Okay, this has been revised, re-categorised,a few parts re-written, and finally put into chapters! Yay! Okay, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do not own Beyblade, Beyblade V-force, Beyblade G-Revolution, or any merchandise.


Ray stormed furiously through the ankle-deep snow that was just off the beaten track. He swore loudly as he tripped on a hidden tree root and nearly fell, the incident doing nothing to help his black mood. Muttering obscenities under his breath, he stomped onwards.

The Bladebreakers were having a break before the World Championships, to give them a chance to get used to being a proper team after the distressing fiasco with Black Dranzer. Surprisingly, it was Tyson who had come up with the idea of going hiking. Kenny had been very reluctant, but bribes of bringing Dizzi with him had helped soften him up a little. Max hadn't been too sure either, but Tyson had coaxed and cajoled until he gave in. Kai, as per usual, hadn't said anything other than to advise them to wrap up warm. Ray had been very, very unenthusiastic. He hated the temperature in Russia even indoors with the heating on, the idea of going outside for more than the two hours that they took out of every day to train was horrifying. It had been the newfocus of themany loud, furious arguments between Tyson and him, the latest of which had sent him storming off the path in a flaming temper, screaming at anyone who tried to follow him. Kai had been the last one foolish enough to try and call after him.

"Be careful, Ray. Don't go too far from the path." In response, Ray had let loose a stream of expletives, ending in:

"I'll do what I want and the rest of you can just…go to hell!"

Ray shivered as he ploughed on. Although he was still angry, he wasn't blindly fuming anymore, and was beginning to doubt the wisdom of what he was doing. He fumbled around in his pocket and drew out Driger, his fingers clumsy, encased as they were in thick, fake-fur lined leather. His pride bolstered by the sight of the magnificent white tiger, he carried on, renewed anger warming him as he remembered the insults that Tyson had flung at his beyblading skills.


Max and Kenny eyed Tyson nervously as he stamped along the path, his navy-blue eyes glittering fiercely. The hot-tempered boy radiated an aura of fury. Even Kai was watching him warily.

"Ray is so…stupid!" Tyson muttered suddenly, his voice deliberately spiteful.

"I agree." Kai said curtly. Everyone swivelled round to face the leader, who stared back at them impassively. "Not because of any petty insults he may have seen fit to fling at you, Tyson, but because he shouldn't have gone off this path. If he doesn't keep within sight or sound of it then he could be lost within a few seconds." Kai's face was tight, his voice coming from between gritted teeth.

"What's the matter, Kai?" Kenny asked curiously.

"Yeah, why don't you go after Ray and find him?" Max butted in. Kai sighed.

"I would if I could. Oh, Mr Dickinson is going to kill me…"

"Why can't you?" Max continued recklessly.

"Do any of you think you know the way back to the lodge?" Kai's quiet voice hung in air suddenly as thick as treacle while all three of them tried to figure out the way back. Gradually, blushing varying shades of red, they shook their heads.

"I thought not. You wouldn't be much better off than Ray if I left you alone." They carried on walking for a few minutes, while the tension built in both Kai and Tyson. Out of the blue, Kai stripped off his bulky hiking coat and threw it at Max. "Kenny. Time me fifteen minutes. Don't move a muscle from here, understand? No one's saying I don't look out for my team…" The last sentence was delivered in a barely audible mutter as Kai slipped between the snow-laden trees, his scarf trailing loosely behind him. Uncertain and more than a little scared, Kenny and Max crowded round Tyson, who was staring after Kai.


Ray sat down, leaning against a damp tree trunk and closing his eyes as his quick, harsh breaths misted up the crisp air in front of him. The snow was deeper here, the branches too heavily laden for him to attempt to take the aerial route, as he would have done in China. His calves, unaccustomed to so much difficult, strenuous exercise, were aching badly, the muscles protesting against his treatment of them. He opened his eyes as a faint rustle sounded in the silent forest. Seconds later, Kai appeared, his face as mask-like as ever.

