Chapter Two

Kenny sighed as he scratched another day onto the cave wall with a smooth black stone he had found. It had already been a week and they were no closer to getting out. Kenny had already examined all the bars for weaknesses and all the walls for holes he could squeeze through to find help. If he had Dizzy with him, he was sure they could come up with some sort of plan; in the meantime, he set himself the task of monitoring the length of their imprisonment. Kai just sat listlessly against the steel bars of the cage munching on the fruit Dranzer brought by every day, brooding over something –either betrayal or an escape, Kenny himself was hoping for the latter. Even Hilary, ever the optimist, had stopped calling for help after the sixth day, though that may have had more to do with losing her voice.

"No offence, Kai, but maybe you should lay off those mangoes," Hilary commented hoarsely, staring pointedly at the other girl's belly.

Kenny had to agree, though he wouldn't be bold enough to say so aloud; not to Kai, anyway. This was the first time he'd ever seen Kai let himself go this badly. His usually flat stomach had expanded seemingly overnight, poking out of the slinky dress he wore like a beer belly.

Kai looked up at Hilary blankly, then down to his midsection, brushing his thumb over his belly curiously.

Hilary gasped as Kai slowly stood up and lifted his dress up to stare down at the smooth roundness of his belly. The skin was unusually taut for someone who was merely fat, Kenny noticed, before blushing and looking away from the exposed girl.

"Kai…" Hilary breathed.

Kai exhaled heavily through his nose and dropped the dress.

"Dranzer," he called, barely above a whisper and almost immediately, the spirit in question appeared.

Kenny rose from his slump against his makeshift calendar and wiped his brow. It was generally very cool in the cave, but whenever the firebird paid them a visit, the temperature seemed to shoot up a few hundred degrees. Hesitantly, he made his way toward the front of the cave with Hilary and Kai.

"I hope this isn't what I think it is," Kai muttered, but he didn't seem surprised when the bird seemed to draw back on herself guiltily, an obvious yes. Kai sighed. "I understand. I'm not angry, Dranzer. We won't run."

"What?!" Hilary shrieked. "Now see here, mister, if you think I'm staying in this cage forever-"

Kai silenced her with a glare and Kenny backed down with his own protest. Satisfied, Kai turned back to his bitbeast and repeated, "We won't run."

Dranzer cawed triumphantly and before they knew it, they were in a proper house, on a balcony overlooking a beach. Behind them was a large bedroom with white walls, white marble floors and a large, soft white bed. The curtains were some kind of light, see-through material that fluttered gracefully in the gentle breeze.

Dranzer circled around Kai, wrapping her fiery tail-feathers around his middle and Kai patted her feathers absently, completely untouched by the flames.

"W-what's going on?" Kenny asked.

Kai was silent, staring off into the endless sea for a long moment before answering.

"It seems," he said solemnly. "That I am pregnant."

Kai could almost hear the gears ticking over in Hilary's head as she processed his words. He glanced blandly at Kenny, who had fainted outright, while he waited.

Finally, she opened her mouth and screeched, "What?!"

Kai waited a moment for Dranzer to detach herself and fly away before turning on his heel and retreating into the house, leaving Hilary the task of dragging Kenny's unconscious body in after them.


Tyson leaned against the wide window that stretched across the front side of the cabin watching stars streak across the sky, as they did every night. He'd already given up wishing on them. The planets that usually hung in the sky had moved out of line and gone wherever it was planets went. The sea was as still as ever.

They had been following Dragoon's map for almost two weeks and had yet to come even close to the target, let alone land, though Ray figured that they would get there within a day or so.

He missed his Grandpa, he missed his home, his room at the dojo with all his stuff, hell, he even missed Daichi! He missed beyblading; they hadn't been able to since they'd been here, their beyblades having turned literally into blades, and teaching Ray and 'Maxine' kendo moves just wasn't the same. He missed…

He missed Kai.

