came from his old friend Tala in their battle two years ago. This scar though, he knew not where it came from or how he got it. It was just there, a silent reminder of something but to what he was unsure of. It didn't feel right and that only irritated him more than anything, already he felt unlike himself and this only served to mock him more.
The doorbell to his home rung out, causing his hand to jerk away from his neck as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't, and with an angry scowl on his face he pushed himself away from the couch. Another ring and he quickened his pace to the front of his home, barely reaching the door before another ring and he wretched the door open, the scowl not leaving his features.
"Oh good, you did make it home." Wyatt exclaimed relieved and excited, jumping into Kai's chest and holding him tightly where he could reach around his waist.
The past two years had changed both of them, Kai much taller than before now that he was nearing the age of 18, more muscled due to the fighting and harsh training he was put through. His two-toned hair was fuller in the front, where the darker back had grown out to his shoulders, mainly keeping it tied back, though after his battles today it had come undone and tossed about in a mess behind him.
While Wyatt had grown, if only slightly, but he was still as bubbly and clingy as he used to be, barely seventeen, but their guardians were adamant about the wedding now than waiting another year. His hair was more upkept, being the son of the President, he had to look the part. His clothes were always pressed and clean. These days he styled his brown tresses back in a slicked down way, looking more grown than he did before, but his demeanor always gave him away.
Kai gently pulled Wyatt's arms from around his waist, taking a step back from the younger boy. "Why are you here?" Kai asked, and if Wyatt had any lick of common sense he would have known Kai was not in the mood to deal with him right now.
"I heard that you lost a good number of fighters today, I was so worried you didn't make it back. But what do I know, right? I should have had more faith in you my love." Wyatt answered, his brown eyes beaming with all the love and adoration he had for the older boy. "I apologize for doubting you my love."
"Why are here Wyatt?" Kai asked, refraining from rolling his eyes at his soon to be husband.
"I wanted to make sure you were alright." Wyatt answered, looking up into Kai's crimson eyes. "And since I'm here now, how about I make you some dinner and tend to your wounds?" He answered, strutting past Kai through the door and into the house.
"If you insist." Kai breathed out in a sigh, closing the front door and following Wyatt towards the kitchen.
"I do insist, silly." Wyatt smiled brightly to him, walking with more of a bounce in his step to where the kitchen lay down the right of the front door. "What would you like to have my love?" He asked over his shoulder.
Kai didn't answer, just followed him into the kitchen where he sat down into a chair at the head of his table. His wings out to his sides as to not sit on them, ruffling them slightly to get some feeling back in them from having them lay at his back all this time.
"I'm thinking something Italian?" Wyatt commented, already head deep within the cupboards of Kai's kitchen. A grunt was the only response he got, though that didn't seem to bother him as he went about and collected the ingredients to whatever it was he was going to make.
"I heard that the East city rebels are giving you a hard time." He mused, stirring the noodles in the boiling pot of water at the stove. "I've asked father to give you some more troops, but with today's casualties I don't think I want you out there again. At least not at the front lines."
"It's not for you to worry about." Kai said, watching Wyatt over the fringe of his bangs as he sat at his table.
"Well I think it is Kai, we're to be married shortly and I can't very well marry you if you're dead." Wyatt answered back, his voice higher pitched and slightly scolding. "Why your grandfather keeps sending you out there is beyond me, he's the one pushing for this marriage after all. Not that I'm complaining, mind you." Wyatt huffed out, his stirring of the noodles slowing as his face fell slightly.
"I can't risk losing you… Not with father's ailing health… You're all I have." He whispered out, his shoulders coming forward slightly.
Fighting himself in his body and mind, Kai stood and went to the downtrodden boy. Wrapping his arms about Wyatt's waist, resting his chin on the top of his head. Wyatt seemed to relax into the hold, sighing deeply and wiping the few stray tears that were coming to his eyes as he rested into Kai's firm hold and chest.
"We're almost there. I promise I'll come home, every night. You have nothing to worry about." Kai spoke softly, getting a nod in return. "Once we have these weapons, we'll be able to wipe the East city off the map, along with their rebel forces."
"I just don't want to see you get hurt, more than you already are." Wyatt answered, his body finally relaxing fully.
Spinning around in Kai's embrace, he reached up and touched the claw marks that marred the left side of Kai's face. Fingers traced over them, feeling the dried blood from when they reopened later that day. With a sigh he drew his hand away and leaned his forehead into Kai's chest.
"Just come home to me, always." Wyatt whispered, wrapping his arms about Kai's waist once more.
Kai stood there, like a brick wall, holding the smaller teen in his arms with his chin still resting on top of his hair. A knot was forming in his stomach, one of disgust and anger, but who that was all directed at he was unsure of. It didn't feel right to hold Wyatt like this, he was opposed to the marriage arrangement, but part of him felt like he had to comfort his fiancé. It all made him sick to his stomach, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
"Always…"