blitzkreig50889: well, here's the final updated fic before I put up the new ones I wrote during my long absence from updating. So, to get to things quickly, Jayse, disclaimer for your fic's new chapter please!

Jayse: figures the first thing you'd say to me is do the disclaimer. Couldn't you at least have said "hello" first? I mean, you were gone for ages!

blitzkreig50889: okay, fine. Hello, Jayse. Would you please do the disclaimer for this fic?

Jayse: that's better and yes I will. blitzkreig50889 does not own beyblade or its characters. She just owns her plot ideas and OCS, which consist of the Black Thorns, Colt, Drake, Gale, Myself, and all of our bit beasts. And as always, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Nine

Gale woke up in excruciating pain. His entire body ached as if something had repeatedly stabbed him in the ribs, back of the head, and all of his major joints. And to make things all the more difficult, he didn't even know where he was or what had caused the pain for that matter.

Slowly, he sat up. A startled gasp said he wasn't the only one in the room and he moved a little too quickly when he turned to try and see who was in the room with him, causing things to spin.

"Whoa! Easy does it there. After what you've been through you shouldn't even be moving around yet."

Gale looked up at his female saviour. He recognized her immediately and tried to pull away, but she held on tightly.

Samantha, Gale's temporary helper, gently pushed him back into a resting position. "Stay here. I'm going to go get the others."

"No!" Gale protested. "Please don't do that. They'll probably try and tear me to pieces."

Samantha laughed. "Well considering your currently in Oliver's mansion and that they haven't torn you to pieces yet, I doubt you have anything to worry about. The worst they'll do is talk to you."

Samantha left before Gale could utter a protest and he was left wondering still what had happened to him.

"Master?" came the tired voice of Torrent. "Are you well?"

"Yes," Gale answered. "Do you know how we got in Oliver's mansion?"

"I think it had to do with the thorns from the token. I think they brought us here."

Gale frowned in confusion. "Thorns?"

"Yes, thorns. That's why our bodies hurt so much. They were surrounding us and whenever they connected with our skin they would poke us to the point of drawing blood."

"Why would the token have thorns come out of it?" Gale queried.

"I think they belong to Unicolyon."

Torrent's answer was far more confusion than Gale could have ever conceived. Why in all living hell would Unicolyon have thorns hidden in a token that happened to be found by his father? It didn't make any sense.

Gale's deliberating was brought to a halt when Samantha returned with 'the others' who happened to consist of all of the Majestics and Blitzkrieg Boys along with Tyson, Kenny, and Daichi.

(With Drake and Storm)

Emerald Flames licked at Storm's black and gold feathers, furious that Storm would try and get help. They had no intention of going back to Salamolyon. After all, the salamander had left them to fade out and they fully intended to use Storm to get retribution on their former master.

Storm was not sharing their enthusiasm or anger. He was in too much pain to care, but he wasn't about to give into their unceasing demands that he comply with their ever wish either. Drake, Storm noticed, was tense, but not caving in either, no matter how much pain the flames caused Storm. In this, he was gaining an iron will.

When the flames finally disappeared, leaving Storm's coat scorched and smelling heavily of smoke, Drake finally relaxed, as did Storm. The bouts of pain the flames caused were occurring more often and for longer periods of time. In just a few hours, the deal with the flames would be up, and both of them risked losing their lives.

"Do you think you can handle Aries tomorrow Storm?" Drake asked suddenly. He knew that beating Aries was the only way they were going to retrieve Midnight and save Storm's life.

"I'll handle Aries, pain or no pain," Storm assured his master immediately. He too was worried, but he was more careful about hiding his worries.

"Do you know what happened to Gale and Torrent?"

That question caused Storm to pause and think before answering. "To be honest, I don't know what happened to them. They could be anywhere for all we know. Still, I'm sure they'll be alright."

"I hope so," Drake murmured just before the door to their hangout banged open.

"What the...?" Storm managed before he was slammed up against a wall by Aries. Normally Aries's assault would have been easily deflected, but something about the dragon caused Storm to hesitate. Aries didn't seem like his normal self.

"Help...me..." the dragon managed to gasp out before something forced him to shove his griffin teammate harder into the wall. Storm however, didn't dare risk fighting back to give Aries the help he so desperately needed. The emerald flames attached to his spirit were demanding he fight back and give them what they wanted, and he refused to do that. He was not going to give them what they wanted.

"I can't, Aries. I'm sorry," Storm whispered to the dragon. Aries let out a scream of agony before he suddenly changed colors. His red and silver scales turned a violent black. Storm gasped at the sight, and even the emerald flames that had been plaguing him to attack pulled back in horror.

"What is that?" they hissed at him. Storm ignored them. His main concern now was keeping himself and Drake alive until Colt arrived. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long, but Colt's assurances to Aries were the last thing either of them thought they'd ever hear.

"Quit fighting, Aries. Give in to their demands."

