Disclaimer: (for all the fic) I am just borrowing these poor characters for my own amusement and very interesting purposes... cackle

Blue: YES! Back from the dead is meeee! After over a year of not writing, I have returned! Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen...aaanyways, this is not a fic I had originally intended to write, but more or less one that just popped into my mind that I liked the idea of. I hope you all enjoy...and I felt I needed to write this. You will all see why later in the future.

Dedications: This chapter goes out to my buddy Rae TB who has been there for me so much and inspired me to make this fic.

Betae'd by: LP...who is probably still twitching from all of the spelling and grammar errors. Sorry! ;

ON WITH THE FIC!

When you are with me, I'm free
I'm careless, I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice

My Sacrafice, Creed

"Alright…one last stanza I think." A pen scratched across the page, flying as it went.

Does anyone know where it started?

Does anyone know where it ends?

This idea that our world's become heartless,

This impression that scars never mend.

"Now…what to call it?" the writer mused to himself, tapping the pen to his chin thoughtfully, putting words together in his mind. A grin spread across his face and he nodded in approval. "That's the one…"

Bringing the pen down to the page, he wrote- "Good Is The New Bad" by Rei Kon.

Rei's golden eyes glanced over his work proudly for a moment before giving it one more nod of approval and tucking it away in his pocket. A faint shout of "Hurry up, Rei!" came from downstairs. He sighed and moved off of his bed, stretching with hints of cat-like grace about his body. He winced slightly at the golden sun, shimmering through his window glass like a dazzling jewelled ray as it snuck into his room and reflected in his eyes.

He'd always been a poet for as long as he could remember, but he rarely wrote. Usually just simple limericks and quotable metaphors when he couldn't sleep late at night. They used to be funny, hopeful, innocent to the point of naïve, however in the last year or so they'd gone from "finding the light in the dark" and spiralled downwards.

He was buttoning up his Beyblade uniform when he caught sight of his bare arms, causing him to shiver and glance around quickly for the bandages he traditionally wrapped his forearms with.

Finding them, Rei let out a breath of relief and snatched them up before sitting on the bed, taking one last look at his left arm before beginning to wrap it up.

As stated before - the last year wasn't as easy as his friends had perceived. And he was not as strong as they had hoped…

He'd cut his own flesh countless times. Countless times for punishment when he believed it to be all his fault, countless times for relief when the stress and the pressure seemed too great to bear, and even more countless times when it was all a blur and he didn't even know he had been doing it.

Yeah, he knew he was a coward. His parents and even good friends had told him many times that it was so. But still, he felt relief when he did it…

He'd been trying to stop lately, but it just didn't seem to work. When he'd be at his lowest and he knew it, he would excuse himself from the group, go off and let the pain seep away before going back to his friends who, happy that he was happy and joking again, didn't seem to take another second to think about it.

Rei was sure he knew what he was doing. Or, at least he thought he was sure. At least he was 95 sure. The other five percent was where his friends and parents had drilled into him the consequences of his actions.

But what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, now would it?

"REI! You're going to be late! Let's move!" Rei jumped a bit at the suddenness of his father's shout and quickly finished wrapping his arms. He looked himself over in the skinny full-length mirror on the wall opposite to him. Without a second thought, he glared at the teenage boy reflected back at him.

'I hate you…' he thought, and turning away he rushed to the door and left the room without a single glance back, his long ponytail flicking out behind him.

His father met him at the stairs, his leather jacket over his shoulder and he motioned impatiently for Rei to hurry and get out the door. "Hello, offspring.," he teased, "You're going to be late!"

Rolling his eyes, Rei nodded and slipped on the sports coat the BBA had provided him with. He was damn proud of that jacket. His name and everything were embroidered in bright lettering with the words "World Champ" just under it. He had to smile as he looked at the words fondly before racing out the door after his father, who was already revving up the car and…

PULLING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY?

"DAD!" Rei shouted, darting after the car as it started to pull away. It stopped and Rei could see his father grinning in the driver's seat.

At least his dad had the smarts of laughing at him AFTER he had his seat belt on and the car was moving. Otherwise Rei would have had to make himself an orphan.

"See you later, kiddo! And good luck!"

Rei waved goodbye to his father as he drove away before turning to the tall BBA building and taking a very deep breath. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets and gracefully strode into the white building.