He walked over and crouched down beside Ray. Ray shifted uncomfortably under the leader's piercing, fiery gaze.

"Put your heel down first." Ray blinked, confused. "When you walk. Heel first. It'll ease the pressure on your calf muscles."

"Thanks." Ray said uncertainly. He didn't bother asking how Kai knew, as he knew from experience that he wouldn't get a decipherable answer. Sudden temper flared in him. "Why are you here?"

"To stop you from doing something you'll regret." Ray's eyes flashed, his slumbering temper fully awoken.

"Oh? Like what? Like gone and topped myself just because Tyson called Driger a mangy alley cat? Like quit the team? Well, sorry Kai, but I'm not that shallow!" Kai waited patiently until he was quite sure that Ray was finished.

"More along the lines of you getting hypothermia, as a matter of fact." he said calmly.

"You can't fool me, Kai! You can drop the act now, all right? There are no journalists swarming around anymore. You can go back to being a cold hearted, selfish bastard again, I won't tell." Ray gave him a thin, malicious grin. Kai's eyes flashed murder.

"I care about this team." he gritted out.

"Yeah, like you cared about Black Dranzer! The second we stop being useful to you, you'll drop us like a stone! Just like you did before." The fury blazing in Kai's eyes faded, replaced by something close to sadness.

"You're not yourself, Ray." he said quietly. He stood, staring down at Ray, his eyes cold again. "I should drag you back here and now." Ray was on his feet in an instant.

"Just try it, you selfish jerk!" he shouted.

"Oh, so you want to freeze to death?" Ray opened his mouth then closed it, momentarily taken aback. At the last second, when he was about to give in, he thought he saw a glint in Kai's eyes, a faint smirk on his face. Influenced by his own imagination, he stared back at Kai defiantly.

"If that's what it takes for you all to realise I'm part of this team as well." A fleeting look of puzzlement crossed Kai's face. Ray snorted bitterly. "Ask Tyson." He flinched backwards at the hard look on Kai's face.

"This is quite literally suicide, Ray. I can't let you go through with it."

"Why? Afraid it'll damage your reputation?" Ray jeered, adrenalin rising inside him. Anger contorted Kai's face and his hand clenched around something in his pocket.

Not doubting that Kai was about to use Dranzer on him, Ray sprung into action. He got a few seconds of run-up as he dashed towards Kai, then jumped and lashed out with his right foot, sending his heavy boot crashing into Kai's cheekbone. Kai swore loudly and grabbed hold of Ray's ankle, holding it tightly.

"Ray, see sense!" he gasped. "You don't know the first thing about survival out here. You'll die!" Ray heard him, but the words didn't sink in, kept floating by the tide of resentful anger flooding him.

"What do you care?" he panted maliciously. "It'll be one less competitor next time you leave us!" Kai froze for a second. That second was all that Ray needed.

Anger filling his head with a deep buzz, he twisted away from Kai and ran. Despairing of getting anywhere in the deep snow he grabbed a branch and swung himself up, uncaring of the dangerous strain his weight was putting on the branches. Functioning on adrenalin and a thousand slights, most of them imagined, he flung himself through the trees, deaf to Kai's yells.

Kai watched hopelessly as the boy travelled further and further away. His head ringing, he turned around to go back and tell the others that he had failed. Ray was alone, with the deadly Siberian tundra less than a mile away.


The three boys strained their eyes eagerly as a figure appeared from the trees a little way down. Kenny's face dropped.

"No Ray." he said softly. Everyone swallowed, fearful for their friend and team mate. Suddenly, they were jolted out of their thoughts as Kai fell to his knees.

"Kai!" The cry of concern burst from them all in unison and they ran to their fallen leader.

Kai groaned quietly and struggled into a sitting position. Unexpectedly, he felt three pairs of hands helping him. Three worried faces swam into hishazy vision.

