Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters that I use here. I do, however, own the plot and any original concepts and Original Characters (O.C.) that I may feature. All OC character designs and any images I post of them will also be owned by me. I am also not writing this fanfic for profit, or to in any way affect the franchise's production or distribution.
Original Characters: For those who care there are (or will be) links to a profile picture for each O.C. I use that is of some importance in my user profile. If you are new to the story, I recommend you look at them as the characters are introduced in the story.
Note: This story actually contains elements from Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Adventure/Action/Mecha/Drama/Romanc e but I could only pick two for the filters. While not AU, this does expand on the fantasy component of the mythos of the original Beyblade series as well as contain elements of Sci-Fi beyond what was present in the original throughout.
Additionally, although some of you may be aware that this is technically a sequel, this story will require as little knowledge of the first to understand as possible. I will try my utmost to make this enjoyable without requiring following the first story (although you are still encouraged to read it obviously).
Enjoy!
CHAPTER ONE
~ False Tranquility ~
The first stars of the evening hang brightly in the darkening, blue sky over the remote facilities of the American BBA building. The front door of the lobby opens and Judy steps out from it. She checks her silver wristwatch for a moment. The time reads seven ten.
'Good.' She notes with a bright smile. 'I've finished work early enough to have dinner with Max one last time before he returns to Japan.'
She proceeds to walk into the parking lot towards her car. Deactivating the car alarm, she gets into the vehicle and soon drives off towards the city. The lights inside the building dim one by one soon after.
...
In a much darker space, three silhouettes, a male and two females dressed in tight fitting suits, equip themselves with a variety of equipment. When the shortest of their group finishes putting on her helmet, the three emerge into the much better lit area behind the transport's pilot seat. Their pilot, also male, asks, "We're approaching the point directly above the target. Right now, we're at an altitude of 4,000 m above ground. Wind speed is to the northwest at 8 km/h. Are you three ready?"
"Of course we are." One of the females, the taller of the two, answers him in a laid back manner. "We were all at the briefing."
"Let's just get this over with." The shorter male behind the pilot says with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I'm sleep deprived thanks to the six hour time zone difference."
"I agree." The last one nods simply.
"Alright, I'll be sending you instructions later on." the pilot tells them as they open the door of the helicopter. "Good luck."
The three of them then descend one by one from the aircraft.
...
Elsewhere, in a classy, skyrise restaurant, a waiter leads Max and his mother through the quiet setting to a table by the window. As the waiter seats them, Max admires the glittering cityscape outside.
"Wow, what a great view, mom." He says with his eyes glued to the outside.
"I'm glad you like it here, Max." Judy says to her son. "A colleague of mine showed me this place a while ago. Since this is the last meal we'll be having together for a while, I thought I'd take you here."
"Thanks, mom, you're the best!" Max thanks his mother.
...
Back at the American BBA building, a beyblade flies quickly into the glass doors of the lobby, shattering the structure. Three suited figures then dash swiftly inside. As they do, alarms sound throughout the building, calling on-duty security officers to the spot of their entry. The three of them stop as five officers rush in to confront them. The shortest of the three launches her blade at them and quickly disarms the guards, allowing her companions to knock them out with a few swift strikes in the darkened room. When all guards have been knocked down, a static buzz sounds in the helmet of the taller of the two girls.
"Feu, the security room is down the left hall." Their accomplice from the aircraft tells her through the communicator in her helmet. "When you get to the end of the hall, turn left and then right."
The one called Feu responds, "Got it."
As she heads down the left hallway, further instructions are given to the remaining two, "Auel and Luca, head upstairs. The fragment we want is on the highest level and their main database should be on the third."
"Yeah, sure." The male replies, he then turns to the girl beside him, "Let's go, Luca."
The girl nods and the two of them head to the emergency stairwell to go up.
At the security room, an explosive blows the door open. A blade soon flies in and disarms the three guards inside while its owner releases a thick smoke from a small metal container. The guards pass out quickly and are thrown out into the hallways. As the door to the room closes, the black suited female called Feu proceeds through the clearing room to access the computer controlling the major security systems.
"This is Feu. I've gained control over the security center." She reports to the others as she inserts a small drive into one of the computer's ports. "Now overwriting all stored footages. All linked security systems should be disabled in fifteen seconds."
"Good." The guy from the helicopter commends her.