"REI!" was the chorused greeting. Rei's two best friends, Tyson and Max, ran up to him and wrapped the older boy in a bear hug. Laughing, Rei patted them both on the head and stole Tyson's hat, (Tyson: HEY! T-T) slipping it onto his own head and walking towards Mr. Dickenson on the other side of the lobby.

It was Mister Dickenson who had called him and the others to the BBA this morning. Why? Well, he wasn't completely sure, but at least he wasn't going to be completely surprised. The big man had mentioned something about a video game endorsement that they were going to try out. Nothing too special… the Bladebreakers, or G-Revolution as they had come to be known nowadays, had been doing a lot of stuff like this. Logos and sports wear was only a small portion of it.

As Tyson had so lightly put it one day during a photo shoot, they were "More popular than pizza."

(Blue: Which is very, very popular, for all of those slow people out there…not naming any names… cough LP

LP: bite me… nothing could be more popular than pizza. Mmm… pizza….drools)

"Ah Rei!" Mr. Dickenson nodded to him in greeting (In the background - Tyson: REEI! Gimme back my hat, dagnabbit! I've got hat hair!) before motioning for him to sit on the couch opposite to him.

"Hey Mister D." Rei replied, moving to take the offered seat…but hesitated as he saw who he would be sharing the couch with.

The one guy who he had hoped was going to skip out on this new endorsement… why Rei had raised his hopes about that was beyond him. After all, he, this guy, and Tyson were the most popular guys around. Heck, even Maxie had a fanclub! But Kai ruled it all…he and Rei were tied, actually.

Yep. It was Kai sitting on the couch (Blue: once again, for slow readers.) and wouldn't even look at him or pretend he noticed the Chinese blader's entrance.

'Bastard,' he thought, a growl threatening to spill from Rei's lips, but he held back. Smiling at Mister Dickenson, he took a seat on the leather armchair next to it. "So, what's going on today, Mr. D?"

If the old man noticed the tension between the two, he took no notice, but instead continued to cheerfully chat, fiddling with his bowler hat as he so normally did.

"Well, Rei, all I know are the basics. The people behind this entire parade have not shown up just yet, but I assume they will be here shortly."

"What are the basics, Mr. D?" Rei heard Max's voice from behind him and tilted his head to the side just as Tyson's hand shot out to grab his hat back, missing by a little less than a mile.

Mister Dickenson chuckled as Tyson pouted rather like a four year old who just had his favourite toy taken away and sat on the arm of the chair next to Rei. Max took the other arm.

Rei looked over to Kai and smirked as he noticed the older blader looking at him with disdain, but quickly turned away, preferring to look at the fake potted plant next to him. 'Yeah, that's right… look at something about as interesting as yourself, Ice Man,' he thought sarcastically.

"The basics are, Tyson," Mister Dickenson spoke, and Rei turned his full attention to the man, a victorious smirk plastered on his face, "that you boys will be the first to play a one-of-a-kind game. All that I know other than that are that it is a very difficult game that will test your foundation as a team, as the game itself is based around team-work and the bond you boys share. As well, it will help you become more in-sync with your bit-beasts."

The group was quiet before Tyson spoke, rather too cheerfully, "Teamwork, bonds, friendship, and bit-beasts…" Rei felt a sudden breeze on his head and his jaw dropped in mock aghast as Tyson slipped on his hat once more, "sounds almost too easy! We've got this one in the bag… nothing beats our team, right guys?"

Max agreed, with Rei cheering after a split-seconds hesitation after a glance at Kai. The captain himself just 'Hn'd' his response.

Mister Dickenson looked at Kai quizzically, when Tyson leaned over and said in a rather loud whisper "Mostly, we think that means either 'yes,' 'no,' 'maybe,' and 'I traded my blading skills for a chicken.' In this case, I believe it translates into the first of that list…"

"Tyson's the leading expert in Kai-ology!" Max chirped.

Rei chuckled as Kai sent a piercing glare their way. "Well then, mister 'Expert,' what's the translation for 'if you don't shut up, I'm going to knock you into the next millennium?'" Kai stood, holding up a fist threateningly.

Tyson didn't seem fazed at all and actually thought that over for a moment before responding.

"That means 'RUN!'"