"Kai, are you all right?"

"What happened?

"Where's Ray?" He opened his mouth to answer and shut it quickly, fighting a wave of nausea. Gingerly, he tried again.

"I caught up with him." Talking hurt, a lot, but it wasn't impossible, which meant that his cheekbone was probably still intact. "He took offence to something I said. We had an argument. He wouldn't let me take him back. I tried to use Dranzer and he panicked. He kicked me." He gestured vaguely towards the ball of blinding, sickening pain that was the right side of his face.

"Whoa…" Tyson breathed. Slowly, Kai stood, his head reeling as if he was drunk.

"We need to go back to the lodge and tell the rangers. It's out of our hands now." An uneasy silence settled over the group. "Let's go."


Max watched Tyson as he paced from one end of the room to the other, a hard look on his face.

There had been tension brewing between Ray and Tyson for months. Tyson had never really forgiven Ray for losing to Eddie in the American tournament and putting "our backs against the wall.", as he had said then. Yelled.

Ray had known this, and had treated Tyson with increasing dismissal, constantly reminding the boy that Driger's Tiger Claw had been legend before anyone even knew Tyson's name. It had got to the point where Max had almost wished that they'd beat the hell out of each other and clear the air. Instead, there had been steadily escalating rows, each nastier and more personal than the last. The argument that had caused this mess had brought into play Tyson's lesbian mother who had left his father when Tyson was just five, the fact that Ray was an orphan, Tyson being considered a clown by most of the fans, and the fact that Ray's own team had detested him so much they tried to steal his bit-beast. And that had just been the first ten minutes… Max sighed and started biting his nails. Kai hated him doing that, but Kai was lying down at the other side of the lodge, hopefully asleep, so he was allowed to do it. In his opinion, anyway.

"Are you angry with Ray, Tyson?" he ventured nervously.

"Yes." came the short answer. "He is so stupid! Why did he have to run off like that?"

"W-Would you still be angry with him if he came back?" Max whispered, biting a piece of loose skin off the side of his nail to keep his mind off what he was saying. He blinked in astonishment as a single tear slid down Tyson's cheek.

"No." Tyson whispered. "If he came back, I'd want to be friends again. There's no fun in arguing all the time." His face crumpled. "This is all my fault." Max kept quiet. Technically, Tyson was right, but Ray had never shied away from the rows, provoking one or two himself. They were both to blame. He stood up and embraced his friend comfortingly as Tyson's mask cracked and the boy dissolved into tears.

"It's all right, Tyson." he whispered. "At least you're not angry with him anymore."

It's just a pity it took something like this to make you realise you were wrong.


Blind and deaf to everything except the blood pounding through his head, Ray flung himself through the branches, uncaring of where he was going. He didn't notice the sudden lack of trees, didn't hear the remaining branches creak, or feel the suspicious shakiness in the one he had just put his foot on. The first thing he knew was when it snapped and sent him tumbling into the waist-deep snow.

Dazed, he raised his head slightly and waited for the world to settle back into place again. Slowly, he sat up and stared in amazement at the expanse of whiteness before him, broken only by rocks. He remained seating, staring, for over ten minutes, slowly getting colder and colder. Eventually, he shook himself and struggled upright, shivering violently. As if hypnotised, he walked straight into the tundra.

Thoughts came sluggishly, if at all. He was walking mechanically, driven by some inner instinct that refused to let him stop and rest. The confused thought that maybe the coat was weighing him down floated slowly into his numbed mind. Obediently, he fumbled with the awkward zip and pulled it off, abandoning it on the snow. He caught his breath as the biting wind sliced through his exposed body. Slowly, he starting walking again, fighting the urge to lie down and go to sleep. Rebellious, sluggishly angry thoughts trailed into his mind and he began to run over every hurtful thing that Tyson had ever said to him.

Half an hour later, he sank to his knees, his breath coming slowly as he fought to keep his eyes open.

