Thanks to NorthernShinigami, queen of beyblade and minekoanime for reviewing. Just one more review and I'll have twenty reviews.

Queen of beyblade asked if the All Starz will appear. Originally, I had no intention of including them, but after some consideration, and seeing how the story is turning out, they will now feature. Much later, about Chapter 33, but they will show eventually. The story writes itself, so I actually have little control.

Oh, and tomorrow I'll be posting another Bleach oneshot, which is a sequel to my other Bleach oneshot. It's called 'Why Do You Care?'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or its characters.

Chapter 9: A Series of Unexpected Events

Ray was crying. He preferred the other dreams. Anything would be better than this. He preferred the darkness. He didn't want to see it so clear. He didn't want to see the amber or the blue. He didn't want to see the white or green. And he didn't want to see the red.

Standing in front of him was a small boy with shoulder-length black hair and amber eyes. He looked to be no older than three. And by his feet were two people, their bodies still and cold.

"No," Ray whispered.

'Now, it's time to collect my reward.'

…..

Kai awoke instantly when he heard Ray scream. He saw Kenny, Max and Tyson awake as well, and they all rushed to Ray's bedside, where the tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Ray, dude, wake up," Tyson said, shaking his shoulders.

Kai was frozen. Things were different. Usually, Ray was terrified, his face was pale, and he was covered in sweat. He was also usually silent. To see Ray sobbing, his skin a normal colour and screaming, Kai couldn't help but think that something was different. When Ray's eyes opened, he only became more convinced. They weren't filled with fear. They were filled with anguish.

"G-guys," Ray stuttered.

Kai felt a pang in his chest. Usually, it took Ray a while to realize he was awake, but now…

The door opened, and Lee and Mariah came in, looking worriedly at Ray.

"Ray," Mariah said. "It didn't hurt you again, did it?"

Ray shook his head, his tears intensifying.

"N-not h-h-him," Ray stuttered. "Th-that day."

Lee and Mariah's gazes softened, while the Bladebreakers only looked confused. Mariah went to sit next to Ray and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, which Ray accepted. He cried into Mariah's shoulders as she stroked his hair.

"This was a regular nightmare," Lee explained, looking at Kai.

"How do you…" Max began.

"Because, it's not the first time Ray got it. This has bothered him since we were little kids, and with all that's happened, I guess it's resurfaced."

…..

Oliver awoke with a start. He heard Ray scream, and he wanted to see if he was okay. But he didn't want to go without Enrique, who was still fast asleep next to him.

Oliver sighed and reached into his bedside cabinet, withdrawing the bag. He glanced to make sure his new roommate was still asleep before opening the bag and taking the item out.

It looked like a medallion. It was larger than Oliver's fist. It had an intricately carved figure with large angel wings, but if one were to turn it around, the wings would be demonic. His father told him that it contained a lot of power, and that it was not meant to land in the wrong hands.

'I'll take that,' a voice interrupted, making Oliver look up.

It was another shadowy figure, but this one had golden eyes. Oliver let out a yelp and shook Enrique awake.

"Wha?" Enrique asked, still half asleep. His eyes briefly landed on the object in Oliver's hands before looking at his friend's terrified eyes, which were fixed in front of him.

Enrique followed his eyes and gasped.

'Give that to me,' the creature whispered. 'Unless you want to get hurt again.'

Enrique grabbed his beyblade and launched it, Amphilion rising from the blade. The creature hissed and disappeared, leaving behind what looked like black feathers.

"What was that?" Enrique demanded.

"It was a different one," Oliver said. "This one had golden eyes."

"I know," Enrique said, looking at Oliver seriously. "I could see it."

…..

Kevin and Ian were lurking through the halls. They had agreed, during the day, to learn the layout of the castle. Partly because they didn't want to get lost, partly because they didn't want to be caught by surprise, and partly because they wanted to know which areas would be great for leaving a few of their special booby traps. It was the last reason that caused them to think that it was a good idea to do it at night, when their teammates wouldn't be able to catch them.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to be doing this with all that's going on?" Kevin asked.

"If we're lucky, then this would actually help," Ian answered. "Besides, all we're doing is trying to find the 'what it is'. I think we need to focus on the 'how to stop it'. And we need booby traps in case the Slashers figure out that the Bladebreakers are here."

"That's a good point," Kevin remarked.

Kevin suddenly paused and listened. Ian quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

"It's Ray," Kevin whispered.

"Something wrong?"