Tyson and Max grinned before turning to run… and slammed right into two figures and to the floor who had been standing behind them.

Kai smirked and strode purposefully to the figures looming over his team mates. "Ah, Tala. It's been too long." He held out his hand and caught eyes with Tala's, who took it and they shook quickly.

"It has been… and I believe we've wasted enough time on idle chit-chat. This experiment waits for no one."

Tyson and Max (who had been helped up, not by choice mind you, by Spencer from the back of their shirts) looked to one another, then back to Tala and Bryan. (yes, the other ice-man was there too.) "You guys are running this?" they exclaimed, pretty much in unison.

"With me, guys," a voice squeaked, and Kenny came out from behind the two former Demolition Boys.

The sigh of relief was evident in every single G-Rev member there.

Rolling his eyes, Tala grabbed Kai's wrist and proceeded to drag Kai to the elevators, whilst Spencer carried Tyson and Max. Bryan didn't even move to go get Rei… he was already up on his own. And anyways, though they had come to the agreement that Bryan had not intended on hurting Rei in his first year of professional beyblading, the two were still not on wonderful terms… so, sidling past Bryan with Mr. D, they left him to bring up the rear.

"Mr. Dickenson told you about the game, right?" Tala asked as they were heading up in the elevator and didn't even wait for an answer. "Good. Well here's an even better description - you are going to be playing a one-of-a-kind virtual game. The point is, of course, to save the world. Are you all with me so far? Excellent."

Rei rolled his eyes. Arrogant prat…just like Kai. They must have been related or separated at birth…

The redhead continued as the bell dinged for the top floor. "You will battle with given weapons that the character you choose to be is assigned. And this is where your bit-beasts come in. When you have reached a certain level of power, you can summon their powers, and perhaps even call them into being where they will form right there in the game beside you.

They had stepped off the elevator and into a dark laboratory with large super-computers littering its floor, and at the far end were what looked to be four pods attached together, then the cords leading up to one of the largest screens the Bladebreakers had ever seen.

Tala spun about and looked at them all very seriously… walking backward through the lab. The scientists themselves didn't stop working at all, but continued to move about doing their duties.

"I warn you now- this world is not real. It will definitely seem that way, but it is not. Keep that in mind as you go along through the game. Do not become attached to any characters, and even when you think you feel pain, it's not real.

"There is no way to be injured in reality. The safety devices were programmed by only the most brilliant of minds in all of beyblade and gaming technology."

Tala's expression became more serious than ever (if that was possible… you can't really tell with the guy) as they stopped at the pods, the screen above them fading into a mass of swirling blues and purples.

"One more thing before you go… this game will test your emotion, your soul, and your physical state beyond your wildest imagination. The reason you four are going in rather than the greatest pilots and astronauts on the face of the Earth who have had those three grounds tested this way already is because of your bond and your ability to overcome anything… however, I am under strict code when I ask this.

"If you are not in peak emotional, physical, or mental health, please say so now. If not, pray that your guardian angel can keep up with this game, because you are going to need all the help you can get."

Rei kept the stoic expression on his face almost too easily… but inside, he had doubts. Yeah, these guys knew the real basics of his home life - that his parents were getting a divorce. But did they really know the magnitude of it? Or what was happening that came with it? No…

But as the others just scoffed Tala, Tyson telling him that even if there was something wrong with one of them, they were a team and that they could pull through it, Rei didn't have the heart to say a word.

He'd be letting them down… they were all strong, and Rei was one of the strongest. So they thought…he wasn't about to ruin their perceptions of him now.

Rolling his eyes, Rei added to the other's arguments "Come on Tala… there's a reason we're on every cereal box in the world, and we have our own clothing line… I think we can handle a little arcade game, don't you?"

Tala smirked. "Hey, as I said, policy… heck, even I have faith in you guys." Turning to Spencer who dropped Tyson and Max on their rears, he nodded to the others on his team and motioned to the pods. "Alright guys… get ready for the ride of your lives."

Blue: And that is the first chappie of hopefully very few to this new story of mine! As you can see, it will touch on not only Yaoi, but depression, family problems, and self-mutilation. If you don't like it, then please stop reading now.

RnR! Reviews make me happy...and if I get lots, then I'll update fast! nod nod nod