"Jus'…jus' a li'l rest…" he murmured through blue lips, his words slurred with cold and exhaustion. His body slumped to one side. His eyes closed. Vaguely, he felt himself begin to roll, over and over, tumbling down a slope to land with a crash at the bottom.

He lay still, unable to summon up the energy to move even his eyelids. The snow and ice seemed to have seeped into his very bones, freezing him from the outside. Defeated, he waited for blissful unconscious. Suddenly, Tyson appeared in front of him, superimposed on the blackness of his vision. He was sneering.

What did I tell you, Ray? You can't fight. Not when it matters the most. You don't belong in the Bladebreakers.

I don't belong in the Bladebreakers… A light clicked on in Ray's head. He really didn't. Kenny was in the team because when you got Tyson, you got Kenny tagging along, Max was in because his mum was someone big in the blading world, and Kai was in because Mr Dickinson thought that having the World Champion team's manager's grandson would give them an advantage. And where did he fit in? Nowhere. He was the odd one out, the person who had simply been in the right place at the right time.

You don't belong in the Bladebreakers! Tyson repeated mockingly. Ray struggled to form thoughts through the mist of unconscious that was spreading rapidly over him.

I don't…belong…in the Bladebreakers… With that last thought, he slid into oblivion.

Kai came through the doorway, looking if possible even worse than he had before he "went to sleep".

"Any news?" he asked instantly. Tyson and Max shook their heads. Kenny made a non-committal noise. "What are you doing, Chief?"

"Tracking the search progress." Kenny answered distractedly. "No luck in the woods. They think he's gone into the tundra." Kai swore loudly enough to make Max wince.

"Don't, Kai!" he protested. "I've already had Tyson dying the air blue for the past three hours!" Kai grunted something that could just about pass for an apology. For once, Dizzi was silent, seeming to realise that this was too serious a situation to be defused by bad jokes.

A ranger came through the door, coated in snow. Seeing the four expectant gazes on him, he shook his head, dislodging a clump of snow. He said something in Russian. Kai let out a sigh and nodded in resignation.

"They've had to call off the search. There's a blizzard out there."

"So?" Tyson snarled. "What's a bit of snow and wind got to do with anything?"

"If they stayed outside, they could be in much the same plight as Ray in half the time. Blizzards are lethal to go out in." Kai said tonelessly.

"I don't care!" Tyson screamed. "Tell them to get out there and keep looking!" Eyes wild he turned to the ranger and yelled at him furiously. "Coward! Afraid of a little wind? Ray could be dying out there, you-"

"That's enough." The tone in Kai's voice brooked no argument. Heedless, Tyson carried on ranting.

"I can't believe that you would be so heartless! Isn't your job to help people who get lost? Fine job you're doing-"

"I said that's enough!" Tyson reeled back, his cheek scarlet from Kai's slap. Kai's blazing eyes met his. "These people are trying their best, Tyson, but they have to put their own safety first. Yelling at them does not help!" He muttered a curt apology to the ranger, who mumbled something along the lines of "don't worry about it". The man turned to Tyson and spoke in heavily accented, broken English.

"You upset about your friend. I understand. We are doing our most best to find him, I am assuring you." Tyson nodded shortly, fighting to keep his emotions under control.

"When will Mr Dickinson be here?" Kai asked Kenny brusquely.

"About five minutes or so." Kenny answered. Max couldn't hold back a slight smile as Kai and Tyson both started pacing at exactly the same time. It soon faded though, as he looked out the window and saw the world transformed to a wasteland of swirling white flakes.

"Oh, Ray," he murmured softly. "Come back to us."

"Please." Kenny added in a whisper, exchanged a miserable glance with Max and returned to Dizzi to re-inform Mr Dickinson of the situation.


