Disclaimer: The Arcan Blades don't own Beyblade. At all. We wish we did, so we'd be able to completely crash the beyblades up and down our neighborhood…
Author's Note: All right, guys! Let's have the low down on what's up with this before we continue.
- So, in order to put the events in this story properly, I won't exactly be following the series' story in the tournament. There will be obvious changes in it.
- There will be very slight OOC-ness (most obvious on Kai's part, but it happens to be necessary because, like I said, there'll be changes in the latter part of the story), but it is necessary for the plot to get going.
- Flamers would be totally ignored and completely disregarded so stop wasting your precious time flaming because it will not work.
- The pairings in the story is for you to discover. I ain't telling unless you read. But I must say…none of us are too fond of Mariah. We don't hate her, but we…just aren't with her.
- Read and review!!
Okay, so is everything cool? Should you dislike any of the settings of this story, feel free to hit the Back button and get the heck out of here. If you're fine with it, then I won't keep you from the story. Here it is—Chapter One.
CHAPTER ONE
The Unknown Blader
Lightning cracked and thunder flashed as rain poured down in torrents outside the window of the rented cabin the Bladebreakers were in. Kenny jumped up with a yell on his bed. He stopped, clutching at the blankets on his bed nervously. The lightning cracked again and he yelled once again as he ducked under his bed.
"Chief, pipe down," Max begged from the bed next to his, as the Bladebreakers were all sharing the same room. "How are we supposed to get any sleep if you keep yelling like that?"
"S-Sorry, Max," Kenny stammered. "It was the thunder."
"Ah, don't worry about it, Chief, it can't hurt you," said Max sleepily as he rolled over and pulled the covers up to his ears.
Yeah… Kenny thought. Max is right…it can't hurt me…
CRASH!!
"Aaah!!" Kenny yelled, ducking again.
"Chief!!" all four of the other Bladebreakers chorused this time. "Shut up!!"
Kenny reddened. "Uh…okay, guys…" Sighing, he got up and said to himself, "Maybe if I get myself some hot chocolate or something, I'll feel better."
"Yeah, go do that," said Tyson sleepily flopping facefirst into his pillow and a snore soon issued out from him. Kai, who was too sleepy to be grumpy, said nothing and fell back on his pillow, while Ray only groaned, shook his head, and went back to sleep.
Kenny quietly sneaked out of the bedroom and over to the kitchen area on the outer part of the cabin. He winced again and his cry was muffled by the thunder this time. And a good thing, too, he thought. They must all be back to sleep already in there...
As Kenny pulled out the can of cocoa from the pantry, he thought, Well, it's been a couple of days since Tyson and the others decided that we hop around Europe for a bit before we get to the Russian tournament. We haven't seen very many bladers either. And those Dark Bladers has been no help to us either...I don't even know why I let them talk me into this! I wonder where we'll possibly end up this time...we're cabined in the middle of nowhere, practically...
Kenny passed by the window in the kitchen and stopped. He thought he saw a figure moving in the grounds outside. "What…was that?" he said to no one in particular. "M-Maybe it was just my imagination."
The lightning flashed again, and Kenny stifled a gasp as a silhouette was illuminated outside. Someone was outside in the cabin grounds. He couldn't see it very well, though—it was too dark outside and the rain was pouring too hard.
Who could that be at this time of night? he wondered.
He peered anxiously out the window, waiting for the next flash of lightning to illuminate the outside. But as he strained to get a good look, the rain slightly slowed enough to allow him to see the dark shape of the person outside. Whoever it was, he was standing in front of a great oak tree in the yard, and he seemed to be tinkering with something in his hands. Kenny couldn't understand at first, but it wasn't until he went into a familiar, particular stance that Kenny finally understood.
"He's holding a Beyblade," he muttered.
And then something extraordinary happened, as the lightning bolt Kenny was waiting for didn't exactly come as he wanted.
The person outside, his yell drowned out by the pouring rain, let loose the beyblade in a powerful blast that looked like it was shot from a cannon. The beyblade shot out and slammed with incredible force into the trunk of the oak tree. Red orange sparks flew wildly upon impact, and from out of nowhere, a jagged bolt of lightning descended with the roaring to thunder, splitting the skies and striking the very spot where the beyblade on the tree was—as if the beyblade actually brought it about.
Kenny screamed and ducked as with a loud crash, the oak tree outside fell with a deafening crash that sounded over all the other noises. For a moment, everything for Kenny faded out. And the next thing he knew, there was movement around him and voices that sounded over the noise of the fading rain.
"Chief! Chief, are you all right? Chief!"
Kenny blinked and looked up. His vision cleared, and he saw Tyson looking down at him with the other Bladebreakers nearby. "Chief, what happened?" Tyson asked, looking stunned.