The other girl, also clad in black, walks pass some knocked out guards and steps through the door labeled level three. As the door closes behind her, she reports, "This is Luca. I am at the third level. The mainframe supercomputer where the target data should be kept is in sight."
"Proceed to copy." Their coordinator instructs.
"Acknowledged." She replies as she approaches the main controls.
In a sterile hallway further upstairs, a beyblade ricochets off the sturdy walls of the facility's hallways and knocks out the weapons on the security guards' hands. A swift, descending midair kick then follows to knock them both out. As the male lands back on the floor, he reports, "This is Auel. Now at the entrance to level ten. Proceeding to enter."
"Good, we seem to be on schedule." The coordinator replies from the aircraft, he shifts his attention to a different part of the holographic map before him. "Luca, how are you doing on your end?"
The one called Luca types away with extraordinary speed and focus as she replies, "I've gained full access to their system. Currently copying targeted experimental data."
"Don't forget to delete the original and to corrupt their system's core files." The guy in the aircraft reminds her.
"I will not forget." She tells him.
Outside, loud sirens begin to approach the raided BBA building. Corresponding beeps sound on the holographic map on board the helicopter in midair. Knowing that their time is limited, their coordinator turns his attention to the one he had sent to the highest floor. "Auel?"
"Relax, Leo," he says, while cracking the security on a centerpiece glass case. It beeps shortly as the case opens and all motion sensors around it are disabled. "I got this one in the bag."
Police cars begin to swarm the outside area as the door to the roof opens and Luca steps out to join her companion Feu.
"I've completed my part." She reports both to her accomplice and their coordinator.
Feu nods and watches the sky. A few dozen grenades fall scattered around them and the area of the building, creating an intense smoke screen to blind the police below. Their helicopter lands before them, driving away the smoke in that spot and opens its door.
"Where's Auel?" the pilot, called Leo, asks.
"How should I know." Feu answers him, climbing in.
Luca follows her on board. Behind them, the door opens again and Auel appears with a small container in his hand. He runs towards the aircraft, "Don't forget about me!"
He climbs in with Luca and Feu's help as the helicopter takes off and out of the smoke. Once inside, the two girls close the door behind him.
"We're not in the clear yet." Leo tells his team as he checks their radar. "Police helicopters. Two of them."
Auel tries to peak behind them from the window. "They armed?"
"Doubt it." Leo answers. "But I think they're trying to tail us."
"We can't let them follow us to the rendezvous point." Luca says as she approaches the pilot's seat.
"Huh…?" Leo moves aside in shock as she climbs over him to the controls. He protests, "Hey, that's dangerous! Warn me beforehand…"
The others watch as she activates their aircraft's weapons. She then locks onto one of their pursuers' rotors and fires a missile towards it. The attack hits its target and the targeted helicopter begins to lose altitude quickly, leaving behind a trail of smoke. As its partner descends to save their comrades on board the falling craft, Luca increases their helicopter's collective and slams the cyclic forward, accelerating them off into the distance.
...
A car parks in the built-in parking lot of an apartment building in uptown Manhattan. Max and his mother step out from the car to the elevator where they begin to ride up to the floor of their home. As Judy is about to unlock the door, her phone rings loudly, disrupting her. She picks it up and hands the key of her apartment to her son.
"Yes, this is Judy." She answers the call.
Max unlocks their door but watches as his mother listens to the call with shock.
After a small while, Judy says, "Yes, I'll head there shortly."
She then hangs up.
"Mom?" Max looks at his mother curiously. "Something wrong?"
"The BBA's been broken into." His mother tells him. "They need me there right now so I'm going to head out."
As she turns to go, Max tries to follow, "Wait, mom, I'm coming with you."
"No, Max," she stops him. "You have a plane to catch early tomorrow morning. You need to go to bed."
"But…" Max wants to protest but he knows she's right.
"Don't worry, everything will be okay." She assures him.
He nods with a smile and heads inside.
...
The next day, the late morning sun shines brightly over a clear blue sky in Japan. Tyson stands in the waiting area of a brightly lit airport, tapping his foot impatiently as he waits for his friend, Max, to arrive. Next to him, Daichi is snacking on a bag of chips they had bought for him on the way. Kenny and Hilary wait with them on a nearby bench. A small laptop sits on the small boy's lap while Ray stands behind them.