True to form, five minutes later, Mr Dickinson stepped through the door, covered from head to toe in snow. Within seconds, Max had scrambled off the bench and flung himself at the old man. He embraced him tightly, tears trickling down his cheeks. Mr Dickinson rested a hand on Max's head comfortingly, then stretched out his other arm, inviting everyone else into the embrace. Kenny looked up, saw Mr Dickinson, and flew into his arms, crying silently. With both his arms wrapped around the younger team members, the white-haired old man looked sadly towards the two older ones, neither of whom had acknowledged his existence. Finally, Kai looked up from his pacing and nodded a swift greeting. Silence fell as they all waited for Tyson to recognise their chairman. Without looking up, Tyson changed the direction of his pacing and stopped just in front of Mr Dickinson, raising a tear-stained, fearful face to meet the old man's searching gaze.

"It's…it's all my fault, sir…" he said haltingly. Shaking his head firmly, Mr Dickinson dislodged Max and Kenny and put one hand on each of Tyson's shoulders, forcing the guilty, frightened boy to look straight at him.

"No, Tyson." he said gently. Tyson's eyes widened in surprise.

"But, sir-"

"No buts, Tyson, my boy. It's true that you shouldn't have argued with Ray, I'm not denying that. The disagreement between you two went much too far, especially when it started over such a simple thing as the loss of a battle. But, Tyson, but," He raised a hand to silence Tyson's protests. "It was not entirely your fault. If Ray had reacted differently, if he had swallowed his pride and returned, if he had listened to Kai instead of flaring up, then the outcome would have been so much different. You would still have exactly the same amount of blame to carry, but you wouldn't find it so heavy, would you?" Tyson shook his head mutely. "Ray took everything the wrong way today, and that is what has caused this mess. Do you understand me, Tyson Granger?" His eyes, normally cheerfully twinkling, had hardened with the intensity of what he was saying. "Well?" He shook Tyson gently.

"Yessir." Tyson whispered. Max sighed inwardly in relief as he saw a little of the hard, miserable look leave Tyson's face. Mr Dickinson pulled the boy to him in a swift, warm embrace. Letting go, he met Kai's gaze.

"What I just said applies to you as well as Tyson, Kai." he said sternly. "You can't carry the world on your shoulders forever. How many times have I told you that?" Kai shrugged, rubbing his temples lightly. His right cheek was adorned with a multicoloured bruise, spreading from the corner of his eye to his jawbone, livid against his ashen skin.

"Did you go to sleep at all?" Kenny asked suddenly, his tone scolding. Kai shrugged again. To everyone's surprise, Mr Dickinson stepped forwards and put his arm tightly around the tall, muscular boy. To everyone's utter shock, Kai didn't push him off. In fact, he leaned his head against the old man's shoulder and closed his eyes. They stayed like that for a few minutes, during which Tyson recovered enough of his normal spirit to think; where's a camera when you need one?

Gently, Mr Dickinson lowered the by now semiconscious boy onto the bench that Max had recently vacated. "Kai, you are a very stubborn boy." he said quietly. Kai flipped him the finger and settled into a more comfortable position. A small smile crept across Mr Dickinson's face and he sighed softly. Sitting down next to Kai, he beckoned for the other boys to gather round. "So, boys, there are some things we need to discuss."

"Like what?" Max said fearfully.

"Like whether we're still going to compete in the World Championships." Kai said drowsily, opening his eyes.

"I thought I told you to go to sleep?"

"Well, you shouldn't have started a conversation that I need to be part of." Kai retorted, rubbing his eyes. He sat a little more upright. "Well?" Four blank faces looked at him and Mr Dickinson.

"I don't get why we have to discuss this." Tyson moaned. "I mean, the tournament's over a month away. Ray should be back by then." Kai winced at Tyson's ability to block out everything except what he wanted to hear.

"Tyson," Mr Dickinson began carefully. "There's something you need to understand. All of you." He looked at the three boys. "There is a chance, a large chance, that Ray isn't going to be coming back."

"In other words," Kai said brusquely. "Ray might well be dead for all we know." Silence enveloped the room. Mr Dickinson shot Kai a reproachful glance.