It was hard to believe that he was going to be a dad - he was only sixteen, for crying out loud! He wasn't sure how they would take care of this kid. Kai could probably afford to take care of its needs and maybe he was responsible enough, but where did that leave Tyson? They'd only just started this thing and now they were parents, tied to each other practically forever. He wasn't sure how Kai would like that; Kai didn't like to be tied to anything, he needed to be free to go anywhere and do whatever he liked, when he liked, or he would suffocate. He wasn't sure how his family would react to this, either, let alone the world. Tyson was having a baby with another guy –that was just seriously freaky!

Tyson shook his head and sighed. There would be time enough to worry about that; it would all be moot if they never got Kai back from Dranzer.

Where are you, Kai?

"I just don't get it," Ray said, breaking him from his reverie. Tyson turned away from the window and headed back to where he and Max were huddled over the map. "According to this map, X is in the middle of the sea."

"Maybe we have to go diving for it," Max said. "Maybe it's a fish! Think Dranzer's just hungry?"

Ray sweatdropped. "Whatever it is, do you really want to go swimming in that?" he asked.

The water was eerie calm and inky black and Tyson wouldn't doubt that it was a million times deeper than your average bathtub. He clenched his fist in determination.

"I'll do i-"

The ship suddenly shook violently, tossing them all off their feet. Moments later, there was a distant boom and a crack as the ship rocked again. The sharp metallic scent of gun powder and smoke assaulted their senses as they scrambled onto the deck.

A ship twice as large as theirs sailed into the dark night through a shimmering wormhole, two still-smoking cannons pointing in their direction with one more being loaded. Atop its mast, high above the deck, a dark flag flapped in the wind, skull grinning at them above crossbones.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Pirates?!" Ray exclaimed.

"This is so cool!" Max gushed. "I mean, oh no! What do we do?"

No sooner had the ship finally steadied itself than another explosion sounded. This time, Tyson could see the big black cannon ball crash through the deck not five feet away from him. The wood splintered and smoked around the impact crater and he imagined water gushing in from deep within the belly of the ship from the hull. Unbidden, images of that sappy boat movie Hilary had made them watch last month flashed before his eyes; of the ship splitting down the middle and sinking, dragging everybody down with it.

And they didn't even have any lifeboats!

"The ship's gonna sink! I'm too young and handsome to die!"

Ray slapped him in the face. "Tyson! Pull yourself together!"

Another cannon ball crashed through the starboard bow, making the boat rock so hard it almost capsized. Max went flying over the railing. The only thing that kept him from taking a dive was Ray grabbing hold of his wrist.

"Ray!"

"Hold on, Maxie! Tyson!"

Tyson was already at Ray's side, leaning over the railing to grab Max's other hand. Once he had a firm grip on his teammate, he turned to Ray and counted down.

"Three, two, one, go!"

Both boys dug their heels in and heaved, quickly dragging Max back over the side.

"Phew, that was close," Max panted, lying boneless where he had landed, on top of Ray.

"You said it, Maxie," Tyson said, dusting himself off.

"Mmph!"

"Huh?" Max looked around trying to find the muffled sound. "Oh, Ray! Sorry, bud!" he exclaimed, scrambling off Ray's person. The nekojin sat up quickly, gasping desperately for air, beet red having just been smothered by his teammate's breasts. "Here! Let me help you!"

Max leaned forward with one hand outstretched towards him, carelessly giving Ray an eyeful. He quickly averted his gaze, before grabbing the proffered hand and pulling himself up.

Ray cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at the grinning blonde in front of him. "Uh, Maxie, your, uh… your shirt."

"Huh? Oh!" Max spun around quickly, a deep blush spreading on his face as he hurried to fix the buttons on his shirt that had come undone.

"There be no need to button up on our account, lass," said a deep, gravelly voice. Max froze as thick, grubby fingers stroked his long hair. How the pirates had managed to sneak up on them, he had no idea. He jerked out of the pirate's reach and drew his dagger, shakily. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tyson and Ray drawing their own swords, pointing them warily at the intruders.

"You s-stay back! I'm warning you!" Max said. Suddenly this wasn't so cool anymore.