"That was an awful scream," said Max, looking rather pale. "You sounded like you were about to get killed or something."
"H-Huh?" asked Kenny, confused for a moment.
"We ran out here when you yelled," said Ray. "What's up?"
Kenny tried to find his voice. "I—you see—outside—the tree…it was…"
Kai stared at him incredulously and looked out the window. He frowned at it as he said, "The glass is broken. Did you get hit?"
"No," said Kenny. He leapt to his feet. "But seriously, guys, I saw something awesome out there! That beyblade—it was awesome! It knocked down the oak tree in one rip!"
"What?" Tyson asked. "It knocked down the oak tree?"
"No way," said Max. "Oak trees are the sturdiest trees in the world. It would take a couple of hits for a beyblade to just crash through it, let alone knock it down."
"But really!" said Kenny. "I saw it!"
Ray said calmly, "I guess the only way to see that is if we go outside and see for ourselves."
"Aw, guys, can't we do this in the morning?" groaned Tyson. "I'd like to have some shuteye, you know."
"Come on, Tyson, this is important!" said Ray. "If what Kenny says is true, then that must have been one powerful beyblade."
Kai paused for a moment, and then headed for the direction of the doorway. Obviously, if it was a powerful blade, he of all of them wanted to see it for himself. Max, Ray and Kenny went after him, and Tyson groaned and went as well.
The Bladebreakers went out of the cabin, and fortunately, the rain had stopped and there were nothing more but the occasional tiny droplets that fell. The group walked out into the wet grass with Kai in the lead and Tyson sneezed.
"Darn!" he sniffed. "It's cold out here."
"It's midnight and it's just rained," said Max as he looked at his watch. "I wouldn't be surprised."
Kenny looked around. "Hey. That boy who was here is gone."
"Are you sure there even was someone out here?" asked Max. "I mean, who would be crazy enough to practice through a storm?"
"Someone who knew that his beyblade could be used in regards to this situation," said Kai, who was right, as usual. "Whoever he was, he must have known that his beyblade can bring about some power which can be used in a thunderstorm. Assuming, of course, there was someone here in the first place…"
They reached the tree, and Max said, "Whoa…that tree's been knocked right over!"
"More like split," said Ray, walking over and looking at the splintered bottom of the tree. He touched the scorched edges and said, "Guys, this tree's been struck by lightning. I think that's what had knocked it over."
"See, Kenny?" said Tyson. "It was just lightning. I think your paranoia over the Russian tournament is finally getting to your head. You're starting to see things!"
"No, really, I really did see someone out here a while ago!" said Kenny. "Someone was out here with a beyblade. And when his blade hit the tree, the lighting ran after it and knocked the tree down!"
"How do you know that the lightning didn't just hit it?" asked Max. "I mean, it happens a lot to trees like oaks—lightning's the only thing that can get them over…"
"Guys, you have to believe me!" said Kenny.
Ray, who was thinking, said, "Hmm…but if Kenny is telling the truth, that beyblade must be one serious lightning conductor. In other words, it must have more metal than your average beyblade."
Kai was not listening. He was squatting down, looking at the tree stump that was scorched and splintered. He frowned at it, and took a closer look. Finally, he saw it—the impact point. It was a sharp gash in one side of the tree, like it was hacked through by something sharp as it was paler than the other parts. He put his hand against it, and felt it still warm.
It's warm…the friction must have been really strong… he stood up and said without turning around, "He's right. A Beyblade did this."
"What?" they all asked.
"Look," he said, pointing at the gash. "That's the point where the beyblade hit. This tree didn't crash because of the lightning—it crashed because the beyblade that hit it was powered by that lightning. It's still warm—it had strong friction—enough to scorch the tree. The beyblade conducted the lightning to the tree and it used its power well enough to crash into the tree and knock it over."
"See?" said Kenny happily. "I told you!"
"But...how powerful can that beyblade be to be able to knock over an oak tree?" asked Max.
Ray turned to Kenny. "Did you see if it had a bit beast?"
Kenny shook his head. "I didn't see a bit beast. It just crashed into the tree and sparks went flying. There wasn't a bit beast that appeared."
Kai looked serious. "If that blade was able to knock down an oak tree in one shot with no bit beast, then that must be a seriously powerful blade." He turned to Kenny. "Did you see the beyblader?"
Kenny shook his head. "It was too dark, and the rain was pouring too hard. I didn't see him too clearly."
Tyson groaned. "Great. Just when we've found a really powerful beyblade! I wanted to take it on and we don't even know who controls it!"
"Tyson, don't be so arrogant," Kai snapped. "If a beyblade like that can do this to a tree, what do you think it can do to your beyblade? You'll be defeated before it even starts..."