"Last night, a group of three broke into the New York branch of the American BBA. Massive damages were reported to the building's main computer systems and a research artifact was reportedly stolen by the group. On duty security guards who were knocked out on the scene noted that the group was well trained in hand-to-hand combat and were equipped with a variety of military grade equipment, including hand grenades with sleeping gas and an armed helicopter for escape. Police investigators are unable to identify these intruders but suspect they are affiliated with…"
Kenny, Hilary and Ray continue to watch the report with their eyes glued to the screen in awe as a representative of the American BBA being interviewed reveals that road blockades have been set up around the facility without good reason, delaying police response.
Hilary asks, "Wasn't the last time that something like this happened around three years ago?"
"Yes," Kenny answers her as he continues to listen to the report. "If I remember correctly, that was when Max's friend Alan broke in, but that was an inside job. This time it seems to be different."
"I wonder what they were after." Ray comments.
A blond boy runs toward the group from the distance.
"Hey guys!" Max greets his friends.
"Max!" Tyson and Daichi runs up to him
Kenny, Hilary and Ray follow shortly.
"Welcome back," Tyson tells him.
"Thanks," Max returns. "How've you guys been?"
"We've been good," Tyson tells him. "But things sure weren't the same without you around, buddy."
Max smiles, "Awe, Tyson…"
As they carry on with their reunion, a group of four foreigners consisting of two males and two females walks pass them from the same direction from which Max came. One of them, a slender golden blonde clad in a blue and white crisscross halter top dress, catches Ray's eyes and he turns to follow the group with his gaze.
"Ray, something the matter?" Tyson asks, noticing his friend's distracted state.
"It's nothing…" Ray tells him. "I just thought for a moment that the girl who passed us by looks a little familiar."
The others turn their attention to the girl in question as she continues walking away from them with her group.
"Maybe you've just seen her somewhere else before." Tyson says. "We've been all over the world you know."
Ray eyes the girl one more time. "Hm…"
Unnoticed by the group, the golden blonde had kept her eyes on them as well. As they disappear from her view, she turns to face forward again but finds herself bumping hard into one of her companions in front of her.
"Watch it." The male bluenette mouths to her, annoyed.
She looks up to him apologetically.
"Give her a break." The guy with green hair next to her says. "She's probably just exhausted from the long ride on the plane."
"Yeah, whatever." The first guy shrugs.
"By the way," the second guy says, this time directly to the blonde, "The three of us have something to take care of after we check in at the hotel so feel free to go explore town to your heart's content."
The girl nods with a smile.
"Just don't get lost." The first guy adds.
She nods again. As she turns to look around the airport, the taller, red haired girl in their group eyes her cautiously.
...
A little while later, after Max had temporarily dropped his things off in a room at Tyson's dojo, Max borrows Kenny computer to make a video call to his mother. His friends, who had wanted to say hello, sits and stands gathered around him in one of the rooms. After waiting a few seconds, Max's mother picks up the call and appears on the other side of the screen.
Happy to see her son, she greets him and his friends, "Max! You made it safely, I'm glad. And hello there, Tyson."
"Hey," Tyson grins as he waves hello.
"Hehe, they all wanted to say 'hi'." Max explains.
"Well, hello everyone." Judy greets them with a warm smile. "I hope you're all doing well over there."
"We are," Kenny answers her cheerfully.
"So mom, how did things go at the American BBA?" Max asks with concern.
"Things are very hectic here at the moment, Max." She answers. Then in a more serious tone, she turns to the rest of them and adds, "As you all might have already heard, there was a break in last night. I'm not able disclose too much but since you guys were the ones who sent the item to me to begin with, I'll tell you this much: The research artifact that the intruders stole was the bitbeast fragment that Kenny had sent to me last year. Since they've also erased all of our data on it, if you don't mind Kenny, I'd like to request whatever data you have of it on your computer."
Now, the group looks at each other and to Kenny, appearing rather lost. The small boy in turn looks around him and then to Judy more lost than they are.
"Me?" he points a finger to his face, extremely baffled by Judy's statement.
Judy looks at him, confused too now. She does not understand why they are confused. "Why, yes. You sent it to me a year ago. Did you forget?"
Kenny scratches his head for a moment to try to remember. "I don't think I ever sent such a thing…A bitbeast fragment?"