"We're not letting you take our ship!" Tyson yelled.

The lead pirate laughed scandalously and the others followed suit.

"Aye, funny," he said mockingly to Tyson. "how ye think ye 'ave a choice, boy. I were hardly askin' permission." The pirate took a heavy, clanking step forward, and it was only then that Max realised he had a robotic leg. Max lashed out with his dagger as the pirate moved to touch him, but the pirate was too quick, grabbing the dagger by the blade and twisting it away from him. Max cried out as his wrist was twisted at a funny angle; the pirate didn't even flinch as the blade cut into his human hand, spilling blood on the deck. The pirate, chuckling darkly at the pained expression contorting Max's face, tugged on the dagger and drew him close, wrapping a firm arm around his female body, kissing the hand with the dagger in it with his scarred lips.

"Cap'n Blackfoot, at yer service," he said, all nasty charm. "T'would be a pleasure for me, and these other gentlemen o' fortune, to 'ave you in our… 'umble presence."

"You let go of her –him!" Tyson yelled, attacking the nearest pirate. Max used the distraction to knee Blackfoot in the groin. Unfortunately, this was another part of him that was made of metal.

"Ahh!" Max cried, falling back, holding his knee as it throbbed in agony.

"Ye'll be regrettin' that, wench," the pirate growled, towering over him, a broadsword pointed at his throat. Max gulped, squeezing his eyes shut as the pirate prepared to gut him like a fish. He whimpered as he waited for the first slice.

"Argh!" Tyson tossed himself across deck, tackling Blackfoot to the ground. "You no good dirty pirate!"

As Max limped to his feet, he heard their swords clashing frantically and their grunts of effort. A quick glance around showed him that they were still vastly outnumbered, the other pirates circling around Ray, hooting and hollering as he fought with two of their brethren. Putting aside the pain in his knee, Max bent down, snatched up his dagger and dove into the fray.

A skinny pirate with a scraggly beard and a bionic eye slashed at him with his sabre and Max barely blocked it with the guard of his dagger. Max gritted his teeth as he felt the force of the impact vibrating uncomfortably up and down his arm. The pirate grinned smugly, pushing heavily on Max's tiny blade.

"Best be givin' up, lass," he taunted nastily.

"C'mon, Draciel…we can do it…" Max ground out, pushing back as hard as he could, but still feeling himself being forced to his knees. Suddenly, the dagger began to vibrate, glowing a pale purple, the pommel winking at him most brightly. He felt a familiar warmth and assurance wash over him and suddenly the pirate didn't seem quite as strong anymore. With one hard shove, Max managed to push the pirate away, then knock the sabre out of his hand.

The pirate gaped at the girl who had just bested him, stunned.

Max stared in awe at the tiny blade, feeling the raw power emanating from it: Draciel. His face grew determined, he knew what to do.

Quickly getting into the kendo stance Tyson had shown him, prepared to defend himself against the power-hungry pirates bearing down on him should his plan fail, he called out to his teammates: "Tyson! Ray! Get down!" Pumping the dagger in the air, he yelled. "Draciel! Heavy viper wall!"

The ship rumbled under their feet. The pirates looked around panicked as the seas rose from all sides in a massive tidal wave poised menacingly over the deck. A glance at their quarry found her glowing fierce purple, the mistress of the ocean.

"Attack!"

The pirates barely had time to scream before the water slammed into them, sweeping them away into the unmerciful deep.

"Yes!" A huge attack like that, in the beydish, would usually leave Max spent, but suddenly he felt invigorated. "We did it, Draciel! We did it!"

"Alright!" Tyson exclaimed, pumping his fist. "Way to go, Maxie! You totally owned those pirates!"

"Yeah, I totally kicked their butts!" Max yelled, jumping onto Tyson's back and giggling when he spun them around.

"Whoa! You guys, look at the map!" Ray called, cutting into their celebrations. "It's glowing."

