Yes, I am attempting a sequel. Due to the fact that I, and some of you, did not like the ending. Which is fine. Because, seriously, I hated the ending.

Disclaimer: For this and future chapters: I do not own beyblade. I never will. I do not own any of the Beyblade characters.
I do have Ellie, Sorin and Rica, and any other "crew" that is not a part of Beyblade. But that is it. Ah, and basic story-line, but I think my mind has rights to that...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ch 1

Rei was standing in the kitchen, an apron around his waist, as he was cooking for himself and a few friends, who would be coming over in a few hours. He was merely preparing everything at the moment, and, knowing that some of it would take a while to prepare, he had started early.

The door banged open, and Mariah came walking in, almost calmly.

"Hey, Rei." She said, hopping up to sit on the counter.

Rei smiled softly at her, and continued to prepare for the meal, slicing a few mushrooms.

Mariah watched him for a moment, and then she looked away, nonchalantly saying, "There's someone outside of the village who is looking for you."

Rei gave her a confused look, "Why outside of the village?"

Mariah shrugged. "She refused to come into the village." She slid off the counter and headed towards the door. "Should I tell her to go away?" She asked softly, watching him.

"Ah, no, I'm coming…" He said frowning, and untying his apron. A few minutes out in the air would not hurt the current ingredients, so he decided to just leave them there on the counter.

He frowned as he folded up the apron and set it aside. He followed Mariah as she walked around the village, finally leading him to the outskirts. She spoke the whole time, and Rei listened quietly, but was confused and mostly focused on the visitor.

"Alright. Here she is." Mariah said suddenly, pointing to a girl who was not looking at them, but outward into the trees.

They both walked up, and the girl, apparently hearing them approach, whipped around to face them.

Rei just stared at her for a moment- this was no girl, she was a woman grown. Her brown hair was down to her lower rib cage, but held in a lose ponytail at the back of her neck. Her face was pale.

Rei was struggling, he knew this person. He knew who she could not be. Three elongated violet triangles on her forehead were the same color as her vibrant violet eyes.

"Rei." She said softly, and he saw the fangs that served for canines.

"Ellie?" Rei said, looking very confused, and feeling just as confused.

"I know it's been awhile, I was hoping you would remember me." Ellie paused, and her hands tensed on the black pants she wore. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "I have been looking for you…" Though she was speaking to Rei, she watched Mariah closely, "Not like… that. I mean… I'm… he's not my type." Ellie said softly, then she shook her head. "Oh, I… my name is Angeline Croix. Call me Ellie. He does…" She frowned. She was feeling very awkward here, so close to these people, and it was very obvious to both of the neko-jins.

"Mariah." Said the other girl, looking extremely confused. "And what…?"

"Ah… my body language skills… you feel threatened by my presence around Rei, but I'm not looking for him… just wondering if he can help me." Ellie said, then looked back to Rei. Every word came out slowly, as if she were having trouble with the language.

"Why don't you come into the village?" Rei asked.

Ellie gave a small smile, "A wolf, amongst cats, I don't think…" She trailed off, shaking her head slightly again. "Look. I would love to catch up and all, but I was wondering…" She bit her lip, and her hands fisted on the black jeans she wore. "Kai… I can't find him… and…" Something flashed across her face, too rapidly for either of the neko-jins to read.

"Ellie… I…" Rei shook his head sadly. "It's been three years since you… since all of that. And though Tala was keeping me informed… even he lost track of Kai somewhere along the way. I don't know where he is." Rei looked at her apologetically.

"I…" Ellie looked away. "I understand."

"Ellie, I'm sorry, I just…" Rei said, reaching out to her.

She jerked back, "No, is fine. I understand." She pulled something out of her pocket, still not looking at either cat. "This is for you, Rei." She held it out to him, and he took it. "Thanks for your help." She replied sincerely and with a small smile, her words still spoken with a delicate kind of control. "It was nice meeting you Mariah, and nice seeing you again, Rei." She gave a small smile and disappeared into the forest before either of them could say anything more.

"Strange girl." Mariah said, frowning at the place Ellie had been.

"She did not used to be." Rei paused, "Well, she was but not like that." He looked at the letter in his hand, then opened it with one quick motion. He read it quickly. "I think I should go to this." He said softly, looking at the plane tickets as well.

"What is it?" Mariah asked, peering over his shoulder at the note.

"A meeting, between the BladeBreakers and Mr. Dickenson. It is at a formal event he is hosting." Rei said softly. He glanced up at where Ellie had disappeared into the forest. "I only hope we can all be there."