Judy appears surprised by this.
"Where would I get something like that in the first place?" Kenny asks.
Judy stares at him in silent shock.
"Could you tell me more about this please?" Kenny inquires.
"Hm…" Judy thinks for a moment. She then asks, "If I remember correctly, I believe you told me that the fragment came from a girl Kai came across called Lux."
"Lux?" Tyson repeats.
The group looks at each other while Ray thinks on it.
'I've heard that name somewhere before…' he notes in his mind.
"Who's Lux?" Daichi asks.
Now, Judy just appears baffled by their reactions. "Maybe I recalled the name incorrectly. I'll find the records of that email and I'll send it to you guys through Kenny, okay?"
"…Sure." Kenny nods hesitantly.
"Well, Max, I'll see you next time, okay?" Judy turns back to her son.
"Sure mom." Max returns, still confused by what his mother had just told them.
With that, Judy hangs up from her end, ending the call. Everyone then turns to Kenny.
Noticing, the boy exclaims, "Guys, I really didn't send her anything."
"Well, I don't think my mom's crazy." Max defends his mother.
"So you think I'm crazy?" Kenny freaks out.
"No, that's not it, Chief," Tyson calms him down. "But really, what was she talking about?"
"I don't know…" Kenny answers them.
Max thinks on it for a moment. The name "Lux" did ring a bell in him, just a very small one. However, for the life of him, he can't recall anything about it.
Unknown to them, a young foreigner dressed in traditional kendo garments sits outside the room in which they are conversing.
...
Downtown, before a grand hotel, a limousine arrives before a quartet of youths in a busy district. Other than the blonde who is still clad in the same attire as when she was at the airport, the other three have changed into formal business attire. As the driver steps out from the vehicle to open a door to the backseats for them, the blue haired babyface and red head steps forward to climb in. The green haired male with shades places a hand on his blonde companion's shoulder.
"We'll be back later tonight, so don't look so disappointed." He tells her.
She doesn't seem any happier to part with them however.
"Come on, we're not going on a field trip or anything. If you came along, you'll be bored in no time." He then pulls out a folded map and hands it to her, which she accepts.
She looks at him with question.
"I asked a tour guide in the hotel lobby to mark down all the interesting places in the city for you." He tells her. "Why don't you go visit some of these places in the meantime today? I hear there's a lot of interesting sights in Japan that you won't see in other countries."
She nods.
"Hey, hurry up or we're leaving without you!" the babyface calls to him from the car.
"I gotta go, okay?" The guy with shades tells the girl in front of him, turning to leave her.
She watches as the vehicle's door closes and the car leaves the hotel entrance. Having nothing to do now, she opens up the map her companion had given her and a particular unmarked spot on it catches her eye. She stares at it for a little while and then looks around. Seeing a nearby woman passing by, she approaches her.
"Excuse me," she stops the woman.
"Yes?" the woman responds.
The girl then shows her the place on the map that had interested her. "How can I get here?"
...
The bright afternoon's rays gently graze the lush, green scenery of a small secluded grove. Kai sits a small distance from a family of short haired strays. He had been taking care of this family of cats for around two years now, bringing them food on a regular or near regular basis. Today, he had again, brought and opened some canned cat food for them. He continues to watch them eat from where he is.
Two years have now passed since BEGA and in last year's tournament, Kai had once again failed to acquire the world title from his best friend and rival, Tyson. He did not do too poorly, though; the team he had played in, the Blitzkrieg Boys, had scored second place. However, this is the third time he had been seconded by Tyson and he is not happy with it. With his grandfather's deteriorating health and his approaching adulthood, his days as a blader will soon be numbered.
This isn't the only thing on Kai's mind, however. A year ago, right before the start of the World Championships, two rather unusual events had taken place. First, for a reason he cannot recall, he had hired a new butler to manage his estate. Although in hind sight, he regrets this action, due to the contract he had given his new household manager, he really can't do anything to get rid of him anytime soon. The guy was more than competent; he had graduated from a top notch butler school in England and his performance more than reflects what is stated in his resume. This effectively leaves Kai with no reasonable grounds as basis to fire him.