"Kai is right." he said reluctantly. "But, even assuming that they find Ray, he's bound to be in dire need of hospitalisation, and I highly doubt he'll be in any state to fight in a month's time. So, this is an issue that we need to resolve relatively quickly. What do you all think?"

Max's first, overwhelming reaction, was to say "No," to yell it at the top of his voice until his throat was raw. If they fought without Ray, he would have to step in, and without a bit-beast, he couldn't last more than a few seconds against someone like Tala. Of course he wanted to become one of the World Champions, but not when he knew that he had no chance, that he was going up to fight with no hope of winning. What kind of a battle was that?

"No." he said softly, shaking his head vigorously. "No, no, no, no, no!" His voice rose steadily and cracked on the final "no".

"Okay," Kai said calmly. "that's Max's opinion. Anyone else?" Tyson and Kenny shrugged.

"We need a bit more time." Kenny said in a faintly apologetic voice.

"Just out of interest, Kai," Tyson asked, staring at their leader intently. "What would you choose?"

"I would choose to fight." Kai retorted, without the slightest hesitation.

"Big surprise there." Tyson muttered, turning away to stare silently out of the window. Kai shot him a tired glare and got up unsteadily.

"Where are you going, Kai?" Max asked.

"We need to phone the White Tigers and inform them of Ray's disappearance." he answered, striding over to the phone. Much to everyone's surprise, Kenny stood up and intercepted Kai, taking the phone out of his trembling hands.

"Oh no, you don't. You shouldn't even be conscious." he scolded. "I'll do it. I'm the only one apart from Ray who knows the number, anyway." Grumbling quietly, Kai allowed Kenny to guide him back to his seat. "Okay." Kenny swallowed. "Any volunteers for taking the phone off my hands if Mariah answers?" No one moved a muscle. Even Mr Dickinson tried not to blink. "Fantastic." he said dryly, dialling the number.

"You asked for it." Kai muttered, a slightly sadistic smirk on his face.

"Hello, Lee. This is Kenny, from the Bladebreakers. Yes, fine thanks. It's…about Ray." In the dead silence that followed, the sound of Kenny swallowing nervously could be clearly heard. "You see, we were out hiking, and he argued with one of us and stormed off the path in a huff…Yes, of course you can." With an audible sigh of relief, he handed the phone over to Mr Dickinson, who proceeded to explain matter-of-factly exactly what had happened, leaving out which member of the team Ray had argued with.

"We're all crossing our fingers down here, Lee. What? Yes, of course, I'll keep you up-to date with any developments. No problem. Try not to get too worried at the moment, please. Yes, we hope so, too. Give my regards to the rest of the White Tigers. Goodbye, Lee." He put the phone down and exhaled noisily. "Well, that's that sorted for the moment." He shot a hopeless, annoyed look towards where Kai was pacing shakily. With a set expression, Max got up to take his turn at making Kai rest. He stepped into Kai's path, staring straight at him.

"Kai, you're going to make yourself ill if you don't take a rest soon." Kai stared wordlessly at Max's earnest face for a few seconds, then turned and walked towards the door.

"I need to lie down. See you all in an hour or two." he said curtly, before disappearing from sight.

"Put it in the diary, Kenny. Kai actually took notice of something that wasn't beyblade-connected." Everyone ignored Tyson's sullen mutter. Over the next few hours, all four of them, Mr Dickinson included, succumbed to helpless tears. For the first time in eight years, Tyson found himself praying, if you could call uninhibited begging and bargaining praying.


Well? What did you think? For the record, the reason that Ray's so OOC is that he's absolutely furious, and not thinking straight. I tried my hardest to keep the other characters in character, although I know Kai might seem a bit OOC as well. So,I apologise for that.

I know it was a long chapter, but I couldn't really find a point at which to bring it off... It's not going to have many chapters, anyway. About four, I think.

Please review!