-o-o-o-

Five days after Ellie had mysteriously appeared in China, Rei had a lay over in Russia. It had been only about a half-hour, and his plane was not scheduled to take off for another hour. He had known already, so he had brought a few books with him to read.

He had just settled himself into the chair after getting some airport food, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Rei." He looked up, surprised to find a red-haired Russian looking at him, frozen in place.

Rei stood up, looked at his book, set it down without marking his place, and then looked back at Tala. "Hey." Rei said, giving him a smile.

Tala walked over to him, looked around, and then put his bags down beside an unoccupied chair. "So, Rei, what are you doing in Russia?"

"Eh, I had a lay over." He smiled quietly, "I did not set up the tickets for me; I think Mr. Dickenson did."

Tala nodded, "The formal event?" He asked, looking at Rei's book and noticing it was in Russian. "Take up Russian recently?"

"Yes… and no to the second. Ellie had taught me some when… we were here last." Rei said lightly, uncertain of whether he knew Ellie was alive or not.

"Remarkable girl." He said with a nod. "Annoying, broke Kai's heart. But you already know that." Tala looked out the window as one of the planes took off. "I saw her about a year ago. She was looking for Kai." His sharp gaze met Rei's eyes. "Did she find you?" His voice was hard, but not unkind.

"Yes, actually. She handed me a card…" He began.

"Which was inviting you to a formal event." Tala finished. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "I have one too, it was sent to my home. Of course, mine suggested that I tell Kai if I could find him." He gave a sigh and looked out the window again. "I haven't seen him in about a year and a half."

"Which is when you quit keeping me updated." Rei responded thoughtfully.

Tala nodded quietly. He was out in his thoughts for a moment. "I am supposing you are riding the same flight as me?" He said suddenly, still not looking at Rei. "Flight straight to New York."

Rei nodded, "Yeah." His voice was quiet, as he was also in thought.

Tala was the first to sit, and Rei followed his lead. "You know, Kai was mad at me when we got back to Russia." Tala put his elbows on his knees and put his chin on his hands. "He hated me at that point. Told me I should be glad. That I had won. She wasn't around anymore." His eyes were glazed over, deep in memory. "I may be harsh, but I'm not heartless, at least not completely." A smirk touched Tala's face as his eyes flicked over to Rei, the smirk disappeared almost as quickly as it came, "I never meant for him to get hurt. And that was not exactly what I meant." He looked worried. "I don't know where Kai is. I have no idea. Last time I saw him was a bar in Russia, and then he was gone." Tala sat up straight and shook his head, looking out the window again. He gave a rueful smile. "Ah well, I can't do anything about it now."

Tala leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, as if the conversation had exhausted him.

"No, you really can't." Rei replied softly, picking up his book and reading it again.

-o-o-o-

Tala and Rei walked together, not talking, to the room the hotel personnel had told them was theirs. They had found the floor easy enough, but the halls wound this way and that, and each corner looked the same as the last.

Finally, after about twenty minutes of searching, they found the room. The door was hanging open, and voices were coming from inside of it.

Rei walked in first, only to be spotted by Max, who ran up and hugged him.

"Rei! It's been… Ack!" He got hit in the head by a pillow from the adjoining room. "Tyson! That's not fair!" Max called, laughing, into the other room. "Rei is here!" Max looked over Rei's shoulder. "Oh… and so is Tala." This was said with much less enthusiasm, but there was still the extreme friendliness that always accompanied Max.

"What?" Tyson shouted, sliding into the room, nearly sliding right into Rei, who stepped out of the way just in time. Tyson stopped himself before he hit the end table beside the door. "Oh! Hey, Rei!" He gave a huge grin.

"Hi guys." Rei said, smiling at them. Then the four stood there awkwardly for a few minutes. "Uh… I think I'm going to go put this in a room…" Rei said, taking his bags and walking past Max and Tyson, headed for the living room. Tala followed without any show of emotion.

Rei set himself up in one of the unoccupied rooms and Tala took the other.

Rei had been a little disheartened to discover that there were only five bedrooms. Obviously Max and Tyson had two, Tala and himself had two, which left one. He figured it would be Kenny's, whenever he appeared.

"Alright! It's Chief!" Came Tyson's shout from out in the living room, which was an affirmation for Rei.

He wondered about Ellie and Kai. Was she even invited? Probably, since she had handed him an invitation.

But would Kai even know about it, and if he did, did he plan on showing up?

Not that either was particularly a worrisome question, it was just that he remembered how Kai had acted around Ellie, how easy it was to tell that he cared about her. He remembered Ellie telling Kai that she loved him, remembered the tears running down her otherwise emotionless face as they were taken away and she was left there. He remembered Kai as they were on the plane, silent and still as stone. Remembered how Tala and Kai had just left with no note or warning.