"He was screaming. Sounds like he had the nightmare again."

"Shouldn't we go see if he's okay then?"

"Lee and Mariah are the only ones who know how to handle him when he's like this. See, Ray's had this recurring nightmare since he was three. Whenever he'd wake up from it, he'd be a nervous wreck."

"What's the nightmare about?"

Kevin gave him a solemn look that did not suit the monkey-like neko.

"His parents."

…..

"Do you think we should go see if Ray's okay?" Bryan asked.

Bryan, Tala and Spencer were standing around, awoken by Ray's anguished screaming.

"He has his team," Tala said. "I don't think we'd be wanted there. In case you hadn't noticed, they don't trust us yet. Especially Kai."

"I know," Bryan said. "But I wish they would. You have no idea how much I want to apologise to Ray, but with all the tension…"

"Getting Ray alone to properly apologise won't be so easy," Tala said, nodding his head in understanding.

"Um, guys," Spencer interrupted. "Where's Ian?"

…..

Ian stared wide-eyed at his new friend. He couldn't believe what he had just been told, but seeing the look in Kevin's eyes, he had to find a way to accept it.

"Do they know what happened?" Ian asked.

"Only Ray knows, and the only time he has any clue about what exactly happened is when he's asleep," Kevin responded. "And it hurts too much to think about afterwards. He's like a nervous wreck."

"I can imagine. I mean, if I think about how Tala and Bryan act when they're remembering their parents…"

"What about yours?"

"Can't remember."

…..

Johnny walked through the halls. He didn't know why he was or how he got there, but he felt that he didn't particularly care.

The route he walked seemed familiar, and it wasn't until he stopped that he realised why.

'Why am I at Oliver's room?' he wondered.

He had no control over what he was doing and opened the door. He saw his two teammates asleep, Oliver taking a few shaky breaths.

He saw something stand over Oliver. It looked like a woman dressed entirely in black. Her long black hair flowed down, creating a blanket around her shoulders. What little he could see of her skin was ghostly white.

She reached over to the cabinet next to Oliver and tried to open it. But once she touched it, she hissed in pain and pulled away. Johnny found this very confusing.

She slowly turned to look at him and he gasped. Her white face was expressionless, and the only thing that stood out were her glowing blue eyes.

'This is why you're here,' she said, speaking to Johnny. 'I need you to get me the object in here. If you don't…' She moved to stroke Oliver's cheek, causing the boy to subconsciously move away from her touch. She moved her hand to rest on Oliver's stomach, and Johnny gasped. 'You have one week. If, by then, I don't have the item, your little friend will become my new plaything.'

…..

Johnny awoke with a start. He looked around the room, confused. He was currently sharing a room with Robert, after it was agreed that no one be on their own. It felt strange, not sleeping in his usual room in the castle.

Johnny looked at his still-sleeping teammate. What was that he just saw? Was that real, or all in his head?

He looked up and froze. In the shadows, a pair of blue eyes was watching him, and he could sense the amusement radiating from them.

'Remember, you have one week. After that, we'll see how much pain and for how long your friend can handle before he dies.'

The eyes disappeared, leaving behind an echo of evil giggling.

…..

The next morning, everyone was half asleep. The Bladebreakers, along with Lee and Mariah, spent most of the night trying to comfort Ray. Tala, Spencer and Bryan spent a large portion searching the halls for Ian, until finally finding him wandering around with Kevin. Gary had noticed Kevin's absence and had also gone in search of the youngest teammate. Afterwards, the two had to go through a session of interrogation to find out what they were doing wandering around an old castle, with potential danger, at night. Oliver and Enrique took a while to relax until they knew they were safe. And Johnny was freaking out a little, which eventually awoke Robert.

Needless to say, their breakfast was silent.

…..

"So, Germany, huh?"

"They're with their European friends, right?"

"What do we do with them?"

"See if they're any use as bargaining chips or something. If they prove to be a hindrance, the.n they should be eliminated. That goes for anyone that gets in the way of our mission."

Okay, in case you hadn't caught all of the unexpected events, here's a list:

Ray having a normal nightmare

Enrique seeing the shadow

Kevin giving a hint about Ray's past, and consequently Ian revealing a little of Bryan and Tala's.

Bryan's wish to apologise to Ray and the pain he feels about the fact that it is currently impossible

Johnny's 'dream'

The unknown group finding out where they are

Remember, one more review and I will have twenty reviews. That would make about two reviews per chapter.