Tyson looked surprised for a moment, but said nothing.
"This isn't the time for you to be so brash, Tyson," said Ray. "We've never encountered a beyblade like that before and I don't think we should take any unnecessary chances."
"I get your point," said Tyson slowly and sighed. "All right. But still, it wouldn't hurt if we asked who owned it, right?"
"Well…I guess so," said Max with a shrug. "And how hard can that be? I don't think that a lot of people around here have beyblades anyway."
"We'll ask around tomorrow, then," said Kenny, who looked strangely elated in spite of what happened. "If we find out who it is, then I'll have a chance to see that beyblade up close! I'm telling you guys, you should've seen it for yourselves!"
Kai said nothing, as usual. He snorted, and turned, heading back to the cabin without another word said.
"Hey Kai, wait up!" Tyson yelled as the others followed after him.
"Pipe down, Tyson, you'll wake up the whole cabin grounds," Kai snarled as he walked indoors.
"Wow, I can't wait to see who it is too!" said Max, also going into the cabin and Ray added, "But whoever it might be, he mightn't be so friendly just like that, you know…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Tyson's fading voice as Kenny walked into the cabin with a final glance at the fallen tree. From outside, one could hear the Bladebreaker's voices.
"Aaah! I'm so tired!" Tyson said, "You guys woke me up at one-twenty in the morning!"
"But all for a good cause," said Max.
"Yeah, I'll say," said Ray.
"Chief, what is going on?!" demanded Dizzi's indignant voice. "You left me here all by myself and I didn't get a piece of the juicy info! What happened?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow, Dizzi," laughed Chief.
"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP AND GO BACK TO SLEEP!!" Kai yelled, and utter silence finally reigned in the cabin.
From the yard in front of another cabin not too far away from the Bladebreakers' own, the wooden door slowly creaked open into the room dimly lit with light to receive a figure rather sodden with rainwater. One glove-adorned hand gripped a shooter with a ripcord readily loaded into it, while the other held a beyblade hidden in the shadows of the room.
The figure walked in, trailing water and some mud from his rubber shoes, and a he stepped into the living room area, a figure moved from the doorway across him. Instantly, the beyblade was loaded onto the shooter and aimed in a defensive stance.
"Hey, take it easy!" said the figure from the other doorway, raising up her hands to show that they were empty. "It's me."
The figure with the beyblade let out his breath. He flicked on the light switch in the wall next to him and the room flooded over with light and the two figures were shown clearly. The boy who just entered, dripping in rainwater from red-capped head to toe, had his black hair nearly flattened down and shiny in the wet. His eyes were green and bright and he looked wide awake in spite of the fact that it was one-twenty in the morning at that time. He was still fully arrayed in his civilian clothes consisting of a white shirt and brown baggy cargo pants and black rubber shoes. On his hands were jet black gloves.
"You startled me," he said to the figure on the other door, which was a girl of his age. Her silver hair that swept down to her upper arms was besprinkled with tiny braids on some places, and she rubbed her wine red eyes sleepily as she walked into her room still clad in her pajamas.
"You're still up?" she asked. "Man, you're obsessed."
"Yeah, well…" his voice trailed off as he shook out the wet from his jacket. As he did, the girl who arrived walked over to a nearby window and looked outside. Her eyes widened. "Wow, you did that? You sure are getting better…"
"It's not at all that hard if you know how," he answered calmly as he pocketed the blade and shooter in his hands. "Our blades were designed to be able to do something like that easily."
"I know," she answered as she drew back the curtains from the window. She turned back to the boy, who was now sitting on a wooden seat and said, "You're wet all over. You better get out of those clothes."
"Right, right…" he said, standing up. "Honestly, Alexia, you're acting like you're my mother or something."
"Hey!" she exclaimed, making a face at him. "I'm just saying! Besides, you're our captain and if you get sick, that's one blader lost for us, Mike."
She followed him into the one large room that served for a bedroom for their group. The other two figures were still in the beds, sleeping rather soundly. As they walked in, one of the figures sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.
"Mike? Alexia? What are you guys doing up at this time of night?" she asked.
"Mike was practicing outside," said Alexia. "Pretty crazy if you ask me—it was pouring out there awhile ago!"
The girl on the bed, who was also their age, sat up and said, "What?! You were out there in a thunderstorm?"
"Take it easy, Jade—I was just giving Archonwolf the lightning treatment," said Mike with a smirk. "You should check out the tree outside."
"What about it?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Let's just say it's been…wasted," he replied as he vanished into the bathroom with a towel and fresh clothes.
Alexia looked at Jade and shrugged, and the older girl just groaned and flopped back on the bed.
Author's Note: Right. There's chapter one. Hope you liked it. We'll have chapter two up. Review and tell us what you think!