Rei sat down on his bed. He wanted to feel happy, and to some extent, seeing his friends again, and even Tala, made him happy. But part of him ached to think of Kai and Ellie.

He shook his head, tapped into the happy part of him, and went out to greet Kenny with a broad smile.

-o-o-o-

A week later and they were all sitting in Mr. Dickenson's office. Even Tala. Everybody except Kai and Ellie, who were still not there.

"Hello." Mr. Dickenson said with a huge smile on his chubby face. He sat behind his desk and looked at each of them in turn. "Well, it has been a long time hasn't it?" He said scooting up towards his desk and peering down at papers laying there. He did not wait for a reply. "Doubtless, Miss Angeline- Ellie- has gotten in touch with all of you at one point or another." He looked up briefly. "She may have handed some of you a letter telling you about this event that I am hosting. It will require that you wear formal clothing. No tee shirts and jeans." He looked kindly at Tyson.

Tyson frowned but said nothing for once.

"This has been at the request of the person-of-honor, so do not blame me. Though, I did whole heartedly agree." He smiled. "You may be wondering who this person is, but at the moment, I am not allowed to tell you, as per the person's request. Neither name nor gender am I allowed to tell." He picked up a few papers and looked them over. "I am merely the host of the party. It will not be huge, but decently large. There are certain people who will be there who have agreed to sponsor it. It will be a dinner and some dancing, though I don't think you are required to dance." He gave another broad grin.

"Mr. Dickenson… there is someone here to see you." His secretary said from the doorway, looking at the boys quietly.

"Ah… yes… If you will excuse me, I guess that covers all of it for now. You may leave." He smiled softly at the group, and just as they all had reached the door, he said, "By chance… have any of you been able to get in touch with Kai?"

-o-o-o-

"So none of you have seen Kai in… the last three years?" Tala asked blankly, looking out the window of the cab they were driving in.

"No." Was the chorused reply.

"But we've all seen Ellie?" Rei asked, trying to figure everything out in his mind. Tala's harsh gaze flicked over to him, and Rei saw the warning there.

"Yes." Came from everyone.

"Did… anyone else think she was acting strangely?" Rei asked, Tala giving him another dangerous look. Max looked at Rei, concentration evident on his face.

"Yes…" He finally said. "She seemed more agitated, not angry, just… worried. The whole time I was speaking with her… for about an hour."

There was mumbled agreement from Kenny, and even Tyson.

Tala was glaring at Rei. The Russian thought this line of questions, this thought pattern, was unnecessary. He did not want Ellie discussed, he did not want to think about her at all.

Every time he did, he saw her as the last time he had seen her, a year ago. Even now, the picture was brought to his mind unbidden.

Ellie, hair matted and face bruised, standing at the door, unsmiling, her eyes haunted. Her clothing was covered in blood and torn in places. There were evident scratches on her sides and legs, where there were also holes in her clothing.

She did not say anything at first, just stood there, staring at him with violet eyes.

"Ellie…" Was all he could bring himself to say at first. Then, "Why don't you…? Ellie, come in and get cleaned up." He had not wanted to say that, but in the interest of Kai, he would. It was not that he hated the girl- it was that he thought Ellie was no match for Kai.

Ellie's body shook, he had noticed. It was a slight shiver that would not leave.

She opened her mouth, and he noticed one of her canine teeth had been chipped, the entire bottom half of it was gone. "Kai…?

"Ellie, come in." Tala insisted.

"Kai…? Just… where?" Her Russian was broken, and he could tell by the broken haunted look in her eyes that so was she.

"Ellie…" He had been about to suggest that she come in again, when he could not take it anymore. "I don't know where Kai is…" He had frowned at her, then reached out to take her arm and pull her inside.

"No!" She snarled out, eyes flashing and baring her teeth. She jerked away from him.

Howling sounded far away. Her head snapped to the side, listening intently.

She looked at Tala one last time, and then bolted.

The last thing he saw was her eyes, violet orbs of terror, all of their harshness washed away, and in its place a very haunted girl.

Tala shook his head, trying to clear his mind from the memory. He knew she was not the same person she had been three years ago. He had hoped she was not the same person she was when she came to him a year ago, but from what little the others had said, and what Rei had told him, his hope was dashed.

He now only wondered what Kai would think of her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please forgive if it seems a bit choppy-- it seems the only way to bring it all together at this point in time. How the story needs to be written does not allow me to write it from 1st Person POV, so it needs to jump a bit. If it is choppy... I hope it is not choppy enough to disuade one from reading. -Kitty