Aries let out a roar of agony, and it was then that Storm understood what was happening. "Fight them Aries! Don't give in! I'll go and get you some help," Storm promised. "Drake, we have to leave now!"

Drake nodded in instant understanding. However, before either of them could move to leave the building, Colt blocked them.

"I don't think so. You aren't going anywhere. My master has a few words he'd like to speak with you. Aries, capture Storm. Do not let him escape and bring him to the rendevous location."

Aries roared in agony a second time as he tried to fight Colt's orders. No matter what he did, he couldn't prevent himself from moving. Still, he could at least warn Storm. "Run Storm! I don't know how much longer I can fight these things!"

Storm gasped before picking up a terrified Drake. They had to get out of here, and they had to do it now. With a fierce jump, Storm jumped into the air and flew straight through the roof of the building, ignoring the emerald flames as they mentally shouted at him to fight back and as they started their next assault on his body.

(Back at Oliver's Mansion...)

Gale looked around the room. Surprised faces stared back at him.

"The token was in your attic?" Unicolyon asked after a moment. "How did it get there?"

Torrent shrugged. "Gale's father brought it back with him. He ended up putting it there when we moved. What I'm more worried about is how I get rid of these Crimson Thorns as you called them before they tear me to pieces."

Unicolyon looked at Griffolyon, who shook his head. "I'm afraid none of us know how to take them from you. I'm sorry."

Torrent sighed as Gale hung his head. Colt and Drake were going to kill him for sure!

A sudden roaring screech caused everyone in the room to jump. "It's Storm!" Celina cried out, her body feeling the same agony as Storm's due to her sudden connection to his mind. "The flames are trying to burn him to ashes!"

Drake burst through the door without bothering to knock. "I hate to be a pain in the ass, but those flames need to go and they need to go now! Storm can't help Aries if he's being burned into nothing."

"Aries?" Jayse suddenly asked. Throughout Gale's tale of finding the Crimson Thorns, he'd been silent, finding his mind often straying towards Midnight's but not being able to actually connect. The tale had been interesting in its own right, but it hadn't been enough to keep him from worrying about his just out of reach bit beast.

Drake looked at Jayse. "Aries and Colt arrived at our Head Base. Aries at one point had Storm pinned against the one wall before suddenly releasing him and roaring in pain. Colt wasn't his normal self. He seems to be possessed by something or brainwashed. He even ordered Aries to keep us from escaping and to take us to some 'rendevous point.' Storm managed to get us out of there thanks to Aries fighting whatever was trying to possess him, but I don't think he'll hold out long. And on top of that, Salamolyon's blasted Emerald Flames are trying to burn Storm to ashes because he tried to get rid of them when we talked to you earlier. Things are going from bad to worse, and something has to be done now!"

The entire room exchanged horrified looks. Not a single blader had the skill necessary to take on an experienced group of street bladers. They all needed more time!

"We'll have to fight now," Kai said quietly. Oliver shook his head.

"We don't have the power or the skill yet, Kai. We'd be destroyed within mere moments of entering the dish."

"Maybe your friends would be, but you'd probably be okay," Drake attempted to plead with Oliver. "After all, you beat Colt on your first try and most bladers aren't able to do that."

Again Oliver shook his head. "That may be true, but I didn't get out of that fight in one piece. I still don't have a blade in which to fight with."

Drake groaned as Storm screamed. The griffin's agony was palpable to everyone in the room, not just Celina and Drake.

"We can't wait much longer," Salamolyon warned the others. "Storm isn't going to last much longer."

Johnny looked over at his younger brother. "You want to try this even without Midnight?"

Jayse hesitated. Trying to remove the flames without Midnight could be deadly for both of them, and yet it seemed they had no other choice. With Aries being assaulted by something unseeable and Storm possibly the only one able to defeat the dragon, if they lost Storm, they risked losing everything. Finally, after several minutes of extreme thinking, Jayse gave his brother the nod to signal to go ahead and try and remove the flames without Midnight's aid.

"It could be deadly," Johnny warned.

Jayse nodded again. "I know, but I'm willing to take the risk. If we don't, then the whole world could risk losing something. What that something could be, I don't know, but I know I have to help. Just like Salamolyon, I can't leave Storm to fight on his own."

Johnny gave his brother a small smile. "I had a feeling you were going to say something like that." Turning to Drake he then said, "We'll help you out. But try to stick to your end of the earlier bargain."

Drake nodded. He was too damn grateful for their help to even attempt to backstab them. With Johnny and Jayse, along with several other bladers directly behind him, Drake rushed back out the front door only to stop as Aries bolted out of the sky straight for the agonized Storm.

blitzkreig50889: and cliffhanger! I had to do it. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! I did everything I could to amp up the action and still have the chapter make sense, so hopefully there was nothing confusing. If so, let me know. And with that done, please leave a review and I'll get to posting up the new fics as I promised I would!