Disclaimer: Oops I fogot this in the last chapter so I just put it her instead! I do not own Beyblade. There done!

Chapter 2: The Ashes

Rei's eyes fluttered open, the brightness of the sunshine made him squint. He questioned for a moment, whether it had all been a dream. Then it hit him(Erm her?): He was still a girl. Darn it! I'm still in the game! She1 took a few deep breaths and sat up. Her clothes were soaking wet and she was so cold.

She finally came to her senses and realized she and Takao had washed ashore after they fell. She looked down at Takao, who was laying next to her. "Takao? Are you okay?" Rei exclaimed, shaking her friend. Takao opened his eyes and coughed a few times; then he looked up at Rei. "Are we still alive?"

Rei nodded. "I think so. But why do I feel so cold? It's almost like this is for real, you know?" She spoke softly. "We just have to remember that it's only a game." Takao piped up. Rei nodded in agreement and helped Takao to his feet.

Rei felt something in her pocket so she reached in, and to her surprise pulled out a small rat. "Ah!" She exclaimed as she quickly dropped it. "What?" Takao looked down to see a little white rat. "It's just a baby, Rei. It's not like it's going to try to eat you!" The bandit chuckled as he set the small being on his shoulder. "See? Harmless," He smiled.

Rei had a disgusted look on her face. "What if it has a disease?" Rei queried, making her way away from the water. "You mean virus? I doubt it. I'm sure there are lots of virtual animals here," Takao answered as he followed Rei. "By the way do you know where you're going?" Rei shook her head. "No clue."

The two travelers walked on a gravel road for quite some time before they came to a town. It was small and seemed almost ancient. A tall stone building in the center of the town made the other houses hail in comparison. Rei and Takao walked through the town, looking around as they went.

"Hey Rei, where're all the people?" Takao asked blankly. "I wish this game would have come with an owner's manual," Rei sighed. Takao knelt down and ran his hands through the dust. "I wonder what this strange black powder is," The bandit pondered, "It's everywhere."

A strange cloaked figure caught Rei's eye, she nudged Takao and pointed towards it. "I can tell you," Called the figure, "I can tell you what that is in your hands." Rei turned her gaze towards Takao's hands, which held the strange powder in them. That stuff is evil Rei thought.

"It's ashes," The voice said in a menacing tone. "Of what?" Asked the bandit. "'Of what' you ask? Of human flesh, that's what," The figure answered. Takao dropped the dust immediately and tried to wipe his hands off, but they were black. "Takao! Quick wash that stuff off!" Rei yelled, pulling Takao to his feet.

"Too late." The figure stated simply. Takao's hands began to hurt, it felt like they were burning. "Uh what's- happening to me?" He cried out. Rei tried to rub the black off with her shirt but it remained infused to the bandits skin. "Help him!" Rei called to the figure.

When the figure stepped out of the shadow, Rei saw that it was in fact Kai.

Name: Kail

Occupation: Swordsman

Stats, HP:50, Skill:30, Defense: 20

Item: Tiger's Claw

Special Attack: Fury Slash

"Follow me. He needs healing," Kai instructed, "By the way, nice outfit." Rei blushed slightly, then lead Takao to Kai. "Where are you taking us and what's wrong with Takao?" The priestess asked impatiently. Kai chuckled. "That's what he gets for messing with angry spirits," Kai answered simply.

Rei walked up beside Kai, Takao followed after. "I don't understand," Rei said quietly, "What happened here?" Kai slowed his pace. "Not sure. It was like this when I got here. I did find one person that hasn't turned to dust yet."

Kai led Rei and Takao into a little house in a dark ally. Takao cringed in pain as the blackness continued to consume his hands and now moved up his arms. "Have you brought me the travelers, Kail?" A soft voice asked. "Yeah, yeah. Just get your butt out her will ya?" Kai snapped.

A young blonde stepped out from behind a curtain. "You could at least try to play your role Kai," The boy pouted. His long robes dragged the floor and he held a staff in his hands with a red stone hovering above it. "M-max?" Rei stammered.

Name: Malduin

Occupation: Sorcerer

Stats, HP:10, Skill:25, Defense: 65

Item: Philosopher's Stone

Special Attack: Chaos Spell

Max laughed softly then stepped toward Takao. "You can't even get half an hour into the game before getting into trouble can you Takao?" The boy joked. He extended his staff towards Takao's blemished hands and let the stone make contact with them.

The blonde sorcerer cleared his throat and began to speak as if following a script, "In the name of the sky, earth, and sea with the power provided I set you free!" The stone began to glow, as well as Takao's hands. After a few seconds Max pulled his staff away, but Takao's hands were still black. "Hey nothing happened! My hands still hurt," Takao whined.

"Stop fooling around, Max." Kai whacked Max on the head. "Ow! I wasn't fooling, I thought it would work," Max pleaded, rubbing his sore head. Kai scowled then whacked Max again. "Are you telling me you don't even know how to use your powers?" Max shed a fake tear and cowered underneath a table.

The mark began to move faster up the bandits arm forcing him to cry out in pain. Rei covered her ears and joined Max under the table. "Help him Kai!" The raven-haired priestess called. Kai shook his head in disbelief. "What the! What do you want me to do, cut his arms off?" Kai suggested half seriously.

Takao made a rather unpleasant noise that sounded similar to a sick cow. "I didn't say kill him, I said help him!" Rei shouted over Takao's now constant yowling. Kai shrugged and set his sword down. Wait a second, Rei thought, I'm a priestess, maybe I can help.

Rei stood up and bumped his head on the table. Max couldn't help but giggle. The priestess walked over to the pained boy and laid her hands on his. "Rei are you crazy! Don't touch it!" Kai warned, but Rei paid him no heed. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.

A drop of crystal water fell from her pendent onto Takao's tainted hands. To everyone's surprise, they immediately became clean again. "Rei... healed Takao?" Max questioned, standing to his feet. Takao looked up at Rei and smiled. "Thanks," He said almost normally.

Kai looked very surprised, but relieved at the same time. A golden star suddenly appeared over Rei's head. "Ah! Get it off!" Rei screamed. "Is that your response to everything?" Takao sighed. The golden star bust into gold dust and fell onto Rei's head. "Oh no, I'm cursed!"

"Actually I think you just leveled up," Kai said blankly. "How can you be sure?" Rei asked franticly. Kai pointed to gold words above Rei's head that read "Level up!" The letters soon disappeared and Rei sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. I thought I was going to go crazy like Takao!" The bandit twitched at that remark. "Stupid booby-boy, freak'in idiot," He mumbled beneath his breath.

"We'd better get going," Kai suggested, actually it was more like an order. Max made a funny face then yawned. "Go where?" He sighed. Takao bounced over to Max' side and began to fiddle with the stone on Max's staff. "Yeah Kai. Where are we going?" Rei chimed in, walking over to Kai.

A loud crack interrupted the foursomes odd conversation. Max, Rei and Kai almost instinctively turned to Takao, who was holding the stone he'd broke from Max's staff. "Oops Eh heh heh..." Max cringed in frustration. "You retarded little... butt!" Max shouted as he attempted to strangle the bandit.

"Let's all just calm down," Rei implored, "I'm sure we can fix your staff Max." The naive sorcerer loosened his grip and tried to regain his composure. "Okay just forget I'm here," Kai sighed with annoyance. "Sorry did you say something Kai? I wasn't listening," Rei said, trying to pry Max off Takao's bruised neck. "Never mind..."

1 From now on I will address Rei as a girl; Seeing as that's what he is in the game.