"It is? Gimme!" Max snatched it away from Ray, ran his hands over every inch of it, then looked down hopefully. "Aw man, I'm still a girl."

Ray snatched the map back and rolled it open, golden eyes flicking from the map to the scenery and back again. "We must be at X."

"I don't see anything," Tyson said.

"Look! Over here!" Max called, peering into the ocean from starboard. The others rushed to his side, and followed his gaze. They could see a faint glow, golden to match the map, emanating from the sea bed miles below the surface of the water.

"How are we gonna get down there?" Ray wondered.

"I'll do it," Tyson said, determined. "I'll swim to the bottom and get it."

"Tyson, be reasonable. It's too deep to dive, you'll drown!"

"Scuba divers do it all the time! This'll be a piece of cake!" he said, shooting Ray a cocky grin and a peace sign.

Ray stepped in his way, holding his arms out as Tyson tried to strut past. "I can't let you do that, Tyson."

"What the hell, Ray? I have to do this. For Kai."

"It won't do Kai or your baby any good if you get yourself killed."

"What are you saying, Ray? I won't give up! I'll never give up on Kai! Now get out of my way!"

"No! There has to be another way, Tyson. We'll look around the ship again, see if there's any gear that can help us. I won't let you kill yourself."

"Ray!"

"Stop being so stubborn and use your brain for once, Tyson!"

Splash!

Both of them whirled around to find Max overboard treading water.

"Brr… it's really cold in here. You ready, Draciel?"

"Max! What are you doing?" Ray shouted.

"Don't worry, Ray, I figured it out." Max grinned confidently, winking at his worried teammate. "Draciel's guardian of the sea, so this has to be my job. I'll get this one. You can get the next one."

"Maxie! You can't risk it!" Tyson protested.

"I'm not in any danger, Tyson. Right, Draciel?" Max smiled, nodding at his blade. "Alright, let's do this. Draciel! Gravity Control!"

As he pointed the dagger at the golden spot in the water, its purple glow intensified. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening, and Ray was about to call him back to the ship, but then he saw it. A slow spiral in the water, gradually getting faster and wider. It was a whirlpool.

"Maxie! Get outta there! You'll get sucked in!"

Max ignored his friends' frantic calls, instead swimming closer to the forming whirlpool, trusting in his bitbeast to keep him safe. It wasn't long before he was caught in the current, his body being dragged around in circles, spiralling around the centre. Now he knew how a beyblade felt.

"Woo! Tyson, you've gotta try this! It's like getting flushed down a toilet!"

"Max!"

With every spiral, Max grew closer and closer to the seabed and the shiny gold object nestled in the wet sand. Within moments, he was within arm's reach of it. Stretching his fingers out as far as they would go, he reached for the object, tongue sticking out in concentration.

"Come on…come on… Got it- whoa!" As soon as he was able to snag it from its cushion of sand, the water started rushing in to fill out the dry tunnel that had been created. "Uh oh. Guess it's time to go."

As quick as the water rushed in beneath his feet, he could feel himself getting propelled out of the hole on a bed of anti-gravity.

Meanwhile, Tyson and Ray stood on the ship deck, gnawing their nails as they stared anxiously at the whirlpool.

"Tyson…" Ray muttered. "Is it just me or is that hole getting smaller?"

"Oh no! Maxie!" Tyson turned and dashed towards the cabin.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna drive the ship over there and rescue Maxie. Ray, you go get some rope or something so we can pull him out."

"Good idea!"

As Tyson began to turn the ship around, they heard a loud splash, like waves crashing together. Tyson and Ray both gaped as Max shot out from the sea, a fountain of water in his wake, looking happy as ever.

He seemed to hover in the air. "Hey guys! I got it!" he whooped, waving what looked like a large lump of gold in his hand. Then suddenly his expression changed. Little pinpricks of red poked through the purple glow that surrounded him, ever slowly taking over his aura. "Hey, what's going on? Tyson! Ray! Draciiieeeeelllll…!"

The red light suddenly flashed brightly around him, and then he was gone.

"Max!"