The other unusual incident happened one morning when he had awoken with a dreadful headache. The headache alone would not be very unusual or very memorable, though. It was the two objects that he had found tightly gripped in his hand that made the morning so strange for him. For the life of him, he did not know where the two objects had originated. He had asked his butler about this but the man simply stated he must've picked them up somewhere. Of course, Kai cannot imagine where he would just pick up an unusual bitchip and a thin ribbon with a golden bell attached and hold onto it so dearly in his sleep. He had attempted to use the bitspirit inside the bitchip just for a test run but no matter how many times he tried, there was simply no response from it other than a small glow. When he showed it to Kenny, all Kenny could confirm for him was that something was definitely inside but nothing more. His friends had proposed he send it to the American facilities to have it analyzed, but for an inexplicable reason, Kai could not bring himself to part with it and thus refused.
He now holds the bitchip and ribbon before him, in deep thought. However, his focus is soon disrupted by a rustle some distance away. Snapping from his thoughts, Kai puts away the two objects and gets off the ground to see what it is.
Peeking out from the trees that obscured him and his feline wards, he sees a well dressed young girl around his age with golden blond hair. In her hand is a partly folded map and she seems to be wandering around. He also soon notices her medium heeled sandals and notes their inappropriateness for the woodland terrain, or any terrain aside from flat concrete for that matter. Choosing not to say anything, he merely continues to observe her. Upon seeing her face, he notes her unusual eyes and familiarity.
The girl, not having noticed his presence, stops walking and looks around. She remains this way in an absentminded state for a little while, leaving Kai curious why she had come to the normally unfrequented grove. However, soon, something catches her eye and he watches as she takes note of an extraordinarily pretty swallowtail fluttering near her. As it leaves the vicinity around her, she follows it, both with her eyes and physically. The butterfly eventually flies in Kai's direction, leading the girl to him and she finally takes notice of him but too late as she steps on a rather lumpy part of the ground and falls forward.
Kai catches her with one hand and asks, "Are you alright?"
The girl mentally recovers quickly from the fall and nods in his grip. She then looks up to see the swallowtail disappearing behind some bushes and Kai observes a look of disappointment on her features. Unfortunately for him, however, she soon also notices something else…something that most would consider rather unbecoming and yet was completely accidental on Kai's part.
Kai notices this too soon after her, but sadly, he does not get any time to respond as the girl proceeds to elbow him hard in the face for it angrily before subsequently freeing herself from him and dashing off the way she came.
This…left Kai confused and rather sorry. Aware of why she hit him, he really would have preferred a chance to apologize to the girl; he didn't mean to touch her where he had after all. Besides, it wasn't his fault that she fell; she should blame her inappropriate choice of footwear for that. He was merely trying to catch her, really. She didn't have to run away from him the way she did…or hit him for that matter.
He sighs and concludes, 'Whatever. I guess if I ever see her again I'll tell her sorry.'
Of course, he is doubtful that he will see the girl again. He turns back to the cats nearby. They had seen the entire thing. He sighs again and mutters, "At least you guys won't make fun of me for that…"
Some of the cats meow in response.
Kai then notices one of the cats staring off in the direction of where the girl had ran. His observation and partial relief is cut short however, by yet another human approaching, this time, someone he is all too familiar with.
"Master Kai," the suited butler addresses him from a different direction than where the girl had come from.
"What is it?" he asks. He then adds, "And I told you that I come here to be alone."
"My apologies," the butler bows to excuse himself. "I thought I should let you know that a representative from a rivaling company has made a move to seize the deal that your grandfather's company was hoping to make with the military. Since Master Voltaire has made it clear that he wishes for you to be more involved in the company's matters-"
"Enough." Kai cuts him off. "I'll see to it when I have the interest. Go."
He bows again. "Yes, Master Kai."
Kai listens to his footsteps as he leaves. This was one of the reasons why he had regretted hiring the guy. He does what he is suppose to a little too well and seems to always be able to find him for reports like this even when Kai wants to hide from him. Deciding he might as well go see what's up with the deal he mentioned, Kai bends down to pet the cats one more time before leaving.
As he is about to reach the edge of the grove, a young man with ice blue hair drops down from a tree and greets him, "Yo."
Before he can react, he feels someone cover his mouth and nose from behind him and before he knows it, everything turns black.
Okay, for a first chapter, this came out rather long. Let me know what you guys think. In the meantime, you are also encouraged to read the first story if you liked this chapter.
Til next time!